Infinity

Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.

Pinkie Pie briefly felt a stitch of guilt. She was so much harder to handle than everypony else. She wondered if this was her fault, which it probably was, and if this paragraph was done well, which it probably wasn't. But she was certain nopony would be judgmental. There really was no such thing as a fourth brick.

"Let's bake a portal."

"Uhhh... a what?"

Bounce. Pinkie Pie giggled. "A cupcake, silly."

"Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash knocked again.

"Rainbow Dash? Is... is that you?"

"Yeah. You're gonna let me in?"

A few seconds passed, then the door was opened by a very messy looking Fluttershy.

"Oh Rainbow Dash, I'm sorry. It's just that I was just feeding some of my more, uh, difficult animal friends and I was embarrassed to show myself to anypony, but of course you can come in anyway..." she twitched. "that is, if you don't mind me like this, of course..."

"Geesh. C'mhere." Rainbow stepped through the door and drew Fluttershy close, hugging her tightly.

"Eeep!" Fluttershy blushed, but shyly returned the hug. "Uh.. th-thanks?"

Dash laughed. "Yea, right." She let go of Fluttershy and flew towards the back side of the room, making herself comfortable on Fluttershy's hoofchair. "Do you have some time to talk?"

"Sure." Fluttershy gently shut the door and sat down on the floor before Dash. "What's the matter?"

"It's..." Rainbow just now realised that she had no idea on how to address the subject. "... stuff." She blushed. "You, uh, didn't you say you had animals to feed? 'cause you totally don't have to delay that for me."

"All taken care of. But I could go outside and pretend to feed some of the moles if that helps."

"Yeah... no thanks." she shook her head. "Say, are you really that considerate or are you just making fun of me?"

"Maybe both." Fluttershy smiled. "So, should I stay?"

"Yea. Sorry." Dash grinned sheepishly. "So... do you... uh... do you remember when talked with Rarity about Thunderlane a few weeks ago... and she, you know, told us... that... stuff...?"

"Oh Rainbow, do you like somepony?" Fluttershy said, sounding excited. "That's wonderful. Who is she?"

Rainbow's face burned instantly. "What? I... no! Well, I don't think so. Maybe?" She flew off the chair and hovered in mid air above it without even noticing. "I didn't say anything about that. And why does everypony think I like mares?"

"Oh, did I say that? I'm sorry..."

Rainbow realised that she wasn't sitting anymore and dropped down again. She threw a gaze to the door. It was locked. She felt that she didn't really want to know the answer, but not as much as she didn't want not to know it.

"How do you know?"

"… um... well..."

"Yeah?"

"It's... obvious? I'm sorry..."

Rainbow Dash groaned. She shouldn't have asked.

"How?"

"Well, you see, different ponies have their own ways of looking at other ponies. And your emotions are relatively easy to read... which is not because they're not deep or complex or anything..." she moved a little "... it's just because you have a very honest and straight forward personality, you aren't trying to hide your emotions like most ponies do... not unconsciously, that is. It's kind of ironic, because consciously, you are trying to hide a lot of things from others, but that's more a developed character trait, it's not something you want to do, just something you do for the sake of your reputation...” Fluttershy stuttered a little, apparently she wasn't comfortable judging Dash like this. “uhm... p- please don't take any of this too hard, it's just my opinion, and you asked... anyhow, most other ponies aren't like you, they instinctively hide private emotions, you know, including myself..." she blushed. "... but you don't, which is why when you're looking at another mare, even if you don't feel anything special for her, your expression is really, um, different from when you look at a stallion... but I don't think a lot of other ponies notice," she added encouragingly, seeing that Dash looked more and more depressed further within her explanation, "I have known you for a long time and I am also pretty good at understanding others... or at least that's what Twilight once told me. She might be wrong, of course..."

"Pinkie knew," Dash said in a flat voice.

"Yes, but I don't think that if Pinkie knows or does things it tells us something about anypony else." Fluttershy stood up and walked towards Dash, putting a gentle hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sure that most ponies have no idea. Besides, half of all mares like mares. Would you prefer it if ponies thought you liked stallions?"

"Uww." Rainbow shook her head violently. "Gross. No way."

Fluttershy giggled. "See, so it's all half as bad." She sat back down.

"I guess. So, uh, what about you? Do you like mares or stallions?" she wasn't exactly sure why she asked, but it seemed like the best way to get the conversation off herself.

Fluttershy sighed. "Oh Dash, I've liked you for most of the time we knew each other."

Dash's head skyrocketed upwards. "You what? For real?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"That's... wow. I had no idea."

"I know. It's fine."

"Wow, Flutters. I really had no idea. I'm sorry.”

"It's fine. After all, I never told you, so it's really not your fault."

"But... why? What was it that you liked about me?" Rainbow tried to remember back, but she couldn't think of any situation where Fluttershy behaved odd or embarrassed towards her. "I totally wasn't... you know, awesome, back then. Not like now."

Fluttershy chuckled. "You forget that you stood up for me when nopony else did You supported me against those bullies. And you helped me getting my cutie mark." she looked down on her flank, smiling. "And then, when it was my turn to help you, you showed your real side. You were very kind to me. I guess I just started developing feelings for you.”

Rainbow Dash felt a lump in her throat upon hearing that. "But I never even thanked you for everything you did..."

"Oh, but you did," Fluttershy said. "Everytime I helped you out you did."

Dash made a dismissive gesture. "Yea, everytime something happened. But I never thanked you for, you know, everything. I wouldn't have made it though flight camp without you." She looked down on her hooves. "I just always said 'thanks' to not seem rude, but I always left it at that, because I feel uncomfortable thanking others... stupid... stupid..."

"But it's fine, really..:"

"No it's not. And I'll make up for it now." Dash climbed down the chair and sat down beside Fluttershy. "You are a wonderful friend, Fluttershy. You are the best friend I... no, you're the best friend anypony could ever have..." she buried her face in Fluttershy's soft feathers "... thank you, Flutters. Thank you so much... for everything..."

Fluttershy didn't say anything, she just wrapped her wing around Dash and held her close. They stayed like this for several minutes, until Dash loosened herself.

"You, uhm," Dash muffled into Fluttershy's feathers, "you don't like me like that anymore, do you? 'cause otherwise this would be really weird..."

The slightest shadow hushed over Fluttershy's face, but Dash didn't notice it.

"No, I don't think so. I've given up on you some time ago.”

"Mhh..."

"And as I said..." Fluttershy helped Rainbow getting up. She was so weak compared to Dash that the gesture was only of symbolic value, but Dash appreciated it nonetheless "… don't forget that I got my cutie mark because of you. In a way, I owe you everything... as do the other girls."

Rainbow Dash sniffed. "I threw you off a cloud, Fluttershy. That's all I did. I can't take any credit for that. If anything, I should've realised it time and come to safe you."

"I'm glad you didn't." Fluttershy nuzzled her "But should something similar happen, you have my permission to save me next time."

"Promised." Dash smiled. She knew Fluttershy wanted to change the topic to make it easier for her, and it worked, but she had to get the conversation back to the sappy stuff. She didn't like talking about these things – she never had – but she knew she had to anyways, so she'd rather get it over with now.

"So... can you explain why?" she didn't sit back on the hoofchair but instead sat on the floor in front of Fluttershy. "You know, why you really liked me and not somepony else?"

"I... I don't think I can. Sorry." Fluttershy lowered her gaze. "Love can't be explained. Maybe it was just because you were so different from me and yet we became such close friends anyway. Opposites attract... at least sometimes. Though I think it may be similar for you now..."

"Yeah..."

"It's Twilight, isn't it?"

"... yeah."

Fluttershy nodded. "I thought this might happen for a while now."

"I had no idea." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "But if you understand other ponies so well, do you know if she might...?"

"I think so," Fluttershy said.

"Really?" somehow Dash had been certain her answer would've been the opposite.

"Yes. Several times when she was talking about you, I thought to see it in her eyes. I think Twilight liked you for a long time, though she doesn't know it herself. But don't take my word for this, Rainbow. I might be wrong, I don't know Twilight as well as I know you..."

"That's... wow." Dash thought she was supposed to feel really happy now, but at the moment she didn't feel anything. "But I'm not even sure I feel something for her. I mean, I have these feelings, but only since yesterday. Just one day. And it might go away just as quickly. And why would it even come this sudden? It's not like we never talked before..." she thought for a second. "... though, actually, we didn't really spend a lot of time together in the past... not without somepony else being there..."

"I wouldn't try to search for an explanation, Rainbow." Fluttershy gently reached out a hoof and touched Dash on her cheek. "These things just happen. But believe me: what you feel isn't just a crush or something less. You love Twilight."

"I... really?" Rainbow Dash looked around the room without really seeing it. Everything felt really strange. Suddenly, she was scared. It all felt so unreal. The cottage, her talking about love... was this all really happening? Or...

... was she dreaming?

"Fluttershy?"

But there Fluttershy was, right in front of her.

"Yes?"

"Is... is this real?"

"I think so. Are you alright?"

"I..." she tried to remember how she came here. If this was a dream, there would be nothing...

But it was all there, she'd woken up early from yet another weird dream, then she'd eaten something and had gotten all her weather duties done. She'd decided to skip her training for today, which had been a rough decision to make, since originally her plan had been to do a lot of training, and after that she'd come right here...

Yes, this was real. But it didn't feel real.

"I'm sorry,” she said. “It's... complicated. Are you sure?"

"Look at me."

"Huh?" Dash hadn't even realised it, but her gaze had been stuck on the little butterfly engravings that decorated the front door of the cottage. She quickly focused back on her foalhood friend.

"Imagine I were a stranger and you'd have to explain Twilight's most important character trades to me."

"I... okay."

"You, um, you only got a minute."

"Right. Yeah. So..." everything still felt oddly surreal, so Dash decided to just forget her surroundings and focus on the question. "she's really smart, for starters. She's Princess Celestia's personal student. And she's really amazing to talk to, 'cause she'll always listen to you, and even if your stuff is something she doesn't usually deal with, she'll take you seriously. Sometimes, I feel like her time is so valuable, since she has so much work to do, but she always finds some of it to share regardless... which is awesome. Geesh, we're lucky to have her. And she's probably one of the most powerful unicorns alive, she knows so much about magic and how our world works and stuff. And she's totally open about everything. She's not sniffy or full of herself or anything... and she'd really have good reason to, you know? But she just wants to help everypony around her... I think, even though I'm the element of loyalty, she is just as loyal as me. It's like she's not just the element of magic, but she has the qualities of all the six elements... well, maybe except laughter, but even there she's awesome. You'd have to hear it when she's laughing, it sounds incredibly cute... mmmhpf?" Dash was interrupted by Fluttershy's hoof pressing against her mouth.

"I think the answer is yes, Rainbow."

"I..." she looked back at what she'd just said. "Heh... yea. Wow."

"You didn't even call her an egghead,” Fluttershy teased.

"Hey, I would've come to that. You cut me off."

"My apologies." Fluttershy drew her hoof back and ran it through her still messy mane. "I agree with you, bye the way. Uhm, mostly, that is. Twilight really is... nice. We owe her a lot. All of us went further on our way of becoming better ponies, thanks to her. But, at least on a few occasions, she also learned something from us. It always makes me proud to help somepony so special."

"Yeah." Dash pressed her left rear hoof against the floor as hard as she could, just to feel the pressure on it. "She really is... can you imagine how life would be if she had never been send here? I wouldn't be friends with Pinkie any more than anypony else in town and I wouldn't know Rarity at all..."

"Mhh..." Fluttershy said, "do you want some cold water?"

"Uh... huh?"

"There's a well outside."  Fluttershy pointed to the door. "If I read you correctly, you aren't feeling that well. I actually had some bad nights too, and from what I have been told, so did several of our friends. I don't know if it's coincidence, but, um, a little bit of really cold water always helped me. It should be just right this time of year." she pulled a little bit closer, watching Dash vigilantly. "aren't you feeling a little bit dried out?"

"Actually, now that you mention it, cold water sounds pretty awesome right now." Dash stood up again. "I'll be right back"

Fluttershy nodded. "Please be."

Twilight gently shut the library door behind her. Yesterday, she'd been using magic to reach her destination right away, but not this time. Today, she looked forward to a little walk, to the fresh air that would hopefully clear her thoughts. She hadn't yet completely comprehended what happened yesterday, she felt like her sanity was hanging on a very thin thread. It had, all in all, been the most frightening day of her life. Even what had happened last spring was different, and in retrospect much less scary, because it felt like she deserved it. She had completely misjudged the situation and her mentor and she herself had caused the catastrophe that made all of Ponyville fighting for her Smartypants Doll. It had been her actions that triggered the problem and she had learned how to avoid similar things in the future. It felt fair.

What happened yesterday though didn't feel fair. She'd just woken up to find her sanity buried under layers of blazing madness. How should she prepare for something like that? Every lesson she learned, every improvement she made to her personality, all that could only take effect if her mind was clear and lucid. If she was herself. Tomorrow, so she decided, she would write a detailed letter to Princess Celestia, explain everything and ask for advice.

But today she'd spend with Rarity. She'd promised her to come back and had no intention to break or soften that promise. Also, if she really had feelings for Rarity, she had to study on it as soon as possible.

Since the library was stationed at the edge of town, Rarity's Boutique near town Square, it was a rather healthy walk for Ponyville standards, though still not something that took more than a few minutes. For the remainder of it, Twilight stayed calm and introverted, trying to get a better grasp of her inner self. If whatever happened yesterday had been caused by lack of self awareness, this was something she'd have to work on in the future.

Reaching the Boutique, Twilight raised her front hoof and knocked three times. It took about half a minute, then an exhausted looking Rarity opened, though her face instantly brightened at the sight of Twilight.

"Good morning, Rarity."

"And the finest on to you, darling." Rarity stepped forward and hugged Twilight gently. "So nice of you to be here. Come in."

Twilight went inside. At this time of year, it was just barely warm enough to not feel uncomfortable when walking outside naked, but the warmth of a solid building was welcoming nonetheless.

"Shall we sit down?" Rarity pointed towards the kitchen. "Seems preferable to my room, while there's such a beautiful day outside.”

Twilight nodded. She followed Rarity and sat down on a chair right beside the big window. She noticed that there already was a plate with cookies waiting, placed on the center of the table.

Rarity seemed to have followed her gaze. "Well, you said you'd visit again," she said, blushing.

Twilight nodded. "So I did. Can I have one?"

Rarity made an inviting gesture; Twilight grasped one via magic and took a bite. It was delicious, and it also was a welcoming dessert after her very brief breakfast.

"So... I didn't want to bring this up yesterday because... well I rather tried to get my mind off it, but did you ever... you know, experience something similar?"

Rarity shook her head. "Some of the worse nightmares I had were in the past two nights, but nothing comparable. It was probably just the result of too much stress."

"Mhh..." Twilight abstractedly examined the inner side of her half eaten cookie. "I was told in the past that I should take things more lightly and not overwork myself, that I would be more focused with a fixed amount of sleep and free time everyday. But I thought I did that." she couldn't help sounding disappointed. "I really payed closer attention to my work schedule. It doesn't make sense for something like this to happen now. It's not fair."

"Well, sometimes life isn't fair..." Rarity answered, her voice quiet.

Twilight made the connection instantly and felt a strong stitch of guilt. "I'm sorry," she said. "I wasn't thinking..."

Rarity wove aside. "I've long forgiven you for that, darling. I didn't mean to imply anything. And as for you, it was probably just a silly coincidence. You can't prepare for everything, so don't work yourself up over it. It's bad enough that you had to go through it once."

"But I hate having things that lie that far out of my control," Twilight mumbled. "You know me..."

Rarity nodded. "I can see why it troubles you. But I'm afraid I don't have a solution. You probably should..."

"... ask Princess Celestia," Twilight finished her sentence. "I know. I was planing to write to her tomorrow." she sighed.

For a few seconds, they both said nothing. Then Rarity spoke up, her voice quiet.

"By the way, Twilight..."

"Yes?"

"About my fashion show... I think you blame yourself too much for what happened. It was Spike who brought Hoity Toity to Ponyville, not you. And even after he did, I still could've prevented the worst. I could've canceled... could've canceled everything in time and apologized to him, told him there is no show and Spike just did a mistake." she stared at her hooves and continued even more quietly, "... but I thought that if you and the other girls all like your dresses so much, maybe I was just blind to their true beauty. And I didn't want to disappoint Spike..."

That last part was a surprise to Twilight. She never actually thought that Rarity cared about Spike in this magnitude.

"Are you angry with him?"

"No." Rarity sighed deeply. "Not anymore. I used to, but I came to realise that he didn't have any bad intentions. None of you did. It all just went... unfortunately. And blaming somepony now doesn't help anypony. So don't worry about it too much anymore, will you?"

"I'll try." Twilight took another cookie. There was something she was curious about now, and she couldn't think of anything that would make the question more fitting, so she might aswell just ask it now...

"Rarity?"

"Yes, darling?"

"I..." she bit her lip. "Look, if you don't want to talk about this, it's fine. We don't have to. But..." it suddenly stroke her that the answer could also affect what happened yesterday. Were she and Spike in the end some kind of rivals? The sheer thought of this idea was absurd. Yet still...

"Do you have feelings for Spike?" she asked carefully.

Rarity closed her eyes. Her head fell on the table; all strength seemed to have left her.

"Rarity?"

"I don't know," she whispered.

Twilight didn't know what she had expected, but Rarity seemed thoroughly crushed by this question. Twilight cautiously reached out a front hoof, unsure what to do.

"I'm sorry, Twilight. I can imagine what you must think about me now, but I think I do... or at least I thought so..."

"Shh... " Twilight gently stroke Rarity's shoulder. "I'm not mad. What happened yesterday just happened. You don't owe me anything." she felt a brief stitch of disappointment upon saying so, but she ignored it. "Just tell me how you're feeling, I won't judge you for it."

"Th-thanks, Twilight," Rarity said, her voice dulled by the table, barely understandable. "But I really don't know. I always told myself that there is nothing, but everytime he asks for something I can't help wanting to make him happy. But... argh!" she sat up and hit the table with her front hoof. "He's a dragon! A dragon, Twilight. I don't even know when and how much he will grow. I can't be in love with him. How would that work? But I can't just reject him either, so I try to keep it casual. But how is it supposed to end? Will he just let go someday? And what if he won't?"

She sank back into her seat. Her strength seemed to have left her as fast as it had come to her. "I'm sorry," she said, "that wasn't very ladylike." she chuckled, then continued in a dull voice, "and what if he lets go and I realise that I need him? I know you and the other girls never thought this is a big deal, but it is to me. And I have no idea how to handle it..."

"So..." Twilight said, dropping her cookie on the table, her throat suddenly too dry to eat it. "what happened yesterday between us... it doesn't mean anything?"

Rarity looked at Twilight, her eyes full of regret. "I don't think so.” her voice was merely a whisper. “I thought about it a lot after you left, but... I don't think so." she lowered her gaze. Twilight realised that she was crying, but she didn't try to hide it. She felt a scorching pain in her chest, like if somepony cut through it with a burning knife. Rarity reached out a hoof herself, just barely touching her." You are an amazing pony, Twilight. If love followed logic, we would become a couple... or at least I'd want to..."

Twilight nodded, her eyes wet. "Thanks..." she whispered.

"Did..." Rarity asked carefully, "did it mean so much to you?"

Twilight gulped. "I don't know," she said. "I..." she sniffed. "... I didn't realise it until now, but..."

"I see." Rarity levitated a tissue from somewhere, lending it to Twilight.

"Thanks," Twilight said again, using it to dry her tears. "I really don't know what's gotten into me. Yesterday, I didn't even know that it meant anything. But as you just said it means nothing, I felt like I was losing so much... and I think I felt something yesterday..." she sobbed, even though she'd tried to hold it back. "I never had a relationship, you know. Or a kiss..."

Rarity bit her lip. It was obvious how bad she felt for everything.

"Don't blame yourself, Rarity," Twilight mumbled. "It's not your fault... none of it is. You just took care of me... and you did it well..."

"No Twilight, it was my fault," Rarity said, her voice full of regret. "You just went through something I can't even imagine, none of it can be shoved on you. And all I went through was completely self inflicted. I shouldn't have let it happen." she paused, obviously in conflict with herself. "I knew you never had any kind of romantic experience, Twilight. And one's first kiss doesn't just go away. I should've known better. Don't try to talk this away, it was my fault... and I'm so sorry..."

Twilight thought about it for a second, but against her intentions she had to admit that Rarity was right. Yet there was no anger in her, only sympathy and sorrow. "Well," she said, her voice broken, "so it was your fault. Then I forgive you."

Rarity looked at her, now with wet eyes herself. "But this is something horrible I've done to you, Twilight. You can't forgive me just like that..."

"But I do," Twilight stated bluntly. Somehow, Rarity's desperation seemed to give her new strength. "I don't blame you for it... or at least I don't hold any grudge. Consider it a compensation for your ruined fashion show. And if that doesn't seem like enough, just consider it forgiven."

Rarity looked almost disbelieving. "Really?"

"Yes," Twilight said. "We're friends, Rarity. Very close friends. And I know you didn't have any bad intentions. So who would benefit if I let this come between us?" she picked up the half-eaten cookie from the table. "Though it still hurts, I won't lie..." she put the cookie back down. "And I'm still not hungry..."

For a while, both of them said nothing. Rarity still looked like she hated herself, whilst Twilight was trying not to feel the slowly diminishing pain in her chest and instead think about what Rarity had said. Her first kiss... she did have to admit that she never thought about that until Rarity had just brought it up, but she could at least understand why Rarity felt so bad about it. It was a big deal. But she still didn't feel any anger, just the urge to take some of the guilt away from her friend.

"You know," she said, "there really could be worse ponies to have my first kiss with..."

She looked at Rarity. She had never seen her from this angle before, but Rarity undeniably was one of the most beautiful ponies she had ever met. Yet – did she really love her? Love was such a powerful word. So no, probably not. It was just that, for only one moment, she had imagined a future together with Rarity. And in the same moment the idea was torn to dust. But the kiss itself... she had nothing to compare it to, but still. She couldn't help but to think: "this can't be all..."

Rarity used the already wet tissue to dry her own tears. She had managed a short smile at Twilight's comment, but it was obvious that she felt like she didn't deserve it.

"Will you stop blaming yourself if I told you it would make me feel better?" Twilight asked.

Rarity looked at her for a second, apparently trying to comprehend the question, then she nodded.

"Then come on. I could read to you again. Doesn't that sound like just the right distraction?"

"Are you sure?" Rarity weakly protested. "We haven't even finished talking about Spike..."

"There's nothing to talk about," Twilight said. "Whatever happens, it's not mine to decide. I have faith that you handle it well. Though I will find out more about a dragon life cycle and let you know. Tomorrow is the dragon migration, what better time to ask Princess Celestia?" in a lower voice, she added: "we know unacceptably little about him as it is. He's like a little brother to me, yet I have no idea when and how he will grow."

Rarity shuddered, but nodded. "Thank you, Twilight..."

Over the course of the following hours, it became apparent how weak Rarity still was. It seemed like her little outburst and the many shed tears had taken a lot from her, so much that she was barely able to stand straight anymore; Twilight had to levitate her to her room in order to finish the book. It had an incredibly sappy ending, which was something even Rarity agreed on, though she seemed to have enjoyed it nonetheless. After they finished, Rarity was too tired to do anything else, so Twilight left early, this time without being escorted to the entrance.

Stepping outside, Twilight closed her eyes and just tried to relax. She hadn't promised to come back tomorrow, not because she didn't want to, but simply because she wasn't sure how she would feel about seeing Rarity again. At the moment, she just didn't understand her feelings well enough to be sure of anything.

She sighed. The walk home was something she would skip this time, so she closed her eyes, focused and vanished. The last thought that crossed her mind before reappearing at the library was that, despite how things had turned out, Rarity and she were still friends and as long as that would be the case, any damage that might have been done could be worked out.

"Huh? Rainbow Dash?"

Dash turned around. "Oh, hey Twilight. Thought you'd be walking here."

"I wasn't in the mood for a walk.” Twilight tried to keep her voice friendly; Rainbow wasn't responsible for how she felt and she didn't want to shove her troubles onto her. ”What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to speak with you." Dash seemed nervous. "Spike said you'd be visiting Rarity, so I waited here for you to come back."

"That could've taken several hours longer." Twilight frowned. "Did Spike say I would be back soon? That was rather short minded..."

"Nah, Spike told me he didn't know when you'd be back. But I had nothing better to do anyway."

This seemed so unlike Dash that Twilight just stared at her for a few seconds, almost expecting a prank. Instead, Dash just stood there, almost looking embarrassed.

"Well then," Twilight said, as the silence started to become awkward, "you wanna come in?" she wasn't exactly in the mood for company, but if what Dash had said was true, she could hardly just tell her to leave.

"Yeah." Dash nodded.

Twilight opened the door. Spike was inside, standing on a ladder to reach some of the higher book shelves. At the sound of the door he turned around.

"Hey, Twilight. You're back early."

"Rarity's still not that good," Twilight said. "She went to sleep as I left." she turned to Dash. "So, what's the matter?"

But Dash just threw a nervous gaze at Spike. "Could we..." she paused, then turned to Spike. "Spike, could you maybe wait outside...?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. She looked from Dash to Spike, who seemed curious, but not hurt.

He shrugged. "Why not." He jumped down the ladder. "I'll be in the other room. Got some books there to look up anyway." He left. Twilight waited until he closed the door after him, then she turned to Dash, who looked incredibly relieved at the sound of the closing door.

"Are you okay?" Twilight couldn't help but to sound concerned.

"No idea," Dash said unclearly. For a moment, she looked like she'd regret coming here, but then she seemed to pull herself together. "Twilight...” she swallowed. “Twilight, are you... are you happy? With your life?"

"Huh? Why?"

Dash drew a stop closer. The way she was staring Twilight was almost scary, it was this open yet intense expression that was so unlike her.

"Are you?"

"Yes." Twilight said. She didn't need to think about it to give that answer. She had probably never cried as much in her life as during the last two days, but looking back at her life since she lived in Ponyville, there was no doubt about it. She was happy.

"And do you think I'm happy?"

"I always thought so." Twilight felt her heartbeat accelerating. She didn't know if she had ever seen Rainbow acting this much out of character. Whatever caused it, it had to be something big.

“Aren't you?” she asked.

"I have no idea." Twilight flinched at the sound of Rainbow's voice, it sounded almost desperate.

"Twilight, you care about me, don't you?"

"Of course. You are one of my closest friends." Twilight took a step forward in an attempt to hug Dash, but Dash winced and instantly stepped back, as if she was afraid of the touch.

"I'm sorry. I..." Dash turned her face away. "I didn't mean..:"

Utterly helpless, Twilight had no idea what to do, so she just stood there until Dash looked at her again.

"... I didn't mean like that." she whispered. Her eyes stared right into Twilight's, and they seemed to search for something in them. She drew closer, her expression so tense that it was impossible forTwilight to step back. Rainbow Dash looked her her like she had never looked at her before, and then she reached out to kiss her. Their lips met for only a split second, then Dash jumped back, apparently in shock about what she had done.

"Crap! Oh, Twilight, I'm so sorry! Dang it! I had no idea what I was doing..."

And then something behind Twilight's brow burst into flames. An uncontrollable, all overwhelming heat took hold of her. With one mighty burst of magic, she pushed Dash to the back wall, and before she had any chance to realise what she was doing, she reappeared right in front of her. She squeezed Dash against the wall with all her strength and pressed her lips against the mare before her. Hungrily, she drove forward with her tongue. Dash squealed in surprise, but only for a few seconds, then she returned the kiss and somehow, someway, Twilight could feel how happy Dash was, just by being so close to her. With a burst of wind, Rainbow's wings spread out to their full width, but just for a little moment, then she wrapped them around Twilight. For a few seconds they stayed like this, then Twilight lost her balance, and cramped together as they were, they both fell sidewards to the floor. In a split second and purely out of instinct to avoid the impact, Twilight summoned a magical orb surrounding them. Tied closely together, they came to a soft halt, floating inches above the ground.

For a few seconds, they said nothing, both breathing heavily. Then Dash giggled.

"That's not so bad."

Twilight couldn't contradict; the orb was so small that it pressed their bodies towards another, so she could feel every inch of Dash's body more intensely than ever.

"Yes, I think I could get used to this." Though there was barely room to move, their positions hadn't changed and so Twilight could still reach in for another kiss, pressing her lips against Rainbow's, making up for every moment within the last two years they wasted. And Rainbow Dash kissed her back, and somewhere, deep inside her, a sensation of completeness, of true happiness emerged, a feeling that this was what had been missing from her life. She widened the barrier just a little bit, so she had room to wrap her hooves around her marefriend, to draw her even closer, to deepen the kiss even further.

And then, Rainbow Dash passed out. Taken completely by surprise, Twilight slowly drew her tongue back, moving it over her lips, gathering every single bit of what so wondrously tasted like wind, like rain, like weather, like speed.

Or maybe she was just in love.

She abrogated the orb and carefully levitated both of them to the floor. Feeling so much happiness that she thought it couldn't possibly all fit into her, she drew out a hoof and brushed Rainbow's wonderful mane out of her face. She lay down beside her, moved as close as she could get, so her body was pressing against Rainbow's backside. She wrapped all four hooves around the sleek, athletic body before her and buried her face in Rainbow's neck.

She'd gladly wait until Rainbow woke back up. In fact, she wouldn't mind staying like this for a lot of future nights to come.

One thing was certain: it hadn't been all.

Pinkie Pie was busy serving a customer, when she felt the unmistakable symptoms of a combo coming up. For a few seconds, she payed close attention to her body, then she giggled and bounced even higher than usual. A small pirate ship appeared somewhere in her mind and she didn't lose any time getting on it. "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwww........ that's seven bits, we're closed."

A pink blur and she was out of Sugarcube Corner.

Two years. And all it had taken after she said it was one day. She bounced, giggled, and bounced some more. Library, here I come. Arrrr.