Rainbow Dash sighed, stuffing her face into her pillow and groaning into it loudly. Her muzzle scrunched up and her eyes watered, tears threatening to escape from her eyes. She wiped them away quickly, sniffling.
The truth was, she was doubting herself - doubting her abilities.
The Wonderbolts had become such a chore recently. She had to memorise a 15-minute long flight pattern while staying in position. Spitfire had stressed that it was "vitally important" to get everything perfect as there was "no room for mistakes". It had really been getting to her recently. She had barely any time on her hooves, only getting a few hours of sleep per day with the stress of revising her flight pattern. What if she forgot everything and embarrassed herself? What if everypony made fun of her? What if-
The sound of hooves rapping against the door interrupted her train of thought, followed by a voice.
"Hey, Rainbow. Can I come in?"
She mumbled something that sounded more like a grunt than anything else, but Twilight trotted in any way, eyeing her suspiciously. Then she asked the same question she had asked for the past few weeks.
"Rainbow," she said, "are you alright?"
She simply nodded in response, smiling a fake smile before averting her gaze. There were a few minutes of silence, and Twilight shook her head.
"No," she said sternly, "you're not."
Rainbow looked up in surprise, nodding her head.
"Yes," she insisted, "I am."
Twilight, despite her knowing Dash wasn't much of a hugger, trotted slowly towards her and wrapped her hooves around her. They stayed there for a few moments before Twilight nuzzled into her neck in an attempt to comfort her.
"Dash, for the record, you look horrible." Twilight giggled
For the first time in a few weeks, Dash found herself giggling at her friend's silly remark, and, without even thinking, rested her head on top of Twilight's, accepting the hug. They were now wrapped around each other, Twilight's head in the crook of Dash's neck as they both closed their eyes, enjoying their moment together. Twilight let out an admittedly adorable giggle.
"Dash~" she teased playfully, "I never knew you had this side to you. It's really cute~"
Rainbow pulled away slowly, her muzzle glowing a dim red. She didn't say anything. Instead, her eyes watered again, and she threw herself back into Twilight's loving embrace. The pegasus was now a sniffling, crying mess in Twilight's hooves - all of the emotion, the stress, the doubts, leaving her body as she quietly sobbed into her. Twilight stroked her mane gently, nuzzling her gently and stroking her back with the other hoof. She hushed her, closing her eyes and concentrating on providing comfort to her friend.
They stayed there for what seems like hours, Rainbow Dash slowly coming down from her fit of sobs and now simply nuzzling into Twilight's neck. Twilight slowly pulled away, giving her cheek a small nuzzle. Rainbow looked downwards, averting her gaze in an attempt to hide her bright red muzzle. She had never cried in front of anypony before.
"Dash," Twilight insisted "please, tell me what's wrong. It's clearly affecting you..."
Her voice trailed off, and she gazed into the pegasus' deep magenta eyes, pleading. Rainbow took a deep, slow breath.
"Okay..." she murmured "but... can we... y'know...?"
Twilight tilted her head to the side, giving a questioning look. Rainbow Dash blushed furiously and stared up at her, forcing the words out.
"C-cuddle...?"
Twilight was surprised, to say the least. She never took Rainbow as a "snuggly" type of pony, but she most definitely wasn't complaining. It was, she concluded, actually quite adorable.
"Awww~..." she cooed "of course we can, Dashie."
Twilight sat down beside her friend and almost immediately, the pegasus began to nuzzle into her neck. Twilight giggled, placing a hoof around her and resting her head atop hers. She rubbed her back gently, and Rainbow Dash began.
"It's just... the Wonderbolts has become such a chore lately. We're expected to memorise an entire flight pattern in a few weeks and Spitfire keeps talking about how there's no room for mistakes. And I'm meant to attend Wonderbolts events, which is cool and all, but they go on for hours at a time, which is time I could have spent practising my flying pattern! That's not even the worst bit, I'm getting barely any sleep and I think-"
Rainbow felt a hoof on her lips. There were a few moments of silence until Twilight began talking.
"Dash. You can do this. You are the most determined, kind, skilful, fastest pony I know, and if anyone can do this, it's you. You've faced challenges in the past, right? We've all overcome them. Together. Just take it one step at a time. Don't try to cram everything in. I'll help you with your flight pattern, but first, you're getting some sleep."
Rainbow opened her mouth to talk, but Twilight hushed her again.
"Sleep. Now." She demanded playfully, nuzzling her.
Twilight got up to walk out, but a hoof grabbed onto her fur. She turned around, being met with beautiful, magenta eyes.
"Can you... s-sleep with me?"
Twilight flushed, nodding almost too willingly.
"Happily~"
Twilight climbed into bed beside Dash, wasting no time in wrapping her hooves around her and gently stroking her sides. Because of their similar size, Twilight was able to gently rest her chin on her shoulder. The alicorn rubbed her stomach gently and sighed in contentment.
"You know you're really adorable like this, right?"
The pegasus flushed, waiting a few seconds before responding.
"I am?"
"Of course you are."
Rainbow Dash backed further into Twilight's stomach. The alicorn giggled in response.
"I love you"
The words had come out without her even realizing it. Rainbow felt Twilight tense almost immediately, and Dash began to stammer uncontrollably.
"No! I meant, like, as a friend, y'know? Er, like, um... like..."
Twilight sat up and turned around to face Dash. She gave her a look that she didn't recognize. The pegasus covered her face with the covers, blushing furiously, convincing herself that Twilight wasn't there. She felt Twilight leaning towards her, which caused her to squirm uncomfortably. Had she even meant it? Or did she just say it in the moment?
She'd began to feel... "different" around Twilight recently. She'd get butterflies whenever they hugged and she'd found a sudden fascination for her eyes. Sometimes, she'd-
"Dash? Dash?! Hello?"
She jumped suddenly, being snapped out of her train of thought by the feeling of a hoof poking her through the covers. Twilight slowly pulled the covers off of her face, revealing a blushing pegasus.
"Do you really?"
Blushing, Rainbow reflected on the question. She had felt different around Twilight recently. Whenever they hugged, it was different. To her, at least. It was like she didn't ever want to let go - like if she did let go, she'd lose her. But surely that was all just them becoming closer friends, right?
"I... I don't know..." was her honest response
Twilight leaned towards her. For a moment, Rainbow was confused, but it suddenly all came together as they felt their muzzles connect. Dash tensed up for a few seconds, before, mainly out of pure instinct, she kissed back. After what seemed like hours, Twilight pulled away, panting softly.
"Yes," Dash said "I... I love you, Twilight..."
Twilight smiled, giggling.
"I love you too, ya big softie~"
Author's Note
Heyo! So, where have I been?
Well, a lot of things came up, specifically school work and it took literally most of my free time away. When I wasn't doing school work, I was out with my friend and when I wasn't doing that I was sleeping. Some other, private stuff came up, too. I'm super sorry for not uploading in ages! I've been trying my best, so apologies if this isn't my best story, or if the pacing isn't so good.
As always, constructive criticism is always encouraged! I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing. ^-^