The pale crescent of a waxing moon shone down on Ponyville. A soft breeze rolled through the quiet town, rustling the branches of the Golden Oak Library. On any other night, one might expect all lights to be extinguished as the town’s librarian slept soundly. Tonight, the glow of a solitary candle peeked out one of the first floor windows. Twilight Sparkle was still awake.
The studious lavender pony sat hunched over a table nearly covered with books, reference notes, diagrams, and various writing implements. Twilight rubbed her eyes and stretched her back. Normally, any pony might look at her research and politely remark that there was an organized kind of madness to it. Thankfully, nopony was around to witness… this. Sure, she thought, the papers might all be neatly stacked. Sure, each book might have a number of notes sticking out between the many pages that anypony would think typical of Twilight Sparkle. And sure, she might have gone overboard with the number of outlines and notations for each nuance of her research. But to Twilight, it still looked like a horrible mess, and it made her shoulders tense up even more.
The subject of Twilight’s late-night research (which, she sourly noted, had not begun as late-night research) was a special request from Princess Luna: “Esoterica of the Major Somnus Arcana and Applied Usage Thereof.” This was a very wordy way of saying “dream magic”, though Twilight expected no less of the princess who watched over the dreams of everypony in Equestria. She respected that the magic governing the realm of dreams was very delicate, and that it was best left to someone with centuries of experience like Luna. Unfortunately that meant official research into the applied use of dream magic was rare. Only a few ponies besides Luna had ever learned to step across that veil, and what research they had conducted was mostly lost to time. Twilight and Spike had to scour the library top-to-bottom to even scrounge this much material.
Even with all of it laid out in front of her, there was something missing. Twilight felt as if she’d found 99 pieces of a 100 piece puzzle. Every time she’d reach the roadblock, she would start the process of a partial calculation again, and every time she would end up right back at the same problem. It felt like that one missing link was taunting her at this point, daring her to give up. Twilight was not used to abandoning research, especially when the endeavor had thus far kept her awake until 3 in the morning. But for the moment, Twilight decided she was mentally checked out.
With a slow heave, Twilight pushed her stool back from the table and stood. Her horn glowed faintly as she placed small paperweights on the loose notes, and then extinguished the candle that had been burning. She shrugged her shoulders a few times and arched her back to release some of the tension that had been building in her muscles for hours. She was mentally exhausted, yet her body was still wide awake. She felt like a rusty spring, tightly coiled yet yearning for a soft, slow decompression. Twilight knew that sleep would not yet come no matter how long she lay in bed. She could hear Spike softly snoring from the other room, and she could no longer stand to be cooped up in the library. She quietly approached the front door and looked back one last time at the daunting pile of work she had left, illuminated now only by the stray moonbeams shining through the front window. She had come so far on such a foreign subject, but it still felt like the answer was miles away.
The door of the library softly clicked shut behind her, and she double checked the locks before gazing out from under the shadow of the library’s branches. The moon cast a pale blue light over the town, and everything seemed stuck in time. Twilight wasn’t used to seeing the streets of Ponyville completely deserted. The usually-bustling streets now seemed far too wide, and Twilight almost felt like a filly again as she trotted along them. The unusual shadows that the overhead moon cast across the buildings made them loom tall. Even the spots she visited daily, like Carousel Boutique and Sugarcube Corner, felt alien under the nocturnal light.
Twilight quickened her pace a bit as she wound through the streets, edging closer and closer to the outskirts of town. She certainly couldn’t organize her thoughts in such a liminal space. As the houses grew shorter and the spaces between them larger, Twilight began to recall her research in broad strokes. Her eyes began to glaze over as she became lost in thought. Highly technical terms and diagrams flashed through her mind blindingly quick, and without really knowing it, Twilight found herself on a lonesome path outside of Ponyville entirely. Her pace had quickened, too, as all of the stress of the day’s labor released itself at once. Twilight was completely blind to her surroundings, and she soon found herself in a tangle on the ground with another pony she hadn’t seen in her path.
A pale yellow pegasus yelped softly as Twilight crashed right into her and sent them both into a sprawling heap. The collision snapped Twilight back to her senses, and she looked down to see the vibrant green eyes of the pony whose left wing was currently pinned under Twilight’s rump.
“Oh my goodness, Fluttershy! I am so, so sorry! Are you okay?” Twilight blushed deeply and carefully helped her pink-maned friend off the ground. Twilight used a bit of magic to smooth out Fluttershy’s coat and then her own, dispelling any flecks of dirt. This did not, however, dispel the welling tears in the quiet pony’s eyes.
“Um, no, I’m alright Twilight. Thank you for cleaning off that dirt. Are you alright?” Fluttershy spoke slowly, holding back the tears as she tried to remain composed. With a deep breath, she began to carefully use her muzzle to smooth the feathers of the wing Twilight landed on. As she did, the singular tear which threatened to escape her eye was wiped away, and Twilight would be none the wiser.
“I’m fine, don’t worry about me. I got so lost in thought that I just stopped watching where I was going. I’m sorry Fluttershy, I should have been paying attention.”
“Please Twilight, don’t worry about it. I do want to ask though… if you’re okay with it, I mean, why you’re out in the middle of the night? It’s awfully late.” Fluttershy’s eyes shimmered with a curiosity Twilight wasn’t used to. Normally her friend would hesitate before asking such a direct question of her. Fluttershy’s soft smile reassured her, however, and she could sense her concern.
“Oh, of course! It is pretty unusual, I guess. I’m in the middle of a very important research project for Princess Luna, and… well, I’m having a lot of trouble with it. I was way too wound up to sleep, so I decided to get some fresh air. But then I got distracted trying to figure out my next step, and, well… You know. Sorry again.” Twilight looked sheepish for a moment, before turning her attention back to her friend. “Why are you out so late? I didn’t think you started working with your animals until just before sunrise.”
“Well, um… I usually go to bed quite early, and I wake up early some days, long before even Angel Bunny does. On days like that, um, like today I mean… I like to go on walks alone through Ponyville. You know that I don’t really like being in big crowds much, so I don’t really go into town during the day. But I do love Ponyville, and I like to walk around and take in the morning air. It helps me get a fresh, positive start to the day. Um, if that makes sense.” Ever timid, Fluttershy suddenly seemed embarrassed at her own nightly walkabouts.
“I can understand that. As much as I need to be a people-pony for my work on the Magic of Friendship, I’m still me. I’m no fan of big crowds either, so I get where you’re coming from there. Do you want to… walk together? I’m definitely nowhere close to sleepy yet.”
To Twilight’s surprise, Fluttershy beamed at her suggestion. “Oh yes, Twilight, I would love to. It can get a little lonely on mornings like this… um, well I suppose it’s still night time, not morning. I am really glad we ran into each other, though.” Twilight’s ears drooped slightly at the mention of her head-on collision. “Oh, no Twilight, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know, I just feel embarrassed.” Twilight shook her head slightly to try and get the incident out of her mind. “Would you like to lead the way? I’m not really used to walking around in the dark.” Fluttershy nodded, and trotted out in front of Twilight, softly smiling and humming as she resumed her nightly path.
As they walked, Fluttershy slowed and turned to Twilight. "Um... well, Twilight... we never studied magic in Cloudsdale, but I'm always willing to lend you an ear... if you'd like, that is. It does sound like you have a lot on your mind."
Twilight perked up at the offer. “I think that might help. I’ve been keeping most of this inside my head since Spike went to bed. Let me give you a basic rundown of what I’m dealing with here…” Twilight began detailing the entire problem in as close to laypony’s terms as possible. Fluttershy nodded along and offered what support she could as they walked along the path. This support didn’t usually go beyond simple expressions of ‘oh, I see’ or ‘yes, that does sound frustrating.’ However, Twilight’s stress seemed to melt away as she went on about the research. They passed back into Ponyville, and the buildings started to grow closer together.
“It’s just so much to do. I feel like there’s a single piece missing, and it’s staring me in the face but I still can’t see it. It feels obvious, and I just feel stupid for missing it! I feel so… lost. Research isn’t normally this intense for me.” A heavy sigh escaped Twilight’s lungs as she hung her head slightly. Fluttershy could see the bags under Twilight’s eyes, and she tried to think of something substantial to say.
“Oh, Twilight, it sounds like you’re running into a wall. Maybe you just need to take some time to step back from what you’re doing and, um, take some time for yourself? I often find that putting a tough problem aside, even just for a couple of minutes, can be the catalyst to figuring out the best way to solve it.” Fluttershy placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder and tried to sound confident in what she was saying. She wasn’t sure if it was good advice, but it was honestly the best thing she could think of. She was reassured, however, when her friend’s pace came to a sudden halt. Twilight looked up at the stars as if seeing diagrams written across them. When she met Fluttershy's gaze again, there was an almost-embarassed grin on her face.
“Catalyst! Of course! How could I have been so stupid? Oh my gosh, Fluttershy, you’re a genius!” Twilight suddenly pulled Fluttershy into a tight hug. “I could kiss you right now!”
Fluttershy’s face instantly flushed to a deep scarlet. Twilight backed off and stammered slightly. “Oh, um, sorry, I got a little carried away again, huh?” She softly patted Fluttershy’s shoulder and grinned nervously. Fluttershy stared into space, her gaze seemingly transfixed on a point a mile away. Twilight’s nervous laughter hardened into concern for her friend’s state. “Uh, Fluttershy? Are you alright?”
The shy Pegasus blinked twice and seemed to return to the conversation. “Oh, um… yes, I’m alright. I was just surprised, that’s all. You don’t usually, um, hug me like that. And you said, um… well, never mind. Did you say something about a catalyst?”
Twilight ran her hoof through her mane and sighed. “Yes! I can’t believe I was so stupid. I didn’t even consider that a catalyst might be necessary to channel such an unorthodox magical energy!”
“Oh, Twilight, I don’t think you’re stupid at all. Sometimes we just need to talk through our problems, and the answer becomes clear. That’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
Twilight smiled and nodded. The two of them were nearly back to the library now, and Twilight was ready to return to her research. She took a breath, as if to speak, but instead let out a rather loud yawn.
“It sounds like you might be ready to wind down for the night, Twilight. Why don’t we get you to bed? I’ll stay with you, to make sure you get inside okay.” Fluttershy almost seemed to be giggling as she said this. Twilight was puzzled, but she thought perhaps she was imagining things. After all, the mind plays tricks when it’s tired.
“That sounds wonderful. Thank you so much, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy waited to hear the click of the library door’s lock before she turned around and headed back to her cottage to start the day with her animals. Once she felt there was enough distance between her and the library, and nobody could hear her, she thought of herself wrapped in Twilight’s embrace again. The pegasus let out a very quiet squeal of joy as she recalled what Twilight said during the surprise hug.
Oh, but maybe I'm reading too much into it, she thought. It certainly wouldn't be the first time. Her smile faltered for just a moment, and a grim rictus slowly crept its way across her normally placid face. A very painful memory had poked its head out of the shadowy corners of her mind. Fluttershy's heart dropped into her stomach as she suddenly recalled a much younger version of herself, and one of the many embarrassing follies of youth.
Fluttershy found herself stopped in the middle of the town square, staring with far too much interest at a rather uninteresting patch of dirt. It certainly had been a day for getting lost in thought. She gave her head a quick shake, and her thoughts returned to the lavender unicorn. Fluttershy thought about their collision, and about herself trapped on the ground, Twilight's warm breath on lightly caressing her face. She felt her cheeks growing hot, and she thanked Celestia that nopony else was around to see her get so flustered.
She flapped her wings twice to quickly banish such provocative thoughts, and began singing to herself softly as she continued on her way home. She had shared a lovely stroll with Twilight. Wasn't that enough for now?