//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: All of Your Love, and All of Your Hate // by Random User //------------------------------// "Twilight? Twilight...?" Twilight Sparkle's head was swimming at the moment. She couldn't exactly recall where she was or what was happening. As she began grasping at conscience, she began to feel a soft, warm material surrounding her. It was almost like being in a cocoon. It was kind of nice really, maybe she should lie there longer and sleep... "Oh dear... I hope she'll be okay..." "Don't worry, sugarcube. Twilight'll be jus' fine." Now that she thought about it, those voices sounded familiar to Twilight. She couldn't really recall who they were or where she heard them before. She was still gathering herself, but it was difficult under the dominating control of sleep and comforting warmth. Her thoughts were jumbled, and she was beginning to slip back into sleep again anyways. "No worries Fluttershy. Twilight here is a tough pony! She'll be all right!" That specific voice sent Twilight's heart aflutter, a feeling she had become quite familiar with lately. There was no doubt about it now, the setting was perfect for the unicorn to just slip back into her unconscious sleep. It was a much more peaceful way to rest than her last. ----- "Gah!" a blur of purple flung itself upward in its bed, ending in a heavily-breathing pony who looked like they had just awoken from a nightmare. Though, that wouldn't be too far off from what had just transpired, Twilight wasn't sure if her dream was a blessing or a nightmare. Before she could analyse her dream at all, though, a familiar voice called to her attention. "Twilight! You're awake!" Her friend Spike, still worried and wide awake, was at Twilight's bedside, looking worried as ever, almost as if Twilight was on the brink of death and he would've lost her. He almost instantaneously hopped up onto the bed and grabbed the mare in a tight hug. Twilight, though her mind a little scrambled, returned the gesture, holding her friend close. She looked around the room only to notice she totally missed Fluttershy being right next to Spike was. "I'm all right, Spike. It's okay." Twilight reassured him, smiling weakly. She felt a little guilty for putting him through this, especially after realising he had probably been at her bedside for hours. She turned her head to look at Fluttershy, "What happened?" "Oh... Well, I was tending to my animals when Spike came to get me and the other girls. He said you had been sleeping for a long time and he was really worried about you... The others had to leave though." Fluttershy explained. Twilight nodded in understanding, still holding Spike in her forelegs as the dragon nuzzled her. "Rainbow Dash wanted me to tell you that she's sorry she couldn't stay... She seemed particularly disappointed that she had to go... You know, because of her job as weathermare and stuff..." Fluttershy added. "Oh, I see... Well," Twilight began, "That's all right, I understand that. Thanks for watching over Spike and me, Fluttershy." Fluttershy gave a small, but sincere smile, "Oh, it's no problem Twilight. Do you maybe know what happened? Spike said you just started to use a lot of magic before passing out! It sounds a little worrying." Twilight mused what had happened herself. Her memory was still a little cloudy after all that had happened, but it was coming back to her. She recalled being lost in a sort of daydream about Rainbow Dash. The thought of how much she had been thinking about the pegasus caused her to blush. Was she really that obsessed with her friend? But while she was daydreaming about her love interest, she remembered that's around the same time her magical output soared. Maybe the two events were related? Well, whenever there was a question that needed to be answered, Twilight know what she had to do: Experiment! Twilight turned her head back to the patient Fluttershy, a smile spread on her face, "I think I may know what happened, but I'll have to test it." Fluttershy was less than enthusiastic about this answer, "Oh no! Twilight, you can't put yourself at risk like that!" "Don't worry Fluttershy, I promise I'll be all right." "No! I can't let you!" "Fluttershy..." Fluttershy was beginning to shy away from the argument. She hated arguments, and she was not willing to get into one with one of her friends. She sighed in defeat, "Okay, Twilight... Just...don't hurt yourself, okay?" Twilight pulled her bashful friend into a reassuring hug with her other foreleg, holding Spike in the other, "I'll be okay. I promise." Fluttershy was content with that promise, and she hoped to Celestia she would keep it. Returning the hug, the three of them finally disbanded, Spike noticeably more calm than before. Twilight was happy that the dragon looked better already, though Spike himself wasn't exactly happy to hear Twilight would be testing what had caused her magical outburst. But nonetheless, he would support her. Twilight knew her friends would all support her if they had to. ----- Twilight was floating in what seemed like an endless void. Nothingness infinite. But she knew where to go instantly. Moving through the endless blackness, she drifted toward her goal closer and closer. Somehow her direction led her to something amid the empty area around her, a figure in the distance. Twilight drew near this figure, squinting hard as she made out nothing but the fact that it was a white silhouette of a pegasus, with a long and flowing rainbow-coloured mane. She didn't need to actually see the features of this mare to understand who it was, though. She was already certain of its identity. Getting closer now, the silhouette began to move, turning its head towards Twilight. Almost with a questioning look. All Twilight could do was wrap her front legs around it and hold it close. The silhouette seemed to not mind, returning the gesture and even letting its flowing mane wrap around the two of them. Twilight didn't remember Rainbow Dash's mane being quite so long, but she wasn't thinking all that clearly now, and ignored it, only becoming further absorbed in the embrace. The silhouette whispered into her ear, "This will blossom into something more important than you realise..." Twilight's eyes opened and looked questioningly at what that meant, but before she was able to ask even a single question, the mare she held kissed her full on the lips. This threw logic far out of Twilight's head, and she simply accepted the kiss. No questions asked. The strange pegasus' mane began wrapping around Twilight, and soon after that her vision became enveloped in white. What could this all mean? ----- Flustered, that was all Twilight was now. She paced back and forth in her home, dreading for the arrival of her recent romantic interest. She was unsure of what she was about to do, but she had to figure out how to test her theory one way or another. She invited Rainbow Dash over to hang out today after her job, as they would normally do lately, but she actually had the intention to reveal how she felt about the pegasus. She was holding onto a strong desire that perhaps Rainbow Dash shared those feelings. Maybe she did. Hopefully. Twilight had little to no time to settle herself down, though, as Rainbow Dash came charging through the door, skidding on the floor before coming to a complete stop. Typical entry for Rainbow Dash, yet this time it threw Twilight way off. "Wah! Rainbow Dash! What're you doing here so early?" Twilight murmured, still surprised. Rainbow Dash just stared at her and chuckled, "You invited me over to hang out today, Twilight! Don't tell me you forgot! You never forget that kinda stuff." Twilight gathered herself, realising Rainbow Dash was right. This only caused her face to become red in embarrassment, "Oh yeah... I suppose I did invite you over, huh?" "Yeah, you did." Rainbow Dash chuckled again, "You all right Twilight? I'm sorry I couldn't stay yesterday. I hope Fluttershy passed on my message." "She did, no worries! I completely understand." Twilight smiled, assuring Rainbow Dash that all was well. "Oh, phew! I'm glad. So anyways, what did you wanna do today? Read some more? Go out to eat? Just hang out?" "I was actually kinda hoping to tell you something...rather important." "Something important? Well, what is it?" Rainbow Dash focused her attention on Twilight. "W-well you see..." Soon a coat of red formed on Twilight's cheeks, "I, uh... Uh..." Rainbow Dash motioned for Twilight to continue speaking with her hooves. "I need...I need you in order to help me with an experiment! Yes, that's it!" "An experiment, huh?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, "What kinda experiment?" "Just one that tests my magic ability. Stuff like that." "Well all right... I'll help I suppose. What do I have to do?" Twilight hopped in the air jubilantly, Rainbow Dash could have sworn she heard her friend make a little "squee" noise emit from her. Before she could even react, Rainbow Dash was being squeezed in a tight hug. Normally this would have discomforted Rainbow Dash, but for whatever reason that she herself couldn't explain, Rainbow Dash found herself all right with it, and even returning the hug. The two mares stayed like that for a while, perhaps longer than even Twilight expected the two of them to stay, before Rainbow Dash spoke up. "So, uh... Twilight, what is this experiment anyways?" Twilight was already in heaven during their hold. Rainbow Dash just seemed to fit perfectly into her forelegs, as if she was destined to be there. Or at least, that's what Twilight imagined. She imagined further as they held, and was lost in her daydream now. She imagined the two of them holding, slowly kissing...it was all too much for Twilight and she decided this would be the best point in time to attempt to use her magic on something. Twilight decided it was time to attempt a simple levitation spell. Her horn began to glow, making Rainbow Dash completely uneasy being there for this experiment. Twilight, meanwhile, was quickly losing control of her overpowering magic that she was now attempting to wield. Her horn's glow slowly but sure enveloped the two of them, Rainbow Dash looking a bit frightened. "Uh, T-Twilight? Hello?" she tried to grab her friend's attention, though it seemed ineffective. Twilight's eyes were still closed shut. 'Oh, buck...' where Rainbow Dash's final thoughts on the matter before becoming completely overtaken by the aura of Twilight Sparkle's magic. After the aura cleared, Twilight's library home was devoid of anypony.