Simple
The fresh splendor of the blooming heart tulips was a natural spectacle Twilight never grew bored of watching.
Equestria was home to a thousand little forms of life, way more relevant than its own sentient inhabitants. It was a rising world of purity and bliss. Fields of rainbow patches of flowers masked by the windy shadows of fluctuating thunderstorms.
The idea of life, the complexity of life, beyond the borders of the known world was mind-boggling.
A romantic nostalgia was hiding behind each hard cover encyclopedia.
Those were entrancing thoughts for every avid reader, and curious ponies. Twilight Sparkle was both of them.
She had no limits. Nor she obeyed warning signs.
Rain splattered against the windows of her castle, cascading down the carved columns and walls, forming intermittent streams that flowed down the dirt and gravel roads of Ponyville. Not a single irrelevant detail was left aside, by the avid eyes of the Princess.
This rainy mood was perfect for her studies, and she accepted the sprinkling noise like a therapy to her ears.
With a book on her hooves, Twilight curled in a corner of the castle, under a dome of glass that topped over an octagonal room. She had nicknamed that spot ‘the skylight of heaven’, because from that peculiar outpost, she had a panoramic view of the entire city below.
A telescope stood majestically at the center, its lenses carefully covered with a lid to preserve its delicate mirrors from dust particles and other foreign objects.
Twilight felt the bulbous contour of the equipment with the tip of her wings as she walked by, choosing a semi-circular couch in the angular vertex of two glass panes. She leaned her head against the windows, contemplating the droplets of rain leaving trails outside, and a lonely leaf glued to the glass by a water puddle.
The world followed its rhythm, and so did the princess, opening her new book about rare herbs and their magic properties. A much appreciated gift from Zecora.
Although Twilight was eager to read every single chapter, and try all those potions and salt baths one by one, there was a page in special that she tenderly caressed with her hoof.
“The Fundamentals of Love”
Said the title in bold, bleached letters.
That part of the book looked ancient, as if somepony erroneously sewed the pages together, without any logic or deep knowledge of magic.
Very carefully she turned the pages with a soft levitation spell.
As the experienced scholar she was, Twilight Sparkle neatly inspected each one of the runes and illustrations. Some of them were clearly older than the ancient empire, considering the old cuneiform alphabet.
“What are you doing here?” She muttered to herself, the anomalous part of the herbarium depicting anything but herbs and potions.
“Fundamentals of Love… This should be in the Crystal Empire.” Twilight said to herself, presuming that Cadance would know exactly what to do with that book.
But she was a curious alicorn, always willing to absorb new knowledge like a sponge.
Biting her lower lip, Twilight opened the ancient book again, trying her best to decipher the old writings, carved in thick leather pages.
Twilight looked around one more time, making sure all the doors leading to the glass dome room were closed. She wanted no unwary ponies around while she tried such an ancient craft.
“Very well then” She said, resting the open book on a marble pedestal.
She flinched for a second, reminding herself of all the protective charms surrounding her aura. Twilight was de facto, an alicorn. And beings like her are entitled to receive massive shields around their souls.
Focusing all of her translating power on the leather pages, Twilight closed her eyes. Her horn looked ablaze, a violet flame consuming the object on top of the pedestal.
Almost lost amidst a cacophony of static and noise, accumulated through the ages on the book, a single sentence reverberated through the glass dome, returning as clear as possible to Twilight’s ears.
“Love is like war.”
“Easy to begin, but very hard to stop.”
Silence followed, and another word never left that book again.
“It is just that?” Twilight sighed. “Years of research for… A bittersweet quote?” She murmured.
Closing the book as tenderly as she opened it, Twilight levitated the lonely survivor of a lost age back to her library. She would try again another day.
“No dragons, I presume?” Said Spike as he dusted some tall book shelves, looking down at Twilight with a reassuring smile.
“Oh, I wish… These Pre-Imperial books are such a bunch of paperweights. Nothing relevant at all.” When Twilight complained about books, something stirred inside of Spike’s fiery guts.
He quickly slid down from a long stair that ran through the bookshelves.
“Look Twi…” He rubbed his reptilian neck. “Don’t you think it’s about time for you to take a nap… or two?” He suggested, noticing the reddish eyes of his alicorn friend. “You know how some of those books only make sense after a good night of sleep and a bowl of cereal.”
For his luck, Twilight chuckled, nodding positively and scratching his head with a hoof.
“Yeah, you may be right Spike… I’m feeling a little overwhelmed since we moved the books from the Everfree Castle to our personal library. They have so many fantastic titles that I can’t even-”
“Stop reading?” Spike said.
“Yes, stop.” She sighed, lowering her head. “I guess I need to close my eyes for a while.” Twilight agreed.
Spike nodded, returning to his job, while the princess still stood in place for another second or two, pondering the few words released by that fragment of life.
“Love is like a war”
She repeated to herself, while heading to her chambers for a comfortable night of sleep. Her room was circular, and tall stone columns supported the arched ceiling. A large dome crowned the center, from which a crystal chandelier extended its ethereal appendages to almost touch the floor level.
The shards intermingled like a thousand galaxies and distant solar systems, as if a broken mirror had been enchanted to look like the universe.
Twilight contemplated the work of art every night, before pulling her starry curtains closed, and collapsing on her bed.
The princess sighed, hugging her pillows tightly. A feeling she would never admit poking the back of her mind. It was a feeling of sheer solitude that crossed her thoughts every time she closed her eyes.
For a long time, she tossed and turned,
Unable to sleep,
Wondering if maybe, just maybe,
She was awake and thinking of her too.
Once again she found herself struggling with the hard truth that the leather book pages were spread like butter on her face.
Love was indeed, easy to begin, but very hard to stop.
Deep in the realm of dreams, Twilight delved.
Her breath was slow and silky, and a form of liquid oxygen flowed to and from her lungs. Her body rested from the pains of the world, while her soul was set free.
The fresh marine wind blew on her face, carrying her flowing mane with it. Twilight contemplated the cyclical splash of salt-water crashing against the stones.
She looked around to see a marvelous beach; elegant stone formations towered over the shoreline, they looked like fortresses from a distant past. A place she oddly felt at home.
A layer of white pebbles covered the gravel soil like tiny specks of snow.
Twilight walked around aimlessly, playing with the rocks, amazed at the surreal sight. How could she have never visited such a unique place?
Where was it?
On top of a large boulder that protruded over the restless sea, a rainbow figure that gleamed in a thousand more colors under the sun, the prismatic pegaus overlooked the bay like a lighthouse.
In her dreams, Rainbow always stood over majestically, as if her colors were magnified, covered in a magic glow.
“Where have you been Twi?” The pegasus said, stepping out of the stone and walking towards the dazzled princess. “I have something to tell you.”
“Do you?” Twilight cocked her head, gaping as the beautiful scenery seemed to melt alway. White pebbles and gravels breaking apart and melding like an alloy under they hooves. The beach became a plain surface of marble-like tiles, the setting sun casting swirly shadows on the floor, as waves crashed onto the stony barriers of the pier.
There was a magic light in each droplet of cold salty water that sprinkled on their bodies.
“All I ever wanted was to have a moment with you.”
Twilight couldn’t believe she was hearing those words from her pegasus friend. Those phosphorescent eyes of hers seemed to stare into her intimate insides.
In a silence only disturbed by the white noise of the ocean, their lips touched. Twilight closed her eyes, but deeply, she was aware of her own desires.
“R-rainbow I…” She muttered, her heart firing inside her chest, a warmness filling her cheeks.
Rainbow delicately pushed a string of hair away from her face, nuzzling Twilight very fondly.
“Time here runs fast. You don’t want to lose a second, do you?” She said softly, her husky voice becoming faint as she tried her best to be gentle. A mischievous smile on her face.
Lost in her dream state, Twilight wrapped her hooves around Rainbow, causing both of them to crash on the slippery polished floor.
She kissed her lips tenderly, not even bothering to leave her spot on top of Rainbow.
Everything seemed so brilliant, in a way that her emotions ascended to life as colorfully as the mane of her secret lover. They were a watercolor painting together, a living proof that true love knows no boundaries.
Rainbow tilted her head to the side, placing an arm around Twilight’s neck and pulling her closer. Softly she pushed her tongue against her teeth, begging for a chance to taste the alicorn love.
Twilight consented, feeling the slippery touch of her tongue exploring her mouth. She eagerly played along with Rainbow, darting around slowly, feeling all the nuances and tastes.
Rainbow caressed her lips as she pushed her tongue deeply, brushing against Twilight’s.
Twilight stared down at Rainbow as they parted, a string of saliva still connecting their lips. The wet ocean wind sent their voices adrift.
Leaving the wasting world behind, they enjoyed each other in a dream of their own.
“I love you Twilight” She whispered, the yellowish glow of the sun reflecting on the back of her eyes.
“I… I…” She stuttered, not finding the words again.
Twilight?
The princess jumped, heaving for air. Dripping in sweat, her hooves holding the covers tightly against her body. The bed was burning like a furnace, but she felt as cold as a dead pony.
A feverish heat emanated from her body, and she blinked twice, looking at the pendulum clock hanging from the wall. It was six o’clock.
Another morning already.
“How’s t-that even…” She muttered, shutting her mouth as she noticed the baby dragon staring at her on the doorway with a face of deep worry.
“Twilight…” He said, rubbing his eyes. “I heard you whimpering, are you okay?”
“I was.” She muttered. “I guess.” Twilight looked down at her hooves, not wanting to believe that everything was all but a dream.
Why things like these only happened in worlds of fantasy?
“Bad dreams?” Spike asked, sitting on the edge of her bed, a reassuring smile on his innocent face.
“Far from it.” Twilight said, letting out a long sigh and landing on her back over the pillows. “I never asked for much, Spike… Why it's so difficult for me to be happy?”
“Life is really simple.” He said.
“What do you mean?” She cocked an eyebrow at him.
“Why should we complicate life? Why make things difficult?” He turned around to face Twilight, sitting cross-legged on the bed. She just listened in curious silence, as the dragon spoke in blunt simplicity.
“When we’re missing somebody, we send a letter, right? If we want to meet up, we invite somepony” He said. “If you want to be understood, explain your point. If we have a question, we just need to ask.”
Something sparkled in Twilight’s heart, as she listened to what Spike had to say.
“If you want something, just ask.” He stopped, pondering his words. “And if you love someone… Tell it.”
Spike smiled, climbing down the bed.
“We just have one life, Twi. Keep it simple!”