Contrast

"My, my..." The anonymous voice returned to Twilight's head, right as she closed the door. "You handled that better than I expected...I'm impressed."

"Still here?" Twilight asked in a tone that was as annoyed as it was mocking. "I was expecting you to simply sneak off after being proven wrong."

"Proven wrong? Me?" The voice sounded shocked. "My dear Twilight, haven't you understood yet?"

"Understood what? That you're a deluded lunatic, as well as a sore loser?"

"Tsk tsk tsk..." He seemed disappointed. "Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough the first time...Please, allow me to clarify!"

Just as the voice finished its sentence, Twilight got startled by a knock on her door.

"Twilight?" a familiar voice addressed her from behind the door. "Umm...do you have a minute?"

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, completely dazed by the sudden event.

"Can I come in?" Rainbow Dash asked after slowly opening the door.

"Umm...sure," Twilight replied, still maintaining a state of utter confusion. "What are you doing here at this hour?" she asked after Rainbow Dash got closer to her.

"Oh, you know..." she spoke with little confidence in her tone. "Just doing my job as a loyal friend and making sure you're all right...He he...he..." she laughed sheepishly and started rubbing the back of her head.

"Uh-huh..." Twilight didn't seem convinced.

Rainbow Dash kept rubbing the back of her head and staring at her friend with a sheepish grin for some time, until she finally took an action. "Please don't tell the others about this," she said and threw her hooves around Twilight's back.

Twilight gasped from the sudden hug that left her even more confused than before. "Rainbow...Dash?..." Something was definitely not right, and Twilight even began to suspect who might be behind all of this. Oddly enough, the hug actually felt authentic, in contrast to Pinkie's compelled laughing.

After disengaging from the hug, Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight with a cordial look and a slight shade of red on her cheeks. "You know I'd never leave you hanging when you need me, right?"

"O-Of course!" Twilight replied with the exact same kind of look on her face. "Rainbow...what's this all about?" she asked as she placed her hoof on her friend's shoulder.

The rainbow-maned pegasus immediately broke eye-contact and started staring at the ground. "I know I might not show it every day, usually because I'm too busy trying out some new tricks and just plain being awesome..." she reestablished eye-contact. "But I'm glad you're my friend, Twilight," she said with a warm smile on her face.

Twilight smiled back at her before asking, "He's making you do this, isn't he?"

"What!?" Rainbow Dash shouted as both her eyes and wings shot wide open. "I-I...uhh, don't know what you're talking about!" She started rubbing the back of her neck, her eyes constantly darting from left to right.

"It's okay, Rainbow Dash. He's been bothering me too," Twilight calmly explained.

"Oh..." Rainbow Dash lowered her wings. "You know I still meant what I said, right?"

"Of course, Rainbow," Twilight replied in a sincere tone. "I know I can always count on you when I need help, you don't have to remind me of that."

Hearing those words from her friend seemed to mean a lot to Rainbow Dash. "Thanks, Twi."

The two ponies spent some time just staring at one another with warm smiles on their faces.

"Sooo..." Rainbow Dash broke the silence. "Any idea what's this guy's deal?"

"No idea," Twilight admitted. "But he's beginning to get on my nerves."

"Tell me about it!" her conversation partner agreed. "I mean, he just appeared out of thin air and started following me around as though he was in love with me! Hugging me on every stop and not letting me take more than five steps without him, claiming that he's only being loyal," Rainbow Dash retold her story. "Then, just like that, he stops being friendly and starts accusing me of not being the real element of loyalty!...By the way, what's a usurper?"

"He did the exact same thing with Pinkie Pie!" Twilight added. "Only with laughter instead of loyalty."

"Pinkie Pie!?" Rainbow Dash shouted in disbelief. "How could he possibly accuse her of not being the element of laughter!? This guy's delusional!"

"I said the same thing, but he just wouldn't back down, for some reason."

"Do you think he's gonna go bother the others, as well?" Rainbow Dash asked in a slightly nervous tone. "Twilight?" she said after getting no reply for a good while.

"I don't know," Twilight sadly admitted. "He should have realized that he was wrong, by now, and yet..."

"Maybe he really is just a deluded maniac..."

"That's what I'm afraid of..." Twilight said in a concerned voice. "What if he just doesn't stop, even after he's been proved wrong on all six accounts?"

The two ponies spent some time discussing the recent events and looking at each other with concerned looks. However, the late hour eventually got to them.

Rainbow Dash yawned out loud. "I'm too tired to think straight, Twilight..." she admitted with a small touch of regret in her tone. "Lets hope this thing also needs to sleep at night."

Twilight nodded in approval, mostly because she was also tired, but also partially because she simply didn't want to admit that she had no idea how to put an end to this madness.

"I'll see ya tomorrow, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said through another yawn as she started heading for the door. "You know where to find me if you need me."

Twilight escorted her to the door and saw her out. She waved at her as she saw her take off, after which she walked back inside and closed the door behind her.

"Touching," the anonymous voice whispered to Twilight. "Aren't you going see your loyal companion safely home?"

"Please..." Twilight said dismissively. "As if Rainbow Dash ever needed help finding her way."

"You never know," he slyly added. "For the night is dark and full of terrors..." He laughed quietly.

After hearing such an ominous remark and laughter, Twilight couldn't help but open the door to see if Rainbow Dash was all right. Unsurprisingly, she was already long since out of eyeshot.

"Gotcha."

"Ha, ha, very funny." The annoyed alicorn closed the door and went back inside.

"Anything sinking into that thick, little head of yours?" the voice asked mockingly.

"Funny...I was about to ask you the same thing," Twilight snidely replied.

Twilight heard a loud sigh of despair from the owner of the voice afterwards.

"Mayhap you really are just too tired to think straight," he calmly added. "Lets try again, tomorrow, shall we?" With a sinister laugh, the voice faded away.

Twilight shook her head and slowly walked upstairs with an irritated frown on her face.

"Even Discord makes more sense than him..."