Spike opened the door to Twilight's library, slamming it behind him as entered, heralding his arrival.
"Oh, Spike, you're back! How did it go?"
The purple dragon looked at the lavender unicorn, wondering how she would take the news.
"Well, it turns out that Peter's more than just a nice guy."
Twilight's eyes sparkled in curiosity. "Oh?"
Spike stared at Twilight, not surprised in the least by her reaction.
"He's sarcastic, but in a...funny way. Kind of like Rainbow Dash in a way, but it seems to be more like a joke."
Twilight looked at him, eyebrow raised. "How so?"
Spike held down his laughter, not wanting to end up laughing more than talking.
"I went into his room, and Rainbow Dash and Peter were sitting there, holding two cupcakes. There was rainbow icing all over their faces, and when I asked Peter what they were doing, he put on a cocky smile and told me that they forgot how to eat!"
Twilight's expression grew ever more dubious, watching in slight surprise as Spike started laughing hysterically, clutching his stomach, his words interrupted by chuckles and chortles.
"Just...imagine...that...Rainbow Dash........forgetting.....how to eat..."
Twilight imagined it, and the image she saw sent her into a fit of giggles, the image of a Rainbow Dash with a Ditzy Doo like face on, smashing a cupcake into it over and over again, spreading icing all over her face as she repeatedly missed her open mouth...
Their laughing fits were interrupted by a strange light shining in from Twilight's window, its color green with envy one second, and blue with composure the next.
"Weird..."
The lavender unicorn and purple dragon walked up the stairs, side by side, their mane and claws glowing as they were bathed with the mysterious light.
Twilight looked for the source, and found it in the Canterlot castle. Spike broke the awed silence.
"Is it some pony holiday, or something?"
Twilight shook her head. "Celestia would have told me about it if it were...especially if it included magic this strong."
They continued to stare into the depths of the light shaft until it died off, its mysterious glow leaving Twilight and Spike in the dark.
"Uh...Twilight...should I get that 'Book of Pony Prophecies' out again?"
Twilight simply nodded. She flipped through the book as soon as it was presented to her, searching furiously for anything that had to do with a shaft of light.
She found a single entry, its letters glowing with the faintest light.
"'The War'...it's blank, except for an image of a shaft of light..."
Spike jumped onto Twilight's back to see the book, and stared on, just as incredulous and dumbfounded as his unicorn friend. Then he noticed something...strange.
"Hey, Twilight, what's that in the center of the light?"
The unicorn strained her vision, making out a strange shape.
"It looks like a...a weird knife of some kind..."
Spike leaned closer, whispering into Twilight's ear despite nopony being around to hear him.
"Twilight...I don't think it's a knife...I think it's a sword..."
Their gazes met, confusion shared between both of them. Suddenly, the book glowed, and the shaft of light disappeared from its pages, strange item and all.
They stared in disbelief, not believing their eyes.
Then they realized what they were looking at.
---------------------------Peter---------------------------
The cyan pony cried boisterously in his arms, her tears sliding down his shirt, the moon about three quarters of the way across the sky.
"Rainbow Dash...you can stop if you want..."
The cyan pony shook her head. She was five hours into it, she was not stopping now.
"No...I want to get it all out..."
Peter nodded, and went back to comforting her, pressing his lips to her forehead, whispering words he prayed could calm the frantic Pegasus down.
"It's okay now...you have nothing to be afraid of..."
She pushed herself off of Peter, just enough to speak. She opened her mouth, Peter his ears.
He held her head into the crook of his shoulder as another bout of tears escaped her, her words replaced by a giant sob, rocking her back and forth, hugging Rainbow Dash just as hard as she hugged him.
"It's okay...it's okay, it's okay...I'm here for you, Rainbow..."
He swallowed, the word 'Dashie' stuck in his throat. He wanted to comfort her, but after his...outburst of emotions, he didn't know if it would be appropriate.
"Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie are fine, Rainbow...trust me, they're fine...and if anything ever did happen in Ponyville, we both know that you wouldn't sleep through it...you'd be the first one trying to save Ponyville..."
She pushed herself out to speak again, this time getting an actual sentence out, albeit cut to pieces by her sobs and hiccups.
"But....how....do you...kn....know.....that I won't? The dreams...in the dreams, I slept right through it, just like I ignored Rarity's scream...."
Peter held her to himself as she exploded into tears once more, speaking into his shirt.
"It's all my fault! If only I hadn't ignored Rarity's scream as a new dress...if only I had cared enough to go check it out...you two wouldn't be..."
Peter pulled her off of himself, a palm on either side of her face, Zecora's special solvent soothing any pain he would have normally felt.
"Rainbow Dash...you are a wonderful, young mare. And while it is most definitely not your fault, the grief you feel for Rarity and I getting hurt shows how loyal you really are, shows how much you care for your friends. Don't you remember what I told you?"
She sniffed. "That loyalty...is more than just...the actions you do....but it's....how.....how you act...."
Peter nodded, his arm once again wrapped around Rainbow Dash, his hand holding her head close to him as she cried.
Her tears slowed slightly as she remembered the rest of what Peter said, speaking into his shirt once again.
"And that....my staying here....and being here for her.......is true loyalty...."
"Exactly. Rainbow Dash, you're the most loyal of friends, and you've shown it more than once here. Don't let a dream make you forget that."
She nodded. Her sobs were farther apart now, replaced by hiccups. Peter let out a surreptitious sigh.
Two of her friends down...three to go....
"I'm going to help you through this, Rainbow Dash. Keep going if you want, and tell me what happened next, but if you don't feel you're up to it, we can just go to sleep instead of talking more about your dreams."
She pushed herself off of him again, this time taking a deep breath, more composed, her distraught rainbow mane and bloodshot eyes the only things that made her seem...unsettled.
"I'm ready."
He nodded. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, Peter his ears.
-------------------------5 Hours Later......-----------------------
Celestia's sun rose, bathing Rainbow Dash in its heavenly glow, her tears glistening, Peter's thumb wiping them away as his palm rested on her face, soothing the distraught Pegasus.
"And that's when I wake up...when I see myself...almost like I'm...disappointed in myself..."
"There...doesn't that feel better? Now that you got it all out?"
Rainbow Dash nodded, her rainbow mane tickling his nose, the daring spark back in her eyes.
"Yeah...it does. I guess you know what you're talkin' about, huh?"
Peter smiled as she rose up, back to the Rainbow Dash he knew from the show.
Well, this explains why she was acting so different...she was having these nightmares...
He opened his arms, inviting her for a hug. She smiled, and immediately jumped into his arms, her wings splayed out behind her.
"Thanks, Peter. You're awesome. But, there's one question I just have to ask..."
She pulled herself out of Peter's embrace, eyes full of fear. Peter immediately prepared to comfort her again, should she start crying.
"What...what if I have these dreams again? I still see the...images...now. And I still regret that each time I woke up instead of going back to save everypony...how will I cope with it if I have the dreams again? And what if they..." she gulped, "get worse?"
Peter oriented himself so that he was sitting next to Rainbow Dash and put an arm around her, looking into her eyes, a spark of protectiveness kindling within his eyes.
"If you ever, ever see the dreams again, you can come right to me. Or go to Fluttershy. Or anypony. We're all here to help you."
Her eyes watered a bit, warranting a sympathetic smile from Peter.
"But...what if...they're freaked out by what I see?"
Peter opened his mouth to respond but then had a better idea. He picked up his iPod, unlocked it, and found the track he was looking for.
----------------Rainbow Dash---------------
The cyan pony watched, intrigued, as Peter flicked through menus, using nothing but his fingers. He finally poked something, and put the large headphones around her ears. His words were slightly muffled, but Rainbow Dash could make them out.
"I'm going to turn on noise reduction. Stay calm, alright?"
She steeled her nerves, confident that whatever Peter had in store for her was going to help her.
Rainbow Dash felt his finger catch on something on the headphone, and the world went silent.
She looked around in shock, not able to hear anything. But then the soothing voice kicked in, sending her into a state of calm...
The small, black box hung in front of her eyes, Peter's hand holding the bottom of it. She could make out two name in the small text: 'Relaxing Journey', and below that, 'nlpmagic'.
She let go of her stress as the voice said, laying down on the bed, Peter laying down next to her, hands behind her head.
Allow your eyes to close...
She did so, the melody starting up. It was so...peaceful.
She focused on her breathing as the voice said, and let her stress...go.
...and begin the Relaxing Journey...
And so it began. She imagined it as it spoke.
You're standing on a path...at the entrance to a safe, magical, forest...
And, behind her closed eyes, she was, the gravel crunching beneath her hooves as she alighted upon the ground, her wings dissolving away with her stress.
And as you look ahead you may...sense, that this path leads to a special place...a place where you can learn new things...and discover how to unlock your true potential...It's a path that leads deep into the forest, and deep into comfortable...relaxation...
Outside of her mind, Rainbow Dash rolled her shoulder, relaxing the tired joints.
With every step you take...But before you begin, to follow the path...you may become aware, in a moment or two...of the comfortable temperature of the air on your skin...
She moved her hooves around a bit, noticing how nice the temperature was...
And the color of the sky...you even notice, whether or not there are any leaves on the trees, and whether the path is dirt, or wood, or paved, or some other material...as you begin to walk, now.
She started to walk in her imagination, the gravel crunching beneath her hooves as she stepped into the dense foliage, a light at the end of her journey, the blue sky flickering through the trees, the scent of pine tickling her nose...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She walked down the 'right' path, thoroughly relaxed, the birds chirping high above her, the smell of damp earth a result of a recent rain storm.
Now, as you get on the right path, and as you continue to follow the path, through the woods, you may become aware, in a moment or two, that your self confidence is building within you, increasing more and more...with each and every step.
She smiled. She was feeling pretty awesome, like she could conquer the world...
And as you continue to enjoy these wonderful surroundings, I'm wondering if you can realize, with your, real eyes, just how wonderful it is to be...you...can do anything...and achieve anything you desire...
She smiled even more widely, realizing how awesome she was.
...Because in a moment, you're going to notice that up ahead, the forest opens up, into a beautiful clearing, and in this clearing is a hammock, strung between two trees...a little house...and beside it, a large garden, that used to grow fantastic things. But now, both the house and the garden have been left unattended, and the house needs paint, and repairs, and organizing...and the garden is overgrown with weeds.
She frowned slightly at the sad sight, the abandoned house and garden creating a rather depressing air in the elated forest...
And as you take a nice, deep breath... She did. You're going to think to yourself...I can do this. I can make this wonderful again.
She smiled, the realization that she could accomplish anything stinging her with ecstasy...
The voice pointed out tools and paint, giving her hope. She walked over to the garden.
You begin to pull the weeds that were preventing the garden from growing wonderful things, and things begin to click, one after another.
She smiled, a feeling of excitement bubbling within her chest.
Removing the weeds from the garden...making rooms for new seeds...and as you continue to weed the garden, you begin to hear friendly footsteps, coming into the clearing, and you notice that the people you like, have come to help you.
The track kept going, heard only by her subconscious. The last line struck something in her, the words 'footsteps' and 'people' somehow replaced by 'hoofsteps' and 'ponies' by her mind.
Her friends had come to help her overcome all of her difficulties.
There was Twilight, smiling at her with a Sparkle in her eyes.
And there was Fluttershy, a small bunny on her back, nibbling a carrot.
And there was Applejack, looking at her with a relaxed smile, leaning on a tree.
And there was Pinkie Pie, holding a cake that said 'Congrats on the new house, Dashie!'
"Hey, Rainbow Dash, are those headphones good?"
Rainbow Dash looked at Pinkie Pie, smiling. Yep, that's Pinkie Pie...
And there was Spike, his hands across his chest, eyebrow raised.
And there was Scootaloo, plans for the house already drawn on a piece of paper, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle joining her on their quest to find a Cutie Mark.
And there was Princess Celestia, joined by Princess Luna, both of them looking at Rainbow Dash with admiration. Her heart exploded with joy, realizing how awesome it was to be her.
But then, somepony else walked out from the crowd.
There, in all her glory, was Rarity, blue eyes full of compassion.
Rarity...she came to help me...
She was quickly joined by Peter, a smug look on his face, kneeling down next to Rarity.
"Likin' the house, 'Dash!"
And Peter too...all of them...they all came to help me...after I blew up on them...after I ignored their calls for help...
Her tears of happiness spilled over. All of her friends came to help her...
The track came to an abrupt end, the voice loudly saying the number five, waking her from her dream.
Tears of happiness streaked down her face. Peter lay on his side, elbow elevating his head.
Rainbow Dash pulled off the headphones with a hoof and some difficulty, and went to wipe her eyes with a hoof, but was stopped by Peter, who now lay a hand on her face, also crying, albeit not as hard. He leaned over and whispered something to her.
"That is one of the most beautiful pieces of art my culture has ever made...at least to me, it is. I listen to it whenever I'm feeling...down...and I remember how cared for and loved I am by my friends, and by my family."
Rainbow Dash sat up, nodding. Peter sat up as well, smiling at Rainbow Dash.
Her friends...they had all come to help her...
Rarity...she wanted to help me...
She felt better. More relaxed, more...stable.
She was about to suggest that they sleep when both she and Peter yawned at the same time.
They looked at each other and smiled.
"Can I...still sleep here, Peter?"
Peter pulled the sheets up, making an opening for human and pony.
"After you, 'Dash."
They were about to hit the hay when a single word escaped the lips of an elegant, white unicorn.

Side note: the italics thing for the Relaxing Journey: credit to Alan from Hypnosisdownloads.org for the lyrics! Not my stuff. He's a hypnotic genius.