The sun softly caressed Twilight’s face, gently rousing the unicorn from her slumber. After a few, quick blinks, she was able to stave off the urge to close her eyes and drift back to sleep. Her head however, felt far too heavy to lift off the pillow, so she resigned herself to simply lie there and rest for a while longer. She was still deep in a lazy morning daze, and her body refused to respond to any commands she gave. All she could do was stare out the window next to the bed, and watch the sun rise. The scenery was truly beautiful to watch, as the sun made its ascent in the morning sky, casting its soft, orange glow upon the trees. Twilight could almost watch the shadows recede as time passed.

The birds sang beautifully that morning, almost like a sweet siren song beckoning the unicorn out from her covers. Begrudgingly she heeded their calls, but as she tried to crawl out from under the sheets, she noticed a cyan hoof resting on her chest. She had only been faintly aware of the warmth pressed against her back, and didn’t think anything of it until that moment. Seeing that hoof reminded her that Rainbow Dash slept over last night. Her lover’s hoof brought a content smile to her face. Twilight laid her head down once more, and closed her eyes, attempting to get back to sleeps sweet embrace.

“You awake, Twi?” She heard a soft, groggy voice ask from behind her.

“I guess,” she replied, giving up on her plan to go back to sleep. Twilight let out a small yawn, feeling her desire to return to sleep fading.

“You feeling better?” Dash asked.

It hadn’t occurred to Twilight that the fatigue in her voice could be misconstrued as depression. She wanted to tell Rainbow Dash that she did feel better after a good night’s sleep but, she couldn’t do that in good conscious without actually feeling better. When she woke up, Twilight hadn’t thought about how she felt, or last night’s events—she didn‘t want to. After a long night’s rest, she had finally managed to push her stress and fears from her mind. Deep inside though, she knew that she couldn’t bury those feelings forever.

So Twilight contemplated it for a moment, trying to decide if she really felt better, or not. Images of yesterdays inquisition, Rarity’s little scene, and then Sweetie Belle finding out, all those scenes replayed in her mind. It didn’t take much for her to realize that really didn’t feel better. The whole situation yesterday made her sick just thinking about it. The stress was enough to make her want to throw up.

Actually she really did feel nauseous.

Without any notice, Twilight jumped out of bed, throwing sheets, and Rainbow Dash’s hoof off of her. She darted out of the bedroom faster than Rainbow Dash could clear a cloudy sky. All that was left was a cloud of dust, and the shrinking sound of hooves running down the hall. A few seconds after Twilight vanished, a loud slam could be heard echoing through the library.

Rainbow Dash looked at the vacant spot on the bed, and then to the doorway. Watching Twilight run out, left the pegasus confused. However, once she heard the echoing slam of the bathroom door, and a muffled ‘bleh’ sound shortly following, she realized why. The athlete rolled her eyes, as a picture quickly formed as to what was going on. “You know, this is the second time this has happened...” she called out. This time though, she wasn’t going to just walk out without saying anything. She crossed her forelegs, and waited in bed for Twilight to return from her little trip. She only had to wait a few minutes for her lavender lover to come back. Her eyes followed the unicorn as she stepped gingerly, trying not to upset her stomach again.

“That’s the second time that’s happened...” the pegasus repeated rather irritated, but there was still a hint of a sulk in her tone. Twilight responded to her accusation with a puzzled look.

“That’s the second time you ran out of bed on me to go throw up...” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but pout slightly. Her forlegs tightened in their grip, and she solidified her crossed posture. Her lips poked out slightly, selling the fact that she was upset.

“S-Sorry...” Twilight’s head sunk down a bit, remembering how she reacted the morning after she and Dash got together for the first time. “That time was morning sickness...I think...”

“You think?” Rainbow Dash raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been pregnant before, which means I’ve never had morning sickness. It could also very well have been stress related. Either way, it wasn’t because of you.” She crawled back into bed next to her marefriend, giving her a small kiss on the cheek.

“...Please tell me you brushed after you threw up.” Rainbow Dash had a disgusted look on her face.

“Of course I did.” Twilight rolled her eyes at the stupid remark.

“Thank Celestia,” Dash said with a sigh of relief. She leaned over, closing in on Twilight to give her a kiss of her own.

“Cele?- CELESTIA!” Twilight jumped out of bed again, pushing Rainbow Dash back once more. “Oh sweet Celestia, I forgot I have to tell Celestia! Oh how could I be so foalish!” As soon as she hit the floor, Twilight began pacing back and forth. She had the same stressed look that plagued her yesterday spreading across her face.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, after being tossed aside. She rolled her eyes, and let out a groan after seeing what Twilight was doing. Now she was more irritated than sulking. “Twilight...” the pegasus said trying to snap the panicking unicorn back to reality. Her words didn’t get through to Twilight at all. The panicking librarian was far too lost in her worry to hear the outside world.

“How could I forget to add the princess to my list of ponies to tell. How will she even react...oh no, what if she banishes me, or throws me in prison, or worse!”

“Twilight!” Dash called again.

“I could be publicly denounced, banished, and THEN sent to prison!” The more she paced the more irritated Rainbow Dash became. A visible vein starting to throb on the pegasus’s forehead after being continually ignored.

“TWILIGHT!” she finally yelled, reaching her breaking point.

“What?” Twilight almost jumped out of her skin when Rainbow Dash yelled at her.

“Calm down, there’s nothing you can do about it right now. Just come back to bed, okay?”

“B-But-”

“No buts, just get back to bed. There’s nothing you can do about it right now! Stressing out about this won’t solve anything, you‘re just getting yourself worked up!” Reluctantly, Twilight nodded her head, accepting Rainbow Dash’s demand.

Slowly, the realization that Rainbow Dash was right sunk in. She recognized that there really wasn‘t any point stressing over it; she wasn’t going to go to Canterlot that very instant and tell Princess Celestia, so why work herself up over it. Looking at it from Rainbow Dash’s perspective as well, the pegasus didn’t want to see her marefriend stressing over it either, so all the stress wasn’t doing either of the two ponies any good.

With a deep breath to settle herself, she crawled back into bed with her athletic lover. Once she hit the pillowy surface, she tumbled into lover, burying herself in Dash’s lean, but muscular chest once more. Unlike yesterday though, this was a show of affection, as opposed to using her as an escape. She lovingly nuzzled against her marefriend, enjoying her warmth, and smell. It hadn’t occurred to Twilight how nice Rainbow Dash smelled, if she had to describe it, she smelled like the sky. A deep warmth rose in her chest, when the fragrance of clouds, fresh air, and the mare’s own sweet scent came flooding into her nose. Twilight wasn’t sure what a cloud smelled like, but that’s just the impression she got. There was a subtle ruggedness in the wonderful scent, coupled with a touch of femininity. Twilight chuckled as she realized how perfectly it matched Rainbow Dash’s tom-coltish personality.

The sudden bid for affection drove the pegasus mad with how cute Twilight was acting. She wrapped a hoof around the mare, now on top of her, holding her tight. She planted a small kiss on her head, soaking in Twilight for a moment. She continued to return Twilight’s affection by stroking the unicorn’s mane, gently as she embraced her. “Things’ve gotten crazy, huh...” Dash commented with a soft smile.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I dunno, the way we’re acting, it feels like we’ve been dating for months, but it’s been less than a week.” she had a small chuckle in her voice, expressing her disbelief.

“...Does it bother you that things are moving so fast?” Twilight asked, resting her head against her lover’s chest, listening to her heart beat, while she waited for a response.

“Not really,” she replied. “If it bothered me, you’d know. Besides, we've been friends for a while, so it's not like we're complete strangers. We can skip a few steps, you know?”

The two laid in silence for a moment, simply enjoying each other. Through the content silence, Twilight faintly became aware of the chatter outside, as Ponyville was waking up. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand next to the bed, which read seven o’clock.

“You know, I just want to say thanks...what would I do without you?” she mused.

“Probably go crazy,” Dash replied bluntly.

“You’re probably right,” she said, sitting up. “How about we get some breakfast?” She quickly changed the subject, to which Rainbow Dash nodded eagerly.

“I’m starved,” the pegasus said, jumping up out of the bed quicker than Twilight could even set one hoof on the floor.

“Me too, I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning.”

“Spike, time to—” She stopped mid sentence when she noticed Spike wasn’t in his bed. “Did Spike not come home last night?”

“He was with Applejack, Pinkie, and Fluttershy last I saw him. He probably stayed with one of them.” It took Twilight a moment to acknowledge what the other mare said. She stared at his little bed, that was still a mess from the previous day, feeling guilty suddenly.

“I need to go find him!” she said rushing towards the stairs.

“Twilight, Spike will be fine till after you get something to eat.” Dash put out a hoof to stop her, but it wasn’t necessary.

Twilight staggered a few steps on her trembling legs, before regaining her balance. Her stomach let out a long, deep rumble, telling her she absolutely had to eat. She couldn’t help but feel a little pathetic, and embarrassed that her legs actually tried to give out on her in hunger. With a drawn out sigh, she knew she needed food, but Spike needed her too. She sat down on the floor for a moment, trying to force her body to work with her.

“Ugh, I can’t believe this, I’m pathetic,” Twilight muttered. She glanced back at the little empty bed, feeling the guilt weigh on her again. What kind of mother would she be if she didn’t even notice Spike wasn’t there last night. Sure, she was a little emotionally unstable, but that baby dragon counts on her, and soon a little filly will to.

Twilight climbed back onto her hooves, narrowing her eyes in protest at her own weakness as she did so. She took a step to leave, but she was met with a stern glare from Rainbow Dash. A glare that said over Dash’s dead body would she let Twilight leave without eating. Almost on cue, her stomach let out another deep rumble, that sapped the strength from her legs once more.

“I’ll go find him after breakfast,” Twilight said reluctantly, surrendering to Rainbow Dash.

“I’ll go with you,” Dash replied, rubbing her nose on Twilight’s. The small loving gesture made Twilight smile. That small physical contact immediately made her feel better.

“Is it really alright to miss work for that?”

Rainbow Dash gave a nod. “Yeah, after that storm a few days back, and the bit of cloudy weather we had the past few days, we’re scheduled to be sunny for the rest of the week. So I’m pretty much free.”

Twilight motioned towards the stairs, leading the pegasus into the kitchen. As Twilight rounded the corner, her horn sparked with a magical glow, as did a cabinet door across the room. With a small tug of her head, the door opened, and a bag of pancake mix levitated over to her.

“How do pancakes sound?” she asked.

“Sounds good,” Dash replied, taking a seat at the table.

As Twilight levitated a bowl over, and the other necessary ingredients, there was a knock on the library door. The unicorn let out an agitated sigh, not quite sure whether to ask Dash to get the door, or to take care of the pancakes. As she debated, another knock came from the door.

“The sign on the door clearly says the library opens at nine o’clock!” she said rolling her eyes. With a quick glance at Rainbow Dash, she motioned for her to finish the prep work.

“What kind of pony doesn’t read a sign clearly labeled “hours of operation”, I mean it’s right there, at eye level!” she grumbled to herself as she walked to the door.

“Hello, how can I help you?” she asked, masking her irritation, as the door engulfed in a magical glow from her horn. When it opened, she didn’t see an eager pony looking for knowledge, instead, she saw her friends, save for Rarity. A small purple dragon stood behind the group of ponies, trying to make himself as small as possible to hide from Twilight.

“Oh, it’s you girls, come in,” she said with a small smile.

“Twilight, we have somethin’ important ta tell ya. I think y’all should sit a spell, sugarcube,” Applejack said before even stepping foot in the library. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she was about to break some bad news. Twilight’s cheery appearance vanished quickly, as she solemnly motioned for her friends to come in.

“Spike, I’m glad you’re home,” Twilight said. She put on a warm smile for her little assistant. The baby dragon lowered his head, trying his best to avoid Twilight’s gaze. “What’s the matter, Spike?” Twilight asked, seeing he was avoiding her.

“Well you see—” Pinkie started to say, but was interrupted.

“Stop right there!” Rainbow Dash interrupted, poking her head out of the kitchen. “Before you guys go and say something to upset Twilight again, let her eat first. She hasn’t had anything since yesterday.” The other mares looked at one another, and then gave a nod in agreement.

“No, hold on, did something happen, Spike?” Twilight insisted, probing the uncomfortable dragon. As she took a step towards him, he shirked her advances, running past her. He quickly bolted up the stairs, leaving Twilight even more concerned than she had been this morning.

“I’ve never seen Spike act like that, what’s wrong with him?” she asked.

“He’ll be fine, he just needs a little bit of rest. But you on the other hoof, need to eat. After all you’ve got a little foal in your belly that hasn’t gotten any food since yesterday,” Fluttershy said, guiding Twilight to the kitchen. The usually shy pegasus was being uncharacteristically assertive, and down right motherly. The cream-colored mare’s years of tending to the animals had given her a maternal tone, that was gentle, yet forceful. When Twilight heard that tone, she knew there was no going against her.

Once in the kitchen, Fluttershy took over making breakfast from Rainbow Dash, letting her sit down next to Twilight. The athletic mare let out a sigh of relief after being forced out of her cooking duty, by her long-time friend. Fluttershy gave a quick sweep of the kitchen, she found a pan and a spatula for the flapjacks. As she sparked the rarely used stove top, the shy pegasus hummed a soft tune to herself.

“So, Twilight, um...Rarity clued us all in about just how much trouble y’all are in for. I just wanted ta let ya know, we’re all here for ya.” Applejack’s sympathy was met with a stern glare from Rainbow Dash.

“What part of later didn’t you get, Applejack?” she added to her glare.

“Look, I’m just showin’ my support, alright!”

“Enough!” Twilight placed a hoof against her forehead, trying to rub away a headache that was forming. “Don’t worry so much Rainbow Dash, I’m not some fragile emotional creature that will snap at the mere mention of my own problems.” There was an awkward silence that fell over the room. The only one still carrying on was Fluttershy, who seemed oblivious to the conversation happening around her. She simply continued humming her soft tune, while preparing breakfast.

“So, How are you two holding up?” Pinkie asked innocently, breaking the uncomfortable silence that fell over the room.

“Fine I guess,” Rainbow dash muttered.

“Don’t sulk just because I got angry,” Twilight wrapped a hoof around Dash, bringing her in for a loving embrace. The pegasus cuddled up next to Twilight, enjoying their closeness. As she sat in the warm embrace, a small devious smile grew on her face. Suddenly she snatched a quick kiss from the unsuspecting librarian’s lips. Twilight’s cheeks flushed instinctively, as she fought the urge to turn away in embarrassment. Rainbow Dash flashed her a pair of big puppy dog eyes before Twilight could scold her, stopping the unicorn dead in her tracks. The cute little display forced Twilight to give up on scolding, and instead, she returned her quick kiss to her.

“Y’all seem pretty...err...” Applejack struggled for a moment, trying to find the right word. “...smitten,” she said pulling her hat down over her eyes, as she tried to find something more interesting outside the kitchen window. She really was just trying her best not to look at Twilight and Rainbow Dash directly, feeling way too uncomfortable by their little displays of affection.

“You’re really having trouble with the whole mare-on-mare action aren’t ya, Applejack,” Pinkie commented, laughing slightly. She lifted up Applejack’s hat, peeking under it. Her nose, pressed against her cowpony friend’s. The sudden intruder into her personal space forced Applejack to take a step back.

“I thought you said you were fine with this, Applejack?” Twilight asked.

“I am fine with it, but I just need some time ta get used to it s’all.” Applejack pushed the probing pink mare out of her face. After a stern glare, she put her hat back in front of her eyes.

Before long Fluttershy set down a plate of pancakes in front of Twilight, followed by a stick of butter, and a bottle of syrup. “I’m just happy to see everyone getting along,” she added, giving Applejack a sweet smile.

“Hey, where’s mine?” Rainbow Dash protested.

“It’s coming, I was just getting Twilight hers first.”

As Rainbow Dash slumped down in her chair to sulk, she was met with a gentle nudge from the pony next to her. She looked up to see a morsel of pancake wrapped in an envelope of magic, levitating towards her mouth. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, and opened her mouth, letting the bite-sized piece float in. After her first chomp into the pillowy bite, she smiled at Twilight, who was also chewing on a piece.

“It’s a little weird eating with magic,” the pegasus commented after she swallowed. Twilight only shrugged her shoulders, since she was used to it. She had been doing it almost all her life at this point, so it didn‘t bother her in the slightest. But it did bother Applejack a bit. She wasn’t used to her friends acting so lovey-dovey in front of her.

“It’s kinda of a shock that y’all are...err-uh...fillyfoolers...I mean, RD, I’ve seen y’all eyeballin’ Big Macintosh plenty of times before,” Applejack tried her best not to look at her two friends at the table.

“Come on AJ, I’m not a fillyfooler,” Rainbow Dash defended.

“Uh-huh, an’ what do y’all call what yer doin’?”

“I think most ponies would call eating breakfast,” Pinkie said with a hoof to her chin, pondering other possibilities.

“Not what I was talkin’ about there, Pinkie,” Applejack replied, mid facehoof.

“What do you find so wrong with two ponies in love?” Fluttershy asked, while cooking.

“N-Nothin’ I guess, just gonna take some time ta get used to. I mean seein’ ‘em kissin’ an’ such just seems a l’il weird ta me.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is. Maybe if I kissed a mare, it would seem less awkward?” Pinkie said sliding up behind Fluttershy, but a magenta glow stopped her dead in her tracks. She was met with the other three mares shaking their heads at her, mouthing the word “No”. Pinkie stopped in her pouncing position, staring at her friends for a moment. She was actively debating whether to go through with it or not, until she was interrupted.

“My two friends are goin’ out with one another, kinda hard to just accept all of a sudden.” Applejack replied, continuing the conversation in hopes to get Pinkie to quit. The distraction seemed to work, since Pinkie walked back to stand next to Applejack. Her face bore a slight look of defeat.

Fluttershy turned around, luckily, she was none the wiser about the terrible situation she had been dangerously close to. She placed another plate of pancakes on the table, this time in front of Rainbow Dash, who eagerly dug into the feast set before her like it was her last meal.

“Oh my goodness, Rainbow Dash, control yourself,” Twilight said completely flabbergasted, but the pegasus only rolling her eyes at her. After a small pause, still in disgust, Twilight took the last bite of her pancakes. Her horn lit when she willed over a napkin to her mouth. As she wiped her mouth of any syrupy morsels that might remain, she levitated the plate across the kitchen to the sink.

“Alright, I’m finished,” Twilight said, lowering the napkin. “Now tell me, what is wrong with Spike?”

“Well...” Applejack started, “It turns out that we didn’t get ta Sweetie Belle in time last night. By the time we found her, she an’ her friends already told Cheerilee, an’ Ditzy Doo...”

“Ditzy? She’s the biggest blabbermouth of anypony in Ponyville!” Rainbow Dash yelled as chunks of half-chewed pancake flew across the table. Everyone, including Applejack, stared in disgust at her apparent lack of etiquette. After a quick swallow, she apologized.

“Anyhow, Cheerilee, and Ditzy were gone by the time we caught up ta Sweetie Belle. So we had Fluttershy an’ Pinkie chase after Ditzy, while me an’ Spike ran after Cheerilee—”

“Spike and I...” Twilight interrupted. “Sorry, continue.”

“By the time we caught up ta Cheerilee, she had already gone, an’ told a few ponies...”

“Oh, oh! And by the time me and Fluttershy caught up to Ditzy she had already told like fifteen ponies! She clearly won the pony telling contest, if there was a pony telling contest that is,” Pinkie said with inappropriate enthusiasm.

“Fluttershy and I...” Twilight corrected again. “And so, what you’re telling me is...”

“We tried to do some damage control. I even went and got Rarity to help, but it was too late. By now the entire town knows,” Fluttershy mumbled in a hushed, apologetic tone. As soon as she finished everyone braced for Twilight to lose it again, and burst into tears. Surprisingly though she didn’t.

“And Spike was out most of the night, trying to get it all under control. He really thinks that you’re upset with him, since he couldn’t stop word from getting out, Twilight.” Fluttershy added, hiding behind her mane.

“I need to go talk to him...” The librarian calmly pushed her chair out, and walked past her friends.

“Twilight, wait!” Rainbow Dash chased after her. “I’m with you on this,” she reminded her marefriend.

“We’ll all jus’ sit tight here, ” Applejack spoke up. “Seems like this is kind of a private matter.” Twilight gave her friends a nod, before she walked upstairs to her bedroom, Rainbow Dash following close behind.

When she took a step into her room, she saw Spike curled up in his bed. He was pressed deep into the small pillow of a mattress, with his little blanket pulled over himself. She couldn’t see any part of the little dragon, but she knew his back was facing them. Twilight stopped halfway between his bed, and the door; she found herself unable to move anymore as conscious weighed on her after seeing her number one assistant so depressed. She plopped down on her hindquarters, taking a seat, while she waited to see if he would say something. Sadly he did not.

After a small sigh, Twilight decided to get the ball rolling. “Spike, would you tell me what’s the matter?”

He didn’t respond, instead he only pulled the blanket around him into a tighter ball. It was almost like he was trying to make a protective cocoon around himself.

“Spike, please talk to me. I know that word got out, so you don‘t have to go over that part.” She only heard silence again.

“Spike...” Twilight tried again, but he refused to speak to her. He only buried himself deeper in his blanket.

“Spike, come on, talk to us,” Rainbow Dash piped up, from the doorway.

“No, because she’s mad at me,” Spike said with a small sniffle. His long awaited response caused the two mares to look at one another with slightly confused looks.

“I’m not mad, Spike,” Twilight reassured her assistant softly.

“You are, I know you are...” A distinct sniffling could be heard coming from under the blanket, his voice was shaking as well.

“Spike, get up this instant or else I will be mad.” Twilight suddenly spoke with a strong sense of authority that caused the dragon to rouse from his make-shift cocoon. Her voice, though commanding, was still rather soft spoken, and held a calm ring to it. His head poked out from the fluffy mass her was coiled in at her command. Cautiously, Spike sat up from his bed, looking at Twilight with anxious eyes. The little dragon was greeted with a stern look from his caregiver, coupled with a small, discontent frown.

“Get out of bed, and come here,” Twilight demanded. Her assistant slowly crawled from his small bed. As he did so, Rainbow Dash took this time to stand by Twilight’s side. Spike timidly walked up to Twilight and Rainbow Dash, feeling much like a child who was in trouble. The situation reaffirmed his fear that Twilight was indeed mad at him, but as he approached, he noticed her eyes becoming softer. Finally as he stood in front of his maternal figure, with her looking down at him. The growing softness in her look really detracted from her imposing demeanor when he started his journey towards her.

Suddenly Twilight wrapped a hoof around the surprised dragon, Squeezing him tightly in a hug. As she gently squeezed him into her chest, her tight grip around him let loose a metaphorical dam in Spike. He couldn’t hold back the tears from flowing from his eyes. The young dragon eagerly returned Twilight’s hug, wrapping his small arms around his foster parent. Suddenly another hoof appeared on his shoulder, this one was light blue. “I’m not mad, I was worried about you,” she said in a reassuring voice.

“She was really worried, Spike.” Dash added, keeping up with Twilight’s soft tone. “She was about to run out looking for you this morning, but I had to stop her. She almost collapsed from hunger, since she didn’t eat for a whole day!” For the last part Rainbow Dash gave Twilight a stern look. Twilight responded with an innocent smile.

“Anyway, I’m not mad at you, Spike, so there’s no need to beat yourself up,” Twilight slowly stroked the small dragon’s head, comforting him. As her hoof ran over his scally head, he calmed down slightly. His deep sobs, turning into soft sniffles over time. With one final sob into her chest, Spike looked up at Twilight and Dash. The two mares smiled down at him, telling him one last time that they weren’t mad. The two reassuring ponies brought a relieved smile to Spike’s face.

“Thanks for making me feel better,” he said, wiping his eyes.

“Happy to help,” Dash replied, playfully rubbing her hoof into the top of his head. The gesture seemed to lose a little meaning to Dash, as she usually did it to Scootaloo to mess up her mane, but Spike didn’t have a mane to mess. Spike still got the good-humored meaning behind it, regardless.

“Why don’t you go downstairs, I’m sure Fluttershy would be more than happy to whip up some pancakes for you.” Twilight added. Spike responded with an eager, cheerful nod, before running down stairs. The two mares looked at each other, sharing a mutual laugh after seeing the young dragon back to his usual self. After Spike disappeared down the stairway, Rainbow Dash, started to follow after him, but before she could take more than a few steps, she felt a strong tug at her tail. When she turned her head, she noticed Twilight staring at her, her eyes a looking a little shy, and her horn was aglow with magical energy.

“Thanks for helping me with Spike,” Twilight said, giving up a small smile. The pegasus turned herself to face Twilight, giving her a confident smile in return.

“It was nothing,” Dash said dismissively.

“It wasn’t. He wouldn’t even speak to me. Usually when he’s like that, I have to physically make him look at me to get him to talk.” Twilight sounded a little distant, as she remembered the few occasions when Spike was upset with her. Suddenly she felt a little embarrassed about thanking Dash over something so small, but at the same time, she knew this was a major step for their relationship. Rainbow Dash rose up to a parental role for a moment.

“Well I figured I should help out a bit,” the pegasus replied. “I mean since you and I are dating, then I should help out, right?” Dash paused for a moment. “I not overstepping my bounds, am I?” Twilight responded by shaking her head. Twilight laughed a bit since Dash had been thinking the same thing she had been.

“I don’t think so,” Twilight said before planting a kiss on Dash’s lips. “If you want to help out, I welcome it. Now, let’s get back down stairs.” Twilight motioned towards the door.

“Hold on, Twilight.” Rainbow Dash stopped Twilight. “Since we’ve got a bit of alone time, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What is it?” Twilight ask.

“ It’s been bugging me since last night, so I have to get this off my chest,” she paused for a moment, trying to find the right way to word what she wanted to say. Dash took a deep breath before she proceeded.

“I’m not too used to the whole supporting role, you know...”

Twilight hesitated for a moment, not too sure where Dash was going with this.

“I know this is your problem, and I just have to help you through it, but that’s hard for me. I don’t want to just sit back and comfort you while you deal with this, I want to take care of it for you!” Dash's frustration built as she continued to explain. “I want to fix it, not just be there...does that make sense?” It was a struggle for the pegasus to tell Twilight how she felt. The words didn’t really want to come, so she had to force them. She wanted Twilight to know that she wanted to be more than just a support, she wanted to be the pony Twilight would rely on to solve her problems.

“I know you do,” Twilight responded, looking a bit sad. “You’re that kind of pony, Dashie. That’s why I love you. You’re like a super hero who just swoops in and saves the day.” She brushed up against her marefriend, as she spoke. A shiver rolled through the other mare, when Twilight’s body touched her’s. “But you can’t, not this time. I have to handle this on my own, because this is my mess that I dragged you into.” Twilight dropped her cute act, her eyes now burned with seriousness, and passion.

“I don’t feel like you dragged me into anything, I’m dating you because I want to. And another thing I want, is to see you happy, that’s why I’ll beat up anypony who tries to mess with you, okay!” She puffed out her chest, acting tough. Thinking about the whole mess yesterday, and the thought of Twilight so depressed still hung fresh in tom-coltish mare’s mind. She never wanted to see Twilight hurt like that again, and she wouldn’t let anyone do it to her either.

Twilight rolled her eyes at the brash statement. “Anyway, I know you weren’t able to take care of me like you wanted to last night, but believe me, you were there for me in just the right way.” Twilight nuzzled against Rainbow Dash once more. “But I know I can’t just sit here and mope either. I’m done with that.” A small grin grew on Twilight’s face. “That’s not good for me, you, or our little bundle of joy.” Twilight nudged her marefriend, giving her a sly look. Rainbow Dash gave Twilight a smile back, before nuzzling her neck. “So how about we go back down stairs?” the unicorn suggested. Her winged lover replied with an eager nod, happy to see Twilight acting like her old self once again.

“It’s good to see you back to normal,” Dash commented, planting a small kiss on her mare‘s cheek.

“Well, I decided that you were right in what you said this morning. There really isn’t a point in stressing over this. News is already out, so I should just deal with it as it comes.”

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. “I know this isn’t your usual thing, but try and just live in the moment for a bit. It’ll cut down on your stress.”

That was an odd bit of wisdom that made sense to Twilight. She always worried, and stressed over everything in her life, but she couldn’t do that right now. Stress wasn’t something the growing foal inside her needed. She would need to let things go, and try not to internalize so much. Worrying wouldn’t accomplish anything here, since everyone already knew. Things were already out of hoof, she might as well relax while she can. It’s almost like the calm before the storm in a way.

“I might have to study up on the whole “living in the moment” approach,” Twilight teased.

Author's Notes:

It took a while to get this chapter out, mostly because I got a little stuck with it. But I've moved passed that, and I have a plan for the rest of the story. Another reason this chapter took me so long was it was actually a lot longer, but I decided to take the second half of this chapter and put it into chapter 7.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

If you have not read the previous chapters after 1/18/2014, there have been extensive rewrites. I would recommend rereading.