//------------------------------// // Rainbow's Dream // Story: The Revenge of the Sombranian Cult // by The Abyss //------------------------------// BOOM! "Mmmm...no, Twilight, don’t get up..."  Rainbow softly murmured as she slowly woke up from a dream where she and Twilight had been innocently cuddling in her bed. Shifting a little bit to find a more comfortable position, she realized that the pony that she was so tenderly cuddling with suddenly didn't feel like a pony anymore. She groggily opened her eyes and looked down, only to find that she was cuddling with one of her pillows. With a cry of dismay, she chucked it across the room and watched as it impacted the cloud wall with a less than satisfying thud. With a sigh, she looked out the window and realized that it was already late in the afternoon. She threw the covers off of herself and slipped out of bed, heading for the bathroom. Flexing her wings, she hopped into the shower, turned on the hot water, and relaxed as the warm water cascaded over her body. Her thoughts drifted back to her dream as she enjoyed the warmth of the water, her hooves slightly sinking into the bottom of the tub. Ever since she and Twilight had started reading books together, she started to feel something more than platonic friendship. Since that first time they read a book together, she cherished the time that they spent together, leaning against each other. At the time, she wasn’t sure what those feelings were, but she knew exactly what they were now. She had no idea how, but she had fallen for one of her best friends. During the past couple times that they read together, she had tried build up her courage to tell Twilight about her feelings, but she always lost her nerve at the last second. The only thing that held her back was the fact that she was afraid that Twilight would reject her. “Gah! Why am I so bad at this sappy romance stuff?” Rainbow thought, stomping her front hooves in anger. This whole situation had been driving her crazy the past couple of weeks. If she wanted to get on with her life, she knew that she had to talk to Twilight about her feelings sooner or later. So, her determination building, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as her heart pounded loudly in her chest. Today would be the day. Today she would mare up and confess her feelings to Twilight. She grinned nervously to herself as she turned the shower off, her tail twitching anxiously. Hopping out of the shower, she quickly dried herself off with a towel and shook her mane, letting it return to its usual shape. She trotted downstairs and confidently walked right out the front door, but her grin faltered slightly as an ominous black storm met her gaze. Rain pelted her fur as she examined the storm, the likes of which Ponyville was unaccustomed to. Several bolts of lightning struck the ground off in the distance, massive thunderclaps echoing through the air. BOOM! She jumped in surprise, the hair on the back of her neck standing on edge, as a bright bolt of lightning struck the ground directly in front of her cloud house. “So that's what woke me up...a stupid storm! You won't stop me from talking to Twilight today!” She stretched her legs and bit back a yawn as she prepared to fly toward Ponyville. Another bolt of lightning slammed into the ground near her house, quickly followed by a loud clap of thunder. Deciding now was as good a time as any, she threw herself off her cloud, the wind and rain assaulting her relentlessly, limiting her visibility as it came pouring down in sheets. As she flew over Sweet Apple Acres, she glanced down, seeing most of the apple trees being violently blown from side to side. She looked back up just in time to see a bolt of lightning appear just mere inches from her left wing, the bright light blinding her. She blinked her eyes repeatedly, the dots in her vision slowly clearing. Below her, the lightning bolt had set a small bush on fire, only to be quickly put out by the rain. She sighed in relief and thought, “This is ridiculous! I need to have a chat with the weather team... this storm is out of control!” She tucked her wings closer to her body, and dove closer to the ground as she picked up speed. She darted above the town, quickly covering ground as she headed straight for the library. Below her she could make out a dim magenta glow, the hazy figure of a purple mare barely visible through the downpour. She increased her speed, a grin growing on her face as the rain revealed the familiar form of the town librarian. Her heart fluttered in her chest suddenly, her stomach tossing nervously. Her eyes lost focus as she suddenly imagined Twilight saying that she shared her feelings... Her eyes flew wide as she twisted to the left, narrowly missing a bolt of lightning that had appeared before her. Another bolt slammed down ahead of her, but she just banked to the right and sailed past it. A flash of agonizingly bright light suddenly filled her vision and pain shot through her entire body. The world blurred before her, a dull ringing filled her ears as the smell of burning fur assaulted her nose, and her eyes drifted shut as she blacked out, a flare of magenta light being the last thing that she remembered. As Twilight trotted down the muddy road, she thought, “I sure am glad I was able to restock my studying supplies before Davenport shut his store for the storm. I was really low on quills, and Celestia knows I can't have a proper study session without them! I really wish he would stop trying to sell me a sofa every time I see him, though, that’s getting kinda annoying...” She looked up, smiling as she watched rain pelt the shield spell above her. She had altered her brother's shield spell from an anti-changeling shield to a shield to block an even greater evil; the rain. She smiled at her ingenuity, giggling to herself as a bolt of lightning splashed across the magenta shield, which slightly brightened as it absorbed the energy from the lightning. She had added a twist to the spell that attracted lightning, harnessing its electric power and its kinetic energy to fuel the spell, resulting in a self-sustaining, hooves-free magical umbrella. A second bolt of lightning struck the shield as a pair of window-shaking thunderclaps echoed across the small town. She frowned as a third thunderclap followed the first two, her eyes lifting to the sky above her. “Three thunderclaps...but only two bolts of lightning hit my shield,” she thought as she examined the sky, her eyes narrowing as she saw a shape darting below the rolling storm clouds. She sighed as a flash of light revealed a familiar cyan mare, her wings trailing dramatically behind her. “Wow, Rainbow is pretty early for reading day... She isn’t supposed to come over for at least a few more hours.” She watched in concern for a moment, her nerves slightly on edge. She couldn't place a hoof on it, but she had a very bad feeling about...something. Her eyes narrowed as she squinted through the rain, her heart turning to ice as she realized Rainbow was plummeting out of control towards the ground. She ran forward, her horn flaring a magenta light as she aimed at the falling mare. Her heart beat quickly, almost painfully hard in her chest as she gathered her magic, charging it for one desperate spell. She banished her shield and released the spell, biting her lip, hoping that her aim was true. Twilight cried out in joy as she watched Rainbow’s limp form suddenly glow with her magenta light, her descent slowing to a mere crawl. She swayed suddenly, her eyes drooping from exhaustion. The amount of energy she had just spent saving Rainbow’s life had been enormous, nearly draining all of her strength. With what little energy she had left, she unsteadily trotted up to the hovering mare and winced as she caught sight of Rainbow’s burnt fur. Knowing she had to help her friend, she turned sluggishly, pulling Dash behind her as she trudged the remaining distance to her house. She sighed in relief as she finally pushed her door open, a warm heat drifting over her fur as she stepped inside. “Oh my gosh, Twilight! What happened?!” Spike asked, his eyes full of concern and bewilderment as he caught sight of Rainbow’s still-smoking form.   “Not now, Spike!” Twilight said, her voice thick with worry as she gingerly laid the mare down on the table in the center of the library. She raced over to the shelves and started to levitate a stream of books in front of her, searching for anything that could help with treating lightning bolt strikes. "I need you to help me search for any books that deal with treating burns!" she yelled, hoping that she wasn't too late. “Wha...where am I?” Rainbow asked in confusion, shaking her head as she slowly woke up, not recognizing her surroundings. She looked around in worry as she realized that she was no longer in Ponyville, a frown on her face as she saw smoke twisting and flowing in every direction, limiting her gaze to only a few yards. She stood, her eyes widening as she suddenly remembered what had happened. “Ok, I was struck by a lightning bolt...then I wake up in a mysterious and smoky... place.” She frowned, her eyes scanning the area around her. Hearing a small noise from behind her, she quickly looked over her shoulder, searching the smoke for any movement. When she didn’t see anything, she glanced down, examining her cyan coat for any blemishes. To her immense surprise, the fur was clean and was not burnt in the slightest, and her mane was even finely combed. She sank to her haunches, a hoof scratching her chin as she thought, "Okay, let's make sure I have this straight. I’m flying over Ponyville, I get hit by a lightning bolt, and I wake up... here, wherever here is, and somehow I am perfectly fine. I don’t even have burn marks in my coat!" She froze suddenly as she realized what must have happened, a hot anger suddenly filling her entire body. “Wait! I bucking died?!?” she screamed in rage, her fur standing on end as she slammed her hooves on the ground. “No! No! No No NO NO!” she yelled to the swirling smoke, her hooves making deep imprints on the ground. She threw herself backwards, her wings splayed out at her side as she panted. She flapped her wings, determined to fly as far away as she could as she lifted herself into the air. She picked a random direction and sped through the smoke blindly. She flew and flew, her wings slicing through the air, her lungs screaming for air. She flew for what felt like miles, but after seeing nothing but smoke, she dejectedly returned to the ground with a heavy heart, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Upon landing, her limbs suddenly buckled under her and she collapsed, falling to the ground as her tears streamed down her face. “I don't wanna die; I’m too awesome to die! I was gonna tell Twilight how I feel about her; how I want to be more than just her friend!” She had been so close to telling her, and now she would never have the chance. “Twilight! I wish I could see you one last time... I'd tell you everything...” She moaned, despair clear in her voice. She cried, sobs wracking her body as the tears poured down her muzzle. Eventually, she cried herself out, resting her head on her forelegs pathetically.  She lifted her head suddenly, her ears cocked to the side as she heard soft hoofsteps approaching her, echoing throughout the hazy smoke. “This is it...” she thought to herself, trying to make herself seem strong. She sat up, resting herself on her rear as her tail twitched nervously against her back. She peered ahead, her ears twitching nervously as the hoofsteps grew closer and closer. She gasped in surprise as Princess Luna suddenly emerged from the swirling smoke, her eyes flashing a dull silver as the smoke moved around her imposingly. The princess of the night approached Rainbow, who shivered slightly under her imposing, yet slightly comforting gaze. Rainbow clenched her eyes shut, fearing what Luna was going to do to her, but to her surprise, she felt a comforting hoof start to rub her back. She opened her eyes and saw that Luna had sat down next to her, smiling at her reassuringly. “Calm yourself, Rainbow Dash...it is not yet your time...” Luna said, her voice echoing through the smoke. As Rainbow was about to ask why she was here, Luna’s eyes suddenly glowed brighter, and Dash blinked, her eyes impossibly heavy. She stared at the princess through half-lidded eyes, her tongue growing heavy in her mouth. “What are...” she started to ask, suddenly slumping to the ground as she drifted off into a deep sleep.