Warm Embraces

Rainbow Dash groaned loudly into her pillow.

She couldn't sleep.

Again.

And no mater how hard she tried, sleep eluded her and would simply refuse to come. This had become the norm for her - she'd take a shower, freshen up, get ready for bed and be completely tired, but as soon as he got into bed, her tiredness disappeared as quickly as it had come. At first, she was confused. Why would she suddenly stop feeling tired for no reason? And then, quite slowly, she'd feel... empty. That was the best word she could use to describe the feeling she had. It was like she was missing something - or somepony - and as a result, she couldn't sleepy properly. But the question still remained - why? Why had this feeling cropped up all of a sudden? And why did she feel this strange.. urge?

She had debated whether or not to talk to one of her friends about it. Perhaps Twilight would be an ideal pony to talk about it. She was reasonable and level headed and, she concluded, would most likely be able to tell her if what she was feeling was normal. She was also her best friend.

Twilight it was.

Rainbow Dash raised her hoof to the door, rapping gingerly on the door a few times. There were a few seconds of silence, and the mare began to ponder whether Twilight was asleep.

"Come in!" A voice came from inside

Rainbow found herself smiling, and she tenderly opened the door, greeting her friend.

"Hey, Twi." Rainbow smiled

Twilight returned both the smile and the greeting.

"Dash!" Twilight exclaimed "oh, it's so great to see you! I wasn't expecting you at this hour. Please, come in. Sit down."

The cyan mare happily obliged, laying down beside her friend and curiously peering over the other mare's shoulder in an attempt to see what she had been reading before she entered the room. She questioned her friend on the book, and Twilight giggled.

"Oh, this book?" Twilight asked, "Oh, gosh, I must have read it a hundred times, but it never gets any less interesting. It's based on some of Starswirl's research, but it gives a different view on some of his discoveries of the art of magic - or rather, the "magic" of "magic"."

Rainbow Dash giggled at her friend's response, poking her tongue out at her friend.

"God, you're such an egghead."

"That's why you love me." Twilight joked, giving her friend a quick and gentle nuzzle.

A serious air began to envelop the pair and there was a minute or two of silence before Rainbow spoke.

"Twi," Dash began, "can we talk?"

Twilight immediately closed her book, and turned to face her best friend.

"Of course. What's up?"

The cyan mare flushed a deep red. All of the courage she had previously mustered had evaporated into nothing and she melted into a stuttering, blushing, blue mess.

"I... well, do you ever, like... uh... you know when, like... you're... uh..."

Twilight unfurled her wing and wrapped it tenderly around her friend.

"Dash," she said, "take it slow. Take a moment if you need it. Start from the beginning."

Rainbow Dash relaxed almost immediately and closed her eyes, taking her friend's advice and pausing for a moment to gather her thoughts.

"Okay..." she began, "It started a few weeks ago, I guess. I was super tired and I took a shower and got ready for bed and stuff..."

She paused, and her friend gave her an encouraging smile and a nod to continue, to which she did.

"I got in bed, and after a few minutes I wasn't tired anymore. I felt kind of, like... empty, I guess? Like I needed, uh... like I needed someponytherewithme..."

Twilight tilted her head to the side, offering her friend a look of confusion.

"I didn't quite catch that, Rainbow..."

"It was like I needed somepony there with me, Twi! To-to c-cuddle with or something..."

Rainbow Dash shrank back and closed her eyes, flushing a deep crimson as she realised what she had said. God, it was so... uncool. So weird. So... not natural. She was Rainbow Dash. The Rainbow Dash. The go-lucky mare of action, the fastest pony around! The pony that was fearless and could take on absolutely anything! But, of course, that simply wasn't the case, was it? "The" Rainbow Dash was terrified of being judged, terrified of having her friends think she was a freak, and terrified of being alone.

"G-God... I'm such a freak." she murmured to herself.

Immediately afterwards, she felt a soft wing wrap around her and pull her close, followed by her friend nuzzling deeply and affectionately into her neck.

"You're right."

Rainbow Dash gasped.

"W-What?"

"You are a freak. You're my freak. That's why I love you, Rainbow. You're so unique. Every single aspect of you I absolutely adore. Apart from your ego." She whispered that last part jokingly, and gave her friend's ear a loving lick.

Rainbow Dash was at a loss for words. She loved her? Or did she mean it as a friend? Her emotions were so conflicted, and she struggled to get her thoughts together. She realised, though, that none of it mattered. All that mattered was that she was here, in this moment with her best friend. She gave in, resting her head on top of Twilight's as her eyes welled up with tears. Never had she felt so cared for by anypony apart from right now.

"Twi, I..." she started, trying to find the words to describe how she was feeling. But only one phrase described how she was feeling, "I love you..."

"I love you, too, you silly Pegasus~..."

The pair laid together, holding eachother in the other's warm embrace. Rainbow Dash nuzzled affectionately into her friend (and new lover's) neck, feeling her gentle and warm breaths on her. The two stayed in their respective positions for a few moments, before Twilight looked up at Rainbow. She leaned forward slowly, closing the gap between their lips. After a few moments, their lips met and they both closed their eyes, savouring the moment as fireworks exploded in their chests. They eventually had to part for air, though, and the two resumed their cuddling.

Rainbow Dash wrapped her hooves around the purple mare's neck, pulling her close and savouring her unique and intoxicating scent.

"Twi?"

"Hmm~?"

"I meant it, y'know... w-when I said I loved you..."

"So did I."

Author's Note:

Woot! Story done! this one took me about a day of on-and-off writing, but it's done now. Honestly, I think my pacing on this is a bit off, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.

As usual, I'm open to constructive criticism.

Hope you enjoyed! :3

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