//------------------------------// // A Quiet Night In // Story: Fly Like You // by Jinzou //------------------------------// “So.” Rainbow began, flopping onto the bed on her side. “So.” Twilight repeated, curling gently around her pegasus lover. “Well, we just basically came out to all of Equestria, and Scootaloo did the bravest dang thing I’ve ever seen. I mean, aside from the fact that our parents might be mad we announced our relationship to a rioting crowd before them, I feel we should celebrate. Or something.” “Honestly…” Twilight yawned. “I think that was maybe enough excitement for the day. How about we celebrate tomorrow and have a nice day inside today? Relax, read some books, not be under the scrutinization of hundreds of assorted ponies for the first time since the crowd originally formed…” “Mm,” Rainbow replied. “One condition.” “Hmm?” Twilight laid her head on top of Rainbow’s and gave her a little nuzzle. “You uh… uh… keep holding me like this. And tell nobody!” Twilight gasped and smiled. “Oh my word Dashie, you like being the little spoon?” Rainbow paused for a moment. “Promise me you won’t tell another soul?” Twilight pulled Rainbow closer to her with her wing, then draped it over Rainbow like a makeshift blanket. Rainbow sighed happily as the warm feathers caressed her fur. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” “And promise me you won’t laugh?” Rainbow’s voice wavered. “I only promise to try.” Twilight whispered, nipping at Rainbow’s ear. Rainbow’s cheeks flushed. “I… Well… I uh...I kinda like feeling um… protected. Like this.” Rainbow’s whole face turned red. Twilight used her forelegs to tightly draw Rainbow’s into her chest. She hooked their rear legs together and flicked her tail so it fell over Rainbow’s rump. “If I knew you were this adorable when I first met you Pookie, I would have asked you out years ago.” Twilight whispered, nuzzling deep into Rainbow’s neck.  “Twilight…” Rainbow started. “Remember what I said on the farm?” Twilight asked. “If I knew you were as stressed as you were, I would have tried to find a way to intervene. To make you feel better. And now here we are. And I” Twilight kissed Rainbow’s cheek. “Will” Twilight kissed another part of Rainbow’s cheek. “Pamper you until we both drop.” Twilight finished off by pushing herself up and forward, locking lips with Rainbow.  Rainbow let out a slow exhale through her nose and the two mares wrestled tongues, letting off small pants as she reached around and grabbed Twilight’s neck, pulling her closer into the kiss. They broke apart after several moments, and Rainbow took the chance to kiss Twilight on both sides of her muzzle and once in the neck. “Twi I just…  You… I’m not great with words but you are just… the best thing in existence. Like normally I’d be all ‘kissing and cuddling? Ew.’ but then you came into my life and you just… I freaking love you so much.”  “More than Daring Do?” Twilight grinned smugly. “Hey, let’s not get too crazy.” Twilight giggled and buried her face in Rainbow’s mane, hugging her tightly. “So Twi, do you wanna read, or do you just want to fall asleep in my awesome mane? That second choice is very understandable.”  Twilight took a moment to burrow deeper into Rainbow’s mane before popping out. “I do know of one series you might like. It’s not Daring Do though. It’s called ‘Ten Tons of Lost Love’. It’s real-” “Ooh!” Rainbow exclaimed. “I already read that one. Super good series too. I loved Sapphire Heart in the third one, where she met Arctic Shot? Such a weird matching couple. But so cute!” “I… you… wha?” “Oh and after that fight scene where Sapphire Heart thought Arctic Shot was gonna bleed out, and she announced her love for him? That was super sweet.” “You… read the first three books? Romance books? And LIKED THEM?!” Twilight gawked. “Again…” Rainbow trailed off. “Tell nobody else. But yeah! I read the whole series!” “That… That’s my favorite romance series. And you LIKE THEM?” Twilight squeed. “Oh totally!” Rainbow rambled excitedly. “Remember that time in the second book…?” “When Frozen Wind…” “And then Arctic Shot fought him off? Yeah!” Twilight paused for a moment to stare deep into the magenta eyes of the pegasus she was cuddling. The same eyes that were currently staring at her, full of joy and excitement. “Oh my gosh I love you so much.” Twilight spouted. Rainbow leaned over and gave Twilight’s nose a quick peck. “Baby, I know.” Twilight purred as she buried her head back into Rainbow’s soft, lilac scented mane. A moment later she popped her head out again, struck by a brilliant idea. “If you liked those I have a ton of suggestions about other books you may like!” Rainbow grinned. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” “Hot cocoa?” “A big blanket?” “And a small fire?” “And a whole day reading books?” Rainbow paused. “You’re literally the only pony in the universe that can make that sound exciting.” Twilight winked. Rainbow jumped to her hooves. “I’ll go get the blanket. Meet you in the library?” “Absolutely!” Twilight chirped. Rainbow rocketed through the air, messing up the covers and knocking Twilight off the bed. With a small oof she landed on the floor. Blinking a few times to clear the haze, she noticed a small pile of books under the bed on Rainbow’s side. “Huh,” Twilight said to herself. “This must be what she’s reading. I wonder what other kinds of books Rainbow had queued up. Probably some silly action books with pirates. She loves pirates.” Twilight reached around the pile and pulled it toward herself. She noticed something off about each book, and her smile just grew larger with each title she read. Spellbound Fireflies Vanilla Twilight Head in the Clouds Dreams and Disasters I’ll Always Be Here For You Little Wonders I’ll Do Anything for You Twilight hid her manic grin behind a hoof. Not only were these romance stories, they were romance novels. When Twilight had recommended romance she hadn’t expected Rainbow Dash to actually read any, but this was all romance! There was one more book at the bottom of the pile. Both the cover and spine were blank, and upon opening it, Twilight found hoofwritten words instead of typed and printed words. How odd. Twilight climbed back onto the bed, taking the featureless book with her, and settled down to read. Aurora Prism was a very accomplished pony. Captain of the Wonderbolts, current holder of the wing speed record, and the envy of mares worldwide. But Aurora had a problem. A big problem. She was in love. The subject of her affections was a simple pegasus teacher from the small hick town of Ponyville. The town was barely on the map, only known for their apple exports. Aurora had stopped there one afternoon after practice just to explore. To see more of the world she inhabited. That’s when she met her. Dawn Twinkle. The pony that had ruined everything. The pony had a simple dark blue coat and a pink and purple mane. She sometimes wore glasses, which Aurora found very cute, and taught foals with a passion Aurora had only ever seen in her team of world class athletes. To anybody else, she might seem ordinary. Boring, even. But when Aurora looked at her, all she saw was perfection. Beauty taken form. She had to have that mare for herself. But what would Equestria think?  This thought plagued her mind as she lay upon a cloud above Ponyville. She could see Dawn’s house less than a mile away. She was so close to the mare and yet she… couldn’t. What would her team say? Her fans? All of Equestria? The expectation was that she would marry another athlete, or maybe some other famous pony. They would be a legendary couple, have one or two legendary foals, and live on, their names slathered in every history book in Equestria. But every time she had gone to a party, a meet and greet, or any other place that famous ponies congregated, she thought of nothing but that simple mare from Ponyville. The rest of her team was hooking up with big names. Her third in command, Fleethoof, had recently announced her engagement with one of the most famous actors known to ponykind. But still Aurora’s mind went back to that mare. Today was the day. Today… she would tell Dawn. She would walk straight up to the mare, and the mare would fall in love. How could she not? Aurora was a name everyone knew. Nary a filly and colt existed that did not idolize that fabulous pegasus. It would all be okay. Leaving her cloud, Aurora flew swiftly over the sleepy little town. She touched down in front of the house of Dawn, and instantly began rethinking her plan. What if Dawn didn’t like her? What if Dawn wasn’t even into mares? There were ten billion things that could go wrong. Aurora began pacing in front of the door, internally stressing over the two warring sides of her mind. One screamed at her to leave, to salvage her dignity and find some rich stallion to marry. The other screamed back, saying that love was always worth a try. That one screamed just a bit louder. Aurora cleared her throat, took several steadying breaths, and knocked. Moments later the door opened, and the subject of Aurora’s affections appeared. “Oh hello… erm… Do I know you?” The mare didn’t even know Aurora. That took several moments to sink in. She was the name on everyone’s lips. She was a living legend. She had ponies lining up for miles just to get a picture with her. And yet this mare didn’t even recognize her. “Um, yes.” Aurora found her voice. “My name is Aurora Prism.” Dawn’s eyebrows knitted together. “I’m sorry. I do recognize that name from somewhere… but I don’t quite remember.” Aurora actually felt a pang of pain at this. She’d worked years upon years to build her legacy and the one pony who Aurora wanted to know didn’t even recognize her face. But maybe that was for the best. The crazy fans would say anything to be close to Aurora, and if this mare didn’t know who she was… maybe it could be genuine. Twilight hummed softly. “Strange, it seems just like any other romance book. But I don’t recognize it. Maybe I can find some notes from the author near the back.” Twilight rifled through the book, eventually reaching the end halfway though. “Aurora Prism, will you do me the honor of granting me a dance?”  Aurora blinked hard. She had seen Dawn dance. She was… the nicest way to put it would be... a trainwreck. But gazing into the soft purple eyes of the pony who meant so much to her, she could hardly say no. But that wasn’t the only issue. Taking Dawn’s hoof and meeting her in the air, Aurora reflected on another glaring issue. “Uh Dawn… I don’t know how to slow dance.” Dawn leaned forward, their cheek fur gently brushing together as Dawn’s lips came up to Aurora’s ears. “I’ll teach you.” And so the two danced in the air, their graceful movements matching perfectly to the music. If Aurora didn’t know better, she could swear Dawn was glowing.  Dawn gave Aurora that little half smile Aurora had come to love. “You’re a quick study, Aurora.” Dawn giggled. “Yeah well…” Aurora’s cheeks tinted pink. “I got a good teacher.” Aurora led Dawn into an aerial spin, her heart leaping as Dawn’s mutli-toned mane bounced with the flaps. Aurora had never seen such b- “T-Twilight?” a voice called from behind. “W-what are you doing?” This chapter is almost word for word what happened last night… Wait, Dawn Twinkle? Aurora Prism? Those did actually sound a lot like… Oh my Celestia. There’s no way. There. Is. No. Way. “Hey Dashie.” Twilight fought to keep her voice even. “Just reading this great book.” “Oh, you like it?!” Rainbow Dash responded enthusiastically. “ I mean yeah, it’s uh... good.”  “Thing is,” Twilight continued.  “It’s incomplete. Who would publish an incomplete book?”  “I-I dunno. It was in your library.”  “I don’t even recognize it. And there’s no name of the book or the author on the spine. How  peculiar.”  “R-right? Super weird.”  “Aurora Prism and Dawn Twinkle, why do those names sound familiar?”  “...Couldn’t tell you.” Twilight stared into Rainbow’s eyes for a few moments. Rainbow’s pupils had shrunk, her ears flopped against the sides of her heads. Upon meeting Twilight’s gaze, Rainbow let out a nervous chuckle. “Dashie, I think your book is adorable. I mean, I was surprised you were reading romance, but writing it? It’s really good too! I had no idea you were such a prestigious writer!” Rainbow Dash blinked hard. She ran through a myriad of responses in her mind, a complex show of quick, contradicting emotions, and then settled for the best one. “You really mean it?” Rainbow chirped excitedly, flapping the outside portions of her wings. “Ohmygosh ohmygosh. I was so scared to show it to you because it was a little side project and I was kind of embarrassed and oh my gosh is it hot in here or is it just me?” Twilight walked over to Rainbow and nuzzled her neck. “It’s just you. You’re pretty hot.” Both mares blushed. “You uh… promise not to tell anybody?” Rainbow asked cautiously. “Hmm.” Twilight tapped her jaw, pretending to be lost in thought. “One one condition.” “Name it.” “We cuddle and you read it to me.” Rainbow squeed. She flew over to the bed and relaxed, laying on her back. She motioned for Twilight to join her with her forehooves. Twilight walked over to the bed, and settled chest-to-chest with Rainbow. She cuddled in as she gave a quiet sigh of contentment, closing her eyes. Rainbow eagerly threw her hooves around Twilight and flipped to the first page. She began reading. Twilight cuddled deeper into Rainbow’s warm fluff, feeling relaxed and protected. All was good in the world until Rainbow loudly exclaimed something and clapped a hoof over her eye. “Ow! Twilight, watch the horn!” “Oops, sorry!”