But even when one understands their past, it is the future that holds promise.
And that future can't come without a look at oneself.
"Hey, Twilight?"
"Just a moment, Rainbow. I need to make sure the list is perfect."
"Twilight."
"Just a few more-"
"Twilight!" Finally, the purple mare turned to face her companion, the pegasus hovering impatiently just over the floor. "Can we do this, you know, without a book on how to do sleepovers? We've both been to them before." Twilight stared at the other for a few moments, before nodding and giving a soft smile, the book she had been taking notes from returning to its shelf in her magic.
"Only if you don't care that I'll have nothing to go off of this time around.," Twilight responded, turning and trotting to the center of the main room, where her table, normally reserved for the library's horse head bust, now held the supplies for s'mores.
A few pieces of the chocolate were already missing, the remains of those missing soon vanishing off of Rainbow's lips. Too late to notice, the unicorn sat near the table, smiling up at her friend. "So, since I can't have anything to go off of, what should we do first?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Eat. Duh. I've been waiting all day waiting for some s'mores!" That got a chuckle out of Twilight, who lit up the fireplace with a flare of her horn. The pegasus had, after a few moments, gathered up her eating materials, and had set herself down in front of the fireplace, working to roast the marshmallows.
Twilight rolled her eyes once more, got herself a much smaller portion of food, and made her way to Rainbow's side, using her magic instead of a stick for roasting marshmallows. They sat there and chatted idly while they ate, the treats too satisfying to allow any deeper conversation. Eventually, though, Twilight set down her final s'more, half-eaten, and gave a soft sigh of contentment. "That was certainly good. I'm glad Rarity showed me how to make them at our sleepover."
"Is that why you took so long to make yours?" Rainbow chuckled. "I can't even do magic and I was still faster at making the things than you were." At the unicorn's chuckle in response, the pegasus grinned and swooped up from her spot, coming to a hover on the other side of her friend. "So, what next?"
Twilight shrugged, getting up as well. "Not much, really. We could just talk for the rest of the night. I'm a bit hesitant to try any games without my checklist." Rainbow huffed at the jab, and dropped to the ground.
As the pegasus landed, Twilight tilted her head slightly, watching as the pegasus' wings folded to her sides. "Say, Dash? You're normally up in the air, right?"
She got a shrug in return. "Sometimes. Really, with all of you guys on the ground so much, when I'm not practicing or sleeping I hang on the ground." With a smirk, Rainbow puffed her chest out. "Of course, my natural element is flying, so I can see why you said that."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Funny how you mention sleeping. Must be soft up there, huh?" The pegasus nodded, getting a chuckle out of the librarian. "Well, it would explain why you sleep all the time. Anywhere in your house is pretty much your bed, isn't it?" As they talked, the two moved to the center of the room, laying down and settling into comfortable positions.
"Well, pegasi don't really just sleep anywhere in their homes," Rainbow contradicted, "We still have a bedroom and everything. Granted, the bed's usually got a cloud instead of a regular mattress, but still." Rainbow smiled then, moving over to in front of Twilight. "Gets a bit boring when the place you live in feels exactly the same as the thing you sleep on. Kinda why I take naps in other places."
Twilight nodded. "I guess. A special place to sleep isn't all that special when it's the same as the rest of the home." After a moment, she grinned. "And down here you get a place to sleep that ins't made of clouds. Although nothing down here is anywhere near as comfortable as your clouds, I'm guessing."
The pegasus shrugged. "I hardly notice a difference, really. Clouds are awesome and all, but they get boring after a while. And besides, when I'm down here to sleep, it's usually while I'm hanging with my friends." She grinned, before tilting her head and looking around. "Speaking of usual things, why's the library built into a tree instead of being a normal building? I've always wondered but never bothered to ask before."
Twilight gave that thought for a few seconds, her eyes wandering the room before returning to Rainbow's face. "I'm... not sure, actually. I've looked through some records, but I never gave it much priority. It could be a symbol for life and knowledge, or a representation of where books come from, or something else entirely. Really, I looked at what I needed so I could fireproof the place."
Dash raised an eyebrow at that. "For Spike, right?" When the other mare gave a nod, Rainbow spoke again. "So why didn't you fireproof the books?"
Twilight stared at her friend for a moment, before coughing once into her hoof. "To let Spike transfer them to Princess Celestia if she needed them... I didn't think they'd just burn."
Rainbow laughed, before shaking her head. "You know, for such a smart pony, you really do miss the big stuff sometimes, Twi." Rainbow ignored the glare the unicorn shot her way. "Back to the tree thing, I guess it could've been out of convenience. If the tree was here before the town, or something."
The other nodded, and smiled. "True. Whatever the case, I still live here. Maybe tomorrow I should take care of fireproofing the books." Rainbow rolled her eyes, looking up to Twilight's bedroom.
"Do you keep books up there, too?" The unicorn gave a nod, with Rainbow chuckling once more. "IIf you hadn't made friends here, I swear you'd just be in here all day. As if you weren't already."
"Hey! I get out sometimes."
Rainbow chuckled, smirking. "Says the one who lives in a library. I'm surprised that you aren't an introvert just because of that" Rather than merely rolling her eyes in response, Twilight paused, raising an eyebrow at Dash.
"...Introvert?"
"What? I read too, you know." Rainbow smirk grew a tad as Twilight sighed. "Seriously though, what books do you keep up there?"
Twilight shrugged. "The ones I read the most. My favorite Daring Do books, the ones I'm currently studying, and my nightly read books." At the pegasus' look, Twilight continued. "You know, the ones I read just before I go to sleep? To help settle myself for the night?"
"I suppose. I just kinda slip into bed and fall asleep most of the time." Unbidden, the image of Twilight laying on the bed, her head hunched over a book, appeared in Rainbow's mind. For a moment, the pegasus was caught up with the image, scrunching her eyebrows.
Twilight watched the pegasus for a moment, before tilting her head. "Dash? You still here?" The pegasus shook her head before nodding quickly, causing the unicorn to giggle before speaking. "You don't read before bed?"
"Not really." The pegasus was still frowning, looking to change the subject before she confused herself more. "You know, I've never really known what goes into the pillows down here."
Twilight blinked at the subject changed, but grinned at the chance to teach. "Oh, that! It's just bird feathers, really. I kind of feel sorry for the birds." She tilted her head. "Why?"
Rainbow shrugged. "I didn't know, is all. All I ever grew up with was a cloud bed, a cloud pillow and cloud sheets." She gave a chuckle. "You know, cloud pillows were terrible for pillow fights. They just fell apart if you didn't throw them right."
Twilight giggled. "I'm sure that'd be a problem. The only problem with regular pillows is that if you throw them around too much the down tends to fall out." She blinked, and began to grin, her horn beginning to glow.
Rainbow nodded, not really noticing the magic being performed yet. "I guess." Twilight giggled in response, and with that Rainbow's eyes honed in her friend's horn, her eyebrows furrowing once more. "Twilight, what are you doing?"
Twilight giggled again. "Oh, just this!" With that, a pillow came down, slamming into the back of Rainbow's head, causing the pegasus' eyes to widen as her wings splayed out, the mare flinging herself into the air as Twilight nearly fell over laughing.
"Hey! Give me that!" Rainbow's frown quickly faded as she snatched the pillow dropped from Twilight's magic, tossing it at the unicorn, who had fallen down, still laughing. It wasn't long until Twilight brought more pillows into the fight, firing them in a salvo at Rainbow Dash.
The pegasus caught the last one, grinning as she tossed it at her friend before the unicorn could get up, breaking out into laughter as the mare immediately fell back down. Twilight immediately fired the pillow back at Rainbow, knocking the pegasus out of the air and onto the small pile their projectiles had formed.
Momentarily, the pillows were once more in the air and slamming into the pegasus, who couldn't do much more than laugh as the barrage hit her. Finally, she managed to shift and kick a few off, only to be covered by more. Eventually, one her blind kicks succeeded in slamming a pillow into Twilight, who collapsed in a laughing heap with the wild cushion, which Rainbow quickly took advantage of.
Their battle went on a while longer before both were exhausted, the unicorn and pegasus sprawled out with pillow scattered around them, still laughing from the exhilaration. Eventually, Twilight let out a sigh, smiling up at the ceiling, listening to the pegasus give the final bouts of her laughter.
The unicorn slowly relaxed into the sound, for a moment wishing it would go on forever, before her own yawn drew her out of her reverie. "Hey, Dash? What time it is?"
"I have no idea." The pegasus had settled down, looking over to Twi and pushing away a pillow that had been obstructing her view. "Why? The bookworm getting tired of being beat by the athlete?"
Twilight huffed, still smiling. "I was doing just as well as you were!" She gave out another yawn as Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"Only because you had magic. Come on, let's get up to bed." The unicorn gave a nod in return, her magic coming alive once more to clean up the small scale disaster they had made of pillows and feathers. The pegasus watched for a moment before making her way up the stairs to Twilight's bedroom, looking around the room before shrugging and gliding over to Twilight's bed, sliding underneath the covers.
Twilight came in a few moments later, yawning, and smiled at Dash as she crawled into the other side of the bed. "So? How was the sleepover?"
Her friend chuckled. "Great, but it isn't over yet, you know." Twilight gave a nod, and smiled.
"Goodnight Rainbow."
"Night Twi." After a pause, though, the pegasus spoke up again. "...Aren't you going to read or something?"
"And leave you out? No." Rainbow blinked at the response. "Besides, I don't normally have a sleepover every night before I go to bed."
Dash chuckled with that. "True. I guess I'll let you get your sleep after your defeat." Aside from a huff, Twilight remained silent.
A few minutes passed, and both were still awake. The bed was rather small, only meant for one pony, and the occasional movement meant that every so often the two ponies within touched, a wing grazing a hoof, or a cheek touching for a brief second the other's head. In the end, it had kept both awake so far in contemplation, but neither spoke.
For Twilight, it felt natural, each touch amplified by the lack of sound or sight. Her mind, unsurprisingly, drifted to thoughts of companion she had shared her night with, and the reserved unicorn found herself elated at the fact that the mare was in the same bed with her. She smiled then, her thoughts slowing into a simple pattern about the pegasus beside her as her mind shut itself off and her eyes closed, head facing her friend.
Rainbow was awake for quite a few minutes after that, contemplating on much the same, only with a unicorn in her mind rather than a speedster. Her mind struggled with itself, her body nearly freezing up every time Twilight accidentally pushed into her, or she pushed into Twilight by mistake. The other, in her sleep, never seemed to notice. In the end though, the pegasus closed her eyes, easing into the soft warmth of Twilight's breath against her cheek as the unicorn slept. Slowly, Dash turned her head to face Twilight fully, her eyes re-opening.
The moonlight accented the unicorn's coat and mane, and Rainbow found her eyes simply drifting over her friend's face, taking in the subtle beauty she found there. After a while, the pegasus smiled and closed her own eyes, leaving her head as it was. "Goodnight, Twilight."
A stray thought came to her then, and rather than push away as she had done before, she it come fully to her mind. A bedroom isn't special if it's the same as the rest of the home. She gave a chuckle as she drifted to sleep.
This bedroom isn't. I have Twilight here. With that, she succumbed to her need to sleep, her mind basking in the fact that Twilight was next to her.
A few floors below, the guest bed sat, forgotten.