> A Single Spark
>  by Star Grazer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Beginnings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


All things have a beginning, and many have an end.
However, some things are so great as to never come to a close.






Laughter filled the air near the cottage, disturbing the mildly large animal population of the surrounding area.  The sound had come from two ponies, sitting across from one another, sipping at a small brew of tea, the liquid still steaming from both the cups and from the teapot that was between the two, pushed slightly to the side so that they could talk to each other more easily.  The conversation between the two was casual, both ponies more or less simply trying to catch up with one another.

"I never really knew that butterflies could be such a bother.  You did manage to gather them all up, yes?"  The lavender mare was smiling at the other pony, this one of a soft yellow complexion.

"Of course, Twilight.  If I hadn't, the cottage would be much quieter."  Fluttershy took a sip of her tea with that, the cup delicately held between her hooves so that it wouldn't slip and break due to the fall, or crack due to the pressure being exerted on its sides.

"That's good.  I don't think Ponyville would have enjoyed having half of the butterflies missing from next year's migration."  That got a soft giggle out of the pegasus, who gave a nod in return.

"It's really quite wonderful that the butterflies stop by on their trips to rest.  Cloudsdale is too high up for them to visit, and on my trips there I've always missed the little creatures."  Fluttershy cast a glance in the general direction where Cloudsdale was last located, the semi-mobile city most likely having moved from the spot by now.

"Well, of course.  It's really much too cold for them up there.  I'm still surprised that those wings I made for Rarity lasted as long as they did without frosting over."  Twilight chuckled as a thought came to her head.  "It would have saved us all a lot of trouble, especially Dash."

"I'm sure Rainbow didn't mind it at all, Twilight.  She was always helping me when I got into trouble during Flight School, after all."  The mare leaned forward, grabbing the teapot in her mouth to refill her tea with as Twilight tilted her head slightly, a curious look coming to her eyes.

"You know, I don't think I've ever heard much about you or Dash's lives in Cloudsdale.  What was it like?"  Twilight's voice was raised slightly, helping to indicate her curiosity as to the subject.  She knew about Pinkie's past, or at least some of it, and Rarity's parents lived in town, as did most of Applejack's immediate family.  The two pegasi of the group, however, still had backgrounds that were, for the most part, unknown to her and, in Twilight's mind, at least, it was her duty as a good friend to find out more about it.

Fluttershy's ears, however, drooped, the bashful mare looking down with a nervous expression.  "Oh... I'm really sorry Twilight, but I wasn't in Cloudsdale for that long.  Once I fell to the ground as a filly and got my cutie mark, I never really went back.  Rainbow is the one you should ask.  I'm sorry..."

Twilight's eyes darkened briefly in disappointment, before she quickly shook her head and perked up.  "Oh, that's quite alright, Fluttershy.  I'll be sure to go ask Rainbow.  In fact, I may go ask her now."  She brightened,  finishing her tea in a gulp, and standing up from her seat.  "Thanks for the tea, Fluttershy.  I'll talk with you later, all right?"

Fluttershy simply gave a nod and smiled.  "It was no trouble at all, Twilight.  I hope Rainbow can tell you more than I could."  With that, Twilight spun around and trotted away, giving her friend a final glance and wave before truly heading away from the cottage.  Now, with her mind free from distractions, Twilight was able to think.

Now, where would I be if I was a reckless, egotistic, and somewhat lazy pegasus?  She looked around for a moment, before turning her head upwards and catching sight of a stray cloud, grinning as she did so.  A cloud!  It's either that or a tree.  Hopefully she isn't too hard to wake if she's asleep or something.  Twilight's pace picked up with that, her thoughts moving to work out the problem of how she would even get close enough to Dash if she had taken a nap on a cloud.

Her walking soon brought her to the outskirts of Ponyville, the houses just as sparse as the clouds that floated about, the day having been planned to only be slightly cloudy.  It made things all the easier for the purple mare, as she only had to scan the skies for a few moments before dropping her attention to the treeline around the area, repeating the process every so often to make sure she didn't miss anything.  Eventually, she spotted her quarry, as the flash of rainbow coloring that had appeared from over the edge of a rather small cloud indicated.

Twilight moved to the cloud, or rather under it, looking up at it and frowning.  Several options ran through her head on how to rouse the mare, as she was most likely sleeping, but the simplest one was the one she went with.  "Hey Rainbow Dash!  I want to talk to you!"  The rainbow colored tail appeared once more, and soon a somewhat tired looking cyan pegasus was looking down at Twilight.  The unicorn smiled in response.  Yelling. Almost always the perfect solution when it came to getting attention.

"What's up, Twi'?  I was just getting into the swing of that nap!"  Dash rubbed her eyes for a moment, gave a yawn, and unfolded her wings.  She floated up off of the cloud, inspected it for a moment, before shrugging as if coming to a decision and coming down to land on the ground next to her friend.

"Oh, nothing much, Dash.  I was chatting with Fluttershy earlier, and we got onto the topic of her time in Cloudsdale.  She couldn't tell me much, since she left as a filly, so she recommended that I ask you instead.  It works out, since I know pretty much nothing about your past either."  There was a pause as Dash looked at Twilight, waiting for her to continue.  Twilight stared back, before sighing.  "So, Dash, what was Cloudsdale like?"

"Oh!  Well, what'd Shy tell ya?"  She smirked, moving into the air as she spoke, watching the purple mare below her as she kept herself aloft.  As soon as the question was stated, Twilight's expression went flat.

"As I said just a few seconds ago, she told me to ask you."  She noted that Dash seemed a bit bored by the question, the pegasus giving the cloud above her a furtive glance, so Twilight spoke up in order to keep the mare's attention.  "We can walk while you tell me.  So long as you don't fall asleep or something."

Dash sighed, before smirking and waiting for Twilight to move forward, the pegasus soon following suit, moving at a pace which Twilight could easily match.  "Oh, fine.  Guess I should have expected the local egghead to do some research on the ponies here."

Twilight rolled her eyes, before responding.  "It isn't research, Dash.  I just want to know more about your past.  I've heard a lot about the others, but as for you and Fluttershy, I don't really have much other than how you two got your cutie marks."

Dash took a moment to remember her previous home, shrugging as she spoke up.  "Whatever.  Cloudsdale was... cool, I guess.  It's where I grew up, and the Wonderbolts performed there a bunch, since that's where a lot of pegasi were."  Dash grinned suddenly, a memory coming back to her.  "I remember the first ticket I managed to get for one of their shows.  Most awesome day of my life!"  Her eyes glimmered, betraying her feelings of what could only be described as adoration for the Wonderbolt's abilities.  "But aside from that, it wasn't much.  Stayed with my parents, moved out after a while, came here because I found out Shy lived here."

Twilight looked to Dash, frowning as she glanced ahead of her to make sure not to run into anypony.  "Oh, come on, there has to be more than that!  What about places to see, things to do?  You have to have had something other than the Wonderbolts!"

With that, Rainbow Dash shrugged once more.  "There were a few places I hung out at, I guess.  The old coliseum up there was pretty cool, even if it is pretty much vacant."  Twilight nodded, continuing to look at Dash as the pegasus dug deeper into her memories.  "There was some restaurant place too, where the pegasus in charge gave me and some of my old buds free food every once in a while.  Can't really think of much else."

That got a veritable sigh out of Twilight.  "You're an absolute wellspring of knowledge, Dash."  She continued to frown, her head facing downwards, until the gears in her mind began to spin, and an idea sprang to her head.  Immediately, the mare brightened, looking up to Dash with an inquisitive smile on her face.

"Dash?  When was the last time you visited Cloudsdale?"  Dash stopped, her mouth coming open to say something, before closing again.  She thought for a while, shaking her head soon afterwards.

"Dunno.  At least a year, I think.  Last time I really worried about the place was when Discord was here, and that was only because he got into my head."  Dash's brows furrowed, even after so long, the fact that Discord had tricked her into betraying her Element, and therefore her friends, still angered her.

"Hmm."  Twilight continued to grin, a plan already coming to mind before she nodded.  "It was good talking to you, Dash.  Thanks for the info!"  She stood there for a moment, before chuckling.  "We really should hang out more.  I hardly ever see you."

Dash gave a nod.  "Sure thing, egghead.  We should get together sometime.  Just not in the library or anything."  She made a face.  "Sure, reading's cool and all... but hanging there for more than Daring Doo?  No thanks."  Twilight laughed at the comment, turning away from her friend and waving a hoof.

"I'll see you later, Rainbow.  Have fun sleeping, or whatever it was you were doing before I woke you up!"  Dash seemed about to give a retort, before she simply snorted.

"See ya, egghead.  Have fun reading."  With that, she gave her friend a smirk before taking off into the sky, disappearing from Twilight's line of sight.  This didn't register to the purple mare, her brows already furrowed in thought as she made her way to the library.  After a few minutes of walking, she reached her destination, opening the door and entering.

She had plans to make.  She was going to learn about Dash's past in Cloudsdale, so what better way to do that than to take her there and stir up some memories?  Paper and quill quickly came to her side, and Twilight smiled, sitting down in front of a desk she had set up, humming to herself as she set to work.









Author's Notes


And here it is, the feature presentation of my profile!  Well, the first, anyways.  This'll be a long one, and it'll definitely be enjoyable to write!  As I'm sure you all have noticed, it's a TwiDash, but I've decided that, rather than focusing on the relationship where the feelings are generally already there, as in most TwiDash stories I've seen, I'm going to take a page from one of the stories that I absolutely love, and have most of the story take place when the feelings are being formed in the first place.

I've always enjoyed seeing two come closer together, the full transition from friendship to love present.  Especially in a TwiDash, since they seem to work so well together, both as friends and lovers.  Hopefully this story will give a good presentation of that.

For those of you wondering, the story I got the very first premise of this idea from is Synchronicity.  It is a wonderful fic, and I encourage those of you who enjoy TwiDash along with a slightly spooky atmosphere to read it, if you haven't already.

But for now, I certainly hope that those of you who stick with this story enjoy as I continue it!  As always, feedback is very much appreciated.
> Knowledge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


One of these things is knowledge.  Though we may forget what we know at points,
The important things will remain forever.






Two weeks had passed, and once more mare's laughter could be heard.  This time, however, it was not central to Fluttershy's cottage, nor was it limited to just two mares.  Instead, it was a gathering of six, all of whom were enjoying themselves within the confines of Sugar Cube Corner, which, at the behest of Pinkie Pie, had been closed in order to house the birthday party that had been planned for Rainbow Dash.

The laughter had begun when one of her various presents had been opened and one of those attending had made a remark, the cyan pegasus now looking rather confused at the object before her.  "What is this?"

"It's a leash, darling, in case Tank tries to get too far away from you on one of your times away from your house."  Said leash had obviously been designed by Rarity, the sapphire jewels embedded in it shining as Dash tilted it ever so slightly.

"That makes sense, I guess.  The guy's too slow to really get away, but it might be good if I'm not looking or something.  Thanks Rarity!"  Rainbow Dash set the leash down, looking up to grin at her friend.

Rarity waved a hoof negligently in return.  "It was of no bother, Dash.  Besides, I've had an abundance of sapphires for quite a while now, so it was a good way to put them in somepony else's hooves."  Rarity did still examine the object she had made for her friend, spending a moment to take it to herself and wipe at one of the sapphires that had managed to gather dust.

"Still, gotta thank you for it.  Twi, you get something for me too?"  Rainbow looked around a moment, slightly confused by the lack of another present for her to open.  Twilight simply giggled, before nodding.

"Of course I got you something, Dash.  It's just not a present I can really wrap.  I'll show you it once the party's over."  She looked over to Pinkie, a somewhat concerned look on her face.  She had a lot riding on the hope that the party would be ending early, in order for business to start back up.

Pinkie simply giggled.  "Well, I won't make it too super-duper long, but it's still a party!  Dashie's here for more than just presents, after all!"  Dash gave a nod, as Pinkie trotted off into the kitchen, returning soon with a somewhat oversized birthday cake for the pegasus.  "She came for the cake, too!  I made it extra-special, just for her!"  The pink mare laid the cake down on the table in front of the rest, pulling out a knife to cut the cake, as well as several plates, from seemingly nowhere.  As the others watched, she sliced off a hearty portion for Rainbow, moving the piece over to the eager birthday-mare's plate to put it down.  "Enjoy!"

Rainbow quite quickly dug into the cake, causing her friends to giggle at the display, before Pinkie moved to cut out pieces of cake for the rest of them.  After several more minutes of conversation and eating, the party relaxed, the now-full ponies content to chat mildly in their seats.

However, that would come to an end as the party came to a close, Pinkie waving the others out so that she could clean up for the opening of the store, the members of the group parting ways and giving goodbyes to one another.  All except for two, Twilight and Rainbow Dash, who remained outside.

"So, Twilight?  What's this gift you got for me?"  She was currently floating in the air, her smile wide as she waited on her friend to bring her yet more good news on her birthday.

"Nothing special, really.  I was thinking about what you told me about Cloudsdale a while back, so I thought that instead of getting you a gift now, why don't I do something else?"  Twilight began to trot to the library, waving a hoof to get Rainbow to follow her.  "I still think that there's more to your past than just hanging out at a few places, and so I came up with an idea for a gift."

"Well, you gonna tell me what it is or not?"  Dash maneuvered herself so that she was in front of Twilight, so that the purple mare could keep track of her.  The mare in question rolled her eyes, stifling a chuckle as she nodded.

"Oh, fine then.  I'm taking you to Cloudsdale on a visit.  Anything there I'll pay for, I've already gotten all the bits we need, and for a variety of things you might want as well.  I'll be taking the balloon, though, so it'll be a little slow."  Dash spun around with that, her eyes curious.

"Wait, an entire trip to Cloudsdale?  And not just for food or something?"  She let herself down to the ground, the fact that she was in front of Twilight forcing the other mare to stop moving.

"And I'll be paying for everything, too."  Dash stared at her for a moment, Twilight's grin wide as she figured this to be a response in the positive.  This proved to be correct, as Dash rather suddenly grinned, zipping forward to give her surprised friend a hug.

"Oh my gosh!  That's awesome!  I've never gotten a free ride for an entire day before!  Way better than that book you got me last year!"  Dash beamed at Twilight, the hug quite short, characteristic of the brash mare's nature.

Twilight coughed, raising a hoof to the back of her head.  "Yeah... well, you already have all of the Daring Doo series, so what else could I get you?  This saves me the trouble of scouring the library for a book, and it means I get to learn more about you.  Let's not go back to last year, though.  Have you even read that book?"

Dash shook her head, still smiling.  "I stuck it in my house somewhere, I don't really know where it is."  Dash had taken back to the air by now, her pace a bit swifter now that she knew what was coming up.  "Good thing Pinkie keeps her parties early, isn't it?"

"I was counting on that, yes.  Otherwise the gift wouldn't be all that great, wouldn't it?"  Twilight got an absent nod in response as the library began to come into view, Twilight's balloon already set up and ready to go.  "Hopefully Spike can take care of the library while I'm gone."

"What are you worried about, him burping and sending half the place to the Princess?"  Dash smirked, Twilight chuckling at the comment as she hopped into the balloon's basket, doing some checks on it to make sure it was set up right.  

"More like him not checking out the books.  When I lent you those Daring Doo books the first time, he forgot to.  If I hadn't know beforehoof that you were the one that had them, it would have been a nightmare."  Twilight threw a glance at the library, before smiling as she started up the fire that would make the balloon rise.  "I know him better than that, though."

"I should hope so.  You've only known him since you got your cutie mark."  Dash floated around idly, waiting for Twilight to get the balloon off of the ground.  It lifted up relatively quickly, years of use with it meaning that the unicorn had plenty of the experience needed to operate it.

As it rose, Twilight nodded in response, only really half paying attention to Dash.  "I have known him for a while.  Cloudsdale drifts to the south, right?"  Dash gave a general sound in the affirmative, and Twilight began to steer the balloon in the direction they were to be heading.  "Good.  We're on our way!"  The pegasus grinned with that, watching as the slow balloon began its way in the general direction of where Cloudsdale would be.  It would take a few moments for it to get up to full speed, but once it was, Dash was able to casually fly next to it as it made its way across the sky.

"So, what do you have planned for us, Twi?"  Dash turned attention from in front of her to the mare towards her side, watching as Twilight paused for a moment to think.

"I was actually planning on leaving that up to you, Dash."  She stopped speaking, before looking to Dash and chuckling at the slightly concerned look she was given in return.  "Don't worry, you have the entire way to think, and I have a few places we could check out if you can't think of anything."

Dash snorted, turning her muzzle back forward to watch where they were going.  "Figures you'd lay that bit of information on me at the last minute.  You could have given me some time to think."

Twilight rolled her eyes, looking to her friend.  "Like when?  We were kinda busy with Pinkie's party earlier, and today's your birthday.  When was I supposed to tell you?"  The pegasus took a few moments before replying.

"Dunno.  Before we're on our way, at least."  She crossed her hooves, frowning.  "It's been a long time since I've been there, Twi, so I don't remember much about it.  I'll try to think of something.  I don't want your gift to turn into us walking around getting lost."

Twilight giggled in response.  "That won't happen, trust me.  Like I said, I have a few back-up places we can go to, and if we have time we can probably go to them anyways."

"So you leave me to choose where to go, and you plan all the back-up stuff?"  Dash raised an eye brow at that, her retort causing Twilight to smirk.

"It's still way more than you ever do."  Twilight laughed as Dash's face went from an expression of confusion, to one of shock, and finally landing on one of irritation as she snorted.

"Hey!  I've gotten all of us out of trouble without any planning, and half the time things end up badly with your plans anyways!"  Dash smirked, proud of her response, even as Twilight shot her a somewhat offended look..

"We've been finishing Winter Wrap Up in record time ever since I took over as organizer, though.  And I planned this all for you.  I do think some credit is in order for that."  Dash mulled that over for a short moment, before letting the subject drop.

"Fine, whatever.  Just let me think of what to do."  Twilight would give a nod with that, turning her head back forward to make sure she wasn't drifting the wrong way, looking over every so often to chuckle at the unusual look of concentration Dash had on her face.






An hour or so later, Cloudsdale came into view, and it only took the two mares a few more minutes after that to reach it and land the balloon, Twilight casting her cloud-walking spell while Dash flew loops to keep her patience.  Finally, the purple mare hopped out of the basket, smiling up at her friend as she did so.  "All right Dash, I'm ready!"  The pegasus let out a sigh of relief, and zipped down to where Twilight was standing, moving to hover a bit to her side.

"Finally.  What's it take to cast that spell?  It can't be all that hard."  Dash promptly let her wings fall to her sides, and landed with a small poomf,  a bit of cloud coming up as she landed, but she didn't fall through as would be expected with most non-pegasi.  "See?  I'm standing with no trouble."  She started to trot away, Twilight quickly following and shaking her head.

"It's not quite like that Rainbow.  The spell's rather complicated, since clouds aren't actually solid."  Dash slowed for a moment with that, poking the cloud with a hoof, said hoof only pushing in a little ways.

"Seems pretty solid to me."  Twilight stared at her friend for a moment, before sighing.

"It's not that simple.  You're a pegasus, your body is made to be able to stand on clouds.  For other ponies, we can't do that normally.  It has to do with the hooves of a pegasus, along with a bit of passive magic."

Dash gave her a slightly confused look, before shaking her head and chuckling.  "I walked myself into this one.  Whatever, go ahead and lecture me."

"It's not a lecture!  It's a lesson."  The unicorn snorted, before clearing her throat and speaking.  "As I'm rather certain you know, Dash, unicorns and earth ponies can't exactly use clouds as things to stand on.  Pegasi, since they had to deal with weather manipulation for as long as recorded history shows, have had to use clouds on an almost daily basis.  It's how Cloudsdale was originally formed, after all.  They needed a convenient spot, and where better than on the clouds themselves.  Moving on, pegasi changed a bit, much how earth ponies have gained an affinity to the earth, and unicorns with magic, they developed further wing power and refined their ability to control clouds."

Dash stared at her for a moment, tilting her head slightly.  "Basically, we all changed to fit what we did the most?"

Twilight gave a satisfied nod with that, rather glad that her speaking wasn't going over her friend's head.  "Precisely, ponies specialized for their tasks.  Part of that specialization for pegasi was the change in their hooves.  Passive magic is still used nowadays, but it's much easier now for you all to stand and work with clouds than back then.  On the physical aspect of it, pegasi hooves aren't actually a solid chunk."  Twilight chuckled as Rainbow looked at her hoof, about to make a retort.  "Pegasi hooves are perforated, meaning that they have a bunch of really, really small holes in them.  It allows the water in clouds to catch in the hooves, and lets you, with the help of some magic, push the clouds around rather than sliding over them.  For ponies like me or AJ, our hooves can't do that, and we don't have that sort of magic.  I have to simulate that magic in order to walk on clouds, but since my magic is a bit more advanced, I don't need to rely on the perforation to get a good hold on the clouds with just the spell."

Rainbow was still staring at her hoof, squinting in an attempt to see any holes.  Finally, she shrugged.  "Whatever.  I just stand up here."  She looked around, frowning, before turning her head down a side street.  "I think we go down that way."

Twilight nodded, following the other mare.  "So, where are we going, anyways?  You haven't exactly told me."

"I think it'd be cool to check out the coliseum I told you about.  Only for a little while, though, since there's hardly anything to do there."  Twilight's eyes went wide, the mare shaking her head, even as she continued to walk with the cyan pegasus.

"What do you mean 'hardly anything?'  That's one of the oldest cloud structures in pony history, and you just say it's 'hardly anything?'"  Dash looked back at Twilight, before chuckling.

"Calm down, Twi, it's just a building.  You've seen a lot better than it.  Hay, you could probably design better than it, you're such an egghead."  The other mare rolled her eyes, letting out a soft snort of irritation.

"I'm hardly a designer, Dash.  About the best thing I've ever designed is a rather ornate tulip sandwich when I got bored during lunchtime in Canterlot."  Rainbow snickered at that, turning her head once more to Twilight, who tilted her head in response to that.  "What?"

"Seriously, Twi?  A sandwich?  I didn't know that you played with your food."  She laughed as Twilight stared at her, before reining in her laughter, grinning.  "Oh come on, that's just... so not you!"

"Oh, is it?  I was a filly at the time!"  She rolled her eyes, before chuckling slightly, the banter somewhat entertaining.  "Now come on, let's go see what your idea of 'hardly anything' really is."  Dash rolled her eyes and gave a nod, increasing her lead just a bit to get them to go faster.

A few minutes later, the structure came into view, Twilight letting out an audible gasp as she saw it.  The construct was far larger than many of the buildings surrounding it, and even with a rather large chunk of it missing due to the difficulty of maintaining such a large building, it still proved a rather imposing sight.  Still, Dash rolled her eyes at Twilight's indulgence in the ancient coliseum.  "Stop ogling it, Twi.  We're here for me, not for you to check out some old, dusty cloud building."

Twilight somewhat reluctantly looked away from the coliseum to look at the indifferent pegasus beside her.  "Dusty!  There's no dust up here!  Besides, we're looking at a historic relic from before Equestria was even united!  Do you have any idea of just how significant this thing is?"  She waved a hoof at it, as if doing so would persuade Rainbow to think her way.

Rainbow Dash took a moment to respond, scrutinizing the coliseum before finally responding.  "It looks pretty cool, I guess.  It's been a while since I've really seen it."  Twilight just sighed, resuming her trotting, the pegasus idly following her.

"That's good enough, I guess.  Come on, let's get going.  I'd rather we didn't eat dinner late or anything."  Dash raised an eyebrow at that, her pace picking up slightly to catch up to her friend.

"Dinner?  You were planning to stay here for that long?"  Twilight nodded in response, and after a moment Dash grinned.  "Sweet!  A trip here with a friend, and free food!"  Twilight rolled her eyes, giggling at Dash's approval.

"Of course.  You didn't think that we'd be leaving here without food, now did you?  I didn't go out of my way with you to just run around and go back."  They entered the coliseum as she spoke, the cloud supports seeming all the more massive up close.  Twilight's interest drifted towards their surroundings, leaving the two in silence for a few minutes, before Rainbow began to get bored.

After inspecting one of the supports, absently noting it's design, Dash turned back towards Twilight, who was busy scrutinizing another pillar.  "Hey, you mind if we moved on?  History isn't exactly my thing."

Twilight seemed about to retort, before sighing and nodding.  "All right then, Dash.  I guess I can come back another time to check it out."  She spun around, looking about for a bit, before heading out, her friend moving along beside her.  Once they had left, she spoke up once more.  "So, where to now, Rainbow?"

"I guess we could see if my parent's house is still there.  They sent me a letter saying that they had moved to Las Pegasus or something, and I haven't gotten around to visiting them just yet."  Twilight gave the mare a reprimanding look, Dash rolling her eyes in return.  "Look, I kinda have a lot going for me right now.  Element of Loyalty and saving Equestria and everything.  Kinda busy to go out of my way for a family visit."

Twilight simply sighed.  "Because you've totally saved Equestria within the past few months."  She looked back up, smiling at Dash, her previous irritation gone now.  "So, what was your old house like, anyways?  I've never really seen a cloud house besides yours, and yours is a bit ostentatious to be the average pegasus house."

"Osten-what now?"  Dash shook her head.  "Whatever.  Yeah, my house isn't the typical house you'd find.  It's more of a whole bunch of clouds that I stuck together and thought looked cool.  It works."  She thought for a moment then, before nodding.  "It wasn't all that special.  Just a main room, a hallway, and a few bedrooms.  My parents weren't exactly rich or anything."

Twilight smiled at that, nodding.  "I had figured.  Where is it?"  Dash pointed her hoof in the general direction they were heading, and the unicorn rolled her eyes.  "I meant specifically, Dash."

"It's been years, Twi!  Do you really expect anypony who doesn't have egghead memory to remember where their old houses from childhood were?"  Twilight laughed, before nodding.

"I guess not.  I should be glad that you remember something of what it was like."  Dash gave a sound in the affirmative, and Twilight chuckled.  "Why don't we visit there for a few hours before heading somewhere to eat?"

"Sounds good to me."  She picked up the pace a bit, Twilight following suit.  "Not much to look at, but I guess we could check out the neighborhood."






It took the two a long while to even find the neighborhood, Twilight's suggestion to look around for a few hours diminishing to one hour in the process.  It was rather modest, as Rainbow had said, but it was still her old home, and both considered it worth the time taken to find it.  Afterwards, as they traveled out of that particular part of the city, Dash frowned.

"Where are we gonna eat?  I mean, we could grab something at one of the shops, I guess."  The pegasus flew up a bit, looking around for a moment to see if she could see anything, before coming back down.  As she did so, Twilight had a smirk on her face.

"I actually was doing some checking in some books in the library, and there's a rather good place pretty close by here.  I think.  Come on, I'll lead the way."  Twilight would move ahead with that, Rainbow soon following after her.  After a while, the dining establishment came into view, and the purple mare grinned.  "Ha!  I was right!"

Dash chuckled.  "Yes, egghead, you figured out where we can eat."  Twilight rolled her eyes at that particular comment.  "Thanks, Twi, by the way."

"It's not problem, Dash.  Let's go eat."  Dash grinned, and was quick to take the lead to the restaurant.  It turned out to be nothing special, aside from the large area set aside outside of the building in order for customers to be able to dine outside comfortably.  The two got their orders rather soon, the establishment not currently all that busy, and they began to dig in.

Neither talked all too much during the meal, although the casual comment or observation made by either one either sparked a small conversation or a laugh from the other, oftentimes both, and by the time they were finished, both were satisfied in terms of food and chatter.

Twilight shifted a bit in her seat as she laid the necessary bits on the table, making sure that they wouldn't fall through, before standing up and stretching.  "Well, we should probably get going.  I'd rather not have to fly around in the dark."

Dash gave a wide grin in response as she floated up into the air.  "Hey, night flying is awesome!  It's like regular flying, but you don't know if you're gonna hit a tree or not mid-flight."  Twilight gave the pegasus a long stare, Rainbow finally shrugging in response.  "What's the point in flying if it's never risky?  Besides, I've never hurt myself too badly because of it."

Twilight snorted, but was satisfied by the answer, moving to trot away from the restaurant, Rainbow in tow.  "That I know, at least.  Hopefully we can find the balloon.  I did make sure it was rather obvious where I put it."

"Twilight, everything around here is white.  I'm pretty sure that balloon is going to stick out more than you do."  Twilight tilted her head slightly at that.

"I stick out?  How so?"  Her friend simply stared at her, before shaking her head and chuckling.

"Twi, for being so smart, you really aren't that good at social stuff.  You're a unicorn in a city that has maybe one or two unicorns that visit a month.  You're kinda obvious."

Twilight thought on that for a moment, a hoof absently moving up to touch her horn.  "I didn't really think about it.  I guess you're right."  Dash smirked, doing a small loop in the air.

"Course I'm right!  Now let's get out of here, so you don't have to be scared of the dark."  Twilight snorted, turning her head over to Rainbow.

"I am not scared of the dark!  I'm merely concerned about my well-being."  Rainbow snickered, ending the snicker with a smirk at Twilight.

"Oh, calm down, it was just a joke.  That's the balloon there, right?"  She pointed a hoof towards a purple object a little while away, and Twilight nodded.

"I think so.  I don't see anything else purple around here, besides myself."  The two moved a bit faster at that point, eager to finish up their trip on a high note.  Soon, they were moving away from the floating city, Twilight in her balloon and Rainbow Dash flying beside it.  They flew in silence for a few moments, before Dash gave a small cough to attract her friend's attention.

"Hey, Twi?  Thanks for all this.  I mean, there wasn't really anything that you gave me, but it was nice spending time with you.  You lock yourself up in that library so much, I hardly even realize you're here sometimes."

Twilight giggled, before nodding.  "I do that quite a bit.  It was fun hanging out with you like this, Dash.  Maybe we should follow up or something."  Dash smiled in response.

"That'd be cool, Twi.  You wouldn't really think it, but you're pretty awesome."  She paused for a moment, before adding onto her statement.  "For an egghead librarian, at least."  Twilight laughed at that, returning the grin to Dash.

"Rainbow Dash?  Calling me awesome?  I think I'm dealing with the wrong pony here."  She giggled as Rainbow swooped closer to the balloon, a slight frown on her face.

"Hey!  I'm as awesome as awesome can be, so I should know when somepony else is, too!"  That sent Twilight into laughter, and Dash's brows furrowed.  "I'm being serious here!"

Eventually, Twilight stopped, and looked to Rainbow Dash, a smile still hovering on her lips.  "That's why it's so funny, Dash.  Hearing somepony be so serious about something so... subjective as awesomeness is amusing."

The pegasus snorted in response, crossing her hooves.  "See if I ever give you a compliment again, egghead."  Twilight's slight smile broke out into a full-fledged grin with that, and she gave yet another chuckle.

"It'll happen eventually, I'm sure.  I'm too awesome for it not too, apparently."  Rainbow huffed in response, choosing not to give a proper verbal response.

The rest of the trip passed in idle chatter, mostly just the two commenting about their surroundings as the world around them took on a darker hue, the sun beginning to disappear from the sky for the day.  When they reached Ponyville, the balloon landed near the library, most of the lights inside on, enough light having faded to warrant it.  Twilight hopped out, and looked over to Dash, who floated for a moment beside the balloon.

Dash landed after a few seconds, smiling over at Twilight as she spoke.  "I'll see you later, Twi.  I'll be sure to hang out with you some more."  Twilight gave a nod and a wave, and after another moment the pegasus had spun around and vanished into the oncoming night.

Twilight didn't notice as she let her gaze linger for a second or two longer over the spot where Dash had been, and by the time she had turned around and trotted into the library, her thoughts were already on another topic, and the entire day had been filed away in her mind as a pleasant memory, more immediate manners now needing to be attended to by the purple mare.







Author's Notes




First of all, I'm extremely grateful to all of you who have liked and favorited this!  It's been quite an inspiration to keep going with it, even if I already had a lot to begin with.  I'm quite glad that this fic has gotten as successful as it has, even if it isn't the greatest thing out there, I'm sure.

Second of all, I'm extremely surprised that this chapter got as long as it did.  I don't expect the rest of the chapters to be anywhere as long as this is, but anything can happen.

And yes, the first traces of attachment are forming!  It's nothing major yet, but enough to get them started.  Things will still continue to be as realistically paced as I can make them, so I do apologize if it seems a little slow.  But hey, if you all were sticking around at the end of my first chapter, I must have something going for me.

And so, I say thank you to everyone who's reading this!  I hope you continue to read, and continue to enjoy what I'm putting out.
> Reassessment
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Another of these is far more profound,
And we take steps to understand where it will entail.







Now, I just have to give this bolt a quarter turn and... Oh, for Celestia's sake, not again!  "Spike!  I need you to bring down a crescent wrench!"  The purple mare put her hooves to the ground, scooching out from underneath the contraption she was working on.  Eventually, her assistant came down the steps, a crescent wrench held in one of his claws.

He was barely halfway down by the time the object he held took on a purple hue, tugging itself away from his grasp, and over to where his long-time companion was, only partially visible from under her device.  The dragon soon came the rest of the way down, looking with perplexed eyes at the machine in front of him.  "Uh, Twilight?  What exactly is this supposed to be again?"

"Isn't it obvious, Spike? This is a miniature steam-based generator!  I at least thought the release system would tip you off."  Twilight shoved herself back underneath the generator, scanning the bottom to find the bolt she was working on earlier.  "With it, I won't have to rely so much on Ponyville's power system for my experiments."  Back to work then.  Just a quarter turn...  the wrench fit itself around the bolt, Twilight slowly turning it with her magic to get the configuration absolutely perfect.

"But where are you gonna get the steam for this thing?"  The question was voiced at such a close distance that the mare flicked her head up in mild shock, banging it against the bottom of her machine, her wrench spinning wildly before grating to a halt as the bolt refused to turn any further.  

There goes that attempt.  Outwardly, she sighed and shot a look at Spike, who had stuck his head underneath the generator to look at her before speaking.  "It doesn't run on steam, Spike.  It heats water enough to make steam, building up pressure in a container in doing so, so when released the steam can push pistons, making energy.  I'll be drawing from the water reservoir by the dam.  I've already gotten permission from the mayor to attach it to the piping system under the library."  She turned her attention back to the bolt, glaring at it before twisting the wrench the other way to loosen the confounding piece of metal.

"If you say so.  I'm not going to mess with this thing."  Spike stuck a claw in the general direction of the machine.  With that, he pulled his head out from under said machine, and moved away.  Twilight kept her attention riveted to her work, hardly noticing as the young dragon replied.

All right, let's see if I can get this right this time around...  It took her nearly another half hour of work, but she finally managed to get the bolt on correctly.  Satisfied, the mare shifted, finding another bolt to work on.  Just as she brought the wrench up, however, her stomach growled, reminding her of just how long she had been working.

You've got to be kidding me... I've barely got anything done on this thing!  Her stomach remained adamant, and she gave up, scooting her way out from underneath her work.  As an afterthought, she laid the wrench down on the floor where she was sure that she could find it later.  A quick trot up the stairs of her library, and a short distance across the main room later, she entered the makeshift kitchen that had come with the library she inherited.

Twilight opened up one of the cupboards, trying to find something that would allow her to continue working back down in the basement.  After the perusal of her stores, however, she frowned.  Great.  Nothing's in here.  "Spike!  Can you go down to the marketplace for me and buy some food supplies?"

On the edge of her hearing, a sigh was heard, its source rather obvious.  The individual in question popped his head into the room, Twilight turning around to face him.  "I can't, remember?  Today's Wednesday, and you're having me reorganize the library.  Just like every other Wednesday."  Twilight stared at him for a few seconds, before sighing herself.

"Fine, I'll just go out myself then."  And rummage around the place to find my standard shopping list.  Twilight hurried past Spike, barely giving him time to get out of the way.   After a few minutes of rooting around the library, Twilight finally found a rather tattered piece of parchment, and unrolled it, glancing briefly at the dulled writing to confirm that it was what she wanted.

This looks about right.  Don't know where else I'm going to see a list of "daffodils, daisies, and dandelions" around here.  She looked around for a moment, before her magic came alive, floating over her saddlebags and placing the paper inside of it, rolled up to keep it from spilling out.  After checking the other side of the saddlebag for her bit purse, she was on her way to the door.  As she opened it, she turned her head around.  "I'll see you later, Spike!"  With that, she shut the door, and began her walk to the marketplace.





Well, that prank fell flat.  Dash sighed as she fell onto the cloud, drooping her hooves over its edges and staring up into the sky.  Never should have brought Pinks along.  If she had stayed still...  The mare rolled her eyes, flipping over to free her wings, giving a soft flap to push the cloud in the general direction of the center of Ponyville.  After a while of drifting, she groaned, burying her head in the cloud.  Sheesh, why does Ponyville have to be so boring half of the time?   After a moment of watching the ground below, she slowly spun her cloud, drifting lazily towards the marketplace.

She let herself continue on this course, looking for something that was exciting enough to pull her down from her resting position.  Eventually, she hovered over a large group of tents and stands, the noise of the marketplace reaching her ears.  She scanned the ground, before she finally caught sight of two ponies she knew.  Off to the side, both with filled saddlebags, were Fluttershy and Twilight, chatting with each other as they trotted away from their shopping trips.

Dash watched them for a few minutes, to make sure she wasn't noticed by either of them.  Oh, this is just too perfect...  The pegasus grinned, and slowly pushed her cloud lower.







"-and they even had the crisp lettuce that Angel bunny likes."  Fluttershy paid no attention to the skies above, smiling gently at the mare at her side, who gave a nod in response to her question, a smile on her own muzzle.

"That's great Fluttershy!  Hopefully he accepts it.  We don't need another fiasco with Iron Will."  Fluttershy's smile fell with that, along with her ears, prompting Twilight to wave a hoof slightly.  "Don't worry about it, Fluttershy.  We got past it, and I'm sure that Angel learned his lesson."  At least, I hope he has.  He'll be getting more than a firm talking to if not.

Even with the reassurance, Fluttershy still held her frown.  "Oh, I'm not talking to anypony like Iron Will again.  I don't want to be a monster ever again..."  The mare gave a shudder, stopping as Twilight pulled her into a brief hug, waiting for her friend to continue walking before trotting alongside her.

"It won't happen again, Fluttershy.  We'll all make sure of that."

"Or will it!"  In front of them, the blue mare that had floated above them in waiting popped her head through the bottom of the cloud, her nose almost bumping with Fluttershy's, until the more timid of the two squeaked and jumped back, hiding her face behind her mane before recognizing the pegasus in front of her as Rainbow Dash.  The mare in question had fallen from her perch, now on the ground and rolling on her back, racked with laughter.

Twilight huffed in response to the prank.  "You just had to go and do that, didn't you, Dash?  You could have, you know, said hi first like everypony else?"  And swear never to fly again, I presume.  Rainbow simply rolled her eyes as best she could as she laughed, finally calming down enough to actually answer.

"Oh, come on!  that was just too perfect to pass up!  Besides, Shy know's I'm only joking, right?"  Dash turned her gaze back to Fluttershy, who nodded after a moment of hesitation.

"Um... I guess that I-"

"Great!  See, Twi?  Even Fluttershy's down with a good prank!"  Rainbow puffed her chest proudly as Twilight simply stared at her.  Finally, the purple mare sighed, bowing her head.

"Good for her, I guess."  At least she didn't freak out too badly.  Twilight lifted her head back up, smiling at the both of them.  "Now, what were we talking about before Dash came in and interrupted?"

"Oh, um, it was about Angel Bunny."  The shy pegasus turned away from them, beginning to trot towards her cottage, moving her attention back to them to make sure the two were following.  "I hope you don't mind..."  She frowned, slowing down just a bit as she lowered her head, casting her eyes downwards.  "...but I have to go feed the animals now... Sorry..."

With a chuckle, Twilight waved a hoof as she stopped.  "Oh, don't worry about it, Fluttershy.  I should be getting back to the library anyways."  Fluttershy nodded, giving a wave in return before flitting off slowly.  "You know, I haven't asked in a while, Dash;  how's Tank doing nowadays?"  Twilight had her attention on the cyan pegasus beside her by the time Fluttershy had left their view, and she had adjusted her direction so that she was heading for the library, with Rainbow keeping alongside her.

"Him?  He's doing fine.  Broke his flyer-thingy last week when he crashed in a tree though."  With that, Dash looked at Twilight, an eyebrow raised.  "Mind fixing it for me?  I don't think he likes being stuck on a cloud."

Twilight chuckled, and nodded, giving her friend a grin in return.  "Of course!  I made the thing in the first place, after all."  After a moment, something came to her head, and she blinked.  "Oh!  Before I forget, Dash, the new Daring Do book came in a few days ago."

"What!?"  Dash shot down, landing in front of the unicorn and gaping at her.  "Why didn't you tell me!?  That's like half the reason I even go to the library!"  Twilight laughed, going around her friend and continuing on her way, the pegasus quickly following.

"Because I forgot, Dash, that's all.  You know, if you came to the library more often, you'd have found out sooner."  Behind her, Dash groaned, presumably burying her head in her hooves.

"But there's nothing to do there!  I don't read any other books!"  Twilight turned her head at that, raising an eyebrow, waiting for Dash to continue.  "Oh, um, and hanging with you is fun too, when you're actually doing something other than reading."  Rainbow chuckled with that, and Twilight rolled her eyes in response.

"Hmm.  Tell you what, Dash.  You visit me at the library more often to hang out and do stuff, and I'll make sure I'll put aside my reading and take notice.  That way you have more to do than read the one and only series of book that you have interest in."  With a grin, Twilight returned her attention back to where she was heading, not bothering to see Dash's reaction.

"Fine!  But only if you let me know first time you see me about the new books, all right?"  Twilight gave a nod, and Dash beamed, maneuvering herself back in front of Twilight.  "Sweet!  Now, how about that book?"








"See you later, Dash!"  Twilight smiled, watching as the pegasus gave her a wave in response, the most recent in the Daring Do series held tightly against her chest as she zipped away.  Twilight continued to watch her go, finally turning around and heading off to her kitchen to put her things away.

It's a good thing I convinced Dash to hang out more.  I hardly ever get to see her, and it'll be a good way to get her to read more.  She chuckled, her magic coming alive to help putting things away.  After all, she'll get tired of Daring Do eventually.

Once finished that, she immediately turned back around, absently glancing out a window that happened to look out in the general direction of the cyan pegasus' house.  It's not like I can go over to her place, after all.  With a chuckle and a grin, she moved to the basement, back to the generator she had been working on earlier.  Now, where'd that wrench go?

She took a step forward, before her hoof thudded against something unexpected.  With a cry, Twilight fell to the floor, her eyes closed for a moment as she let the shock and adrenaline leave her system.  Once she had calmed down, she opened her eyes, and stared blankly at what was in front of her.  "Oh, you have got to be kidding me..."

Her eye twitched, and she continued to glare at the offending object before sighing in exasperation, and jumping to her hooves.  "Forget it!  I'm done for the night!"  She stormed out of the basement, stopping to kick the wrench she had Spike bring down out of the way, the tool spinning off and clanking against a far wall.

However, barely out of the light and underneath a table, lay the crescent wrench Twilight had lost earlier, just the smallest sliver of its metal catching in the faint lighting of the basement, before even that went away as the irritated unicorn shut off the lights, slamming the door closed as she went to bed.









Author's Notes



This took way too long to write, and I deeply apologize for its lateness.  I had planned to be done far earlier, but at least its out, right?  I had a lot of stuff going on, and still do, so finding time between all of that and my own procrastination made writing this happen very far and few between.

Moving on, internal monologues!  Actually had a chance to explore that, since I never really did that when there were multiple speakers, seeing as juggling the two isn't really my forte.   But hopefully I did well, so feedback is appreciated!

As well, finally setting things up for TwiDash to really begin.  With the two agreeing to do stuff more often without the interference of their friends, things'll be moving a little bit faster, albeit not by much.

Next on the list is reaching out more to you all.  I'm sure many have you have noticed, but I'm not the greatest self-checker, and I'd really appreciate getting help with it, if any of you are willing.  Just go ahead and shoot me a message saying you'd like to help, and run the new chapters by you for checking!  Doesn't mean I won't go over it both before and after the checks, but it'll really help.  Thanks!

But you all didn't seem to mind my lack of editing skills all too much, because I've hit over 100 likes!  As well, I have nearly two hundred favorites on it!  Thank you all for reading, and if you keep enjoying it, be sure to check in!
> Connection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


For this, the greatest of bonds are formed.
And at first, of course, these are the ones never noticed.






Twilight frowned, stumped.

Her quill had paused, leaving her writing unfinished.  It was a spell, or rather, the theory of a spell that could work, had she been able to continue it.  But for now, she was stuck.  She didn't have any evidence with which to prove it would work, and there wasn't anything around to help her make it work.

In the end, she sighed, and once again she was scribbling her thoughts onto the page, going with the one thing she could put on for the moment.

-and for lack of proper testing material, the theorem stated above should have steps taken to be proven at the earliest possible convenience.

The unicorn huffed as she dotted the final mark, rolling up the parchment and turning her head to search for her usual spool of fabric, used solely for sealing the various magic-based ideas she came up with.  "Well," she muttered, finding the appropriate material and cutting off a strip with her magic, "that ended suddenly."  With a groan, she let the blue ribbon fall onto the rolled scroll, her magic fading as she glared out of an open window, where the sky lay clear.  "Where am I supposed to find a cloud in this weather?  It's only the entire week that's been scheduled to have no clouds, after all."

With a snort, she picked up both parchment and ribbon in her magic, and began to tie the two.  Not too long after, her ear perked as a knock sounded.  After a moment, realizing that Spike hadn't opened the door, presumably off on some other business she had assigned him, she called out in the kindest tone she could muster, considering her failure to run a field test on her spell.  "The door's unlocked, you know.  It is a public library."

The door opened, and she was greeted with silence, aside from the door closing once more.  She chose not to notice the lack of hoofsteps, instead focusing once more on the task of tying up the parchment.  Soon, she felt what seemed to be a breeze on her back, and her eyes furrowed as she spun around.  "Spike!  Why'd you open a win-"

Instead of Spike, there was a floating pegasus, the cyan mare floating beside Twilight with an eyebrow raised.  With a squeak at the sudden appearance of her friend, Twilight scooted back a bit, bumping into the table she had laid her theory on.  "Dash! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Rainbow blinked, before smirking and chuckling.  "Twi, you told me to come in.  Not my fault you decided not to pay attention."  She landed, still grinning at the unicorn.  "What's up?  Haven't seen you in a while."

Twilight sighed, turning back around, her frown resuming its place on her face.  "I finished the adjustments on my steam generator a few days ago, and I've been working on a spell idea I thought of since then.  I haven't been out because there's nothing outside to help with it at the moment."  Again she shot a glare at the window, the clear skies mocking her by remaining as clear as they had been a few moments earlier.

The pegasus followed the gaze, an eyebrow raising as she found nothing wrong with the weather outside.  "And what exactly are you trying to do with this spell, Twi?  And what does your window have to do with it?"  That got a groan from Twilight, who didn't speak until she had finished tying the scroll up, letting it lay on one end of the table.

"It's not the window, Rainbow.  I have an idea I could use that would allow a unicorn to induce precipitation."  At Dash's blank look, Twilight rolled her eyes.  "It allows unicorns to make it rain.  I can't do that without any clouds."

"Oh!  Why didn't you say that the first time?"  Rainbow Dash grinned, leaping into the air as her wings unfolded, hovering as she smiled at her friend.  "I could go grab a cloud for you in no time at all!  I'm sure there's at least one that somepony missed.  After all, I'm not working today, so the sky can't be perfectly clear."

Twilight chuckled, getting up and turning away from the table.  "If you're so sure about it, you can try, I guess.  Let me know if you find one, and I'll meet you out in the fields to the west, provided nopony else as set up camp there for the day."  Dash gave a nod, and zipped out of the library, leaving the door open behind her.  Twilight sighed, and moved back to close it before looking around.

"Spike!  Can you come down and tidy up around here?  I might be out soon, and I don't want anypony visiting a dusty library."

She got a groan in response from somewhere within the tree.





Only half an hour later, Twilight was laying down in the middle of the now spotless main room, a book in front of her.  The mare was smiling slightly as she read, the book interesting her more for its pleasure than any gain of knowledge she had hoped to attain from it.  She didn't noticed the light rapping on a window, not until the window was opened to allow more than a knock in.

"Twilight!"  The unicorn's ear perked, and she lifted her head quickly, surprised, but not overwhelmingly so, expecting this visit at the least.  There, her head stuck inside the window, was Rainbow Dash, bobbing slightly as she held Twilight with a somewhat accusing expression.  "Sheesh.  Next time pick a book that doesn't hold you up."

"You know how I am, Dash.  Besides, it's a good book."  She chuckled at the inevitable roll of the pegasus' eyes, and returned her attention to the book, her magic bringing over a small, aged bookmark she used to keep place when she didn't feel much like memorizing page numbers.  "I assume you have the cloud ready?"

"Course!  All ready for your precipi-whatever spell you have.  It's out by the fields, like you wanted it."  Twilight nodded, closing the book and floating it off to the side, before turning towards the door.  By the time she was outside, Dash had swung back around and landed next to her trotting alongside here.  "Any specific cloud you wanted, Twi?  I just grabbed the first one I found."

Twilight thought on that for a moment, before chuckling.  "No, any should do, I hope.  I'm surprised you even realize that there's more than one type of cloud."

"Hey!"  Upon her exclamation, the pegasus flapped into the air, glaring down at the unicorn at her side as she floated alongside her.  "I am a weatherpony.  I know there are different types of clouds!"  Twilight giggled in response while Dash gave a snort, before looking back up.  "Not that it matters.  Half the time we're just moving the things around."

"Much to my chagrin.  You have any idea how many experiments I've tried to run that have been ruined because the skies were clear?"  With that, Rainbow didn't respond for a moment, before she turned to Twilight, an eyebrow raised.

"Just how many experiments do you do with clouds, Twilight?" 

"Not too many, actually, but more than this weather permits."  Once the fields came into view, Twilight sped up slightly, Dash having no particular trouble keeping up with the unicorn.  "At least you found a cloud.  That'll do."  True to her word, Dash had left a cloud floating above their destination, rather small, but it was still there.  In any case, Twilight frowned at it for a moment, before speaking up once more.  "Well, for now, at least."

"Hey, it's the best I could find!"  Dash snorted, landing next to Twilight as the unicorn sat down.  "Besides, it's better than having you glare at the sun all day."

"Clouds, Dash, or rather the lack thereof.  I don't have anything against the sun right now."  That got a peaked eyebrow from Dash, but Twilight pressed on in her talking.  "I might need a moment, since this is the first time I've ever cast this spell."  With that, the mare closed her eyes, her horn coming to life with Twilight's signature purple aura, which soon appeared over the cloud Rainbow Dash had found.

Rainbow Dash, in return, huffed and continued sitting there.  She watched the cloud for a while, seeing nothing but a slight darkening of its features as time passed.  Eventually, her eyes came to rest on the only other thing of interest around them: Twilight.

Dash creased her own eyes, trying to identify something.  To her, it seemed that something about Twilight, concentrated as she was on the cloud, was... different.  Slowly, her eyes flicked over Twilight, the pegasus, frowning slightly, about to speak up before realizing that even if she did, Twilight probably wouldn't even pay attention.

After a moment of thought, Dash shook her head, looking back to the cloud.  She just seems... more, somehow.  Probably the light from her horn.  With a smirk from having puzzled it out, she pushed the odd thought away from her mind, concentrated once more on the cloud.

Now, it was a dark gray, its edges shifting a bit from the excited water within.  Finally, with a grin of success from Twilight, the cloud began to drizzle, releasing its contents on the hill in front of them.  Dash rolled her eyes, standing up.  "All right, your spell works.  Now what?"

"Now what?  Really?  Rainbow, this is important!"  Twilight's magic cut off, letting the cloud continue to pour rain of its own volition.  "Unicorns have been trying to figure out how to manipulate clouds without a pegasus' help for centuries!  This is a breakthrough!"  She was beaming now, practically hopping in place, which got Dash to chuckle.

"Whatever.  I can kick a cloud and it poofs, makes lightning or rains when I want it.  That's good enough for me.  We just gonna stand here all day?  Rain isn't all that exciting."  Dash tilted her head towards the cloud, which was starting to whiten now, not having had much to pour out in the first place.  Twilight shook her head, spinning around and trotting away, leaving Dash to catch up as she spoke.

"Of course not!  I need to rewrite that theory, make a revised version, put in the results of the field test-"  She blinked, bringing her hoof to her face.  "Ugh!  I forgot to take notes!  How am I supposed to include the experiment without any notes on it?"

Rainbow stopped, staring at the unicorn.  "Twi?  You made a cloud rain.  Do you really need to take notes on it?"

The mare groaned in response, bringing her hoof down and continuing forward.  "I guess not.  I think I can remember what I did well enough.  Still, it wouldn't have hurt to be taking it down."  Dash rolled her eyes at that, smirking as she did.

"Well, you go do that.  Unless you've got a new Daring Do book for me to check out, I'm not really interested in watching you write for half an hour."  Twilight simply rolled her eyes, shooting a glance back at her companion.

"I won't be writing for half an hour, I don't think.  As for a new Daring Do book, I don't have anything new that you wouldn't know about already.  You're heading off, then?"  At Dash's nod, Twilight smiled softly.  "Well, I'll see you sometime later, then.  Don't forget to visit every so often.  You made a deal, after all."

"Yeah yeah, I know."  Dash waved a hoof, already floating off slowly.  "I got it, I'll pop on in once in a while.  See ya!"  With that, the pegasus was off, Twilight watching her go off to wherever she was going.  After a moment, Twilight frowned, finding that she was disappointed, for some reason or another.  Maybe the field test wasn't enough.  I could get Dash to grab me another cloud.  She wasn't all that impressed, though, and I wouldn't want to bore her too much in one day.  Twilight shook her head, smiling as she continued on her way.  "Besides, this is evidence enough for now.  When it isn't so clear I'll run a few more tests, just be sure."

Humming, the mare trotted the rest of the way home, her head filled with thoughts on how to re-word her theory to fit her new findings, and almost as an afterthought decided that it would be best to mention Dash's help, to have a witness to her findings.  Besides,  she thought as she pushed open the library door with her magic, quickly finding her tied up paper and proceeding to open it back up, she went out of her way to help out.  She deserves some credit.

With that in mind, she brought out her quill, inked it, and began scratching down on the parchment once more.
> Recollection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


And perhaps the best way to truly understand what comes next is not so obvious.
One must revive the past in order to bring about the future.






She slammed into the cloud, grunting at the impact.  Slowly, Rainbow backed up, glared at nothing in particular and gave up for the day.  She flopped onto the cloud, staring up at skies above her, and snorted.

That was the third time that day she had messed up on a basic stunt.  The third time that day she had nearly crashed into something worse than a cloud, and the third time that day she had questioned why she was so intent on smashing her forehead into anything and everything.

She closed her eyes, her forehead creasing as she forced herself to calm down, and actually think about it.

Her entire day had been ruined, she was in far too bad a mood now to even think about practicing her flying stunts.  She was brash, but she wasn't crazy.  But now, she wanted to find out why she kept on failing at the simplest of things.  For Celestia's sake, that last one was a simple loop, for crying out loud!

She groaned with that, shoving her face into her hooves, retracing her thoughts to figure things out.  She had started the day waking up just a bit past noon, and had grabbed some food and breezed through her weather duties, as she always did.  Her problem wasn't there.

No, that started about a half hour after she started her daily routine of making sure her stunts were as awesome as always.  It had gone as amazingly as any other day, until she began to mess up.  There was hardly any warning, just a faint... feeling in her stomach.  She opened her eyes then, and let out a sigh.  

Thinking is Twilight's thing, not mine!  Why should I be the one stuck with this?  She groaned, before sitting up, her mind making a connection.   The library!  She had been passing over the building, and that had gotten her thinking about the friend who resided there.

Without warning, the mental image of the purple unicorn appeared in Rainbow's mind, and as she had for the past few weeks, she looked more than she used to.  Rainbow still couldn't pin it, but with the unicorn in her mind, her stomach fluttered, and she snorted at the feeling.

That was what had to have messed her up.  The images and memories of Twilight were fine.  If anything, imagining that the unicorn was there improved her performance.  No, that feeling, that flutter distracted her, made her mess up and spiral towards the ground because of a missed wing beat.

And there was her problem:  The feeling came every time the librarian popped into her head.  With a groan, Dash closed her eyes once more.  Every.  Single.  Time.  She rolled over, huffed, and brought herself to a hover over the cloud, soon moving past it.

I can't just stop thinking about her. That'd be impossible!  I need to figure this out before I manage to break something.  With that, she looked down at the town below, glancing as ponies hurried about, some stopping at restaurants for an early dinner or late lunch.  Idly gazing on the town below, Rainbow spotted a building she recognized, and grinned.

It was a restaurant she hardly ever even took notice of, but it was still there, and with the overly-dressed waiter as well.  Dash chuckled, passing it by, thinking back on the memory.  Sure, Twi didn't like me from letting it rain on her, but hey, that whole thing was fun.

She stopped, blinking as she swiveled back to face the establishment.  Twilight's the thinking pony, isn't she?  Why shouldn't she be able to sort this out?  And the restaurant below would be the perfect place to chat with her.  Forcing the flutter that decided to creep in on her stomach out of her mind, Rainbow zipped across the sky, intent on finding the mare she was sure could solve her problems.





The door to the basement opened, letting the unicorn who was coming out from the lower section of the library enter the main room, a triumphant grin on her face as she trotted over to the nearest elevated flat surface, the door closing behind her just as her magic brought quill, parchment, and ink in from her stores.

She sat down, placing the items just in front of the large horse head bust, the table it was on just wide enough to accommodate for the height of the paper as well as the ornamentation.  She inked the quill, and jotted down a quick few notes, key portions of her experiments downstairs.  Soon enough the page was covered in research notes, and was set aside, the quill scratching on the next sheet.

A few pages later, the mare put down her quill, reviewed her work, and her grin grew all the wider.  "Finally!  I thought I'd never get that steam generator hooked up right."  And with the notes in front of her, she never needed to worry about that particular problem again.

She filed the papers away with her other research notes, noting absently that the drawer she had dedicated to containing said notes was practically overflowing, and just as quickly assigned the neighboring drawer to do much the same as the first.

Twilight hummed as she checked the kitchen, finding no trace of her young assistant, chuckling as she remembered he was out on a chore for her.  She stepped inside herself and her magic reached for her supplies of easy-to-make foods, namely sandwiches, before a knock came on the door.

The unicorn sighed, let her magic fade, and turned to face in the general direction of the entrance.  "Come in!  You don't need to knock, it's a public library."  As the door opened, Twilight frowned.  It was probably best for her to go out and at least greet the pony who entered.

Catching sight of who had entered however, the unicorn's frown disappeared into a broad grin.  "Well then!  Look who finally stopped by to visit!"  she teased with a grin, moving fully into the main room, her hunger forgotten for the moment.

Dash, who had busied herself with settling down on the ground, sighed, rolling her eyes.  "Hey, unlike some ponies, I'm actually busy most of the time!"  That got a chuckle out of the unicorn, which Rainbow reacted to with a glare.  "It's true!  I have to keep my routine awesome!  I'm not going to impress the Wonderbolts without any training."

Twilight smirked, sitting down near the table she had been writing at earlier.  "Sure, and that takes all day.  I'm certain you'd hate for it to cut into your frequently-planned nap time."  Giggling at the huff she received as a response, she waved the pegasus over, grinning as the other came closer.

Twilight tilted her head as the pegasus neared.  Odd.  Rainbow seems different.  Did she do up her mane?  A quick glance told her that that wasn't it, but Twilight still found the normal, ragged style Rainbow wore fitting for the athletic mare.  Twilight shook her head, quieting down the distinct nervousness that entered her when the pegasus had come all the way to the table.

Now that's odd.  Since when have I been this nervous around my friends?  To be honest with herself, Dash was the quickest to brush ponies off, so it made sense that she didn't want that to happen to her.  Satisfied with her logic, Twilight smiled, looking back to the pegasus who had finally sat down.  "Been a while since you've decided to come over.  Everywhere too boring now?"

Rainbow waved her off.  "Nah, there's just not much to do here aside from hanging with you.  And all you ever do is read."  Twilight sighed, smiling, as the pegasus missed the point of her comment.

"Never mind.  So, what brings you here?"  A soft gurgle in her stomach reminded her of more pressing issues than small talk, and her horn had just lit up when Rainbow spoke.

"To actually hang out and get you away from your books, and see if you wanted to grab a bite to eat with me."  Immediately, Twilight's magic stopped.  If she didn't have to pull from her own reserves of food, that was good enough for her.  Besides, Twilight thought as she gave Rainbow a grin, it's eating out with a friend.  Who'd say no to that?

Before her mind could come up with a list of reasons, Twilight nodded her head.  "Of course!  I was actually planning on lunch here, but if it means I can delay going out to the marketplace, I'd love the chance to actually get to talk to you."

Dash snorted, floating up into the air.  "Hey!  We talk.  Just not often."  Twilight rolled her eyes, chuckling, and nodded towards the door.  

"I'm not sure about you, Rainbow, but I'd much rather eat sooner than later."

Twilight tracked the pegasus as she nodded, zipping over to the door and opening it before disappearing into the air outside.  With a chuckle, the unicorn followed, and once she had exited she closed the door with as an afterthought.  Looking around, she spotted Rainbow, waiting impatiently.  "Well Dash?  Aren't you going to lead the way?"

"Of course!  Just making sure that you're ready enough to keep up."  That got a giggle out of the unicorn, who fell in step with her friend as she started flying away from the library and into the town.  For a while, the trip passed in a comfortable silence, with Rainbow Dash concentrated on remembering the route she had found from Twilight's library to their destination, one that the unicorn beside her could actually take, at least.  It didn't help that Twilight was busy dealing with her thoughts, and one feeling in particular.

She gave another glance to the pegasus who was leading her, and just as quickly snapped her eyes back forward, a fluttering cropping up in her body.  Calm down, Twilight.  Why should you be nervous?  It's not like you can do anything to make your friend think less of you.  Right?  With a sigh, she banished the feelings, and put a smile on her face, attempting to cover her thoughts up with conversation.

"So, Dash, where exactly are we going?"  The pegasus turned her head for just long enough for Twilight catch her smirk, and sped up slightly, forcing Twilight to do the same.

"I'm not telling you yet.  You'll know when you get there."  Rainbow smirked, chuckling at the sigh she got in response from her companion.  With that attempt at conversation gone, the remaining trip was spent in silence.

Soon enough, they came upon their destination, Rainbow grinning as she caught the perk in Twilight's ears.  "Oh!  I remember this place."  She smiled as she looked around, quickly spotting an open table and making her way to it, Rainbow soon following.

"Well, of course you do!  It's not like nothing important happened here or anything."  Smirking, she circled the table once before setting herself down, tracking Twilight as she did the same.

"You dumped rain on me and my sandwich.  I wouldn't exactly call that important."  Twilight took on a flat expression, watching as the pegasus chuckled.

"Of course it was!  You got to see how far I would go for that ticket!  And hey, I got it."  She smirked as Twilight rolled her eyes, sighing.

"Rainbow, you got a ticket because you all got tickets.  And the only reason you went was to see the Wonderbolts, and you got to speak to them for how long?  A record five seconds?"  Twilight shifted forward, placing a hoof on their table as her muzzle took on a smirk.

"Hey!  At least I got to talk to them, and that's infinitely more awesome than just standing and greeting ponies with the Princess"  Twilight face-hoofed at that, Dash ignoring the gesture with a grin.

"Fine, you win.  You had a much more awesome night at the Gala than I did.  At least it turned out decently in the end."  That got a nod from Rainbow, who was about to respond before the two received their menus from one of the stallions who were waiting the tables.

After a cursory glance, Dash tossed her menu onto the table, getting a raised eyebrow from Twilight, who was still scanning her own menu, having caught the gesture on a brief glance upwards.  "You've already chosen?  Either you're a faster reader than I thought you were or you really just don't care."

The pegasus gave a shrug.  "I'm just getting a daisy sandwich.  It was the first thing I saw on there.  I don't want to spend the entire time reading a menu."  She leaned back on her bundle of hay, watching Twilight as she stared, the purple mare giggling after a moment.

"Is there anything you aren't impatient with?"  She returned her eyes to her own menu, searching through it until she picked out two items that she felt would satisfy her the most at the moment, indecision building slightly as she responded.  "I couldn't eat another sandwich this week if I tried.  They were all I ate while I was working on my experiments."

One of Rainbow's ears perked, and she straightened into a more attentive position.  "All you had were sandwiches?  Were they at least different sandwiches each meal or something?"  When Twilight shook her head, Dash groaned, placing her head on a hoof.  "Isn't that supposed to be bad for you or something?  Or get really tiresome after a while?"

"Both.  Which is why I'm glad you invited me to eat with you."  Twilight smiled at the other.  "It really does mean a lot, since I'm not quite done yet.  Especially since I know you're not prone to taking ponies out to lunch randomly."

"It's no problem, Twilight."  The pegasus waved a hoof, before grinning.  "Besides, I haven't seen you without the other girls hanging over our heads in a while.  They're fun and all, but with them all there I can hardly talk to one of you guys without everypony else jumping in and changing the subject."

Twilight nodded her head, smirking.  "That does tend to happen a lot."  She looked down, finally decided to choose, picked an item at random, and put the menu down.  "But with just the two of us, we can actually talk."  Twilight pushed her menu so it rested on top of her friend's as she spoke, looking up and catching Dash's eyes as she brought her foreleg back to resting just in front of her.

The gaze held for a moment before Dash blinked, grinning a bit too widely.  "Oh!  Speaking of talking, I had a few things I wanted to chat with you about.  I've been thinking on some things and, well, I thought I'd bring it to you.  I'm not the one who's known for working things out in her head."

Twilight rolled her eyes, chuckling.  "And I wonder why not.  What is it you wanted to ask me?"  She waited then, watching as Rainbow tried to find a way to phrase what was on her mind, her eyes drifting upward as she did.  A gentle feeling pushed its way to the forefront of her mind, one of hope for... something that her friend would say.

Twilight frowned for a moment, wondering on what the feeling was for, and slowly pushed it to the back of her mind.  She was here to listen to what her friend had to say, not to hope for her to say something.  Especially when she had no idea what it even was.

Finally, Dash brought her eyes back to look at Twilight.  "Well... I've been getting a... feeling... thing... every so often.  It keeps messing me up while I'm flying."  The unicorn stared for a few seconds, before slowly speaking up.

"Feeling... thing."  Rainbow nodded, and gave a shrug in apology.  Twilight continued to stare, before groaning.  "Okay, can you be just a tiny bit more specific than that?"

The pegasus sighed, before scrunching her face in thought.  "It's... like a... flutter.  Like I'm... missing something, I guess?  And the flutter's telling me that I need to get it.  I think."  To that, Twilight gave a nod.  She closed her eyes, thinking for a moment.

A flutter?  That's odd, I've been having similar symptoms.  Maybe a virus?  No, I'm sure it'd be more widespread than just two ponies.  Outwardly, she didn't change, other than a slight shift of her hoof.  "Could you give me a bit more information, Dash?  Does it connect to anything?  Any thoughts, or movements, or other feelings that cause this or this causes?"

The other shifted a bit, probably going through her day, since her wings had opened and were gently flapping.  After a long while, during which a waiter came and Twilight gave both her and her companion's orders to him, letting Rainbow concentrate on thinking, the pegasus finally folded her wings back in, and focused on Twilight.

"Well, when I really look back on it, and still now, it's you."  When Dash finished speaking, the hope that had been in the back of Twilight's mind erupted into a mild joy, for one reason or another.  Again, the thought was pushed back and her forming smile was banished.  Slowly, of course, to keep her friend from worrying.

"So, I distract you while you're flying, then?"

"No!  Of course not!"  Twilight started at the sudden response, Dash's wings flaring.  "No, it's the feeling that distracts me, not you.  When I think of you, I work harder.  Because I wanna get done with stuff to hang out, I guess."  The pegasus sighed, and waved a hoof.  "I think that's enough of thinking for now.  Can we just eat and move on to another topic?"

Twilight nodded, the joy in the back of her mind growing, an unwanted blush rising up on her cheeks.  But why?  Twilight's forehead scrunched up.  She likes hanging out with me, so do the rest of my friends.  What makes her different?  Her emotions gave no answer, but instead continued to beat at her logic with simple happiness.

Rather than stay silent, Twilight shook her head, and smiled at the other mare.  "Oh, of course.  What weather work have you been up to?"  Their food came as she asked, and her stomach rumbled in appreciation of finally being given notice, and she immediately began to eat.

Dash shook her head, smiling at the the unicorn's quick take to the soup she had ordered, and picked up her sandwich, inspecting it between her hooves.  "Mostly just getting rid of clouds and stuff.  The usual for summer."  Twilight gave a nod, and continued eating as Rainbow took a bite of her own sandwich, resuming her speaking once the food was no longer a barrier for her words.  "What experiments have you been up to?  The ones so important that you have to eat sandwiches for a week straight in order to perform?"

Twilight finished her current sip of soup, brightening at the proposed topic.  "Oh!  I was just fine-tuning the wiring my steam generator will use in order to power the things around the library, so I'm not a drain on the city's grid, which is rather small, even for such a rural town.  I was working on the-"

"Hold it, Twi.  Maybe you should eat before you get science-y on me."  The unicorn blinked, before nodding and resuming her meal.  The pegasus hesitated a moment, before continuing to speak.  "Tell me when you're done eating.  I won't understand any of it, but at least I can say you told me what's keeping you holed up in the library all day."  She chuckled as Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Okay.  I'll try to explain it the best I can, if you really want me to."  Dash nodded, and Twilight gave a shrug in response.  "All right then.  Just let me finish my soup."





With a final laugh, the two mares got up from where they had sitting, bits placed on the table in payment for their meal.  They began trotting back towards the library, a comfortable silence overlaying the first part of their walk.

Rainbow had been right about not understanding anything Twilight had been talking about after she had finished her soup.  Still, it had been nice to just listen to her egghead friend.  Again, the fluttering filled her, but this time around she kept it from dropping her, from messing her up.  That wasn't going to happen when there were ponies watching, especially when Twilight was there to see it.

Besides, she wasn't going to stop thinking about her friend just because of some weird feelings.  Might as well get used to them.

"Dash?"  The pegasus was broken out of her reverie by the unicorn beside her, who had stopped, smiling at her companion.  "Thanks for taking the time to hang out.  I wish you'd come by more often, but I suppose you don't have much reason to hang out in a stuffy library."

Rainbow shook her head.  "You and Daring Do are about all that interest me there."  But if she was doing interesting stuff in the library more instead of doing whatever it was she did in the basement, she'd get me to come over more.  Rainbow blinked, grinning.  "You know, Twi?  I think I actually have an idea, for once."

"Oh?  And what have you come up with?"  Twilight resumed walking, with Rainbow quickly catching up and pulling slightly ahead to lead the way back to the unicorn's home.  "Please tell me it isn't something crazy."

"Of course not!  I was just thinking I could stay with you in the library sometime."  It had been hard to get out, since the fluttering had become quite prevalent, but Dash shrugged the feeling off.  It's just a night with Twilight.  What could go wrong?  The flutter stayed there, despite her thoughts.

"Oh, that'd be great!  I don't think I've ever had a sleepover with you before!"  The thought excited Twilight, the mare's ears perking as soon as the suggestion was made.  "When should we have it?  It can't be tonight, I have to finish up some things.  How about tomorrow?"  That got Rainbow to blink.

"I guess?  I don't have anything in particular planned for then."  Slowly, the pegasus smirked.  "Besides, the sooner the better!  I don't want you getting so wrapped up in some experiment that you completely forget I'm coming."

"I'd manage, but it is settled for tomorrow?"  When Rainbow nodded, Twilight's grin grew all the wider.  "Wonderful!  I'll get everything prepared!  I'll see you later, Dash."  With a flash, the unicorn was gone, leaving Rainbow to stare at empty space Twilight had vacated before grinning and flying off.

See you then, Twi.



> Contemplation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


But even when one understands their past, it is the future that holds promise.
And that future can't come without a look at oneself.



"Hey, Twilight?"

"Just a moment, Rainbow.  I need to make sure the list is perfect."

"Twilight."

"Just a few more-"

"Twilight!"  Finally, the purple mare turned to face her companion, the pegasus hovering impatiently just over the floor.  "Can we do this, you know, without a book on how to do sleepovers?  We've both been to them before."  Twilight stared at the other for a few moments, before nodding and giving a soft smile, the book she had been taking notes from returning to its shelf in her magic.

"Only if you don't care that I'll have nothing to go off of this time around.,"  Twilight responded, turning and trotting to the center of the main room, where her table, normally reserved for the library's horse head bust, now held the supplies for s'mores.

A few pieces of the chocolate were already missing, the remains of those missing soon vanishing off of Rainbow's lips.  Too late to notice, the unicorn sat near the table, smiling up at her friend.  "So, since I can't have anything to go off of, what should we do first?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes.  "Eat.  Duh.  I've been waiting all day waiting for some s'mores!"  That got a chuckle out of Twilight, who lit up the fireplace with a flare of her horn.  The pegasus had, after a few moments, gathered up her eating materials, and had set herself down in front of the fireplace, working to roast the marshmallows.

Twilight rolled her eyes once more, got herself a much smaller portion of food, and made her way to Rainbow's side, using her magic instead of a stick for roasting marshmallows. They sat there and chatted idly while they ate, the treats too satisfying to allow any deeper conversation.  Eventually, though, Twilight set down her final s'more, half-eaten, and gave a soft sigh of contentment.  "That was certainly good.  I'm glad Rarity showed me how to make them at our sleepover."

"Is that why you took so long to make yours?"  Rainbow chuckled.  "I can't even do magic and I was still faster at making the things than you were."  At the unicorn's chuckle in response, the pegasus grinned and swooped up from her spot, coming to a hover on the other side of her friend.  "So, what next?"

Twilight shrugged, getting up as well.  "Not much, really.  We could just talk for the rest of the night.  I'm a bit hesitant to try any games without my checklist."  Rainbow huffed at the jab, and dropped to the ground.

As the pegasus landed, Twilight tilted her head slightly, watching as the pegasus' wings folded to her sides.  "Say, Dash?  You're normally up in the air, right?"

She got a shrug in return.  "Sometimes.  Really, with all of you guys on the ground so much, when I'm not practicing or sleeping I hang on the ground."  With a smirk, Rainbow puffed her chest out.  "Of course, my natural element is flying, so I can see why you said that."

Twilight rolled her eyes.  "Funny how you mention sleeping.  Must be soft up there, huh?"  The pegasus nodded, getting a chuckle out of the librarian.  "Well, it would explain why you sleep all the time.  Anywhere in your house is pretty much your bed, isn't it?"  As they talked, the two moved to the center of the room, laying down and settling into comfortable positions.

"Well, pegasi don't really just sleep anywhere in their homes,"  Rainbow contradicted, "We still have a bedroom and everything.  Granted, the bed's usually got a cloud instead of a regular mattress, but still."  Rainbow smiled then, moving over to in front of Twilight.  "Gets a bit boring when the place you live in feels exactly the same as the thing you sleep on.  Kinda why I take naps in other places."

Twilight nodded.  "I guess.  A special place to sleep isn't all that special when it's the same as the rest of the home."  After a moment, she grinned.  "And down here you get a place to sleep that ins't made of clouds. Although nothing down here is anywhere near as comfortable as your clouds, I'm guessing."

The pegasus shrugged.  "I hardly notice a difference, really.  Clouds are awesome and all, but they get boring after a while.  And besides, when I'm down here to sleep, it's usually while I'm hanging with my friends."  She grinned, before tilting her head and looking around.  "Speaking of usual things, why's the library built into a tree instead of being a normal building?  I've always wondered but never bothered to ask before."

Twilight gave that thought for a few seconds, her eyes wandering the room before returning to Rainbow's face.  "I'm... not sure, actually.  I've looked through some records, but I never gave it much priority.  It could be a symbol for life and knowledge, or a representation of where books come from, or something else entirely.  Really, I looked at what I needed so I could fireproof the place."

Dash raised an eyebrow at that.  "For Spike, right?"  When the other mare gave a nod, Rainbow spoke again.  "So why didn't you fireproof the books?"

Twilight stared at her friend for a moment, before coughing once into her hoof.  "To let Spike transfer them to Princess Celestia if she needed them... I didn't think they'd just burn."

Rainbow laughed, before shaking her head.  "You know, for such a smart pony, you really do miss the big stuff sometimes, Twi."  Rainbow ignored the glare the unicorn shot her way.  "Back to the tree thing, I guess it could've been out of convenience.  If the tree was here before the town, or something."

The other nodded, and smiled.  "True.  Whatever the case, I still live here.  Maybe tomorrow I should take care of fireproofing the books."  Rainbow rolled her eyes, looking up to Twilight's bedroom.

"Do you keep books up there, too?"  The unicorn gave a nod, with Rainbow chuckling once more.  "IIf you hadn't made friends here, I swear you'd just be in here all day.  As if you weren't already."

"Hey!  I get out sometimes."

Rainbow chuckled, smirking.  "Says the one who lives in a library.  I'm surprised that you aren't an introvert just because of that"  Rather than merely rolling her eyes in response, Twilight paused, raising an eyebrow at Dash.

"...Introvert?"

"What?  I read too, you know."  Rainbow smirk grew a tad as Twilight sighed.  "Seriously though, what books do you keep up there?"

Twilight shrugged.  "The ones I read the most.  My favorite Daring Do books, the ones I'm currently studying, and my nightly read books."  At the pegasus' look, Twilight continued.  "You know, the ones I read just before I go to sleep?  To help settle myself for the night?"

"I suppose.  I just kinda slip into bed and fall asleep most of the time."  Unbidden, the image of Twilight laying on the bed, her head hunched over a book, appeared in Rainbow's mind.  For a moment, the pegasus was caught up with the image, scrunching her eyebrows.

Twilight watched the pegasus for a moment, before tilting her head.  "Dash?  You still here?"  The pegasus shook her head before nodding quickly, causing the unicorn to giggle before speaking.  "You don't read before bed?"

"Not really."  The pegasus was still frowning, looking to change the subject before she confused herself more.  "You know, I've never really known what goes into the pillows down here."

Twilight blinked at the subject changed, but grinned at the chance to teach.  "Oh, that!  It's just bird feathers, really.  I kind of feel sorry for the birds."  She tilted her head.  "Why?"

Rainbow shrugged.  "I didn't know, is all.  All I ever grew up with was a cloud bed, a cloud pillow and cloud sheets."  She gave a chuckle.  "You know, cloud pillows were terrible for pillow fights.  They just fell apart if you didn't throw them right."

Twilight giggled.  "I'm sure that'd be a problem.  The only problem with regular pillows is that if you throw them around too much the down tends to fall out."  She blinked, and began to grin, her horn beginning to glow.

Rainbow nodded, not really noticing the magic being performed yet.  "I guess."  Twilight giggled in response, and with that Rainbow's eyes honed in her friend's horn, her eyebrows furrowing once more.  "Twilight, what are you doing?"

Twilight giggled again.  "Oh, just this!"  With that, a pillow came down, slamming into the back of Rainbow's head, causing the pegasus' eyes to widen as her wings splayed out, the mare flinging herself into the air as Twilight nearly fell over laughing.

"Hey!  Give me that!"  Rainbow's frown quickly faded as she snatched the pillow dropped from Twilight's magic, tossing it at the unicorn, who had fallen down, still laughing.  It wasn't long until Twilight brought more pillows into the fight, firing them in a salvo at Rainbow Dash.

The pegasus caught the last one, grinning as she tossed it at her friend before the unicorn could get up, breaking out into laughter as the mare immediately fell back down. Twilight immediately fired the pillow back at Rainbow, knocking the pegasus out of the air and onto the small pile their projectiles had formed.

Momentarily, the pillows were once more in the air and slamming into the pegasus, who couldn't do much more than laugh as the barrage hit her. Finally, she managed to shift and kick a few off, only to be covered by more.  Eventually, one her blind kicks succeeded in slamming a pillow into Twilight, who collapsed in a laughing heap with the wild cushion, which Rainbow quickly took advantage of.

Their battle went on a while longer before both were exhausted, the unicorn and pegasus sprawled out with pillow scattered around them, still laughing  from the exhilaration.  Eventually, Twilight let out a sigh, smiling up at the ceiling, listening to the pegasus give the final bouts of her laughter.

The unicorn slowly relaxed into the sound, for a moment wishing it would go on forever, before her own yawn drew her out of her reverie.  "Hey, Dash?  What time it is?"

"I have no idea."  The pegasus had settled down, looking over to Twi and pushing away a pillow that had been obstructing her view.  "Why?  The bookworm getting tired of being beat by the athlete?"

Twilight huffed, still smiling.  "I was doing just as well as you were!"  She gave out another yawn as Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Only because you had magic.  Come on, let's get up to bed."  The unicorn gave a nod in return, her magic coming alive once more to clean up the small scale disaster they had made of pillows and feathers.  The pegasus watched for a moment before making her way up the stairs to Twilight's bedroom, looking around the room before shrugging and gliding over to Twilight's bed, sliding underneath the covers.

Twilight came in a few moments later, yawning, and smiled at Dash as she crawled into the other side of the bed.  "So?  How was the sleepover?"

Her friend chuckled.  "Great, but it isn't over yet, you know."  Twilight gave a nod, and smiled.

"Goodnight Rainbow."

"Night Twi."  After a pause, though, the pegasus spoke up again.  "...Aren't you going to read or something?"

"And leave you out?  No."  Rainbow blinked at the response.  "Besides, I don't normally have a sleepover every night before I go to bed."

Dash chuckled with that.  "True.  I guess I'll let you get your sleep after your defeat."  Aside from a huff, Twilight remained silent.

A few minutes passed, and both were still awake.  The bed was rather small, only meant for one pony, and the occasional movement meant that every so often the two ponies within touched, a wing grazing a hoof, or a cheek touching for a brief second the other's head.  In the end, it had kept both awake so far in contemplation, but neither spoke.

For Twilight, it felt natural, each touch amplified by the lack of sound or sight.  Her mind, unsurprisingly, drifted to thoughts of companion she had shared her night with, and the reserved unicorn found herself elated at the fact that the mare was in the same bed with her.  She smiled then, her thoughts slowing into a simple pattern about the pegasus beside her as her mind shut itself off and her eyes closed, head facing her friend.

Rainbow was awake for quite a few minutes after that, contemplating on much the same, only with a unicorn in her mind rather than a speedster.  Her mind struggled with itself, her body nearly freezing up every time Twilight accidentally pushed into her, or she pushed into Twilight by mistake.  The other, in her sleep, never seemed to notice.  In the end though, the pegasus closed her eyes, easing into the soft warmth of Twilight's breath against her cheek as the unicorn slept.  Slowly, Dash turned her head to face Twilight fully, her eyes re-opening.

The moonlight accented the unicorn's coat and mane, and Rainbow found her eyes simply drifting over her friend's face, taking in the subtle beauty she found there.  After a while, the pegasus smiled and closed her own eyes, leaving her head as it was.  "Goodnight, Twilight."

A stray thought came to her then, and rather than push away as she had done before, she it come fully to her mind.  A bedroom isn't special if it's the same as the rest of the home.  She gave a chuckle as she drifted to sleep.

This bedroom isn't.  I have Twilight here.  With that, she succumbed to her need to sleep, her mind basking in the fact that Twilight was next to her.

A few floors below, the guest bed sat, forgotten.