“So... got any plans for tomorrow?” Rainbow asked as she watched Twilight’s eyes run all over the many bookshelves in the library. Her friend was pacing back and forth, finding out of place books to sort later. Rainbow was laying on the couch in the middle of the room, her head resting on the armrest. Her tail flicked from side to side from boredom.

“Well, I’d love to rearrange the library, but that’s an all-day thing. Ponies keep looking at books here then don’t return them to their rightful place!” Twilight said with an annoyed huff. “To be honest, I’ve been busy with my research to keep track of stuff like this, and at this point, a full reshelving is gonna have to happen soon or I’m gonna go crazy!”

“What about Spike? Isn’t he supposed to help you with stuff like this?”

“Yeah, but there’s only so much my assistant can do, you know? I can’t keep him cooped up here all day, after all.”

Rainbow scratched her head on the couch. “I guess. I know I wouldn’t like being stuck in here all week.” Twilight glared at her, making Rainbow’s ears flick back for a moment. She stifled a giggle and covered her mouth with a hoof to hide her growing smile. “You should see the look on your face right now! If looks could kill...”

Twilight rolled her eyes and yanked an entire shelf worth of books onto the floor. “Ugh! All of these are out of order! Why would anyone do this?”

Rainbow slid from the couch and moved to sit next to Twilight. “Hey, chill out.” She placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Tell you what... Why don’t I schedule a big storm tomorrow so that you can get all of this done? With what I have in mind, nopony’s gonna want to come here, giving you the time you need to reorganize this mess.”

Twilight glanced up at Rainbow with a hopeful glint in her eyes. “You... you’d do that for me? Wouldn’t you be breaking some rules?”

Rainbow chuckled at that. “Nah. We’ve been due for a big storm for a while now and I’ve been kinda putting it off. But! I’ll only do it on one condition.” She glanced away, biting her bottom lip as her rump wiggled in nervous excitement. She felt her heartbeat speed up, so she took a couple of deep breaths to hopefully calm her nerves.

“And what would that be?”

“Well... if I make this storm, my house isn’t really gonna be a fun place to be at. It doesn’t really muffle the sounds of thunder, and I don’t wanna listen to that all night.” Rainbow looked back up at Twilight and rubbed her leg with a hoof. “So... can I maybe sleep over here tomorrow night? Just us two?”

Just the two of us... alone? Am I really this lucky? Twilight thought, replaying Rainbow’s words over and over in her head. Her lips became dry, and her throat felt like it was growing ever tighter. Careful, Twilight! Gotta play this cool! “Uh... sure! I can give Spike the day off tomorrow, giving me the peace and quiet I’ll need to really get through all of these books. Was there anything that you wanted to do tomorrow night?”

I’d love to just spend more time with you... Those words danced on the tip of Rainbow’s tongue, simply begging to be let loose. She had grown to admire Twilight, looking past her flaws to find somepony that she could just let go around. She loved the fact that she didn’t have to keep up her awesome reputation when she was around Twilight, and it helped that her closest friend was pretty darn cute, too. Rainbow had never believed the phrase that opposites could attract each other, but the way her heart melted whenever Twilight smiled proved that phrase right in so many ways. “Um... I dunno. Maybe finish reading that book we’ve been putting off?”

Twilight’s eyes lit up at that. “Sounds great!” This would be the perfect time for me to set things in motion!

“Awesome. I’m gonna go get some rest now. It’s getting pretty late, and I gotta get up early if I’m gonna do this storm right!” Rainbow nudged Twilight’s shoulder with her own as she stood up. “See you tomorrow night, cutie!” She froze for a split-second, then turned and galloped out of the library, taking flight the moment she stepped outside. Did I really just call her that?! I really have to be more careful!

“Yay, just one more bookshelf to go!” Twilight said to herself as she skipped around the library, the last remaining books floating in the air above her.

Humming to herself, she started organizing the books in alphabetical order. As she slid each book into its new and proper place, Twilight let her mind drift to that of her friend, Rainbow Dash. Ever since they had started reading together a few months back, she’d noticed that Rainbow had become increasingly comfortable around her. Before, she had always kept her tough front up, afraid of looking or saying something that would make ponies think that she was weak. Unbeknownst to most ponies, Twilight knew that Rainbow had a softer side to her, and she couldn’t have been happier when Rainbow had started letting her guard down around her more and more. Because of that, Twilight had been able to see who Rainbow truly was on the inside, and she liked what she saw. In fact, she was ecstatic that Rainbow was spending more time with her.

Her thoughts drifted to last week, to their last reading session to be exact. She closed her eyes as images of them laying next to each other flowed into her mind, one after the other. Twilight remembered every little detail there was to remember. The warmth from Rainbow’s coat, the sensation of feeling her breathe, and above all, the sense of companionship was the thing she enjoyed most from the time they spent together. Letting a smile slip onto her face, she focused in on one memory in particular; the moment that Rainbow had lay down beside her.

Twilight closed her eyes as the memory ran through her mind. As soon as their coats had touched, Twilight had tensed up ever so slightly, although she had played it off like she was getting into a more comfortable position. She had gingerly settled back down until they were touching again, and it had taken all of her willpower to stop herself from trembling in nervousness. She had never been able to fully relax around her, all due to one simple reason.

To her, Rainbow was simply intoxicating.

Everything about her was perfect. The way her hair flowed down her neck, the cute look she made when she was confused about a word she didn’t understand, and to top it all off, her confident smile rounded her out perfectly. Her crush on Rainbow had deepened with every minute they spent together. She had never voiced her feelings to anypony, for this was the first time that she’d actually developed a romantic interest, and she didn’t really have a clue on how to proceed. All of the research she had done had told her to tread slowly and carefully, all while dropping little hints showing that you care for them. Twilight had tried doing exactly that, dropping little hints here and there when Rainbow was around her, but it seemed the rainbow-maned pegasus was oblivious to her true feelings. Either that, or she didn’t care for her in a romantic sense, a possibility that Twilight refused to acknowledge or even consider for the briefest of moments.

Putting the last book up on the bookshelf, Twilight sat back, satisfied with a job well done. As she stood up to tidy up the kitchen, the front door of the library slammed open right as a lightning bolt flashed behind the newcomer, a quick thunderclap following it milliseconds later. Twilight jumped a little, adrenaline flooding her body as she started hyperventilating.

“Heya Twilight!” she heard Rainbow say as she closed the door. Twilight didn’t respond, choosing to let her breathing return to normal, or as normal as one can get when your crush was in the same room as you were. Rainbow was dripping wet, no doubt from the storm raging away outside. Twilight couldn’t help but stare at her, her mouth hanging open in a small ‘O’ as she stared at her friend. As she watched, unable to tear her gaze away, Rainbow flicked her mane, making it fall around her shoulders. To any random passerby, Rainbow was just getting her mane out of her face, but to Twilight, it was an act of beauty. She watched as Rainbow looked up at her, everything going in slow motion until her friend’s voice ripped her from her fantasy.

Rainbow shook herself like a dog as she tried to get most of the water off of her. “Hey, you have a spare towel I can use? I’m kinda wet.”

“Y-yes, Dash! One second!” Twilight stammered, her heart rate returning to a more normal pace. She felt it throbbing in her chest as she went to go fetch a towel, most likely due to the fact that her crush was here, in her library, wanting nothing more than to just hang out with her. Struggling to keep herself calm and collected, she opened the closet door and grabbed her favorite towel, a dark purple one that had her cutie mark sewn in along the bottom and top.

Without wasting another moment, Twilight grabbed it with her hooves and slung it over her back. She trotted back over to where Rainbow was forming a puddle in her foyer. “Want me to dry you off for you?” Twilight nervously asked, pulling the towel from her back. “It’d be no trouble, really.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Rainbow said as she started to shiver. “I can do it myself.” She tried to grab the towel but Twilight held it out of reach.

“B-but... are you sure? I mean it would probably be easier if… you know,” Twilight said meekly, thinking that this would be a good way to show her affection, just like the book had told her. She thought to use her magic but decided against it, figuring that using her hooves would be a lot more personal. Rainbow shot her a weird look, making her feel uneasy and unsure of herself. In an effort to try and keep some of her false confidence, she cleared her throat and stammered, “Because we’re really good friends! Yeah, that’s it!” she fibbed, trying desperately to cover up her true intentions.

“Uh… everything alright, Twi?” Rainbow asked as she snatched the towel out of Twilight’s hooves. “Thanks for the towel, by the way.” She started drying herself, starting with her tail.

“Yeah, everything’s perfect! You’re here now, you’re drying yourself off, which is awesome by the way; you won’t get me wet when we read together!” Gah! Twilight! Think before you say the first thing that comes to your mind!

“Um… yeah, that’s right…” Rainbow slowly said, cocking her head to the side. “You want to go find the book? I think we’re on book eleven with only a few chapters left, right?”

“Yep! Gimme a few minutes to find it, alright? I literally just finished reshelving the entire library!”

“Sure thing, Twilight…” Rainbow said as she watched Twilight trot away, going into a different room. She squeezed the water out of her mane and wiped her face with the towel, drying herself off as well as she could.

Oh my gosh she’s already here what do I do? Twilight thought quickly as she walked up to the small table where their book lay. She hadn’t put it away the last time Rainbow had come over, instead choosing to keep it out in case Rainbow decided to stop by wanting to read it. It mattered not if she had been busy, for Twilight knew that she would have dropped whatever she was doing in a heartbeat if she was given the chance of spending more time with Rainbow.

Twilight took a slow, deep breath to help herself chill out for a moment. She took another breath to calm herself and picked up their book. Holding it to her breast in a brief hug, Twilight smiled as she silently thanked the author for writing such a captivating series, for without it, she wasn’t sure how else she could spend more time with Rainbow without coming off as needy. After another few seconds, she lit her horn and lifted the book, then walked back around the corner. Ohhh, the books didn’t say anything about bringing up the subject of dating… Her tail twitched in nervousness and her grasp on the floating book faltered for the briefest of seconds. She hoped that Rainbow hadn’t noticed. Don’t blow this, Twilight…

“Found i–” Twilight stopped, frozen in place from what she saw. Rainbow was already at the place they usually read together, a pile of plushy cushions and thick blankets. While that in itself was normal, what had her rooted in place was the fact that Rainbow was looking at her with a soft smile on her face. A blanket was already covering her back, and as she stared on, the blanket rose a little bit on the side, the tips of Rainbow’s blue feathers peeking out from under it. Even though she thought it was not possible, her eyes widened even more. Oh my gosh! She wants to hold me with her wing! She’s never done that before!

“Um, everything okay, Twi?” Rainbow asked with a nervous giggle.

“Y–yeah! Everything’s perfect!” Twilight said, her tone even more nervous. She bit her tongue, hard, hoping the pain would make it so that her voice wouldn’t sound so nervous the next time she spoke.

“Well come on, then! My side’s getting cold, and I don’t like being cold,” Rainbow said, shaking her open wing a bit.

Twilight nodded silently and stepped forward. Hm… if she wants to read like this, then maybe my plan might work after all! She smiled gently as she closed the gap between them, then gingerly lay down next to her. Laying the book down in front of them, propped up on another cushion, Twilight scooted up against Rainbow’s side. She tensed up when Rainbow lay her wing over her back, but the ensuing warmth from both the blanket and the wing forced her to relax. If she wasn’t being so careful, she would have laid her head against Rainbow’s neck and fallen asleep. “You comfy?”

“Totally,” Rainbow said as she stretched, letting out a small yawn. She pulled Twilight a little closer to her, making her blush a little. “Page two hundred and sixty-something, right?”

“Yeah, something like that…” Twilight said. She flipped to where the bookmark was and took it out of the book. Even though she still felt a little tense, it wasn’t because of Rainbow holding her close with her wing. No, it was because she was afraid of how Rainbow would react when she brought up her little idea.

As the minutes stretched on, Twilight tried to read but found herself too distracted with the fact that Rainbow was going to spend the night with her, so instead she just faked it, choosing to just enjoy the time that they spent together. If she had it her way, she’d want to stay like this for the rest of the night, simply enjoying the closeness she was feeling with her friend.

It didn’t take Rainbow long to finish the book. Well, here goes nothing! Twilight thought to herself as she watched Rainbow close the book laying before them. “Say, Rainbow…”

“Yeah?”

“I was wondering if you could help me with something, something kinda personal,” Twilight said, looking anywhere but her crush.

“Oh, um… sure? What is it?” Rainbow asked, cocking her head to the side. “We’re here all night, so it’s not like I have anything to do. What’s up?” She smiled warmly.

Twilight stood up, instantly missing the warmth from Rainbow’s wing. As the library’s cool air sapped the warmth from her body, she stuttered, “Well, you see, um… Princess Celestia sent me a book to study that requires two ponies, myself and somepony else. The book’s about, um… hehe…”

“About what, Twilight?”

“…Snuggling,” Twilight said softly, using her magic to grab the book from her desk across the room. She held it up for Rainbow to see, then levitated it before her. Laying back down beside her, Twilight pulled the blanket back over her and smiled when Rainbow laid her wing back over her, although she noted that Rainbow had faltered for a couple of seconds. “So, like I was saying, Princess Celestia said that Cadence sent her this to send to me or something like that, saying I had to find a really close friend to do this with.”

“Not that I’m complaining or anything, but how come you didn’t ask Spike?” Rainbow asked with a giggle, using a hoof to cover her growing smile.

“The funny thing is that I did ask him, and even before I asked him, I kinda already knew his answer…”

“He said no, didn’t he?” Rainbow asked.

“Yep, saying that it was too girly or something like that. Besides, he’s not a pony, and since this book is all about cuddling and stuff for ponies, I figured that, well…” Twilight blushed as she trailed off. “I just figured I’d ask if you wanted to, um… you know…”

“You figured that you’d ask me if I wanted to snuggle with you?” Rainbow asked with a laugh.

Twilight winced. To her, it sounded like Rainbow’s laugh was a scoff. “I’m sorry, I knew I shouldn’t have asked.” She started to stand up, but Rainbow had too firm a grasp on her barrel with her wing. Before she could stand up all the way, she found herself yanked back down beside her friend.

“Hey, I didn’t say no, egghead,” Rainbow said softly. “I think it’d be a great way to pass the time, ya know?”

“R… really?” Twilight hopefully asked, looking into Rainbow’s eyes. “Are… are you sure? It's alright if you don't want to.”

“Yeah, I’m sure! I mean, what else is there to do in an empty library?”