Crimson skies, deep blue seas ... the air wavers and shifts colours and clouds form at the corner of vision ... existence itself seems to warp, wrinkle, as -

Pff.

Rainbow Dash's hoof hit an empty pillow. Her eyes flickered open to darkness as her dream faded from her, never to be revived in memory. The warmth of the wool sheets almost compelled her to return to her sleep, but her willpower compelled her otherwise.

She sat up slowly, stretching her stiff muscles and popping a few settled joints. Her vision grew more clear as she became accustomed to the moonlight; the small bedroom was devoid of life, save her and a small kitten sleeping peacefully at the foot of the bed. She squinted at the pillow next to her, before clearing her throat. "Fluttershy?" she asked the darkness, calling out through the open door.

When there was no response, she slid out of the covers and had a final stretch before beginning her trot into the house. As she passed through each room, she kept a lookout for the yellow pegasus - but she found no trace of her. Celestia knew where she'd gotten herself this time. Last time this happened, she was found the next day lying asleep on the Ponyville Bridge, one step from falling to the rushing waters below.

Dash shuddered as this thought crossed her mind. It was a frightening day for all of them.

She looked back over the living room as she approached the front door, and sighed heavily before pushing the door open and taking off into the starry violet sky cautiously. The chill of night bit into her as she swam effortlessly through the air - she tried to focus on the cold rather than let panic build.

She kept an eye on the ground for moving objects - an eye trained in detecting flaws in clouds and in keeping flocks of birds in formation. It took her about a half an hour to scan Ponyville without any result. By the end of the watch, she was exhausted and close to hyperventilation. A feeling of dread grew in her chest - wherever Fluttershy was, judging by past fact, it was bound to be dangerous. If Fluttershy was still half-asleep or going through her - current disability - she wouldn't be able to find her way back.

Dash tore through the clouds around her, head whipping back and forth as a moonlit rainbow followed her trail. "FLUTTERSHY!" she called periodically with growing fear.

She passed one of the constant cloud banks of the East and cast her vision upwards for a second, and almost froze midair. A mixture of relief and further panic rose in her throat - Fluttershy was hovering amidst the clouds, the moonlight shining off her mane like flowing water.

"FLUTTERSHY!" Her voice cut through the crisp air like a blade. It had to have reached her, but there wasn't a visible response. Dash shook her head. It was true - she was going through another bout of -

Her thoughts stopped dead.

A flash of yellow fell from above like a meteor.

"NO!"

Dash's muscles seized. Adrenalin that had already built up was released from its moors, and pumped at the speed of lightning through her veins. She took off faster than she ever had before, determination filling her mind to the brim.

Sound disappeared as she dove after the falling pegasus. A cone of air had begun to flow around her, but she shook her head for what she could and increased speed. The sounds of air and wingbeats and - something else - had reached her ears.

Withought totally understanding how, she flew below the yellow mare and extended her forelegs, catching her in - she noticed with a shiver of recognition - less than three hundred feet from the earth below. It was too close. As she regained her senses, the third sound became clear.

Dash looked down at the mare in her arms. She was sobbing quietly, her face buried in her hooves. Her heart jumped into her throat as she flew with sore wings to the closest firm cloud she caught sight of.

She laid down on her back, tenderly extending her wings on either side of her, and letting Fluttershy, still gasping and sobbing, lie next to her. She laid in silence for nearly a minute - a heart-wrenching minute - until she regained control of her lungs. "Are you..." she whispered, wheezing, "okay?"

No response, just sniffling and gasping that interrupted the night silence.

She sighed, and rolled over to face her. "Shy... are you... okay?" she asked again, haltingly.

Fluttershy gasped, and nodded slowly, not moving her hooves.

She paused for a moment, remembering the words of Twilight. This is one of the worst things that could happen to somepony. She could slip in and out of her own conciousness... you'll have to test her knowledge of herself if that should ever happen.

Dash sat up, wincing slightly as the edge the adrenalin had given her slowly wore off. She pulled Fluttershy to a sitting position next to her, and placed a gentle hoof on her shoulder. "What's your name?" she asked her, staring at her in expectation.

She removed her shaking hooves from her face slowly, looking at them with a faraway stare and smiling softly, tears still coursing down her matted cheeks. "I..." she began softly. "S - Sunflower. Sunflower."

"No," Dash said, worry creeping into her mind. "No, it's not. What's your name?"

"Sunflower," Fluttershy repeated again, in the same tone. If anything, her tears began to flow more freely, while her blank smile remained.

"You're Fluttershy," Dash said, frightened tears in her eyes. No matter how many times she saw it, it still removed her from her comfort zone - everything she knew and everything she loved about the mare in front of her. "You're Fluttershy. You're my marefriend. You - you take care of animals, and you - you're studying for a veterinary degree. You're one of the Elements of Harmony - come on, show me something!" Dash's voice raised in frustration.

There was a period of deathly silence as Fluttershy raised her hooves back up to her face. "S... S..." she stuttered, before the quiet sobs began again.

Rainbow's tears broke free from their reins, and began running down her sweat-soaked cheeks. She leaned forward and threw her hooves around the platonic mare, holding her tightly.

Suddenly, Fluttershy began to speak again. "R... Rainbow?" she called out, her hooves still on her face. "Rainbow," she said again, a little more desperately. "Rain-"

"I'm right here, I'm right here," Dash whispered frantically into her ear. "It's okay."

"Rainbow? Rainbow, I - I can't see."

"I know, I know." Her senses might fail her every once in a while, but it won't be permanent. It'll be... unbelievably frightening for her. Again, I'm... so, so sorry. You would know, Dash - I'm so... so sorry...

"Are - are you there?" A sob. "Dash, I - I need you."

"Fluttershy, I'm-"

"Rainbow?"

Dash increased her grip, and breathed a sigh of relief as Fluttershy extended her hooves back around her. "Th-there you are." A quiet sniffle. "I was... was..."

"Can you hear me, Fluttershy?"

"Yes. Yes, I..." She was cut off by another sob. "R-Rainbow..."

Dash felt her own tears fall from her cheeks as Fluttershy let out her own emotions and cried on her shoulder, holding her tightly and whispering her name.

The effect of the chilling night air was alleviated by the warmth emanating from them. Silence reigned over the sky for what seemed like, and may have been, hours.

"...You okay, Shy?" Rainbow asked eventually, allowing her to continue her embrace despite the now-searing pain in her wings.

There was no answer.

Rainbow pulled away, feeling the sudden absence of heat as she did. Fluttershy came away without resistance - she was asleep. Out cold. Rainbow allowed herself a short smile and laid her back down, lying down beside her and brushing her mane out of her face. She kissed her gently on the forehead and reached her forelegs across her, joining her hundreds of feet above Equestria in an early-morning embrace.

~~~~~

Huge mounds and pillars of cloud, coloured orange and purple and blue by the sun in the distance - rising or setting? ... The field beneath quivers and shivers as if in excitement for what is to come next ... the wind spun across the meadow in coloured swirls and whirlwinds, lightly touching the -

Another dream faded from existence as Dash was drawn from sleep with a hooftouch. As Dash's consciousness returned, she could distinguish her name: "Rainbow? Wake up for a moment. Please."

Her eyes opened slowly, and a smile spread across her face. She was still in a tight embrace with her marefriend, and stared into her eyes for a moment. "... Hey," she said quietly, yawning.

Fluttershy smiled, and sighed shortly. "Rainbow, I... just want somepony to listen. You don't have to be totally awake. I wanted to ask a question really quickly first, though."

Rainbow rubbed her right eye with a hoof. "What... what time is it?" she asked, barely attempting to stifle a huge yawn.

"I don't know. The sun isn't up yet. But, but I wanted to ask... um... where was I?" Fluttershy said quietly.

Memories of the recent incident returned to Rainbow's mind with bone-chilling accuracy. "I just... found you here on the cloud," she lied. "Just lying there, totally, you know, out of it."

Fluttershy giggled. "Okay. That's all."

Rainbow grinned and snuggled a bit closer to her marefriend. Silence took over the cloud once more.

~~~~~

"... You know, it's... difficult sometimes," Fluttershy was saying quietly, fully aware that her marefriend had quickly fallen asleep. "I can still remember some things that happen during my... episodes. Not always, though," she said win a sigh. "I kinda wish you could hear me."

A brief pause. "I can," Rainbow mumbled. "I'm listening, keep going."

"No, go ahead and sleep. I don't really -"

"Keep going."

Fluttershy smiled, and pressed her lips gently against the bridge of Dash's muzzle. "Okay, I guess." She looked up into the stars, rolling on her back and letting the subconcious Rainbow Dash slowly stroke her chest. "I... it's hard somethimes to go through an episode. If I remember enough of it, I can - I can feel another life inside me." She looked over at Rainbow Dash. "You know?"

"No. It sounds... scary."

"It is," she replied. "I can remember some of their life too. Everything sad they felt, I feel, and every bit of anger goes through me, too. It's like... I dunno." She could feel tears forming in her eyes again for no known reason. "It's like having more than one soul. I feel the lives of all these ponies who are already... already dead." She turned tearfully to Dash. "What is this? What am I connecting to?"

Dash blinked. She's going to go through psychosis for... at most sixteen months. It's a magical psychosis, where one's mind is overloaded with magical power... she'll be able to see what other pegusi can't, and she'll be sepesrted from this world often and descend into the world of the... the dead... *sob* I can't imagine what it's like. I... I feel so responsible. There aren't any words for it... You can't tell her where she's getting her psychosis from. It can... it can kill her.

"... I don't know."

Fresh tears ran down Fluttershy's face. She turned to face Dash again, and buried her face in her chest, sobbing quietly. "I don't want this. I don't... I hate this, Dash."

Dash held her closely. "I know. I'm sorry."

Fluttershy pulled away for a minute, and stared into her marefriend's magenta eyes. A chill ran through her as a warmth trickled down her spine. She leaned in and kissed her closely, putting a hoof on her cheek and holding her close to herself. She felt the pegasus' soft lips on hers and felt an alleviation, however slight, of her emotions.

She pressed her tongue softly against Dash's teeth, sighing in excitement as Dash let her in. A slight mist rose from their mouths - it was warmer than the early-morning zephyrs and breezes. She felt the useless tears flow continually as she pulled her marefriend ever closer. The warmth between them was empowering.

She trailed a hoof down Dash's side, making her shiver slightly. "I... I love you," she murmured quietly, not daring to pull away. Whenever Fluttershy hit just the right spot, she squeaked and grinned.

"I love you too," she replied quietly. She paused for a moment, ignoring the tired groan of protest from Dash. "Should we... go home?"

"Um... can't we wait... until the sun comes up?" Dash replied slowly, unsurely.

Fluttershy didn't respond for a moment - just held Dash a bit tighter. "...Okay."