//------------------------------// // Guilty Pleasure // Story: The Sky Is Your Bed! // by 6-D Pegasus //------------------------------// Twilight groaned, rolling about in her bed underneath her covers. Her bed was perfectly comfortable. After all, she'd been sleeping in it for years now, ever since she moved moved to Ponyville from Canterlot. It had taken her a little bit of time to adjust to the new environment, but soon she had happily settled in. And for years, it had served her well, acting as a beacon of peace and tranquility that called to her wherever she was whenever exhaustion began to plague her mind. And for just as long, she had slept soundly in it without a single issue or complaint. And yet now... Now, something was off. Something was missing. It brought her great shame as she lingered on the thought, shifting around in her bed desperately to recapture that experience. Her blanket was perfect. Her pillows were perfect. Her mattress was perfect. The warm air within the library was perfect. She had even learned from Rainbow how to prevent her wings from popping straight up randomly during the night. The bed was perfect. Everything was perfect. But it just wasn't... wasn't... It wasn't a cloud. With a defeated groan, Twilight tossed her blanket off her and clambered off the bed. She climbed to all four hooves, her wings tiredly drooping to her sides. She spared a careful peak at Spike's basket to make sure he was still sound asleep. A gentle snore checked off that mental checkbox. Quietly, she walked over to her window and gazed upwards at the sky. Luna's moon shone brightly down upon Equestria, bathing the land in a soft, silvery glow. Stars littered the dark canvas in beautiful swirls and patterns, courtesy to Luna's precise dedication to enhancing the beauty of her night. She scanned the sky, narrowing her eyes in focus until she found what she was looking for. There, off in the distance over Sweet Apple Acres, was a large collection of soft, white clouds. Twilight recalled the farm was scheduled for a light, morning shower tomorrow, and based off the color of the clouds, she guessed the weather ponies were waiting for morning to come before seeding them to make them ready for rain. Drawing upon her now vastly increased magic reserves as well as years and years of study dedicated to honing her natural talent for magic, Twilight reached out to the sky above Sweet Apple Acres and felt the soft tufts of water vapor making up the clouds hovering above. She squeezed her eyes shut and pictured their shape, their size, their texture in her mind's eye. She imagined a somewhat small section of one of the clouds breaking off, then focused all her mind on feeling this new smaller cloud's shape and size as if she were touching it with her hooves. Finally, once she was certain she had captured the entire image in her mind, she pictured the cloud disappearing and reappearing beside her while pouring the right amount of magic into the carefully constructed spell matrix in her horn. Pop! Slowly, Twilight opened her eyes and returned her focus to the clouds above Sweet Apple Acres. One of the clouds now had a small, rectangular shaped hole cut into the side of it. She turned around to face her bed and was delighted to be met with the sight of a small cloud of equal size and shape hovering just above her bed. Excitedly, she clapped her hooves together and let out a squeal as a delighted schoolfilly would upon finally seeing their candy yield after a long Nightmare Night. She quickly cast a few restraining spells on the edges of the cloud to ensure it hovered right above her bed without moving. Even though Rainbow had assured her it shouldn't move while she napped, she didn't want to risk the cloud dispersing upon making contact with a nearby bookshelf, sending her tumbling to the floor. Or worse, tumbling down upon Spike. He'd never let her hear the end of it. Once she was confident enough, Twilight unfurled her wings and with a single flap, leaped onto her cloud. Immediately, she was overwhelmed by the comforting embrace of the cloud's soft surface as she sank slightly into the middle. She splayed out her wings and hooves to allow for maximum surface contact and hummed happily to herself. Deep down, she knew she shouldn't make this a habit. She already had her own bed, and if she kept this up she'd never want to sleep in it again. Not to mention Spike would probably be crushed seeing her like this every night knowing he lacked the natural pegasus magic that made this full, blissful experience a reality. She made a mental alarm with her magic to gently wake her up as soon as Spike began to stir. She'd also have to talk to Rainbow tomorrow to embarrassingly ask for advice on how she resists the temptation to just sleep in a cloud bed every night instead of her normal bed. Other than her furniture, her entire house was made of clouds, so if anypony knew that secret, it'd be her. As much as it pained her on the inside, she assured herself this wasn't a permanent thing or anything. Just one night. Just one... She sighed contently as she nuzzled the surface of the cloud with her cheek and buried herself deeper in its soft, cool embrace, already feeling the fog of sleep envelope her once more. After all, just one night wouldn't hurt.