With a hard flap of her wings, Luna leveled out her flight path and began gliding just below the slight cloud cover. Below the mare, the village of Ponyville sprawled out in all directions. Although the settlement seemed so large from here, it was still small enough that at even at this height, she could see every border. Other than a few streetlamps and the occasional residence, every light in the village was out, creating a darkness that made her night above that much more glorious. It was much more pleasant to view the stars in Ponyville, for when she could see past the cloud cover, their radiance was greater than in the perpetually bright Canterlot sky.
No matter how hard the alicorn tried, she couldn't wipe the little smile she wore off of her face, and it wasn't because of the glory of her night. Everything the little filly from ten minutes ago dreamed about was completely adorable. Sure, by the way that the child looked at herself in her dream, if Luna had straight up said to the filly's face that she was adorable, Scootaloo would most likely find it insulting. Of course, that was also assuming that Scootaloo didn't completely flip out at the presence of a princess.
Thinking for a moment, Princess Luna once again wondered if there was anything she could do to help the filly. Well... there were many things she could do—everything from giving the mother a high paying government position, putting Scootaloo in foster care, to even possibly raising the child as her own in Canterlot. Being one of the princesses of Equestria tended to have little benefits like that, so she was certain that if she decided on a course of action, no matter what it was, it would be done.
However, all of that said, the million bit question was if there was anything Luna SHOULD do for the filly. While providing a well paying government job might help, who was to say that the mother wouldn't use the money for her own pleasures? Luna barely knew how responsible the mare was after all. As for taking the child from her parents, that was not an option that should ever be considered except for the most dire of situations. Such a decision, while always well intended at first, could do so much damage to the innocent filly's mind.
Thankfully, this situation did not seem dire—at least in the short run.
“Regardless,” Luna whispered to herself, “I suppose I could monitor the filly in the future, as well as speak with my aides to determine if there is a course of action suitable for the situation.”
That problem resolved, at least for now, Luna went back to thinking about Scootaloo's dream. There was one part of the dream that she quickly became transfixed by. It wasn't the setting. It wasn't the audience. It wasn't even the curious amount of knowledge that the inexperienced flier appeared to have—though that might be related to the subject that Luna was thinking about. Instead, it was the companion that Scootaloo had the entire time.
“Rainbow Dash,” Luna whispered to herself.
That name rang a bell, and not just because Scootaloo had said it many times in her dream. Thinking back, Luna realized where she knew the name from—Rainbow Dash was one of the Elements of Harmony. Luna had looked into the identities of her saviors enough to learn what their names were. While she didn't remember the specific Element she was, what Luna did remember was that this was the same mare that had been incredibly... annoying when it came to the amount of pranks she had played last Nightmare Night.
It was then that Luna decided her next destination, and with a quick spell, divined the general direction of where Rainbow Dash lived.
Banking to her left, Luna quickly set her sights in the direction that the spell was pointing her. Impatient to get to her next destination, she began to quickly beat her wings faster and faster, quickly becoming a speeding bullet in the sky. At these speeds, it didn't take long for Luna to leave the airspace above the village, and she quickly found herself soaring over the rolling hills between Ponyville and Canterlot.
It was around that point that Luna finally gazed upon Rainbow's house. If she were asked to describe the place in one word, Luna would be forced to use the word “extravagant,” and not in an entirely flattering way. The house was more akin to pegasus design than the earth pony design normal to the village, as huge cloud banks were forced together to create the house. It appeared that the comparatively inexpensive building materials had been put to good use, for the house was well within the realms of a mansion, with the highest rooms in the tower looming over the landscape below. Add in several spewing fountains and waterfalls of rainbows, and it made for quite the residence.
Luna couldn't help but roll her eyes as she approached the over-the-top residence. “Quite the humble and modest pony, I see.”
Assuming that the mare's bedroom was on the top floor, Luna aimed herself towards one of the open windows on the top-most level. Without skipping a beat, the alicorn shifted herself into a mist—mostly to make sure her wings didn't plow their way through the sides of the cloud window—and passed through the open passage without trouble. As soon as she was inside, she realized that the top floor was definitely not the bedroom, with random exercise equipment being the big clue. Therefore, she was forced to begin roaming the residence for her target.
Thankfully, it was a quick search, and Princess Luna found the mare in question the next floor down. She quickly shifted back into her natural form, and after making sure everything was in order, looked at the pegasus in question. It was an amusing sight to behold, for the mare had apparently fallen asleep while reading what must have been a riveting book. Luna didn't recognize the book in question, but she assumed it was an exciting one for Rainbow Dash, because it was draped over her face as she slept. The pages of the hardcover slightly muffled the loud snores that the mare was making, though they were still sufficient to drown out most other noises. Other than that—and the fact that Rainbow Dash had sheets matching her cutie mark—the room was a fairly mundane navy blue.
Luna couldn't take the suspense any longer. Taking a few steps forward, she quickly ignited her horn, and after shifting the book away from the mare's forehead, bent down, and lightly pressed the tip of her horn against the mare's head.
“I demand that you untie me!” Rainbow yelled.
Very swiftly, Luna was able to adjust to the frequency of this dream, and therefore was able to quickly get a view of her surroundings. Rainbow Dash was, strangely enough, dressed up in an olive green shirt—vests were much more common when it came to both mares and stallions. A tan pith helmet somehow rested on her head, despite the fact that the pegasus was lying on her back and didn't have it visibly secured with a chin strap.
The room around Luna and Rainbow was very dim—the only light coming from torches in each corner of the room. Apart from those small beacons of light, the gray stone walls stood mightily and seamlessly with the exception of a single doorway on the left wall, leaving Luna to suspect that they were in some sort of castle. Halfway up each wall, various carvings of the three pony races wrapped around the room, each one unique compared to the others. The center of the room was at least a full floor lower than the floor near the walls with large stone steps leading downward, making the room look like some kind of mock-arena. The only other interesting aspect to this somewhat bare room was the large stone slab situated in the center, like some kind of table or altar.
Oh, and there was the fact that Rainbow Dash was tied to the stone slab—that was fairly notable too.
Suddenly, a wild laughter echoed through the chamber, sending slight shivers down the pegasus' body. Three griffons strode through the doorway as the laughter continued to flow through the room. Concerning their appearances, the two in front were exact matches of one another. Both had brown feathers with a white underbelly, both were wearing a gray vest with a matching gray helmet, and both were completely expressionless as they gazed upon the restrained Rainbow Dash.
On the other hoof, the third griffon looked much different. His feathers were black along his back, though his belly was just as white as his companions. Along the upper surface of his beak, a thin dark smudge marred the normally orange structure, though whether the black was natural or simply dirt was ambiguous. While he was also wearing a gray vest, along one of the sleeves he wore a red armband, with a black outline of a frowning face inside of a white circle.
This third griffon let out a laugh identical to the one from a few seconds earlier. He then took another step forward, and smiled. “So, Rainbow Dash, you thought you could stop the might of the 'No-Sea' Party?”
Rainbow turned her head towards the griffon, and with a scowl on her face, replied. “I knew you were the one behind this, Stinkenden Gänsegeier Kot!”
“Please, just Stinkenden to you, Fräulein Dash. I believe you have been attempting to thwart my plans for long enough to have each other on a first name basis, don't you think?”
Rainbow didn't bother replying to the statement. Instead, she struggled even harder against the ropes wrapped against her. “You'll never get away with this, Stinkenden!”
Stinkenden chuckled as he flew closer to her. Landing next to the mare, he slowly began to run a single talon along her side—the grotesque touch causing her to fruitlessly attempt to pull away. Her struggles only served to cause the griffon to laugh again. “Ah, but you see, Rainbow, I already have. You were all that stood in the way of my ultimate goal. All that is left is to destroy you, then I exterminate the seaponies, then I take the world for the glory of the Avian race!” Together, Stinkenden and his two minions began to laugh at the apparent inevitability of their conquest.
Seaponies? What are seaponies?
She wasn't able to dwell on the thought further, for Rainbow's stern and determined voice cut her off—the mare addressing the laughing griffon next to her. “You're a monster.”
“A monster? Nein. I am not a monster. I am merely a visionary of our glorious future, where the 'No-Sea' party purifies the world of the filth in the oceans.” Turning his tail towards Rainbow, he began to walk away. “Now, please allow this overly complicated series of devices end your life as I see to my victory.”
Looking up, Luna was shocked to see that where there was once nothing, there was now a large series of devices in some sort of Rube Coltberg-style contraption. There was a lever attached to a rope which fed through three dozen pulleys that would hit a ball down a chute, flip a switch that would... well... Luna wasn't sure what it would do. In fact—maybe it was because this was merely a dream—many of the steps didn't seem to connect with each other at all. All she saw was another chute, a water clock, and at least one full set of lost marbles. However, the end was obvious, for the final step was where a lock would be released to open a large door, sending at the pegasus waves upon waves of—
“Bunnies,” Rainbow Dash whispered to herself, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the pin containing hundreds of rabbits. “Why did it have to be bunnies.”
“Because, Fräulein Dash, bunnies make just about everything more exciting with you. Until we see again, which will be never, farewell!” With a final wave, Stinkenden turned the corner, and after flipping the switch to start the series of traps, escaped through the passage. However, his two minions walked through the doorway—just past Luna's line of sight—and stood on the other side to make sure that Rainbow Dash did not attempt to escape.
Of course, as soon as the leader left, escape is what Rainbow attempted to do. For her part, she tried everything that Luna herself could think of, and even a few things that the princess hadn't imagined to be possible. She tried slipping out of the ropes, biting the ropes, using her hooves to cut the rope, as well as using the corners of the stone slab to slowly slice through the bindings. Rainbow even attempted to untie the knot with her tail—a feat that failed just as spectacularly as one might expect.
Looking at the water-clock—the only definite way to judge how much time the mare had left—Rainbow saw that her time was quickly beginning to run out. Of course, because she realized this, she began to lose her cool, which meant that her carefully calculated movements quickly became panicked struggles. Obviously Luna had never been one, but she had heard countless times that the worst nightmare for any escape artist was panic, for once a pony begins to panic, any hope of getting out is lost. A few seconds later, and Rainbow took another look at the water-clock—it read sixty seconds.
Sighing to herself, Rainbow stopped struggling, and closed her eyes. “Well... it was a good run, I guess...”
Suddenly, there was a pair of yells from the doorway, followed by the sounds of crashing and cracking. Both Rainbow Dash and Princess Luna looked up towards the doorway, attempting to see the cause of the chaos. Of course, because of the bend in the passageway, it was impossible to tell. However, out of the corner of her eyes, Luna could see that the captive pegasus was still sweating in stress—the mare obviously unsure of the allegiance of the unknown force. The crashing and banging continued for another second or two, until it suddenly stopped.
A second later, a single dented helmet rolled inside of the room—the metal headpiece slowly bouncing down the steps—until it hit the side of the stone slab.
Rainbow and Luna both looked at the helmet for a few seconds, neither entirely sure how to react to what had just happened. It was at least ten seconds before either of them were able to pull their eyes away from the ruined protective garment, and together, they looked to the doorway. Slowly, the shadowy form of what looked like a pony began to appear—their mane wild from the chaos he or she had just wrought upon those two minions. If it wasn't for the fact that Luna couldn't be hurt, she would've backed away in fright.
Finally, with a final few steps, the pony showed herself to them.
Wait a second, is that not the pony from Nightmare Night? The one named—
“Fluttershy! My trusted assistant!” Rainbow Dash beamed as her voice showed every single ounce of excitement that swelled within her. “You came back for me!”
“Oh, of course I came back,” the victorious pegasus said as she quickly trotted her way to her companion. “You didn't think I would abandon you, did you?”
“Well, when you said, 'I hate you. I'm leaving and never coming back,' after I treated you so harshly yesterday, I got a little worried. Sorry about that by the way.” Rainbow Dash smiled wider as she looked into her friend's eyes. “Now quickly, help me out of these binds before the bunnies get out.”
Promptly saluting, Fluttershy yelled, “On it!” Quickly, the yellow mare worked her teeth over the ropes as she bit into the thick twine. It didn't take long for her to break through the ropes, and after shrugging off the bindings, Rainbow Dash was free.
“Alright!” Rainbow yelled as she rolled herself over onto her belly. With a quick hop, she got herself back onto her hooves and jumped off of the uncomfortable stone bed and onto the ground below, albeit with a little help from her friend via an outstretched forehoof. “Now, let's get out of here before—”
It was that moment that there was a terribly loud clicking of a large lock unlatching. All three ponies in the room quickly turned their gaze towards the large door blocking the impending onslaught of bunnies—said floodgate slowly opening due to the force of the thousands of rabbits behind it.
“Oh... oh my...”
They are dead.
“Run!”
Deciding to take that little bit of advice, the two pegasi began running up the steps, and through the passage that Fluttershy had come from just a minute before. Luna herself decided that joining the duo was the probably the most prudent of ideas, and after quickly turning tail, she sped alongside the pair, determined to keep up with the galloping ponies. It was slow going at first, for the pegasi pair had to effectively climb a set of stairs to get to the ground level from the stone slab, but once there, their speed easily doubled as they made their way through the doorway.
Of course, it was then that the bunnies finally broke loose, and the flood of furry creatures began to make their way towards the ponies.
The three took a quick left turn, and Luna finally saw the rest of the chamber. It was all one single hallway, the lone passage extending a hundred meters before the bright light of the outside world blocked her vision. Several pits and the rubble of crumbling walls were scattered along the passage—obstacles that would force her two corporeal companions to slow down to cross. Long constricting vines hanging from above blocked any hope of the two merely darting across the expanse with their wings, making traversing the area that much more of a challenge.
“Come on, Fluttershy! Let's go!” Rainbow yelled as she began galloping along the hallway. Soon after, her yellow-coated companion came back to her senses, and with a determined face, began running behind her green-vested friend. Luna was somewhat surprised that Rainbow decided to take the front, especially considering that Fluttershy had to have just come along this path moments before, but... well... this was Rainbow's dream, so why argue?
A heavy crash sounded from behind them. Looking behind her, Luna noticed that the horde of bunnies had coalesced into a ball of fluff ten meters high—the massive living bunny boulder just starting to barrel its way onward to crush the two ponies ahead. It was then that Luna saw that the two previously unconscious soldiers from before beginning to stir. Each opened their eyes as they looked around at their surroundings. Of course, the first important thing that either of them saw was the bunny boulder rolling towards them.
They didn't even get to scream before they were crushed under the boulder's weight, and absorbed into the mass.
Fluttershy must have seen the results, for she said with a frantic voice, “Rainbow Dash! We have to hurry!”
Using her wings and tail to balance herself as she moved along a narrow beam, Rainbow ran as fast as she could away from the bunnies. With a quick front-flip, she jumped over a speeding crossbow bolt that was launched at her, planted her hooves back onto the rickety wooden beam, and continued to speed through the darkened tunnel. “I know! I'm running as fast as I can! I just don't understand how Stinkenden got out of here so quickly!”
Luna watched from above as Fluttershy followed every single one of Rainbow's steps—the mare making absolutely sure to dodge each of the traps that were sprung against her. “Maybe... maybe there was a secret passage or something!”
“But that doesn't explain how I got in here! I don't remember any of this!”
Her pink-maned friend never answered, for the the wooden beam that they were just galloping on a few seconds ago was now crashing into the abyss below from the weight of the living boulder. Realizing how close the bunnies really were, the two silenced their conversation, and focused all of their attention forward once more, the two doing their best to shut out the world around them.
Princess Luna sped onward to get ahead of the two mares in a desperate attempt to judge just how far they had to go before reaching their salvation. It wasn't much farther than two or three dozen meters now, though with the way the boulder of bunnies behind them accelerated, it may as well have been an entire nation to run across. The fluffy and cuddly ball of death behind the two mares was gaining on them, and with the rabbits intent on turning the pegasi into flat carrot sticks, they got ever so closer.
At the last possible second, Rainbow and Fluttershy tore through the doorway, and dove into the thick underbrush of the jungle to the left. The bunnies broke through the front of the building—now easily identifiable as some kind of ancient temple—and having already built up way too much speed to stop and turn towards the mares, the living boulder sped along a slightly cleared trail in front of the door. The bunnies quickly gained speed as they rolled down the incline, and after a slight turn to the left, disappeared into the darkness of the jungle.
Quickly, Rainbow brought herself to her hooves, and after helping Fluttershy to her own hooves, quickly took a second to dust off her explorer's shirt. “That was too close.”
Trembling slightly to herself, Fluttershy nodded. “I love cute bunnies, but that wasn't cute at all.”
“You can say that again.” Checking to make sure that her pith helmet was still firmly on her head—thankfully, it was—she began to look in every direction. “So where do you think the griffons went, Fluttershy?”
By now, the frightened mare had regained some of her composure, and after looking around for a few seconds, pointed towards a slightly brighter section of the jungle. “When I was coming here, I saw a runway over in that direction.”
A what?
“That's it!” Rainbow lowered the front of her helmet in determination. “The griffons must be trying to use it to fly out of here. We have to stop that aircraft before it takes off!”
They are griffons. They do not require an aircraft to fly.
Fluttershy shook her head. “If they get in that aircraft and get away, then that would spell doom for the seaponies.”
Seriously, they have wings. All they have to do is flap them and they fly away. It is that easy.
Rainbow nodded. “Then let's go, before they get away.”
THEY HAVE WINGS, THEY DO NOT oh forget it.
Together, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy began to trot out of the thick undergrowth of the jungle—Luna quickly deciding to follow from a few meters above. Normally, flying this high above the two pegasi in such a thick canopy would've been impossible. However, due to the incorporeal nature of her body, she was easily able to move around and through the various branches and vines without a single hint of resistance.
Huh... I do not feel any nausea like I did in the other dreams. Guess I am getting used to moving in dreams...
Luna saw that Rainbow and Fluttershy were talking to each other—most likely about the current predicament involving Stinkenden. From this high up however, it was impossible for the alicorn to understand what they were saying. That was fine, for Luna could use a little bit of peace and quiet after that bout of action with the bunny boulder. Of course, she was only able to enjoy a few minutes of silence before the trio of ponies got through the thick jungle, but once they did, they were greeted by a very interesting scene.
Before Luna's eyes, there was a massive clearing in the otherwise thick jungle all around her. The area in front of her was covered in a huge number of extremely flat and smooth concrete slabs, creating what looked like the footprint of a city—just without any buildings or other city-like objects. Almost a kilometer away, a massive metal object shaped somewhat like a bird sat upon the concrete park. It was hard to see from this far away, but Luna could tell that there were several figures entering the side of the curious machine.
Griffon shaped figures.
“Come on, Fluttershy! They're already at the plane! We gotta move!” Rainbow Dash yelled and she began galloping across the the concrete, the harsh sounds of her hard hooves sending loud clopping sounds in all directions.
“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness...” Fluttershy repeated as she began running after her friend, quickly catching up and moving alongside the pegasus.
As for Luna herself, she just began floating alongside the two—the princess intent on watching every second of action.
The trio only made it about halfway to the metal bird thing before they were apparently spotted—loud yelling coming from the flying device signaling the discovery. However, the metal bird was slow to start up, giving the two mares a fair amount of time to intercept. Slowly, the machine got louder and louder—a sure sign that the machine was powering up whatever propulsion devices that it used—and after a full minute, it began to slowly inch forward. The device slowly began to turn to Luna's right, aligning to the long length of the long concrete park. After it finally finished its turn, it paused for a moment, before the noise increased ten-fold, and it lurched forward.
Fast.
By this point, Rainbow and Fluttershy had almost made it to the metal bird—the two mares huffing and puffing in exhaustion. Very slowly now, the two ponies approached the side of the machine that was only a scant few meters away. Their tails whipping violently behind them, they lowered their heads a little bit more in an attempt to get every single drop of speed out of their tired legs. A few more centimeters, and...
“Rraaaahh!” Rainbow yelled as she leaped forward. Extending her forehooves in front of her, she barely was able to grip onto the side of the machine's closed doorway. With the strength of a dozen ponies, the prismatic-maned mare punched a hoof into the window, shattering the glass. Somehow not cutting herself, she moved her forehooves inside of the small gap she had created, and began to pry the door open.
Despite all of the forces working against her—from the whipping wind pressing the door closed to her already exhausted muscles losing strength by the second—she was slowly able to open the passageway in front of her. Finally, with a final burst of strength, the pony ripped the door open, sending the top of the hatch swinging to the ground—thousands of white-hot sparks spewing off of the metal as it dragged against the solid surface. Barely dodging the falling door, she jumped inside the metal bird.
Taking only a second to help her companion into the machine—Luna taking the second to join the two inside as well—Rainbow turned towards the front of the craft, and was greeted with the menacing glares of three gray vested griffons.
The griffon in front was Stinkenden.
Stinkenden took a step forward, and pointed with a sharp talon. “You have made a terrible mistake, Fräulein Dash, for this time, you w—”
THWACK!!
With tremendous force, the griffon flew backwards—taking out the griffon behind him in the process—and landed in a heap halfway to the front of the machine.
Impressive.
Rainbow Dash was rubbing her right forehoof against her chest as she smiled. “Yeah yeah, and I thought you said we were on a first name basis, Stinkenden Gänsegeier Kot.” Looking at the one standing griffon left, she smiled. “Now are you going to try and fight me too, or are you going to be the smart one?”
Not even bothering to pause and think about what might happen to him, the remaining griffon charged at the pony.
To that, Rainbow lowered her stance, and smiled. “Wrong choice.”
The griffon charged forward to tackle the cocky pony, letting out a roar as he did so. As soon as he got close, the mare quickly hopped high into the air, and using her foe's head as a support, flipped herself over his head, and landed on the opposite side of him. The griffon, confused for a moment, looked around in hopes of finding out where the mare went.
CRACK!!
That answer was quickly given to him via a hard kick to his back left ankle. Dropping slightly on that side, he quickly turned back around, and threw a punch at the mare. She blocked with her foreleg, and after throwing her own punch—which he blocked as well—the two began to brawl. A few punches and kicks later, and the griffon pulled the mare close to him by her mane.
POW!!
She stumbled back from the powerful headbutt—Luna could tell that the mare was slightly dizzy after that hit—and attempted to refocus her vision enough to continue to fight. She wasn't fast enough though, for the griffon was quick to take a step forward, and throw an elbow at her.
WHACK!!
The griffon stumbled forwards unexpectedly—the feathered creature receiving a heavy hit against the back of his head, denting his helmet. Before he could turn around, Luna saw Fluttershy jump onto his back, and after ripping the helmet off of the griffon's head, began ramming the metal piece into his skull again and again. Although that first hit she did was amazingly powerful considering she dented a metal helmet with just her hooves, the next hits were somewhat more normal impacts, though just as effective.
Rainbow was just about to join in on the fight when she apparently heard something behind her. Turning her body around, she turned around just in time see a mass of black and white in front of her.
BIFF!!
Taking solid a right hook to the jaw, she stumbled backwards two steps. Before she was able to recover, the pony was grabbed by the throat by Stinkenden's talons. Laughing maniacally, the griffon hoisted the struggling mare high into the air, so that none of her hooves were touching the ground.
As Rainbow Dash attempted to grab onto the talons that were choking her, the griffon leader grinned. “Fräulein Dash, I have suffered through your pathetic attempts to stop me for far too long. First, it was the cheese debacle. Then, you destroy my subsurface watercraft! Then, you ruin my attempts to steal the moon from the Lunar Princess.”
Steal the moon? I would like to see that freak try.
“Now, Rainbow,” he whispered into her ear as he pulled her closer to his face, “I will end your persistent, yet futile, attempts to stop me from—”
BAM!!
Rainbow kicked out with her rear hooves as hard as she could, catching the off guard griffon in his unprotected stomach. While he was still staggered, she whirled herself around, coiled back her legs, and with a strong buck, sent the monster flying through the doorway in the front of the hallway, and into the far wall. As soon as Stinkenden smashed into the front of the machine, there was a sudden lurch, nearly sending Rainbow to the ground.
Her eyes now wide with fear, Rainbow rushed to the front room. “No no no no!”
Luna followed her, and as soon as Rainbow got to the front room, she pulled the unconscious griffon off of the far wall—the “wall” now recognizable to Luna as a control console. Taking a seat, the mare attempted to grab onto what looked like a partially destroyed stick coming out of the ground, and pull it towards her. Her efforts were foiled by two things. The first was that—as Luna had just observed—the stick piece was partially destroyed, making moving it in any direction impossible. The second was that... well... she had hooves, making gripping and pulling anything highly unlikely.
Fluttershy quickly joined them the now very crowded room, and after looking over the situation, looked Rainbow in the eyes. “Are you alright, Rainbow?”
A few seconds of struggling later, and Rainbow Dash let out a yell—releasing the stick as she did so. Sighing to herself, the defeated pegasus looked out the front window, and saw that the jungle below was quickly starting to fill their vision of the world. “Well, Fluttershy, I think this is it.”
Fluttershy looked out the window for a second, before she sat down, and blinked. “Umm... Rainbow, I—”
“Fluttershy,” the cyan pegasus interrupted, though she kept her eyes on the jungle ahead, “I'm sorry that haven't been treating you well the past few months. It was mean, cruel even, and there is no excuse. I do... I do have a reason though.”
The quiet mare shook her head. “That's nice, Rainbow Dash, but—“
“All that time, it was because I was hiding something from you—hiding MYSELF from you—for you see, and now that we're going to... well... die, I have something I have to confess.”
Die? This is surely the least intelligent pony I have ever seen.
Fluttershy tried to say something once more. “That's alright, but really, we—”
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash turned around, took Fluttershy's forehooves into her own, and with tear filled eyes, confessed, “Fluttershy, I just wanted you to know, before the end, that I love you with all my heart.”
Despite the impending crash of the metal bird causing everything in the control room to roll around, Luna swore that the room became instantly still. With how motionless both mares became, the alicorn was sure that if even a pin were to drop—while it might not be heard—it would easily be seen by everypony in the room. The only noticeable things that did change in the room this entire time was the outside scene, the flowing tears of the distraught Rainbow Dash, and the incredibly heavy blush that formed on Fluttershy's face.
After another few seconds, Rainbow spoke again—her voice cracking slightly as she whispered. “Do you... do you have anything to say to me? Anything?”
Fluttershy nodded—her face showing the bright red blush even through the yellow facial hair—and with mouse's voice, whispered, “We have wings... remember? We can just fly out of the plane...”
Rainbow's tears stopped flowing. “What?”
Finally, somepony with a brain.
“Our wings.” Fluttershy tried to speak up, but her voice was still a whisper. However, she still had the enough presence of mind to open her wings halfway. “The hatch is still open. We can just jump out of the plane and fly away.”
Rainbow Dash blinked. “Oh... right... our wings.”
To that statement, the still fire-red Fluttershy slowly nodded. There was another few seconds of awkward silence between the two pegasi, before the air machine shifted down violently. Broken out of her daze, the timid pony said, “Do you... you know... wanna leave now?”
“Uhh... sure...”
With that, the two jumped up, and quickly made their way to the back of the machine. Finally making it to the door, Fluttershy didn't bother to look back before she jumped out of the metal contraption—the mare making sure to keep her wings folded close to her body to prevent any dislocated wing joints. Rainbow stood at the precipice, and after waiting five seconds to make sure that her friend was sufficiently clear, she jumped herself. Only an instant later, Luna floated out of the aircraft.
At first, she was completely alone in her little bit of open sky. It was was an interesting feeling at first—being in another's dream entirely on her own. However, the whole point of being in a dream was to be with the dreamer, so with that, she began looking for the pair. Of course, finding two specks in the sky was moderately difficult to say the least.
Thankfully, Luna was able to pick out the bright pink mane of Fluttershy against the green of the wild jungle below. That situation dealt with, she quickly teleported down to where the slow flying mare was, so that she was just above her. The timid pony was slowly gliding with a small smile on her face as she fell to earth. It didn't take long for the mare to be joined by her green-shirted companion, and together, the two flew down to one of the taller trees, and sat themselves on one of the larger branches.
As soon as she joined the two on the branch, Rainbow looked in the direction of where the machine had been heading. A few moments passed before the loud and terrible sounds of both the jungle and machine breaking and tearing apart entered all of their ears. The pegasus, however, didn't even budge. “Guess that's the end of Stinkenden Gänsegeier Kot, and his 'No-Sea' party.”
Fluttershy nodded, awkwardly rubbing her forelegs together. “Terrible that it had to end like this, though I guess they deserved it.”
“Yeah... I guess... kinda...” Rainbow trailed off, her voice dropping to a whisper as she looked off into the distance. For a time after that, the pair just sat there, with only a rubbing of forelegs or a deep sigh to break the monotony of looking at nothing. Minutes of silence passed, the two unable to snap themselves out of the awkward reverie.
If they didn't do something fast, Luna was going to see once and for all if it was possible to influence the dream by shooting every spell she knew at the two.
Thankfully, it was then that Rainbow slowly turned towards Fluttershy. “Hey... umm... Fluttershy...”
The timid pegasus looked back—the mare already sporting a slight blush. “Y... yes, Rainbow?”
“About what I said when we were in the plane... I didn't mean... I mean... what I mean is that I... uhh... I think that...” she eventually trailed off, the chromatic-maned mare completely red-faced herself now.
Fluttershy, while still flush with color, quickly donned a determined look. Standing up, she took the three steps towards her companion, and with a slight lean forward, kissed Rainbow on the lips for just a second.
Leaning back, the now twice-as-red Fluttershy whispered, “I love you too.”
With that, the two looked into each other's eyes, not entirely sure of what to say. Fluttershy now wore a smile on her face, as well as a shade of red that not even the brightest flower could match. Rainbow, on the other hoof, was completely slack-jawed at what had just happened. Slowly, she brought a hoof to her lips—as if she wasn't entirely sure that they were still there—and touched them. She pulled her hoof away, and just looked at her hoof.
She looked up, and the two mares locked eyes.
Quickly and forcefully, the two lunged at each other, and began kissing as heavily and passionately as possible. Unfortunately—at least for Luna—passionately also meant messily, for the quick kisses quickly degraded into a sloppy make-out session. It was shortly after that that Rainbow leaned back, and let her mare fall on top of her. With their bodies pressing together passionately, they—
I believe I am finished here.
Luna quickly pulled herself out of the dream, and found herself once again standing over the form of Rainbow Dash, the mare now slowly rolling around giggling in her bed. The book Rainbow was once reading had long since fallen to the ground as she rolled from side-to-side—the tome face down on the clouds below. Giggling to herself slightly louder, the pegasus was making quiet “smacking” sounds with her mouth as she opened and closed it repeatedly as the dream slightly translated into the real world.
Not wanting to intrude on such an... intimate moment, Luna turned around, and began to make her way to an open window. With a giggle, she whispered, “That mare is crazy about that pony, isn't she?”
She never got an answer to her rhetorical question, for as soon as she asked it, she propped her forelegs up on the windowsill. With a slight hop, she jumped out of the room, opened her wings, and made her way across the night sky.