//------------------------------//
// Scratch That 
// Story: Scratch That 
// by RunicTreetops 
//------------------------------//

"Ooooo, it's finally our turn! Come on, sunshine!"

Celestia magically grabs you by the wrist and pulls you forwards with her towards the large circular tube that just arrived in front of you. The two of you have been at this water park since early in the morning, and Tia has been adamant about experiencing everything the park has to offer. One of these offerings is "The Torrent," a water coaster (like a roller coaster, but you're in a tube propelled by water after the initial lift) that is known for its length and speed. These types of attractions have never really seemed that interesting to you, but your wife's excitement is contagious. How she has been able to retain said excitement through a two-hour wait in line is beyond you, but you digress. It is finally your turn, after all.

Excitedly taking a seat on the far side of the tube, Tia motions for you to join across from her. Stepping into the tube much more gingerly than she did, you do your best to find a comfortable position to sit down where you can also hold on for dear life. There aren't exactly any harnesses in these tubes. Once the two of you are in place, you're sitting maybe two feet apart. Water is seeping through the bottom, cooling your legs and rear end. After standing in line for so long on a hot day, it's surprisingly refreshing. You can only imagine that Tia must feel similar, what with her having a coat of fur and all. Thankfully, both of you are wearing nothing more than your swimsuits, and she has her mane and tail tied back for comfort. All in all, it's looking to be a mostly comfortable ride.

"Ahhhh, I'm so excited!"

"Well, it's sure to be interesting. And hopefully less hot than in that line."

You do your best to fan yourself as the conveyor belt begins to shift the tube up a long, gradual incline. It's slow going, so you have a few moments to look around at the ride you're about to go on. This belt will carry you up the side of a long hill about 150 feet. Once at the top, you'll enter a large enclosed cylinder that makes a very wide turn before going back down. About halfway down the slope the cylinder cuts off, exposing you to the air once again. What follows is perhaps a dozen small inclines, turns, and declines, all powered by gravity and water. It's a popular attraction, too, with plenty of ponies in tubes of their own shooting through it at impressive speeds visible from your current vantage point. Heck, you can even see the nearby Las Pegasus from up here. You look back at Tia, who is positively giddy with excitement.

"Ooo, why's it gotta be so slow? I want to get going!"

"Hey, come on, Tia. The buildup is half the fun. We'll get there."

Sure enough, about two minutes later you enter the cylinder, getting some much appreciated respite from the summer sun. The belt slowly turns the corner, almost ready to drop you off into the water and begin your descent.

"Ahhhh, here we gooooooo!"

...

Nothing.

Just as the belt was about to let go of the tube, it stops completely. Along with it, the sound of water rushing down the ride completely halts, leaving you and Tia confused in the dimly lit cylinder. You're pretty sure this isn't supposed to happen.

"Uhh, did the coaster just break down?"

"I certainly hope not. But, uh, it does seem that way."

"Well, what should we do? I want to ride, darn it!"

"Let's just hold still for a little bit. Either they'll fix it quickly, or they'll tell us what to do. There's not much else to be done about it now."

"Ugh, this isn't how I imagined this going at all."

"Look on the bright side! At least we're out of the sun! We could have been stuck on the belt out there!"

"...At least then we would have had a view."

It sure didn't take much to get her grumpy. You might have been feeling the same way if it wasn't for the fact that her pouting face and drooping ears are downright adorable.

"Come on, Tia, don't be like that."

She turns to look at you, not making any effort to hide her disappointment. She lets out an agitated huff before composing herself once more.

"No, you're right. Let's let the ponies working here do their jobs."

"Heh, I bet those poor, underpaid teenagers have no idea what to do right now."

"Oh dear, do you think the working conditions here might be subpar?"

"N-no, I was just making fun of a human thing- you know what, never mind, don't worry about it. I wouldn't doubt that they have at least a few technicians ready to go at all times for cases like these."

"I certainly hope so. It's fine for a ride, but I don't want to sit in this tube for too long. It's not comfortable on my... totally average-sized flank."

No comment.

"Hey, at least it's the two of us. It could have been a one-seater. Or we could have been stuck with a bunch of weirdos."

"Hmhm, yes, I suppose if I have to be stuck, I am glad it's with you."





A few minutes later, there was a knocking sound on the outside of the cylinder before a gruff older mare's voice rang out.

"Anypony in there?"

Tia speaks for you, shouting in the general direction the knocking came from.

"Yes, my partner and I are stuck on the belt!"

"Anypony else?"

"No, just  us!"

"Alright, here's the deal. We've got a new part coming in to replace the old one down by the block. Problem is, it's probably going to take about an hour to get here. I'm sure you could easily get out of there on your own, but park policy says that I can't let you do that. Liabilities and whatnot. So, I'm gonna have to ask you to stay put."

"F-for an hour?!"

"Yeah, probably a bit longer, actually. We do need to actually install the part once it gets here."

Seeing your wife's increasing frustration, you speak up before she can say anything else.

"Okay, thank you for letting us know! How will we know when it's fixed?"

"You'll start moving again, that's how. Anyway, I've gotta get back down there. Sorry about all this!"

You hear the flapping of wings as the pegasus worker departs to take care of something else, leaving the two of you alone once more in the quiet, dark, broken-down water coaster.

"I could teleport us out of here so easily. What could they do?"

"Ban us from the park, actually. Come on, it's not gonna kill ya to wait patiently for an hour."

"Oh I know that. But 'waiting patiently' was a daily occurrence for me for thousands of years as a princess! I'm tired of it!"

With a smug, obviously teasing look on your face, you lean forward ever so slightly.

"And it isn't fun to have to spend time with little ol' me?"

"I... sunshine, you know that's not what I meant. You're wonderful."

You gently nudge her with your elbow a couple of times.

"Eh? You still sound pretty upset to me~" She gives you the pony equivalent of a flick on the nose. It doesn't hurt in the least, and you can't help but laugh at her. "Come on, Tia! No need to be a spoilsport."

She does the "pllbbt" thing with her tongue at you and crosses her fore legs. By the way she's sitting, you can tell that she wasn't kidding when she was talking about being uncomfortable. For a while, the two of you sit in silence, not quite knowing what to do to pass the time. Suddenly, you're struck with an idea.

A devious idea.

As a mischievous smile makes its way to your face, Tia notices and looks at you with a face of worry. She knows that expression, and even with the dim lighting, you can see a blush spreading to her cheeks.

"D-don't you dare! Not here!"

You slowly reach an arm forward in the direction of the small amount of chest floof sticking out of her swimsuit. Just before reaching it, she smacks your arm out the way. But that was exactly what you planned. In a quick motion much faster than you were just doing, you reach for her head with your other arm. With the hoof on that side of her body holding your other arm down, she can't react fast enough to stop you from reaching juuuuuust behind her ear. Her eyes widen in the milliseconds before you reach her as she realizes her mistake. Now you're in the perfect position...

You begin gently scritching behind her ear. Almost immediately a moan escapes her mouth and the blush on her face deepens. She drops your other arm, having completely lost her composure already. With that, her fate is sealed. You start scritching more intensely. She responds immediately, her voice growing slightly louder as she melts into your touch, leaning into you more and more as you continue your assault. 

With the grin never leaving your face, you bring your now-free second hand and reach behind her other ear. Both ears flop and twitch out of instinct, never quite settling down throughout the process. 

"S-sunshine~"

You lean forward and give her a peck on the nose. Her various vocalizations are briefly interrupted by a giggle before she returns to her pleased cries, no longer caring about volume.

After a while, you move your hands downwards, now working the back of her neck. This seems to get her going even more as she lets out a sharp cry before falling forward into your chest, the water in the bottom of the tube splashing as she does so. You adjust both her body and your arms so that you're essentially hugging her while still working your hands down her neck and towards her back. 

Eventually, your hands reach their final destination. You briefly rest your hands just shy of her wings, allowing your lovely wife to take a moment to catch her breath. She is positively sweating at this point. She looks up at you, her eyes practically glazed over, before you move your hands once again, now placing them just beneath the points where her wings connect with her back. Those magenta eyes of hers shoot open as she catches her breath, and you give her a cocky, playful smile in return. With a chuckle, you begin your final assault.

Scritching and massaging just beneath her wings immediately causes her to start squirming, her moans louder than ever. Her wings instinctively flare outwards, allowing you greater access to her back. You continue, holding her as gently as possible as you do so. She's practically drooling on you, and you know that this performance is about to reach its conclusion. You scitch as intensely as you can as you feel her whole body shudder, taking the opportunity to lock your lips with hers. The two of you rest that like for several minutes, simply enjoying the embrace as Celestia slowly regains her composure. After a while, she sits up and leans back into her spot on her side of the tube.

"G-goodness, sunshine. You're... very good at that, but you must give me a warning next ti-iiiiiiiiiiiiime!"

Her sentiment is interrupted by the belt suddenly lurching the tube forwards into the water, which now flows freely through the coaster. The two of you begin to descend down the massive slope, holding on for dear life as the tube accelerates more and more, eventually reaching a turn and flinging you around the bend. This might be a fun ride, after all!





The two of you dry yourselves off after exiting the block, sweat beginning to form on your brows once more as the summer heat hits you. You buy a couple of water bottles from a nearby stall and hand one to Tia, who probably needs it more than you.

"Well, what did you think of the coaster?"

"That's certainly a loaded question," she responds.

"Heh, reference."

"What?"

"Never mind. Anyway, what did you think?"

"...Frankly, I wish it went on a bit longer, but all in all, it was a wonderful experience. Especially since I got to do it with you."

"Aww, shucks. Though I do feel the same way. Mechanical failure or not, I'm doing just fine if I'm with you."

"Gee, I wonder why that is?"

"Haha! Anyway, what do you want to do next? It's still early afternoon."

"...Wanna go again?"

"You know what? Sure. Heh, what are the odds of it breaking down again?"

With a shared laugh, you set off towards the back of the line once more, prepared to wait an agonizingly long time for what will certainly be a memorable experience for the both of you.











It did end up breaking down again, but the two of you were stranded on the incline rather than in the privacy of the shaded cylinder. Instead of scritches and some fun bonding moments, you got sweltering summer heat and uncomfortable bottoms. Can't win 'em all!