//------------------------------// // 18. Dinner and Dreams // Story: Cheated Dreams // by Kodeake //------------------------------// Cheated Dreams Chapter 18 Dinner and Dreams For the second time that day Twilight found herself pounding on a door in the Canterlot suburbs. Her face was set in an angry and impatient scowl as her relentless hoof continued to knock against the hard wood door. It'd be easy enough for her to simply blast the door of its hinges with her magic, but she didn't want to risk Shadow Charm going after her with any legal matters, especially when her case against the Wonderbolts was already walking on thin ice. So instead she resigned herself to knocking. Loudly. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity of the loud banging, the door opened to reveal a frustrated Shadow Charm. His annoyed scowl dropped when he saw who was at his door. “W-what do you want?” He asked shakily, hiding his body behind the door. “I already told you everything I know. The pegasus will have my head if she found about it!” Twilight lowered her hoof – which was probably bruised from her incessant pounding – and smiled sweetly. Shadow Charm flinched; he recognized that overly-sweet smile. “Hi, sorry to bother you again, but I seem to have left my saddlebags here when I left. You wouldn't happen to know where they are, would you?” Shadow swallowed nervously. “Uh, one moment, miss, I'll go fetch them,” he said quickly, before slipping back into his house and closing the door. Twilight waited outside for a few moments in silence, occasionally glancing back over her shoulder to Rainbow Dash, who stood a few steps behind the unicorn, scowling at the door. Eventually, the door opened again, and Twilight's saddlebags floated out. “Ah, excellent,” Twilight smiled, lighting her horn. She paused, looking over to the stallion in the door, their eyes meeting. “I trust nothing's missing?” “N-no, miss, everything is as you left it,” Shadow answered quickly. Too quickly for Twilight's liking. She nodded slowly, accepting the bags into her own magic. Shadow Charm attempted to close the door, but was stopped by a familiar magic aura. “These bags are two thirds of a pound too light,” Twilight deadpanned. “I-I have no idea what you're talking about,” the stallions replied, once again trying to shut his door. “Is it possible your weighing is off?” Twilight rolled her eyes, forcing the door open. “No, my weight is not off. I always know what my bags weigh, and I also happen to know that the crystallized aura was exactly two thirds of a pound. I don't suppose you removed that?” Shadow Charm wilted, taking a few anxious steps back from the unicorn. “I-I...” he trailed off nervously, eyes glued to the ground under the intense glare Twilight was giving him. Suddenly, he seemed to have an answer, as he held is head up with a slight smile. “It's too late; I already smashed it. You don't have any proof now!” He proclaimed proudly. Twilight sighed in annoyance. “I appreciate the effort, Mr. Charm, but your magic is not strong enough to break the wards I had to place on that sphere to keep the aura contained. By the very nature of the containment my spells had to be stronger than your aura.” Shadow Charm hung his head low. “Fine,” he grumbled quietly, lighting his horn and bringing forth the recognizable reddish brown sphere of aura from another room in the house. Twilight smiled, taking the aura in her own magic and depositing it safely in her saddlebags before securing them to her back. “See; it's not so hard when you’re honest with me. Now then, we have a few matters we need to discuss.” The dark grey stallion looked up in surprise, having assumed they were done. When he saw the look Twilight was giving him, he resigned himself and stepped to the side. “Let's at least do this in private. I actually have a rather good reputation that I don't want too badly damaged by this.” Twilight rolled her eyes again, walking once more into the stallion's house. Rainbow followed behind her, and soon they were once again in Shadow Charm's sitting room. “What's this about?” He asked. He didn't sound scared of Twilight anymore, he just sounded tired – like he just wanted it to be over. “We'll need you to come to Cloudsdale in a couple days so you can testify to the Wonderbolts that you were paid to place the enchantment on the necklace,” Twilight explained, once again sitting in her chair calmly. “W-what?” The stallion asked in disbelief. “I can't! I took the payment and I’ve already done too much against my contract. She'll kill me!” Twilight sighed, settling into her chair. “That's not our problem. Either you come to Cloudsdale to help clear Rainbow's name, or I drag you to Cloudsdale where I force you to help clear Rainbow's name. Either way we win and you lose. One way is just a bit more pleasant.” “Y-you can't force me! I can just tell them you're forcing me and it will make you two look even more guilty!” Shadow exclaimed desperately. Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Somehow, I don't think you'd do that,” she threatened darkly, adding to the effect by lighting her horn briefly, making a light breeze start to blow through the room. Shadow got the message as he shrunk back in fear, covering his eyes with his hooves. “A-alright! I... I'll go to Cloudsdale with you...” Shadow Charm trailed off, lowering his hooves only when he felt the wind stop. “Excellent. We'll come for you when we're ready,” Twilight chirped happily. “Until then, goodby, Mr. Charm,” she continued, standing from her chair and making her way over to the door. Rainbow made to follow, but stopped herself, turning around and glaring down Shadow. “Don't even think of running; we found you once and we can find you again.” With those final words, Shadow nodded his head frantically, indicating he had no intentions of running, and Rainbow trotted off, following Twilight out the door. Shadow remained in his chair as her heard his front door close, staring wide-eyes at the roof. “Neon's going to kill me,” he muttered in equal parts shock and disbelief. He stood, making his way into his kitchen to brew some nice, relaxing tea. “Neon Lighting is going to kill me.” -_-_-_- “I want to punch him so bad,” Rainbow fumed, slamming the door behind herself as she exited Shadow Charm's home. “I know you do, Rainbow, but that will only hinder us,” Twilight sighed, keeping her pace up as she left the house's yard and turned down the street, waiting a moment for her pegasus companion to catch up. “That doesn't mean he doesn't deserve it,” Rainbow grumbled, falling into step beside Twilight and trotting down the street in the direction of their hotel room. The sun was starting to make it's way towards the horizon, and would be down in just over an hour. “Speaking of, what you did earlier, what was that?” Twilight tilted her head in confusion, glancing over at the pegasus. “When?” “Before.. well, before I overreacted and went off, the thing with the wind and the glowing eyes and stuff,” Rainbow clarified, bringing a deep frown to Twilight’s features. “Oh... that. Just a couple simple spells combined for effect. I didn't want to scare him as badly as I did, but I'm pretty sure it's the only way we would have been able to get him to tell us anything,” she explained. “Just effect or not, it was pretty awesome,” Rainbow said. “And you pulling out the 'Celestia's student' card was a nice touch.” Twilight blushed deeply in embarrassment at the compliment. “Well... she wouldn't be too happy if she found out about it, so...” “Hey, I'm not gonna rat you out. Personally I wouldn't blame you if you actually did do something to him.” “You won't, but others won't see it that way,” Twilight noted. “Anyway, tomorrow we'll go to Cloudsdale and find this Neon Lightning... though I have no idea how... it would be a lot better if Shadow Charm actually knew who she was,” Twilight scrunched her brow in thought, her legs on autopilot as they navigated through the relatively quiet street. The odd pony was out, going home after a long day of work or stopping for dinner. As they passed by a particularly good smelling restaurant, Rainbow's stomach let out a loud rumble. “Hungry?” Twilight teased, laughing as Rainbow's face grew a few shades redder. “We'll get some room service back at the hotel. It should be relatively cheep and at the very least edible for tonight.” “Hope they have fast service,” Rainbow grumbled, trying to silence her rather loud stomach. After a few more minutes of walking, they came to the hotel they'd started from. They passed through the main doors and greeted the receptionist, who simply nodded in acknowledgement, not even turning away from her work. “Enjoy the show,” she called distractedly. Rainbow visibly winced at her assumption, knowing she should be the one ponies were coming to see. Twilight shot an annoyed glance back, but the receptionist wasn't paying any attention. Instead, she sighed, looking at her pegasus companion sympathetically before reaching out and wrapping a hoof around Rainbow's shoulders, stopping them at the base of the stairs. “Hey, don't worry about the show; we're here to fix this, so that you can be the one in that performance,” Twilight assured quietly. Rainbow sighed, lifting her head and giving Twilight a weak smile. “I know... I just hope we get to them in time.” Twilight frowned, but said nothing as she released her hoof from Rainbow's back and lead the way up the stairs. Nothing she could say would assuage Rainbow's worries, all she could do as hope she was right. Following the instructions Twilight had previously been given, they found their room without much hassle. She extracted the key from her saddlebags and unlocked the door, stepping into the room and glancing around. It was a standard hotel room; small, but not cramped. It had no kitchen, but it did have a bathroom and a basic living area with a coupe chairs and a couch against the back wall. A door on the right wall lead to a bedroom, and a closet sat on the wall next to the front door. Most of the floor was covered in plain, off-white carpet, except the entryway and bathroom, both of which had the same linoleum pattern spread out. Twilight trotted into the sitting room, glancing around. “Well, I've certainly stayed in worse...” “Whatever, where's the room service menu? I'm starving!” Rainbow rubbed her hooves together greedily Twilight rolled her eyes, walking over to a small end table next to the couch. “They normally keep the menu... oh...” Twilight trialed off, frowning at the small table. “What?” Rainbow asked fearfully, not daring to get any closer. Was this going to keep her away from the food she so craved? “Ah-heh...” Twilight chuckled nervously, levitating up a small sheet of paper. On it was a notice, telling the room's occupants that due to an event the hotel was catering, they would not be offering room service (although they made special note that the breakfast buffet was still available). “So... Restaurant?” Twilight offered weakly. Rainbow nodded firmly, walked back over to the door, and opened it. “Let's go.” -_-_-_- While it didn't take long to find a restaurant that was affordable on the admittedly limited amount of bits Twilight had brought with her, it felt like an eternity to Rainbow. More specifically, her near-constantly rumbling belly. Not too long after they had left the hotel Twilight's own stomach betrayed her, letting Rainbow know they were both in the same boat when it came to the desire for food. Every high-end and expensive restaurant they passed made their mouths water, the intoxicating aroma of food wafting out into the dimly lit street. The sun was sinking down behind the horizon by the time they finally got seats at the eatery they had chosen. While not high-end by Canterlot standards, it was much more elegant than anything they had in Ponyville, and was unfamiliar territory to Rainbow Dash. Twilight, however, seemed to meld right into her home town. Which, while not unexpected, was interesting for Rainbow to watch. Twilight played the part of a Canterlot unicorn near perfectly. If she didn't know any better, she'd have guessed Twilight had never spent a day outside of the mountain city. “Thank you,” Twilight said graciously as the waiter brought them to their table, slipping just a hint of a Canterlot accent in as she sat herself in her chair. Rainbow silently slipped into her own seat, nodding her head towards the stallion. Once the waiter was far enough away, Twilight let her posture fall. “I remember why I was so willing to stay in Ponyville,” Twilight grumbled, slouching down in her chair as she picked up her menu in a magical glow. “It's always posture with these ponies,” she continued, flipping through the pages in front of her. She continued muttering to herself quietly as she searched for something to eat. Rainbow just laughed and picked up her own menu, flipping through it briefly before finding a plain and simply sandwich. Closing the pamphlet, Rainbow leaned back into her chair, watching as Twilight continued to peruse her options. “You certainly fit in.” Twilight glanced up, levelling a glare at Rainbow over her menu. “Don't remind me,” she growled, before looking back down. Rainbow let out a chuckle, and Twilight snapped her menu shut, setting it down on the table. “I was never one for the elitist culture a lot of unicorns around here seem to have. But manners are manners and I've gotten used to using them when necessary, like getting good service...” Twilight trailed off as the waiter came around the corner towards them. She straightened her posture, and adorned her most noble of smiles. “Are you two ready to order?” The waiter asked politely, setting down a glass of water in front of each of them. Twilight nodded, and a few moments later he scampered away, their orders written on a notepad held in his magic. “A little posture and just a hint of accent will get you a lot of nice things up here,” Twilight noted, letting herself once again slouch into her chair. “Waiters and such tend to assume you're a noble if you carry yourself right; better service for you and anypony you're with.” “That's a nice trick, Twi,” Rainbow said with a smile. Twilight nodded, taking a sip from her glass. “It's not exactly the most... honest of things to do, but it's not exactly untruthful; I am the Princess's student, and my family is technically a noble family. Although not the richest of the families, we do get a certain level of respect.” “Wait. Wait wait wait. You're a noble!?” Rainbow asked incredulously. Twilight frowned at the pegasus's surprise, nodding slowly. “Technically, yes. My grandfather owns some land at the base of the mountain. Quite a bit, actually. So my family is noble.” Rainbow leaned back in her chair, keeping her eyes on her apparently noble friend. “Wow... why didn't you ever tell us that?” “Well,” Twilight fiddled with her hooves nervously, looking down into her lap. “I didn't know how you girls would react. Most ponies don't exactly have high opinions of nobles outside of Canterlot.” “I... guess I could understand that, but still! Your family must not have been too impressed with you moving out to Ponyville, though. Noble like you in a small town like that...” Rainbow trailed off when she saw the harsh glare Twilight was giving her. “I love my family – they are my family – but quite frankly I don't care what they think. They wouldn't even support my magic interests until I told them I wanted to go to Celestia's school. After that they bought me all the books I wanted.” Twilight explained, a little bitterly as she thought back. “My family isn't as stuck up as some other noble families around here, but they have their moments.” Rainbow remained silent, soaking in the new information. Just as silence had fully settled over the table, the waiter appeared with two plates, each one filled with delicious looking food. He set their orders in front of the pony who ordered them, before taking a step back and asking. “Anything else for the lovely couple?” Twilight, who had once again assumed her regal posture, lost all semblance of nobility as she seemingly choked on the very air she breathed, a scarlet blush lighting her face as she coughed roughly. “W-we're not a couple!” She cried, frantically shaking her head. Rainbow had to suppress a chuckle, her face nearly as red as Twilight's. “My apologies for the mistake, madam,” the waiter said, as stone faced as ever. “Please, enjoy your food.” With that, he quickly scampered away from the table. Twilight kept her gaze on the food in front of her, face still flushed. Rainbow was still suppressing her chuckles, trying to catch Twilight's eyes. When that failed, she cleared her throat loudly before saying, “Well this looks good. You ever been here before?” Twilight shook her head forcefully, trying to shake the blood out of her cheeks. She glanced up, briefly making eye contact before quickly looking back down to her food. “Once, before I moved to Ponyville,” she answered shortly before promptly digging in to her food. Rainbow rolled her eyes, relenting to the ensuing silence and starting on her own food. The meal passed in silence, though by the end Twilight had finally regained control of her blush and the awkwardness caused by the waiter's mistake had faded. “That was good,” Rainbow groaned appreciatively, leaning back in her chair. “Good choice coming here.” “Better than I remember,” Twilight agreed with a small smile, fishing around her saddlebags for a moment before extracting a small bag of bits just as the waiter came back to the table. Twilight didn't bother assuming proper posture as he placed the bill in front of her. “Oh, that's not bad either,” Twilight noted happily, extracting the appropriate amount of bits and placing them on the table, along with a tip – which would have been bigger had the waiter not mistaken them for a couple. With the bill and their stomachs full, they both rose from their chairs and stretched. “How much do I owe ya?” Rainbow asked, starting to walk down between the isle of chairs towards the front door. Twilight shook her head, following Rainbow out of the restaurant. “Don't worry about it; I'm more than happy to pay for you tonight. Consider it an early celebration for getting this whole mess finally sorted out. Rainbow shrugged, passing through the doors and glancing around the street, lit only by the various lamps lining the road. “If you're sure.” “I insist,” Twilight giggled, quickly regaining her bearings and leading them back towards their hotel. The journey back was passed in relative silence, only the occasional conversation was struck up between the two, but even those quickly died back down to comfortable nothingness as they walked through the deserted streets. Rainbow would occasionally steal glances over at Twilight, who would occasionally be caught doing the exact same thing. When that happened Rainbow could do nothing but laugh as Twilight turned, failing to hide her blush from the pegasus beside her. Before long they found themselves climbing a familiar set of stairs to the second floor of their hotel. Twilight fished through her bags for the key and opened the door. They walked into the darkened room, filing through the small entry hall and into the main living room where Twilight lit her horn, activating the light gems affixed to the roof and walls. Rainbow closed the door behind them. “It's pretty late; I'm gonna head to bed,” Twilight said, walking over to the bedroom door. “Lots to do tomorrow.” Rainbow yawned, stretching out her back and smacking her lips. “I think I'm gonna do the same.” Twilight nodded in understanding as they walked in to the bedroom, where two comfortable beds awaited them. Unfortunately, what Twilight was expecting and what she got were two very different things. “Something wrong?” Rainbow asked, looking curiously at the unicorn who had stopped dead in the doorway to the bedroom. “Uh... there's only one bed...” Twilight explained nervously. She turned, saying “You take it; I'll take the couch. Looks... comfortable enough...” Rainbow tilted her head quizzically, glancing back to the couch that most certainly did not look comfortable. “What are you talking about? We could just share, ya know.” “S-share? As in share the bed? Together?” Twilight stuttered nervously. Rainbow hid her laugh at Twilight's blush. “More comfortable than the couch, and it is big enough for both of us,” Rainbow shrugged, walking over tot he bed. “Why not?” “Um well I uh...” Twilight continued to stammer. She shook her head forcefully. Why was this so awkward for her? They were friends sharing a bed; there was nothing wrong or weird about that. “Sure,” she said eventually, nodding her head. “I didn't really want to sleep on the couch anyway.” Rainbow yawned, stretching one last time before crawling into the bed. “Good; after today you are the last pony that deserves to be sleeping on a couch.” “Right...” Twilight trailed off, feeling her nerves come back as she trotted up to the bed. Delaying it as long as she could, she turned her head, lighting her horn and magically switching off the light gems, bathing the room in darkness. The window let in only a small amount of light from the moon and stars outside, just barely enough for Twilight to fumble her way to the bed and lift the blankets. She slid in slowly, keeping her back to the pegasus already on the mattress and staying close to the edge. Rainbow looked over, seeing the massive space Twilight had left between them, and the fact that she was nearly falling off the edge. She rolled her eyes, reaching over with a hoof and latching it around Twilight's barrel. The unicorn let out a surprised squeal as Rainbow dragged her across the sheet, making sure she had enough space to sleep before rolling back to face the wall. “'Night, Twi.” “Goodnight, Rainbow.” -_-_-_- Twilight opened her eyes blearily, having been awakened by the odd sensation of wind blowing against her coat. What she found was not an open window in a hotel room, but rather a vast expanse of deep green grass, stretching on for as far as she could see, hundreds of feet blow her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she glanced around; the land, far below, was nothing but rolling green hills. Above, nothing but pure, unobstructed blue sky. Left to right, the horizon was a perfect circle, surrounding her on all sides, unbroken by even the shortest of mountain tops. The sun was behind her, warming her fur, providing relief from the cold winds blowing against her. She was flying. Where she was, she didn't know, but she also didn't care. High above the ground and out of reach from her anxieties, out of touch with the harsh world of reality beneath her. With no destination bogging down her mind she was free to simply enjoy the feeling she'd only truly experienced twice. So she did just that. Looping and spinning and turning in the sky, diving and bobbing and weaving to her heart's content. She felt truly untouchable. But then, just when the sun was its warmest and the wind at its most refreshing, disaster loomed on the horizon. Large, grey, threatening clouds began to fill the once pristine blue sky, turning it from a sight to admire into an object to be feared and respected. The clouds filled the sky, starting at the horizon and slowly closing in on the flying unicorn, cutting her off from the sky she had grown to know and love. Thick, dark clouds separated her from her freedom. Just as the last sliver of blue closed right before Twilight's eyes, the clouds started doing exactly what clouds do; rain. Large, watery droplets fell from the clouds, bombarding the land far below and thoroughly soaking the unicorn flying beneath them. Lightning struck the ground, the bright white streak arcing down and spearing the ground with a tremendous crack. It left a deep, charcoal coloured patch of burned land. The patch began spreading, engulfing the green grass and turning it to an endless see of black. From the black came an ocean, with massive waves and rushing waters. Rain continued to poor from the sky as the ground below was transformed entirely to ocean; not a single spec of land as far as Twilight could see. The air was filed with he sound of waves crashing down upon waves and the wind howling through her ears. Lightning continued to split the sky, the thunder coming in droves of rumbling. All around her was noise and chaos; not at all the peaceful scene she'd awoken to. Twilight began to panic, searching desperately for some safe haven from the storm that had engulfed her world. She flew as fast as she could through willpower alone, mentally pushing herself through the sky. But no matter how far or fast she went, land was not in sight. All there was was ocean and clouds and rain and lightning. There was no safe place this high in the sky, and there was no ground upon which she could hide. Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind came rolling off the chaotic ocean below, knocking her out of the sky. Without wings to stabilize herself she began falling, spinning and twirling as she rapidly approached the storm tossed waters below. A scream of terror surged froth from her throat as her body was battered by the raging gale-force winds. There was nothing between her and the water below; nothing to stop her. Nothing to save her. “Twilight!” A weak, near inaudible noise echoed through the storm. Loud enough to be heard, but not loud enough to be defined. The clouds above Twilight seemed to shift, a hole appearing directly above her. A small sliver of sky blue light slipped through, landing directly on Twilight's limp form. “Twilight!” Twilight began spinning violently as the winds had their way with her, her vision blurring as she tried to keep focused on the sliver of light above it. It was opening slowly, the ray of light expanding. “Twilight!” That time Twilight heard it; somepony was calling her name. It was a voice he recognized. “Rainbow?” She called hopefully, glancing around even as she continued to tumble through the air. The rainbow maned pegasus was nowhere to be seen. The waters were getting closer; Twilight could feel the ocean spray splashing against her back. “Twilight!” The clouds above Twilight parted completely, showing her what was above. It was not the clear blue sky she had been expecting. Rather, it was a sky blue face, with a rainbow mane. Twilight's eyes snapped open, her body automatically throwing itself upright as she gasped for breath. Rainbow barely managed to dodge Twilight's panicked motion, having been leaning over the sleeping unicorn. “Twi?” She asked timidly, “You alright?” Twilight didn't respond. She just sat there, nearly hyperventilating and with her heart racing in her chest. Her body was covered in a layer of sweat, making the comfortable temperature of the room feel like she was outside int he middle of winter. “Twi?” Rainbow asked again, a little concerned as she saw Twilight shivering. “I... I'm fine...” Twilight trailed off, her eyes scanning around the room. “It was just a dream...” she said, more for her own comfort than to answer Rainbow's question. “You sure? You were kinda screaming... pretty loud, actually...” Rainbow couldn't see Twilight's face, both because of the darkness in the room and the fact that Twilight was deliberately keeping her eyes turned away from the pegasus. “I'm sure. I suppose I can't have a near-death experience and expect to get away scott-free,” Twilight said, chuckling humorlessly at her own weak attempt at a joke. “Wait, that was about me dropping you!?” Rainbow asked suddenly, feeling a sense of guilt once again well up in her gut. “No.. no,” Twilight shook her head firmly. “I just... well, let's just say I don't like falling anymore than the next pony.” Rainbow rubbed a hoof against her forehead. “Twi I'm so sorry. It wasn't bad enough I dropped you; now because of that you're going to have issues sleeping. I wish there was something I could do to make this up to you.” Twilight turned her head, looking at Rainbow in surprise. “Who said I was going to have problems sleeping? It was one nightmare, Rainbow; hardly what I’d call worrisome.” “Trust me; if something like that effected you enough to have one dream about it, it won't be going away after one,” Rainbow muttered. “Oh... Experience?” Twilight asked, partly from curiosity partly because she knew Rainbow as right and didn't want to go back to sleep. Rainbow nodded slowly, shifting around to a more comfortable position. “Yeah, you could say that.” “Want to talk about it?” “Well... no, not really. It's not important. What is important right now is making sure you're rested for tomorrow, which means getting back to sleep,” Rainbow said sternly, making sure there was no room for Twilight to argue with her. Twilight rolled her eyes at the forced authoritative tone, but complied as she lied back down. She frowned upon feeling the result of her sweating. “Ugh,” she groaned, lifting her head from the cold, wet pillow and looked at it distastefully. “Problem?” Rainbow asked curiously, still sitting up in the bed. “No,” Twilight answered quickly, briefly lighting her horn and casting a simple drying spell, removing the dampness from not only the blankets sheets and pillow, but also her own fur. “Good night, Rainbow,” she sighed, settling back down onto her nice, dry pillow. “'Night Twi...” Rainbow trailed off. She was still sitting up, even as Twilight rolled away from her. The pegasus frowned, watching Twilight's steady breathing as she tried to get back to sleep. Twilight closed her eyes, attempting to reclaim the sleep that had once ruled over her mind and body. Every time her eyelids shut, however, her vision was filled with images. Images of a storm. Of falling. Her heart rate quickened to match her faster breathing, her eyes snapping back open. It was right there every time she closed her eyes, just waiting for her to fall asleep so it could once again enter and control her mind. She tried, again and again, to find sleep, but each attempt was met with the same result. Rainbow frowned deeply, watching Twilight's breathing race once again. It was obvious the unicorn was still scared; the pegasus could practically see her heart pounding in her chest. With a heavy, guilty sigh, Rainbow slid down so she was once again laying down. Only instead of rolling on to her side away from Twilight, she rolled towards her. With a single, fluid motion, she did the only thing she knew of that would help the unicorn sleep. She spread her wing beneath the blanket and slid it over Twilight's body, gently wrapping it around her barrel. She felt Twilight jump slightly at the unexpected contact. “Rainbow?” Twilight whispered curiously, glancing back over her shoulder. “Just try to get some sleep,” Rainbow whispered back, tightening her wing's grip. “It'll help.” Twilight nodded slowly, too tired to argue and willing to accept anything that could keep her from having that nightmare again. She got comfortable in the feathery embrace, and closed her eyes. Once again her mind was filled with he scenes from her dream. Her eyes snapped open again, catching herself before her breath could speed up a noticeable amount. Instead, she reached out with one of her hooves and grabbed the wing draped over her, hugging it close to her chest as she once again tried to close her eyes. This time, she saw nothing. Nothing but the usual blackness she associated with the inside of her eyelids. She squeezed Rainbow's wing appreciatively, smiling as she slipped into a gentle, dreamless sleep. Rainbow frowned, feeling Twilight's breathing slow to the pace recognizable of sleep. A sleep without any troubling dreams. She scooted herself a little closer to Twilight's back, wrapping her wing a little further around the unicorn's body. Twilight, in response, tightened her grip on the cyan wing in her sleep. “'Night Twi,” Rainbow whispered, closing her own eyes and falling asleep shortly after.