Twilight peered into an open book. Numerous candles flickered nearby. Their combined luminescence provided more than ample reading light. She explored the twists and curves of every letter, savoring each word like a fine morsel.
A mug sat nearby, half-full of coffee. Hot, but no longer steaming. Twilight spent many a night this way; not only disobeying the doctor’s orders but outright defying them.
Rainbow Dash awoke. She saw the light coming from downstairs, and glowered. Groggy and half-asleep, she went downstairs and marched right up to Twilight.
“What are you doing? You should have been in bed hours ago.”
“I’ll come to bed when I finish this book. It’s a really good one!”
“No, you’re going to bookmark the page you’re on and come to bed. The book will be there when you wake up.”
“And the bed will be there when I finish reading.”
“You aren’t supposed to stay up so late! And is that coffee you’re drinking? You know that’s bad for you!”
“I’m not a little filly anymore, Dashie. I can make my own decisions.”
“I’m putting my hoof down. No more coffee, no more late nights. Now, come to bed.”
“Just because I’m wearing your bracelet doesn’t mean you own me.”
“Twilight, I’m serious!”
“Don’t raise your voice to me, Rainbow.”
“Upstairs. Let’s go.”
Twilight groaned. “You go upstairs. I’m sleeping down here tonight. I can’t stand it when you get like this.”
Rainbow Dash sniffled. “I’m sorry.”
Twilight turned around and saw Rainbow Crying. “Whoa. What’s this?”
“I didn’t mean to get bossy. It’s just that I’m scared. I don’t know how much longer we have, and it makes me crazy to see you shorten that time.
“I’m scared too, Dashie. I look at every day like it may be my last. I want to read as much as I can before the end.”
“But if you come to bed at a sensible time, you’ll live longer.”
“I know that. I just worry that when I go to sleep, I might not wake up. That’s why I have a hard time putting a book down.”
“Every time I wake up and you’re not there, I’m terrified. I worry you’ll never be there again. I think ‘this is the night I find her slumped over her desk, dead.’ Sometimes, I feel like those books are more important to you than I am.”
“Dashie, you know that’s not true. Books are finite. There are only so many of them in the library, and I want to read them all before I go. But I know you’ll always love me.”
Twilight stepped forward and embraced Rainbow Dash. Rainbow wrapped her forelegs and her wings around Twilight for a particularly close hug.
“You’re everything to me, Twilight. My whole world. I’d be lost without you.”
“I need you more than anything in my life, Dashie. Even more than reading. I’ll come to bed as soon as I finish this chapter, I promise. This is my last late night.”
Rainbow kissed Twilight on the lips, then released her. “I’ll wait up for you.”
“I’ll be there. I promise.”
Twilight went back to her book, and found herself reading quickly. The discussion changed something in her, and she suddenly felt more eager to savor a night of cuddling than a good book. After all, she had hundreds of books, but only one spouse.