//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: Assimilation // Story: Want Me, Need Me, Love Me // by criticalmess //------------------------------// Want Me, Need Me, Love Me Chapter Four: Assimilation "Scootaloo?" After what felt like an eternity, the little orange filly moved. It was only a slight brushing, her head moving from side to side against Twilight's neck, but it was a movement nonetheless. Twilight fell back on her haunches, happy that Scootaloo was at least moving. But there was still the matter of the energy flowing from Scootaloo. No, beaming from Scootaloo was a more appropriate phrase, as the energy had focused into a tight ray centered directly on Twilight. Beautiful and energizing, the sheer volume and focus of her devotion wiped away the last vestiges of Twilight's fatigue "Scootaloo." Twilight whispered, raising a hoof to her head. Scootaloo looked up, blinking against the light of the library. She smiled brightly, as though nothing had happened, and replied, "Thanks Twilight!" Twilight mutely stared back at Scootaloo. Sadly, she brushed a strand of hair from the filly's brow and stared into her eyes. They had been completely consumed, her eyes morphed into flat pools of purple. Though she smiled, her face pulled into an expression of joy, her eyes remained flat and expressionless as she stared back at Twilight. The little orange filly frowned, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What's wrong, Twilight?" she asked, concern dripping from her voice. "I'm so sorry." Twilight muttered, staring into Scootaloo's warped eyes. "Sorry?" Scootaloo cocked her head, "I don't know what you're talking about, Twilight." Scootaloo backed away, letting Twilight go, smiling widely with genuine joy. "I don't know what you did, but thank you, thank you so much." ”Eh?" Twilight's mouth hung open in confusion. "I feel so so so much better now!" Scootaloo leapt into the air, fluttering for a moment before falling back onto her legs. "It's like... I don't know what it's like. First there was this thing, and it was trying to pull me away from you, and it felt so terrible. And all of a sudden, WHAM!" Scootaloo jumped forward and planted her hooves on Twilight's neck and grinned with gratitude. "It's like all my worries melted away and it feels so... great, awesome, radical!" Scootaloo laughed and hugged Twilight. "I haven't felt better in my entire life! I love you Twilight!" Twilight remained stock still as Scootaloo embraced Twilight, staring up at her with flat, blank, yet brilliant eyes. Waves of pure joy radiated off of her, making it incredibly difficult for Twilight to think. Okay, Scootaloo has been brainwashed, Twilight thought, and she's become my drone. No! She's more of my... thrall. No, she's not MY anything! Naming and possession aside, whatever I did is apparently some sort of way to soften up a changeling's target, like what the Queen did to my brother... only much stronger. But if the same principle applies then theoretically.... "Wait." Twilight whispered, pushing Scootaloo away. The little filly smiled calmly and stepped back, waiting patiently. "I can fix this." Twilight said, her eyes widening. - - - - "Do I have to be tied down like this?" Twilight glanced back from her machine, still levitating a bundle of wires in the air. "The braces make sure I take an accurate scan." Twilight explained, "There are galvanic sensors embedded in them that measure the conductivity of transdermal arcane phenom- you don't understand this, do you?" Scootaloo shook her head, blank eyes giving her a blank stare. "I thought so." Twilight mumbled and turned back to her modifications. Scootaloo yawned and leaned back her head. The pegasus filly was standing against a metal pedestal erected in the center of the room. Braces tied her forehooves tightly to its metallic surface. A large helmet that resembled an overturned stirring bowl with flashing lights and electronic components attached to it was tied securely to her head. Bunches of multicolored wires of all colors ran out from the braces and the helmet, all haphazardly attached to the massive computer that Twilight was now modifying. "Okay," Twilight mumbled, closing the side of the confusing machine, "this all might be purely theoretical, but if Dr Findhorn has even an ounce of truth in his book then I've just modified my arcane field sensor to detect the flow of empathetic energy." She walked to the front of the machine and ran a hoof over the complex instruments that stuck out from it. "I have a theory, a very desperate theory mind you, but if I'm correct, I might be able to fix everything. Are you ready Scooatloo?" "Yes, ma'am!" Scootaloo cried happily, amending, "But I really feel all right." "Sensors on!" Twilight shouted, slamming down a lever on the side of the machine. It whirred to life, magnetic tapes spinning wildly as lights flashed across its surface. An output slot on the front sputtered and began coughing out a long sheet of wavy lines of varying wavelengths and frequencies. Twilight bent over, studying each one intently. Scootaloo craned her head to try and see the printout. "So what's that tell you?" she asked. "I..." Twilight replied, scrutinizing a segment of the readout, "...have no clue whatsoever. Emotional Science is purely theoretical, nopony has done anything like this before. But maybe...." She spun around and stared at the tied-up filly. "Scooatloo, tell me about your friends, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle." "Okay!" Scootaloo agreed brightly. "They're great friends, really. Sweetie Belle's a really awesome singer, you've got to hear her some time. Applebloom's amazing though: she has some of the best ideas for crusading for cutie marks, and she knows how to fix up all the stuff we break. We still haven't figured out our special talents yet-" "This is interesting." Twilight muttered, staring at the printout. "What's happening Twilight?" "Nothing." Twilight turned around, staring at Scootaloo with concern. "Absolutely nothing, that's the thing." She turned back to the readings and peered at the lines that poured out of the machine. "Tell me about Rainbow Dash." "What's there to say?" Scootaloo replied incredulously. "She's the greatest flier in all of Equestria. She's so awesome, radical, cool... there simply aren't enough words to describe her!" Twilight levitated the fresh readings which looked an awful lot like the same readings she's been getting since the beginning. "Okay," she said, nodding, "now talk about... me." "Twilight, you're amazing!" Scootaloo cried. "You're the most powerful unicorn I've ever seen. You took out an Ursa Major! Nopony has ever done that before. I mean, Rainbow Dash may be the most radical pony, but you're definitely the greatest pony in the history of Equestria!" "I knew it!" Twilight shouted, dropping the printouts. "I know, you're so amazing!" "What? No, I mean this!" Twilight levitated a stack of paper over to Scooatloo. She pointed with her hoof at a point when one of the lines suddenly began to fluctuate wildly. "Look here; this is where you started thinking about me." "I'm always thinking about you Twilight!" Scootaloo beamed. "Listen to me." Twilight explained, "There are different frequencies of magic and unicorns can only actively use a certain set of those frequencies. Dr Findhorn believes that there is a series of frequencies that only a few creatures like alicorns and... changelings can sense that deals with raw pony emotions, specifically emotions felt towards other ponies. In other words, love!" Twilight shut down the machine with a flick of her horn and pulled off Scootaloo's helmet. "There are other fields too: hatred, envy, friendship, and so on. He believes that these physical rays of energy pass through abstract "empathy gates," which regulate how you feel towards others. Purely theoretical of course, but if he's right I think I've figured out what's wrong with you!" "But Twilight...." "Your readings only responded when focused on me." Twilight ignored Scootaloo and began pacing. "I think what happened is that a highly advanced spell actually locked your empathy gates open and focused them on me and only me. Even though you may feel a certain way about some pony, you're not actually spreading your feelings for them. The pain you were experiencing was your mind trying to fight against the intruding spell. " "So?" Scootaloo cocked her head. "So, this is simply a matter of fixing your empathy gates!" Twilight grinned and began bouncing around the room cheerfully, like a little filly on Hearth's Warming Day. "All I have to do is figure out what frequency of magic is affecting your emotional states, use the machine to release a concentrated magical blast into your fundamental essence, and set your mind back to how it's supposed to be!" "So...?" Scootaloo asked Twilight bounced over to the little filly and grinned joyfully. "I'm saying, Scootaloo," Twilight explained, barely preventing herself from exploding with joy, "that I can fix this!" "Great!" Scootaloo beamed, "Will that help my legs?" Twilight stood their blinking, her triumphant smile still molded to her face. "Your legs?" she asked, still keeping her light tone. "Well, I didn't want to bring it up," Scootaloo explained, shrugging bashfully, "but my forelegs have been feeling itchy for a while now." "Itchy?" Twilight's smile faded slightly, nervous confusion descending on her brows even as her smile struggled to stay. "Yeah, itchy." Scootaloo nodded. "Is that bad?" Twilight looked down at the bindings holding Scootaloo's leg. "Well," Twilight answered, biting her lip anxiously, "I can't see how an emotional modification could cause your legs to be itchy. Unless..." Twilight continue hopefully, "...yeah, it's probably just the galvanic sensors. Here, let me take... them...." Twilight trailed off as she removed the metal bindings from around Scootaloo's legs. For a moment, her mouth hung open disbelievingly. She fell back heavily and continued to stare at Scootaloo's haunches as she moaned, "Oh Celestia...." Scootaloo glanced down at her forelegs with interest. Her eyes widened as she muttered in mild shock, "Woah." Where her legs had been formerly obscured by the oversized metal braces, Scootaloo's coat was literally falling apart. Her flesh had been mostly stripped bare of hair save for a few raggedy patches. Flecks of orange fur still clung to the inside of the sensors, though looking closely the two ponies could see that individual strands were disintegrating piece by piece. Even more disturbing was that flesh underneath. Normally pale pink, it looked like it had festered and rot, turning deep black. Scootaloo gingerly raised a hoof and touched the black flesh on the other leg. It didn't hurt at all, only strange as she felt that her normally soft pony flesh was replaced by a layer of some hardened substance. "Cool." Scootaloo mumbled, nodding slowly. "I can fix this!" Twilight blurted out, spinning around. She began to pace, head low to the ground and eyes clenched shut. "Okay, it's definitely not what it is, I mean what I think it is. More likely it's just... an allergy to the sensors?" Twilight smiled hopefully and nodded. "Yes, that's definitely what it is. I mean..." Twilight dashed behind Scootaloo and examined her hind legs, causing Scootaloo to jump in shock, "...it hasn't spread back here." Chuckling madly, she ran a hoof down the back of Scootaloo's leg. "Yes! That's it, it's still the same-old pony-" Twilight squealed in terror as she lifted her hoof and watched tiny hairs she brushed off of her leg fly off. What was left behind was a balding patch of coat with a slightly darkened tint to the flesh beneath. "Ohmygosh," Twilight gasped, "I'm so sorry!" "It's okay Twilight," Scootaloo replied, glancing back at her leg curiously, "it doesn't hurt, it just feels... weird. Um, what's happening to me?" She wasn't panicked, or shocked, or even disgusted when she said it, only curious. Still, Twilight didn't stop freaking out herself as she placed a hoof on Scootaloo's side and assured her, "It's all right Scootaloo, I can still fix this." CRACK Twilight withdrew her leg as the wing she was touching suddenly went limp, as though the bone connecting it to the filly's side had completely broken. Scootaloo winced but there was more confusion on her face than pain or horror. Twilight stepped back, staring at her hooves. "I can still fix this." she mumbled numbly. "You haven't answered my question." Scootaloo asked cocking her head. "It's not just an empathy gate problem," Twilight muttered, ignoring Scootaloo's request for information, "that should only affect relationships, funneling emotions, this is..." Twilight rubbed her chin thoughtfully before turning to Scotoaloo and asking, "...It doesn't hurt?" Scootaloo shook her head. "No, it just feels... different." Scootaloo stepped forward, blank eyes radiating concern. "Twilight, are you all right? You feel... " "What?" Twilight prompted. "...I don't know, it's like you're... cold." "Cold?" Twilight stared at Scootaloo fearfully as the little pegasus nodded. She continued to stare as the horrible realization dawned on her. "No... no no no!" she moaned, grabbing her head, "This isn't possible, there's no way..." "Twilight? What's happening to me?" Scootaloo repeated. "It has a second stage!" Twilight lamented, "It's the only logical answer. After the charm forced your full emotional attention onto me it sent out something else, something that's..." Twilight swallowed heavily. "...It's changing you on a fundamental level. You're..." Twilight sighed and fell against the back wall of the basement. Scootaloo immediately leapt forward, raising a hoof to try and help her out. The unicorn stared at the pegasus' purple eyes, so terribly familiar that she had denied their true meaning. Twilight closed her eyes and placed a hoof on Scootaloo's neck, feeling as the hairs there came loose. "...You're turning into a changeling." Twilight finished sadly. "What?" Scootaloo asked after a brief, disbelieving, pause. "And it's not even a traditional magical transformation," Twilight explained, still staring into Scootaloo's blank eyes, "that can be undone. A magical transformation is much quicker, usually accompanied by a magical discharge. This is far more... brutal." Twilight rubbed her eyes. "How can I explain this? What's happening to you is that... the spell has gotten into your essence through the empathy gates it infected. There it's changing you on a level far beyond what any traditional magic can reach. It's a fundamental reconstruction of who you are..." Twilight groaned in despair, "...and at this point there's nothing I can do to stop it." Scootaloo stared at Twilight, her mouth hanging open. Slowly, she backed away from Twilight, even as the flow of devotion continued unabated. After a few moments, she asked, "So why am I turning into a changeling?" Twilight sighed and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry Scootaloo, it's all my fault." Twilight let herself relax, letting magical purple flames consume her coat and mane. When it was done, she stared down at her black legs, at the holes worked into them, at the chitin that covered her. A strand of her damaged mane hung down in her vision. Through her fanged mouth she muttered again, "It's all my fault." Scootaloo was completely silent for several tense moments. Finally the future changeling replied as Twilight continued to stare at her hooves. "I really like your mane." "What?" Twilight's head shot up, the changeling utterly shocked by Scootaloo's non-sequitor. What she saw was a grinning orange filly with a purple mane, black marks growing on her legs and one wing barely holding on to her side as the other was molting profusely. And through it all Scootaloo was beaming a wide toothy smile with two tiny fangs that were starting to emerge. She wasn't scared or sad or angry at all; she was jubilant. "I mean," Scootaloo said, stepping forward, "you look amazing!" She ran around Twilight, examining each of her horrifying features and pelting her with a blizzard of questions. "Are those fangs real? Wow, look at those wings? How can you stand with those holes in your legs? Do you really feed on love?" "Scootaloo!" Twilight cried out. "Don't you get it? I'm the one responsible for turning you into a changeling!" "I know!" Scootaloo cried. "Don't you remember what I said earlier? I haven't felt better in my entire life! I meant it, you know? And it's not like you're that evil queen that attacked Canterlot, you're Twilight Sparkle! And it's not like I'm some mindless drone, I'm still me." "But... but...?" Twilight stammered. "I mean sure," Scootaloo looked down at her legs, "I feel kinda weird now, but that'll pass, right?" She rose on her back legs and clapped her hooves together, oblivious as flecks of black fell off of her legs as parts of them began to disintegrate. "Being a changeling is going to be so awesome! I'm going to be able to fly whenever I want. I can be whoever I want to be. Ooh, maybe I can be Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo scrunched up her eyes and focused. After a few seconds of concentration, she sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I guess I can't do that yet." When she withdrew her hoof, strands of purple hair peeled away, causing her hairline to recede imperceptibly. "But I... and you..." Twilight continued to stammer, falling back on her flanks, "...that's... that's just because of the spell. That's the only reason you're excited about being a changeling." "So?" Scootaloo shrugged. "If it's because of the spell I'm so happy then thank you Twilight!" Scootaloo stepped forward again, rubbing her head against Twilight's neck. "I don't want you to be unhappy because of what you did to me because I'm sure not. Besides," she looked up into Twilight's eyes, "you're able to go on with your life without anypony knowing, so can't I as well? I don't have to tell Applebloom and Sweetie Belle that I'm a changeling now, do I?" "...No." Twilight replied nervously. "Yeah! So all I'm giving up is being a pony for real," she rubbed her head against Twilight's neck again, "but now I'm going to be a changeling for real! I can be whoever I want to be, and it's all thanks to you. I love you so much Twilight." Twilight stared down at the filly's purple mane before leaning back and sighing. "Scootaloo... you don't understand. You're going to have to lie to your friends and family about not being a changeling. If anypony found out... well, my friends already know I'm a changeling and they're going to find out I'm responsible if you reveal yourself." "Then I won't," Scootaloo answered calmly, "I don't want anything to happen to you." "But can you live with yourself knowing that you're lying to everypony around you? That you'll never be the filly you were before? That you have to feed on the love of your friends in order to survive?" "Yes." Scootaloo answered quickly and without regret. Twilight sighed and looked away. "That's because... I..." Twilight trailed off and stared at the ceiling. Outside the library rain and wind continued to slam into the tree, though its fury was muffled by the rooms above. All she could hear was the soft roar of the storm. All she could see was the darkness of the basement ceiling. All she could feel was the divinely delicious warmth coming off of her new changeling. "...I don't know what to do." Twilight whispered. Scootaloo snored. Twilight glanced down; the little filly had fallen asleep while leaning against her and was now snoring softly into her hard neck. Twilight couldn't help but smile as a very familiar instinct began to rise in her. Softly, she levitated Scootaloo into the air and placed her on her back. Gently she ascended the stairs, taking the tiny form all the way to the bedroom. Once there, she softly laid the tiny orange form onto her bed. Instinctively, Scootaloo rolled over and grabbed the pillow next to her, snoring peacefully. Twilight's smile faded as she surveyed the changes that had further afflicted Scootaloo. Her legs were now completely bare of hair and the flesh underneath continued to harden into black chitin. Flakes of it had fallen off, leaving several prominent indents in her legs above her hooves. Her wings, already undersized, had shrunken as feathers had fallen off and begun to disintegrate. The wing that had broken was on the verge of completely falling off and underneath Twilight could barely make out the tip of a growing flat, transparent membrane. Quietly, she brushed a bit of mane from Scootaloo's eyes and inadvertently peeled it off, a clump of mane falling away and revealing a hardened black shell underneath. A little nub was also pushing out of her forehead, a proto-horn that was yet to push through the skin. While her body changed rapidly and drastically, Scootaloo continued to sleep peacefully on Twilight's bed. The new changeling queen smiled morosely and quietly tucked Scootaloo into the covers in a very motherly way. Inside her, the deceptive instinct was completely silent, smothered by the warmth that sill trickled from Scootaloo's sleeping body. Outside, the world continued to be drowned in the storm. And Scootaloo slept like a baby. - - - - Twilight awoke after her first completely dreamless sleep since she became a changeling. Her head rose, surveying her surroundings as she blinked traces of sleep from her eyes. She was lying in her own familiar bed in her own familiar bedroom. Through a window she could see water trickling down, the final traces of last night's storm. Morning light arced through as well, casting patterns on the wooden floor. Not to mention it was pleasantly... warm. A weight stirred against her side, causing Twilight to glance down at the source. Her breath caught in her mouth as she saw a familiar shape huddled against her undisguised black-shelled form. The shape opened its eyes and smiled up at her. "I love you, Twilight." Scootaloo said dreamily. Any trace of what Scootaloo was before had been completely eradicated and replaced with a changeling drone almost identical to the ones Twilight fought not long ago. Though she had a purple color scheme that matched her eyes and she was significantly smaller than the drones she had seen before, she was as black, fanged, and monstrous as any changeling. Her mane had fallen out, her wings had been replaced by miniature versions of the ones that adorned Twilight's sides, and a smooth curved horn poked through the top of her head. And so much warmth was pouring off of her Twilight had to remind herself of these horrors as to not think how delicious she was. Still, some changeling instinct tugged at her mind, though not any deceptive urges. It was strange, but Twilight felt that the little creature cuddled next to her with thin wings and tiny fangs was oddly adorable, like what she would think of a foal. She couldn't help herself as her mouth stretched into a wide, genuinely warm smile. "I love you too, Scootaloo." Twilight replied. Scootaloo closed her eyes and rubbed her bald head against Twilight's neck lovingly. Twilight sighed as Scootaloo's love surrounded her. "Twilight," Scootaloo mumbled, "can't I just stay with you here, forever?" Twilight's eyes snapped open. Quickly she shuffled off of the bed, allowing Scootaloo to fall flat on the bed. "I'm sorry Scootaloo," Twilight replied quickly, "but there's no way you can. I mean, I have Spike and my friends over every single day; they're going to start wondering why you're over here so much. Than they'd start asking questions-" "Okay Twilight," Scootaloo said calmly, "I understand. So you just want me go around as I normally have?" "Yes, that would be for the best." Twilight nodded at the changeling lying on her bed. "Okay!" Scootaloo chirped and sat up. As she did she glanced down, noticing her newly marked legs. She examined them briefly before lookup up at Twilight and asking, "So... how do I disguise myself?" "Right," Twilight explained, advancing on Scootaloo, "so, basically it's mostly an instinctive process but it does require concentration. It's not enough to want to transform into someone else. You have to... I guess the right word is feel every aspect of the pony you're transforming into. All of their little mannerisms: their voice, their mannerisms, the way they hold themselves. You have to feel yourself slipping into..." "Twilight?" Scootaloo respectfully prodded as Twilight drifted off, staring into empty space. "...into their skin." Twilight finished, slightly quieter. She shook her head and continued, "Basically, try concentrating on every aspect of the targ-pony," she quickly corrected, "and not just appearance. Go ahead." Scootaloo nodded and closed her eyes. They crunched up in concentration as she grit her teeth and grunted. Her entire face balled up in an expression of pure concentration. A few long, awkward seconds later, a wave of purple emerged from Scootaloo's tiny horn and swept over her body. "Ah...." Twilight stared at Scootaloo's transformation. Scootaloo had become a very sloppy copy of Rainbow Dash. She was no larger than she had ever been, a little filly pretending to be her idol. Her wings were disproportionately large and ungainly. Her mane and tail were also disproportionately large, though their colors were just as vivid as the original's. Her eyes were incredibly wide and innocent, as she looked down at herself excitedly. "How'd I do, Twilight?" Scootaloo asked. "Well... you should only be imitating yourself." Twilight sighed, marching over to Scootaloo. "Please, try transforming into how you were earlier, before you became a changeling." Scootaloo nodded and resumed concentrating. Moments later she had transformed into a perfect copy of herself without incident. She smiled up at Twilight, expectant and proud. "That's excellent, Scootaloo!" Twilight praised the little changeling, eliciting a little yelp of happiness. She circled Scootaloo, examining every square inch of her disguise. "You have imitated yourself flawlessly." "Thanks Twilight!" she exclaimed, chest swelling with pride. "Now, we just need to get you home before..." Twilight glanced out the window. Her smile faded rapidly as she witnessed three shapes rapidly approaching the library. "...too late." "What is it?" "Your friends must have discovered that you came here for safety last night," Twilight mumbled, "and they've brought Rainbow Dash. Well, I didn't want to test your ability to deceive other ponies so soon but-" Twilight glanced down to see Scootaloo rubbing her head affectionately against her foreleg. "Don't worry Twilight," the changeling said, "everything will be all right." Twilight smiled nervously. "Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you?" A wild hammering at the library door caused Twilight's head to snap back and face it. Instinctively she transformed back into her unicorn form as she walked briskly towards the door, Scootaloo following behind. "Now we see." Twilight mumbled. The door opened in an aura of purple magic. Standing just outside the doorway were three ponies, two familiar little fillies and a larger rainbow-maned pegasus. The pegasus remained behind the two curious fillies, barely containing the anxiety that filled her. As the door opened she dashed into the room, almost crashing into Twilight. "Twilight, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle told me they heard from Snips and Snails who heard from Star Hunter that Scootaloo stayed the night here!" Rainbow Dash gasped, taking hold of Twilight's shoulders, "Did you...?" Scootaloo rushed out from behind Twilight, causing Rainbow Dash to blink in confusion. "Hi Applebloom!" Scootaloo greeted her friends cheerfully, "Hi Sweetie Belle!" "Hi Scootaloo!" The two fillies replied, beaming in return. Rainbow Dash and Twilight stared at the Cutie Mark Crusaders, blinking silently. "So how was staying over at Twilight's?" Applebloom asked. "It was fine," Scootaloo shrugged, "but do you know what I really want to do?" "Crusading for cutie marks?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Crusading for-" Scootaloo said, only to stop and glare, "Hey!" "What else do we do?" Sweeite Belle shrugged. "Good point." Sccotaloo replied. "So what's the plan for today?" "I don't know," Applebloom shrugged, "all I can think of is getting something to eat." "Me too," Scootaloo sighed, rubbing her stomach, "I haven't gotten breakfast yet." "Me three...." Sweetie Belle chimed in. A moment later, all three ponies gasped and turned to look at each other. "Are y'all thinking what I'm thinking?" "You bet!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle replied. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER BREAKFAST CHEFS, YAY!" The three fillies bellowed their war cry and dashed away, sending a cloud of smoke into the air. Twilight and Rainbow Dash stared at the empty doorway, blinking in mutual shock, though one pony's shock was more genuine than the other's. "She..." Rainbow Dash stuttered, "...she looks... um... all right." "I was able to control myself." Twilight said breathlessly, lying effortlessly, "I mean, it wasn't easy, but... everything worked out in the end." "Oh." Rainbow nodded, her wings slowly fluttering down to a rest after jumping to attention earlier. She glanced away as a nervous blush crossed her face. "Good. It's just... when I heard Scootaloo was here all night, I... I shouldn't have assumed...." "It's all right, Rainbow," Twilight chuckled, "but... could you please let me go?" "What? Oh!" Rainbow backed away, letting go of Twilight's shoulders. "Right. Um..." she awkwardly placed a hoof behind her neck. "...so... you're feeling better?" "Honestly," Twilight smiled, "I haven't felt better in my entire life." - - - - "AAAGGHH!" She bolted upright, clutching her covers in fear as she stared at the ceiling. Eventually the world fell in around her as her head snapped around, confirming her location. In the dark, she could see the familiar outline of her room, feel the familiar outline of her bed beneath her, and hear the familiar outline of the creature snoring away in its bed next to hers. When her heart finally stopped racing, she gave one final gasp and buried her forehooves in her head. She slowly breathed in and out, rubbing her hooves through the straight hair that hung down from her head. Eventually she groaned and rolled out of bed, falling heavily on her hooves. She wobbled on three legs momentarily as she raised a hoof up to rub the annoying particles of sleep from her eyes. In her sleep-deprived state, she staggered towards the nearby mirror. She stared at herself, mouth hanging open tiredly. She blinked and examined her drawn face, her long, straight hair, her dark complexion, her purple eyes. She gulped as a thousand thoughts ran through her head. Memories of her nightmare resurfaced, pushing against her mind and clouding her vision. She frowned as her mouth opened even wider and... "I... love...." In a flash she shook her head and cleared out the tinge of purple energy from her blue eyes. Her hair popped back into its typical pink, curly state. Her complexion brightened as a giddy, yet somewhat confused, smile was plastered across her face. She glanced around the dark room and pondered why she had gotten up so early, memories of her nightmare fleeing quickly from her short attention span. Eventually the pony shrugged and bounced over to the door of her bedroom. "Oh well, while I'm up, I'd better do some baking. Ooh! Cupcakes sound delicious right now!" For the briefest of moments, a tingle of energy tugged at her eyes as she trotted happily down the stairs. A tiny voice clung to the edge of her mind, beyond the reach of her consciousness, and whispered inaudibly, I need you, Twilight. TO BE CONTINUED - - - - - - - -