Twilight groaned as she woke up. She had a bit of a headache and her neck felt stiff as a board. Her hooves wrapped around her marefriend, Twilight tugged her closer to her, then planted a small kiss on the back of her head. But, instead of finding a messy mane, Twilight found something even softer. She cracked open an eye and found, not Rainbow in her grasp, but one of the many pillows they had on their bed.
It took only a few moments for last night’s events to come rushing back to her. With Rainbow watching over Scootaloo in the hospital, Celestia’s and Luna’s guards patrolling the streets of Ponyville, and with Scootaloo’s old parents still on the run, Twilight felt that everything was much too overwhelming. Silently wishing that she actually had woken up with Rainbow softly nestled in her grasp, Twilight set the pillow aside and rolled over, idly staring out of the window with bleary eyes.
The sun was already high in the sky, its light barely penetrating through the thick cloud cover. The wind howled around Rainbow’s cloudhouse, though it wasn’t nearly strong enough to break the bonds that tied her house to the library. Snow fell from the sky, covering everything in a nice, thick coat.
As Twilight sat up, she felt her head throb. She reached up with a hoof and rubbed the side of her head, right where Rainbow had kicked her. She whimpered as her hoof brushed against it, and it had formed into a nice little bump on the left side of her face, right above and to the side of her eye.
After rolling out of bed and making herself look presentable, Twilight trotted downstairs to Spike’s bedroom. She cracked open his door and stuck her head in far enough to see that he was still fast asleep. She watched him for a few more moments, then gently closed the door.
She went all the way down to the kitchen and pulled out a piece of spare parchment and a quill, then wrote, 'Spike, if you wake up before I get back, I’m at the hospital with Rainbow and Scootaloo.'
Twilight placed it the parchment at the bottom of the stairs, grabbed her favorite scarf, then left the library, taking care to not let the door slam shut. After nodding at the two bat ponies standing guard in front of the door, Twilight opened her wings and flew off in the direction of the hospital. The cold, wintery air bit at her muzzle as she flew along. She contemplated slowing down, but she didn’t want to waste any more time than necessary.
A part of her told her that she shouldn’t have left Rainbow standing alone in the dark last night. She bit her lip as she remembered the look of hurt on Rainbow’s face. Twilight sighed and closed her eyes for just a few moments, the image of Rainbow’s face burned into her memory. Twilight wanted to forgive Rainbow, but... her actions were way out of line. Throwing a tantrum in the hospital, damaging hospital property, making a scene in front of everypony... Twilight understood why Rainbow did all those things, but she definitely should not have jumped to conclusions, and she definitely did not have to kick her.
Twilight wondered how different things would be if she had stayed with Rainbow to talk things through.
She landed in front of the hospital and brushed what little snow had accumulated on her back. Stepping into the warm lobby, she felt a shiver run through her as the winter coldness left her coat. Twilight made her way up the stairs and walked up to the guards standing on either side of Scootaloo’s room.
With a wave of her hoof, they stepped aside for her, the one on the right opening the door for her. She whispered her thanks to him and walked inside, then closed the door behind her. Twilight looked up and stared in shock. Rainbow, still fast asleep, was laying next to Scootaloo, but that wasn’t the part that shocked her.
Scootaloo was only a couple of inches away from the edge of the bed.
Twilight’s eyes narrowed as she lit her horn. The memory and the pain of what Rainbow did to her last night still vivid in her mind, Twilight lifted Rainbow away from Scootaloo with her magic while she held Scootaloo in place. She let Rainbow fall onto the only other bed in the room as she gently moved Scootaloo back to the center of the bed.
Rainbow woke up a couple of inches before she landed on the other bed. “Oof!” she exclaimed. Most of the air was knocked from her lungs, and she struggled to pull in air. She had no idea what was going on, but there was one thing that she knew: someone had just thrown her away from Scootaloo. With that thought in mind, she knew she had to take action to protect her daughter.
After pulling in as much air as she could, Rainbow opened her eyes and tried to sit up, only to find Twilight stalking towards her. She paused as her eyebrows furrowed. Twilight did that? Why would sh—
“Are you out of your freaking mind?” Twilight hissed. She pushed Rainbow back down onto the bed so she could look down upon her. “You’re sooo lucky I got here when I did. Scootaloo was an inch or two from falling off of the bed, and all it would have taken was for you to kick her, or heck, even shift in your sleep to hurt her even worse than she already is!” Part of her begged, no, screamed at her not to say what she had on her mind next, but she was already on a roll. “I knew I should have stayed here last night to make sure something like that didn’t happen.”
Rainbow looked up at Twilight in shock. She tried to sit up, but a glare from Twilight told her that wasn’t a good idea. “What, are you saying you don’t trust me with her?” Rainbow stared at Twilight incredulously, waiting for her to respond. She never did. Twilight didn’t have to say anything, for the look on her face told her everything she needed to know. “Listen, Twilight, I—”
“No, Rainbow, you listen!” Twilight took a moment to gather her thoughts. “Your lack of responsibility could have hurt Scootaloo even more than she is right now. Do you want to hurt her? Hm?”
Rainbow rolled over onto her stomach and sat up on the bed, and this time Twilight didn’t push her back down. Her heart raced, and she wanted nothing more than to take this situation down a few notches. She took a couple of deep breaths, then hopped down off of the bed and sat down next to Twilight. Her ears flicking back to lay flat on her head, she glanced over at Scootaloo and hung her head.
She glanced back up to look into Twilight’s eyes, rubbing her foreleg nervously. “I... I didn’t think about that...”
“Of course you didn’t.”
Rainbow winced at that. “All I wanted was to make her happy, to make her feel safe. I realized that the last thing she saw before blacking out was her father beating her, and... she probably thought she was going to die.” A sole tear formed in the corner of her eye as she looked back at Scootaloo. “And when she woke up, I wanted to be the first thing she saw, just so that she would know from the very first moment that she was safe... safe with me. The only way I knew I could do that was if I held her.”
Rainbow brushed a few stray hairs out of her face, then flicked her mane around the other side of her neck. “She woke up last night, Twilight. She was absolutely terrified, and she had no idea where she was until she saw me. And when she saw me, she knew that she was going to be alright. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry for upsetting you like that, but... I’m not sorry for what I did. I didn’t want Scootaloo to be scared, and me being right there for her... I’m sure it meant the world and more to her, and even if I could, I wouldn’t change what I did.”
Twilight pursed her lips, then relaxed. “I... I see.” Her ears flicked back just like Rainbow’s. “I’m sorry for snapping at you like that. I... I should have heard you out before I jumped to conclusions like that.”
“Yeah, you should have.” Rainbow stood up and roughly pushed Twilight aside with her shoulder, eliciting a small gasp of shock from the alicorn. She walked up to Scootaloo’s bed and brushed her mane out of her face, then laid the lightest of kisses on her forehead.
Twilight opened her mouth to put Rainbow in her place, but as the words danced on the tip of her tongue, simply begging to be released, she relented. Now was not the time nor was it the place for starting an argument. She stepped up to Rainbow and placed a hoof on her shoulder. Much to her disbelief, Rainbow shrugged it off without looking at her.
Twilight bit her lip and sighed. I don’t want it all to end... not like this... “Rainbow, I’m... I’m concerned about you, about... about us.”
“Twilight, just... just stop, okay?” Rainbow ran a hoof over her muzzle and groaned. “I have too much on my plate right now.”
Twilight felt her stomach twist into knots. “I’m sorry, Dashie,” she murmured, hoping her affectionate nickname for her marefriend would somehow make her open up.
Rainbow stayed silent.
Twilight let her head droop. She blinked back the tears that formed in the corners of her eyes as she took a step back. “C-can we talk? Pl-please?” I need you to comfort me, to tell me that everything’s going to be okay...
Rainbow turned around when she heard Twilight’s voice change. Her expression softened when she saw Twilight on the verge of tears. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then moved to sit in front of Twilight. Her marefriend simply sat there, staring into her eyes as she waited for her to say something, anything. Rainbow bit her lip and rubbed the back of her head, then hesitantly leaned in for a nuzzle. As her cheek met Twilight’s, she felt Twilight tense up, then relax. She nuzzled her gently for a couple of seconds, then as she started to pull back, Twilight wrapped her forelegs around her and pulled her into a tight hug.
She felt Twilight sob into her shoulder more than she heard her. “Hey... it’s alright, Twi...” She wrapped her forelegs around the back of Twilight’s neck and rubbed the back of her head, then wrapped her wings around her.
“I... I d-don’t want you t-to leave me!” Twilight choked out. She buried her face into Rainbow’s shoulder, taking care not to poke her with her horn. “I can’t do th-this a-alone...” She felt Rainbow gently push her back. She thought that she was finally fed up with her, but instead of seeing a look of scorn on Rainbow’s face, she saw nothing but a loving and comforting smile.
Rainbow wiped Twilight’s tears from her eyes with a feather, then kissed her right on the lips. “Did you really think I was going to break up with you? After all we’ve done?” she asked softly, a hint of worry in her tone. Twilight nodded. “Come on now, stop crying...” She rubbed Twilight’s shoulder, then grabbed her hoof. Holding onto it tightly, she looked Twilight dead in the eyes. “I’m not breaking up with you, Twilight. I...” She bit her lip as she blushed madly, then glanced away.
“You what?”
Rainbow lowered her voice until it was nothing more than a whisper. “I... I like you too much to let something like this come between us.” She laughed nervously, then cleared her throat. “I know that there’s a lot for us to talk about, and I know we have some issues, but... we can work them out.”
Twilight smiled and took her hoof back. She nuzzled Rainbow’s cheek, then kissed the side of her neck. “Thank you...” she whispered as she laid her head on Rainbow’s shoulder. “That’s all I wanted to hear from you...” She felt Rainbow rub her back with a hoof.
“Yeah... how’s your head feel? I’m still super sorry about kicking you.”
“It’s... alright. It hurts a little bit, but only when I touch it.” Twilight pulled back and looked at Scootaloo. The poor little filly was still fast asleep. “And you’re right, we do have some... issues to work through, and I... I just want, you know... us to be alright.”
“We are, Twi... Now, come on, I want us both to be there when Scootaloo wakes up. I bet she’d love that...” She moved to stand next to Twilight, then laid a wing over her back. The two of them walked the short distance back to the bed and sat side by side.
A few minutes passed in silence before Twilight spoke up. “I... I missed you last night.” She laid her head against Rainbow’s and laid a wing over her back, tugging her as close as she could.
“Same here, Twi... same here.”