Twilight’s friends were worried about her. While the Princess of friendship still took care of her regular duties, her free time was spent obsessing over the mysterious figure who had saved them from Starlight’s brainwashing. She had watched as he transformed into an animal and flew off, and while her rational mind told her that magic had to be involved with his shapeshifting abilities, her preliminary tests on what had most assuredly been him as both the fox and the wolf, proved that not an ounce of magic was within him.
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were the most concerned about her. They’re run in with Angelus proved to be an interesting matter. The dragoness had revealed much to them, perhaps too much. Not only did they now have the name of their savior, but they knew he walked among the dragons. A feat that proved nearly fatal for others.
Matters were not helped any as the news of Starlights escape had quickly spread, now ponies were coming forth claiming to have seen the mare however it all proved to be false reports, half the ponies accused of being Starlight looked nothing like her, and one was a Stallion. Between Twilight’s efforts to find and imprison Starlight, and trying to find out exactly what made Cyril tick with the limited Research materials she had, the mare was running herself ragged.
Rainbow Dash had decided not to come forward to tell Twilight what she knew about Cyril. Both her and Pinkie had agreed that it would be best to leave Twilight out of the loop, since she was close to mad scientist levels. Already her mane was in a constant state of frazzl, and the bags under her eyes told the story of how late she would stay up. Being good friends, they thought it best to let her wear herself out and finally crash.
Their thinking proved flawed as Twilight had only increased in her desperation to learn more. It was now, that Rainbow and Pinkie walked to the castle that they came up with a plan to force the mare to rest. Stopping the tallest spire just over the hill Rainbow Dash zoomed over to the door unsurprised to find Pinkie already knocking at the door.
Rainbow Dash landed in front of the door, waiting for the door to open. She didn’t have to wait long as the door quickly swung in on it’s hinges. A ragged and looking and sleep deprived...Spike? Rainbow Dash sighed as Pinkie Pie gasped. It was much worse than they had initially thought. Normally when Twilight got worked up, Spike was known to lose a few hours of sleep, but this? The young dragon looked like he was the dead standing.
His eyes drooped, bags as big as any adult’s under his eyes, his eyes burned from the sudden light and a claw went up to block the sun out. His spines drooped over the side of his head, and he had a grimace of pain on his face. Looking up at the two mares, he groaned.
“What!” he snapped at the two of them, his lack of sleep obviously making him ornery.
Pinkie pie only shook her head, her mane paling a bit as some of the curls uncurled themselves giving her a semi-straight mane. “We’re looking for Twilight Spike,” Pinkie Pie mumbled out depressed.
Sighing the Drake lifted a claw to his face and groaned out an apology. “She’s...Just check the study,” he said as he stepped aside to let them walk inside.
Rainbow gave the drake a concerned look, watching as he closed the door. Quickly turning to face the stairs she didn’t notice as he passed out and landed on the crystal floor, before curling up into a ball. Ascending the stairs, the two mares moved quickly and with barely restrained worry, towards Twilight’s study.
Throwing the doors opened, the two expected to find the room in a mess. They were not disappointed. Book were stacked high up to the ceiling, while others seemed to have fallen and lay in a scattered pile around the room, Papers with various notes were scattered and stuck to various surfaces. Ink had been spilled in several spots. Coffee and uneaten food stood stacked on a table, as flies buzzed around, the smell of stale sweat and air as well as the overpowering hint of rotting food lingered in the air, nearly making the two mares gag in disgust.
Finally against the wall was a large blackboard with various papers that neither Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie could make heads or tails. Various red string went from one end of the black board to another as it seemed to connect papers together. Standing in front of the board, having not turned around to greet her friends, was Twilight.
The princess was an even bigger mess than the rest of the room. Her mane and coat were so frazzled they they seemed to be falling out. Coffee and food stained the front of her coat, and she began to reek of the foul stench of stale air and unwashed mare. Her face however was the tip of the trainwreck. her eyes had deep bags that it looked like she’d gone three days without sleep, her eyes had begun to sink into her skull. Her breath reeked as she had neglected her oral hygiene.
“Twilight!” Both mares shouted in shock as they rushed towards their friend, concern clearly evident in their voices as they tried to drag the mare away from the blackboard.
Looking at her friends in confusion, Twilight pushed her mane aside to look between them. “Rainbow Dash? Pinkie Pie? What are you girls doing here?” She asked her voice giving away how tired she was.
Both mares shied back as from a distance Twilight looked terrible, but now that she was right in front of them, it was clear just how bad the situation was. Her eyes were bloodshot and they had developed a twitch that didn’t look too good. Food stuck to her teeth and her breath was horrendous, her coat was matted with a thick layer of dirt and sweat, her mane appeared to be falling out as several strands fell before their eyes.
Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up. “We’re worried about you Twilight,” She said her tone sounding angry yet also somehow caring.
“Yeah you’ve been stuck up here for a week and you don’t look to good,” Pinkie added, her voice taking on a nasally quality as a hoof moved to hold her nose.
Twilight shook her head, her friends were overreacting. She hadn’t been in the study that long, if she had to hazard a guess, she’d say it had only been a day maybe not even. “I appreciate your concern girls, but I’m fine,” she replied trying to sound cheery, but it just came out tired.
“No you’re not egghead,” Rainbow replied her tone flat and unamused. “You look like shit Twilight,”
Pinkie Pie gasped at Rainbow Dash’s bluntness. The prismatic mare had no tack. “Dashy!” she yelled, her voice ever cheery, but with a slight undertone of disapproval.
“Pinkie Pie look at her, her mane’s falling out, her breath reeks, and she looks like she just got done fighting a pack of timberwolves,” Rainbow replied nearly yelling.
“I’m right here you know…” Twilight tried to say her words slurring a bit as her legs started wobbling, threatening to give out.
Pinkie Pie looked back at Twilight and nodded. “Dashie may be blunt, but she’s right, Twilight. You don’t look to good. Come on we're going to help you get a shower and then we're going to make sure you get some sleep,” she said her tone stern before it returned to its usual cheer and a wide smile.
Twilight wanted to argue, wanted to tell her friends they were being silly, and that she was fine and could still work. She never got to say any of these things, for no sooner had she opened her mouth to speak did her body finally decide that it had had enough. Her legs buckled and she fell to the ground in a heap. Pinkie Pie was the first to her side, checking to make she she hadn’t hurt herself before lifting the mare to her back. Turning to Rainbow Dash, they two of them shared a look and headed for Twilight's room. The shower could wait until she had woken up, for now. She needed her sleep.
00000
Several hours had past since Twilight had fainted due to her lack of sleep. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had stayed after having set Twilight, and later spike into their beds for their much needed rest. The two mares had decided it was best to do some cleaning while the resident Princess was asleep. Scraping and washing the dishes was just one of the many things they had done to make the castle, or rather the single room in the castle, look more presentable, though they had agreed it was best to leave the notes and blackboard alone.
The prospect of an angry Twilight was not a fun idea to either of the mares, however they did ensure that when she awoke everything would be as it was, only cleaner. Pinkie Pie seemed to have an unnaturally uncanny ability to clean even the papers and blackboard without damaging or erasing any of the information held on either of the items, Rainbow Dash simply dismissed it as Pinkie Pie. In fact as the prismatic mare watched the impossible fluff of pink that was Pinkie Pie, she had to note, with just a hint of jealousy and awe, as the mare seemed to move exceptionally fast, despite the lack of wings.
It wasn’t until the next day that the two mares had come back to check up on their friend. Pushing the door open they walked inside. “Twilight?” Rainbow called as she walked up the stairs towards Twilight's room. Hopefully she had enough common sense to sleep in, she more than anyone desperately needed it. Heading first to her room Rainbow and Pinkie Pie found the bed empty, Spike’s bed was also empty. Sighing, both mares quickly headed for the study where they had found Twilight. Slamming the door open, they readied themselves to chew their friend out, only to stop as the looked at the room in awe. The papers that had lain scattered on the tables was neatly organized, Several large stacks sat nearly on the table. A quick look however showed a lack of the purple mare.
Turning to look at each other confused, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, tried to figure out what had happened and where Twilight could be. “Rainbow Dash? Pinkie Pie?” A voice suddenly called out confused from behind them.
Turning they spotted spike wearing a pink apron with a heart in the middle. “Hey Spike!” Pinkie Pie said waving at the young Drake. “You’re look much better, not as tired and certainly not as cranky as yesterday.” She added her smile spreading.
“Hey where’s Twilight?” Rainbow quickly asked, her missing presence was a little unnerving. The way she had acted over the past few days only increased Rainbow’s worry, when Twilight had her mind set on something, she could be lose her common sense and do things that might not be to good for her health. Staying up several days in a row without sleep, was a good example.
“In the kitchen eating breakfast, Where you guys the one who got her to get some sleep?”
“Yep! Well actually she fainted and we carried her to her bed, and you.” giggle snort. “It was actually kind of cute to watch you sleep, you were mumbling in your sleep about gems and Rarity and you mentioned something about an Ice cream hill. Is that a real place, because if it is you have to take me some time, because I love ice cream, then again so does everypony else, I mean what pony doesn’t like ice cream…”Pinkie Pie began to ramble, causing Spike to ignore her and turn to Rainbow Dash.
“Thanks guys, Twilight was starting to scare me, and I was losing a lot of sleep as well,” he said before he remembered something. “And...sorry for uh....yelling at you guys yesterday.” he smiled sheepishly, looking ashamed.
Rainbow Dash only smiled and ruffled his spines. “No need to apologize big guy, I can get pretty cranky when I’m tired to.” Spike smiled appreciatively at that before clearing his throat loud enough to break Pinkie out of her ramble.
“So I take it you came to check up on Twilight to make sure she doesn’t go overboard again?” They both nodded causing Spike to smile at that, before turning and waving them to follow him.
Leading them down the stairs and into a side hallway, all three came to rest in an incredibly large kitchen. Several burners rested on the top of the oven, a large fridge sat in the corner as cabinets lined the walls. In the center of the room is a countertop. Sitting at the countertop, looking slightly tired was Twilight. There were still bags under her eyes, and her mane was still a mess. It looked as if Twilight had only just recently woken up, and hadn’t yet taken a shower.
“Spike who was it?” Twilight started to say, before she looked up from her plate of pancakes. Spotting Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie she stopped. “Oh hello girls,”
“Hey Twilight, you’re looking better. You didn’t get up in the middle of the night and start working again did you?” Rainbow asked as she eyed her friend suspiciously.
She laughed as she shook her head. “No, I slept through the whole night.” Letting out a loud yawn she fixes her gaze on her two friends. “I take it you two put me in bed last night?”
“Yep! We came in looking for you because you were obsessed and when we found you, you were all ‘uhhh’ and we were like, ‘gasp’ and Spike was all, ‘ahhhh!’ and then you passed out,” looking at Pinkie Pie, Twilight had to blink a few times before she shook her head and smiled at her friends.
“Well I wanted to thank you for that. If you guys hadn’t come along when you did, I might still be working,” she said smiling.
“You’re welcome, so egghead, you’ve been working since we got back from Griffionstone that we didn’t get to tell you about it.” Rainbow Dash said instantly getting Twilight to perk up at that. “Before that though, you look like you could use a shower.” Rainbow added, getting Twilight to grimace as she finally smelled herself and nodded in agreement.
Getting up Twilight excused herself before heading for the bathroom. The kitchen remained quite for all but five seconds before Spike spoke up from behind them. “You guys want something to eat? I’ve got plenty of pancake batter left?”
At the thought of food, both mares nodded their heads, Pinkie more so than Rainbow. Smiling Spike quickly got to work on making more pancakes.
“So Spike did you get enough rest last night?” Pinkie asked as she took a seat near the table. The concern was clear on her face despite her large happy smile.
“Yeah I did, thanks by the way, if you hadn’t come along we’d still be up working tirelessly.” He said giving both mares an appreciative smile. “I honestly don’t know why Twilight’s so worried about that guy anyways, he saved you and the other girls right?” he asked getting Rainbow and Pinkie to look at him funny.
“What do you mean?” Pinkie Pie asked confused.
“Well they guy can turn into animals right, and he fooled you guys into thinking he was eaten. Twilight has it in her head that this guy, whoever he is, might be up to something bad,” Spike replies as he flips a pancake over. “or at least that’s what she was going on about near the end before she fainted.”
Before anyone could say anything, the kitchen door opened, revealing Twilight who looked relaxed, A towel was currently wrapped around her mane and the bags under her eyes were less prominent.and the stench of stale sweat and body odor was no longer present. A smile had worked it’s way onto her face, as she looked happier than she had before she left.
“That was a quick shower,” Spike said as he eyed Twilight suspiciously. “You sure you used soap?” he joked.
“Yes Spike,” She replied shooting him a playful glare. “Unlike you I don’t play in the water,” Laughing she turned to look at Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, just as Spike sat a plate full of pancakes in front of each mare. “So I take it you guys came to make sure Spike and me were alright?”
“Yeah and Spike just told us something that I think you need to explain,” Rainbow Dash spoke first, her tone was somewhat angry, and confused. “How can you think Cyril might be up to something bad? He saved all of us and he saved that town!”
“Yeah Twilight, I mean he may have be kind of strange, and sure he hangs out with a dragon but you can be strange sometimes to and you’ve got Spike.” Pinkie Pie added just getting a strange look from both Twilight and Spike.
“Um...girls, who’s Cyril?” Twilight asked, catching both mares off guard. Pinkie Pie was the first to recover however.
“The green guy who can change into animals.” She said like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Right, and you just decided to give him a name?” Twilight asked still confused.
“Nope his dragon friend told us his name.”
“His dragon friend, and when did you meet this Dragon?”
“On our way to Gryphonstone.” Pinkie Pie smiled brightly.
Twilight’s eye began to twitch as she stared at the pink mare who seemed clueless to Twilight's minor episode. “Tell me everything that happened on your trip to Gryphonstone.” She demanded as a quill and piece of paper appeared.