Rainbow Dash sat at the edge of a cloud drifting around, looking down to Ponyville. She could feel the heat anywhere around her, pressing on; it made her mane stick to her head uncomfortably and her sweat as if she had just flew from Ponyville to Canterlot. She could cool herself by dipping into the white, fluffy nimbus, however, so it didn’t bother her too much.
The town below was much more subsided in its activity that it regularly was. Ponies walked around slowly, and for the most part, just when they needed to. They sought to stay under places that offered good shade and coolness -as much as they could hope for in the current state of things, anyway.-
Work in the weather team had been having its difficulty increasing exponentially as the heat wave marched on. At first, everything had gone more or less according to normalcy. But as days went by, the warmness forced them to use as much of their resources as they would in half of the summer. The Cloudsdale Weather Factory, as the purveyor of clouds for Equestria far and wide, had been in big trouble, finding itself unable to supply the demand that came from everywhere; being so out of season and dealing with a never before expected situation meant they were pretty much unable to solve this easily. On top of that, a good deal of snow material was missing from its storage. They were at a loss about it.
Her friends seemed to be all very busy, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, whom she had barely seen for the last few days. Applejack and Fluttershy were at the farm, working practically the whole day despite the heat. Twilight and Rarity were at the forest, working in some solution to the problem or something. She had mostly zoned out when Applejack told her and Fluttershy about what both unicorns had found out and were doing; the important thing was to end the blasted heat wave as soon as possible. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, on the other hoof, were hitting it big with their snow-cooled apple juice business. She felt proud of the fillies, who made her remember her own foalhood. Finally, after sitting around in the cloud for what she now felt was an absurdly long amount of time, she did some stretching exercises, pulled out her wings, flapping them hard, elevated herself, and blasted out of the cloud, soaring across the blue, clear sky, her rainbow trail following behind her.
------
The time that Twilight and Rarity had spent in the Everfree Forest had been mostly warm and dry by day. In the night, both mares cuddled together to protect themselves against the cold and windy nights. Twilight attempted to rationalize this away as a perfectly acceptable behavior of survival, but deep inside of her, she found herself enjoying her unicorn partner’s body warm, instinctively pressing herself against Rarity. She hoped the snow white mare passed it off as Twilight’s being extremely cold, while she herself wished to be soon back into the warmness of the library and leaving this behind, being able to organize her mind properly.
Some days, however, there was light rain. The two friends were thankful for the brief relapse in the seemingly never-ending heat. Twilight kept studying her books, while Rarity read novels the librarian lent her; her sewing efforts had been put behind, citing the difficulty of working with her mouth.
That night, however, the weather went all out in the Forest. Wind blew strongly from the mountains, crossing the sea of trees and bringing the wild clouds with it. The mass of dark cumulus nimbus kept getting bigger and bigger. Thunder roared above. Both unicorns looked up on instinct, despite having the tent’s roof above them.
“Twilight, dear, I think that the big one is upon us,” said the white unicorn, before turning to look for something in her saddlebag.
She got out two of the brightly colored capes she had been working on before it all began and gave one to her friend. Twilight proceeded to put on it as best as she could, struggling with her mouth, while outside, raindrops began to fall. Nothing but darkness enveloped the camping site as both mares pressed against each other, receiving the night. They fell asleep soon after, lulled by the relaxing song of the storm.
The sounds of nature in the morning –the chirping of birds, steps of small animals going around the tent, the blowing of the morning wind- woke them up early as usual in their spot. Twilight got up first and shook the sleep away while Rarity stretched her hooves in what she would deem unladylike in any other circumstance.
“Good morning, Rarity. Did you sleep well?”
The fashionista did her best to stifle a yawn, while rising to stand in her four legs.
“It was very good. You know, for sleeping in such a wild area, without any usable magic and very few commodities, this is not such a bad time.”
Both mares went outside to wash before commencing their day, or rather another day of sitting there and waiting.
“I’ll prepare the breakfast today, Rarity, you can go and relax a little,” announced Twilight, earning the other pony’s gratitude.
Rarity went back into the tent while Twilight prepared some cheese and lettuce sandwiches.
The purple maned mare grabbed a hairbrush and went to work with her mane, not managing her accustomed curly hairdo, but settling for a straight, non-morning look. She looked at the soil and wondered how much more time would it take before the flower would grow. It supposedly shouldn’t be much longer. Her eyes, suddenly, fixated on a patch in the ground. She lowered her head, squinting to confirm her vision. A loud gasp escaped her mouth and she called for her friend.
“Twilight! Twilight, come here!”
The addressed mare, upon hearing her friend’s cries, immediately dropped a loaf of bread and rushed inside, alarmed.
“What’s the matter, Rarity? What’s wrong?” asked Twilight, her voice worried, her eyes going everywhere at once, making her resemble the mail pegasus.
“Look!” said Rarity simply, pointing her hoof at a small point in the ground. Collecting herself, Twilight lowered her head and frowned for a while, until she saw it. A small bud was coming out from the earth, just visible in the brown soil. Both faces were alight with glee at the sight and they looked to each other.
“Rarity!”
“Twilight!”
“We’re doing it, Rarity! Soon everything will be fine!”
Both mares jumped excitedly as if invisible springs gave them impulse and embraced each other, reaching with their hooves to the other’s back in happiness. However, their faces also reached out, and their muzzles touched. Their lips connected lightly and they felt each other’s skin touching them. Despite during less than a few seconds, each mare felt her own body shiver, and looked into the other’s shining, wide open eyes. They separated and sat on their haunches, looking at each other.
Time was eternal as the atmosphere around them took on a heavy air. The whispers of the wind now blew with deafening strength, as did the chirping of the birds. Everything seemed so much more powerful and augmented during those few endless seconds.
“I’m sorry,” blurted out Twilight, incapable of anything more. There was something that thumped loudly and beat with abandon, almost destroying her. It took her a while to discover it was her own heart in a reckless race against her chest. No more would come out, and the white mare in front of her wasn’t saying anything
Finally, Rarity seemed to come off to her senses, and opened her mouth.
“It was only a silly slip of ours. There’s nothing to be sorry about, Twilight. Now, we just wait for Zecora to come and inform her of this, right?”
The scholar looked at the designer for a while, unable to decipher her friends. After a while she answered.
“You’re right, Rarity. We shall do that.”
Those words marked the beginning of silence that feel inside of the tent, as both mares buried themselves into books.
-------
“Well, dangabit, Apple Bloom, ya’ll doin’ a mighty fine work with them apples. Ah’m glad they didn’t go to waste, and we were able to send other shipments. We’ll be fine fer now, Ah reckon. “
The filly giggled, going to embrace her sister. “Thanks, sis. We’re doin’ our best.”
The elder Apple sister smiled as well, and then looked at her sister’s eyes. “But just tell me, where did ya get the snow from?”
Hearing this, Apple Bloom shifted around nervously. “Rainbow Dash made a deal with us and she brought it from the weather factory.”
Now Applejack looked at her seriously. “And what kind of deal would that be, Apple Bloom?”
The small sister disentangled from the orange pony and ran before she could be caught. “Sorry, sis, that’s a secret. Nothing fer ya to be worried about, tho’.. Bye!”
“Sheesh, Sugarcube…” The orange pony sighed and turned around, going for a brief break in her room.
Outside the house, in the family plantations, Fluttershy and two of her squirrel friends stood by Big Mac as the red farmer filled baskets with the other produces from the farm: vegetables. The yellow pegasus smiled sweetly as she watched him working.
They had hung out together like this for the last few days: she accompanied him to work and helped him in whatever she could; in exchange he looked out for the small animals alongside her. Both ponies worked together wonderfully.
“You really are a strong pony, Big Mac. And a very hard worker too…” Fluttershy looked at him with admiration, her eyes shining.
“Ah just want to help my family as well as I can, Miss Fluttershy.” The eldest Apple sibling carried one of the bushels and loaded it into a cart, going back to fill another.
He dropped his cargo and overturned the half full bushel when he felt something rubbing against his side. He turned his head and found Fluttershy pressing her head to his stomach, rubbing it against his coat. Her eyes were shut and her face was painted the same bright red as his coat, which covered his own blush.
Nopony said anything then.
-------
The three equines looked down at the small leaf that stuck its head out from the floor. Rarity and Twilight stood at each side of Zecora.
“This wonderful seed grew up very well indeed. In three or four day more, we can have what we look for.”
Both ponies smiled at her words.
“Those are good news, Zecora.”
“Indeed, my dear. I can’t wait for these days to be over. I’ve had my fun with dear Twilight here, but I don’t know how much more
can I take of this. Don’t you agree, dear Twilight?”
The purple unicorn looked to her white friend, but found that despite asking her directly, her eyes were fixated on the small bulb. The tone of voice with which Rarity addressed her also clicked something. Her mind raced with uncountable thoughts as Rarity’s words were replayed. She finally spoke aloud, filling the air with her voice, louder than usual.
“Yes, I want to come back to the library and continue with my studies and other things I left hanging. And of course, make sure that Princess Celestia is safe and sound and Equestria goes back to normal.”
The zebra nodded approvingly. If she had noticed something, she was making an extremely good job of appearing oblivious. Twilight even felt the desire of bucking her flank, but as fast as it came, it disappeared.
“I will later come back, and share with you two a small snack.”
She left them alone again, and both mares looked at each other. They returned to their books. But Twilight’s mind was all around the place. Her eyes kept going back to Rarity, who was immersed in her reading, and she mentally chastised herself. She finally shut the book closed and laid on the floor, as the sun began its final descent through the sky.
Zecora came back. The three shared black tea with carrot cake and talked about the nearing recuperation of the Princess and the zebra told them about her life during the last few days in the forest. They parted again as night fell. Twilight looked at Rarity without saying anything.
“Wel, it’s better for us to go and sleep now, don’t you think, Twilight?”
“Yes, I’m pretty sleepy right now. Let’s go.”
The two unicorns laid pressed against each other their usual arrangements from every night totally unchanged. But Twilight Sparkle did barely sleep that night. She was kept awoke by her thoughts, which flashed once and again in her mind, making her restless. She laid still, though, feeling the mare that pressed so tightly into her. Rarity’s breathing was shallow; she could feel every moving muscle of the white unicorn.
Buck it…
The next day found them both with a noticeable lack of sleep, as Twilight could confirm by the small bags on Rarity’s eyes. The fashionista went out to wash herself before Twilight could say anything and then came back. Upon seeing her, the purple unicorn opened her mouth to speak. But her lips were covered by Rarity’s.
The soft, sweet tasting kiss of the white unicorn overrode her senses as each second passed. She closed her eyes slowly and enjoyed the feeling that filled her. No movement was made, just lips touching each other. Rarity broke finally and Twilight opened her eyes to look at her. She opened her mouth one more time, but this time she found herself blocked by her friend’s hoof. Rarity then spoke, her voice low and soft, but serious.
“I’ve felt your heart pumping next to mine every night. You may have probably thought that it was because of the cold. But I knew better. I felt your coat pressed against mine and the warmness that ran through my body. Not the pure, physical warmness that brings sleeping under sheets, but the one that fills the heart. And I enjoyed it in silence, despite knowing that you were also involved in it. I let that fire consume me, overwhelming anything that I thought I’d felt before “
Rarity lowered her hoof, leaving Twilight free. But the scholar could nothing more than look at her in shock. The white unicorn smiled, a sweet little smile directed at her friend, lifting her hoof to caress Twilight’s mane with delicacy.
“You are so easy to read, Twilight Sparkle. Easier than Applejack, even. But then the time finally comes when we find ourselves drawn to the climactic moment. And you say “Sorry”. Oh, dear, what I’m going to do with you…”
She lowered her hoof to caress Twilight’s cheek with extreme care, feeling the flushed unicorn’s soft skin.
“I totally want to do this, Twilight. But there are several things that we need to take into consideration.”
Rarity separated from the lavender unicorn, bringing Twilight to sit by her side, and joined heads with her.
“Listen closely, dear…”
-------
The remaining days passed. Twilight and Rarity now spent all the time they could enjoying next to each other, except when some friend came over. They needed time before they could tell them all, and think about how to approach certain problems, namely a small dragon assistant. They both loved Spike dearly, but the heart of the matter was that he was a completely different species from a pony. His experiences with dragons so far hadn’t brought anything good to him, but he needed them, and sooner or later would have to take that fact into account.
They would cross that bridge when it came to that, however.
------
The small light blue flower greeted them from its place on the ground. Zecora plucked it with her mouth and stuffed into a bag. She turned to the two unicorns that were standing apart from each other and declared.
“Thanks to you going steady, the potion will soon be ready.”