• Published 30th Nov 2019
  • 1,121 Views, 20 Comments

Longing for the Past - Fantasia



In another world wrought with disaster, and ravaged by conflict and war, Twilight Sparkle finds herself at wits' end from suffering heartache after heartache, and finds herself longing to return to a simpler time, when friendship was magic. Her past.

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Of Flights and Festivities

The two landed at the main street entrance of Whinnyapolis some time later, Rainbow peering over at her friend who stood just beside her. Both were out of breath, faces flushed and cheeks red, a few beads of sweat trickling through their fur.

Bystanders stopped to stare at the two, some of which were startled from the jolt that their stunt had given them.

"Sorry, Twilight." Rainbow smirked warily, softly catching her breath. "You were close... but no amount of magic will ever stand a chance against these bad boys."

"Hey, well... I'm still getting used to these, you know." Twilight cocked her head, motioning to her own wings as she gave them a little flap. "Give me a few more years, and I may just be as good as you, Rainbow Dash."

"Heh... We'll see, Twilight. You certainly have the potential, and even with the assist from your magic... you weren't half-bad—what with it being your first race and all."

Twilight's heart thumped. "You really mean it...?"

"Well, yeah!" Rainbow's brow furled concernedly. "Why wouldn't I?"

"N-no reason, just... that was really nice of you, Rainbow, thank you."

"Oh, um... y-yeah." She looked off meekly, rubbing a hoof along the back of her neck. "Don't mention it," she added in a murmur.

"Um... excuse me."

Their ears both perked up, their gazes shifting to a worried-looking townspony.

"Please don't tell me you're both here because of another changeling attack."

Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other, then giggled softly. "N-no, no, we... My friend and I just thought we'd pay this place a visit, see how you're all holding up."

"Oh, well... I can't speak for all of us, but... I'd say we're doing just fine. Say, if you're interested, the city's actually hosting a small festival celebration in the square up ahead.

And here I thought Pinkie was the only one who did this sort of thing... mused Twilight.

"Awesome!" cheered Rainbow, turning to face her friend. "What do you say, Twilight? Can we?"

"Aw, what the heck..." Twilight rolled her eyes, smiling as she gave in. "It'd be a waste not to stay a little while longer, after coming such a long ways."

Rainbow gasped, eyes shimmering with excitement.

She took Twilight's foreleg in her hoof, and galloped on ahead.

"This is gonna be so awesome!"


Twilight narrowed her eyes in concentration, her tongue parting the corner of her lips slightly as she held a ring within her telekinetic grip. She zeroed in, her mind drowning out all outward distractions and voices, letting go of her fears and doubts...

She breathed in, then out deeply... flicking the plastic ring with pinpoint precision.

The ring skidded around the bottle top, before bouncing off and landing on the floor.

Twilight's eyes slowly widened, her shoulders starting to slump.

"Sorry, Princess," the pony operating the booth said. "We're grateful for what you and your friends did for us, but a loss is still a loss."

Twilight lowered her head disappointingly, turning away with a heavy sigh.

"Maaan... These games are rigged, I swear..."

"Hey, don't let it get you down. Come on, let's find something else to do!"

Rainbow's words managed to lift her spirits, as she looked to her with renewed enthusiasm.

They continued down the midway, running across several more games of chance and skill.

Twilight wound her foreleg back before giving a baseball a toss... only to have it strike the pyramid of milk bottles with little force, barely even managing to nudge them. The ball fell pitifully to the ground, Twilight bowing her head in dismay.

"Let the pro show you how it's done, Twilight," Rainbow said smugly, taking a ball into her own hooves, and winding up. She cracked her neck, and let loose, the ball whirling through the air, practically invisible to the naked eye.

It slammed into the center of the pyramid, sending the empty bottles shooting off across the inside of the stall.

"Winner!" the game operator announced, tentatively standing back up after having ducked to the floor.

"Heh... Nothing to it," Rainbow boasted, leaning back casually against the counter.

Twilight stared back at her dryly.

"Er... f-for me, that is." Rainbow chuckled nervously, catching a glimpse of her friend's unamused look from the corner of her eye. "We'll find something you're good at Twilight, I promise."

Twilight looked off indifferently with a slight nod of her head, soon finding herself standing before another stall, now holding a dart in her telekinetic grip.

"This is a game I just know you can win, Twilight!"

"Are you sure that you're not just going to show me up again?" Twilight murmured bitterly.

"Me? Nah, not this time, Twilight. Besides, darts and hooves don't really mix, I mean... I don't wanna end up accidentally nailing some poor pony by mistake or something."

The pony in charge tensed upon hearing her, and nervously backed away from the two.

Twilight breathed out, honing in on a particular purple balloon, and giving the dart a flick with her magic.

A loud pop rang out, causing her mind to go blank for a moment, not at first processing what had just happened.

Then a giddy smile spread across her lips.

"I did it... I really did it!" she exclaimed, placing her hooves around, and shaking Rainbow by the shoulders elatedly.

Rainbow herself, softly laughed at her friend's enthusiasm.

"W-what did I tell you, Twilight? I knew you could."

Twilight blushed, her whole body freezing up. "You did, didn't you..."

"Now let's find you more games that you're good at!"

Twilight snapped back to reality, nodding back at her in agreement, and before she knew it... landed flat on her back, staring up at the rope ladder above her.

She let out a wary groan, peering up at the sky above through half-lidded eyes.

"Yeeeah, so... maybe we should steer clear of games involving upper-arm strength from here on out," remarked Rainbow, looking down at her from her own rope ladder with a meek expression.

Twilight deadpanned over at her.

"You think?"

Rainbow grinned sheepishly, plopping down beside her friend, before helping her to her hooves.

They had only just began to move on, when Twilight pointed out another game to their left. A test of strength, involving a switch and giant mallet.

"Really, Twilight?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow as she turned to her. "Didn't we just agree that games involving upper arm strength—"

"I remember, I remember. Just... trust me, alright?" Twilight winked at her, smiling slyly. "I have an idea!"

Gripping the handle in her telekinetic grip, she whipped it forward without any effort, and it came crashing down so hard that it shook the ground slightly. The bell at the top rung out, and Rainbow, who stood mere feet away, sheepishly shrunk back.

"Winner!"

"Heh..." Twilight grinned proudly. "I may not have a whole lot of foreleg muscle, but I've got strength where it matters most," she declared, wielding the over-sized mallet with ease.

Rainbow gulped.

"No kidding..." she murmured, sweating nervously on the inside as her pupils shrunk.

They handed off their prizes to some young fillies when a festive music slowly grew, filling the air and capturing their attention.

"The festival dance is starting! You'll be participating, won't you, Princess?" one of the fillies asked, hopefulness in their voice.

Twilight blinked. "A dance? Well, I... don't see why not. Won't you join me, Rainbow?"

She turned to her friend with a hopeful look of her own.

"Heh, are you kidding? Of course I will!" She grinned back at her in determination. "Time to show these ponies my Pony Prance!"

Twilight gasped excitedly. "You know the Pony Prance? That's my favorite dance! You remember my birthday last year?"

I remember it not quite going as planned, Rainbow reminisced, nodding absentmindedly.

Twilight moved her head closer, lifting a hoof partway over her mouth as she whispered coyly, "I may have whipped it out late into the night. I... think my moves were too hot for them."

Rainbow stared back at her incredulously just as the announcer spoke up over the speakers throughout the square.

"Okay, everypony," they announced, "get your pony pal, and come along!"

Twilight giggled, grabbing Rainbow by her hoof, and urging her into the crowd.

Twilight stepped in time with the beat, swaying her body along with the music. She hoofed it onto the dance floor, rearing up and rocking her forelegs to the rhythm. Her head bobbed back and forth, her body kneeling forward as she bucked her hind legs into the air.

Before her, Rainbow casually pranced away, watching her friend's own dance moves with a humored smile.

"That's it, Twilight! Just keep with the flow, and let yourself go!"

Twilight responded with a joyous giggle. "You don't have to tell me twice, Dash!" she exclaimed, continuing to kick her hooves. She unfurled her wings, pumping them in tandem with her steps.

Rainbow grinned, watching as her friend got more into it, and jumped while extending a foreleg, performing a quick hoofstand. She smiled up at Twilight daringly, her friend staring back at her, momentarily amazed before smirking in response... silently accepting her challenge.

She stepped back rhythmically, igniting her horn and pressing into the ground before performing a short sideways spin through the air. She nailed her landing with the use of her magic in a graceful, ballerina stance, peering over and raising a suggestive eyebrow back at Rainbow.

Showoff. Rainbow glared back at her playfully. A daring idea soon popped into her head, and, swallowing down a nervous lump in her throat, chose to act on it. She hopped into the air as the onlookers clapped their hooves in time with the music, and glided over to her friend, pulling her close and literally sweeping her off her hooves.

Some of the girls in the crowd giggled among themselves at the display.

A blush crept quickly into Twilight's cheeks, her heart skipping a beat as she stared into the eyes of her friend in surprise.

"R-Rainbow—?"

Rainbow grinned back at her. "We're supposed to be dance partners, right? so we should be dancing together!"

Before Twilight could get a word in edgewise, she pulled away from her, throwing her free foreleg to the wind while keeping her other hoof interlocked with her friend's. "What do you say, Twilight? Wanna give these townsponies a show?"

Twilight stared back at her, her lips forming a determined smile. "You're on."

They continued their dance, spinning around in each others' arms, then pulling away from the other only to draw the other back in close. Twilight brushed up against her pegasus friend's chest, and was struck with a pleasant chill.

She had to admit... it felt sorta nice, being held in her friend's embrace like this.

Magic began emanating from them both, creating lingering rainbow streaks, and shades of purple that soon resulted in a vortex of color and stars that blew the competition away, and left onlookers mesmerized.

The color soon faded, though a rainbow hue remained as the two lowered themselves to the ground, panting softly with faint blushes in their cheeks.

A moment later, and a tremendous applause broke out.

"Well, I... think it comes as no surprise that Equestria's newest princess and her special friend stole the show!"

Rainbow grew a little rigid, her face turning beet red. Twilight on the other hoof, stared ahead, none the wiser.

"Special friend...?" She turned towards her with an auspicious look. "That's a funny way to put it, but I'd say so!" She smiled, nudging her friend's side. "Huh, Rainbow Dash?"

"Um, Twilight..." Rainbow brought a hoof to the back of her head, scratching it nervously. "I-I think what they mean is—"

Twilight threw her forelegs around her shoulders, bringing her cheek to nuzzle her own. "This was so much fun! Thank you, Rainbow."

"Heh..." Rainbow eased up, smiling softly as she returned the nuzzle. "No problem, Twilight."

Twilight giggled as she drew away, Rainbow noting the sheer excitement in her friend's eyes—like she was currently on top of the world.

"Come on," she said, taking one of her hooves in her own, and urging her forward. "This way. The day's still young, and there's so many more festivities left to partake in!"