Goodnight, Knuckleheads
Starlight Glimmer yawned as she wandered through the dark halls of the castle. The sound of rain and thunder outside accompanied the soft echoes of her hoofsteps. She paused briefly to stretch out her hind legs, still half-asleep. As Starlight continued on toward the kitchen, her ears suddenly perked up at the sound of coughing from one of the castle chambers.
Lifting an eyebrow, she continued down the hall until she could see a soft golden light flooding out from the library chamber. “Hmm.”
Starlight trotted over to the cracked open door and peered inside, closing one eye.
Twilight Sparkle sat hunched over at her desk with a blanket draped around her shoulders. A single candle that sat at the edge of her desk flickered in the darkness of the library. Twilight’s light coughing was joined by fast scribbling and scratching against thin material. From her position, Starlight could see the tip of a quill waving back and forth in the air.
A low grunt emanated from Twilight’s throat when something snapped. Her bloodshot eyes rolled up as she looked back.
“S-Spiiike?”
After a few moments, three bright green scales appeared above the desk next to Twilight. “Yeah, Twilight?” Starlight took mental note of the thread of exhaustion and stuffiness in Spike’s voice.
“Do we…” Twilight’s eyes began to sting with water and she quickly rubbed her foreleg across them. “Do we have any more quills...or did we…” she sniffed. “Did we run out?”
Spike slowly scratched the back of his head and yawned. “Twilight, we just bought a whole bunch yesterday afternoon. Remember?”
Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, her mouth slightly hung open. Her head lowered until her chin was almost touching her chest. Spike watched her for a moment, his green eyes darting about awkwardly. “Uh...Tw-”
“Of course!” she exclaimed loudly, her head immediately snapping back up. “How could I...forget…” Her eyelids drooped.
Starlight had seen enough. Shaking her head, she pushed a hoof against the door, making a creaking sound.
Spike’s green eyes peered around Twilight’s desk. “Hey, Starlight! You’re up late,” he said, lifting his eyebrows.
“I could say the same thing about you two,” Starlight replied as she crossed over.
Twilight shook her head, blinking lazily. “Whoozit?” she mumbled.
Starlight moved in from behind her and touched her shoulder. “It’s me, Twilight.”
There was a pause. Then a smile. “Oh...hi, Starlight.” Twilight’s watery eyes turned up to meet hers. “M’sere something you needed?”
“I only got up to get a glass of water, but...Twilight, I think you need to take a break. An eight-hour break. You don’t look so good.”
Twilight coughed twice. “I will in a minute,” she said in a scratchy voice. “Just need to finish signing this bit of paper work for the upcoming Breezie charity and the Sea pony charity. Been working on these since I finished...scheduling the Princesses' meeting with...the Yaks in Yakkyakistan. Can't mess that one up."
“These things can wait for now,” Starlight said, her tone more stern. “Princess Celestia will understand. You need to get to bed!”
Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Starlight looked down to see Spike shaking his head. “It’s no use,” he said tiredly. “I tried getting her to sleep hours ago. But she just…” He yawned. “Kept getting back up….”
“Is this a normal thing?”
Spike gave a small but friendly smirk. “Happens more than you think.”
Starlight hummed in disapproval before she caught the redness that tinted Spike’s irises. “You need rest too, by the looks of it. You might be catching Twilight’s cold.”
Spike’s mouth opened in shock before he crossed his arms and lifted his chin. “Don’t be silly,” he gruffed. “Dragons can’t catch c--KAAAATCHOOO!!!”
Starlight yelped and dropped to the floor as a burst of green flame shot out above her head.
Twilight closed her eyes and snorted, muttering jumbled nonsense. The young dragon sniffed deeply, his tongue lolling out. Thick smoke streamed out of his nostrils. “Yuughh…”
Starlight glanced up from her spot on the floor and smirked. “Bless you.”
“...Danks.”
The unicorn rose to her hooves and stood back. “You might want to go get some tissues...better yet some medicine. I don’t want to catch whatever it is you two have!”
A smirk spread across Spike’s face. Without warning, he lunged toward Starlight, claws out. “YAAHHH!”
Starlight sprung back, holding out a hoof in defense. “Ew, don’t even think about it,” she said in disgust, though the corners of her mouth lifted. “Why don’t you go get you two some medicine while I take care of Twilight?”
Flashing a grin, Spike outstretched his arms. “You sure you don’t want a hug first?”
“Ugh, no! Get outta here!” Starlight gagged, using her aura to push the guffawing dragon away. After Spike left, Starlight peered at the parchment Twilight had been writing on and frowned.
Using her magic, she lifted it closer to her eye-level. A moment passed before her gaze shifted to the mare beside her. “Twilight, you spelled your name wrong.”
The young Princess gasped and threw Starlight an incredulous glare. “That’s preposterous! I never misspell my own name!”
Starlight turned the parchment over with an arched eyebrow. “Last time I checked, your name was Twilight Sparkle, not Twiflight Spookle.”
“What!?” Twilight snatched the parchment with her aura and scanned it before blushing bright red.
“This really needs to be proofread,” Starlight said, looking over several other letters and documents on Twilight’s desk. “Actually, most of these need to be proofread. A lot.”
Twilight’s eyebrows furrowed as she dramatically poked Starlight in the chest. “You’re proofread!” she declared in her disoriented state.
Starlight stepped back in attempt to put some distance between them. “If you won’t go to sleep, at least let me help you out,” she offered. Twilight rubbed at her throat, unsure.
“Well…”
“Of course,” Starlight said cheerfully, “I could always put you to sleep with a nifty spell I picked up on a while back.”
Twilight spluttered. “You can’t do that,” she frowned. “That’s against the law! And rude!”
“Hm. I guess I can chalk that up to the other laws I've broken, huh?"
“Oh, Starlight, don’t be so hard on yourself. You--”
“That was a joke, Twilight,” Starlight smiled awkwardly. “I, uh...made a joke.”
“...Oh. Heh heh. Good one…” Twilight erupted into a fit of coughs, sending a pang of worry through Starlight.
She briefly glanced over to the left and lit up her horn. Twilight squeaked in surprise as she felt herself being lifted up into the air. “Starlight, what…!”
Starlight trotted over and carefully placed Twilight on the couch by the fireplace. Twilight hummed in contentment as soon as her body came in contact with such softness. She curled her legs and nuzzled one of the throw pillows beneath her head before gasping out. ”No wait! I need to...sign the...the…” Twilight’s sentence trailed off when she felt a warm blanket being draped over her body. She attempted to throw Starlight an irritated glare, but it ended up being lackluster. “I know what you’re trying to do…”
Starlight said nothing as she trotted over to the empty fireplace and produced a spark with her horn. Almost immediately, the room was basking in the warm glow of the flames, making Twilight even sleepier. On wobbly forelegs, the Princess of Friendship tired to push herself up into a sitting position, but Starlight gently placed her hoof on Twilight’s back and pushed her back down. “Starlight, I have a royal dutyyy,” Twilight whined.
“Nopony said that you couldn’t have a little bit of help,” Starlight said.
The sound of thunder rumbled through the sky. "Everypony needs help sometimes."
Starlight shivered in her bed as the storm continued to rage on outside the castle. Her eyes trailed around the brand new room Twilight had given her, slightly daunted about its large size. Starlight rolled over on her side and exhaled shakily, the chill of the storm seeping under her blankets. The unicorn glanced up at the ceiling and shuddered some more, wrapping her hooves around her body.
Suddenly, there was a creak at the door. Starlight froze. She glanced up at the wall she was facing and saw two shadows. One was a pony, and the other a small Dragon.
Acting on reflex, she squeezed her eyes shut and slowed her breathing. The soft clopping of hooves against marble reached her ears.
There was a pause.
Before Starlight knew it, she felt another layer of warmth engulfing her shivering body. Starlight’s eyes would have widened if they weren’t so tightly closed. Another sound came from near Starlight’s bed, along with the pit pat of Spike’s feet.
A moment passed before the door creaked closed again. After waiting a few minutes, Starlight opened her eyes and sat up slightly. A bigger, thicker purple blanket had been laid on top of her own blanket. She lifted her head and glanced around the room until she spotted a plate of chocolate chip cookies with a tall glass of milk on top of her dresser. Lying back down, Starlight pulled up the blanket and closed her eyes with a soft smile on her face.
“Starlight?” Twilight asked with a concerned look. “Are you alright?”
Starlight blinked and shook her head. “Uh...nothing, Twilight. I was just...thinking.” She craned her neck and trotted toward the door. “I’ll, uh...go see what’s keeping Spike.”
Twilight nodded slowly, her eyelids growing heavy once more. “Hmmmkay….”
Starlight trotted down the hall, her head turning left and right. Lightning clapped outside. “Spike?” she called, lighting up her horn. “Spike where…” Her ears perked up at a small, distant sound coming from one of the bathrooms. Starlight veered right and searched until she was sure she found the right door before pushing against it. “Spike, did you find the medicine ye--”
Starlight stopped short when she saw Spike curled up below the bathroom sink, snoring away. His nose, much like Twilight’s, was tinted red. With a sigh and a smile, Starlight encased Spike in her aura. These two work themselves way too hard sometimes. “Come on, Spike. You too.”
With a still snoozing Spike in tow, Starlight trotted back to the library, where Twilight was sound asleep. Starlight could only grin in triumph. “Come sit by the nice warm fire, Spike,” Starlight said softly as she gently placed him next to Twilight on the couch.
“Hgh, No starting fires in the Treehouse,” Twilight snorted in her sleep. She hummed in slight confusion when she felt something being placed next to her. Her hooves reached out and felt the scales of her snoring assistant. “Mm, it’s you, Spike,” Twilight mumbled, pulling him closer to her. She yawned, nuzzling her face against Spike’s head. “...warm, enough, Spike?”
Spike only snored in response.
Starlight tucked the blanket over the both of them with a silent chuckle. What a silly pair.
Thinking carefully, she closed her eyes and conjured up a temporary healing spell to keep them through the night. Both Princess and dragon smiled in their sleep. Satisfied, Starlight trotted over to Twilight's desk and pulled out a new quill from the bottom drawer. As she set to work, Starlight glanced over at her friends and chuckled once more.
“Goodnight, knuckleheads.”