3 seconds until the hug.
Twilight and Rainbow's eyes met.
Twilight realized she was alone, and tired, and cold, in the study. Only the dying glow of the fire gave off any heat in the large crystal room. She was vulnerable. Nothing protected her but a pile of books, neatly organized but not nearly high enough to hide her now.
Rainbow stood outside the ajar study door, halted in her tracks. She was merely passing by the study--or going to the study? Why else would she be up late? Yes, she had come to check in on her girlfriend. Standard girlfriend practice.
...It was nice of her. Twilight smiled.
2 seconds until the hug.
Twilight panicked. Now was not the time for a hug. She was in the middle of researching hawks, her pile of books sorted by what she had and hadn't read, hawk habitats and hawk diets and hawk behavior. Everything was carefully organized.
Rainbow's hugs were neither careful, nor safe for the organs. Rainbow was the hawk of hugs.
Twilight knew better than to flee; this was Rainbow Dash. She considred using logic--Twilight was cold, and Rainbow Dash was most likely not. To hug would be to lose valuable heat, and eventually Rainbow's temperature would decrease down to hers. A fruitless endeavor. Illogical. However, this was Rainbow Dash.
Perhaps a makeshift wall of books could protect her. Twilight horn flickered to touch a nearby shelf full of books, but she released her magical grasp. Firstly, it would damage both Rainbow and the books, but mostly the books. Secondly, though her magic was fast, Rainbow Dash was faster.
Rainbow's hoof stopped midair as she stood outside the open door. She was likely taking note, now: alone, tired, cold, in the study... and vulnerable. Her wings tensed and lifted above her shoulders.
1 second until the hug.
Twilight didn't want one.
She wanted to crumple up into a ball and hide and scoot closer to the fire and sob. She was tired. It'd been a long night. She was up late to do this research, and up even later because her tired mind had confused red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks, which were very different, as Fluttershy had insisted. That mistake had set her back an hour of research. And she felt stupid.
She didn't like feeling stupid. But she did, and stupidity didn't deserve a hug.
But Rainbow Dash came flying, regardless. She barreled into Twilight headlong, turning her face and closing her eyes, but grinning.
Twilight winced.
Impact.
Somehow, though she moved at the speed of a train, she collided like a pillow. It wasn't even enough to knock Twilight over, and her books remained untouched in their neat little stacks.
Twilight still sobbed.
"See, look, this is a bed," Rainbow said, nudging Twilight towards the bed with a wing. "This is where you sleep."
Both of these things were true.
Twilight had sighed and complained many times that evening, so she felt guilty sighing again. Her eyes, though they were dry now, felt dull. "I still have research to do."
"Start it back up tomorrow." Rainbow nudged her further and pressed her into the side of the bed so the plush sheets caressed her shoulder. "I'm an athlete, Twilight, so I know how important sleep is. And you need it, too. You're like a brain athlete. Gotta give that egghead some TO."
Twilight nodded. She wanted the ordeal to be over one way or another. Sleeping it off was one way.
Rainbow stretched her wings, then trotted over to the other side of the bed. "Here, I'll warm it up for ya." She slithered in, rolling around underneath the sheets. "Wow, so warm and comfy. All my stress is literally melting away!"
Twilight bit her tongue. Another lecture on "literally" would have to wait. She pressed Rainbow's side, scooching her over to make room. "All right, all right. I'll sleep."
She climbed in, Rainbow helping her navigate to the pillow. Once there, she nuzzled it. She was no longer alone, nor cold beneath the warm comforter, but she was still tired, and her research was still not done.
"I'm stupid," she said, impulsively. She studied Rainbow's face for a reaction.
Rainbow nodded. "Yup." She patted Twilight's shoulder. "Stupid for thinking you're stupid."
Twilight ignored the paradox.
"You're super smart. Like, waaay smarter than me, which is saying something. I mean, I'm one sharp filly."
Twilight smiled, but only briefly. "I'm supposed to be smart. But I fell behind on my research, all because I--"
"Yeah, yeah. You made a mistake. Look, Twi." Rainbow leveled her gaze. "You're putting too much pressure on yourself. Trust me, I know. I've done it before. I had to, to be a Wonderbolt."
Twilight believed it.
"I want to be the best Wonderbolt there is. And you want to be the best Princess of Friendship there is. I get it. It's something I really like about you. But you're allowed to make mistakes, Twilight. It's no big deal."
Twilight bit her lip and looked away. It shouldn't have felt like a big deal, but it did, but she'd complained for long enough tonight. She felt selfish now, since she wasn't allowed to feel stupid.
"Still feels like a big deal, huh?" Rainbow frowned.
"Yeah." Twilight licked her lips. "Sorry."
"Hey, no sweat. If you're that worried about it, it means you care, so there's that." Rainbow yawned and stretched. Her eyes widened. "Guess what. I've figured out how to solve this."
Twilight blinked. "Oh?"
"You have to kiss me. It's a magical kiss that'll solve any and all nagging emotional problems until tomorrow," Rainbow said, closing her eyes and puckering her lips to a comical extent.
Twilight couldn't help but snicker. She had Rainbow. She loved Rainbow. Rainbow couldn't do everything for her, but she always tried her best to support her, even if she didn't know what to say, or how to solve Twilight's selfish stress problems, or what to do besides offer a magical kiss.
Twilight pecked Rainbow on the lips. "Okay. I'll sleep now."
"Poof! It worked!" Rainbow beamed. She craned her neck up to the lamp and blew out the flame. "Good night. Love ya."
"Love you too."
Rainbow turned back around and smirked, rubbing Twilight's shoulder, then nuzzling the pillow and letting her eyelids fall.
Twilight smiled.
3 seconds until the hug.
