//------------------------------// // Rainbow Dash // Story: Mane Six Cuddle Simulator // by CategoricalGrant //------------------------------// “Rainbow Dash!” “Huh!?” Rainbow Dash cuts back immediately, clearly peeved. “Why do I have to share?” “Come now, Rainbow Dash. Don’t the Wonderbolts promise to protect and serve the citizens of Equestria?” Twilight prods. “Well, yeah, but-“ Applejack chuckles. “Wriggle yer way out of that ‘un, Rainbow.” Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes and scoffs disdainfully. “Fine.” She turns to you. “Just, get over here.” You walk around the couch toward Rainbow’s corner, where she has laid out a light blue sleeping bag with what appears to be a striped, rainbow interior. “Fitting,” you muse. “What?” she asks, glaring at you. “Nothing.” Huffing, Rainbow Dash slips inside her sleeping bag and stares daggers at you. “Listen up. We can share, but no touching! I’m not into all that fuzzy warm stuff like Pinkie Pie is.” You hold up your hands defensively. “Ok, ok, got it. No touching.” Taking great care not to break your promise, you wiggle carefully into the sleeping bag next to Rainbow Dash and rest your head on your half of the pillow. Both of your bodies are compressed and crumpled on your respective sides of the bag, with not a single strand of fur on Rainbow Dash’s body touching you. You wince as your muscles protest the uncomfortable position. The minutes pass by quickly. Soon, the happy whispering from the other ponies dies away as they begin to slumber. Rainbow Dash clears her throat. You sigh. You feel the smooth cover above you shift as Rainbow Dash relaxes her body. Her foreleg comes in contact with your shoulder, although just slightly. Taking advantage of the détente, you relax your body as well, which presses your shoulder deeper into Rainbow Dash’s coat. You shift your neck sharply as well, which culminates in an audible pop. Rainbow Dash shifts one of her back hooves so that it lays against your ankle. You turn your head to look at Rainbow Dash. Her face is mostly obscured in the darkness. “So…a little bit of touching?” you whisper with trepidation. Rainbow Dash doesn’t respond verbally and merely huffs at you. Then, her back hoof begins toying with your foot. You can’t help but smile as you begin to respond in kind, gently stroking her lower leg. Surreptitiously, you slip your arm under Rainbow Dash’s foreleg and use your thumb to gently pet the soft feathers of her wing. In response, she wiggles over toward you, her right hip pressing against your left as she gently rests her head on your shoulder. Removing your thumb from her side, you take her hoof in her hand and hold it tenderly, caressing her forelock affectionately with your fingers. She rotates her hoof and presses it against your palm. After another moment, she leans up and nuzzles your cheek. “So…a lot of touching?” you whisper. “Fine,” she whispers back even quieter. “But don’t tell anypony!” Smiling more broadly now, you roll onto your side, scooping up Rainbow Dash into your arms in the process. You wiggle up to her boldly, aligning your torso against her back. Burying your nose into her mane, you are bombarded with a crisp, clean scent no doubt an artifact of flying through clouds all day. Rainbow Dash shuffles her wings gently, and in response you move your hand up to play with its feathers. Her tail happily swishes in between your legs as you scratch under the fluffy planes. Rainbow Dash lets out the slightest hum of enjoyment, her ear flicking softly as you lean up to nuzzle her warm cheek. Gently, she presses her midsection back against you, allowing you to tighten the hug. You carefully slide one hand under the junction between her flank and back, near the edge of her cutie mark’s cloud, and relax your neck. Her form is small and light but firm; truly, a flier's body! As she leans her head back, her mane gently covers your face again, bathing your senses in the smell of morning breezes and a multitude of colors. The rising of her chest slows and deepens, your arm moving a little less frequently with each passing minute. Cuddling a happy, warm pony, you fall asleep. Applejack chuckles to herself quietly. “Hey, Twahlight,” she beckons quietly, “take a look at this.” Twilight Sparkle, fresh out of her sleeping bag, blinks a few times and leans up to peer over the couch. Her bleary eyes sharpen instantly and analyze the scene from under a disheveled mane. “…Huh,” she says, allowing herself a satisfied grin. “I knew Rainbow Dash liked to cuddle more than she was letting on.” “Should we wake them up for breakfast?” “Nah, they look too happy and comfortable. Let’s leave them. Maybe we can bring them some pancakes later…Y’know, breakfast in bed.” Applejack chuckles again as she follows Twilight out of the room. “That’ll make her redder than a Cortland apple in October.”