A Twilightful Dash of Caprice ~ Stand by Me
The first rays of beautiful morning sunlight crept into the bedroom through the window situated above the bed. The sun’s gentle warmth caressed the silky back-fur of the lightly dozing violet mare and nudged her awake from a deep slumber. Twilight fluttered her eyes open, her awareness slightly groggy thanks to the previous night’s activities. Her vision deepened with the brilliant hues of red, orange, and yellow -- all the vibrant colors of her Rainbow dozing by her side. My Rainbow. Twilight toyed with the thought happily. She never could have guessed this happening over but a few weeks.
The air in the room was cool and still. Winter’s chill permeated through the walls and sent frosty fingers along the freshly roused pony’s exposed body. Twilight tucked herself tighter against the heavy comforter covering her, but it was hardly sufficient on an icy morning such as this. She shifted her hooves and gently pressed against the side of the cyan mare who lay sleeping rather soundly next to her. “Rainbow...” she whispered out into the ear of the dozing pegasus, the last syllable extended in a pleading fashion.
Rainbow didn’t budge from her heavy slumber, but a soft moan escaped her lips. Twilight’s heart skipped a beat in a rush of certainty from hearing a sound beginning with “T” and ending with an “I.” She smiled inwardly and nestled her body closer to the sleeping pony. After last night’s experience, a little extra rest for the symbol of her affections made perfect sense.
The feel of her fur pressed up intimately with another warmed her core in the most delightful fashion. Unfortunately, the nippy air still tickled her ears and horn, a reminder evoking the season’s windswept banks of rain clouds and the sun’s battle against winter’s rime. Twilight wasn’t worried. Her solution lay beside her: a warm and soft heat source right there in her bed.
She shifted her body a little lower allowing more of the blanket to cover her body. Her head moved from the pillow to the space between the forehooves and chest of the peacefully resting pegasus. After a few moments of careful, measured breaths, she decided Rainbow’s foreleg wouldn’t lose blood from pinched circulation and contentedly closed her eyes.
Twilight stretched out the foreleg which wasn’t pressed between their bodies and tenderly brushed it across the fur of her sleeping companion. The foreleg lingered for a moment before resting gently against Rainbow’s chest. She savored the warmth, the steady rise and fall of her love’s breathing, and the undeniable heartbeats she knew beat for her. The reverie furthered with the gentle caress of another hoof upon her own. Even while Rainbow slept, she was there for her.
Pressed up against Rainbow beneath the blanket, Twilight could relax, let her fears melt away, and forget about the annoyingly cold air. She felt safer here than anywhere else in the world. Inevitably, she drifted off, surrounded by lethargic warmth.
An indeterminate amount of time passed before the first strands of Rainbow’s tail hair crept along the flank of her dozing partner. The sensations trailed downward before finally brushing against the pink and white stars of her cutie mark. The touch triggered an involuntary shiver from the point of contact, up Twilight’s spine, and ended at her ears. Rainbow’s tail seemed in a playful mood as its continued motions drew a soft gasp from the rapidly awakening Twilight.
For the second time that morning Twilight was awoken before Rainbow. She gripped the cyan mare firmly as the tail assaulted her cutie mark, her entire body atremble. “Rainbow...” she whispered again, the last syllable extended even further to accentuate the pleading nature of her call. The target of the call stirred but didn’t respond audibly as last time. Instead, the rainbow-maned pegasus turned her head lower to make up for Twilight’s lower position in bed.
Twilight gasped again at the tail’s unrelenting assault, and each tender pass sent shivers up her spine. “Rainbow...” she gasped a third time right as the tail grazed across her cutie mark. This time the plea received a response, as even in her sleep Rainbow was there for Twilight.
Rainbow responded deftly to Twilight’s pleas and lowered her head further, her lips creeping toward where Twilight’s own would be. But Twilight wasn’t where Rainbow expected her to be, and as the pegasus’ lips made contact, Twilight’s horn flared with magical energy.
Twilight felt her body melt away to the gentleness and softness of those tender, loving lips against her horn. The sensations crashed upon her overwhelmingly. While Twilight could still feel each brush of Rainbow’s tail against her cutie mark, they didn’t compare to the overpowering warmth spreading from the tip of her horn directly into her mind. In the truest fashion, this was was a passionate kiss, as Rainbow’s tongue danced gingerly across the illuminated horn.
The purple mare could do nothing at this point but squirm within the grasp of her love. The kiss upon her horn evolved to the lightest nibbles punctuated by the occasional lick. “R...Rain...bow...” Twilight panted loudly, unable to push herself from her attacker. She loved this, and she wanted more.
A particularly loud moan finally broke sleep’s hold on her assaulter. Twilight released a final, dreamy sigh as Rainbow’s lips finally parted from her horn, and the cyan mare slowly stirred herself to wakefulness. Twilight pulled herself up from Rainbow’s delightfully warm body and settled her hooves on either side of the groggy pegasus. She smiled downwards and watched as the cyan mare slowly opened her eyes. Rainbow’s first sight of the morning was a heavily blushing Twilight, her horn moist and her body quivering.
“I love you, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight panted out, her face leaned close to Rainbow’s own.
“I love you, Twilight...” Rainbow managed to mumble, barely coherent and still quite hazy.
The unicorn couldn’t resist her feelings any longer. She pressed her head downwards and sealed her lips against Rainbow’s own, her mane draping over Rainbow’s in a pool of colors -- the first good morning kiss to her love for the day. Many more would surely follow.
~v~v~v~v~
A hairbrush floated through the air, wielded expertly by an absolutely glowing unicorn. As Twilight straightened her mane, she glanced at the clock in her bedroom. It was awfully late -- too late for breakfast, she concluded. Instead, she mused over the reasons for their tardiness from bed. In many cases, a late start would’ve bothered her...however, in this case, it only caused the purple mare to blush heavily.
“How about some brunch, Rainbow?” Twilight asked casually, her attention deftly switching from her mane to the groggy pegasus still in her bed. “If you’re quick about it, you can probably even get a plate of pancakes before lunchtime.” Twilight giggled as Rainbow immediately leapt out of the bed in a dramatic pose.
“I’m always quick enough for pancakes!” Rainbow exclaimed to the giggling mare. Twilight noted the slightly raised eyebrow which Rainbow eyed her with. Obviously, this was a hand-off to Twilight to comment about Rainbow’s quickness -- or lack thereof in certain situations. She rarely obliged her more energetic partner in these comments, but Rainbow never seemed to mind. Twilight was certain the smile that lit up her face from the very thought sufficed for her love.
“Come on then, let’s get you some pancakes,” Twilight said with a bright grin. The grin quickly shifted to surprise as Rainbow dashed by her down the stairs into the library proper. After the initial surprise wore off, Twilight cantered down the stairs noting a very eager-looking Rainbow poised to begin their pancake expedition into the cold winter expanse. A single glance outside confirmed Twilight’s concerns: It looked very cold outside.
Undeterred, the prodigious unicorn acquired her striped pink-and-white scarf from the closet. Her boots proved harder to find. Her search halted suddenly by a freezing draft against her flank. Twilight turned from the closet quickly to see Dash had already opened the door. “Hang on, Dash,” she started, “I need to find my boots. It’s far too cold to go out unprepared.”
Dash simply raised that eyebrow again and grinned at her. “Why would you need boots when you have the fastest and strongest pegasus in all of Equestria?” Dash accentuated her point by flaring her wings dramatically for Twilight before dropping down into a crouch. “Your carriage awaits, Ms. Sparkle,” Dash said in a mockingly facetious approximation of a highborn Canterlot dialect.
Twilight weighed her options. Flying was the faster option, though she wasn’t exactly comfortable with the thought of perching upon Dash’s back for all to see. However, further delay certainly reduced opportunities for pancakes considering the lateness of the hour. It looked like flying was the best option. She playfully bowed to Rainbow and quipped with a touch of Canterlot flair, “Ms.Sparkle would be delighted to embark upon you for pancakes.”
Embarking, it seemed, was a little more difficult than Twilight initially anticipated. After some slight jostling, she eventually settled into a comfortable and workable position upon Dash’s back. Her forelegs gripped Dash’s shoulders, and her hock pressed firmly against Dash’s flank. She rested her face against the prismatic mane below her with a wordless expression of readiness. Magically, she reached out to her scarf and wrapped it loosely around both of them -- a wordless expression of something more.
Twilight peeked out through Dash’s mane as they approached the door. A few experimental flaps of the pegasus’ wings scattered the snow on her doorstep. The rider took a deep breath before the pegasus launched into the air with a whoop. Twilight barely had time to close the door with her magic before the library faded. Dash was fast, so much so the unicorn had to close her eyes against the buffeting wind. Twilight opened her eyes once she felt Dash leveling off to what was probably a comfortable cruising altitude. The sight greeting her eyes drew a sharp gasp.
“It’s beautiful...” Twilight breathed out quietly into Dash’s ear, eliciting a laugh from her bearer. With her gaze fixated upon Equestria’s postcard scenery passing below her, Twilight jolted in surprise as her vision shifted suddenly from the snow-covered buildings to a crisp, blue sky. A half second later, and the sky shifted back to smoky chimneys and snowy drifts below. Twilight coughed and nipped at Dash’s ear. She didn’t appreciate the sudden barrel roll.
“Doth mine lady not applaud her carriage’s agility?” Dash snickered, her head leaned back for a little more contact with Twilight.
“No!” Twilight exclaimed, flustered by both the sudden aerial acrobatics and the confusion over Dash’s recent bout of such flowery language. She mentally noted to question Dash about it later.
Thankfully, the pancake house wasn’t far from the library, and Dash refrained from any more tricks for the remainder of the flight, though not without a few chuckles at Twilight’s expense. Luckily, by the time they arrived at the pancake house, Twilight caught up to the moment’s hilarity and chuckled a few times herself.
After getting seated in a booth with Twilight, Dash promptly ordered her usual -- a mega-stack of ten pancakes. Once they arrived, Twilight ate slowly while she watched Dash adoringly. She loved how Dash always did everything -- even demolishing pancakes -- with so much gusto and spirit. As she gazed into those magnificent cerise eyes filled with determination (at pancakes), she released a wistful sigh and blushed slightly. In it’s own way, this moment was just perfect.
After a spell, Twilight allowed the waitress to clear her plate. Rainbow would need a while longer, but that didn’t bother her in the slightest. She smiled and rested her head on her forelegs as she gazed around the establishment. Her eyes met the eyes of a lone pony enjoying some french toast in the booth behind Dash. She smiled her brightest but was surprised to see the pony return a frown before quickly turning away. This struck Twilight as particularly odd, but she brushed it off as curt politeness.
However, after a few more of her bright smiles met nothing but awkward frowns, Twilight wasn’t so sure anymore. She reached across the table to Dash and nudged the eating pegasus gently with a hoof. “Dash, is there something weird on my face?” she asked tentatively, slightly embarrassed at the prospect of having smiled at so many ponies with a dab of syrup or equally awkward foodstuffs on her face.
Dash smiled at her, the kind of smile which could melt her heart. Well, almost -- the flecks of syrup on Dash’s face plus the crumbs were a little less endearing. “Of course not Twi, you look beautiful as always.”
Twilight pursed her lips and glanced around furtively again, not entirely convinced. “Dash, ponies are frowning at me. My horn isn’t floppy from Poison Joke right?”
Dash looked positively concerned. She pushed away her last remaining pancake and stood up. Twilight watched as Dash slipped by the table gracefully and settled on her side of the booth. The pegasus very deliberately flared her wing and wrapped it around the purple mare in a tight embrace. “Twi, you look fine, don’t worry,” Dash consoled Twilight in a low voice.
A quick glance across the room at the deepening frowns confirmed Twilight’s concern. Twilight suddenly felt the wing quiver. She looked up at Dash and was shocked to see a barely contained expression of rage across her face. Apparently, Dash had finally noticed. Twilight reached out with a hoof and gently pressed it against Dash’s chest. “Dash, please don’t...” she pleaded quietly. “I just want to go home.”
Dash pulled Twilight out of the booth, a firm foreleg wrapped tightly around her side. A fair number of bits clinked against the table to cover the bill. Everything was so mechanical now. The euphoric sheen from earlier on slipped from Twilight’s world. “Let’s go, Twi,” Dash stated. Her voice had a certain coldness. Twilight followed Dash’s lead, her vision of the patrons obscured by Dash’s protective wing covering her body.
The trip back to the library was a sordid affair. Twilight couldn’t speak. All she could see was the frowns of the ponies in the restaurant. She supposed Dash’s silence suggested a smoldering anger and a tight restraint against lashing out in frustration. Things didn’t improve back in the library. Even at home, the cold sensations of rejection haunted Twilight. She stumbled upstairs to her bed and buried herself under the covers.
She felt a gentle hoof upon her shoulder. It wasn’t hard to guess it was Dash doing her best to console her. “Twi...” Dash began, but Twilight wasn’t ready for this. She was so happy with what she had, but apparently the rest of the world didn’t care about her happiness. Instead, they felt she shouldn’t have it.
“Go away, Dash...” she cried into the blanket. “It’s obvious the whole world thinks nothing of our happiness.” Twilight’s heart tinged with pain as she felt the hoof withdraw.
“Twi...” Dash began again, unwilling to part from the bedside of her beloved mare.
“I said...” Twilight paused to choke out a sob, “...go away, and find your happiness without me. I’ll bring you nothing but pain because I’m a mare.” Twilight listened carefully, ready to reject Dash again if she persisted, but all she heard were Dash’s fading steps down the stairs away from her.
Twilight clutched at the blanket between her hooves, crying her frustration and pain away. The sudden release of emotions sapped her of her strength and left her body feeling heavy and lifeless. Twilight contemplated a life without Dash, unsure if she made the right decision. The rampant stream of thoughts tore through her mind, leaving her exhausted and mentally drained as she slipped into fitful sleep.
~v~v~v~v~
Twilight plodded through a dull grey world, her head hung low to the ground. The colorless feeling seemed familiar, an echo of her previous encounter with Discord some time back. The overcast sky left little to the imagination. Twilight looked up, wistfully remembering the vibrant blue which was never there.
The gray unicorn dragged herself into the library and settled by the fireplace’s flickering illumination. The flames carried no lively oranges, reds, or yellows before her. The static, fiery tongues held no warmth. Even her books provided no solace here. The spines were blank, the pages barren, and the paper chilly to the touch.
She scanned the bookcases furtively, desperate for some relief in her bleak gray prison. As if borne of her desperation, a simple picture book, much like the ones for foals, caught her eye. Twilight would have balked at having to read such simple material, but at this point anything was better than empty titles and blank pages.
Twilight reached out with her magic to grip the book which rested on the top shelf, but to her dismay it seemed this world dispensed with magic as well. Despondent, Twilight sighed and smashed her body against the bookcase. The small tome shifted a few inches from the edge. After repeated attempts, the book finally relinquished its position atop the shelf and landed painfully on Twilight’s head.
Slightly bruised, but beyond caring, the unicorn flipped the book open in vain. This wasn’t a book at all. Just picture after picture. Wordless. Barren of knowledge.. As Twilight reviewed each picture, she realized something wasn’t right. Instead of flat dullness, each picture only brought pain, a stinging sensation in her heart which she couldn’t explain.
A laughing mare rolling in the grass with another.
A sleepy mare snuggling up close to another, a contented look upon her features.
A jubilant mare looking up at the sky next to another, a smile clear upon her face.
Page after page, all these pictures harbored some sense of familiarity. Twilight realized that these were of her. But what about the other mare? She focused on the grainy face, those determined looking eyes, that proud smile. A sense of safety permeated from her features.
Suddenly, Twilight felt warmth trickling down her cheeks onto the picture book. Each warm droplet splashing down muddied the pictures and blurred her vision. Even through her compromised vision, she realized she could see one thing: a magnificent pair of cerise eyes -- so determined and dedicated -- just for her. She turned rapidly away from the picture book and rushed outside underneath the dreary, empty sky.
She threw her head back and screamed at the world for its cruelty. She screamed of her loneliness. She screamed for her mistake. She screamed for Rainbow. But as the tears streamed down her face, she could make out the tiniest speck of light on the horizon. She followed it with her eyes: a beautiful streak of color cut across the sky and through the clouds right to her.
As it approached, it exploded into a concentric circle of color blasting the gray away from the world around her. The sky turned a magnificent shade of blue, the grass glimmered with green, the sun shone brightly, and the land swelled with autumn hues of orange and gold. She pulled herself onto her hind legs and cried out toward the streak of rainbow across the sky, “Rainbow Dash! I love you!”
“I know you do, Twi,” came the response. Twilight’s tear-streaked eyes snapped open. She shoved away the blankets around her...and her gaze met that same pair of beautiful cerise orbs from her dream.
Twilight gasped in a mixture of elation and shock as she threw her forelegs around the owner of those beautiful eyes. She pressed her face into that prismatic mane of color, beauty, and life. “Oh, Dash...I’m so sorry,” she cried. “I can’t be happy without you. Life is colorless without you. Please don’t go away!” As she cried, she squeezed her forelegs tightly around the cyan mare in a moment of relief lasting for a lifetime.
“Don’t be sorry, Twi,” Dash choked out. The sudden outpouring of emotion threatened to overwhelm the usually indomitable and brash pegasus. “I couldn’t be happy without you either. That’s why I never left. When I heard you cry for me, I came back upstairs for you.”
Twilight nodded against Dash’s shoulder, still unable to control her sobs. “Why...why didn’t you leave when I asked you to?” She had to know if this was real and if Dash reciprocated her undying care.
“That’s simple, Twi. It’s because you have my heart, my soul, and...” Dash paused. She swallowed past a lump in her throat and flared her wings dramatically before they wrapped comfortably around her crying mare. “... because you’re my Twi.”
The purple unicorn choked back her tears and pulled away so she could gaze into those beautiful cerise orbs she had fallen in love with. In them she could see the loyalty and the love she yearned for. More importantly, she saw the truth: everything she would ever want, and everything she would ever need to be happy. Satisfied, she allowed herself to close her eyes and pressed forward for a kiss which was tenderly returned. As the pegasus showered her with affection, a single, soothing thought floated through her mind: Buck the world. I have all the happiness I would ever want. And she’s right here in my arms.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Thanks for reading everyone. I hope I can be excused for the touch of Twilight paranoia, I had an idea of Rainbow always being there for Twilight, so I had to introduce some form of conflict. My previous scenes have had no conflict at all, so I hope it wasn’t too awful.
Also, more scenes! I’m trying to develop my abilities to carry a chapter a little further beyond a single scene. Any critique is appreciated. And as always, I would like to thank my beloved editor who makes these stories possible.