"The depths of a filly's mind, truly infinite."
"Maybe she's dreaming about her first love. Their first date, away from her own boat. Trotting through the forest, both already drenched by gentle rain encompassing them without either of them noticing. And how their lips finally would meet in an incredible kiss."
"Talk for yourself. My first attempt took it just far enough for the ditch to hurt. I'm fairly certain that she'd dead after all. Did you know that, lacking other characters, ponies like her will often fill their fantasies with camouflaged versions of those they do know?"
"I wonder how her dearest mare may look."
"I wonder how far off she'd jump if I was to startle her right now."
"Midnight, no. You don't do such things to your own filly, or anypony else's."
"Really? I could teleport her onto another sunscreen and she probably wouldn't notice. Or perhaps just a bit of illusion magic. That's always fun to be had."
"Why are you so mean? Show her a little mercy."
"The same mercy I was given? The mercy that allowed my own mother to see me grow up, to see me become more than ever before?"
"The mercy that let you become a good pony regardless."
"If only you knew. Besides, she stole all of the delicious ice cream she made me eat. You know how frustrating it is to know that all that goodness will be right back out of you in a few months? We need another, and you'll be carrying that one."
"The moment you're ready."
"Great, let's try right as soon as never. Speaking of the demon within." Midnight poked at Daylight from below, forcing her attention back into the present. "How are you doing up there? Since you haven't noticed, it's now evening down here in reality."
Daylight looked up. The sun barely still held itself in sight, lighting up the sky around it with fire brighter than rubies. Scraps of clouds formed the only shadows, stealing colour to show their own existence. "How much time has passed?" She hopped down into the sand with only a bit of magic helping her on the way.
"Enough to be about time to go home." Twilight closed the bag and flung it onto her back. "Say goodbye to the sea."
"That went quickly," said Daylight, latching into tandem with her favorite parent. "Did Mommy Twilight ask Celestia to lower the sun extra early today?" A realisation flooded Daylight's mind with explanations and conclusions so fast that she struggled to remain focused. "Or did she even do it herself?"
"I don't know, but that's entirely possible." Midnight shifted a glance over to Twilight, who gave back only a tired look. "Maybe she actually is a princess already, and is just hiding her wings below all that pudge. Ha, imagine that."
"That would be a blessing, wouldn't it." Twilight's eyes found the horizon as they walked away from the beach. While the sun still stood on one end of the sky, shadows encroached from the other. Daylight knew it wasn't going to be much longer until everything would be engulfed, especially with the tall buildings around them devouring even the remaining light. "To soar above what other ponies can even imagine."
Midnight prodded her in the side. "Still with us, squirt? Didn't expect you to miss such an opportunity. Well, speak for yourself, Sparkle. I think we are all far better off with magic."
"Why? I'd like to fly." Thanks to training and focus, Daylight managed to ignore the clouds calling to be her landing places in the sky.
"Magic can make wings. Wings can't confer the inherent grace that comes with even basic spells." A slight breeze out of multiple worlds cleared the hair out of Midnight's face. "I know what I choose. Besides, there's less to it than you think."
"I've used a winging spell on her in the past," said Twilight, coming comedically close to Daylight to prevent being overheard. "Fascinating results each time."
Even though Daylight was hardly tired, she was lifted onto Midnight's back. "If you'd been there, you would have run from that deer too. Take that as a life lesson, cuddlebags. They're evil."
"I'll remember that." Looking up from within her mind, Daylight spotted the enormous hall towering above even the surrounding buildings. "Hey, there's the station already."
As they entered, Twilight dashed ahead to check the schedule, muttering something along the lines of "Blind fantasisers." Daylight didn't notice; She was busy admiring rays of light that fell in through the wide windows. An equine figure was stained into the largest one, though she could not make out who it was supposed to be, not with the sun directly behind it. It depicted a princess with a pure white coat and fiery red mane, unlike anypony she knew. More oddly, half of the picture was bathed in violet light without any visible change of glass colour. "And we just missed the train to Ponyville. Beautiful."
Midnight brought them to a map of Equestria. "Sparkle, why do we even bother with the train, anyway? We could just all teleport back. How is this way different than going between Ponyville and Canterlot?"
"They don't have stations like this one in Canterlot," said Daylight. Still the window fascinated her. Something was simply different about the trains' clouds when they wandered into the violet section.
"No, we don't." Twilight fell silent for a moment and studied the map. A reflection of the light coming from the window fell onto Canterlot's location, bathing the castle in its inexplicable glow. "Still, what do you intend to do? Travel across a distance of roughly seventy kilometers, one of us with a passenger, if possible without missing the mark or tearing ourselves apart?"
"Your point being? All that you really need to do is multiply the spell's current power supply index by the speed of magic while keeping an empty mind so that the Blind Eternities can't tear your mind and body apart. Simple."
"Fair enough. You're the doctor, I suppose." Before another word was spoken, Daylight felt the pull of magic surround and disperse her. In the brief moment that they remained within the flow of magic itself, she always thought to see a shadow bearing over them. However, reality welcomed them back before she could even realise it, much less hope to get a second glance.
Shadows melted back into the shapes of the Ponyville Library. They had arrived. "Who needs money for anything when you have seventy percent success rate magic?"
"Those interested in keeping their heads, maybe." Rather unlike her usual dust-sorting attitude, Twilight dropped the bag in the first corner she could find and slumped herself onto one of the sofas. "Speaking of which, I think it's definitely your turn to make dinner."
"Very well." Daylight was guided back to the ground at last. "Come along, little one. It's time to teach you how to feed yourself with no actual cooking skills whatsoever."
"Yaay!"
At last, Twilight could truly lay back. All of her worldly troubles and worries were left below as she had nothing between herself and the stars. In moments like that one, she knew it had been the right choice to install the platform that now carried her; Shrouded from sight by her tree's crown even in winter, unreachable except by magic, higher than all buildings around it. It was her personal sanctuary whether she needed isolation or just a good spot for stargazing. None knew of it other than she herself and the pony who just appeared in a flash of magic. "Took you long enough."
"Had to take care of a small emergency first." Midnight laid down beside her, advancing just too close for innocence. "She's a great cook, I'm telling you. Though she probably still belongs off land."
"I'm pretty sure the kitchen exploded." Feeling a light chill, Twilight forced them even closer together.
"Collateral damage." Midnight rolled onto her back and stretched out. A relaxing sigh accompanied the crackling of joints. "It's all in the past now."
"It was literally thirty minutes ago." Twilight's doubts fled as her eyes found the sky again. Canterlot was the only spot brighter still than the stars, bridging between two entirely different worlds. "Then again, what's the arguing. The town dreams gentle visions of summer." She laid her head into the infinite comfort of Midnight's stomach. "Tell me that story again. Of two ponies and the time where they walked on clouds without wings."
"Again? It's already getting cold out here." Midnight knew she stood no chance. Out of acceptance or pure reflex, she began stroking Twilight's mane. "Well. The story of the thousands of moments when any distance between them was too much."
"How they were wet throughout and out. And how neither of them even took note. Tell me exactly how it was."
"And those two were we..."