Night Light

by Thyrai

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Romance
Length: 11386

Twilight wakes from sleep, but did the dream ever end?

Twilight wakes from sleep, but did the dream ever end?

Published 2013-03-18 05:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-03-18 05:30:02 UTC

Night Light

Night Light
Thyrai

Twilight felt as though she was adrift at sea. A gentle riptide pulled her in what seemed like every direction at once, dragging her in an aimless glide along the current. A light, summery breeze accented the water. Everything was so was pleasantly warm and impossibly placid, just like one would imagine from pining away at photographs from some faraway paradise.

Slowly, she lifted her eyes to a skyscape ablaze with the brilliant lights of the cosmos. An unbelievable number of shimmering stars and galaxies littered the expanse for as far as she could see, painting the void with every colour imaginable: from the deepest of blues to the brightest of reds. The Equestrian sun and moon were nothing but specks among the vastness of the universe, one paradoxically teeming with both life and and an infinite loneliness. It truly felt as though she was looking into eternity itself; the colossal expanse lacking form and substance like a beautiful lie.

Her gaze was drawn to one single star that stood out from the rest in the sky, and she couldn’t help smile as soon as she recognized it. Its size and pinkish glow was unmatched across the void. It was like a memento from the past, bearing a strange, bittersweet feeling from a time long ago.

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when she began to notice something soft push against the back of her head. It couldn’t be the current, it was far too firm. Could it be the shore? Had she come this far already? It couldn’t be possible. Something was wrong.

She closed her eyes to blink, but her disobedient eyelids remained firmly shut. The ghosts of her vision swam underneath their darkness, smearing her colourful illusions into a blackening canvas. The celestial plane began to crumble at its seams, and with it came a sense of heaviness, wrapping her in a warm material embrace.

A powerful breath of air filled her lungs, and her vagrant, lucid thoughts began to slip away to a presence of mind. At last, her eyes at last obeyed her wishes to open to the world around her. Incredibly bright, pale light was the first thing that awaited, provoking a low groan of pain to escape her lips as the blazing needles lanced her sensitive eyes.

A pony tittered nearby. “It’s about time you came around.”

There was something comfortingly familiar about that voice. It had a bit of a rasp to it, but retained its femininity. Twilight lifted her hooves out from under the blankets and rubbed her still-burning eyes. After a moment, she raised her eyelids again, slowly this time, to acclimate to the unbelievable light.

Twilight’s gaze surveyed the room, taking stock of her surroundings. It wasn’t anything special, consisting of little more than a few bookshelves, the bed she was laying in, and a vanity in the corner.

“Rainbow Dash?" She managed at last, turning lazily to see her company.

“Nice guess.” The mare set her book down on a small chest and walked over to the bedside. Lunar light pouring from the window glistened from her body, evoking the underspoken azure tones of her coat and feathers to shine an ethereal silver in the moonlight. She looked like an angel.

“What’s... where am I?”

"You’re home, Twilight.” A look of concern crossed the pegasus’ face, but vanished as quickly as it appeared. “Things must be a little fuzzy, huh?”

“You could say that.” Twilight muttered as she tried to push herself up with her hooves in a vain attempt to remove herself from the strangling hold of the bedsheets. An stagnant feeling churned in her stomach in protest, accompanied with a sensation of tightness in her chest.

“Whoa, hey. Take it easy.” Rainbow reached forward, slipping a hoof around her back to help her sit upright. “How do you feel?”

“I’m okay, I think.” Twilight mumbled through her post-slumber grog. “It feels like I’ve been asleep forever.” She habitually lifted a hoof to flatten out her mane and brush it out of her face. But, Strangely enough, she didn’t seem to have an absolute mop of tangled bed-hair as she regularly did after a night’s sleep.

“What happened?”

“You, uh.” Dash’s expression shifted ever so slightly, as if an effort was made to keep it from changing. “You had a little accident.”

A cold shot of fear ran through her veins. Something like that isn’t what one particularly wants to hear shortly after waking up in a stupefied daze. “Am- am I okay?” Twilight whispered.

“Oh, yeah. You’re gonna be just fine. I know you must be kinda mixed up, though. You’ve been through a lot.” Dash said airily, giving a warm, reassuring smile. It beared no hint of deception, but still betrayed itself to something else yet unspoken. “This might seem kinda strange, but can you remember anything about me?”

Twilight’s head came to rest against the headboard, lost in pensive silence for a long moment as she mulled the question over. Yes, she somehow knew this mare by name, but anything past that was a complete fog. Something was there, but it was distant. It was strange, really. That same sort of mental haziness shrouded her memories of the very room as well. It was as if the sincerest form of deja vu plagued her conscious, but any recollection merely remained hidden beneath the surface.

“I... don’t think so.”

The mare simply nodded. “Hm, thought as much.”

“Were we friends?”

“Yeah, we were a long time ago. Things have a way of changing.” Dash said, her features in a perfect neutral. “I guess you can’t remember much about yourself either, huh?”

Twilight shook her head.

Rainbow broke into a grin. “Heh, cool. A little freaky, but that must be one heck of a weird feeling.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Twilight shot a her a sour look.

Rainbow stood up, looking none too concerned. “Hungry? I’m not really good at cooking, but I made some sandwiches if you’re interested. I even made it in the freaky compulsive way you like, with exactly eight daisies on the bottom.”

Twilight furrowed her brow. That sounded absolutely delicious, and now that she thought about it, she was surprised her stomach hadn’t started to devour itself yet. “Y-yeah. I’d like that. Thank you.”

Rainbow Dash helped her ease out of bed, and after shakily standing on her hooves, they started downstairs. Like everything else, the house seemed so familiar, but dwelled on the side of her mind she couldn’t quite access. The ground floor fed into a kitchen that was just large enough to be considered cozy without being too constricted; the space accommodating room for only a couple ponies, and perhaps a few guests on occasion. Everything was drenched in a seraphic silvery-white from the lunar bath pouring from the windows. It was so remarkably bright that it, aside from a few candles, more than sufficed to light up the entire house.

Rainbow led her to a table, and Twilight took a seat while two big sandwiches were retrieved from the refrigerator. She watched as her guide took a seat on the other end of the meager table, which only had enough space between them to keep their legs from tangling. Twilight took her rather appealing-looking food and gratefully took a bite, chewing slowly in thought.

Her eyes widened suddenly. “This is really good.”

“Heh, thanks.” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. “I learned from the best.”

“Have you been waiting around for me to wake up this whole time?”

Dash nodded. “You were at the hospital for awhile, but they said they couldn’t do anything more to help. They said it’d be best to just come home.” She continued almost absentmindedly as she grabbed the calendar from the adjacent wall and placed it in front of them. A date was circled in red ink, augmented with an unnecessary amount of little stylized arrows emphasizing the figure further. “Recall anything?”

Twilight stared at the two numbers in silence, becoming increasingly frustrated until the slightest hint of tears began to sting beneath her eyes. Something told her that she knew that date, but despite her best efforts, the two numbers were just that. Two numbers.

“N-no. No, I don’t.”

Expecting her to be upset, Twilight had to work up the courage to look up to the rainbow pony, only to find quite the opposite. Rainbow was smiling, almost as if she expected her answer to be so.

“Please don’t be upset.” She said, grasping Twilight’s hooves in her own from across the table. “There’s a story I need to tell you, and someplace I want to show you.”

“Place?” A very thematic feeling of bewilderment beset Twilight once again.

Dash stole a glance out the window. “Yeah. We’re going to be just on time, but we need to leave now.”

“Leave? Now? Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” Twilight asked, looking down at herself.

Rainbow eyed her boredly for a second. “If that was still a problem, you’d still be stuck in that smelly old hospital with that annoying beeping thing.” The cyan mare let go of her hooves and stood, looking to her expectantly. “Please come with me? I promise you’ll remember everything, and you won’t regret it. Besides, it’s a beautiful night, and I’d hate for you to miss it.”

Twilight reluctantly set her sandwich back on the plate rose to her hooves, silently mourning the fact that she hadn’t even had the chance to take a second bite out of her meal. “I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

“Nah, not really.” Rainbow was now positively beaming. “I hope you’re up for a little late nighttime flight.”

“Flight?” Twilight spat, not even attempting to disguise her distress. “Like flying flight?”

“I would suggest teleporting there, but only one of us knows where we’re going, and I’m not one of you freaky unicorns.” The pegasus took the extra effort to bonk Twilight on the nose with a hoof.

“Hey!”

“It’ll give me time to tell the story, anyway.” Dash reasoned, swinging the door forth into a town bathed in deep moonglow. Her tone then changed to one of faux gusto, like an actor would whilst reciting an epic soliloquy as they stepped into the cold night air together.

“Legend has it that there was once a unicorn with a gift for a lot of really cool things, like the ability to read through an entire textbook in one sitting. But, most of all, she was unmatched in her talents with magic...”

“Well, look who it is!” Twilight exclaimed with a playful smirk as she stood in the library’s doorway. A vivid rainbow mane was a most peculiar surprise while she went about her morning routine. The sun had just barely made its existence known for the new day ahead, with the first dull rays of dawn poking through the cloudy horizon. Rainbow Dash had set down in front of the repurposed tree just as she turned the sign to ‘OPEN’ at precisely seven o’clock.

The visitor stole a glance to her left and right before advancing the rest of the way towards the entrance. “H-hey, Twilight!” She froze in place like a Canterlot soldier standing at attention, her authenticity only lacking a salute.

“Good morning, Rainbow! It’s certainly a surprise seeing you here so early.”

“Hah! Yep! Sure is!” Dash’s voice held an odd mixture of what could only be described as tentative enthusiasm. Not to say that she wasn’t a regularly energetic and spontaneous pony, but there was something a little strange and oxymoronic about her approach. Admittedly, while not all that odd in itself, the situation was moved to bizarre-tier as the chromatic mare insisted on staring at her with an incredibly plastic smile.

...And she kept staring. After a few awkward seconds, it became too much. If this was her idea of a new prank, it wasn’t very clever.

“Would you like to come in?” Twilight offered, already groaning inwardly. This was going to be a long day.

“Yeah!” Rainbow coughed, her expression changing instantly as rubbed the back of her leg with a hoof. “Uh, I mean, I guess I have some time.”

Twilight stepped aside to let the pegasus to enter the library; allowing herself to take a quick scan around the area for any signs of a pink-maned accomplice. It was, however, in that moment that she noticed something that was impossible to believe. She shook her head and blinked a few times, but to no solace. Yes, that’s exactly what it looked like.

“Are you wearing makeup?”

“No!” Dash shouted, whipping around and retreating a few steps. The pegasus’ face gained a faintly reddish tinge, and wings flared in defense. For some reason, she always looked a little bit like a penguin with feathers fluffed out like that. “W-why do you ask?”

Twilight cocked her head to the side. “Well, eyeshadow usually goes near your eyes, and you’re supposed to put mascara on both sets of eyelashes.”

“It’s uh, p-probably just some cloud junk. From the sky. Flying.” She instinctively moved a hoof up to her face, but for whatever reason, decided against rubbing away whatever ‘cloud junk’ was plastered there. She then proceeded to use the now awkwardly placed hoof to visually illustrate her point. “Erm, I fly. Through clouds. And sometimes clouds um... Look, it’s not important. It’s not makeup. It’s cloud stuff. You wouldn’t understand.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow and responded with a slow, “If you say so,” deciding against her better judgement to give her flustered friend the benefit of the doubt. Yes, there was certainly something more than a little off with her friend today, but, then again, this was Rainbow Dash. This mare rivalled Pinkie in terms of instability at times, which was probably made all the worse since she clearly hadn’t gotten her daily fifteen or sixteen hours of sleep.

‘Just another day in Ponyville.’ Twilight told herself. In all honesty, all she wanted to do was settle down next to the fireplace and finish her book on thermodynamics. But alas, personal pleasure always came second to being a hospitable host. “I just about to make myself some coffee, can I get you anythi-”

“Coffee!” Dash interrupted emphatically. “Uh. Heh. I mean, I could really go for some coffee, too! You know, If you, um, have any. No big deal if you don’t or anything.”

Rainbow kept her fake, innocent smile firmly engraved on her face, and continued to fidget and shuffle around on her hooves. If Twilight didn’t know any better, her best diagnosis to the situation would be that Rainbow was suffering from acute case of nervousness. Of course, she dismissed the notion as soon as it crossed her mind. The Rainbow Dash nervous? Applejack might as well had gone back to Manehattan to live with her relatives again.

Twilight cast a sidelong glance at the pegasus as she headed towards the kitchen. “Are you feeling alright? You seem a little jumpy.”

“Just fine! Wow, this library is really clean!” Rainbow swept her hoof across a bookshelf, inspecting it for dust. “Spike sure take good care of the place. Where is that little guy, anyway? I haven’t seen him in, uh... a day or so.”

“You just missed him. He went out to that store that sells sofas and quills.” Twilight produced a package of coffee beans from a cupboard. “I hope he’s just buying quills, the last thing we need in here is another sofa.”

Rainbow responded with an awkwardly forced laugh from the other room, taking a seat at the table in the parlor while Twilight went about making their drinks. At one point, she stole a glance into the next room, noting the pegasus staring off into space in a rare moment of quietness. Well, relative quietness, anyway. The library was filled with a dull, repeated tapping of a cyan hoof striking the table.

“So what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Not that I’m complaining, but I know you well enough to know that you’re certainly not up...” Twilight trailed off to check to the clock, “Six hours early to sit around a library.”

Dash stiffened. “Uh, well, you know. We haven’t hung out that much recently, so I figured we could... hang out? Or something.”

“Uh huh,” Twilight started unconvinced, her expression slowly growing into a sly smirk. “I know what’s going on here, by the way. You don’t have to hide these kinds of things from me.”

“Y-you do?” Dash’s face flushed an unhealthy colour of pasty white, seemingly mortified by the allegation.

“Absolutely! You’ve finally come to confess your undying passion for literature!” Twilight swooned, hugging the bag of coffee beans close to her chest. “I knew it would happen someday! That’s how I started too, you know. Finding little excuses to keep reading books, and waking up early to go to the library to lose myself in literary adventures! Oh, I knew this would happen after you started reading Daring Do! We can be book buddies, and we can read together!”

“...What?” Rainbow deadpanned, sounding more like a statement than a question. She blinked before a few times before shifting her gaze anywhere Twilight wasn’t. “That’s... not it. I just... I actually just need to talk. To you. About, um. Something personal.” She paused. “Personally.”

Twilight did her best to stow away her disappointment at losing her chance at a prospective kindred spirit. “Is there something wrong?”

“Nope! Not really. Maybe.”

“Well, alright then. Just give me one minute here and I’ll be all yours.” Unbeknownst to the lavender mare, a thankful Rainbow Dash praised her stars that she was in the other room, lest she see the bright blush the statement put on her face.

A few crashes, grunts, moans and euphemistic curses later, Twilight emerged from the kitchen levitating two steaming mugs of her Ponyville-renowned caffeine kickstarters. She set down one of the cups on the table, taking a seat next to her friend before taking a much needed draught of her own.

“Sooo...” Twilight started after a minute, coughing into her hoof.

“Soo...” Her guest echoed as her shifty gaze alternated between admiring the designs on the tablecloth and cup of coffee. Despite her gratuitous enthusiasm to have a good old cup of joe, she certainly wasn’t making an effort to use it as anything more than something to look at.

“I’m ready when you are.” Twilight’s said, a little more seriously than normal. A little mutual banter had always been one of the most receptive forms of communication between the two of them, but she was beginning to get a little concerned. “You know I’m always willing to listen if something’s wrong.” She thought over her wording. “Or if something’s right! Or anything in between.”

“W-well.” Dash started slowly, her ears flattened against her head and her gaze bored a hole in the ceramic cup. “You put sugar in this right? I need like, a lot of sugar in these or else-”

“Rainbow...”

A defeated sigh escaped Dash’s lips as she closed her eyes, looking as though she was preparing to say her last words before her execution. The poor pegasus writhed around in her seat, and beads of sweat visibly began to form on her forehead. In all the time Twilight had known her, this was, by far the most distraught state she’d ever witnessed her friend endure. It might almost be adorable if it wasn’t so disturbingly uncharacteristic.

“So, um. Hearts and Hooves day is tomorrow.” She started breathlessly, which successfully deadened the room with a heavy, anticipatory silence. Twilight could only find it in herself to nod, encouraging the hesitant mare to continue.

“A-and there’s somepony I want to ask to be my... my special somepony.” Dash winced in agony as the last two words rolled off her tongue.

Twilight tried and failed to suppress a squeal. “Aww, that’s so cute!” She gushed, reveling also in the split second of relief that washed over her like a glass of water on a hot summer’s day. For a second there, she’d almost thought Rainbow Dash had done something horrible, akin to dropping one of the library’s books in a puddle. “Do I know him? Is it a secret for my ears only? Why didn’t you go to Rarity for romantic inquiries instead? It’s Thunderlane isn’t it? Tell me everything!”

Rainbow huffed. “Um, no it’s not Thunderlane. But you do know he- this pony pretty well, actually. I don’t think... Rarity would really understand. Not like you would.” She added almost inaudibly, “I hope.”

Twilight realized she had her hooves clasped to her face in a state of blissful ecstasy; off in her own perverse little world as she imagined her friend snogging with practically every pony she could think of. She quickly shook her head to clear out the ridiculous fantasies and made a quick mental note to tone down her monthly intake of steamy romance novels. “Go on! At least tell me what he looks like.” She pushed, removing her hooves from her face to bring her cup to her lips.

Dash scratched the back of her head with a hoof. “It’s a unicorn. Really smart and stuff, kinda likes to read a lot. A bit of an egghead, but she’s still kinda cool-”

It was at that moment that Twilight gagged, successfully spitting a disgusting amount of backwash coffee back into her mug.

“...S-she?”

Dash immediately shrunk back, noticing her premature slip. Her face, once again, went just about as red as the visible spectrum of light would allow, “I-I-I’m not- I thought you might not... I’m sorry, I-I’ll just go.” She stuttered, rising from her seat.

“Wha- But- No, wait! That’s not what I meant at all!” Twilight did her best to re-organize her thoughts as she scrambled to grab on to her fleeing friend, placing her hoof over her in the best hug she could. “I didn’t mean it like that! I was just a little surprised that you... uh, swung that way is all.”

Rainbow mumbled another apology, and something about a stupid idea.

“Dash, listen to me.” Twilight continued, grasping the cyan head between her hooves and forcing the reluctant pony to look straight at her. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, and nopony with at least half a brain will ever think less of you for it. Any mare in Equestria would be more than lucky to have you as their special somepony.”

Twilight’s consoling words almost flowed out almost mechanically, but not without sincerity. She could almost pat herself on the back right then and there at how tactfully she’d taken control situation. The books she’d read on awkward social situations had proved itself invaluable once again, and she made another mental note to send the authors a thank-you letter.

“Well, good.” Dash’s husky tone broke through the silence long minute later. She pulled away from her grasp, and kept her gaze firmly transfixed on the floor. Her face could still be mistaken for a rose garden, and her voice came in nearly a hush.

“‘Cause you’re the one I’m asking.”

“You know, I wish I had a camera. Even if nothing else became of it, the look on your face alone would have made it all worth it.” Dash said with a tone of finality, taking a much needed reprieve from speaking.

When the two of them had left the house, and Rainbow Dash insisted that Twilight climb onto her back. Twilight voiced her concerns about doing something that might be seemingly suggestive, but eventually conceded when she was assured that it wouldn’t be 'Weird or anything.' She tentatively wrapped her hooves around the mare’s muscular neck, and they launched skywards.

They flew for a long time, and Twilight had remained quiet as Rainbow spoke, never so much as asking a question. She idly gazed back at two distant clusters of golden light bobbing in darkness behind them, a lesser one belonging to Ponyville, and the greater to Canterlot. The whole of Equestria glowed under the lunar sky, which was unsurprisingly even brighter and more brilliant outside the house. Rainbow Dash was right, it was a beautiful night. Surreal, even.

Twilight remained in nearly a state of paralytic trance since the story began. The storyteller never so much as paused in her tale since they’d started their journey. She only realized now that, soon after they started, Rainbow’s voice had become distant murmurs in her mind. The sudden silence hit her like like breaching the surface of the water after being submerged under the ocean for days.

Twilight moved a hoof to her face to wipe away some of the damp night air that happened to accumulate there, only to realize wasn’t nature.

“Your face was just as funny, you know.”

Rainbow looked back. “You remember?”

“I do.” Twilight’s eyes shimmered with tears, and, with her newfound sense of self-awareness, proceeded to very nearly strangle the poor flier from behind with a tight hug.

“Well, that was a whole lot easier than I thought. I was worried I’d have to get Pinkie to do some weird gypsy voodoo thing on you.” Dash laughed again, her smile growing impossibly wide. “Recall anything else after that fiasco?”

“A little. I remember it took awhile for you to convince me that you were actually being serious, but I’m still a little muddy on the details of anything afterwards.”

“Awesome! We’re right on schedule, then.” Rainbow said, dipping her wings.

“What do you mea- ah!” Twilight’s inquiry was rudely cut off as the mare fell into a spontaneous nosedive. The unicorn hung on for dear life as they twirled around in tight circles, and the winds soon began to roar all around in increasing fury. Surely enough, the ground grew increasingly larger until Dash at last pulled up into a wide loop-de-loop at the very last second.

“What was that for?!” Twilight practically shouted as they leveled off and returned to their previous, leisurely pace.

“To help you wake up! You looked a little tired.” Rainbow answered playfully, and not sounding the least bit sincere. Even though she couldn’t the front of the mare’s face, Twilight could just tell she was smirking.

“Gee, thanks.” Twilight blew a strand of now disheveled hair out of her face.

“Hey, remember when we used to sit on that splintery old balcony and sleep under the stars? You’d talk about constellations and all sorts of crazy space junk.” Dash said as she seamlessly transitioned the subject of conversation and looked up to the starry expanse. Of course, completely oblivious to Twilight’s scowl at synonymizing her beloved astronomy with junk. “I hated it at first, but eventually it was one of my favorite things to do with you. Even if I didn’t understand pretty much everything you said.”

“Hmm, I suppose that’s why you had that glassy look in your eyes after every one of my lectures.”

“I listened sometimes!” Dash insisted in her defense as she stopped, hovering mid-air, “I can prove it too.”

“Oh really?” Twilight pointed to a cluster of stars. “What’s that one, then?”

“Easy! Dream Weaver’s Belt, it was named after some stallion from pegasus mythology. Apparently he killed some snake and saved Equestria.” Rainbow responded without a moment’s hesitation.

“It was a sea serpent, but close enough.” Twilight simpered. “I’m impressed.”

“That’s what I do!” Dash puffed out her chest a little, again looking just a little bit like a penguin. She then pointed to and explained five more with relative accuracy before motioning to a star above the yellow Canterlot lights. “And there’s your star. We picked it out, ‘cause it looks exactly like your cutie mark. Kinda has a pinkish tinge to it, too.”

“As I recall, you’re the one that picked it out for me.” Twilight said, “That was the first time I got to tease you about being the corny one.”

To that, Twilight expected some sort of snide response, but Rainbow just smiled at her. They allowed their gazes to linger, and the flier’s eyes beared the slightest whisper of mist. “It’s really good to see you again, Twilight. You wouldn’t believe how much we miss you sometimes.”

“It’s good to be back?” Twilight gave a mystified smile. “I couldn’t have been out that long.”

“Any amount of time is too long.” She waved a hoof dismissively. “It shouldn’t take us much longer to get where we’re going. I think everything will make a bit more sense when we get there.”

Twilight laid her head on the back of Dash’s neck as she resumed flight, mesmerised for a moment by the rhythmic pumping of powerful wings as they cut through the night sky. Her memories were like the strangest jigsaw puzzle one could possibly imagine, and she was beginning to put the pieces back together. Her pegasus companion, however, didn’t seem at all too concerned about the whole ordeal, and in fact, it was almost as if she expected her not to remember anything.

Evidently, they were going to be just on time for some event, but the nature of what it could possibly be escaped her, and her companion was far too tight-lipped about it to say anything about it. So, instead of wasting her time with pointless speculation, she decided to admire the scenery. The world was unbelievably bright and clear, despite it being night time. Perhaps that was thanks to the ever-present moon, which shone in its full glory upon the Equestrian landscape. In fact, now that she looked at it, she’d never seen that celestial body devour so much of the sky before, even on the rare nights that brought supermoons.

And then something else occurred to her.

“That’s odd.”

“What is it?”

“The moon. It’s in the exact same place as it was when I woke up.” Twilight observed. “How long has it been? It must have been at least an hour or two since then.”

“I knew you wouldn’t miss that.” Her chauffeur snickered to herself, but kept a steady pace. “It’s because tonight’s a very special night.”

“Oh, so now it’s a special night, is it?”

“You bet! I should be offended that you forgot, but I guess I’ll let it slide this time.”

Twilight felt her face contort into something resembling a scowl, being a tad bit irked at the pegasus’ insistence on being cryptic. “Well, I guess you owe me for lying earlier.”

Rainbow stopped again, turning around with a baffled look. “Lying? What’d I lie about?”

“You said we weren’t friends.”

“That’s because we aren’t.” The mare asserted again with narrow eyes, but this time, the edges of a smirk played in her features. “Come on, Twilight. Think back.”

“But I...” Twilight tried, but the fog still persisted like a plague. “I don’t remember anything.” She finished weakly.

“Just tell me a story.” Dash said simply, her smirk growing wider. “It’s your turn, anyway.”

“Wh- huh? How in the world can I do that?” Twilight sputtered.

“Just pick up where I left off.” She responded with an aggravating amount of aloof simplicity. “I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”

Twilight yawned as the consciousness slowly ate away at her dream world, replacing some pleasant fantasy with the mundane list of day-to-day duties. She stretched her stiff muscles with a grandiose flare and cracked eyes to welcome the new dawn. Warm morning light spilled through the bedroom window, igniting her entire bedroom with a brilliant orange glow.

She reveled in her waking trance as memories of the previous day began to trickle back to her, more specifically, those of Rainbow Dash’s return. She had come back to Ponyville for the past week, after finally receiving her long-anticipated vacation time to spend some time with her old friends.

Week.

Twilight immediately snapped around, only to have her heart crash to a halt when she was met with an empty space beside her. The only trace of the pegasus ever being there was a single strand of orange hair caught in the pillow seams.

She reached towards the other side of the bed, vainly trying to touch the phantom Rainbow Dash one more time. She clenched her eyes shut as a familiar sting found its way to her face, silently reprimanding herself for giving in to that feeling too many times already. She was stronger than that now. It was so trivial after all.

Twilight’s head sank back into the pillow for awhile, having lost her desire to do much of anything. It was only when hunger got the better of her that she regretfully slumped out from under the covers, and placed her hooves onto the creaky wooden floorboards. The sheets were halfheartedly pulled into place, with no real concern paid as to how symmetrical they ended up being.

Shortly after brushing her mane, she trotted downstairs and made her way to the kitchen. Purely from an act of habit, she opened her mouth to shout for a certain assistant, only give a humorless chuckle. Old habits die hard.

She allowed her thoughts to drift back to the previous night as she prepared her regular, bland breakfast. They’d been through the regular routine. Obligatory goodbyes, promises, and well wishes abounded throughout the evening. Everyone was there, and it was a fantastic coming home-going away soiree. To her, it was merely a struggle to keep her composure, cursing her thoughts of impending loneliness with the guilt of selfishness.

Just like every time before.

As she pulled out a chair, she noticed a small white envelope on the far side of the table. Levitating it over with magic, she noticed something that made her heart race. Her name was on the envelope, written in a pencraft she’d recognize anywhere. She couldn’t seem to separate the envelope away from its contents fast enough.

Twilight,
There are so many things I need to tell you, and most of it will have to wait until I’m not boxed in by paper. Honestly, I don’t know how you put up with me for so long. I’ve been so much worse than an awful marefriend, and all you’ve done is support me. Please believe me when I say that the days I spend back at home with you are the best days of my life. I’m not just saying that to make either of us feel better. I truly mean it, from the bottom of my heart. I’m writing this to tell you confess something. Celestia knows I can’t do it in person.

There was a night three years ago. It was the night before my first tour. We were sitting on the old balcony watching the stars (you were, anyway), and we were doing our best to forget about what the next day held; both of us trying to make the most of the last hours we would have together for a long six months. At one point during the evening, you were talking away about your new telescope in that adorable egghead way you always do when the year’s revised dictionary comes out. I just laid there and listened to your voice.

You wouldn’t have noticed, but I felt as though I was going to be sick. There was something I needed to say. I knew it would cause us both pain, but I also knew that it would save us so much more. I interrupted you once I thought I was ready, but I lost my voice for a second. I knew in that moment - a moment of clarity - that what I would or wouldn’t say would change both of our futures forever. And, in that moment, I gave into my cowardice, praying you’d one day be able to forgive me.

I was going to end it, Twilight. I was going to end everything we had together to follow what I thought were my dreams. I prepared myself for weeks for the heartbreak. I practised which words I needed to say more times than I could hope to count, but I couldn’t do it. I was so weak, and all I managed to do was mumble something stupid. Please believe me when I tell you that it I did it because I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want you to miss me. I wanted you to move on and find somepony that would be there for you. Somepony that actually deserves to have you.

I’m the most selfish mare in the world. I hate myself more than you can possibly imagine for what I’ve done, and leaving everything I love behind for this empty life. And that’s not even the worst part. I’ve dragged you into this miserable failure. You deserve better than this, and I’m going to make things right. One way or another.

I promise to learn from my mistakes,
Rainbow Dash

Twilight’s eyes scanned the page over and over again, with hot tears pouring down her cheeks The paper soon became dotted with moisture, as each word of the letter sent stabs of pain through her body. A pang of anger flared through her core, and keen sense of bitterness towards the mare for leaving something like this for a letter after such a long time.

A click sounded from the front door, barely giving her enough time to bring herself to some state of composure. She tried to wipe her eyes and collect herself as best as she could, as it would be poorly mannered to manage a public library with tears streaming down one’s face.

She turned slowly to welcome her visitor.

A visitor with a prismatic mane, bright magenta eyes, and a bouquet of beautiful violet flowers in her mouth.

Unable to to restrain herself, she rushed to embrace the pegasus, who readily returned the gesture. Try as she might, Twilight couldn’t help but fall into a fit of sobs into a cyan shoulder. Rainbow simply held her in comforting silence as she always would.

“Sorry I took so long.” Rainbow said softly after her tears had reduced to faint sniffling, her hoof gently smoothing the back of Twilight’s mane in soothing lines. “You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find purple flowers in this town. Had to steal Rarity’s plastic ones.”

A spurt of laughter broke through through pained tears as Twilight struggled to say something, but her emotions insisted on choking out her voice. “W-why are you here? You... you were supposed to leave.”

“Well, I kinda did.” She looked past Twilight to the table, tensing somewhat when she saw the unfurled paper. “I guess you read the letter.”

A thousand thoughts and questions swum through Twilight’s mind, but above all was a sharp impending fear. A fear of the most logical reason the mare could possibly be here. She was unable to find a coherent way to phrase her mind until she found she a simple, pathetic plea. “Y-you know I don’t mind waiting.”

“You should.” Rainbow’s voice sounded bitter, but she turned Twilight’s face to meet with her own. “I’ll never leave you. Maybe we could have done things differently, but whatever. Past is past.”

“T-then why?” Twilight asked, still trying to quell her incessant blubbering. “I’m sure S-Spitfire won’t be too happy with you extending your vacation.”

“I’m done.”

Twilight sniffled and drew back. “What?”

“I just came from Cloudsdale.” Dash said, her lips curling into a hubristic smile. “I quit.”

Something smashed through Twilight’s chest. Something resembling emotion came and passed so quickly that it was impossible to tell if she was feeling, and tears of some sort continued to stream down her face. If this was some lucid dream, may she never wake.

“But- B, huh? Why now?” Of all the questions she could have asked, she realized that was probably the most useless.

“Last night, I uh. I forgot my saddlebags, so stopped by the library after the party.” Rainbow took in a deep breath and pawed at the floor. “I heard you crying.”

A rush of heat found Twilight’s face, but she managed to stow away her embarrassment for the time being. “Rainbow, please don’t do this because of me. Please don’t abandon everything you’ve worked so h-hard for.”

“You mean my dream? Yeah, I guess it was at some point. Last night hit me hard. Really hard.” Dash’s jaw tightened. “I knew you missed me, but I... I didn’t know I was hurting you like that. You had no idea how much I wanted to come up there, but I knew that would just make things worse.”

“Dash, please-”

“I ditched everything that was really important to me. I always thought we’d get used to the distance, and things would get better.” Dash’s continued unabated, “You know, it’s funny. When I was living here, all I thought about was adventure and going to faraway places. Then when it actually happened, all I was thinking of was home. And you. It’s taken me so long to realize how stupid I was. I-I’m so, so sorry.” By the time she finished, the cyan pegasus had tears of her own streaking down her face and dripping from her chin.

“S-so you’re done f-for good?” Twilight asked, still disbelieving her ears.

“For good.” Dash smiled through clouded eyes. “Unless you don’t want me back, th-ulk!”

Rainbow was cut off as Twilight’s embrace tightened with a remarkable amount of strength for the limbs belonging to such a bookish mare. They stayed that way for a long while, wrapped in one another’s arms before words once more echoed from the library walls.

“You should try public speaking.” Twilight choked. “That was a really nice monologue.”

“Maybe I can practise on Rarity when I try to explain why I broke into her house.” Rainbow gave a barely dignified giggle.

Lost in her own thoughts and the pleasure of the long-drawn embrace Twilight hadn’t noticed Rainbow fidgeting in a way she hadn’t in many years. A few more pleasant moments passed before the cyan mare spoke again.

“Hey, Twi?” A hoof wiped away a rogue tear that had been running down her cheek as the mare spoke. “There’s... uh, something I want to ask you. Something that’s been on my mind for a long time.”

Twilight looked up into a pair of sparkling eyes. “There’s more?”

“Yeah.” She chuckled nervously and extended a hoof. “Come with me. There’s someplace I want to show you.”

The two ponies stepped out of the library and into the morning’s golden-bathed streets, one with a wing tightly wrapped around the other. The bouquet of surprisingly lifelike flowers had fallen to the floor, forgotten for the time being. Unknown to its recipient, a small card bearing a promise of loyalty bundled within had fallen through the cracks in the floorboards, never to be seen again.

If you stay, I’ll stay
If you go, I’ll go
I’ll always be there

Dash glided down towards a grassy hill below, and Twilight lazily rolled off her back and onto a lush field of grass on the back of one of the many rolling mounds in the strange new landscape. She made a point to bask in the relieving pleasure of being on solid ground once more, revelling in the somewhat-soggy greenery.

Rainbow’s grin grew impish as an irresistible opportunity presented itself. She pounced towards the temporarily indisposed unicorn, strategically planting her hooves at her sides, thus preventing any hope of escape.

“Gotcha!”

Twilight gasped in surprise at the sudden ambush, but rolled her eyes only seconds after. “Oh dear, I’m helplessly restrained by an egomaniac pegasus.” She droned, her voice completely impassive in mock terror; the hint of a smile never leaving her face.

That smile, however, rapidly turned to one of savagery as her horn ignited with the violet radiance of magic. The instigator barely had time to howl in surprise before she found herself flung into the air, flipped upside down, and pinned to the ground in a strong magical field.

“Think you’re tough huh?” Twilight breathed, slinking towards her quarry and placing her hooves around the cyan body in the same way that had been done to her. “It just so happens that I remember a way to put you in your place.”

“Oh no- nonono please! Mercy!”

Keeping her firm grip on the hapless pony, Twilight brought her muzzle a mere hairs-breadth away from one of Rainbow’s darkest of secrets. Taking great pleasure in feeling the steadily tensing muscles of the once-dominant pegasus, she moved in for the kill. Ever so slowly, she closed the distance between her mouth and her objective. After an agonizing pause for effect, her teeth delicately nipped at a cyan ear, and a loud gasp awarded her efforts.

“Nghh, s-stop!”

“Mmm... what’re you going to do about it?” She purred down at her squirming prey with sadistic satisfaction. The pitiable mare had her eyes clenched shut and bottom lip squeezed tightly between her teeth as she vainly struggled to break away from the telekinetic clutch. Twilight had learned very early on in their relationship just how freakishly sensitive that pony was in, of all places, her ears. From that fateful point of discovery onwards, she would exploit that weakness at every possible opportunity, the reaction being far too cute to resist. There just was something about seeing the brash mare reduced to begging and gasping that she found a little more than appealing. And, though the pegasus would never admit it, she knew Dash liked too.

Rainbow opened one eye, malicious intent glinting in under the moonlight. “I’ll glue your encyclopedia pages together again.”

Twilight had poised herself at an optimal angle for another little nibble, but hastily placed herself snout-to-snout with her captive when her brain processed the threat. She felt her pupils begin to smolder with with enough potential energy to level Canterlot City as she glared deep into those rebellious, cerise orbs.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

An infernally smug grin that grew on Rainbow’s face was the only response she was given. Feeling very much defeated, she settled for the greatest weapon in her arsenal. Twilight leaned forward and pressed her muzzle firmly into her antagonist’s own, who melted into it soon after. An electric rush ran through both of them while their mouths danced in a deep kiss; one that still hadn’t lost its magic, even after so many years. The sparks and the euphoric rush were still there, and her cyan lips were just as soft and inviting as the first time they locked with her own so long ago.

Twilight eventually drew back, leaving both ponies panting. Though Rainbow’s face was obscured by the deep colours of night, a dark purple patch visibly burned on her cheeks. A shade which she could only imagine was mirrored tenfold on her own face.

“You know, Twi,” Dash took a gulp of air, “That was kinda gay.”

Twilight giggled and released the pegasus from her magical grasp, causing the once-restrained limbs to unceremoniously flop down in a sprawl of tangled appendages. “You’re one to talk, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight offered her hoof in recompense. “Now wasn’t there someplace you wanted to show me?”

“Oh,” Rainbow accepted the assistance and promptly removed herself from her posterior, ruffling her feathers stretching her claustrophobic wings for a moment. “Heh, yeah. Close your eyes, though. It’s a surprise.”

Twilight reluctantly obliged and took her place alongside the pegasus, resisting the temptation to let her lids crack open just a little. The tickle of feathers sent shivers up her spine as a strong wing pulled her close to guide her along the mare’s mental pathway.

Being a somewhat sacred gesture in ages-old culture, wing hugs in any form had always been among Twilight’s favorite gestures of unspoken affection between the two of them. She always felt at peace and completely safe wrapped under that feathery embrace. Of course, it would occasionally earn them glares in public from some of the more traditional ponies around town, but she paid them no mind. None of them would dare say anything incitive with Rainbow’s cannon of a personality around, anyway.

“I guess you’re not having any trouble remembering anything.” Rainbow said, cutting through the monotonous sound of hoofsteps. “Have any idea what this is about yet?”

Twilight grinned inwardly. “I have a theory, but I can’t say for sure.”

Leaving it at that, they continued their trek for what seemed like hours, which in reality, probably meant only about ten minutes. The air smelled fresh and crisp with the subtle dampness of dew, like the early morning hours after a cold night. As they drew closer to their destination, a light floral aroma began to accent the breeze, itself being much too motley to belong to a single type of flower. Though she couldn’t see, she knew that, wherever they were, it had to be beautiful.

“Alright, we’re here. Open up.” Twilight’s ear twitched as a wisp of warm breath passed by ever so closely. Gratefully, she reopened her eyes, serving to immediately confirm her suspicions. The sight was absolutely breathtaking.

A vast meadow encased within two small mountains splayed out before them, illuminated entirely by the effulgence of moonlight. The whole of the valley was alit by thousand floating motes that glowed bright silver, as if the stars themselves decided to descend and reside in this place. The ground itself seemed to glimmer under the pale light; and flowers of every colour, shape and size littered the grassland for as far as the eye could see. It was a place truly undisturbed, like no pony or animal had so much as seen the place. The silence was broken only by the soft, surrounding chorus of crickets and the distant roar of a mighty river.

“You’d better remember this place.” Dash said wryly.

“Of course.” She looked to her lover, returning with a much more sincere smile. “This is where we got married.”

“And if I may say so, your wedding gowns were absolutely stunning.” A voice behind them announced. A voice so unmistakable in dialect that could only belong to one pony.

Twilight wheeled around to see not only Rarity, but three other particularly colourful mares whom one could never forget. She had only a few fleeting nanoseconds to catch a glance a rather terribly scrawled sign reading ‘Happy Anniversary Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle!’ before being tackled to the ground by a pink blur.

“I hope you don’t mind us intruding on such a private occasion.” Rarity continued unfazed, and casting a somewhat accusatory look over her shoulder. “But the rainbow one insisted.”

Twilight gave a muffled response of approval, her muzzle being restricted somewhere within a vise-grip hug.

“I still don't understand why you can't just give eachother a box of chocolate or some flowers like the rest of us regular folk.” Applejack teased as she ruffled the back of Dash’s mane.

After a brief exchange of ribbing between the two athletic ponies, Pinkie Pie proceeded to undertake an unnecessarily roundabout way of expressing her well wishes to the couple. And, in doing so, she somehow managed to inform them of the better portion of her week, the fantastic weather they’ve been having, and Mrs. Cake’s hemorrhoid problems. All in the span of about twelve seconds.

An enormous blanket was laid out on the grass, and was largely taken up by a wide array of baskets, culinary utensils, food, and some sort of cake-like thing that really didn’t look edible at all. A cannon stood not too far away, which more than explained all of the streamers, glitter and confetti strewn about this corner of the once natural paradise. All things considered, it was a wonderful surprise.

The six of them ate, joked, and talked for hours. At one point, they even laughed themselves to tears when a certain shy pegasus accidentally revealed an astonishingly salacious secret about her personal life.

Twilight eventually excused herself from the group as they prepared to start a game of G-rated Spin the Bottle (how that worked, only Pinkie knew) to take a walk of memories, of sorts, around the meadow. After all, she hadn’t had any time to herself since she awoke. Everything was so overwhelmingly odd, and yet, it felt exactly how it should. To her over-analytical mind, it should have been a nightmare; but she couldn’t help but feel at peace here with her greatest friends.

Her eyes drifted towards the sky as she wandered along the grassy pasture. The moon was still lingered in the same place as before, cresting just above the eastern horizon as it would just after the waning hour of twilight..

At last, she reached the place where the two mares made their vows. On that day, there was a grand alabaster gazebo constructed just for them. Two groups of chairs fanned out on the grass facing the structure, broken down the middle by a bright red carpet. Not being what most would consider a traditional event, they opted to walk down the aisle together. Rainbow’s wing was draped around her back - and their nearly identical white dresses shone vividly in the summer sun. The only thing that set the garments apart were their unique Cutie Mark insignias on the chest.

Rainbow Dash had placed an amethyst-inlaid ring around her horn, and Twilight used her magic to attach two little golden clasps around the base of each of the pegasus’ wings. Damp lavender eyes met with equally watery rose for the briefest of moments, both knowing that they would soon belong to each other from that day forward. Celestia said a few more words, but she couldn’t be bothered to listen to them over the noise in her own mind. Only when the word ‘kiss’ was mentioned that the world stopped moving in slow motion, and instead completely froze in time as blue lips united with violet. It was done, and she’d never been more certain she’d made the right decision in her life. Remarkably cheesy, of course, but true nonetheless.

Standing in the place where it happened, Twilight couldn’t help but repeat the scene over and over in her mind, sighing wistfully at just how perfect that day was. She expected at least something to go wrong, as weddings almost always do. Perhaps another changeling invasion, or some sort of new civilization should happen to appear out of nowhere at the last minute. Though, despite her concern, every moment was exactly how she dreamed it would be since she was a filly. Obviously, a couple liberties had to be taken here and there. Rainbow Dash was certainly no Prince Charming, but charm was overrated. She much preferred whatever it was Rainbow had instead. Radicalness, was it? Or perhaps awesomeness? She was never quite able to grasp the difference. Whatever it was, it was unique, and she’d never trade it for all the charm in the world

There was no trace of that structure here anymore. After all, there couldn’t be. It was demolished soon after the ceremony and removed to preserve the natural beauty of the landscape. However, in its place, now lay a stone she’d never seen before. Its face held the brand of nothing more than a single, six-pointed star. And strangely, unlike the rest of the valley, only one type of violet flower grew around its vicinity. Her gaze drifted once again to the sky, and shining directly above was a familiar sparkle of pink. She couldn’t help but smile as she began to understand.

Muted hoofsteps grew louder as somepony approached from behind, coming to rest beside her. The two of them stood in silence for a long moment, listening to the tranquil sounds of the night, each lost in their own thoughts.

“I suppose there’s more than one reason why we’re here.” Twilight said. “It’s pretty.”

“We thought you might like it.” Rainbow rested a hoof on her shoulder. “You okay?”

Twilight let her eyes drop from the sky, drifting to her angel’s softened features. Her colorful, moonlit mane danced gently in the wind, and her expression was weighed heavily in concern.

“Yeah.” Twilight looked up again, and smiled with masked emotion. “I really am. Just a little tired, I guess.”

Rainbow’s stepped forward, wrapping arms around her as they fell into a long, tight embrace. “We should go home.”

Twilight nodded into her shoulder, and Dash stooped down a little to allow her to climb on top. With a few powerful thrusts of her wings, the two were airborne once again. From the sky, an all new appreciation for the beautiful meadow filled her senses, truly sight that had to be seen to be believed. They circled once, and she caught a glimpse at her friends, all of whom were waving goodbye in each of their own unique ways.

Then they flew away, leaving behind lavender flowers to sway peacefully in the wind.

Winter had beset Ponyville, blanketing the town in a thick white sheet of snow. Both Rainbow and Twilight had come to a rare mutual agreement that this was their favorite time of the year, as festivities and generally brightened moods had always been one of those wonderful traditions that never got old. With Hearth’s Warming Eve just around the corner, everypony in town was just a little bit more friendly than usual, and the town was filled with the quaint decorum of the season. From big ribbons on lampposts to a humongous, neon-lit tree in the town square - no expense was spared.

The town had grown sleepy, many preferring to stay warm indoors next to a crackling fireplace and a good book, but a certain two mares were still a long way from such luxuries.

Twilight stood in the middle of a practically empty room. It was still hard to believe that she wouldn’t be living in the library anymore, and that she had a home of her very own - plus Rainbow Dash, of course. It was exciting, but at the same time, it was hard to leave behind a place filled with so many fond memories. It felt as though a wonderful chapter in her life was at last coming to a close.

Aside from a few boxes; a full cabinet full of awards, medals, and trophies was the only piece of significant size in the room thus far. A certain rainbow pony had insisted that its centerpiece would be Twilight’s graduation certificate from Celestia’s School of Gifted Unicorns. Being hesitant at first, the pegasus’ stubbornness finally wore away at her resistance to being the one with the crowning achievement. A small photo was placed beside the frame, capturing a beaming Twilight standing beside an uncharacteristically tearful Rainbow Dash on their wedding day. Beside Twilight towered her best-dragon, who at the time nearly tripled her in size, and beside Rainbow stood her almost-sister-of-honour.

Suddenly, a grunting Rainbow Dash burst through the front entrance, effectively breaking Twilight out of her reverie, and probably the door hinges as well. A monumental amount of snow managed to accompany the rampaging mare, and spilled all over the front foyer in a heap of sloshy blight. She was just about to scold the mare before she noticed Dash’s incredibly red face from the strain of carrying seven boxes at once.

“Rainbow!” Twilight shouted, grasping a number of said items in her magic. “You’re going to hurt yourself!”

The panting mare abruptly dumped her remaining boxes onto the floor and wiped her brow, seemingly ignoring Twilight’s rebuke. “Whew! Well, That’s the last of them.” Dash boasted, “Now all we have to do is spend a few weeks trying to organize your book collection.” She gave the bookworm a playful nudge before collapsing on a pile of boxes with a satisfied sigh.

“I have to admit, I’m going to miss having an entire library at my disposal.” Twilight sighed wistfully, magicking the snow back to its proper place and shutting the door. “But it’ll be nice to have some privacy and space for once.”

Dash gave a sly wink, “Yeah, we could use a little privacy.”

Twilight smirked and took a seat beside Rainbow, nestling her head into the panting mare’s chest and listening to the rhythmic drumming of her heartbeat. Though, the pleasure of the impromptu snuggle was short lived. A nagging question returned to the forefront of her conscious, and this time it couldn’t be ignored.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Huh? Sure about what?”

“Do you wish- I mean, do you ever... want to go back?”

Rainbow’s eyes wandered to the window shortly before returning to Twilight’s own. “You serious? No way.” She said, amused. “That life was never for me. Some dreams just distract you from the ones right in front of you.”

The casual sincerity of the comment caught Twilight in just the right way, feeling immediately as though she was about to burst into tears. In the spur of the moment, she found herself flinging her hooves around her now confused companion. She wanted to hug her and never let go.

“Whoa wha-?” Not that her assailant particularly cared at this point, but Dash had been knocked off kilter by the sudden assault. Unfortunately, her wings failed to stabilize the force of impact in time, which in turn dragged the offending unicorn with her into the abyss. Luckily, it wasn’t too much of a journey to the floor.

“I love you,” Twilight practically cried into the groaning mare’s chest, completely neglecting the fact that she effectively tackled her to the ground and now used her as a crash pillow. The damned pegasus never ceased to amaze her - and melt her heart at the same time. “I love you so much.”

“Aw hay.” Dash said as she recovered, draping a hoof around her to return the embrace, “I love you too, but could you maybe do it without spazzing out like that?”

“Don’t you dare ruin this moment.” Twilight pouted sulkily, cuddling as deep as she could into the cyan fur. Dash’s chest spasmed a little from stifled laughter, but that only encouraged the lavender clinch to hold on tighter.

“Twilight, I...” Rainbow placed her hoof under her chin, lifting her face up to meet with her own half-lidded gaze. The unicorn found herself leaning closer, longing, lusting to press those cyan lips to her own as soon as the mare found the words to finish her passionate words of romantic testimony. “I really need to go to the bathroom.”

She paid for that.

Rainbow Dash began her descent to the earth below, her hooves making barely a sound as she landed on the dirt pathway leading into their home. From the outside, it looked like a typical, unassuming Ponyville house on the end of a quiet residential street. The windows glowed a gentle yellow from the warm candlelight within, contrasting the nightly silhouettes that painted ground in calligraphic ink.

The two of them walked up the short gravel pathway, with Dash’s wing once again draped over Twilight’s back. She felt herself lean into the pegasus, feeling her strong, toned muscles flex with each step she took. An overwhelming urge provoked her to nudge closer and give her mare a loving nuzzle on her cheek. Rainbow only had time to blush before she stopped at the doorway.

“I’m gonna carry you over the threshold like I did on our wedding night.”

“Oh brother.” Twilight groaned, “As I recall, you only ever did that because you lost a bet with a certain apple farmer.”

Dash grumbled something under her breath, but was clearly undaunted as she dropped her head between Twilight’s front and rear legs. With one swift motion, she effortlessly flipped the unicorn onto her back. And, with an air of conviction, she stepped forward triumphantly.

Only to be faced with an inconvenient guardian.

“Uh, could you open the door?”

Twilight giggled and reached out to the handle with her magic. The portal swung open for her ever-suave companion, who proceeded to strut through the doorway with completely ridiculous, overly exaggerated strides. The ghosts in the room must have been thoroughly impressed with her prize.

Thankfully, Twilight managed to remove herself from the pegasus’ back, and proceeded to wrap her a tight hug. “Thank you for tonight. I couldn’t have asked for a more special way to celebrate our day.”

“I figured it could make up for that...” Dash looked away in shame. “That one time.”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow, thinking for a moment before it dawned on her. “You mean the year you lost our reservation and had to order pizza? Not even close.” She smirked. “But it was a commendable effort.”

“In my defense, I did make at least part of that evening worthwhile.” Rainbow looked back with a perverted grin, licking her lips suggestively. “Twice.”

The pair continued their teasing as they and made their way up the stairs, following a jab on account of one’s unnecessary lewdness. Upon seeing a now extremely appealing bed, Twilight hopped in, snuggling affectionately into her much-desired pillow. Rainbow glared at the inanimate object with a sense of animosity for brief moment before grabbing the star-printed blankets in her mouth. She took meticulous care to keep them from furling, so as to not set off any undesired mental synapses in the OCD-prone unicorn. When the fabric was sufficiently tucked around Twilight’s body, she set to smoothing out the folds and topping it off with a swift peck her on the tip of the unicorn’s muzzle.

“Comfy?”

“Mhm!” Twilight giggled like a filly. Despite Rainbow Dash’s regular outward disposition, she was one of the biggest softies in Equestria on the inside. With each year gone by, she opened up more and more of her emotional and feminine side for the world to see. Perhaps she grew out of caring what others thought of how ‘uncool’ it was to have feelings, or perhaps the years she spent with Fluttershy in flight school really had made a difference in the long run. Or maybe, just maybe, she found the one thing that made reputation worthless.

Rainbow made her way to the window, sliding the thick curtains to silence the imperious moonlight. She allowed only a faint aura of muted starlight to keep the room aglow, enabling the pony to find her way back to the bedside without needing to employ the use of her shins. The bed shifted slightly as she sat on the edge of the mattress, leaning close to trace a hoof through Twilight’s mane.

“You’re not going to join me?” Twilight asked sleepily. Her eyes had grown heavier than she realized. She knew she would be fast asleep in seconds when she chose to lower her eyes, especially as tender strokes along her scalp brought her to a whole new world of repose. A long but entirely comfortable silence filled the room for a while before Rainbow found her answer.

“I wish I could.” Dash said quietly; a pearl ran down her features, visible only by the reflections of blue-white starbursts. “But I can’t. Not just yet.”

“Someday?”

“Someday.” Rainbow smiled, “I promise.”

Twilight opened her mouth to say something more, but was stopped by a gentle hoof pressed to her mouth.

“I love you, Twilight. More than anything in the world. I’ve never regretted a thing. Not even for a second. You know that, right?”

Twilight nodded wordlessly, feeling the warmth of lips pressed against her forehead as sleep began to take its hold. Through the softened light, she caught a last glimpse of loving, rosy eyes. The same eyes she’d cherished for a lifetime, bound in the countless of memories they shared with one another. She smiled once more before her own eyes closed, drifting off into the most peaceful of slumbers.

Had anyone had been stargazing that night, they might have seen that mysterious pink star as it, for only a moment, shone brighter than ever before.

Author's Note

Big thank-you to Limeattack and Arclightbrony for pre-reading!