//------------------------------// // In Your Embrace // Story: The Reason I Love You // by Blue Dragon //------------------------------// It didn't take long to reach the library. Twilight was shivering the whole way, and all she really wanted to do was sleep the pain off. The unicorn didn't even know how she'd fallen through the ice and hit her head the way she did. She was able to remember what had happened just moments before, though. That was a very nice memory. Twilight had never seen something like that coming. Maybe she'd gotten caught up in the moment, but when you were being held by the pony you loved, looking up into their sparkling eyes... You lose yourself. The unicorn hadn't ever been at a loss of words like this before. The way Pinkie had held her like a fragile piece of glass that could have been easily broken and the way she'd held her so close as if to protect her from the dangers surrounding her... It made her love Pinkie even more. After all, who wouldn't love a mare like that? As they reached the doorstep to the library, Twilight didn't even knock. She opened the door and walked in casually. "Spike! I'm back!" The unicorn shouted, trotting into the room. Pinkie Pie followed her, smiling all the way. Spike, however, had jumped at the mention of his name in that tone, and rushed down the stairs. Well, tripping and falling down the stairs. The dragon quickly pushed himself back up and raced over in front of Twilight with the most apologetic look he could muster. "I'm really sorry, Twi! I didn't mean to do it! I just wanted you to be happy and for you to confess to--Pinkie?" Spike rubbed his eyes, staring at the pink pony incredulously. Pinkie Pie giggled, but didn't say anything. Twilight was giving him the look that meant you'd-better-tell-me-what's-going-on. "What in the name of Celestia are you talking about, Spike?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously. The dragon's eyes widened at the realization that he'd just incriminated himself. "You... You don't know?" He held his tail between his claws; a clear sign of his nerves. "Tell me." Twilight shook her drenched scarf off and let her saddlebag fall to the floor. She didn't look away from Spike. Pinkie squeezed herself between the dragon and her unicorn. Behind her, she pushed Spike back a few spaces. "Aww, come on, Twilight! He's sorry for whatever he did... Oh, and doesn't your head still hurt from that fall you had?" "Fall?" Spike inched around Pinkie Pie to give Twilight a questioning look. She reached up for her head, wincing at the pain. "I guess you're right, Pinkie. I'll let you off the hook this time, Spike. Whatever you lied about, don't do it again... Would you please get me some ice, a few pillows, and two towels?" Twilight went over her mental checklist, nodding as she said each item. Spike let out a sigh of relief before saluting and getting everything she'd asked for. Twilight let herself get comfortable on the cold floor. Pinkie lay down beside her, nuzzling just behind the unicorn's ear. "You don't want to rest in your room? It might not be a good idea to sit on the floor unless you have the deadly Floor Flu, which in this case you don't! I know because when you have Floor Flu, you can't talk right and you can't stop thinking about how shiny the floor is!" She giggled at the thought. "I've had it before, and truuust me, you don't want it! I even thought you transformed into the floor!" "Floor Flu? Pinkie, that sounds ridiculous--" "You trust me, Twi, remember?" The seriousness after such an absurd statement caught Twilight off guard. She looked back at Pinkie to make sure she wasn't pulling a fast one. They stared into each other's eyes for a while, and Twilight almost forgot that the pink pony had asked her a question. "Of course I trust you, Pinkie... What was it called again? Floor Flu?" Pinkie's face brightened immediately, and she went into explaining this 'deadly' disease. Spike sauntered over with pillows and towels stacked precariously in his claws. The tower swayed from side to side uncertainly, but he managed to keep it from falling over. The dragon let Twilight use her magic to get the items onto the floor without incident. Spike watched with interest as the two ponies dried themselves off. To him, they seemed to be acting differently than normal, but in a good way. Both ponies were sitting kind of close, and Pinkie kept trying to dry off Twilight herself. The dragon scratched his chin as the gears in his head clicked into place. "Are you two dating?" Between the sudden blush that arose on Twilight's cheeks and Pinkie's giggling, Spike was sure he knew the answer. "Well... are we?" Twilight glanced at Pinkie for assurance. The earth pony couldn't stop her laughing. "I never asked? Oops! Hehe, Twilight, will you be my marefriend?" Pinkie Pie was still giggling, but it was obvious she was trying to stifle them. It didn't work very well. "Yes! I told you that I love you, remember? Of course I want to be your marefriend." Twilight used her magic to place the ice bag on her head, cringing at the cold feeling. "I love you too, Twilight." Pinkie was nuzzling Twilight happily. Spike groaned, slapping his face with a claw. "I didn't think I'd have to watch lovey-dovey stuff like this when I was helping you out, Twilight..." He shivered, feeling the winter drowsiness creep in. "Whatever... I'm just gonna go take a nap, alright, Twi? You don't need anything, do you?" The unicorn shook her head. "I'm okay, Spike. You go ahead; I know how tired you get during this time of year. Thanks for all the help!" Spike yawned, making his way upstairs. Now that they were dry, Twilight levitated the wet towels towards the dirty laundry and brought the pillows over. "You don't mind sitting on the floor, right, Pinkie? We don't really have a couch in the library yet, but I did order one the other day..." She used her magic to bring her favorite blanket from beside her telescope. It was a pretty big one, with all of the night sky's constellations pointed out. She often used it for when she'd gaze at Luna's creation. "I'm fine as long as you are!" Pinkie said with a smile, "But what do we do now? Ooh, should I pick out a book?" She was already hopping towards the bookshelves. Twilight smiled, letting the cover wrap around her. Before long, Pinkie was trotting back to Twilight. She crawled under the blanket and cuddled next to the unicorn. "Here you go!" Pinkie nudged Twilight on the side with the book she'd picked out. It was titled, Every Sweet in the History of Equestria. The book was pretty hefty; probably nearing six hundred pages. "Are you sure you want to read this?" Twilight cocked an eyebrow at her. "I want to hear you read it! Ooh, and don't forget to read the author's name." Twilight could already feel her throat getting hoarse. She cleared it anyway, and began reading aloud. "Every sweet in the history of Equestria," she began, "written by... Pinkamena Diane Pie? Pinkie, you wrote this?!" Pinkie smiled with a fond look on her face. "Yup! It took me a long, long, time, though! I was trying to be a smarty-pants like somepony I knew, and thought that if I wrote a book that maybe you'd notice! I kept getting bored while doing it, but I didn't stop when I thought about you reading it. Sooo, we should get started! I promise I won't interrupt." Twilight looked at the book, wondering how Pinkie could possibly maintain the attention span to even sit still for five minutes. She opened up the book to the title page, and then to the table of contents. And then... Twilight realized that the book hadn't been published. "It's a single copy... You even wrote it yourself! Pinkie, how could you--?"Pinkie put a hoof on Twilight's mouth. "Read it!" She grinned, and that was all the encouragement the unicorn needed. Twilight turned to the first page, not really going over the table of contents. "Number five, cupcakes. Cupcakes are the tastiest treats in all of Equestria. They're sweet and look great! They're not hard to make, but they're well worth the wait! The icing's the best part, too..." Pinkie's hoofwriting was elegant and curly, easily readable. There was a badly drawn picture of a cupcake at the top of the page. Twilight turned the page, getting sleepy already. "Number four, parties. Parties are super-duper fun! They're nice and there's always a new pony to meet." Twilight was surprised there wasn't more written, but turned the page anyway. She could feel Pinkie's warmth from beside her, and it calmed her immensely. "Number three, smiles. A smile is always the best treat a pony can give you!" Twilight smiled subconsciously, and she knew Pinkie had, too. The unicorn flipped the page to the next one. "Number two, friends. I have so many friends, but my best friends are Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack. They're all really awesome!" The hoofwriting was very easy to read. From the corner of her eye, Twilight could see Pinkie's face turn red. She buried her muzzle into the lavender mare's fur. Curiously, Twilight turned the page. "Number one... Twilight Sparkle?" She blushed. There was a lot more written here, and it continued for a few other pages. The hoofwriting became a lot more messy, and instead of a drawn picture at the top, a photograph of herself was there. It was one she didn't even know had been taken. She at the Gala in that starry dress, and Princess Celestia's leg was visible just to the side of the photo. Twilight couldn't help but wonder where Pinkie had gotten her hooves on this picture. Twilight looked at Pinkie questioningly, but the pink pony wouldn't meet her gaze. "Keep reading..." She urged. The unicorn turned back to the book and tried to read the writing. "There's a reason she's number one on this list! I wouldn't ever tell anypony, but she's my favorite-est pony. But all my friends are just one level lower, which is why they're number two. Every time I look at that picture, I feel like throwing a party! I... Pinkie..." She cast an embarrassed look towards the pink pony. Both were blushing. "This is embarrassing!" "Please? I wrote this just for you!" Pinkie nudged the book towards Twilight. The unicorn's face was turning that familiar shade of dark purple Pinkie had seen many times before. It was adorable. "...You wrote it, so why don't you read it?" She pushed the book back towards the earth pony. Pinkie giggled, and rolled her eyes jokingly. "Okay, but don't laugh at me!" Pinkie cleared her throat before reading aloud. "...When Twilight walks by, my eyes always follow her. She's always talking about her magic spells, but the greatest magic she's done was on my heart!" Both ponies' hearts started going faster. Twilight had only just noticed Pinkie wasn't even reading from the book, and the thought made her blush even more. She couldn't think very well with Pinkie talking like this. "She's beautiful, even if she doesn't think so sometimes. It's the greatest treat to be around her, because she's the sweetest thing ever. I love--"In a burst of confidence, Twilight turned and pressed her lips firmly against Pinkie's own. The earth pony didn't object at all, deepening it and wrapping her forelegs around Twilight. The ice pack fell to the floor, but neither pony cared. It was simple, but it felt like a continuation of the first one. The same fireworks seemed to go off inside of both ponies, warming them to the core. Pinkie wanted to keep going, but didn't want to burden Twilight. She pulled away with a smile. "I love you, Twilight." The party mare finished, still with a hoof around the unicorn. The other pony was grinning serenely, too. The pain in her head had subsided fully. "I love you too, Pinkie." They cuddled for a while, giggling at just how happy they were to be with each other. When they finally calmed down enough, Pinkie continued to read from her book. It turned out that most of the book was left empty; she intended to write more about the things she loved later on. Twilight was still surprised that Pinkie could be patient enough to write even the few sentences she had, but the earth pony had explained that Gummy had written down everything before the entry about Twilight. Suddenly, the elegant hoofwriting changing to the messy one made perfect sense. In the comfort of her lover's embrace, Twilight found her vision swimming. She didn't want this moment to end, but like everything else, it did. Twilight fell asleep.