Saving the ponies Chapter 5: A deeper link
#5 of STP
Saving the ponies A new series by mavinator5
Chapter 5: A deeper link
Rainbow Dash flipped around in her bed for what felt like the thousandth time, and she'd only been in bed for 10 minutes. Since she'd left Maverick at the bar, she just couldn't get comfortable. As she flipped again, to her back this time, she sighed. 'What's wrong with me?' She thought. 'I've almost never had trouble falling asleep. After all the excitement, the energy spent, the food and drinks... I should be on the verge of passing out. I wasn't even sure if I would make it to the room, and now that I'm here, I'm wide awake.' Rainbow put her hoof over her lower chest. She'd been in pain since the moment she'd entered the room. 'Was it something I ate? Did I pull a muscle? Or is it just that again?' Rainbow asked herself. She got out of the bed and turned on the lights. The room lit up. It wasn't anything special, probably even worse than her living room back home: All that it contained was a bed, a mini dresser, a night stand and a bathroom concealed only by a thin, almost transparent curtain, unlike her home which had a much firmer and denser cloud-curtain. The walls were a faded grey and the light was so dull it barely snuffed out the shadows. Rainbow went to the bathroom and ran the water in the sink. The sound of water calmed her; she'd used it before to help her fall asleep when she had felt the pain in her chest before. It usually came for the first few days after a new human appeared. Rainbow always attributed it sadness over not being picked, again. But she HAD been picked this time. Why would her chest be hurting this time? 'Maybe it's cause by the shift in space that the drug causes.' Rainbow thought. 'No, that's just silly. I'll need to talk to Twilight about it tomorrow.' Rainbow made her way back to her bed. She lay back down, the pain as strong as ever. In fact, she could almost imagine it was slowly hurting more. Annoyed, Rainbow got up again. She still hadn't turned off the lights, but if she couldn't make the pain recede, there was no point. She took a mouthful of water from the tap despite how gross it looked and swallowed, trying to clear the after effects of the Litsy. It didn't work. Rainbow was getting really frustrated with her body. The pain was normally bad, but not THIS bad. Sighing, she extended one of her wings and counted through a row of her feathers. When she reached number 23 she plucked it out, wincing a bit. She had asked Twilight to enchant that feather for nights like this, when she couldn't sleep. She chewed the feather slowly, feeling the magic seep out of it and into her body. The drowsiness hit her like a train. She climbed back into bed without hitting the lights and fell asleep almost instantly. The sleeping spell had worked perfectly. As Rainbow lost consciousness, her last thought was of Maverick and what he was keeping him. Then her eyelids shut for the last time that night.
*****
"So, you up for it?" Maverick asked. "Why do you want to this again?" Shademane asked. He wasn't against the idea, quite the contrary; it was actually a good idea. However, Shademane couldn't understand why Maverick wanted to do something like that. "Well, I could use some money, that's for sure, and I've always wanted to try something like this. Even if it doesn't work, these ponies are too drunk to catch on to the fact that it's faked." Maverick said. "If you say so..." Shademane wasn't super interested in the reasoning. If it worked properly, he could easily make over a hundred bits from this scam. He just hadn't expected Rainbow's friend to be this... shady. Maverick walked over to the mare he'd seen playing billiards earlier. She had amassed around 50 bits at this point and it looked like she was about done with her game. The stallions and mares around her were all starting to get a bit suspicious, and she figured it best to take her money and run. "You seem like you can hold down your liquor pretty well." The mare turned and saw that a human had appeared. "I've drunk before." She said, trying to keep up the illusion of her slight intoxication. "Care for a drink off?" Maverick asked. He pulled out the bottle he was carrying with him and placed it on the table next to him along with three shot glasses. "That hardly seems fair; I've already been drinking tonight." She responded. What game was this human playing at? "And I haven't?" Maverick gave her a very subtle wink. "How about this: If I win, you buy the next round. If you win, I'll buy it." 'The next round? Does he even know how a drink off works?' The mare thought to herself. Then it hit her; this was some sort of setup. She saw the bartender hovering in the background as the ponies around them were starting to talk about bets. 'I see.' She smiled. "Alright then. But be warned; no human will ever beet me in a drink off." With that she spun a chair around and sat down at the table. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a few ponies approach the bartender, who was now taking money and writing down names and amounts. "Well?" She asked as Maverick still stood. "Hold on, we need to make sure this stuff is legit." He said, pointing at the alcohol in his hand. He quickly poured it into one of the glasses and handed it to a nearby pony. "Would you confirm that this is what it's labeled as, good sir?" Maverick asked. As the heads of the many ponies turned to the chosen third party, the mare saw Maverick quickly swap the bottle in his hand for one on a neighbouring table that looked identical. "Yep, that's the stuff alright." He said, his speech slurred ever so slightly. The ponies around the pair turned back to the bartender, making more bets on the outcome. "Alright, let's get this moving." Maverick said as he poured two shots and passed the mare one of them. "We keep going until one of us drops out or drops out." He said, laughing at his own very poorly done joke. "Wow, with a sense of humour that bad, you couldn't possibly be sober." The mare responded. She downed her glass in one shot. 'Water.' She concluded. 'Pretty smart, for a human.' Maverick followed suit, taking two swallows to finish his glass. As he put it down, he made a face. "Not my usual type of liquor. Too bad I'm new here." He was gonna try and play the odds against himself, apparently. The mare frowned. She wanted her cut of this, but losing in a drinking game to a human wasn't worth another 50 bits; not if she wanted to keep her reputation. "I bet you're thinking that this being not my type will be a downside, eh?" Maverick said. "Don't even consider it; it just means that I've tried a lot of different stuff." 'Hm, this human is tricky.' The mare continued to ponder. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the bartender still taking bets. 'And he's putting on a good show.' She took her glass back after the human had refilled it and downed it in one go again. "These shot glasses are too small. I can take well over a dozen of these before I'll start to feel anything." She said. "Too bad, the smaller the shot, the more time you have to let it poison you between drinks." Maverick offered as he downed his next glass. "I'm a pro at this stuff, girly." The mare just shook her head. Finally, the bartender was done with the betting. She saw him sit down to observe the contest. Then, very nonchalantly, as if he did this all the time, he shook out his right hoof a little, while still holding the pen. Four times he shook it, and then he leaned his head against his left hoof. 'That must be some sort of code.' She thought. Maverick noticed the motion from the corner of his eye. 'Drop out after 8, eh?' He thought. 'Well, there's clearly a lot of faith in me.' Maverick poured them another glass and downed his first this time. Now that the betting was over, all he needed to do was keep it convincing. Once the mare had finished her shot, he poured them another, and another. By the 6th shot, he started spouting nonsense, and even sloped some of the water onto the table. The mare followed along well, seeming a little clearer then he was, but drunk none the less. Finally, he came to the ninth glass. As he poured it, missing a few times, he slouched forward. "Ung, alright, you win this one girly. I can't keep it up." Maverick said. The ponies around who won cheered and gathered around the bartender quick as a flash. The losers, on the other hoof, groaned in defeat and returned to their conversations from before. Maverick stayed slouched there for a good minute, waiting until the eyes were mostly elsewhere, before whispering softly: "I'll see you in the kitchen in 5 minutes." "That was a good drink off, human." The mare responded as Maverick sat up. "I must admit, I'm impressed. I'd love to stay and chat, but I must be going." With that, she rose from her chair and teetered around to the bathroom. Maverick just sat still until he saw Shademane finish with the gamblers. Once he had, Shade returned to the bar. Maverick took this as cue and rose unsteadily from his chair. He shuffled his way across the now overly crowded room and sagged against a wall near the doors to the kitchen. He kept his head low, but his eyes were checking to make sure nopony was still watching him. Once he deemed it safe, he leaned a little to his right and gently let himself fall through the doors. Inside, he quickly stood back up. The kitchen only had about four ponies it, and they paid him no attention. A few minutes later, Shademane came in, followed shortly by the mare. "That was brilliantly done, Maverick. The ponies thought you were so determined; the great majority bet you would lose, but that you would pass out before you would give up." Shade praised him. "It was nothing." Maverick said as he turned to the mare. "You were great too. I'm glad you caught on so quickly." She just nodded. "How much was made?" She asked. Shademane smiled. "Just under 600 bits. I figured it best to divide it evenly." He said as he passed each of them a bag. The mare opened hers and rifled through it quickly to make sure she wasn't being cheated. "Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you, boys." She said as she made for the backdoor. "I'll take my leave now." Once she was gone, Shademane turned back to Maverick. "I hope you don't mind, but I lied. We actually made about 700 bits." "Honestly, I'm just happy to have money to my name." Maverick said. "Besides, you risked a lot more than I did. If I was found out, it's not like much would have happened to me, but if you had been..." "That about sums it up. I'll be returning to the bar now." Shademane proclaimed as he stepped out the doors. "Don't you do anything to Rainbow Dash. She said she trusts you, and if I find out you've hurt the feelings of one of my friends, there'll be trouble." Maverick nodded even though the bartender couldn't see him anymore. He slowly made his way back out of the kitchen to the table he and Rainbow had shared. The leftovers where still there, so he asked a waiter to bundle them up for him and bring them to room 8. With that out of the way, he drifted slowly upstairs, still trying to pull off the drunken act. As he entered the room, he saw Rainbow on the bed, sleeping soundly. He also saw that she had left the light on and heard the water running in the bathroom. He wasn't surprised; after all, she had just partied, followed by a long flight and then a huge dinner. Who wouldn't be exhausted after all that? Maverick shut off the tap in the bathroom, giving himself a quick once-over in the mirror. His stubble was starting to get long and he could really use a shower. His clothes needed a changing as well, and his acne was only going to get worse without his cleaning kit. He gave himself a mental note to ask Rainbow about a razor, shower and clothing store tomorrow. He thought he remembered a bath tub in Rainbow's bathroom, but he wasn't sure. 'At least I can pay for my own clothing.' Maverick thought as he made his way back into their bedroom. He gazed at the mare asleep in the bed they were going to share. 'Things sure went quick between us.' Maverick thought. 'By then end of day 1 we were already sleeping in the same bed.' Maverick was a little disturbed by how fast they were moving. 'It doesn't feel right. Our first kiss was nice, but not quite I was expecting.' Maverick added another mental note to ask Rainbow if they could slow down a bit. 'I'm sure she won't mind.' Maverick walked over to the light switch and flicked it off. He then felt his way slowly back to the bed. Their room had no window, which suited Maverick just fine. He hated when light filtered in through the blinds. His hands brushed the side of the mattress. Maverick tried to picture which side Rainbow had been lying on, and then realised he had to go around. His steps slightly more confident now, he reached the other side in a few seconds and slid himself under the covers, leaving a small amount of space between him and Rainbow. It felt better like this. Maverick felt the slight brush of Rainbow's tail as she flicked it in her sleep, and it's with that feeling in mind that he slowly and gratefully fell asleep.
*****
"Hello Twilight." Twilight would recognise that voice anywhere in Equestria, or out of it for that matter. It was the voice of the pony she knew the best, and the pony she could always go to if she needed an ear to talk to. "Princess!" She exclaimed, turning around. "I mean, princesses?" There, just in front of her, stood princess Celestia and, to Twilight's surprise, princess Luna as well. The pair of sister alicorns were gazing down at her, one with the small smile she always held when she saw her student after such a long period of time, the other with a worried frown. "I got your letter and I couldn't help but decide to visit." Celestia began. "You must inform me of this dream you had." "Inform US of this dream." Luna interjected. "I did not come all this way to be left out of this conversation, sister." "Yes of course. Please Twilight, tell us what happened." Celestia corrected herself. And so Twilight did. She told the princesses about the warning Trevor had given her. "He just told us to worry about Mantycus, Carrion and Darkness, so hopefully it ends there and we won't have to figure in any other evils." After that, Twilight saw fit to update the princesses about the new human and the precarious problem he posed. She also explained how Trevor insisted that Rainbow could handle him alone, but how she saw fit to intervene anyway. "You did the right thing contacting us, Twilight." Celestia began again. "However, I'm not sure how to respond to this threat." "Would it not be wise, sister, to increase the size and number of border patrols around the kingdom?" Luna suggested. "Also, perhaps we should relocate some of the soldiers from the scattered towns and cities to a more central location so they can rush to the scene of a battle as quickly as possible. We may also want to warn the citizens to keep their eyes open for any intruders in our land and we should increase the funding to the various military research teams scattered across Equestria." Luna continued. Twilight looked on uneasily. "Are you sure we should do all that just because of one dream?" She asked. "I mean, what if it was just that, a dream?" Luna turned her attention back to Twilight. Both princesses had a lot of respect for the magically inclined unicorn. "You have had dreams such as this that have come into play before, Twilight Sparkle. Surely a few precautions are to be put in place. It is nothing overly extreme that we are suggesting, merely a few ways to get an advanced warning and methods to respond to that advanced warning." Luna insisted. "It's not like we're sending the royal army to war." That made Twilight feel a little better. "What about Maverick and Rainbow? I know Rainbow will try her best to make Maverick happy, but I think we should still keep an eye on them." "About that, I'll leave it you." Celestia said. "You will be able to judge the situation better than I would seeing as you know your friend better. But listen Twilight; if push comes to shove and Maverick wished to leave, you need to convince him otherwise and, assuming you can't, force him to stay." "F-force him? But I thought we weren't allowed to do that." Twilight worried. "We are allowed to use magic or force to keep a human here, but that would mean that he is no longer "choosing" to remain in Equestria. As such, it voids him as a potential candidate for liberation. One more thing; if you are forced to keep him here, use a love spell or something similar. If Rainbow realises he doesn't want her, even if he does magically decide to remain in Equestria, then she could still tempt suicide." Celestia elaborated. "But princess, that seems so..." Twilight couldn't finish her sentence. "I know, I don't wish to do it either, but with the fate of the whole of Equestria residing in him, we simply cannot take chances." Celestia said sadly. "We cannot stay much longer. Already we are needed at the palace; Luna for the night court and I must begin making the war time preparations." "Wait, princess Luna, are you feeling better?" Twilight asked. "Oh, yes, the um... illness had passed." Luna said, blushing a bit and turning her head away. "We really should be going now." The two alicorns' horns began to glow, and Twilight was forced to blink after the slight flashes of light as the sisters returned to the castle by teleportation. Twilight stood there for a few moments as she brooded over the news she had just received. Now she HAD to make sure that Maverick intended to stay, and if she was going to keep him here, she'd rather it be by his own choice then by force. Twilight brought out an advanced spell book from her shelves. She quickly flipped to the page about love spells, ignoring all the warnings about its potential for disaster. She had to brush up on this one since she may have to cast it at any moment. "Twilight, are you okay?" Spike asked as he walked in with a pair of books in his claws. He quickly stashed one on a shelf near the door and slowly shifted the ladder over so he could stash the other. "I'm a little upset that I might have to use another mind control spell, but asides that I'm just peachy." Twilight responded, not actually being sarcastic. She returned the book to the shelf now that she felt confident about her ability to perform the spell on a moment's notice. "Come on Spike. It's been a long day and I'm sure we could both use an early bedtime. By the way, I'll be leaving on Sunday and for the next two weeks to help prepare for and watch the great Pegasus competition, so I'm leaving you in charge of the library while I'm not here." "Are you going to stay in Cloudsdale?" Spike asked. "No, I'll be leaving early in the morning and coming back in the afternoon." Twilight said. "I can't leave you home alone for two whole weeks, you're still far too young for that, but I AM going to entrust pretty much the whole library to you while I'm gone. Can you handle it, or should I ask Pinky Pie to come by and check up on you during the day?" Twilight asked. Although she didn't exactly trust the pink pony with keeping a good watch on Spike, she knew Pinky Pie would be able to tell if the dragon was in need of assistance. "I'll be fine, Twilight. It's not the first time I'll have watched over the library." Spike huffed. Twilight just smiled. "Alright, are you going to turn in early with me?" She asked as she made her way up the stairs. "Sure, why not?" Spike said as he followed her.
*****
Maverick woke the next day to the feeling of something itchy tickling his face. He opened his eyes and saw that a lock of green hair was the cause. A brief flash of annoyance later, Maverick was sitting up slowly in bed, not wanting to disturb his roommate. He had a slight after taste in his mouth, probably from the Litsy they had drunk. 'I wonder what we're going to do today.' Maverick thought. So far, their first two days had been... different than what he was used to. Maverick had never really just hung out with friends, nor had he ever had a real girlfriend, unless you can call one terrible date reason enough to make that association. As such, this was an entirely new feeling for him; not knowing what he was going to do with his day. Maverick flopped back down onto the mattress. He wasn't going far until Rainbow woke, and if her sleeping habits were anything like they were in the show, patience was going to be a skill Maverick would need to master very quickly. He needn't worry however, as after a few minutes he felt Rainbow stir next to him. To his surprise, as she slowly began to open her eyes, her wings became quite erect, poking straight up as she was lying on her belly. 'What the?' Maverick thought. As she swam closer and closer to consciousness the solidity of her wings began to lessen, although by the time she was up, they were still semi-erect. Rainbow let out a huge yawn, flapping her still hard wings a little to get them back to normal. She used to wake up with wingboners all the time, but since the arrival of humans they had become less frequent. As she flapped, she accidentally cuffed Maverick on the chin. Surprised, she turned her head and, once she saw him, immediately blushed right through her fur. Her face skipped purple and went straight through to scarlet, but she didn't say anything. Maybe Maverick didn't know the significance of her erect wings, and he may just pass it off as some Pegasus thing. "Morning." He said, making no comment on the light touch he had just received. Rainbow still wasn't sure about the situation, but looking at Maverick while he sat with his legs spread was making it hard for her to drop her wings to her sides, and being in a bedroom, alone, wasn't helping either. "Morning." She said back, trying to downplay her wingboner, which was re-hardening. She hoped out of bed and slowly made her way over to the bathroom without saying more. Maverick looked on in confusion. Did he do something wrong? Maybe Rainbow's wings were sore from all the time she was carrying him. "Rainbow, are you okay?" Maverick asked. "Fine." She responded. Maverick heard the sound of water running as she opened the tap. It was followed by the sound of splashing. Rainbow was still trying to get her wings down. She ran some water over her hooves and then splashed it up onto her face, trying to forget the dream she had had right before she woke up. Thank Celestia it had only been her in the dream or she would never have managed. A few minutes passed before she finally managed to fold her wings in. She quickly shut off the water and returned to the main room. Maverick had turned the lights on, realising belatedly that there was indeed a window in their room; he just hadn't been able to see it. The light of day shone through it now, albeit dimly due to the curtains that were drawn across it. As Rainbow returned from her brief trip to the restroom, Maverick asked: "So what's the plan now?" "I have to visit Twilight again. Something's been bothering me recently about, well me." As Rainbow said this, she suddenly realised that the pain which had kept her awake last night was now gone. It had disappeared like Pinky Pie when somepony mentioned party in a different room. Rainbow glanced over at her wing from which she had plucked the feather. It had already regrown, thanks to Twilight's magic, and it was still enchanted with another sleeping spell, should Rainbow need it. "I'm guessing you're okay with coming with me? Seeing as your only other option is to stay here." "Now that I think about it, I guess picking you would make my life a little more complicated than any of the others. After all, I can't really go anywhere on my own now, living in Cloudsdale and all." Maverick thought aloud. "So be it, I wouldn't change my mind anyway. When do we leave?" Maverick asked. "And, while I'm at it, what do we do about these?" Maverick asked, indicating the two plates of leftovers, which were already in saddle bags. "If what you said before is true, then you should be able to carry them while you're in the air, right?" "Oh, that's another thing the unicorns have done for us." Rainbow said. "Almost all of the saddle bags in this world can detect when a Pegasus drops their weight. The bags then drop their weight as well. It's amazing that we even managed to get by before we met the unicorns. Common, let's get going. The sooner we get to Twilight's, the better." Rainbow picked up the saddle bags' start and slipped it over her back. The pair walked out of their room and made their way downstairs. Maverick saw a few ponies mulling around in the lobby, most clutching at their head and groaning a little in pain. "I've never understood what could push a pony to drinking. It's such a stupid idea." Rainbow said. As they slowly made their way out of Manehatten, Maverick noticed that, although still crowded, the streets seemed... different than the previous day. The more they walked, the more empty the streets seemed to become. "Hey Rainbow, is it usually this quiet?" Maverick asked, glancing around. Rainbow, who had been absorbed by her mysterious pains, looked up and realised just how alone they were. "Oh horseapples! Get on, we might be in danger." Rainbow said. She saw a shadow move off to the side and the glint of metal in a few different spots. Throwing caution to the wind, Rainbow picked Maverick up by the scruff of his shirt and all but threw him on to her back. He barely had time to whisper "lighter" before Rainbow took off running so she could build up some momentum. Just as she began to take off, the two gangs exploded out of the side streets and rushed at each other, knives and poles and other assorted pony weapons clashing as a territory war erupted. In the air, Rainbow was trying to get away before she got dragged in to something. Luckily, neither of the gangs appeared to have any Pegasi in them and Rainbow made it away without incident. "Maverick, are you okay?" She asked before she noticed that he wasn't on her back. "NO I'M NOT!" He was desperately clinging to her as he hung down from between her front and back legs. Rainbow quickly flipped over so she was flying upside down. It was much harder to do, but for an expert like Rainbow, even with the added weight, she managed to fly straight. Maverick was still clinging to her for dear life, his face pressed into her chest and his legs wrapped around her belly. Despite the fact that they were flying, Rainbow could feel Maverick trembling against her. He was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, and Rainbow slowly angled herself downwards. Normally she would never even consider a landing on her back unless it was a dramatic ending to some super complex trick; it was considered more pathetic then a crash-landing for a Pegasus to end up on their back, but this time it didn't seem like she wouldn't have a choice. She came in slowly, trying to slow her pace to a crawl before she touched down. She managed to get into an almost perfect hover about a foot off the ground before she finally snapped her wings shut. Now that she was on the ground, Rainbow turned her attention back to the earthquake on her underside. Maverick could be mistaken for undergoing a seizure. His shaking had only gotten worse as they had flown on, and it was still climbing. "There there, it's okay, you're safe now Maverick, I got you." Rainbow whispered as she ran her hoof down his back, trying to calm him down. "Don't worry, Rainbow's got you." She kept at it for a few minutes, whispering reassurances and petting him. "We're on the ground now Maverick, it's right next to you. You can't fall anymore." Slowly, ever so slowly, Maverick's quivering calmed. Maverick had entered what could be considered a "panic zone". His mind had pretty much disconnected itself from his senses. Gradually he began to feel the soft fur beneath him and the hard hoof running between his shoulderblades. Once his sense of touch was back, he began sniffing at the air, recognising the scent of sweat and that of dirt. Next was his hearing as he heard the light purr of Rainbow's voice, trying desperately to calm him down. Finally, he pried his eyes open and gazed at her shy-blue fur, and then slowly tilted his back so he could see her eyes. He was still now; watching her like a baby watches its mother. "Better?" Rainbow asked, giving him a small lick across the forehead. Maverick just nodded and pushed his face back into her chest, nuzzling her as best a human could. Rainbow continued to pet him, waiting for him to speak up so she could be sure he was ready to keep going. 'Poor thing' she thought. She understood just how scary the thought of falling could be. Flying was amazing, and even if a Pegasus began to lose control, their innate magic would protect them from most of the damage that falling from a few thousand feet entailed. After all, if they only weigh a few pounds, they could only fall so fast before wind pressure will keep their speed constant. But Maverick wasn't a Pegasus. He wasn't born with the magic that shielded her race. Even though he could only fall so fast due to his reduced weight, he could still die after a long fall. After a good half hour of just lying in the grass, Maverick rolled off of Rainbow's chest. He stood up slowly, tottering around a bit on his unsteady legs. He almost fell back down, but Rainbow pressed her side up against him to help him keep his balance. "Are you okay?" Rainbow asked. "I'm sorry I took off so suddenly, but if I hadn't, we might have gotten hurt." Maverick just nodded again, still unable to speak. "Are you okay to keep going yet, or do you need some more time?" Another nod. Rainbow lowered herself to her knees so Maverick could get back on. It took him a few tries, but he managed to get seated again. "I'm sorry." He sighed into her ear. "Why? If anypony should be sorry, it's me. That was uncool of me, putting you in a situation like that. I should have been paying attention when we were in the city." Rainbow replied Maverick felt a smile spread across his lips. That was the first time Rainbow had used the word 'cool' in any way since his arrival. In fact, she hadn't been talking like she did in the show at all. Maverick briefly wondered if that was a side effect of the depression or if she faked her whole way of talking on said show. "If you say so." Rainbow took to the air again, more slowly this time. As desperate as she was to reach her friend's magic tree house, Maverick's peace of mind came first. She needn't worry. The city came into view much faster then she had expected. She landed in front of the library and proceeded in a much calmer manner then she had two days ago. Of course, it being a library, she still didn't fell the obligation to knock. As such, when she saw Twilight and Cheerilee making out on the couch, she lost her train of thought for a moment. She'd known, of course, that the pair had been dating for a few weeks now, but it was still weird to see her best friend with a school teacher who was at least 5 years older than Twilight. Weirder still was walking in on the couple while they were being... intimate. Rainbow gave a slight cough and the pair sprung apart, heads whipping around and faces flushed. "You do realise this is a public library right? The expression 'get a room' usually means somewhere a bit more private." Rainbow chuckled at her friend's expression. "Yes, well I should probably be going. Papers to correct and all that." Cheerilee hopped up from the couch. "I'll see you later Twi." She walked out a little faster then was necessary. "Hm, Twilight and Cheerilee." Maverick observed as he slid off of Rainbow's back. "I can see it." Twilight's blush deepened. "Do you need something, Rainbow?" She asked, not unkindly, but perhaps with a little bit of frost in her voice. She regretted it instantly; this was the pony and human that held the fate of Equestria in their hooves/hands after all. But Rainbow just laughed it off. "No need to get so steely, Twi. I just want to talk to you about something." She looked over at Maverick. "Why don't you find a good book while we talk? It shouldn't take long." "Sure thing." Rainbow led Twilight out of the main room, not wanting Maverick to overhear them. "Hey, sorry about that. I should probably have knocked. It was uncool of me." Rainbow apologized. Twilight was about to respond when she clued into 'uncool'. Rainbow hadn't used that word in months! "It's fine. So, how's it going with Maverick? Have you read the books I gave you yet?" "No, I brought him to a bar last night. I didn't get a chance to read. But things are going totally awesomely! He so amazing, even when he's scared he's still awesome." Rainbow squealed. Twilight was a little taken aback by the surge of pre-depression Rainbow. "What makes him so awesome?" Twilight asked. "Nothing, he just IS awesome. He terrified of heights, but he faced his fear instead of running from it. And he's super smart! He looks cool, and he acts cool too. And he cares about me." "Okay, I see." Twilight sorta interrupted. "So what did you want to talk to me about? Did you just come here to gush about your new boyfriend?" She was just a wee bit annoyed that her session with Cheerilee was cut short. "Oh, yeah. You know those old pains I got when a new human came around?" Twilight nodded. "They're back. I thought maybe they wouldn't come this time, because Maverick chose me, but they're here again. I had them last night while I was lying in bed, but they were gone once I woke up." "And now?" Twilight asked. "Um... it's weird. It's not painful, but I can definitely feel something." Rainbow said. "You know, I think it's about time you went to see doctor about those, Rainbow. It might actually be something to worry about. Go now; I'll watch Maverick while you're gone." Twilight said. "Are you sure?" "Yes, this might be something serious. You don't want to be too sick to attend the Pegasus tournament, do you?" Twilight said as she nudged Rainbow towards the door. "Yeah, I guess so." The pair returned to the main room and saw Maverick lying on the couch reading. "Maverick, I'm going to leave you here with Twilight for a little. There's something I need to do. Is that okay?" Rainbow asked. "Sure thing." He said, not looking up from his book. "I swear." Rainbow whispered in Twilight's ear. "He resembles you and Fluttershy more then he resembles me." She flew out. Twilight turned back to look at the human on her couch. She wanted to ask him a bunch of questions, but she knew better then anypony just how rude it was to interrupt someone while they're reading. Instead, she decided to check what book he was reading. 'Mood wings?' She read. 'Oh, that's the one about a Pegasus's wing language.' She turned about, intent on returning to her studies, when she heard the book close behind her. "Twilight, can I talk to you for a minute?"
*****
As Rainbow made her way across Ponyville to the doctor's office, she slowly felt the pain growing inside her. It was driving her crazy! She would prefer to have it consistently and just suffer through it then this whole on/off deal. Eventually it reached its cap, which was about as bad as last night. Rainbow couldn't help but feel that this pain wasn't the same as the one she normally got from the arrival of humans. The other one was consistent, not quite as bad and she was always sad during its stay. But this one, for some reason it felt like happiness was causing it. Rainbow shook her head and looked around. She had gotten so caught up in her thoughts that she had flown right by the hospital. She doubled back and made it inside without a problem. The hospital was relatively empty. After all, Ponyville was a very clean and crime-free city. It had to be since it was the main filming zone. Rainbow trotted up to the counter. "Hello Rainbow Dash." The receptionist said. "What can I do for you?" Her voice was warm, but Rainbow could still feel the undertow of dislike that was omnipresent when most ponies spoke to her. "I need to see a doctor about some pains I've been having." Rainbow replied. The receptionist sifted through a few papers before looking back up. "There happens to be a doctor free now. Take this to room 27, its right down the hall, take the first right and it's on your left side." She said as she handed Rainbow a few pieces of paper. "Thanks." The room was a bland beige-ish colour with a bunch of medical equipment stacked on a table in the far corner. Rainbow lay the documents down on said table and went to sit on the examination table as she waited for the doctor to arrive. Only a few minutes had passed before a nurse popped in. She nodded to Rainbow and then quickly arranged some of the equipment on the table, leaving a bit more then had initially been there. She left without a word, and a few moments later the doctor came in. "So, Rainbow Dash." He began. "What appears to be the problem?" "Well, I've been having these pains every time a new human came to Equestria." Rainbow explained. "I never thought much of them, figuring it was just sadness at never being picked, but the newest human picked me and they're still here." "I see. Can you describe them to me? Perhaps the location of pain, how painful it is, the duration it stays for..." Rainbows pointed to her lower chest. "It's usually somewhere around here, and it feels like my insides are being twisted around. It tends to last for about three days after each human arrives, and the amount of pain tends to decrease over the duration." "I see... Sounds to me like it's exactly what you thought it was; depression induced physical pain. Is the pain you're feeling now any different than those normally are?" The doctor asked. "Kinda. It hurts more than normal, and it's not consistent. It comes and goes randomly. Like, I had it last night before I went to bed, but it disappeared in the morning. Then it came back a little while I was a Twilight's house, and now it's back in full force." Rainbow tried to explain. The doctor nodded. "Since you're just recovering from depression, I think I might have an idea of a possibility. It's a very rare condition, and it's very unlikely, but it makes the most sense. Tell me, this new human, how do you feel about him? And don't lie." Rainbow blushed a bit and couldn't look the doctor in the eye. "I l-like him, a lot." "And have you told him this?" Rainbow's head turned even further away. "Yes." "How did he respond?" "He said he likes me too..." "Now then, was he with you last night when the pain appeared?" "No." "How about at Twilight's?" "He was in the other room." "Was last night the first time you were separated from him since the moment you confessed your attraction to him?" Rainbow's mind started rushing ahead of what the doctor was saying, and she didn't like the conclusions she was drawing. "Yes." "Well, I can't say for sure that I know what the problem is, but I would stake my professional reputation on what I've concluded." Rainbow really didn't want to hear what the doctor was going to say next, but she knew she had to. "And that is?" He began to explain her predicament, and Rainbow realised she was entirely right. She didn't like what she heard at all.
*****
Twilight turned back to the human. "Sure, what did you want to talk about?" She asked. "It's about this." Maverick took out the reverse pill. Instantly, Twilight was on alert. She knew that if he tried to swallow that, she had to stop him. Her horn began to glow, just a tiny bit. "What about it?" Her voice was strained and almost cracked. "I was wondering if you could hold onto it for me." ... It took Twilight a few seconds to figure out what he had asked. Once he mind restarted, she quickly deduced the most important question she could ask, one that would convey to Maverick the entirety of her confusion on the matter, as well as aid him in informing her of what she wanted to know. "What?" Well, close enough. "I can sometimes have a bit of a temper, and I also like to spite people who do stuff I don't like. So I was hoping you would hold onto this for me, that way I don't make a stupid mistake while I'm mad and end up sending myself back to earth." Maverick said. Oh, well that made perfect sense. "Um, are you sure?" She asked, the glow in her horn petering out. "Yeah. I mean like, obviously if I really do want to go back, I'll come get it from you. But if I come in and I'm clearly not thinking straight, I want you to keep it away from me until I've calmed down." He asked. "Okay, sure, I can do that." Twilight said, very pleased at how rationally this human was thinking, and also at the fact that it was now impossible for him to leave. If he ever came to get the pill back, Twilight would just cast the love spell on him at that time. "Also, I was wondering if you have showers, razors and a place where I can get some new clothes in Equestria." He asked. "Yeah, we have all three. We don't have human clothing stores, but I'm sure Rarity would be overjoyed to design some for you." Despite her hatred for his kind, Rarity could never resist the urge to design new clothes. "Oh good, I'll have to go ask her later." "As for the other two, I'm sure Rainbow will help you find both when she gets-" \ **BAM* * "-Back" Rainbow landed in a heap in front of Twilight, but she picked herself up in an instant. "IneedtotalktoTwilightforasecberightbackbye." Neither of the two understood a word as Rainbow pushed Twilight outside and slammed the door behind her. "What was-" Twilight began, but she was interrupted as Rainbow shoved a hoof in her mouth. She quickly explained her problem. "Wow, really? He thinks that..." She began again. "Yeah, I know. Twilight, I'm not ready for this. I thought I had a lot more time before this would happen!" Rainbow choked out. "But I thought you said you loved him." "I did say that, but I just thought it was going to be some filly's love, you know? Like the type of thing that last a little while, because he made me happy, and that it would run its course and I'd be able to forget him. I never expected THIS to happen." "You say it like it's a bad thing." Twilight said. "Well of course it's a bad thing. I didn't even know this could happen between a human and a pony. Twilight, I've been rushing through this relationship like it was just for fun!" "Wait, what relationship? I thought you said you hadn't told him yet." Rainbow suddenly backpedaled, but there was no way she could fix her mistake now. "Look, don't tell him I told you. He wanted to keep it a secret. And please don't tell the others." "So you have told him." Twilight said. "Well, how did he take it?" "He likes me too. We've already kissed a bunch of times, and he's slept in my bed." Rainbow ignored Twilight's look of shock. "I just thought... I don't know. I wasn't expecting this to come. Twilight, what should I do? If the relationship went sour before, I could just have broken up with him. I mean sure I would have been sad, and so would he, and we might have had to wait for the next human, but now there's no way I can do that! My whole life depends on him now!" Twilight was silent for a few moments. "Well, I can tell you one thing. If you can imprint on him, then chances are he can get you pregnant too, so I'd be careful of what you do with him in bed." Rainbow turned redder then BigMacintosh. "Twilight this is serious. The doctor said I imprinted on him because I was depressed and he lifted me out of it. Now I can't stand to be apart from him. As soon as he's out of my view my stomach twists around, and the further I go, the more it hurts. If he leaves now, it's not going to end at depression. I'll never be whole again! I know to most ponies, finding your special somepony is rare. Most ponies can fall in love with anypony, but only a few have ever found their true special somepony. The difference is that he isn't a pony. Normally when you find your special somepony, the infatuation is mutual; both ponies fall deeply in love with the other. But because he's a human, he doesn't work the same way! Twilight, what happens if I make a mistake? What if he decides to leave?" "You know, this sounds a lot like the conversation we had TWO days ago." Twilight said. "Just do your best. He can't ask for more than you can give." "But" "No buts. Look, he gave me his pill so that he wouldn't get all hot headed about one little mistake and just leave for no reason, so stop worrying. It's normal for a couple to have fights. The important thing is trying to learn from those fights and to move on. There's no denying it; your relationship won't be perfect. But you can't fret about each and every little thing!" Twilight said. "Now then, go in there and be the girlfriend he expects you to be, not this little drama queen you're being right now; it's not for nothing he picked you over Rarity." Rainbow nodded, running a hoof over her eyes to dry them and pushed open the door. Maverick had been reading through the whole conversation, indifferent to the conversation outside. He had just finished the intro of the chapter on wingboners, and he was now thinking back to what had happened that very morning with a much different perspective, his face flushing a little. "Maverick?" Rainbow said as came in, causing him to blush harder and slam the book closed. "Y-yes? Are you done talking?" He asked. She nodded. Maverick noticed her eyes were a little red. "Where did you go? Are you okay; it looks like you were crying." She just shook her head. "I was, but I'm fine now. Are you ready to go?" "Yeah, I'm ready. I need to get some clothes, and a razor, and I could use a shower too." He said. Rainbow smiled. She had just had her whole world turned upside down and he was completely oblivious. 'It's better this way.' She thought. "Shall we stop by Rarity's on the way home?" "That would be nice. Can we walk over? I want to see more of Ponyville." He asked. Rainbow nodded and together the pair walked off from the library, leaving Twilight to wonder how much longer they really had before something happened to end the world of Equestria.