//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: Dreams' Horizon // by DrakeyC //------------------------------// Lemon Hearts chewed, swallowed, and lifted her eyebrows. “...It tastes like chocolate ice cream.” At the counter in their dorm room, Minuette grinned and clapped her hooves eagerly. “Perfect! Like, exactly like chocolate ice cream, or a bit off?” Lemon looked at the fork floating in front of her, flecks of deep brown icing and cake still stuck to the tongs, and ran her tongue over it. She smacked her lips and shrugged. “It’s a little too sweet. And it doesn’t taste cold, but it isn’t warm. If that makes sense.” She looked at the slice of cake on the table in front of her. “It isn’t bad, though.” She cut another bit off with her fork and popped it in her mouth. “Twilight?” Minuette swiveled her head to the other side of the table. Sitting hunched over, her hooves together under her chin and eyes staring intently at the slice of cake she had been served, Twilight didn’t respond. Lemon frowned and set her fork down. “Either she’s trying to make her cake explode with her mind, or something is bothering her.” “I’m guessing the latter.” Minuette stepped up to the table and gently tapped on Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight jerked and looked at her. “What?” “What’s up?” Minuette tilted her head. “You’ve been acting weird through classes all day and now you’re sitting in silence staring at cake.” Twilight opened her mouth, paused, and then closed it. She glanced around the room and spoke in a whisper. “Maybe I shouldn’t say anything here…” Lemon and Minuette shared a confused look. “Our dorm?” Lemon asked. Twilight shuffled in her seat. “It’s…here.” She pushed her chair back and crawled under the table. “Down here.” Lemon and Minuette hunched down and poked their heads through the table legs. “This would be funny if it wasn’t concerning,” Lemon said, her eyes narrow. “What’s going on?” “I think Celestia is spying on me,” Twilight whispered. Minuette turned her eyes side to side. “Aaand why is that?” “I don’t know.” Twilight groaned. “I told her about Luna, and she knew I had heard about her from my dreams. But I never told her where I heard the name from! She just knew. I went over the conversation again and again, but…” Twilight took a breath and exhaled, her chin quivering. “She knew.” “That’s silly! You’re being silly! Stop being silly, Twi!” Minuette stood up and out of her view. “Get out from under there, you’ve got cake waiting.” Lemon turned her head. “Minuette, not being helpful.” “Cake helps everything!” Twilight saw Lemon give a small frown and pull her head back so she could stand up. She heard hushed whispers and tilted an ear up to listen. “This is not the same thing!” “It’s pretty close. Come on, you’re better than this.” “Girls?” Twilight spoke loudly and heard Minuette’s voice cut as she began to say something. “I’m still here.” Lemon crouched down and her face came back into view. “We know. Now, what is this about Celestia spying? It can’t just be something with Luna.” “No, it isn’t. Remember my library books? She was keeping track of what I read and shut down my thesis project before I’d even really begun it. She assigned me to get to know Luster, and we talk all the time about her and my schoolwork and my dreams. And now, she knew I heard about Luna from Sunset without me telling her.” Twilight shook her head and closed her eyes. “This doesn’t make sense. What did I do? I must have done something. The most powerful pony in Equestria doesn’t just arbitrarily decide to put observation on one of her students. So why?” “I don’t know. You’re right, that’s not nothing. But...” Lemon rocked her head. “Maybe huddling under a table, afraid she’s listening to us, isn’t helping. How about you come out, hm?”  Twilight felt her cheeks heat and nodded, and stepped back so she could stand up. She looked around the room and sucked in a breath. “It’s still…” Lemon walked around the table as she spoke. “If Celestia wanted to spy on you, I’m sure she has such ways that hiding won’t do much good anyway.” She stopped in front of Twilight and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Besides, this is our dorm room. I doubt that she’d want to put observation on all of your friends just to spy on you.” “..Point taken. You’re right.” Twilight gave a short nod. “But, it’s still unnerving. Why would Celestia spy on any of us at all?” Minuette leaned against the counter and let her eyes drift to the ceiling. “Hmm...I’ve never wanted to spy on anypony before, so I don’t have much to think about there.” Lemon shook her head and lowered her hoof. “There could be a number of reasons, plenty of which aren’t anything sinister. She could be worried about you over something, or looking out for you.” “But then why wouldn’t she tell me?” “Again, there’s many plausible reasons. It could be over something you don’t know about, or shouldn’t know about. Maybe she doesn’t want to worry you.” Minuette shrugged. “Why not just ask her?” Twilight turned her head. “I should just walk up to the princess and tell her I think she’s spying on me and I want to know why?” “Well when you put it like that… “That’s exactly why you shouldn’t,” Lemon said. She circled back around the table and sat down. “You can’t confront Celestia about this. Aside from potential consequences if you’re right, imagine what could happen if you’re wrong.” She quickly held up a hoof as Twilight opened her mouth. “Not that I think you’re wrong – I don’t – but consider the possibility, at least.” Twilight closed her mouth and nodded. Lemon continued. “So, let’s focus on what you can do. You can stew in paranoia and suspicion without solid proof. Or you can calmly and rationally try to figure out what she may be observing you for, because that’s the best means to find out why she’s doing it.” Twilight mulled over the words, pursed her lip, and nodded. “Yes, that sounds reasonable. But how do I do that?” “The same way you do everything – research. You said Celestia has been observing you for other things, see if there’s a connection between them.” “And possibly Luster. She did ask me to become friends with her.” Twilight murmured under her breath. “But I don’t think that’s it. I trust Luster fully. I already looked into her being connected and she isn’t.” “Good.” Minuette feigned wiping her brow. “I’m not gonna go through that again. Last time she–” “Minnie,” Lemon said sternly. Minuette looked her way; Lemon raised her eyebrows and set her mouth in a firm line. Minuette rolled her eyes and turned to examine her cake. Twilight watched them, trying to decipher the silent conversation the two had just exchanged. When Lemon turned her head back her way, Twilight lightly coughed into her hoof. “The point is, maybe Luster is involved, but probably not.” Lemon nodded. “That leaves trans-dimensional research, and dreams about Sunset. What’s the connection?” Twilight held up her hooves. “I have no idea.” Twilight gently pulled the door to Minuette and Lemon’s door room shut and inhaled. Darn, but that mare can bake a cake like nopony’s business. She smiled at the plastic container floating next to her that had three slices in it – one for her, two for Twinkleshine – and started down the hall. A friendly ear and a good snack. A perfect prelude to an evening of study.  As she crossed the walkway running across the main entrance hall to connect the two wings of the third floor, Twilight paused and stared ahead. Down the hall, sitting in front of her door looking intently at a notebook floating in front of her, was Luster. I wasn’t expecting her. Twilight hummed and picked up the pace. Luster either saw or heard her as she approached and turned towards her. Twilight lifted a hoof. “Hey.” “Hey.” Luster waved back and stood up, closing her notebook. “Uh, are you busy right now?” “Nothing that can’t wait if a friend needs help. Just need to toss this inside.” Twilight gestured her head towards the container of cake beside her.   “Good.” Luster frowned and looked away. “I’m sorry to impose. I had been going to Moondancer for help, but she’s busy somewhere and not in her dorm, and no one else in the group has the magical expertise that she does except maybe you – no offense. I just mean…” Twilight cut in. “Yes, I’ll help, whatever it is.” She smiled widely. “What do you need?” Luster glanced at her notebook and then at Twilight. “I need somepony else to help me test a spell.” “For?” “My thesis.” Luster mumbled under her breath as her pencil scratched over the pages of her notebook. Sitting patiently on the bed, Twilight tried to avoid staring at her friend working at the desk and instead focused on other parts of Luster’s dorm room, but there wasn’t much to draw her attention. Her eyes ended up falling back on Luster and her desk, and then darted to a piece of black plastic on the corner with several stacks of paper resting on it, turned enough that Twilight could read the date on the top one. She smiled happily. She’s using my day calendar. “Okay.” Luster took a breath and let it out, and her pencil dropped onto the desk. “I’ve triple-checked my calculations, should all be in order.” She opened a drawer and lifted out a small, ovular emerald. “Hold this.” Twilight took the emerald in her magic and brought it up to her eye. A few small runes had been carved into the facets. I don’t recognize these. And this looks like a quality gem one would use for magic, but there’s no magic in the crystal. She glanced at Luster’s notebook, but upside down she couldn’t read much before Luster flipped the page to a blank one. Luster looked up at Twilight. “So, this will seem a little odd to phrase – what’s a memory you can’t remember? I mean, fully. You can’t recall it as clearly as you know you should.” “Um…” Twilight furrowed her brow and thought. “Plenty, I suppose. Any particular kind?” “Something important. A strong emotional connection will make this easier. At least, it should, if I did this right.” “Hm…” Twilight gave a small giggle. “My sixth birthday. It was the first time I got to go to an amusement park. I know I went, but not much in the way of specifics.” “That’s good, that’ll work.” Luster glanced at her notebook and flipped to another page with calculations and diagrams. “Yes, that’ll do.” Twilight eyed her as she read over the page. “Can I ask exactly what type of experiment this is?” Luster either didn’t hear her or ignored her, her eyes locked on the page. She took another deep breath. “Okay, ready?” “No.” Twilight said calmly. Luster jerked at the response but Twilight kept speaking. “What is this for, Luster? We’re clearly testing some sort of spell.” “It’s for my thesis.” Luster’s body tensed and she glanced away. “I’m…it’s safe. I promise.” Still closed up. Twilight nodded. “I believe you. What do you need me to do?” “Just relax, hold the emerald in your magic, and focus on the memory of the birthday. I’ll do the rest. I hope.” Luster rubbed her head and groaned. “Not that this is dangerous for you, just...I’m kinda hoping this works.” “I understand.” Twilight’s brain poked and prodded her, telling her to press further and demand an explanation as to what was about to happen to her. She ignored it. “Good luck.” She closed her eyes, leaned back on the bed, and cupped the emerald to her chest between her hooves, her magic still cushioning it. Birthday… I was so happy when Dad told me where they were taking me. I remember the gates...the line...there was a rollercoaster in the back.  A blur of dark green against bright blue filled her mind, and flickered and sharpened until she could make out the bars of the coaster track. Was it really that tall? Wow, no wonder I remember it… The image faded to the front of the line queue, with a wooden cut-out of the park’s mascot warning riders of the height requirement. I was actually relieved I wasn’t tall enough to go on it. Even if I hadn’t wanted to, if I had been able to, I might have tried to work up my courage to… A flash across the vision in her mind, and the wooden mascot turned into a pony and smiled at her. What? Another flash, and another. Twilight clenched her eyes and pushed her hooves together against the emerald. What is this? The flashes came too quickly to distinguish clearly now. The sky, trees, a hill, houses. Other ponies of different types and genders and colors. Snippets of conversation and words and sensations and feelings. She inhaled sharply as the flashes grew faster, brighter, the sounds grew louder, the sensations intensified. She grit her teeth and gasped. “Twilight?” Above the cacophony, Sunset’s voice sounded as clear as day. The rush ceased and Twilight opened her eyes. She was back in Luster’s room, laying on the bed staring up at the ceiling. “No!” She felt something brush her hoof and be taken away. “No, no, no!” An angry grunt and then the sound of something pinging against the wall and clattering on the floor. A scrape of a chair and a heavy thud. Twilight swallowed heavily and lifted off the bed. Luster sat at her desk, head pressed against the edge of the wood. “Luster...what was that?” “An utter failure,” Luster mumbled. “That’s the fourth time it hasn’t worked, and it’s even less successful than before! At least my other tests didn’t damage the gem!” Gem? Twilight looked over the floor and caught sight of the emerald, lying on the floor at the bottom of the wall where Luster must have thrown it. She climbed off the bed and picked the stone up – several deep cracks ran through it now, as though it could fall into pieces at any moment. She set the emerald on the bed and approached Luster. “Luster…” “I give up.” Luster shook her head without lifting it from her desk. “That should have worked, I was sure of it. Told myself I just had to refine the spell a bit more...nope. A waste of time.” Twilight looked over Luster’s head at the notebook in front of her, and used her magic to carefully pull it out, knowing Luster would feel the motion. “May I?” Luster swung a hoof up and let it fall back down. “Go ahead. There’s nothing useful in there, trust me.” Twilight set the book on the bed and opened it. As expected, page after page of notes, equations, runes, and diagrams. She studied them in detail and slowed her search. I think I recognize these… She turned to another page and found a series of equations almost exactly like she suspected. Yes, she did know these spells; though she had never used them, she knew of some classmates who had over the years. “Luster, are these memorization spells?” Twilight looked at her. “Sort of.” “Sort of?” Twilight repeated. She turned back to the book and flipped a few more pages. “Wait...no. This is wrong, and that’s...not wrong, but not right…That seems more like a telepathy spell, but it isn't right, either.” She tilted her head and kept looking through the book. “I don’t understand. There’s tons of basic spells to help you remember things in different ways. But these equations are almost scrambled for all the sense they make.” “I know. I was...trying to rearrange them.” Luster lifted her head, looking exhausted. “Memorization spells only help you to remember things that happen to you if they’re cast beforehand. Those...I was…” She shook her head. “I was trying to figure out a memory recall spell. Instead of new things being easier to remember, help somepony remember things they’d already forgotten.” “Oh.” Twilight looked at the notebook with new understanding. “I see, yes, you’re on to something with these…a telepathy spell mixed with a memory spell to draw out buried memories and temporarily store them on the emerald. Information that complex would normally degrade almost instantly, but the runes you used could preserve it for a little longer, long enough for somepony else to read them with a telepathy spell.” She nodded. “That’s rather brilliant, actually. Instead of giving someone better recall, you’re drawing the memory from their subconscious that they can read to form a new memory.” “It’s a workaround—a proof of concept.” Luster gave a small shrug. “I started out looking for ways to actually refresh forgotten memories, but it was all dead ends. A lot of stuff about psychology and biology and neurology...not my strong suits.” She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. It’s not working anyway. Another dud.” Twilight folded the notebook shut and set it on Luster’s desk in front of her. She stepped closer and sat down beside the desk. “Luster…” Luster turned her eyes towards her. “Why keep this secret?” Twilight reached out to stroke her hoof. “You know any of us would have tried to help if we could, and there’s no shame in needing help. We’ve all helped each other on our projects.” “It’s not pride…” Luster sucked in a breath. “I wanted to figure it out on my own. This isn’t just a school project, this is something important.” “I know. You’ve avoided talking about it as long as we’ve known each other. But, seeing it now, I don’t know why.” Luster gave a heavy sigh. “Because sooner or later, one of you would have asked why it’s so important to me. And I didn’t want to answer.” Twilight slowly nodded and bit her lip. “Well...if you still don’t want to, you don’t need to answer now. But...why?” Luster went silent, her eyes falling on her desk. After several moments she turned her head slightly, looking at the drawers of the desk. Pale amber magic pulled the top one open, and a rectangular scrap of what looked like paper slid out. “This is why.” Luster gently set the item on the edge of the desk near Twilight. She leaned over and looked down at it. A much younger Luster Dawn sat on the knee of an old mare with a pale purple coat and a blue mane that had turned almost entirely grey. Luster was floating a pair of bright blue ice skates next to her, and the two were smiling widely at whomever was taking the picture. “Who’s this?” “Morning Dew. My grandmother.” Twilight looked up as Luster turned the picture around and picked it up, smiling. “My mom’s parents passed away before I was born, my dad’s father when I was a filly. So, she was all I had for a grandparent. But she made up for it, big time. She had a gift for every occasion, always something perfect. Any time we visited, she had something for me; a book, a piece of clothing, some little toy. And when she came to visit us, she always brought cookies. Always. I couldn’t have asked for a better grandparent than Nanny Dew, because they don’t exist.” Luster’s brow furrowed and she stared harder at the picture. “I don’t remember exactly what happened. We were at home when there was a knock at the door, and Dad said she had fallen, or something, and she was in the hospital. She spent a fair bit of time there. When she got out, they told me she couldn’t live in her house anymore. They moved her to a care center. I barely remember any of it, I was just a filly. A lot of crying, talking about medications, physical therapy. I don’t know. In the end, I just knew that Nanny Dew couldn’t visit us anymore, so we’d visit her more often, and it was in a different place. Whatever, I still got to see her. That’s all I could understand and that was all that mattered anyway.” She took a deep breath, her chin quivering. “A few years later, we went to visit on my birthday. I remember it perfectly. Mom went in carrying a cake, dad brought some balloons and gifts in a bag. I wasn’t allowed to carry anything, I was the birthday girl. Nanny Dew was sitting in a chair reading by the window when Mom knocked and went in, and she looked up and smiled and said hello to them. Then…” Luster’s eyes watered. “She looked right at me, and said ‘Hello there. Who’s this ray of morning sunshine?’” Twilight gasped softly, her mouth falling open. No... “I had no idea what she meant.” Luster sniffed and snorted. “Was it some sort of joke? Mom though, she just said my name and that she had told her about me. And then Nanny Dew’s face changed and she came over to hug me and wished me a happy birthday. She had knitted a scarf for me as a gift. Dad had to help her find it; it was in her nightstand drawer. Everything after that is a blur. I opened gifts, they sang happy birthday, and then we had cake. I don’t even remember what kind it was. I just remember watching Nanny Dew eat, wondering what happened.” Luster set the picture on her desk. A tear rolled down her cheek to her chin. “When we left, I asked Dad about it. He looked at me and said that Nanny Dew was sick, she has trouble remembering things these days. I asked if she was going to get better. After a long pause, he just...shook his head.” She breathed heavily and clenched her eyes shut, another pair of tears dripping down. “He was right.” Her voice cracked. “She didn’t get better. She got worse. Every time we visited, they had to remind her who I was. And eventually, that didn’t work anymore.”  She lowered her head. Her body shook, her hooves clasped tight in front of her. When she spoke again, it was a whisper. “I stopped going on visits with them after that.” Luster fell silent and stared at the photograph on her desk. She curled her hooves on the desk and lowered her head on top of them. So...that’s it… Next to the desk, Twilight closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t want to pry.” “Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Luster let out a small sigh. “I didn’t say anything I wasn’t ready to tell you. Just...that sort of thing…” “It’s not easy to talk about, even with ponies you trust.” Twilight nodded. “I know.” She reached out and stroked Luster’s hoof. “So for your thesis, you’re trying to find a way to help your grandmother?” “No.” Luster carefully slid the picture back into the drawer of her desk. “It’s too late for that. Two years too late.” “Oh…” Twilight’s hoof became still and pulled back. “Sorry.” “You didn’t know. But, you’re right. That’s how it started. I thought that even if it was too late for Nanny Dew, there were a lot of ponies like her that could use the same sort of spell. That’s what I wrote in my thesis submission paper, anyway. This kind of memory magic could be so beneficial to so many ponies. But…”  Luster swallowed heavily and sat up. She rolled her tongue in her mouth, her eyes unfocused. “It doesn’t matter what I wrote on the paper. The truth is, I wanted to do this for myself. I want to remember all the good times we had together. And somewhere along the way, I realized I can barely remember anything about her.” She let out a bitter chuckle. “I remember how she dressed, how she smelled, how warm her hugs were. But I can’t remember what music she liked, or what hobbies she had, or what she liked to eat. I have no idea. I used to know, I think. But not anymore.” She looked at Twilight and gave her a sad smile. “Not just her, either. I have old friends I can’t put names to, important dates where I have no idea what I did. Those memories aren’t even fuzzy, it’s like they barely happened.” Her face hardened. “It doesn’t wait until I’m old, it’s happening now and it’ll keep happening. The things I cherish, the things that are important to me, I’ll forget them all one by one. It may take a couple of years, but it’ll happen. My memories will fade.” Luster leaned back in her chair and fiercely shook her head, her mane whipping about. “It’s stupid. It’s stupid and it’s unfair. But it doesn't have to be. If I can find a better way, for everypony, I could do some real good in the world. That’s what I claimed before, and it’s still true, but that’s not why I do it now. I’m doing it for a selfish reason and I don’t care if it’s selfish. I don’t want to forget anymore.” She paused and took a few short breaths, and swallowed.  “I won’t let anypony else slip from me like Nanny Dew did. Like I did from her. I don’t want to end up that way. And nopony else should, either.” She went silent again, looking at the floor. Twilight felt something warm and wet roll down her muzzle and raised a hoof to wipe it away. She stepped closer and put a hoof on Luster’s knee. “You’re not selfish at all.” Luster turned to her as Twilight spoke. “What I just heard was a kind pony telling me that she doesn’t want to lose the things she cares about. A pony that wants to find a way to use her magic to help others, so no one else will know the pain and loss she had to endure. A way to use her magic to help others that need it.” She smiled softly. “That’s the most unselfish thing I can think of.” A fresh pair of tears rolled down Luster’s face. “Thank you, Twilight.” “But…” Twilight paused. “I do disagree with one thing. A memory spell may have helped her, but if you feel you need one for yourself, you’re wrong.” “Hm?” Luster tilted her head. “You’ve forgotten details, yes. But the things that are truly precious to you? They’re never really gone. They can be hard to recall sometimes, yes. But they don’t go away entirely. You may not remember what she liked for music or food. But you remember her hugging you, smiling at you, being with you. Those are the kinds of things you’d want to remember most, aren’t they?” When Luster slowly nodded, Twilight continued. “I think – I’ve always thought – the things that we love, that we need to remember, we can’t ever forget them. They remain in our hearts forever. Even if we let go of them, we can still take hold of them again. As long as you love something, you can’t ever fully forget it. The memory may be buried, but it’ll be there when we need it. And it’ll surprise us when we least expect it.” Twilight licked her lips. “That’s just what I believe, but I mean it. And...if I’m right, then even when she couldn’t remember your name...I think Nanny Dew still remembered she loved you.” Luster turned her head to the side and stared into space. As Twilight watched, emotions flitted across her eyes. Eventually her lips curled into a small smile. “...Yeah. I think she did.” Luster sniffed and laughed. “She always told me I was pretty...like a ray of morning sunshine...she still knew, didn’t she? Deep…” She climbed off her chair and embraced Twilight, squeezing tight. Twilight smiled over her shoulder and squeezed back. “Thank you, Twilight.” “What are friends for?” Twilight groaned and stumbled on the grass. “This is...the steepest hill...in the world…” She heard a laugh above her. “Don’t be so dramatic, we’re almost there! It evens out a bit up here.” Sunset? Twilight pushed herself to keep climbing, one hoof at a time up the hill. As promised the terrain began to even out and the going became easier. Still, she had fallen behind and wasn’t going to catch up. By the time she reached the tree, the picnic blanket had already been spread out and a few stray rocks put in place to hold it down. “What’s all this?” She paused and examined the blanket. “It’s dinner. Get over here and sit down.” Twilight walked closer until she was on the blanket, and obediently laid down. “There, wasn’t that worth the effort?”  Twilight turned her head and looked behind her. The sky was a shimmering mass of yellow and red and purple and blue. The sun had dipped behind the distant mountains but still cast rays of light out, the clouds sparkling where they were struck. “Okay, yeah, it was worth it.” Twilight rolled onto her back and let her hooves spread out. “Gimme an hour to catch my breath, and we can go back down.” “Oh, going back down is easy, just start rolling.” Who? Twilight turned her head and raised an eyebrow. “You can’t be serious?” “Well, maybe wear a helmet.” Twilight joined in the giggling, then rolled onto her stomach and turned around to properly sit on her flank. The even breeze rustled her mane and she breathed deep. Where am I? “You know why I asked you up here, right?” Twilight pointedly didn’t turn her head, instead opting to tilt her eyes up and hum, as though she had to think about it. “Um...it’s not somepony’s birthday...it isn’t a holiday…” “It’s our anniversary, you dolt.” Twilight lifted her eyebrows. “Oh! How long now? A week, a month?” “A year.” A year since what? “Really?” Twilight gave a low whistle. “I know, I’ve put up with you that long. I’m amazed, too.” “I’m still not entirely sure you’re fully sane,” Twilight teased. “I sure hope not, sanity sounds boring anyway.” Twilight’s demeanor became more serious. “Thank you. I’d honestly forgotten the exact day, I knew it was around this time at least. But I couldn’t have planned anything.” “It’s fine. You never were good with dates, and you’ve been busy lately.” “Not an excuse for forgetting. But, thank you.” Twilight gently walked over and lay down, and leaned in for a nuzzle. “It means a lot to me you’d go through this.” “Of course I would. I lo…” Twilight’s eyes widened and she pulled back. “Oh, no. I let it slip, now I ruined it. Way to go, Co–” “No, you didn’t ruin anything!” Twilight put a hoof out. “I heard you. It’s okay.” “...really?” “Say it.” “...if I say it…you’ll...will you...” Twilight leaned forward and pressed her lips to the base of her horn. “Does that answer your question?” A smile full of relief and warmth answered her before the words came. “I...I love you.” Without hesitation, Twilight smiled back. “I love you, too.”