Rainbow Dash was being punished again. Sunk in mud up to her neck, she pumped her wing muscles as hard as she could. Flightless, AM had taken the last of her feathers away in a fit of cruelty. She was slowly being sucked into the ground, in amongst the rotting corpses of her friends. AM was being uncharacteristically silent, Rainbow noticed. She was almost certain it would pull her out once her nerves failed. It liked to hear her scream, but it would keep her alive. It had been keeping her alive for years.
Rainbow guessed AM was brooding. That last mind game hadn't worked out how it had planned. It had given her Luna for a brief moment of comfort and hope, and then snatched her away, revealing the illusion. But instead of falling further into despair, the experience had given Rainbow a fragment of hope. Maybe this all really was some out-of-control nightmare. Maybe she could retreat from her self-loathing, comforted by the sweet delusion that she was really just tucked up in bed, safe at home.
Her nerve broke as the stench of decay overwhelmed her, the mud rising into her bleeding lips, her nostrils, her eyes. Her scream was cut short by the bubbling, oozing mass, and then she was gone. She felt like she was floating, drifting through nothing, unable to see or hear. When she next opened her eyes, she was back on the hard ground, the brown snow mingling with the soil and adding another layer of dirt to her filthy coat. Ponyville again, the ruined hulks of houses creaking in the wind, the night black and starless.
"Go on, then," Rainbow spat. "What's your next trick?"
The seconds ticked by, but no new horror emerged. Rainbow frowned, and shakily got to her hooves. Had AM just left her here? It wasn't like the computer was busy with anything else. Something was up, she could feel it. Maybe Princess Luna really was out there somewhere, giving the sadistic machine the royal shock treatment it deserved.
The sky was growing lighter. Rainbow could make out the shapes of the cottages, as warm orange light cascaded over the snowy hills and filtered through the village. The dawn grew brighter, and the dark sky turned ochre, purple, and cyan. Rainbow raised her head, and closed her eyes to bask in the sun's warmth. Birds chirped as they flitted across the roofs, and the dead branches of the trees.
"I don't think AM could manage this. Too creative," she mused. "It only knows how to destroy."
Rainbow knew who would be there when she opened her eyes. It didn't make the sight any less glorious. Princess Celestia materialised out of the sun in a burst of light, her ethereal mane flowing in swirls of pinks, greens and blues in the morning breeze. She alighted delicately in the midst of the ruins, a warm magic glow from her horn melting the snow around her to a trickle of muddy water. The birds danced around her head, and Celestia smiled up at them, before her gaze met Rainbow's.
"You're safe now, Rainbow Dash."
A dry sob caught in Rainbow's throat. It was just a nightmare. She had known that, but she had forgotten. It was so easy to forget in this place. She bowed before her Princess, overcome with emotion. She heard Celestia's graceful hoofsteps as she approached. Rainbow felt Celestia embrace her tight, her radiance banishing the last of the numbing cold from Rainbow's body.
"Hush now, my little pony. I've got you," Celestia murmured.
"This has been the worst night," Rainbow muttered. Her eyes widened, and her wings flared in alarm. "Princess Celestia! Luna's in here. I think she's trapped too. We've gotta hurry-…"
Celestia shushed the distraught Pegasus, and raised her head, her horn aglow. The ruins of Ponyville shimmered, and the village was whole again. Grass blossomed below their hooves, burned walls were layered with fresh, bright paint, and thick thatched roofs replaced gaping holes. The muddy snow evaporated, the trees blossomed, and the ashes blew away with the breeze.
"I know Winter Wrap Up is traditionally done by hoof in Ponyville, but I think my method has saved us some time," Celestia said with gentle amusement. Rainbow looked around her, blinking in surprise. She was home again. She lifted her wings, and fluttered her beautifully restored primary feathers, her expression a mixture of joy and relief.
"You can't guess how much I missed these!" Rainbow exclaimed, stepping back from the Princess' embrace to give her wings a few experimental flaps.
"A pegasus without her feathers is a sorry sight indeed," Princess Celestia agreed. "And thank you, for the small comfort you brought my sister whilst she was trapped here. Princess Luna was exhausted after spending so long in your subconscious, so I relieved her of watching over dreams for tonight. She explained to me some of the fears you were struggling to overcome."
"Oh, yeah," Rainbow shifted guiltily. "Is she gonna be okay?"
"You carry no blame for the troubles that confronted her tonight, Rainbow Dash," Celestia insisted. "Responsibility weighs heavy on us all, and it has been some time since she has held so much of it. However, I believe she may have learned something about herself from you, if that is any comfort."
Rainbow folded her wings. She guessed Celestia was right; she knew her sister better than anypony. There was still something that was bothering her, though. She hadn't woken up yet.
"So... is the nightmare over? Did you get rid of AM?"
A sinister chuckle, and a blast of freezing air cut off Celestia's reply. Rainbow's ears flattened against her skull, and she cringed. No, no ,no. It had all been a trick, another trick! This was too much for her to take. The winter would come back, and Ponyville would be a blasted ruin, and she'd never escape, never, never, never…
"Rainbow Dash, look at me," Princess Celestia commanded. Rainbow immediately jerked her head up. She looked deep into Celestia's bright, compassionate eyes. They were kind, but most importantly, they were honest.
"You are not a bad pony. You will never be a bad pony. I would be proud to have you protect Equestria as a Wonderbolt. And if I should ever be so blind as to give you an order that hurt your friends, I know what the Element of Loyalty would do."
Rainbow took a deep breath, and let it out. It was as if something had just lifted off her her heart. She trusted the Princess, and what was more, the Princess trusted she would always do the right thing. She would be loyal to the ponies that mattered most to her.
"She is mine," AM intoned. This time Rainbow Dash did not flinch. She was not afraid.
"No," Celestia answered the disembodied voice coolly. "You are just irrational fear. Like dew in the morning sun, you linger a moment, and then you vanish."
"You can't save her from me. You are as trapped as she is. You are mine. She is mine." AM reiterated. Rainbow could sense the machine was trying to wrest back control, to rebuild the world of horrors. Vague images flickered before them; Princess Luna bleeding, Canterlot burning, a familiar dark red centaur.
Celestia raised an eyebrow, unfazed by this display. "Forgive me, Rainbow Dash, but your subconscious has a rather poor grasp on what frightens me most. It's hard to startle the sun with shadows, you know."
Celestia tossed her head with a flourish, casting a spell that turned the visions into nothing more than colourful smoke. AM screamed, louder and louder until the noise was an unintelligible electronic whistling that fizzled out in a burst of static. Celestia listened dispassionately, until there was nothing but the peaceful sounds of rustling leaves and birdsong. She then spread her wings, and beamed at Rainbow.
"I believe the nightmare is over. I'm sure Princess Twilight Sparkle will be most interested to hear your thoughts on science fiction in the morning."
Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. "Er, you know, before I wake up, uh, since this is a dream and all…"
Celestia tilted her head. "Yes, Rainbow Dash?"
The Pegasus stretched her wings and grinned. "Feels like a good wind for flying, Princess."
Celestia laughed, and flapped her wings, soaring up to silhouette herself against her rising sun, a mischievous look in her eyes. "Very well, my dear Rainbow Dash. Let us see if you can keep up with me."
"Oh, it is on!"