Twilight Sparkle let out a sigh of disappointment as she reached the last entry of the book and found it not what she was looking for. There were plenty of interesting spells that she could use later, but none that were helpful in regards to regrowing an entire limb. She set the book down with all the others that she had already gone through.
How long had it been since she the books had arrived? Seven days? Eight? Twilight was uncertain. She had been working on the problem constantly. The only times she would stop were to get something to eat when she got too hungry or sleep when she was too tired to see the words on the pages any longer. Whether it was day or night when she fell asleep was rarely noticed.
Twilight stifled a yawn, rubbing at her face. Taking a short break, she went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. A smile spread across her face as she caught sight of a glass of milk and a plate with a sandwich and hay fries. Her stomach let out a gurgle of anticipation as she pulled the food out of the fridge and moved to set it on the table. A small sigh of pleasure escaped her as she began to eat.
"Finally taking a break," a voice said from behind her. Twilight turned to see the source, though she recognized it from the sound already. Standing at the doorway was a sky blue pony with rainbow colored mane.
"I got hungry," Twilight said, turning back to her sandwich. She lifted a hoof to stifle another yawn before taking another bite.
"Twi," Rainbow Dash said as she moved move closer, "maybe after you should get some sleep."
"Don't be silly Rainbow Dash. I'm fine. I mean I know how..." she was stopped a moment as she yawned again, "to take care of myself."
"Twilight; it's been a week since the books arrive, and I've only seen you sleep twice in that time. Doesn't seem like it would do much good if you found something only to be too exhausted to do anything."
"Okay, okay. I'll go to bed after I finish this meal.... and one more book." Twilight tried to rush through the last part as quickly as she could.
"I'm pretty sure that you're going to pass out if you try and keep going," Dash said, narrowing her eyes at her friend.
"If I do, then Spike will just toss a blanket over me as he usually does." Twilight stopped a moment as a thought occurred to her. "Where is Spike, anyways?"
"He went to bed hours ago. Any sane pony would be asleep by now."
"So what are you still doing up?" Twilight asked. She moved to turn so she can keep eating her sandwich and watch her friend. Rainbow Dash shifted, looking down and away. She rubbed one of her hooves against the floor for a moment.
"I was in bed," the pegasus responded, "until I had a bad dream." She moved to sit down, letting out a sigh. "A week since I was visited by Luna and Discord, about two and a half since the accident and I still have nightmares nearly every night." Rainbow Dash sank lower on her forelegs, almost laying down. Her head was held low so the end of her snout practically touched the floor. The front of the rainbow colored mane flipped down, covering her eyes from being seen at an upper angle. She continued to shift one hoof back and forth.
Twilight Sparkle stared at her friend while still eating. The statement came as a bit of a surprise to the purple pony. She had not been aware that her friend had been having trouble sleeping, or that there had been consistent nightmares. Then again, Twilight was spending every waking minute she had going through the books and looking for a way to fix Dash's wing. As such, the alicorn had not really been paying attention to much of anything going on around here. Placing a hoof against her head, Twilight mentally kicked herself for her stupidity. She was so busy trying to find a way to help her friend that she was not even there to provide any comfort or support to the very same pony. The purple pony perked up as an idea suddenly came to her.
"Tell you what," Twilight said, "how about this: I go to bed after I eat this, and you come with me. That way I have some company until I fall asleep, and you have someone to comfort you if you have another bad dream. What do you think?" She smiled as she looked at Dash, uncertain if the pegasus was looking up at her through the colorful mane, or still staring down at the floor. The smile slowly started to fade as Twilight waited for a response. Seconds of silence seemed to crawl by.
"Yeah," Rainbow Dash finally responded, "That's sounds like a good idea."
The smile returned on Twilight's face a moment. She then returned to her meal, unaware that she started to eat quicker. The last bites quickly disappeared, letting her stomach well satisfied. The pony stayed where she was a moment, enjoying the feeling before finally standing up.
"Alright Dash. Let's..." she stopped as she yawned again, dropping back onto her haunches. "Sorry. Think I'm more exhausted than I realized." Slowly, Twilight got back up and started for the door. As wobbled as she went, hitting her shoulder against the frame.
"Geez," Rainbow Dash said, "You're so tired that you can barely stand. You'll probably crash before you get upstairs." Her eyes rolled a moment at her friend. She stood up and walked toward the tired pony.
"I'm fine. Just give me a moment to collect myself. HEY! What are you-" Twilight shifted, blinking in tired confusion as Rainbow Dash moved to slip under her.
"Trust me. This will be faster and safer." Shifting, the light blue pony got her friend across her shoulders. Adjusting her stance, Dash pushed up. She let out a growl as her body tensed, taking the weight onto her shoulders and lifting Twilight off the ground.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight snapped, "Put me down!" Her statement was ignored as Rainbow Dash began to carry her. "You know I'm a princess now, right? I could order you to put me down."
"You could," Rainbow Dash agreed, "doesn't mean I'll follow it. Or I could point out that as one of your subjects, it is at times my duty to help you when and how I can, including assisting you to your room." She grinned at her friend as she continued to walk. Reaching the base of the stairs, Dash carefully began to climb up, making certain to not hit her friend's head or flank against the walls.
Twilight let out a snort, rolling her eyes. Otherwise she did not really fight being carried. As they climbed the stairs, her gaze drifted to her friend's flank. She could see the strong muscles of the leg flex beneath the fur. The movement was almost hypnotic.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was unaware of being checked out. Her attention was more focused on the space of the hall. After all, she did not want to hit her friend against either wall. Reaching the doorway, the pegasus turned and shifted to get the two of them in without incident. She carried her friend to bed, gently setting Twilight down before climbing in herself.
Twilight Sparkle moved to lay down, getting comfortable quickly. She turned to look at Rainbow Dash moving to lie down beside her. The pale blue pegasus moved to get closer, wrapping an foreleg around the purple pony and moved closer. Twilight looked down at the head now resting against her chest, moving one hoof to rub along Dash's side.
Tilting her head, she nuzzled at the soft rainbow colored mane. Twilight closed her eyes and breathed in, taking in the scent of her friend. After a few minutes, the silence was broken the sound of her friend's gentle snoring. Twilight grinned
"Good night, Rainbow Dash." She placed a small kiss on top of the sleeping mare's head.
"...I love you..."