//------------------------------// // Everypony wins // Story: Two Weeks // by Starlitomega //------------------------------// Spike lay in bed, uncharacteristically unable to sleep. He drifted off now and again, but his mind kept drifting back. He looked over to the still-empty bed and groaned. It wasn't really unusual for Twilight to go to bed late or work through the night, but this time he knew the reasons for it were different. He silently crept out of his bed and looked through the cracked door. Twilight was hard at work, filling a page with notes far too complex for him to understand. He’d known Twilight his entire life, and knew she’d never admit something was wrong. He quietly tiptoed to the desk, pulled out a parchment and quill, and started writing. A cold sensation awoke the librarian from her sleep. Her right foreleg was alight with pain. She realized that she had fallen asleep on it, and now it tingled in a rather unpleasant way. She shook the numb limb until blood flow returned. Looking out the window, she could see that morning had come and gone. She couldn’t remember exactly when she had fallen asleep, but the afternoon sun peeking through her window gave a clear indication of how much time she’d lost. She licked her dry lips and looked over the work she had completed last night, which consisted of almost complete star charts and calculations for the next month, which only needed a few more additions before they could be sent to the castle. I wonder if Applejack has had a chance to talk with Rainbow. With that, her train of thought derailed. She wondered if the pegasus hated her guts, or if she understood Twilight's honest mistake of not doing quite enough research. Truth be told, if she were in Rainbow’s position, she wasn't sure she could forgive herself either. Twilight shook her head abruptly, snapping out of her speculation.  She calmly lifted up her quill and resumed her work on the star charts. Two ponies sat opposite each other at a table in Sugarcube Corner. Fresh milkshakes sat on each side. “Are you sure about this, Rainbow?” Pinkie felt torn. On one hoof, she had to weigh her friendship with Twilight. On the other, her feelings for the pegasus. There just wasn't a right answer. Her stomach felt like it had tied itself in knots. “I'm sure, Pinkie. As sure as I am of anything.” “You don't think Twilight will get upset with us?” Rainbow fell quiet for a moment before breaking the silence. “Well... maybe, but I think she'll get over it kind of quick.” Pinkie hugged the pegasus. “Okay then. I'll do it! But only because you mean so much to me.” Rainbow gave a glowing smile. “Thanks, Pinkie.” Pinkie loved her smile. It shined as bright as the colors of her tail, and as strong as the kicks she cleared the clouds with. She would do anything to see Rainbow wear that smile. The sun had fallen again, and Spike once more stared at an empty bed. Apart from working on the star charts, Twilight did little else that day. She ate no food, barely drank any water, and skipped her morning and evening baths. As he watched her tirelessly scribbling away, Spike wanted to run in there, knock her out, and drag her to bed by the tail. Well, he would have, but he didn't want to be scolded for being up late. He opted instead to turn on his side and try for sleep again. Twilight sat behind a desk made for fillies. She hastily wrote out the tax code for Fillydelphia’s upcoming revision. Celestia spoke in a stern voice. “Being a student of mine means hard work, dedication...” Another completed sheet went into the stack. Twilight grabbed another and continued where she left off. “...And sacrifice,” she finished. The words rang in the unicorn’s head while she did her task on autopilot. She filled another sheet with meaningless jargon, and grabbed another from the stack. “You understand, don't you, Twilight? This is the way it has to be.” Another completed sheet down. She grabbed another and set to work on it. “It's easier this way. No need to think about social interactions, or courting rituals. Those silly problems just take our focus away from what really matters.” Twilight completed another sheet and moved on in her endless pile. “What if an asteroid is on a collision course with Equestria? How will we know unless ponies like you do their part?” Another sheet down. “You must’ve made a mistake somewhere,” the alicorn posited. “Are you sure you did it all correctly?” Twilight bit her lip. She stared at the enormous pile of papers stacked almost as tall as her. She impulsively grabbed the last one and started proofing her work. “Is this really how you see her?” Twilight looked to the desk beside her and gasped. “Princess Luna! W-what do you mean?” “Look around you, Twilight Sparkle,” the princess commanded. Twilight did as she was told. She recognized the room as her old classroom from Magic Kindergarten. Fillies and colts busied themselves with painting and rudimentary magic tricks like levitating fruit. “This... this isn't real...” Luna smiled. “Very observant. This is not real. It is a construct of your mind. You are, indeed, asleep.” “So... it’s a dream.” “I'm not sure if writing tax code endlessly appeals to you, but for anypony else, this is a nightmare. You still haven't answered my question. Is this how you see her?” “See who?” Twilight asked, feigning ignorance. “I'm referring to this flagrantly poor representation of Our sister.” Now that she knew it was a dream, Twilight could see that the persona her mind had chosen for Celestia had been poor, indeed. Her mane consisted of washed out colors. She wore sharp, almost war-like armor, and her eyes glowed with an unnatural red tint. “N-no. That isn't the Princess Celestia I know...” “Then why do you see her as such?” Luna asked, placing a comforting hoof on Twilight’s back. “I... I don't know.” “It’s easier, isn't it?” “Huh?” Luna sighed. “It’s easier to avoid relationships, isn't it? There’s so much fuss and bother that go into them. It’s a lot easier just to bury yourself in work, isn't it?” Twilight nodded sadly. Of course... this is Luna's realm. She could read her like a book. “I... I’m afraid. What if I mess something up? What if I say the wrong thing, and we can't look at each other anymore?” “Say the wrong thing? You mean something like accidentally implying that Rainbow Dash is a desperate mare?” “Yeah... something like that,” Twilight said, lowering her head slowly. “So we are referring to fear, then. Tell me, were you not afraid when you confronted me?” “Well, yes...” “What about when the wretched queen of the changelings accumulated enough power to lay our sister low?” Twilight remained silent. “And what of the Crystal Empire? When you sat in that dark crystal cage and saw Spike fleeing the encroaching darkness, was there no fear in your heart?” “S-sure I was afraid,” Twilight admitted. “But you didn't back down. A threat to all we know and hold dear, and Twilight Sparkle charges forwards. Yet the moment love comes into play, she buries herself in paperwork.” Twilight put her head on the desk and covered it shamefully with her hooves. “Pretty much.” Luna stood up. “Then you have all the answers you need. You should seek the advice of Our sister. I believe she can guide you more directly. As for me, all I can do is show you what you don't want to see, what you refuse to acknowledge.” Twilight looked up from her desk to where Celestia once stood. In her place, she saw a taller version of herself with the same red tinted eyes, glaring down at her menacingly. Luna’s voice cut through the silence of the classroom. “Until you face the doubt in yourself, you will not move on. You must confront the fear in yourself!” Luna commanded. Twilight turned back in time to see her clone’s jaw open ominously and leap at her, swallowing her whole in darkness. Twilight sat upright in her chair, sending scrolls rolling off her desk in every direction. The spoils of her work lay bare for her to see. I have to talk to Rainbow. I have to make this right, she resolved. As she got up, an unpleasant odor hit her nose. She sniffed the air curiously until she realized where it was coming from. "Whew... actually, I think I need a bath first." She quickly gathered the completed scrolls into a bin to send to the castle later and headed for the bathroom to clean up. About an hour later, Twilight stepped outside of the library and into the noon sunlight. At first, she just wanted to clean up and be done with it, but also felt it necessary to ease Spike’s worry by drinking a glass of orange juice and eating an apple. Although she was pretty hungry... She didn’t like losing the extra time, though. Now Rainbow might be at lunch, or even worse, done for the day, making her even harder to track down. She stood in front of the library, trying to imagine where the pegasus might be at this very moment. The unicorn nearly leapt out of her skin as a peal of thunder exploded right behind her. Two ponies started giggling while she tried to bring her heartbeat under control. “Hehehehehe. Oh, that was great!” “Sure was, Pinks!” Twilight turned to face Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Pinkie, who had apparently been hiding beside the library, fell into a fit of laughter. Rainbow, perched atop a cloud directly over the tree, cackled as well. “Heh, nice one you two. I was just on my way to find you, Rainbow...” The pegasus buzzed down to the ground and hopped out of her cloud. “Hey, uhhh, Applejack explained everything. She told me how sorry you were, and that you didn’t know what was going on. As far as I’m concerned, we’re cool.” Twilight blinked in utter disbelief. She had expected some screaming, shouting, maybe a lecture about being too much of a bookworm, but not outright dismissal. “So… you aren't upset at all about... about what happened, and the whole stringing you along bit?” Rainbow's eyes flared for a moment. “Ooh, ooh! Tell her Dashie! Tell her, tell her!” Pinkie exclaimed while hopping in place. “Tell me what?” Twilight asked, curious as to exactly what she wasn’t privy to. “Well, Applejack didn't tell me just about the whole book misunderstanding. She also told me it was Pinks here who left the flower on my door. I thought it was crazy at first, but she told me Pinkie’s had her eye on me for awhile now. So last night I showed up at her door. We talked ‘till morning, and now we're dating! Ain't that right, Pinks?” Pinkie brushed her fluffy mane against Rainbow affectionately. “That’s right, Dashie! We've got so many fun dates planned, like baking and pranking and ziplining! It’s gonna be stupenderiffic fun!” she finished with a hop. Just like that, everything came to a screeching halt. An awful feeling arose from the pit of Twilight’s stomach. She didn't know if it was the devil-may-care manner in which they announced their newly formed relationship, or the public nuzzling they were giving each other, but Twilight was sure of one thing: it didn't sit right with her. “So... so soon?” Pinkie Pie immediately jumped forward defensively. “You mean so soon after you dumped her?” “Easy, Pinkie,” Rainbow said, pulling her back by the tail. “I've forgiven her. Just calm down.” The pink mare did just that and leaned into Rainbow's side lovingly. “You're right, Dashie. I'm sorry, Twilight, I was just being a jerk. Please don’t be mad!” Twilight didn't know what she was feeling, mostly because she was feeling so many emotions at once. Though she cycled through many, the one that kept coming up was regret. She regretted taking Rainbow for granted, while somepony like Pinkie Pie waited patiently in the wings. She regretted keeping that little distance between herself and the pegasus, not willing to put herself truly out there. And deep down in her heart, she regretted letting Rainbow go in the first place. “Uh oh, she’s not talking. I think she is mad...” Pinkie said, letting her voice trail off. “No... no I'm not, Pinkie,” Twilight finally answered. “I think it's great you two are together.” Smiles returned to her friends’ faces, while her own grew dimmer. “I need to get some things from the shops. I'll see you girls around later?” Twilight asked. “Sure thing!” Rainbow replied. “Uh-huh!” Twilight left them at that, intent on making her escape so she could get her shopping done. This is perfect Rainbow gets to be with somepony who deserves it, and Pinkie gets to have her crush. This is exactly what I wanted... Isn't it? Twilight closed the door behind her softly. Despite the gentle ease with which she had done so, Spike still heard her enter. “Hey Twilight, how’d it go with you and Rainbow Dash?” The unicorn simply cantered over to the table and kicked her saddlebags off. “Applejack explained everything. Rainbow forgave me right off the bat... after trying to scare my mane off.” “The old thundercloud trick, huh? I thought it was odd, hearing thunder on a clear day right after you left. So... are you two dating again? Because I kinda enjoyed hanging with Rarity lately.” Twilight sighed. “No, Spike. It turns out Pinkie Pie had a crush on her... way longer than me, it seems. Now they're dating.” Spike’s eyes widened. “Pinkie Pie... and Rainbow Dash?” A pause fell over the library, and Twilight wondered if she should go lie down, or maybe do some research. “Isn't it a little soon for Rainbow to be dating? I mean, you two were just-” “No, Spike. It’s perfect. Now I don't have to worry about juggling my responsibilities with a relationship, and Pinkie Pie gets to be with Rainbow Dash. Everypony wins.” “But Twi-” “I'm gonna go lie down, Spike. If somepony needs a book, help them out, will you?” the unicorn interrupted, walking to her bedroom. She didn't look back as the bedroom door closed behind her. For a moment, she stared at the desk, pondering what lesson she could make of the situation. Nothing to write about, really... Twilight hopped on her bed and closed her eyes.