In the Hour of Twilight

by Blue Dragon

Fabled Comforts

“WHAT THE HAY IS GOING ON HERE?!" Rainbow Dash shoved herself into Twilight’s face. The unicorn winced visibly.

“Angel got hurt, and we had to take him to the hospital…Only Fluttershy was allowed to go in.” She avoided the athlete’s gaze. There weren’t any other ponies in the waiting room.

“I was asleep on a cloud, heard you both gallop by, and I saw Fluttershy crying her heart out! You haveto tell me what happened!!!” Rainbow Dash’s eyes flared. Hadn’t she just explained a moment ago what had occurred?

“I just told you—“”I heard that, but I meant what happened to the bunny?” RD wasn’t backing down, even though Twilight was against the wall. She understood the pegasus’s concern over Fluttershy, but acting this aggressive was completely uncalled for.

“I’m not sure. We walked into her house and Angel was lying on the floor, incapacitated. I think a creature in the Everfree Forest got to him, or even… He got to them.”

Before Rainbow Dash could ask what that word meant, Fluttershy came out into the waiting room. She looked like a complete wreck, and was still crying.

“Fluttershy!” The cyan pegasus immediately flew to her longtime friend. Twilight came over as well; ready to comfort her as best she could.

“R-…Rainbow…!” Fluttershy cried into the blue pony’s chest, who, strangely, embraced her with full vigor. Twilight would have imagined RD trying to get the other pony off of her, but still saying comforting words.

The unicorn wasn’t sure what she should do. She felt foalish when Fluttershy embraced Rainbow Dash. Although she had to admit, she hadn’t been very good in consoling the poor mare earlier. If Twilight were being as honest as Applejack, she’d have to admit that she even felt…jealous.

But such a thing was beyond selfish! And in a situation like this? Twilight had read that you shouldn't show your special somepony that you're jealous. Apparently you came off as too clingy, or possessive.

“…I’m sorry, R-Rainbow, for burdening you like this…” She continued to cry, and Twilight’s heart clenched. They had been friends for years, so it was only natural to feel pain for the other. But Fluttershy had known Rainbow Dash since they were fillies.

“It’s okay, the rabbit’s not dead, right?” Numbly, the unicorn sat on her haunches, letting the heartwarming scene unfold.

“Right…” She sniffled again, and stepped away from Rainbow. “I-I’m okay now.”

“Are you sure?” The cyan pegasus eyed the other with concern. Loyal no matter what. Twilight envied that aspect of Rainbow Dash.

“Yes… You should go to sleep…You look tired, Rainbow.” Fluttershy’s eyes were still watery.

“No way!” The blue pegasus flapped her wings furiously at the thought, but the bags under her eyes were obvious. Not to mention the lack of speed and power her wings usually gave.

“I can stay,” Twilight entered the conversation for the first time, “I’ve been up countless nights studying, and I’m not even tired. You don’t have to worry.”

Rainbow looked tempted, but her loyalty just wouldn’t cave in. “That would be wrong…”

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow…o-okay?” Fluttershy hid her face behind her mane. Twilight had a feeling that she had started crying again, and was trying to cover her face so as to not worry RD.

She still looked unconvinced. “You’d better come first thing! I don’t care how early it is. Well, scratch that, just not too early without a good reason. Okay? I’ll just be in that same cloud. And you’d better not make her cry more, egghead.” Rainbow pointed a hoof threateningly at Twilight.

The unicorn nodded, and almost hesitantly, the cyan mare flew out the door. There was a moment of silence in which Twilight used a hoof to move Fluttershy’s mane out of her face. Tears were coming out. Had they even stopped before?

“Oh, Twilight…!” Within a second, Twilight was in a tight embrace. Fluttershy was crying openly into her coat, similar to RD.

“I think it’s m-my fault! A-Angel…h-he…” She stumbled and stuttered over her words, and some were impossible to make out. “…All the a-animals were hurt, and I still went out…I’m so…dumb!” She burst out into more sobs and held the unicorn even closer.

“That’s not true. I’m almost certain Angel went into the Everfree against his better judgment, which isn’t your fault. He’s going to survive, so you don’t need to be so upset. Really, Fluttershy. You’re okay…I’m okay…Angel’s okay.”

That seemed to calm her down immensely. “I’m so sorry…” She sniffled, the tears stopping once again. Fluttershy had yet to relinquish her hold on Twilight, however.

“What for? There’s no reason to be apologetic. I’m here for you.” Twilight spotted some blankets in the corner of the waiting room, and levitated them over. It’s not like they’d be bothering anypony, anyway.

She draped the covers around both of them. “It’s just…I…no…” Fluttershy seemed troubled over what to say. Twilight smiled encouragingly.

“…Thank you for being here…I must be a terrible marefriend…” Twilight nuzzled Fluttershy affectionately.

“Show a little kindness to yourself…Um …” Twilight hesitated, “You must be a magician, because every time I look at you, the whole room disappears.” She winked. It was really, really, weird, but, once again, a book had told her the other party would enjoy it.

Fluttershy blushed immediately. “Twilight…” There was a ghost of a smile on her face.

“Why did the chicken cross the road?” The unicorn spoke. This, however, was one she was making up. When Twilight was a little filly, Shining Armor always started his jokes this way.

“Why?” The yellow mare’s eyes sparkled in slight amusement.

“Because…you were on the other side.” Okay, she admitted the corniness, but it was the only thing she could come up with. The pegasus was an animal caretaker, after all.

Fluttershy actually giggled a little. She still looked terribly sad, though. Twilight nuzzled the other mare comfortingly. Her eyes wandered over to the same place she had found the covers, and noticed a bookshelf.

“Maybe you need to get some sleep, too, Fluttershy. You look even more tired than Rainbow Dash.” The yellow pony’s crying had definitely made her look exhausted. Her mane was a little frazzled; Twilight could imagine hers being the same, if not worse.

“I don’t think I could…I mean, um, what if Angel wakes up?” Fluttershy frowned. Twilight must have done something right, since the other mare wasn’t crying at the mention of the bunny’s name.

“I’ll stay awake; I promise. I’ll even read you a story.” With her magic, Twilight grabbed a book from the shelf and laid it in front of them. Equestria’s Fables for Young Foals stared up at her. Perfect—what they needed right now was a lighthearted story.

Fluttershy must have trusted her not to drift off, as she didn’t refuse. Twilight lay down on the floor to get comfortable and the yellow mare followed suit. The unicorn flipped to a random story and began to read.

“The Manticore and the Mouse… A Manticore was awakened by a mouse running over his face,” Twilight spoke quietly so Fluttershy could fall asleep easier. The yellow mare snuggled into the other pony’s side, listening attentively.

“Rising up angrily, the Manticore caught the mouse and was about to kill him, when the mouse begged, ‘if you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay your kindness!’

“The Manticore laughed at the idea of the mouse being able to repay a favor but still let him go.

“Later, the Manticore was caught by a pack of diamond dogs, who bound him with strong ropes to the ground. The mouse, recognizing the Manticore's roar, came and gnawed the rope with his teeth and set him free, exclaiming, ‘You ridiculed the idea of my ever being able to help you; now you know that it is possible for even a tiny mouse to do something for a Manticore.’"

Fluttershy’s eyes were starting to droop. “The moral of the story was that ‘an act of kindness is never wasted.’”

The unicorn chuckled lightly before continuing on to the next story. “The Tortoise and the Hare…” Everypony knew that one.

Twilight read softly, and in the middle of the story, Fluttershy had fallen asleep. The yellow pony was leaning heavily on the unicorn, silent as ever.

Twilight wondered if she should move Fluttershy, as they seemed to have picked the middle of the room to rest. She decided against it, however, as it was surely the early hours of the morning, and nopony would come in anyway. She didn’t want to wake up Fluttershy just after she got to sleep, either.

The unicorn decided to continue reading fables. Instead of doing it aloud, however, she settled on interpreting the words in her head.

The doctors had left long ago—perhaps right after the story of The Tortoise and the Hare. Twilight and Fluttershy were only allowed to stay because they were affiliated with the Princess and deemed trustworthy. Angel was in a completely stable state, but as a just-in-case measure, Nurse Redheart was checking up on him every so often. The white pony was in her office the whole time otherwise.

Twilight yawned. The warmth from the blankets and Fluttershy was starting to make her drowsy. She glanced at the clock, and then the window. Celestia’s sun hadn’t even come up yet.

Why was she so tired? Twilight had stayed up an entire week to study for her magic exam in Canterlot, so why was she this sleepy for one measly night?

It was probably all that had happened in such a short period of time. First, Twilight did a lot of labor when helping the animals, Fluttershy confessed, they had dinner together, kissed a couple of times, Angel got hurt, Fluttershy was crying, and then now Twilight had to stay up late, all in one day. It seemed like a lot in hindsight, but it hadn’t felt overwhelming throughout.

Twilight settled on watching the mare sleep. If it was possible, she was even more beautiful this way. Fluttershy’s warmth felt comforting against Twilight’s own skin; her steady breathing slowed the unicorn’s heart dramatically.

---

The sun was finally coming up; probably seven thirty. Twilight hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, just as she’d promised. Nurse Redheart had let her know that Angel Bunny was awake, and left to do another check-up.

The unicorn pressed her muzzle behind Fluttershy’s ear. “Fluttershy…wake up…” The yellow mare stirred slightly, but hadn’t roused completely. Twilight started to play with Fluttershy’s ear, and after a few minutes, Fluttershy’s eyes (and wings) shot open.

“T-Twilight?” She was blushing deeply.

“Good morning!” Twilight smiled, ignoring her own fatigue. Fluttershy seemed content with cuddling, until she remembered where she was.

“Is Angel okay?” Her eyes shifted uneasily to the door.

“Oh, right! Angel just woke up a few minutes ago.” Twilight levitated the covers and books back to where they belonged before standing up. She stretched, immediately feeling the relief.

The two ponies walked to where Angel was being kept. Nurse Redheart was trying to feed him carrots, but he was throwing them back at her. The rabbit had a cast on his foot, but other than that, he appeared okay.

“Angel!” Fluttershy immediately flew to the bunny’s side. “Are you alright?”

Angel Bunny glared before chucking a carrot at her. She didn’t seem to care about that, however.

“He is okay. If he’d only eat, that is.” Nurse Redheart spoke, looking exasperated. Not just anyone could take care of that animal. In fact, Twilight thought Fluttershy was the only pony in all of Equestria that could be in the same room with Angel and not be entirely annoyed.

“Oh, please, Angel! Won’t you eat just one carrot?” Fluttershy pleaded fruitlessly. The rabbit just threw another carrot at her.

Twilight was beyond irritated at this point. Using magic, she stopped the carrot before it hit Fluttershy and smiled wickedly. If the pegasus couldn’t get Angel to submit, then Twilight would use force. It was quite simple, really; she had done it to Philamena before.

Angel started sweating visibly, but he was now glaring at the unicorn. Before he had a chance, Twilight practically shoved the food into his mouth, and he was compelled to swallow. They glowered at each other—and only one thing was certain. Twilight had made a powerful enemy.

“Um, when can he come home? I-I’m sure I can nurse him back to health…Last night was—um, I just panicked…” Fluttershy spoke timidly to the professional.

“I suppose he could leave now. He needs to stay off that foot, and to rest. He should be okay within two weeks. And if not, come see me.” Nurse Redheart explained with ease, “Oh, and take this.” The nurse gave her a mini-wheelchair and crutches. Fluttershy let out the breath she had been holding.

“Oh, thank you! I was afraid he’d have to stay here for a long time.” She pulled the covers off of the rabbit, and was putting him onto the wheelchair. He and Twilight were still in a glare contest.

Within the next few minutes, they were walking out of the hospital in a cheery mood. “Should we wake Rainbow up? She did want to know…” Twilight looked up uncertainly at the cloud that RD had fallen asleep on.

“I think we should let her sleep. If, um, you think so.” Fluttershy was pushing Angel in his wheelchair.

“Yeah. Maybe we can…” Twilight yawned, “visit her later today.” Fluttershy glanced at the unicorn with concern, but didn’t say anything.

It was still rather early, and not many ponies were out. Even the ones that were didn’t notice Twilight or Fluttershy trotting to the latter’s cottage. The walk was a lot shorter than the unicorn would have guessed, and they could already see the door.

“Hey guys!” Spike waved with a smile. He had what looked suspiciously like books in his arms, but the lavender mare was too tired to care. Twilight had forgotten—in the rush to get Angel to the hospital, she had hastily left a note to the dragon stating the situation and telling him to take care of the hurt animals. Apparently he hadn’t gone straight to sleep when she was walking Fluttershy home.

Fluttershy smiled thankfully, and they all went inside. Spike had done a good job. All the animals were sleeping peacefully; unaware that something had gone wrong.

Both Fluttershy and Spike went upstairs to put Angel to bed, but Twilight stayed behind. The unicorn yawned again, and trudged to the couch. She plopped onto it, and closed her eyes.

“I’m just…resting for a little bit…”

---

“Angel! Please, just go to sleep…” Fluttershy pleaded. The bunny crossed his arms and defiantly shook his head. She loved the rabbit to death, but he needed to listen to reason.

“Let’s try this…” Spike whispered to the pegasus, but she didn’t get a chance to ask what he was talking about. “Oh, I hope Angel doesn’t take this carrot that I really wanted!”

The bunny glanced at what Spike was holding, and in a moment’s weakness, grabbed it. With a triumphant smirk, he ate it. He was completely knocked out a few minutes later.

Fluttershy started panicking. What had just happened? “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. There was just a pill that’d make him go to sleep in that carrot.”

She calmed down and thanked the purple dragon for his help. She was really glad that all the animals were still okay, including Angel.

They walked back downstairs—Spike to fetch the tea he had apparently made earlier, and Fluttershy to see her marefriend. She was so very happy that she could call Twilight hers. The pegasus wasn’t sure exactly how her special somepony felt about her, but she hoped it was romantic. She really didn’t want to think that Twilight was just in the relationship so she wouldn’t hurt her feelings.

Fluttershy blinked—where was Twilight? She listened intently, and let out a sigh of relief when she heard low breathing from the couch. She walked around, about to say something, until she saw an adorable sight.

Twilight was fast asleep, with the cutest little expression on her face. She was snoring lightly and her ear flicked occasionally.

Twilight had seemed tired earlier, and Fluttershy felt a little guilty for making her stay up all night. She found the fact really endearing, though.

Spike came back into the room with tea. “She fell asleep? That’s weird.”

Fluttershy jumped and looked away from Twilight, blushing. “She was um, up late…” The purple dragon poured him and Fluttershy a cup.

“Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you about, Fluttershy.” Spike spoke seriously. The pegasus was worried about the tone he used, but was listening nonetheless.

Spike pulled out a stack of books and placed them in front of her. Fluttershy glanced curiously at them and gave him a questioning look.

“I was planning on asking Twi about this, but she’ll probably be out for a while. So uh, how long have you two been together?”

Fluttershy nervously scuffed her hooves. “Since yesterday…”

“I was afraid of this…” Spike sighed and face-palmed. The pegasus wasn’t sure what he was talking about. Spike seemed to notice her confusion, and elaborated. “Twilight hasn’t ever had a romantic relationship before, so she doesn’t know what she’s doing. That’s where these come in,” he motioned to the books, “I found them under her bed. She was reading them before you came for dinner.”

Fluttershy read some of the titles, and immediately blushed.

“You see what I mean? You two have only just started going out, and she’s already reading stuff like this,” he waved a copy of How to Handle Steamy Situations With Your Marefriend, “Although I doubt she actually knew what she pulled out. Anyway, I’m just a little worried about how this is going to work out. I don’t want you or her to get hurt.”

Fluttershy hadn’t thought the baby dragon had known so much about something like this, and was a little impressed with how he handled it.

“I’m, um, happy that you told me about this…but we’re okay… I, um, kind of had a feeling that she would try to read about love in books…” She unconsciously cast a glance at Twilight, who was still fast asleep.

“I see. I’m still going to talk to Twilight though. She probably doesn’t know that love isn’t something you can learn from books.” Spike sipped from his tea, looking rather professional.

Fluttershy nodded in understanding, trying not to think of how embarrassed her marefriend would be.

“Are you sure that’s a, um…good idea?” She didn’t think that Spike should confront Twilight. It wasn’t necessary—and it’d definitely make her uncomfortable. Fluttershy had always known that the unicorn would use books. She had studied practically every aspect of the other mare—but she was more observant than most ponies, even though she rarely talked about the things she saw.

“What do you mean? She might do something weird because a book said to. Scratch that, I know she will.” Spike had the most determined expression Fluttershy had ever seen.

“Um, okay…” She wanted to object, but couldn’t. She was much too shy, and thus doubted herself.

Spike smiled triumphantly, but it changed into a hesitant expression. “Actually, there was something else I needed to ask advice for, Fluttershy…”

Comments

[Blue Dragon]

Well... What did you all think about this chapter?
I'd like to see if anyone can guess what Spike is asking advice for.
Oh! And I wasn't sure--but for Spike, would you say 'face-palm'? Or 'face-hoof' or even 'face-claw'?

[YayFlutters]

1564443

Hmm... It's good that all the animals are okay...
Wonder how everything'll turn out. Not sure what else to say .

Also reminds me I really need to work on my fic... How is it that this has gotten much less attention than mine? I feel this is much better than mine...

EDIT: Looking at the Tragedy tag....

[Blue Dragon]

1564666
Yup. I'm not planning on abusing the animals much more.

Hmm, you have a Twishy fic, don't you? I need to check it out... And thanks for the compliments! They made me pretty happy.

Heh, you'll just have to wait and see what that's doing there.

[MysteriousStranger]

Couldn't resist reading another chapter!
Spike... Twilight hid those books for a reason!

[Lily Gingertail]

Naughty Spike going snooping in Twilight's room, and for what? finding dirty (i assume) books.
Good that Angel is ok as mush as i hate the guy, i have come to love him to for his mannerisms. Witch is also the same reason that i hate him. Ohh i don't know how to feel twords Angel. I give up.
To the next chapter of this (so far) good story.