Dreamwalker's Tale

The next morning almost felt like routine by now. Even though this was just… what? The fourth day?

Breakfast was ready, I smiled, she groaned, we ate. While doing so, Spike seemed rather enthusiastic again. “So, uh, is it alright if I shirk some of my duties again today? Because Pinkie told me about this new emerald cupcake recipe she came up with and being the only dragon around, she kinda needs me to taste-test it and—“

Twilight just leaned over and gave him a kiss on his forehead. “Don’t overstuff yourself and be back early enough to do your work. Other than that… have fun.”

He grinned, nodded and was off.

After her coffee was empty, she looked a lot more awake than before. And used her newfound perceptive skills to regard me with concern. “You are unwell,” she stated. I was about to disagree. She knew that, and pushed forward. “In the last couple of days, you have become more and more distracted. It is getting harder for you to concentrate. And those dark circles underneath your eyes are growing.”

I sighed. “Twilight, really — I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine.”

“No. No, you are not,” she said. Quieter. Earnest.

That made it a lot harder to object again. Harder, but not impossible. “I’m being serious. When I said the library wanted to eat me, I was just joking around. I can read just fine and so far, I haven’t cut myself into salad-suitable slices.” My attempts at lightening the mood were not quite appreciated this time, though. In an attempt to escape the oppressive silence, I stood up. I wanted to clean the dishes, but something did not quite feel right with my blood pressure. There was a sudden influx of vertigo and…

“Please do not lie to me,” she asked. Not only did she somehow manage to be even quieter than before, but it sounded so strangely far away, too.

Then I suddenly understood. “I’m falling…” I noted with some disconnect. Indeed, the world was once again sideways. I was pretty sure that I had blacked out for a couple of seconds. When I reopened my eyes, I stared into hers. I loved those pretty violet eyes so much. She held me in her magic. A strong, firm grip which somehow felt warm and soft at the same time. Familiar. Caring. Safe. It tickled my belly a little. At this moment, I wanted to just close my eyes and sleep sooo badly. But I couldn’t. I literally could not.

“Are you alright?” she asked and hurried over to me. I nodded. But she furrowed her brow and a slight blush of embarrassment returned. Until she asked, “When was the last time you… uhm… took a shower?”

Oh.

I wanted to die a little. Just shrivel in on myself and vanish from this existence. Right this instant, please! Shame burned hot in my cheeks and I felt it creep up to the tips of my ears, burning along my neck. I did not… I had not… I was left speechless. Defenseless. I heard myself mumbling excuse after excuse, most of them did not even make much sense to begin with, while she just… carried me along, with a little more distance than before, to one of the bathrooms.

I stopped rambling a minute or two after she had left me alone in this room. My knees were still weak. I looked around me and reasoned that, given my sorry state, a bath might actually do wonders. So I let the steaming hot water pour in, added some of those oily things Rarity always raved on about (and Twilight continuously received as gifts) and climbed in there. It was not burning hot, but it still felt uncomfortable initially. I thought I could actually feel all the grime wash away.

That. Was. Embarrassing.

However, with the steam rising, the hot water all around me and those last couple of days on my shoulders, I felt incredibly heavy. More tired than ever before. So I tried. I just closed my eyes and let myself sink. My head tilted forward, probably in expectation of a pillow or mattress. Instead I gracelessly face-planted into the water. Panicking immediately, I flailed about wildly, spraying waves of water everywhere in an attempt to not drown. Finally, I came to a rest at the edge of the tub, gasping for air and holding on for dear life.

That could have gone better.

I got out of the tub, drained the water and dried myself up with a towel as best as I could. Twilight had fancy spells for that, but… a towel would do for now.

I had no idea how long I had been in that bathtub. I had not noticed the water turning cold. But when I came into the living room, a simple look at the window told me that it was late. Very late. Middle of the night-late. Twilight sat on the sofa again, her muzzle buried in a romance novel — and she was sleeping. A change of pace was nice sometimes. A tea pot was standing on the nearby table, one mug full, the other one half full. Both cold by now, obviously. The tea had been cold for hours. There were a couple of halved sandwiches on a platter near the tea pot. No sign of Spike, so I could only presume that he was sleeping already.

I felt regret. I stood there, not daring to move or breathe for a couple of seconds and just regretted my own idiocy. She had been waiting for me. And I could not even tell her that I had slept. Because I just knew that I did not. I could feel it. I had been drowsy. In some kind of stupor, maybe.

Ahhh, but what did it matter now?

Dissatisfied with myself, I once again lifted her up and carried her towards her bedroom again. I put her down on her bed, covered her with her blanket and allowed myself a little moment. I leaned forward and gave her a chaste, brief kiss on her forehead. “Sleep well,” I whispered, brushed my cheek against hers and then remembered decorum and manners and all that stuff and left.

Back to the library.

I loved libraries. Really, I did. But this one… this one was testing my patience. It ate hours of my life without rewarding me anything in return. I was not used to that. And it did not feel great.