In Conclusion
Hours passed...
And hours passed into days...
Twilight counted them by the sundowns—or else she didn't count them at all. The mare stayed locked up in her room the entire time, which made seeing daylight difficult, especially with her drapes drawn shut to cast the bedroom in perfect darkness.
Most of the time—if not all of the time—Twilight lay in bed, piling as many covers on top of herself as possible in order to shut out every winking inch of the world.
Blankets or no blankets, Twilight did one consistent thing: she hugged all her pillows to her chest, occasionally rubbing her cheeks against the velvety fabric while her glazed eyes stared straight ahead into dull and uninteresting nothingness.
This carried on for far longer than she was willing to admit. Several times, Spike knocked on the door, pleading with her to show her face, but she did not give in. It got to the point that he laid a tray just outside her bedroom, letting her know that there was supper waiting for her. Regardless, Twilight made no attempt to move from her one lonesome spot.
Until the second or third day—she wasn't quite sure anymore. The grayness had consumed her. Suddenly, one hour, Twilight was rolling over to the sound of a loud gurgling in her belly. She clutched herself, painfully this time.
With a defeated sigh, Twilight finally limped out of bed, her stiff limbs cracking with those first lumbering motions. She approached the door, paused, then leaned her head against it, tickling her ear across the wooden finish. Once she was finally convinced that no little dragon was standing on the other side, breathing with anticipation, she opened the door a crack, squinting into a bright sliver of light.
A tray lay there. On top the center plate was a daffodil sandwich.
Twilight reached through with her telekinesis. She floated the breaded meal towards her and swiftly slammed the door shut, locking it once again. With a dull sigh, she brought the meal to her lips, taking an unenthusiastic bite out of the stale slices.
Then she turned, staring into a bright pair of ruby eyes.
"About friggin' time, lazy bones!" Rainbow Dash chirped.
"Mrmmmfffgh!" Twilight went cross-eyed. She hobbled backwards, coughing up bits of bread as she dropped the rest of the sandwich.
"...?" Rainbow Dash cocked her head aside, perched atop Twilight's unmade bed like a curious blue raven.
"Pffft.. guhh!" Twilight wheezed, clutching her throat. "I-I almost needed the Haymlich Maneuver!" She looked up, wincing. "Rainbow, what are you doing here?!" She squinted. "How did you get in here?"
"Uhhhhhh..." Rainbow smirked coyly and pointed at the open window and flowing drapes beside the bed. "Duh."
"Ohhhh..." Twilight exhaled, her ears sagging as she gazed at the floor. "...right."
"Though I almost wish you were choking," Rainbow said with a brief frown. "Then maybe I'd be worried about you less!" She leaned forward, her gaze melting into something warm and sympathetic. "What the heck's going on, Twilight? You've got everypony freaking out!"
"Sorry..." Twilight winced.
"Rarity, Applejack... even Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow waved a hoof wildly. "You should see Fluttershy! She's practically prepared a eulogy for you by now! Signed it with her friggin' tears!"
"S-sorry..." Twilight winced harder. She deflated lime a lavender puddle in the corner, facing the deeper shadows. "I know I... h-haven't exactly been social lately..."
"Then if you know about it and you're sorry..." Rainbow Dash crawled down from the bed and pensively crossed the distance between them. "...then why not give it a rest? Come out of your room! See the sunshine! Talk to us, girl!"
"No!" Twilight snarled, her tail whipping in the air.
Rainbow froze in place, legs poised like a stretched cat's.
"... ... ...mmmmfff..." Twilight sighed once more. "I... I just can't, Rainbow. Thanks for trying to be a great friend, but... I don't deserve it..."
Rainbow arched an eyebrow. "Does this have anything to do with your magic experiment in cuddles accidentally making every pony in town want to hug the crap out of me?"
"Jee..." Twilight grumbled over her shoulder. "Ya think?"
"Pffft. So?" Rainbow sat up with a smirk. "Ponies make mistakes, Twilight! Rise above it!" She winked. "Besides, it's not like you meant to make all that silly crud happen to me, huh?"
Twilight bit her lip.
Rainbow blinked. "Errr..." She leaned back, raising a pensive hoof. "It.. was a mistake... r-right...?"
Twilight sniffled. She trembled slightly as she looked back at Rainbow. "Can... you keep a secret?"
Rainbow crossed her chest then stuck a hoof against her eye. "Please don't make me say the dumb words out loud," she muttered, smirking.
The edge of Twilight's muzzle tickled, as if it wanted to curve upwards. A sigh prevented that from happening. Rubbing her shoulder, Twilight gazed melancholically into the corner of the room.
"Talk to me, Twi," Rainbow said, standing a tiny bit closer, but still keeping a strategic distance. "What else are friends for?"
Twilight took her sweet time before finally—and pitifully—squeaking forth. "I've been... crying myself to sleep at night."
Rainbow listened.
"And... and I-I've got no excuse!" Twilight spat. "I mean, what reason do I got to feel sad? I have everything!" She gestured with her hoof as if she was conducting an invisible shadow orchestra before her. "I have the library! An apprenticeship with Princess Celestia! The greatest research assistant in the whole world! And... and..." She cooed, almost melodically: "The best five pony friends a mare could ever ask for."
Silence.
Rainbow nodded, then leaned her head aside. "... ... ... but...?"
Twilight bit her lip. "I... I feel like I... I need something else. Something that doesn't come with kind words... or with good books... or with saving Equestria ten times over, I need... I-I wish I could have..."
Rainbow looked on, blinking.
Twilight sniffled again. "The other night, when we went to the movie together, and... and I-I got scared at th-that one part, y'know?" She rubbed her other limb harder, squeezing herself into a tighter lavender ball in the corner of the room. "I felt the same thing then that I feel each and every night. I felt the need to be held. Only... this time..." She swallowed a lump down her throat and squeaked: "It happened." A sniff. "Somepony was there for me. You were there for me, Rainbow. And... a-and..." She grimaced. "I-I guess it could have been anypony, really. It doesn't matter. You were there and you were strong and the hug was so warm and... fuzzy and..."
Rainbow narrowed her eyes. "You wanted to feel that again."
"No." Twilight shook her head. "I only wish it was that simple. The truth is far more ridiculous... and selfish."
"How so?" Rainbow gestured. "I thought you wanted to find out a way to contain cuddles in a bottle. Y'know... for Equestria!"
"No, Rainbow Dash," Twilight cried. "For me."
Rainbow leaned back, blinking.
"I thought that... that if I learned the secret of what makes cuddles work, then I might have a scientific way of applying it to myself so that... so th-that I wouldn't f-feel so pathetic each night..." She covered her face with her hooves, shuddering. "...so I wouldn't have t-to be bothering my f-friends like I'm bothering you right n-now." Her shoulders heaved as she blanketed her fetlocks with her tears. "All just for this stupid, silly, selfish complex of mine. I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash. I threw you in the middle of a pointless experiment, and all I did was make things worse! You didn't deserve that! You don't deserve any of this! I'm sorry... I-I'm just so sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I wish that I did..."
Before Twilight could go on any further, she felt a sharp breath escape her lungs. It may have had something to do with the toasty warm wings encircling her from behind.
"Mmmmm..." Sniffling, Twilight lowered her hooves from her tearstained face and glanced behind her. Her muzzle quivered. "...Rainbow?"
"Well, I can tell one thing that's wrong with you," Rainbow said, cuddling Twilight from behind. "You talk too friggin' much."
"Huh?"
"Didn't I tell you?" Rainbow smiled, squeezing Twilight into a tighter hug. "Just because you're an egghead doesn't mean you gotta crack so easily."
Twilight blinked. "But, I don't get it. What... I-I mean why are you—?"
"Pffft. Do I gotta write a lame scientific dissertation or some crud?" Rainbow stared evenly with Twilight's eyes. "We're friends. If you need something—no matter how silly or stupid it may sound—you just gotta ask for it, Twilight. I mean duh."
"But... b-but..." Twilight gulped and murmured, "How could I ask a pony like you for something as silly as c-cuddles? You're always so... awesome and cool and courageous."
"Uh huh. Yeah." Rainbow nodded, then hugged Twilight tighter. "And part of being courageous is having the strength to do what's best for your friends, right? I mean... pffft, sure..." She rolled her eyes. "This is pretty silly. Stupid, even. But you're my friend, Twilight! I'm not about to leave ya hangin'! And if you think that I would for even a second, then I guess you really don't know me well enough to keep writing those letters to Celestia!"
Twilight simply gawked at her, muzzle agape.
"But... y'know..." Rainbow fidgeted slightly, her jaw tight. "Mention one single word of this to the others and I'll drop you into Ghastly Gorge. Got it?"
Twilight cracked a grin. Then, with a breathy sob, she cracked an even larger one. What came out of her next was a foalish train of giggles, wide enough to force her eyes shut.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "I don't get it. I thought this was supposed to help you, not make you go crazy."
"No, it helps..." Twilight sniffled, wiping her face. She eventually gave up, just letting the tears flow as she surrendered to her friend's embrace. "This helps a lot."
"So... uhhh..." Rainbow wrapped her wings tighter around Twilight, securing her. "We're good, then?"
"Y-yes." Twilight squeaked, a placid smile across her muzzle as she relished the exquisite toastiness. "More than good."
"Killer. Glad I could lend a hoof."
Twilight shuddered, exhaling long and hard as her body relaxed.
Rainbow continued holding her in gentle silence... until: "Say Twi...?"
"Mmm?" Twilight's eyelids fluttered open. "Yes, Rainbow?"
The pegasus coyly smirked as she nuzzled her chin into the mare's neck. "...you were gonna be 'Phase Five' all along, weren't you?"
Twilight sighed, leaning back into Rainbow with a happy smile. "It doesn't matter anymore..."
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You took possibly the most intoxicating SFW pony pic I've ever seen and used it to decorate your cuddle story.
RIP my pancreas.
5682844 fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2015/039/c/b/for_science_by_captainpudgemuffin-d8h3n5d.png
5682869 Yeah, I had it in my browser tabs for two weeks. Couldn't bring myself to close it, and I don't even ship them. It's one of my all-time faves.
5682872 Hell yeah.
5682872
Jim Croce reference. Very nice.
"Whew-wee! Look at me! I'm doin' science! Bet Aunt and Uncle Orange would be proud!"
The pony diabeetus is real, I tell you.
Can I just say
HNNNNNGGGH
I can't take all these cuddles
I don't think I've ever seen such a goofy story turn so sweet before. I'm not precisely sure what I just read, but I'm considerably-more-precisely sure that I enjoyed it. Warm fuzzies aplenty.
Please don't catch me in a bottle.
Wait a second... This is a sequel to a story, which is a sequel to another story, which is a sequel to this story.
HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK!?
5684082 Sequelception... Dun Dun Duhh
God, there is a sequel loop here!!!
... HEARTSPLOSION.
R.I.P
NastyNibbles
Dawn of Time - 2014
An honourable and good friend with a passion for reading. Died from an over-dose of Happiness (H), Cuddles (C's) and Rainbow Dash (Speed). Will be missed.
That was cute. Liked it
This reasoning is impeccable.
The stories make a full circle! Wich one is the first?! Cuddle? Nuzzlelock? Fuzz?
5684818 I don't know it is so confusing.
5684818 5684922
Stuck in a loop of infinite snuggles! AAAAUUGGGH!
5685009 Too fluffy!!! Oh wait there is no such thing as too much fluff.
I have too many feelings about this to post a good comment.
Well, that was adorable beyond words. So much fluff and purring and ponies behaving like cats.
This story needs to be featured in every place that features pony stories.
You know, "trilogy" is just a word. Can we have more of these? Please? Pretty please?
That is all.
Dem circular references
Chapter spiking...
Not illegal, but frustrating for other writers with longer chapters written over long periods to compete with for positions on the featured box or even popular stories box.
You have to earn your way to the top, I suppose. I still have a long way to go before I manage to write with full competence. 
Then again, this is an already established author with lots of followers. Skill and reputation have already been established and the like to dislike ratio for this story isn't bad.
Hope you all enjoy.
I am confused as to why Twilight docent simply find changelings and see about mutual cooperation in development. She is basically trying to make something which would allow a love eating creature the ability to transition from hunter-gathers to agricultural.
...Y'know, this whole story premise could be an MLP comic. Easily. And it would be ADORABLE.
Who would not want to see this as a comic?!
5685009 5685046
Remember, you both basically asked for this....
5687381
What do you mean? She takes the corn, opens up her hole, shoves it in there, and then she feels nice and good.
What else could possibly be construed from that?
5685405
Define chapter spiking for me please.
Huh... I should read that first then...
*Goes to [Nuzzle Locked]*
...mmmkay...
*Goes to [Everypony Cuddles, Sometimes]*
Huh, I sup—wait, what?
Damn ponies! Always talking in theaters.
5686833
I guess you could say it made all the unicorns...
Horny.
I'll go now...
Noooooooooooooooooo!
This isn't right! That cover piece is too... adorable!
It's so fluffeh I'm gonna die!!!!@
Well it was a happy ending. Mostly.
Twilight needs to find a special somepony.
Um.
...
Mleh...
I sometimes conduct shadow-orchestras.
...
Don't you judge me.
Well, that was fun. Twi's experiments always go wrong, don't they? At least it didn't end up in a terrible explosion or something of that sort
Skirts, buddy, pal, friend o' mine... this was easily one of the dumbest, silliest, most pointless stories I have ever read.
And I loved every second of it.
5689867 Agreed!
5689233 But... Cuddle Singularity...
5684082 It's the aftermath of a cuddle singularity, obviously.
(But seriously, this seems to be the third in line.)
5687919 To make this clear before hand: I have nothing against the author of this story, nor do I consider the technique I claimed they used to be immoral or unsportsmanlike in anyway, just difficult to compete with when done well. That said:
I'll admit It was something I made up based off another term.
In strategy or RPG video games, 'damage spiking' is when a player or computer controlled opponent will throw large amounts of damage—usually at a rate that cannot be sustained, either by excessive cost or by need to gather resources/energy before hand—at their opponent at such a rapid rate that the opponent cannot react before being defeated, with little to no warning. This often leaves the other player being 'owned', humiliated or otherwise overwhelmed, often making them feel powerless and dispirited.
In realistic settings, a damage spike is usually something carefully set up like a trap that could be bypassed by an opponent of equivalent resources and foresight, making it a gamble. But in many vs modes and matches within a short, cage match like setting, the win can often be obtained right at the start with expending one's resources rapidly in a closed setting, then those resources are restored to max potential before the next round, allowing the process to be repeated with little effort. This is not too unlike the fable where the tortoise would beat the hare in a marathon by outlasting them, but instead the hare chooses only to race the tortoise in a short sprint, where they would have every advantage, get the prize without effort, then rest and repeat.
Chapter spiking is what I call a derivative strategy for this in fan fiction writing.
With the rare exception of a weekend binge of reading, the average reader can only read so many words in a single sitting on average before becoming bored, tired or restless. as such, a read on Fimfiction can draw in more view counts if that same word count is spread over multiple smaller chapters, vs one big chapter that challenges the reader to swallow it in one go. This is where I feel it is just practical application of statistics and smart chapter planning, vs outright cheating since everyone can do this if they tried.
The reason I said chapter spiking here, was that all 15 chapters of this story were released all at once, and in bite sized amounts. This causes more readers to read multiple chapters in a short time frame, shooting up the view count right from it's first publishing/release date. Where as other stories that are written more like a novel in chapter length tend to only get a few hit average per day per follower. This causes the long chapter-ed story to have a small dribble of a view count per day vs a sudden burst of views from a series of smaller chapters—thus, 'chapter spiking'—shooting it up to the top list. I don't think this directly affects the number of 'thumbs up' a story gets, as that has to do at least in part with quality, and amount of followers/readers, not the number of chapters.
I hesitate to say 'quantity over quality' because the quality of the story could very well be good, since one must have at least some interest in the story before they click the next chapter, and I have not actually read it myself.
I may have rambled a little, but does that help explain it better?
5690417
I thought that was what you meant, but I wanted to be sure before I replied. Thank you, you explained it well.
While this story does in fact fit your definition of chapter spiking in appearance, the 'strategy' doesn't lead to its conclusions. The end result of this competition is to get into the feature box, which is the primary reason to adopt any strategy on this website it seems. This story would have gotten to its place regardless, and will stay there until Knightly's maximum time catch kicks it back out. As you mentioned yourself, SSAE has many followers and this story is a sequel to two already very popular stories. It's unlikely that he adopted a strategy to get into the feature box as it's unlikely that any story he writes won't get into the feature box.
I suppose the reason I'm writing this is that it doesn't make sense to me to speak with derision about a perceived strategy in a perceived competition when the actual possible fault is that each story doesn't start on even ground. Which you complimented in your comment. To clarify, I don't find the idea of a competition to be negative as it's a very good motivator, it's just interesting to me that you inverted how I would view this topic.
5690562 I guess you were confused as to why I was bringing it up, when I myself admitted it was legitimate and the story would have likely featured anyway. I guess it was just me venting my frustration while admitting defeat as sportsmanlike as feasible while venting.
HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THIS STORY UNTIL TODAY!!!?!//1??one!>??!
Forgive me senpai *commits seppuku*
As 'carnivore' starts playing on my radio... this was really nice. I liked it more than I thougt i would.
This was soooooo adorable. I want more! I need my fix!
I just realized there's a sequel. I love you Skirts. Never leave us.
Having read the whole trilogy in one sitting, I have to say, this was a fascinating read. It started as pure fluff. (Well, fuzz and fluffle impurities may have been present.) Then you worked in this brilliant layer of insecurity that was actually there the whole time, and that works perfectly for the character. There really was something under all the adorability, and that makes it all the better. Thank you for this, Skirts.