//------------------------------// // Crystals are Cold // Story: Fly Like You // by Jinzou //------------------------------// "Thanks again for us letting us stay in your cloudhome, Rainbow." Twilight chirped. "I was going to go crazy if I had to try to fall asleep in three different layers of clothes again. The castle really needs a better heating system!" "Hey, no problem! What kind of friend would let you suffer in that cold castle?" Rainbow chuckled. "Now we don't we get you all set up? Only thing is..." Rainbow trailed off awkwardly. Twilight raised a eyebrow quizzically. "What's wrong, Rainbow?" Rainbow exhaled slowly. "Well, we only have two rooms. I know Spike can probably share Scoot's room without much trouble, but there's only one bed in my room. But I have a pretty nice couch. I can just grab some blankets and extra pillows while you crash there. Besides, we gotta let our princess get her beauty sleep in an actual bed." Rainbow flashed Twilight a good-natured smirk as she bumped her shoulder. Twilight hid her frown. She hated when ponies treated her like she was above them. Especially when her friends did it, even jokingly. "No no, that's fine. I'm not gonna kick you out of your own bed in your own house." Twilight waved a hoof in front of her friend. "I can take the couch." Rainbow laughed and rolled her eyes. "Well then I'd be a terrible host if I let you do that. Come on Twi, you know I can fall asleep anywhere. I once fell asleep standing up!" Twilight took a deep breath and chewed her bottom lip. "Why don't we just share it?" "...What?" Twilight blushed. "I... Well I mean... I think we've been friends long enough to make that... not weird. Plus, we've dealt with enough stuff together. I mean, I don't want you to be uncomfortable, and we can just stay on opposite sides." Besides, we could conserve body heat if we were in the same room. And maybe more so if we- Woah Twilight, calm down. You're making this weird. Rainbow smirked. "Am I gonna wake up finding you cuddling me again if I say yes?" Twilight flushed a darker shade of red. "Well... keep us warm and I won't have to find my own way to get warm..." She giggled awkwardly, trying to play off her joke more casually. By Celestia Twilight, you're just digging yourself a bigger hole. Now Rainbow will just think I'm flirting with her... ... Am I flirting with her? "Weeelllll..." Rainbow tapped her chin with a hoof. "I could probably lengthen the bed with a bit more cloud. Perks of having a cloud mattress. That way we can both get a decent amount of space. Alright Twi, I'll do it... Just don't make it weird." "Me? Make it weird? Hah! Good one Rainbow Dash!" Twilight gave off an obviously fake laugh. "You'll barely notice me!" Rainbow just rolled her eyes. Twilight felt a hot breeze on her face as she sailed through the air, following Rainbow's trail, and flawlessly pulling tricks right after her. Twilight dipped and dived, dodged and spun, portraying far more grace while flying than she ever had shown previously. With a tired grunt, the two mares landed on a nearby cloud to take a rest. "Good practice, Twilight!" Rainbow smiled widely at Twilight, the reaction causing Twilight's heart to flutter in response. "Are you ready to join the Wonderbolts with me?" Wait, Wonderbolts? That had never been part of their deal. Twilight just wanted to fly around with her best friend. Still, the idea of flying right next to her friend in those form fitting uniforms in front of a crowd of cheering ponies was- Wait, what did I say? This isn't right. Twilight felt another burst of hot air hit her face, and snapped her eyes open. She found herself almost muzzle to muzzle with Rainbow Dash, completely covered in sweat. As Rainbow exhaled, her hot breath hit Twilight right in the face. Twilight blinked hard, realizing she also had one of her forehooves resting on Dash's shoulder. Taking extra care not to make any noise, Twilight removed her hoof from Dash's shoulder and inched away from her. Why did I... I must have been cold. Yeah, it's kind of cold in here. And that has nothing to do with all the sweat. Twilight slowly exited the room and took a deep breath. Everything was fine. Twilight was just overreacting... Right? She shook her head, attempting to clear her racing thoughts. Twilight ambled over to the bathroom and splashed some water on her face. She glanced up weakly, looking at her reflection in the mirror. What's going on with me? I've never felt this weird around anybody else before... Twilight shivered. Out from under the warm covers, her body was now subject to the chilly air, and her sweaty coat just made matters worse. Twilight eyed the shower on the other side of the room. Well I don't want to wake anybody, but I'm not going back to bed all sweaty. Turning to shower to warm, Twilight sat in the stream of water, silently enjoying the feeling as the warmth permeated her coat and relaxed her muscles. She picked up some of Rainbow's shampoo and idly studied the label. "Serenity's Embrace: Lilac Medley" it read. I know Rainbow refuses to admit that she liked being treated effeminately sometimes, but I really expected her to use some overly masculine sounding shampoo. Shrugging, Twilight lathered up her coat and mane and rinsed off. She telekinetically brought the towel Rainbow had set out for her earlier and dried herself off, before folding the towel over the curtain bar and returning to the bedroom. "T-Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked blearily, one eye shut and the other half open. Her mane was even more disorganized than usual, falling limply over her shoulders and having a couple rebel strands fall in front of her face rather cutely. Twilight felt her heart beat faster at the sight. "Why are you up at... Celestia even knows how early taking a shower? It's not even dawn yet." "O-oh I was... having a partially stressful dream, and woke up a little sweaty." Twilight lied. "About what?" Rainbow yawned. "Uh... books!" Twilight said the first thing that came to mind and internally facehooved. Books? Could I have come up with a worse lie? There's no way she'll believe me. She'll call me out on my lie and I'll- To Twilight's immense pleasure, Rainbow just chuckled at her answer. "Of course the Queen of Eggheads would have a bad dream about books. You're a laugh, Twi." Rainbow gave Twilight a sleepy, halfway cognizant smile and cuddled deeper into her pillow as Twilight felt her heart flutter. It's ridiculous to think that actually worked. Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Twilight made her way to the other side of the bed and gingerly got under the covers, facing the opposite direction of Rainbow Dash. Although the blankets were warm and soft, Twilight was filled with an even warmer feeling as she remembered Rainbow's smile. That same smile stayed in her mind as she happily gave way to the embrace of sleep. I could get used to a setup like this...