“What a day!”

Rainbow Dash flung herself onto her bed with a contented sigh. One of the perks of being a cloud-dwelling pegasus was the furniture. Shaped, enchanted clouds made for the most comfortable beds, couches, and other furniture in all of Equestria. Sure, Rainbow Dash was more than content to just flop down on a handy stratocumulus whenever she needed a quick nap, but it still couldn't compare to settling down in the fluffy embrace of your own bed after a long, long day.

The pegasus rolled over in bed and stretched her wings out with a contented yawn. Stunt practice early in the morning, followed by a quick brunch with Pinkie Pie and Applejack, followed by a trip to Fluttershy's to get Tank's shell polished, followed by a giant monster attack, followed by a letter to Princess Celestia on the importance of punctuality. Twilight had even made it a point to fly up to Rainbow Dash's cloud-cottage and re-set her clock so it stopped blinking 12:00 over and over and over again.

Rainbow Dash stretched out, muscles sore after such an eventful day, and prepared to drift off to a well deserved sleep. She rolled to one side, and then the other, luxuriating in the nigh-decadent softness of her cloud-bed, and then reached up to start fluffing her pillow to the perfect position- that is, until she saw something that chilled her bone to the marrow.

8:13 PM

FRI

The red letters of the digital clock glowed in the evening darkness like the kind of hellish and arcane runes reserved for the most obscene of ancient rituals. Every last trace of fatigue left Rainbow Dash, displaced by a feeling of dull, existential horror.

“Oh no,” said Rainbow Dash. “Oh no no no no no.” She grabbed the clock between her front hooves and gave it a shake, as if that could make it. “Maybe Twilight got it wrong?” she asked herself, but before Rainbow Dash finished saying it, she knew Twilight would never make such a grievous error on something so vital. No, Rainbow Dash was left alone with the haunting, terrifying truth.

Rainbow Dash was ready to go to sleep just after eight o'clock.

On a Friday.

She had become boring.

“NOOOOOOOOOO!”

8:32 PM

FRI

Rainbow Dash flew out her window and angled down into a crash dive towards Ponyville. The wind stung her cheeks, but Rainbow Dash pushed past the pain. She nearly reveled in it. Though she didn't hit sonic rainboom-level velocity, Rainbow Dash came close as she made her nighttime flight.

She had to do something. Anything. There was absolutely no reason someone as rad and awesome and generally kickass as Rainbow Dash should go to bed so terrifyingly early. So she wouldn't!

Rainbow Dash smiled. All she had to do was find some of her friends and go do something awesome. Which would be easy, as her friends were pretty great (if not as great as she was), so obviously they would have something totally awesome going on a Friday night. Then she could just stay out 'til some absurd hour of the morning, crash on a cloud somewhere, and sleep in 'til the early afternoon on Saturday.

Simple.

Sweet Apple Acres, first. It was a little out of the way, but that just meant there was more opportunity for something crazy to happen. Or if there weren't any marauding, apple-hungry monsters, Applejack had enough cider tucked away somewhere so they could make something crazy happen.

Even with her wings spread out, Rainbow hit the ground fast enough to dig twin furrows through the dirt. She bounced on her hooves, and trotted up to Applejack's front door. Rainbow reined in her enthusiasm, and only jarred the door with her knock, instead of smashing it entirely.

A cheery, bow-decorated filly opened the door. “Howdy, Rainbow!”

“Apple Bloom!” Rainbow Dash looked downwards. “Where's your sister?”

“Whatcha lookin' for Applejack for so late? Is it some kinda emergency? Can I help?”

“Yes!” Rainbow said, and added on a “No!”

“What?”

“Yes to the first part, no to the second part! Now where's your sister?”

“She's in the barn, but—”

“Cool kay thanks bye!” Rainbow Dash took to the air again and streaked towards the barn in question. Sure enough, light streamed through the open doors. Rainbow didn't know what kind of farm work had to be done at this hour, but she honestly didn't care. Hopefully it was the kind of farm work that involved heavy machinery and/or breaking stuff.

Rainbow Dash barged right into the barn. “Hey Applejack, I-”

Applejack was there, which Rainbow Dash expected.

So was Rarity. Rainbow Dash hadn't been expecting that.

And then there was the matter of the wineglasses, the candlelight, and the soft classical music emanating from a battered record player in the corner. The scene certainly didn't match any definition of 'farmwork' that Rainbow Dash was familiar with.

Startled, Applejack and Rarity sprung back from what may or may not have been a romantic embrace.

“Why, Rainbow!” Rarity said, forcing herself to smile. “What a … pleasant surprise!”

“Eeeyup,” said Applejack.

“I have to say, I- er, we weren't expecting such a thing.” Rarity tossed her mane just so. “Applejack and I were just … talking. Isn't that right, my dear- er, Applejack?“

“Eeeyup,” said Applejack.

“Just, talking?” The gears in Rainbow Dash's head began to turn. “About what?”

“Oh, you know,” Rarity made a vague gesture with one hoof. “This and that. Nothing of consequence. Just … enjoying another's company on a slow evening, that's all. Quite boring.”

The 'b' word hit Rainbow Dash like a bucket of cold water. “Oh! Well, uh, joke's on you! Because I am so totally not boring, because I've got so much rad stuff to do right now. Because it's Friday night. Even though I'm awesome every night but Friday nights are even awesomer. I just thought I'd swing by and try to let you guys in on my rad plans, but if you're busy being boring, then I guess I'll just have to leave you two behind. Sorry!” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings a few times, and then reached over to slam the barn door shut.

She'd known that Rarity and Applejack were a … thing, but actually seeing the two of them together was something else entirely. Whatever they wanted to do was entirely their business (even if thinking about lovey-dovey stuff too much made Rainbow Dash kind of want to barf).

The thing was, lovey-dovey stuff was boring.

Rarity had even said as much! Rainbow Dash took to the air again, and set out for Ponyville. Hitting up Applejack had been a mistake. Sure, the cowpony was kinda cool, but she kept on being … responsible and stuff. No, if Rainbow Dash was to shake the curse of boredom, there was just one pony she could count on.

Pinkie Pie.

8:48 PM

FRI

“Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash said as soon as the door opened. “I knew I could count on you! You wouldn't believe--”

“SHHHHHH.” Pinkie Pie stuffed her hoof into Rainbow Dash's mouth. “Quiet!”

“Mmph?” Rainbow Dash mmphed.

“Don't. Make. A. Sound.” Pinkie Pie said, and dragged Rainbow into Cupcake Corner.

Rainbow Dash nodded, and Pinkie pulled her hoof away.

“I knew I could count on you.” Rainbow Dash fluttered her wings in eager anticipation. “So what kinda prank have you got planned?”

“No pranks tonight.”

“Got it. So it's a surprise party.” Rainbow Dash peered through a window, scanning the darkness outside for movement. “For who? I mean, you didn't tell me--” Rainbow Dash perked her ears and spun around, smiling. “Ohmygosh! You knew what was going on and decided to throw me a surprise party, right?”

“Not tonight. Now shhhhhhh!” Pinkie Pie murmured.

“I don't get it. No pranks, no surprise party … why do we need to be quiet? You haven't been hanging out with Fluttershy, have you?”

“It's the twins.”

“Who?”

“The Cake twins. I'm watching them for the night, and they just stopped crying.”

Crouched so close, Rainbow Dash could finally see the haggard, drained look in Pinkie Pie's eyes. “C'mon,” said Rainbow Dash, “it's just a little babysitting. It can't be that-”

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Two separate but distinct cries echoed out through the night, signaling hunger or cold or warmth or perhaps full diapers.

“That doesn't sound good.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Go!” Pinkie Pie's eyes were frantic. Or, well, more frantic than usual. “Save yourself!”

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash gave her wings an indignant flutter. “You don't expect me to just ditch you, do you?”

“This is different!” Pinkie Pie said. “This is … children. This is babies. You can't fight babies. You can't outrun babies. Or, well, you CAN, but it doesn't do any good. They're just … there. With their poopy pants and their big eyes and their soft skulls that you can't touch because then they'll have weirdo shaped heads when they grow up and they'll be exploited in a circus sideshow! And then they're gonna keep chanting “One of us!' One of us!” and it'll be super creepy! I DON'T WANT TO CREATE SIDESHOW BABIES, RAINBOW DASH! DO YOU!?” Pinkie Pie shook Rainbow Dash hard enough to make an observer wonder why she'd been put in charge of small children in the first place.

Rainbow Dash took a moment to let her eyes stop spinning. “I … don't think so?”

“Then run! Run as fast as you can! Or fly! That's good too!” Pinkie Pie grabbed Rainbow Dash and hurled her into the air like a glider. “It's too late for me! Don't look back! Promise me you won't look back!”

“Pinkie, I--”

“PROMISE ME!”

“Fine, fine! I won't look back! I promise!”

Pinkie Pie sniffed, tears welling at the corners of her eyes. The wails of the cake twins echoed throughout Cupcake Corner, but Pinkie Pie only offered a wan smile.

Rainbow Dash righted herself in midair. True to her promise, she stared resolutely out into the Ponyville night. “Uh, Pinkie Pie?”

“Yes?”

“You free tomorrow?”

“Oh, sure! I'd love to hang out. Provided I survive.”

“Aw, c'mon, it can't be that--”

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“Nevermind,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Now fly,” Pinkie Pie said, “fly, you fool!”

“Okay, okay, I've got it! I'm flying!” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and took off into the night.

“Hee. I've always wanted to say that.” Pinkie Pie said.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Pinkie Pie's shoulders slumped. “Aaaaaaand, back to work.”

8:53 PM

FRI

“So … “ Rainbow Dash thought outloud, which she knew to be the best way to think. Everything was better when it was louder. “Applejack's busy. Rarity's busy. Pinkie Pie's busy. That leaves Fluttershy and Twilight.” She cracked a grin, and took off in the direction of Twilight's castle. “That's a no brainer! Twilight's always doing crazy mad scientist stuff, and I bet Fluttershy's already asleep!”

8:54 PM

FRI

Elsewhere.

“I wish Rainbow Dash was here.” Fluttershy said. “She loves to deal with stuff like this.”

“RAR,” said Ozzie the Owlbear.

“But she's not.” Fluttershy said with uncommon gumption, “So I guess I'll just have to take care of this myself.”

“RAR,” said Ozzie the Owlbear. He didn't have a very extensive vocabulary.

“Oh, hush.”

9:06 PM

FRI

“Twilight! You awake?” Rainbow Dash announced herself as she flew into Twilight's magical friendship castle. Twilight had learned early on to leave a second story window open for emergency entries like this one. In turn, Rainbow Dash had learned early on to look for the biggest concentration of books whenever she wanted to find Twilight. And, sure enough, there she was in the castle library, comfortably settled in a high-backed chair, reading a book.

“I am, yes.” Twilight set down her copy of The Three Pony Problem. “But you might want to keep it down-- Spike went to bed a few minutes ago.”

“Good! Spike's boring!” Rainbow Dash said. “But I'm not! Which is why I'm here!”

“Uh. Okay?” Twilight Sparkle said.

“So,” Rainbow Dash swooped down to hover in front of Twilight. “Whatcha got going? Crazy magical experiments, right? Dabbling in what pony was not meant to know?”

“What? No!”

“Okay, so, slow night.” Rainbow Dash fell into a lazy circle around Twilight's chair. “Unless … you're gonna eat a whole bunch of crazy mushrooms you got from Zecora, and then you're gonna take notes on what it feels like once you start tripping balls! Because that's, uh, kind of like science, right?”

“I don't even know what 'tripping balls' means!”

“Then now's the time to find out!”

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “Please tell me you have a better reason for visiting than … whatever you're going on about.”

“I have the best reason!”

“And that is?”

“I'm bored!”

“Rainbow!”

“No, no, this is super important! Because, like, I've got to keep on my hooves, right? Because who knows when the next crazy disaster is going to hit, and I need to be at my absolute best to, uh, un-disaster it! If I get rusty, that means all of Equestria is doomed. DOOMED!”

“That's … a pretty strenuous train of logic, Rainbow.”

“Good! Strenuous is good! Because that means you're exercising and getting stronger! BOOYAH!”

“Logic does not work that way.”

“It should!”

“Rainbow Dash, if you want to hang out, all you have to do is ask. I'm sure we can think of something fun to do.”

“Great!” Rainbow Dash landed in front of Twilight, grinning. “Whatcha got in mind?”

“I don't know yet. I've been meaning to catch up on my reading … you're more than welcome to anything in my library.” Twilight gestured to the rows and rows of shelves behind her.

“If I wanted to read, I would've stayed at home.”

“Well, we could play a board game? Those are always fun.” Twilight stood up and walked over to a cabinet in the corner of her library. She opened it up and rubbed at her chin, considering the various boxes therein.

“There's only two of us, so Settlers of Coltan is out. Mareopoly is a lot better with at least three players, too. Or … ah! I know! The Battle of Waterhoof!” Twilight pulled a battered, dusty box from the back of her games cabinet.

“The battle of whatnow?” said Rainbow Dash. She perked her ears at the far more interesting 'b' word.

“The Battle of Waterhoof-- it's one of the key turning points of the Pre-Diarchical Three Kingdoms era. A regiment of combined Earth Pony and Pegasus forces were able to stop Gnollpoleon Bone-Apart's invasion at the Waterhoof river. If those brave ponies hadn't stood their ground, the Gnoll army could've invaded Canterlot itself!”

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash said, “that sounds sweet! How come I've never heard of it before?”

“Probably because you slept through your sophomore year history class?”

“How'd you know?”

“Wild guess.” Twilight said with a deadpan smile. “But don't worry, now's the time you really can learn about it!” She carried the olive green box over to a large table, and took off the lid. “This has actually been out of print for quite some time. I found a copy at the last Rainbow Falls Trade meet. I've never got the chance to actually play it, so this is a great opportunity!” Twilight took a map out of the box and carefully unfolded it, revealing a sea of variously patterned hexagons. Twilight savored the scent of aged paper with a connoisseur’s appreciation before she took the yellowed instruction booklet out of the box and dutifully began to read.

“Dibs on the pegasi!” Rainbow Dash said, and stuck her nose into the open box. For her trouble, Rainbow got a snoutful of dust. She sneezed, sending maps and cardboard chits scattering in all directions. Rainbow Dash shook her head, and peered into the jumble of game components.

“Uh, Twilight? I think you got conned. There aren't any pegasus pieces in this box. They must've lost them.”

“Hm?” Twilight looked up from the rulebook. “Oh, no, nothing's missing. I took inventory as soon as I got it. The Battle of Waterhoof was published by a tiny, no-budget company, so they didn't have the resources to put in actual miniatures. The Pegasus Air Cavalry is represented by those little blue tokens. The Earth Pony infantry is in red, and the Gnolls are in black. All very organized, you know.”

“Huh.”

“Now then, Rainbow, do you want to use the historical scenario, or would you prefer to lay out your own deployment? The rulebook says using your own deployment usually takes three hours to set up, instead of the normal two … “

“Three hours!?”

“I know, right? Usually for a battle like this, it takes a whole day to set everything up!”

Rainbow Dash stared at the hex-map. “This has got to be the most complicated board game I've ever seen.”

“Technically, it's a tactical simulation, not a board game.”

“It's a game. On a board.”

“Well, yes.” Twilight said, “but this is so much more complex! It may look abstract, but every unit involved in the battle is represented one way or another, not to mention the exact topographic map of the battlefield, not to mention the special appendices for weather conditions. You can use the actual reported weather, or you can even randomize it using the charts at the back of the rulebook!” Twilight beamed with nerdy enthusiasm.

Rainbow Dash scratched at the back of her neck. “Uh, actually, Twilight? Maybe I'll take you up on that reading thing, instead.” Noticing the way her friend's face fell, Rainbow Dash soon added on, “because, like, before I play a game--”

“Tactical simulation.”

“--before I play one of those, I should probably read about The Battle of Waterhoof first, right?”

“You're right! That's a great idea, Rainbow!” Twilight left the map on the table and took to to the air, scanning her bookshelves. “You're in luck, too, because there's been a lot written about the Gnollpoleonic Wars. Everything from the journals of the ponies on campaign to more modern interpretations of what happened that day.” She plucked several volumes off the shelves, and then teleported across the library so she could put the largest amount books in front of Rainbow Dash in the shortest amount of time possible.

“Plus!” Twilight said with no small degree of relish, and teleported to a different bank of shelves. “To get the full picture, you really should read up on the socio-economic factors that led to Gnollpoleon's rise, not to mention the unique political situation of the Early Three Kingdoms era.” She added more books to the column of academia in front of Rainbow Dash.

“Uh. Kay.” Rainbow Dash said. “I … think this is a good start.” Rainbow Dash gingerly took a book from the top of the pile and began to leaf through it.

Twilight nodded. “If you have any questions, let me know! I'll be happy to help you study. Or, if there are any other books you need, let me know. You're welcome to any book in my library.”

Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow. “... any book?”

“Of course! Just let me know whatever you wind up reading so we can talk about it later!”

“Will do.”

9:33 PM

FRI

Reading on a Friday night. For Twilight Sparkle, it was perfect.

For Rainbow Dash, it was excruciating.

It wasn't that she didn't mind reading (at least when the book had a picture of somepony punching a zombie or something on the cover), but there was a time and place for it. And Friday Night was not the time to read books.

Thankfully, Rainbow Dash had a plan.

She leafed through the various history books Twilight had foisted on her, and waited for her opportunity. Twilight, for her part, had eventually stopped looking over her shoulder and commenting on the footnotes. The Princess of Friendship had settled back into her own chair with her own book.

That's when Rainbow Dash made her move.

As casually as she could manage, Rainbow Dash started browsing Twilight's bookshelves. Twilight glanced up from her book, then gave an approving nod as she saw Rainbow Dash doing her research.

The pegasus drifted back and forth, trailing one hoof over the spines of the books. She ignored the titles and the authors-- no, this was something she had to feel.

And then, there it was. An ancient, fragile book, nearly falling apart already. Rainbow Dash eagerly pulled it off the shelf. The brittle paper cracked a little bit as she opened it. And, sure enough, the writing on said yellowed pages was some sort of arcane, incomprehensible scrawl.

Perfect.

Rainbow Dash pulled in a deep breath, and then projected as loudly as she could.

“Hocus Pocus!!”

Apart from Twilight's confused expression, nothing happened.

Rainbow Dash frowned, and turned to another random page of the book. “Okay, lemme try this again. So, uh … Abra Kadabra!”

Still nothing.

“Yu Mo Gwai Gui Fai Di Zao?”

“Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?” Twilight set her book aside.

“So, like, if I just happen to read off a bunch of random spells, and one of them just happens to raise some zombies or summon an evil space monster or something, then, well, it'd be up to us to stop them! It'd be the coolest, most exciting Friday night ever!”

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “That is wrong in so many ways.”

“If being awesome is wrong, I don't wanna be right!”

“Rainbow, you can't do magic with that book.”

“What, just 'cause I'm not a unicorn? Wow. That's kinda speciesist. I thought you were better than that, Twilight.”

“Not because you're not a unicorn, it's because that's a cookbook.”

“But … it's so old and creepy looking!”

“That's because it's my grandmother's cookbook.”

“But the writing's all weird!”

“That's because she wrote it in code.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Grandma Sparkle entered some very competitive baking contests.”

“Weird.” Rainbow Dash closed the aged cookbook and slid it back into place on the shelf. “With all the crazy stuff you do, I thought you'd have magic books laying around all over the place.”

“Please, that would be terribly irresponsible! I keep all my tomes and grimoires gathered together, way up on the top shelf where nopony can get them by accident.”

“Unless they have wings!” Rainbow Dash gloated.

“Wait!” Twilight said, too slow.

Rainbow Dash darted over to the shelf in question. She grabbed the largest and most intimidating of the lot and flipped it open. The light of hellish runes lit up Rainbow Dash's face. “Aw yeah, let's do this!” She said, and read off the words that somehow seared themselves into her mind.

“KLAATU! VERATA! NICKTO!”

“Rainbow, no!” Twilight teleported over, grabbed the blasphemous tome out of Rainbow's hooves, and slammed it shut. The red glow cut off as the book closed, but it was soon replaced by an arcane shining of Rainbow Dash's eyes.

“You are too late, flesh-thing! This body now belongs to Globnar the Despoiler!”

Twilight gritted her teeth. “Do you know who I am?”

“You are nothing but a morsel to the ravenous appetite of Globnar the Despoiler!”

“Let's see—” Twilight looked down at the spellbook Rainbow Dash had misused, and then back up to her possessed friend. “Rainbow Dash only said a very short incantation … and it's just a possession, rather than a physical manifestation. And you're referring to yourself in the third person ... this suggests to me you're only a Class V outsider. Class IV at best.”

“Globnar the Despoiler spits on your feeble mortal 'classifications.' A mortal mind cannot comprehend the extent of Globnar the Despoiler's power and depravity!”

“Well, good thing I'm immortal. Technically. I think. Comes with being a Princess.”

“Globnar the Despoiler cares not for your- did you say Princess?”

“Took you long enough to figure it out.” Twilight said. She splayed her wings a little wider, and burned some extra magic glow at the tip of her horn. “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and you are currently possessing one of my best friends.”

“Globnar the Despoiler--”

“Shhh.” Twilight said in her best lecturing tone. “I'm just trying to put things in context for you. I don't know which plane of existence you came from, so I'm not surprised you haven't heard of me. However, I do know even a Class IV outsider like you has heard of Nightmare Moon. Or Discord. Or Tirek. Each and every one of them is far, far more powerful than you. And with the help of my friends, I've stopped each and every one of them.”

Rainbow's possessed eyes went a little wider.

“Now then,” Twilight continued, “before you start threatening me or my friends, I want you to think very, very hard about what a properly motivated Princess of Friendship is capable of when someone she cares about is in trouble.” Twilight narrowed her eyes, and her horn began to crackle with suppressed magical energy.

“On second thought, Globnar the Despoiler is not interested in this so-called 'material' dimension, or any of the fleeting mortal germs therein. Globnar the Despoiler shall depart!”

As if someone had thrown a switch, the red glow in Rainbow's eyes vanished. She blinked a few times, and then swayed on suddenly unsteady wings.

“What happened?” Rainbow Dash said, “I don't feel so--” She dropped to the floor, landing on shaky hooves, before she coughed up a mouthful of foul-smelling green slime onto the library floor. Then another. Then another. Then a steady stream that lasted far longer than one would expect from a pony of Rainbow Dash's size.

Twilight winced in sympathy. “That's your body expelling the residual ectoplasm left over from the possession.” She fluttered to the ground next to Rainbow Dash, careful to keep out of the oozing mess.

“Bluh.” Rainbow Dash listed to the side, and Twilight caught her before she could hit the ground. Twilight poured Rainbow Dash into a nearby chair.

Twilight sighed, and looked at the burbling puddle of green ichor. “And that's why every good arcane library has tile floors.”

10:05

FRI

One thorough floor-swabbing (and about a gallon of bleach) later, Twilight Sparkle had the mess under control. She and Rainbow Dash sat at the table still-laden with the map of Waterhoof.

“Sorry I barfed on your floor.” Rainbow Dash cradled her face in her hooves. The demon possession (and subsequent exorcism) had left a throbbing in her head to rival the most intimidating of hangovers. At least the tea Twilight had thoughtfully provided was able to wash most of the barf-y aftertaste out of her mouth. Mostly.

“I'm just glad you're alright, Rainbow.” Twilight said with a tired sigh. “I hope you learned something. Doing foolish things just because you're bored is a recipe for disaster.”

“Like the time you made everyone in town go nuts over that old doll of yours?”

“Like the time I used the 'Want it, Need It' spell on Mr. Smartypants, yes.” Twilight's cheeks tinted in an embarrassed blush. “I kind of hoped you would've learned from my example of what not to do.”

“Still, beats being boring, right?”

“Having a quiet night in doesn't make you 'boring,' Rainbow Dash.”

“Even on Friday?”

“Even on Friday. The next time you have a dull night, just enjoy it. It'll make whatever you do the next day seem even more interesting. And I know you'll do something interesting, Rainbow. Just … hopefully not demon-summoning interesting.”

“It was pretty cool how you handled that guy, though.” Rainbow Dash mused.

“Well, thanks?” Twilight said, “I mean, I guess I'm getting a little more used to working with powerful magic. I wonder if this is what Princess Celestia felt like after banishing Discord the first time … “ She shook her head, dispelling the thought. “But that's beside the point. You know I'm always happy to spend time with you, or with any of my friends. And yes, sometimes we do need to band together to save Ponyville or even all of Equestria from some terrible monster. But--” Twilight held up a hoof, “what if Tirek returned while you were still possessed?”

“Tirek's coming back?!” Rainbow Dash blurted, torn between terror and enthusiasm.

“Well, no. Not to my knowledge. That was just an example. But do you get my point? Next time, why don't we let the adventures just come to us, instead of the other way around? That way, if you wind up with a post-possession headache, it at least won't be your own fault.”

“Got a point there.” Rainbow Dash rubbed at the side of her head, trying to will the migrane away. “One last question, though.”

“What's that?”

“Wanna hang out next week?”