"So," Applejack said as she plopped down in the chair next to Rarity. "You feelin' like you were just stepped on by a thousand manticores too, or is it just me?"
Rarity flinched away from the stink of sweat rolling off of Applejack, but didn't do much other then tilt her nose in the other direction. After all, it wasn't as if she smelled much better either... and even if she did, she just didn't have the energy to move. If resting a bit meant sacrificing some of her space and comfort, then so be it. She sighed, held her nasty unwarranted comment about hygiene, and slumped even farther against Twilight's dinner table. Applejack deserved her rest as well, not to be heckled for something she couldn't help.
"Well, that's not the exact analogy I would have used, but I suppose it fits. Out of all the times that horrible monster had to come around..." she sighed again, "it had to be when I was in the middle of a very important project."
Applejack laid down her head with a quiet 'thud'. "You're tellin' me. Things were already gettin' tough on the farm since we had that swarm of bug come through. Then comes this monster. Kicks my tail and leaves me an' Mac with even more work to do than before."
Both of them sighed once more.
...
"Hey, Rarity?"
"Yes, Applejack?"
"How about, once I'm done cleaning up this whole mess, I come down to model for your dresses? I know I don't know much about the fashion business, but maybe I can help you get them done faster somehow."
"You..." Rarity gaped, fishing for words, as a little smile curled onto her face, "Well, I would certainly appreciate that. Of course that means I would help you clean up the farm as well."
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Really? You know that big thing we just fought covered half the orchard in some stinkin' goop, don't you?"
"Yes, I do. I realize that it will be... messy. And dirty. And on the whole unpleasant. But if you've got to deal with it, and are adamant about helping me in my endeavors, then I don't see why I shouldn't share that burden with my friend. Have you forgotten that we just slayed a monster together?" she laughed, "Should I have Twilight summon it back here so you can be reminded?"
Applejack rolled her eyes with a little chuckle, and playfully batted Rarity on the withers. Or at least that's what she tried to do. Her forelegs were a bit weak, so all she really succeeded in was throwing her hoof over Rarity's back. With a yawn, Applejack slumped further into herself, and as she shifted so did Rarity.
"Ah please, Rarity," she said with a wink, "some prissy frou-frou pony like you takin' down a monster like that again? It was a surprise the first time."
Rarity giggled, then snorted, then tutted at her. Her eyes were fluttering now, feeling like lead weights on her face. Rarity yawned and leaned further into her friend's side. Something told her she should be worried about the sweat, or the dirt, or the lingering awful odor of that foul creatures goop... but to hay with it. Applejack was her friend. A respected and loved friend, who just so happened to be extremely fuzzy and huggable.
"Well, I'd certainly do better than a brutish farm-pony like yourself. Surely you'd just rush into danger and get yourself even filthier."
The two of them laughed together, then melted into a cuddly pile.
When three other ponies shuffled in, groaning and whimpering, they didn't even budge.
Twilight walked into her dining hall, bags under her eyes and her mane frizzed. Her hooves were like led, her saddlebags felt as if they were weighted with sand, and the snoring Spike on her back made her feel like she was carrying Sisyphus' burden. She assumed that if she tried to use her horn it would either do nothing but smoke, or explode into a wonderful shower of magic and pain.
But it didn't matter now. She had finally sealed off the monster's escape for good. Now it was just time to tell the others they could go home since they didn't have to wait for approval of the seal anymore...
Oh.
Twilight blinked.
All her friends were... cuddling. Practically on top of her dining room table (scratch that, Pinkie Pie was actually curled up on top of it). All in a big pile, with Rarity and Applejack and Rarity in the middle. A big, cuddly, soft, warm pile.
She could wake them up... but oh Celestia, that looked inviting.
Yawning and cracking a smile, Twilight picked up Spike in her hooves and gently laid him down next to Rarity. Immediately one of Rarity's hooves encircled him to clutch him to her front like a teddy bear, and Spike grinned softly through a snore. She stared at that mess of adorableness for a second, looked around, wondered ow she would do this... then said 'buck it' and bellyflopped onto her table beside Pinkie Pie.
She happily excepted the pink hooves that wrapped around her tummy, and looked around one last time at her friends. The castle was safe. Pinkie Pie was hugging her. Rainbow Dash had sat down in a chair and fell asleep drooling all over Applejack, and Fluttershy had, at some point, curled up like a cat in Rarity's lap.
The last thing Twilight noticed before she gave into cuddly sleepy oblivion, was that Rarity and Applejack were positively beaming in their sleep.