//------------------------------// // Cloudchaser // Story: Always. Forever. // by Minty Sundae //------------------------------// 0600. My internal clock let me know it was time to get up. I mentally groaned. I’m off duty. The perk of living close enough to Cloudsdale was I could easily commute back and forth when I was on leave, and I always came home when I had the weekend off. My eyes refused to open and let the light of a new day brighten the room, but hints of raspberry and vanilla tickled my nostrils. I greedily inhaled the intoxicating aroma of my sister’s favorite shampoo as my brain finally conceded defeat and started waking up. My left forehoof was over her barrel, and I could feel her heat beating against my fetlock. Her breathing was slow and steady, and I could feel her twitch periodically as she dreamed. I wonder if she’s dreaming about me? I couldn’t remember what I’d been dreaming of when force of habit jarred me from my blissful slumber. I hope I dreamed of Flitter. Any dream without her might as well be a nightmare. Do I get up and have breakfast ready for the love of my life, or do I stay here in our comfortable cloud bed snuggling her instead? What a stupid question. The course of action that let me stay closest to Flit obviously won. Maybe her soft little snores will lull me back to sleep. I sighed, internally, so as not to wake my sister. Wishful thinking. Once I’m up, I’m up. I resisted the temptation to nibble her ear or tickle the fluff of her chest. Flit’s beautiful, and she deserves her beauty rest. She’d never admit it, but I know she doesn’t sleep well when I'm not here with her. We’ve been inseparable ever since that first time she climbed into my bed when we were fillies after having had a bad dream. At first, our parents found it cute, but as we grew older, it became a bone of contention between us all. Mom started sneaking poking her snout into our room at random during the night, just to make sure we weren’t sleeping together. Of course, at the time we had no idea why that was such a big deal, all we knew was that it made our parents angry. Eventually we’d moved into a bigger house, and they’d forced us into separate bedrooms on opposite sides of their own. So I did what I had to do to protect Flit. Always. Forever. At first, I took a job delivering newspapers for the Ponyville Picayune first thing in the morning. It was an excuse to wake up early, and I could easily sneak into her room and kiss her on the cheek or forehead before leaving for work. When I was old enough, I took an afterschool job. Some of my classmates did the same, and they blew their wages on clothing, makeup, and jewelry, all in the hopes of impressing some stallion or mare. I didn’t need any of that; I’d already figured out who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Always. Forever. Instead I’d stashed the bits in the bank, and the day we turned eighteen, I surprised Flit by taking her to a bare patch of clouds and informing her I’d purchased them. We spent a week building the coziest cloud home we could. We’d of course put in multiple bedrooms; we each needed our own personal space, after all. But we never slept alone when we were at home together. Sometimes it was my room, sometimes hers, but always together, and always my big spoon to her little spoon. I watched the early morning light play across Flit’s face and her luxurious turquoise mane. She’s so peaceful, so radiant. I love you, Flit! Part of me wants her to wake up so I can tell her that. The rest of me is perfectly content to tell her later, when she wakes up. Sleep like a filly, my sweet. You don’t know how much I miss these moments alone. Just holding you while you dream, there’s no sensation in the world better than this. She stirred, and I knew she was waking up. Whatever dream she’d been having had triggered her cognitive processes, and her brain was firing up. There was nothing I could do to lull her back to sleep, so I just held her tightly. Always. Forever. As clarity returned to her, I leaned my muzzle in close to her ear. “Finally awake, sleepyhead?” I kissed her cheek. “Love you, sis.” “Love you too, Cloudy.” I nuzzled her and she sighed in contentment, wrapping her tail around my barrel to pull me even closer against her. I ignored the hunger pangs; even the best breakfast in the world isn’t worth getting out of this embrace for. Wrapped around each other we lay there, snuggling. I love Flit, and Flit loves me. Other ponies think my sister’s ‘clingy’ or ‘needy’. She probably is, but she can cling to me whenever she wants, and whatever she needs, I’ll provide. She’s worth it, and if other ponies can’t see that, that’s their own loss. I don’t know what love is. That’s for philosophers, poets, and any other pony with a way with words to hammer out. They can describe these feelings in my heart that I just can’t express. Maybe the only word really needed is ‘love’. Can one word alone convey all the emotions I feel toward Flit? I don’t know, and I’ll probably never know. Until then, I’ll just call it love, because my vocabulary isn’t big enough to express everything I feel for Flit. My stomach continued gurgling, and I willed it to shut up. Unfortunately, my body was used to being done with breakfast by 0645. Sometimes I wonder why I joined the Wonderbolts. Being on the team takes me away from the pony I love for days and even weeks at a time. But I love her so much, and I need to protect her. I can’t safeguard everything in Equestria, but I want to do what I can to help the most ponies possible. Yet Flit’s the only one I want to hold at night. I just hate that it means being apart from her so many nights of the year. It’s not fair. Maybe I should just go back to the weather team? The weather manager position Rainbow Dash left when she became a fulltime Wonderbolt is still open, and with my background I’d be a sure bet for the position. Meh, I can think about that the next time I go to work. Right now all I want to think about is Flitter. The sweetest, cutest, kindest, most huggable twin a pony could ask for. I reached a hoof down and tickled her belly. She giggled, and her delicate laughs were the sweetest song in Equestria. Sadly, I could no longer ignore the growls from my stomach. Reluctantly, I broke our embrace. I kissed Flit’s forehead. “You stay here all snuggly, and I’ll go grab us some breakfast.” She wouldn’t hear of it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her move so fast. She made it out to the kitchen before me, and had already poured batter into the waffle iron before I could stop her. We have fruit and pastries in the fridge; we could’ve had breakfast in bed. I couldn’t help but watch Flit as she prepared our food. She always wiggled her hindquarters back and forth while cooking, and it was as hypnotic as it was adorable. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that I’m enjoying the view. Flit spoiled me, making my favorite breakfast. She really is the best. It tasted even better, because she made it with love. We’d always loved snuggling up on the loveseat, and after brunch Flit wrapped us up in the homemade quilt our aunt had knitted years ago as a housewarming gift. It can’t be a coincidence that it’s big enough for both of us. At least some of our relatives support us. Flit had a book for us to read, and it was one of those bitstore romances she enjoyed. I read along with her, eager to see if the author could put into words the feelings I so wished to express to my sister. Alas, he was more adept at describing his characters’ physical attributes, so his readers would know exactly how muscular the leading stallion was, or just how vibrant the main character’s eyes were. She has bright blue eyes, we get it. But she’ll never be as pretty as my Flit! Flitter was turning the pages, and I moved a hoof along her body as we read. The book had failed to hold my attention, so I didn’t bother reading more than a few random sentences per page. My sister squeaked in surprise as my hoof tickled her cutie mark. Three beautiful little dragonflies on one beautiful mare. The prettiest pony in the world. She’d only try to deny it if I said the words out loud, arguing that she couldn’t be the prettiest, because I was. Sweet talker. I’ve seen my reflection, and even though we’re twins I can’t hold a candle to her. I gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Even after all these years, a surprise kiss could still bring a blush to my sister’s cheeks. Heh, just makes her look even cuter. The pages continued turning, and I barely acknowledged anything more than the fact that there were words on the pages. The words didn’t matter. What we did was inconsequential. The important part was that we did it together. Flit flipped the page and I immediately caught sight of two words. The End was hard to miss, especially considering it was bolded and in a font three sizes bigger than the rest of the book’s text. Once I was sure I’d given her enough time to finish the page, I pressed my muzzle against her ear and whispered, “Sweet nothings.” “Cloudy! That’s not what that saying means!” She laughed at my corny joke and playfully pushed me. I fell to the floor, dragging her along with me. I love making her laugh. We landed on the cloud floor of our home, Flit landing atop me. I pulled her tight against me and she brushed her nose against mine. “I think it’s time you got your just desserts.” She kissed me and stood up. My eyes were drawn to her swishing tail and I followed her to the kitchen. She pulled a chair out for me and I took a seat. I wonder what you’re cooking up. A bowl filled to capacity with ice cream and all the fixings appeared in front of me. Ice cream? Flit, you’re the best. You even got my favorite flavors: vanilla and raspberry. They remind me of your favorite shampoo. She squirted whipped cream on her muzzle and I blinked. Then she squirted the rest of the can on my own muzzle. Ice cream forgotten, my tongue greedily licked the sweet treat from my sister’s snout, while Flit’s tongue returned the favor. I kissed her, the hairs of our respective muzzles briefly sticking together from the whipped cream’s residue. A spoon came towards me and I realized Flit was intent on feeding me. Prench vanilla and whipped cream melted on my tongue, and I swallowed as Flit removed the spoon from my mouth. I returned the favor, scooping up a mouthful of ice cream and gently sliding it into her mouth. Most couples would do that for a bite or two, then turn their attention to feeding themselves. Quitters. After dessert, she led me to her bedroom. I laid down on the bed and felt her climb on top of me. “Relax, Cloudy. Let your head go limp.” I followed her instructions, and she pivoted my head all around. What on Equus is she doing? With a snap, my head was quickly twisted in one direction, then the other. The tension I didn’t even realize I’d been carrying in my neck faded away. That feels absolutely wonderful. She started massaging my back and withers, and at some point my wings snapped open. I don’t even remember unfurling them… I felt the tension release as she worked the last knot out, and it took all my will to roll onto my side. C’mere, you. I pulled my sister against me and closed my eyes. Maybe we can stay in again tomorrow. That would be nice…