One Week Later…
An entire week had come and gone with virtually no change in Twilight’s condition. She still responded to physical stimuli by opening her eyes, but that was all she did. Rainbow had begun sitting in far more frequently on scheduled check-ups and the times when the family was just visiting her, to be there for them and Twilight. Sometimes she would even go all on her own, despite the feelings of helplessness she was forced to endure.
She wanted to help Twilight however possible, to wake her up and ask her what she had seen. To give her a big fat hug and tell her all about what she had missed, even if that was admittedly very little. Rainbow also had to admit a certain, sadistic side that kinda wanted to see Twilight’s face when she realized she had been out for three weeks.
...
Three weeks… had it really been that long already? It definitely didn’t feel like it.
“Um... Dash?” Night Light spoke up softly, jarring Rainbow out of her trance. She sat up and looked back over at him curiously. They were the only two visiting Twilight right now, and things had been quiet between them for quite some time now.
“Hm?” Rainbow hummed out when he didn’t immediately continue.
Night Light rubbed the back of his head nervously for a moment. “I, uh… I know I don’t have any right to ask this of you, but… do you think you could run over to Velvet and I’s house? Velvet’s about to go to work and Shining’s already on his shift and...” he fell silent, unsure of how to finish the sentence.
Rainbow frowned slightly. “First off, you’ve got the right to make requests of me. Just don’t forget that I can decline if I want or need to. Secondly, why do you want me there? I mean, nopony else is gonna be there. Do you just want me to house-sit or something?”
Night shook his head sharply upon hearing that. “No, no! Not house sitting. I would never dream of asking something so… mundane of you. It’s Spike… he needs someone to keep an eye on him.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened a bit. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen Spike at all since she woke up from her own bout of unconsciousness. “He’s staying at your place.” She deduced simply.
Night Light nodded. “I’d go take care of him myself, but…” he looked to Twilight, his ears drooping. “...I know it’s selfish, but I want to stay here with Twilight. With my little girl...” his gaze turned pleadingly to Rainbow, who in turn smiled sympathetically.
“There is nothing selfish about spending time with your daughter when she needs you, dude. In fact, I think that’s probably one of the most awesome things you can do right now. You’re fine. I’ll go keep Spike company for awhile.” she said encouragingly before slipping out of her seat and cantering towards the exit.
“Thank you, Rainbow.” Night Light called after her as she made her way behind the divider. She paused and glanced back around it at him to smile and nod.
“You’re welcome.”
Rainbow arrived at Night Light and Twilight Velvet’s house just as Velvet was closing the door behind her. She glanced up at Rainbow in mild surprise, but smiled warmly in greeting as the blue pegasus came to a landing. “Oh, hello Rainbow. I take it you’re here to keep an eye on Spike?”
Rainbow nodded simply. “Yup. Night Light asked me to keep tabs on him while you guys are out. I’m guessing Night Light will be home first?”
“I should hope so,” Velvet sighed before glancing up at the castle, concern written deeply into her face. “I know he’s worried about her… we all are. But I’m worried about him, too. He hasn’t been sleeping well recently and has been neglecting taking care of himself...“
Rainbow nodded solemnly, shifting from one hoof to the other uneasily. “I can understand that. Ugh, this whole situation’s a mess… well, you should get a move on and do your thing. We don’t want you to be late for, ah whatever you do. Spike’ll be fine with me, promise.”
Velvet smiled. Rolled her eyes at Rainbow’s lack of tact, then reached out and pulled her into a friendly hug. “I know he will. Thanks for doing this for us.” she said softly.
Rainbow returned the hug happily, giving Velvet a few, comforting pats on the back. “Yeah, no sweat. Now get going.” She urged before slipping past Velvet to enter the home. Velvet simply nodded before turning to trot off down the street, leaving Rainbow alone in front of the building. After only a moment of idling, Rainbow pulled the door open and stepped inside.
She could feel herself relaxing somewhat as she was greeted to the virtually unchanged layout of Twilight’s home. At the top of the stairs Rainbow could see the tip of a purple, scaly tail poking out.
“Huh?” came the confused voice of a certain baby dragon from the top of the stairs. He began to shift around from where he was sitting so he could get a look. “You’re back already? That was fast. Did you forget something?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes before closing the door behind her. “Yeah, see, the thing about that is I’m not Velvet.” she called out before running her hooves on the mat.
Spike poked his head out from where he was hiding. An enormous grin split his face as he saw the visitor and he almost tripped numerous times as he scampered down the stairs and into a tackle-hug into Rainbow. The filly in question grunted from the force of the collision, falling onto her haunches while wrapping her forelegs around Spike on reflex.
“Rainbow, it’s so good to see you!” Spike said, his words muffled by Rainbow’s chest fur.
“Oof! Yeah, I bet. Eh-heh, you’re so happy to see me that you’re trying to squeeze the life outta me.” Rainbow commented, her words notably strained. Spike instantly let go of her and backed up, clasping his claws behind his back and chuckling sheepishly while a small blush formed on his cheeks.
“Oh! Ha ha, uh, sorry…” he said, not meeting Rainbow’s eyes.
“Nah, it’s fine. Were it most other ponies, you probably would have just asphyxiated them,” Rainbow paused for a moment to mentally assure herself she had gotten that right, then shrugged and kept going. “But I’ve got good lungs and strong ribs. Heck, I flew so high above the clouds once that the air was really thin, and I did that while carrying a pretty heavy bit of cargo.”
Spike made an ‘o’ with his mouth in awe at Rainbow’s little bit of bragging. “Wooow…” he whispered. Rainbow accepted the praise with a small grin.
Then said grin fell away as she remembered what, or rather, who that cargo had been. “Well… anyways, what is there to do in here? I’m not the sort to just sit idly ya know.”
Spike shrugged absently. “I’m not really sure… usually, I’d be spending all day with Twilight, helping her organize things or just doing my job as her number one assistant.”
Rainbow gave a smirk of amusement. “Number one assistant? I didn’t even know she had more than one to assign numbers to.” Her smirk fell into a small grimace as Spike went absolutely rigid, his claws clenching in front of his chest.
“W-wait, Twilight has o-other assistants?!”
“No, no!” Rainbow quickly corrected, reaching out and grabbing his shoulders to get his attention. When she was sure he was listening, she sighed. “Ugh… No, Spike, she doesn’t have any other assistants. I was joking. I’m Sorry…”
Spike relaxed in her grip and nodded slightly, a small smile appearing on his face. “It’s alright.”
Rainbow then let Spike go.
For the next several minutes, the two said and did virtually nothing. Rainbow scanned the bookshelves in the front rooms for something interesting enough to pass the time. A couple of Daring Do Books, both of which she had already read more than once in the last three weeks. Eventually, she settled to just set herself on the couch and try to relax. “Hey, I’m gonna be relaxing here, okay Spike? If you need anything, I’m here.” she called out before resting her head and closing her eyes.
For a time, she was able to rest fairly well and even began to doze somewhat. Even if she was physically well rested, her mind was exhausted. More than once her mind wandered to Twilight, her family and even to Princess Celestia. Rainbow found herself unsurprised to realize that Celestia had been just as worried, if not moreso, about Twilight’s condition than even her family were.
Probably has to do with her having followed these flashes since day one, pretty much…
Suddenly, Rainbow felt something nudging against her side, prompting her eyes to flutter open and glance at the disturbance. It was Spike, holding a pillow and blanket in his claws. “Uh… we can get drafts in here sometimes. I don’t want you to get cold…” he mumbled a bit awkwardly before holding the items out.
“Oh… you didn’t have to do that, Spike. But thanks.” Rainbow nodded gratefully before accepting the items. She hadn’t noticed before, but she had been fairly cold before the blanket was wrapped around her. She let out a content sigh before looking at Spike again. Rainbow’s relaxed smile was quickly replaced with a look of sympathy. Spike looked tired as well, likely having gone with very little sleep since Twilight fell into her coma.
Even if they behaved like siblings, Twilight was basically Spike’s surrogate mother. Rainbow’s eyes widened slightly as she then remembered how Celestia was her own adoptive mother. With a genuine look of affection now spreading on her face, she used a forehoof to gesture to Spike. “Hey, you don’t get to be cold either. Get over here.”
“Huh? Oh, uh, no thanks. I’m good…” Spike declined softly, taking a step back before looking away.
Rainbow shook her head. “Nuh-uh. You’re tired little guy. You need rest as much as anypony else. Heck, you probably need it more. You’re still pretty little, you know?”
Spike huffed indignantly. “I’m not that little…”
Rainbow chuckled softly, rolling her eyes. “I mean, compared to an adult dragon…” her jesting was quickly silenced when Spike clambered up to join her. She smiled and let the blanket fall over him, too, before setting her head down on the pillow.
For a while, the two were content to just lie there and nap the day away. Soon enough, Spike’s breaths turned rhythmic. He had fallen asleep. Rainbow felt a smile work it’s way onto her face again before pulling Spike just a touch closer with her wing, basking the warmth they were providing each other.
She hadn’t even realized she had fallen asleep. Rainbow’s eyes cracked open to show that it had only been an hour or so, if she had to guess based on the lights coming in through the windows. She snuggled a bit more into the blankets before the source of her awakening was refreshed in her mind.
A sniffle.
Rainbow looked over at Spike. She felt her heart fall into the pit of her stomach when she realized he was crying. He seemed to still be asleep and was clutching her foreleg tightly, as if clinging to her for dear life. A nightmare.
He abruptly snapped away, his claws tightening around Dash’s leg. “T-Twilight!” he whimpered out despairingly before he began to come to his senses. He looked up at Rainbow, who in turn pulled him closer, urging him on with her eyes alone to speak his mind. He gulped and tried to relax, but his breaths were still coming very heavily. “I… I dreamt that T-twilight never woke up… that s-she stayed in her coma forever…”
Rainbow nodded in understanding before pulling Spike closer and wrapping her forelegs around the little guy. With a memory in her mind of Windy Whistles, she gently shushed the trembling baby dragon, doing her best to calm him down. Even if she would forever deny the scene of tender touchy-feeling she was currently a part of, Night Light knew.
He had just come in through the front door and watched the two from the entrance with a charmed smile on his face. He silently closed the door behind him and snuck away to leave the two together for now.
Rainbow really was like a part of the family, of that there was no question.