Bedtime Stories

by Incredible Blunderbolt

Fear

It all started with a single drop. Just a little blue drop on the floor under Rainbow's belly. She probably wouldn't have even noticed it if Rarity hadn't pointed it out as she made to leave the library.

"You'll regret that Rainbow," she'd said, viciously rubbing at her mane with a dark stained towel. "Nopony slips dye into my shampoo! And look out for that paint there by your hoof."

She'd been about to call Rarity out on not understanding the intricacies of Nightmare Night pranks when she paused. "Paint?" She and Twilight hadn't painted anything since they'd moved Spike out of their room. Her eyes drifted down to the floor where, sure enough, a little wet dot of blue--almost indistinguishable from the sky-blue color of her coat--lay like it had every right in the world to be there.

"I have to get back to the boutique and was this mess out of my mane," Rarity huffed as she opened the door. She cast Rainbow a fiery look. "I trust now you're finished with me and it's somepony else's turn in the barrel?"

Rainbow tore her eyes from the dot and nodded Rarity's way. "Yeah, yeah," she said, waving her off. "It's cool, I forgive you for yelling."

Rarity spluttered and looked at her, aghast. "F-f-forgive?! Why, I never--"

"Have fun, Rarity!" Dash said offhandedly. She turned her eyes back to the paint dot.

...Dots...

[i/Where did those other two come from?

Her eyes drifted to the ceiling and surveyed the wood for any signs of a leak or wet paint. She found neither. Just wooden planks and tree branches. What the...

"Hey, Twi? Is Spike on a painting kick again?"

When Rainbow didn't get an answer from the stairs, she checked the clock and rolled her eyes. Right. Six thirty is subatomic physics time... She knew better than to interrupt her marefriend in the middle of a study session, so she shrugged decided to clean up the mess and have a talk with Spike when he got home from Apple Bloom's treehouse.

Without sparing a moment, she left for the kitchen to grab a towel. Who knew how long those flecks of paint had been sitting there? If they dried, she was sure Twilight would freak about how it messed up the color of the floor. She'd even probably demand the whole thing be repainted just to alleviate her own stress.

When she reached the kitchen, Dash grabbed a hoof towel out of the sink and, whistling, turned around to make for the lobby again. Then, she saw it. A whole trail of it, to be exact.

"Okay!" she said indignantly, "Just what the heck is goin' on here?!"

It was everywhere! Little blue dots littered the entire floor from where she was standing, all the way to the door that Rarity'd just left through. She hadn't done any painting at all, so it sure as heck wasn't her, and if it wasn't her then who the heck was it?

With a frustrated huff, Dash bent down and set about sopping up the dots with her towel. Or tried to, at least. It seemed that the harder she pressed, the bluer the floor became, and the bluer the floor became, the harder she pressed. Eventually, through grunts and groans, she'd managed to do nothing but work herself up. A bead of sweat rolled off her forehead, and she raised her fetlock to wipe it off, flicking the wetness off her leg. A splattering sound rang through the air to her left as a bunch of little wet drops hit the pots she'd left in the dish strainer the night before. Rainbow's jaw dropped. Those weren't sweat drops. Last time she'd checked, sweat drops were clear, not red--and most certainly not blue or yellow!

A chill ran down her spine as she checked her hoof. There wasn't any coloring on it at all.

"What the heck..." She gave her leg a practice shake, and watched with wide eyes as a glob of blue pulled itself out of her hoof and lobbed itself into the air, landing with a mighty sploosh onto the floor. Rainbow's heart skipped a beat, and her chest suddenly felt about a thousand times colder. Twilight had told her about this once. How ponies--good ponies who never did anything wrong!--would sometimes melt down into puddles without any explanation. It had happened to that Unicorn of the West pony from Twilight's magic book, and now it was happening to her!

Rainbow's breathing quickened sharpened. Her pulse quickened, even as tears filled her eyes, she watched a big drop of orange fall from her mane. They weren't just little drops anymore! At this rate, she'd be a pony puddle in just a few minutes! She didn't want to melt! She wanted to be a pony!

She had to do something! She had to think of someth--

Twilight!

She'd know what to do! Twilight always had the answer! She could fix this! She had to! And, Rainbow begrudgingly admitted as she scrambled for the stairs, screaming for her marefriend, on the off chance that she couldn't stop this, at least she'd get to say goodbye to the pony she cared about most in the world.

Rainbow lept to the stairs and spun around the rail without missing a motion. Walking was getting difficult, she noticed, as her legs began to shake. They were tired now, but she powered on through. She couldn't give up! She couldn't just melt like this! She reached up for the rail but, to her horror, found she couldn't reach it anymore! The stairs looked more like small platforms and reached her knees now!

"Twilight!" she screamed desperately as more blue and magenta tears flowed down her face, joining the drops of what used to be her body on the steps and riding the current of fluids down the stairs. "Twilight! Help!" There were just a few stairs left! If she could make it up them, the run to Twilight's room should only take a few seconds. She noted, as her tail finished dripping off her flank, that a few seconds might be all she had left.

"Twilight!" Rainbow heaved and hollered as she climbed the stairs. Each step was agony--a small mountain that she wasn't sure she'd ever manage to climb. The stairs were up to her mid-chest now, and growing rapidly. There was only one left, but she didn't know if she'd be able to make it.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she flapped her wings for every ounce of strength they were worth. They didn't carry her very high, but the slight boost was enough for her to set her forehooves on the top of the floor and allow her to pull herself up. A sickening squishing, squelching sound ripped through her ears as her right wing dropped a glob of blue and vanished from her side. Any other time, she would have considered the loss of her flight as the worst thing imaginable, but right now, all she wanted to do was get down the hall and find her marefriend.

"Twilight!" She raced down the hall, stumbling and staggering into the walls as her legs worked to keep her going forward. "Twili~ight!" A sob tore its way out of her chest. She couldn't see anymore! The world was black! This was it! She was going to--A sharp pain blasted her nose as she slammed headfirst into a large wooden object.

Twilight's door!

With a monumental effort, she pulled herself back and slammed her forehead against the door again. "Twilight!" she sobbed, "Open the door! I'm dying out here!" She reared on her back hooves with what little strength she had left, and placed her forehooves on the door. She didn't have to have her sight to know she wasn't even close to the knob. Then, the world gave way, and she fell...

* * * * *

"Rainbow? What's wrong? Why are your eyes closed?"

Huh? Her eyes weren't closed! They'd melted out! She was blind! She was--clenchin her eyes shut? She took a deep breath, relaxed her face and, sure enough, there was Twilight standing over her.

"Twilight!" she shrieked, wings flaring as she scrambled over to her and wrapped her forelegs around one of Twilight's fetlocks. "Help! I'm melting just like that unicorn from your book! I'm gonna--"

Wait a minute... Didn't my wing fall off? Rainbow blinked and checked her side. Sure enough, her wing was gone. But I can still feel it...

"You're melting?"

"Yes!" Rainbow screamed. "I'm--I--" Then, she saw it. Off in the corner, right where she bet Twilight knew she'd see it. Standard Illusions for Non-Standard Uses: A Beginner's Guide to Magical Pranking.

"Are you sure? You look fine to me."

Rainbow's jaw dropped. She felt so used. Twilight just... She'd...

"Maybe now you realize just how unfun your Nightmare Night pranks can be," a high-class voice chimed in from behind her. Rainbow rolled over and saw Rarity in the doorway with the smuggest of smug grins she'd ever seen.

But she'd been so sure... Twilight had told her! She thought she was going to... to...

"Die!" Rainbow screamed as tears continued to flow down her cheeks. She glared at her friend, and shot a nasty look at Twilight. "I thought I was dying!" She jumped to her hooves and shivered as she watched the illusion fall. It had all felt so real... "That wasn't funny!" Her face was hot. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. "I came up here to say goodbye, dammit!"

Rarity's smile faded a bit, and she cast Twilight a worried glance.

"Rainbow..." Twilight whispered. She reached out with a hoof. "I'm so sorry... I didn't think... It was only supposed to be a joke..."

"Just a prank, darling..." Rarity echoed softly. "We only wanted to give you a little fright, not..."

"Well you definitely made a job of it!" Rainbow yelled. Her legs were shaking. Her lip quivered. A warm foreleg draped itself over her shoulders.

"We went way to far, Rainbow," Twilight said. She pulled her close and held her tight. Rainbow squeezed her with all her might, burrowing her head into her neck.

"I was so scared, Twilight..." she said through her quivers. "I promise, I won't ever prank anypony ever again. Just don't---"

"Nonsense," Rarity interjected, placing a comforting hoof on Dash's shoulder. "We were in the wrong, darling. A simple pie would have been sufficient, but I wanted to go big, and..."

"We're sorry, Rainbow," Twilight said gently, pulling the pegasus's face out of her shoulder and looking deep into her eyes. "How about we go out for dinner to make it up to you? My treat."

"Mine as well," Rarity chimed in. "Wherever you wish to go, Darling. Money is no object."

Rainbow nodded jerkily and let a final shiver run down her spine. "S-Sure," she said. "I guess it w-was kinda funny..."

Twilight shook her head. "It wasn't. It was mean, and I promise we won't do it again. Okay?"

This time, Rainbow's nod was a bit easier, and she pulled herself back into Twilight's embrace, thankful she could still be in it. If anything, she'd at least learned to appreciate her marefriend for what she was. "Okay," she answered. "But I'm totally getting you back for this..."

Author's Note:

And another for the Prompt Tag forum. Prompt was "Fear."

Written in about a half hour; still not sure I like it.

Comments

[SIGAWESOME]

Dash be trippin'...