//------------------------------// // Sixteenth Entry // Story: Even the Strong Need Help // by Charlie_K //------------------------------// It'd been another long, hard day of cleaning duties at Canterlot Palace. Made all the longer and harder for two particular maids that had to wrestle with errant -borderline improper- thoughts throughout the course of the day as they anxiously waited for the end of their shifts to finally come around. The end of their shift was a bit of a double-edged sword to encounter, though. Errant thoughts made it hard to focus on getting their work done properly. But at the same time their work provided a much-needed distraction to the anticipation of what was in store and what was to come when the sun finally went down. It'd taken a monumental effort to stay calm as the day wore on, anticipation weighing heavily on each of them and only seeming to grow heavier with every passing second. But at long last, the night had come and everything was done for the day. Leaving them free to get ready for the main event. Doily fidgeted as she and Holly walked along, her wings twitching at her sides and her heart fluttering, trying to decide if she wanted to gallop ahead to their destination, or run back to her quarters and hide in embarrassment. Either one would've been good right now, really. "I can't believe we're actually doing this," she squeaked, unable to match Holly's more calm and collected demeanor as they trotted along. "I couldn't wait for the moment to get here, and now that we're about to do it... suddenly I'm apprehensive. Scared even." "You'll be fine," Holly assured her. "Strike's a very nice stallion." "Would you believe that's honestly part of what worries me?" Doily asked. "When we were talking about it, it was one thing; it was just talk, it wasn't anything that could hurt anypony. But what we're doing now? We haven't really done this sort of thing before. W-what if something goes wrong and it gets really awkward between all of us?" "Doily," Holly sighed and huffed as she stopped walking. "Listen. I don't know what's going to happen, but tonight's going to be fine, alright? We're just a couple of friends hanging out together and having a good time, that's all. It'll be okay." One look at Doily was enough to see she wasn't entirely certain about this, now that they were approaching the wire. But she uneasily nodded regardless as Holly gave her a reassuring hug, which she was quick to return with a bit more oomph. "Let's get going. No sense keeping the big guy waiting; he's been waiting at least as long as we have," Holly insisted. "A-alright," Doily agreed and nodded as the hug broke, letting them continue on their way. Soon enough, or all too soon depending on who was asked, their trek led them to their intended destination in front of the door to Thunder's new quarters. "You ever clean these rooms before?" Holly asked. Doily shook her head. "Hasn't come up yet." "Well then you're in for a visual treat when you see the inside of this one," Holly replied and knocked firmly at the door. "Maybe a couple of treats, actually." The wait was short as the door soon swung open to reveal Thunder behind it, looking better than he had been this morning. It really was amazing what a shower and a good combing could do in making a pony look presentable. Presentable, but he still looked like he was tired and doing his best to fight against it. Something they'd probably all be doing a lot before the night was done. "Hi there, Thunder. Is now a good time?" she asked while Doily was currently too busy trying not to stare. "Of course. Thank you for coming," he said as he stepped aside and held the door open for them. With a nudge to Doily's side to snap her back to attention, Holly stepped in first and took a careful look around the room at the swank surroundings. This was definitely a nice room they found themselves in. "Nice place," she commented. "Meet my friend, Doily." "Good evening, Doily," Thunder greeted her politely as he held out his right forehoof to her. "Thank you for coming over tonight." Doily's response was more automatic than deliberate as she reached out to shake his hoof. He was so polite, it was really hard to believe. Even outside of the uniform, his politeness and courteousness was on full display. "T-thank you for having us over tonight. I never really thought that I'd be here... doing this...," she replied, uncertain of what else to say and just trying to fill the silence with something so it didn't get too awkward too quickly. Provided she could avoid stuffing her hoof in her mouth. "This is a... very nice room..." "You should see the view. On a clear night a pony can see for miles. So many buildings are currently alight beyond the palace's boundaries. It really is a sight to behold," he stated, practically ushering her over to windows so she could see for herself. Doily allowed herself to be moved inside the room, past the couch and over to the windows where Holly was already standing. And while she had seen the city's night sky before, it was always a bit different from this vantage point. He honestly had good reason to be so impressed by what he could see. And she had to admit that his enthusiasm over something so simple was kind of cute; very dis-alarming in its own way. "It really is fascinating to just stand and watch everything from here, you know? You can see the little dots of pegasi flying about in the sky, the way the sun's light is caught and reflected by the accessories various points wear as they go about their day, the pattern of the city's lights coming on as the evening comes and the sun starts to set," he commented. "I've never really seen such a sight before. It's so expansive, you could just stand here for hours and still never see everything there is to see out there. I admit, I spent most of the night just standing here and watching the city when I couldn't sleep. Just watching it all and taking it all in." "It really is an impressive spread," Holly agreed as the three of them just stood there in companionable silence. But they weren't here for mere stargazing right now, and she turned away from the windows to look at him. "So, how'd your appointment go? Are you cleared to get back to work tomorrow?" Her efforts at making small talk weren't met with the reaction she'd been hoping for. Suddenly the seemingly good mood he'd been in while standing at Doily's side seemed to evaporate, like water on hot pavement. "No," he replied simply and shook his head. "Doctor Malar said that I'm still unfit for service. He's worried the strain is still too much for my heart." Doily suddenly looked up and blinked, torn away from the view offered by the windows. "Your heart? There's something wrong with your heart?" "I don't believe so, but the doctors do and are worried. Supposedly all of the hours I've been working have stressed it more than they're comfortable with. But frankly I'm having trouble with believing that. Standing is one of the least physically-impacting activities a pony can engage in, in the course of a day. I don't see how standing watch for eight hours at a time can pose so much risk," he explained, clearly displeased with having to say as much. "But they believe it is. And until they're certain I'm in good physical health, I'm on indefinite medical leave." "Wow. That's rough," Holly acknowledged. "And... you're sure that you're up for tonight? You don't wanna reschedule for another night?" she asked. Thunder shook his head in response. "I'd rather not, if that's alright." "Just making sure," Holly replied and shrugged. "So then, about what we're doing here tonight. How would you like to start-" "Holly, could I speak with you for just a minute? Privately?" Doily spoke up, all but insisting as she moved over to her friend and began ushering her in the direction of what they assumed was the room's private bathroom. "Hey, easy now," Holly insisted, caught off guard by how forceful Doily was being. "Thunder, big guy, you just go ahead and get yourself ready!" she called back, just before being forced into the room. The door was practically slammed shut from the inside and locked in the same fashion, much to Holly's confusion and annoyance. "Doily, just what in Tartarus has gotten into you?" "We can't do this," Doily practically hissed, trying to keep her voice low as if they were engaged in some sort of a conspiracy. "You heard him yourself just now, his heart isn't up for this." Holly had to pause before she could respond, uncertain what to say as her mind tried to process it. "Doily, Thunder's not in that bad of condition, otherwise the hospital would've never released him the other day," she pointed out. "Malar's just being overly cautious, that's all. Thunder's been working way too long without a break, this is just the Doc's way of letting him rest." "But what if it isn't?" Doily asked. "We could end up giving him a heart attack if we do this. What if he dies on us? Worse, what if he dies under us? There'll be an investigation, we'll be culpable for murder because we knew how bad he was and still went through with it!" Holly huffed in frustration. "Doily-" "No!" Doily snapped back. "If you wanna stay and get... get... Thunderstruck... then that's up to you. But I won't have any part in what transpires here tonight. I'll not put that stallion at risk of dying for a good time." Holly huffed in annoyance. But one look at her friend told her that she wasn't going to yield from her position. Her mind was made up, and that was going to be that. "Alright, Doily, you win. We'll go," she sighed reluctantly in defeat. Doily smiled in response. A soft, relieved smile. The kind that Holly really felt annoyed by right now. How her friend could be so sweet and innocent at times was both a mystery, and an utter annoyance. Unlocking the door, she stepped out first. "Hey, Thunder, something's come up. I've got a headache that won't quit and-" She stopped talking as she stepped into the room and failed to see him standing there. Glancing over at the bed, he wasn't there either. "What? Now where'd he go?" "What now?" Doily asked. "Thunder's not here. The room's empty." Now very curious, Doily joined her friend outside of the luxurious bathroom and looked around with her. The bed was a little ruffled compared to earlier, but the room was empty except for them. "What happened?" she asked. "You tell me and we'll both know," Holly replied, both confused and annoyed at what was going on. "Maybe he slipped out to get something for tonight?" "Maybe," Doily replied uncertainly. And as much as she didn't want to stay for what might happen, she was now too curious to just up and leave just like that. If nothing else she wanted to stay at least until she got some answers. "I guess we just sit and wait." She moved around to sit on the couch, but nearly tripped and squeaked in surprise, alternating between looking at the floor and her friend. "Um, Holly, y-you wanna take a look at this?" she asked shakily. Curious, Holly stepped around the front of the couch with her friend, and saw what had her so surprised. Thunder Strike hadn't left the room like they'd initially thought, but he'd definitely checked out on them. He was currently laying on the carpeted floor with a pillow tucked under his head, and totally unconscious as he laid on his side. "What... what just happened?" Doily asked, not sure what to make of what she was seeing. "I haven't got a clue," Holly admitted as she watched Strike's chest rise and fall in a slow but steady fashion as he breathed. "I've heard of stallions falling asleep after sex. I've even heard about stallions sometimes falling asleep during sex. But I've never heard of a stallion actually falling asleep before sex." She looked down at his prone position again, observing as he laid there, totally oblivious to his surroundings and more or less dead to the world. One thing was for certain. Any plans they'd had for tonight were hosed. "Holly," Doily spoke up, "why did he pick the floor to sleep on?" "Say what now?" Holly asked as she looked back at her friend, not sure what she was asking. "He didn't just topple over unexpectedly, or we would've heard a thud when he fell. The pillow he's using came from the bed, so he obviously knew what he was doing when he made the decision to lay down," Doily explained. "But I don't understand why. He could've taken the bed for himself since it's his room and that's his choice to make. He could've even taken the couch if he wanted to. But instead he makes the decision to take a pillow and lay on the floor to sleep like a dog would? I don't understand why. Why would he do something like that?" It was a good question. It was a very good question. It was right up there with the question of what sort of stallion invited a couple of mares over to his place for a good time, and ended up falling asleep before the fun could even begin? She gently nudged his leg with her hoof, but he showed no signs of registering her presence or reacting to the touch. He was completely out of it. Just how long had he been awake last night to be this tired? ... "The sounds of life..." "Pardon?" Doily asked. "I'm an idiot," Holly groaned as she closed her eyes, feeling like the fake headache mentioned previously was going to be very much real in short order. "He was telling me what he wanted from the very beginning. But I was too blind to see it for myself. The answer was right in front of me and I didn't pay it any attention because I misread the situation." "I don't understand," Doily stated. "He was telling me about how quiet the room is, how devoid of the sounds of life it is. He's probably been in communal living for his entire life and got accustomed to the commotion that other ponies can cause when they're sleeping. He probably can't rest without it," Holly surmised as she slowly opened her eyes and looked back at her friend. "He wasn't asking me to spend the night because he was interested in sex. He was asking me to spend the night because he needed a roommate so he doesn't have to sleep alone." "You really think so?" Doily asked. "It makes a lot of sense, now that I stop and think of it," Holly replied and nodded. "The reason he opted to sleep on the floor instead of somewhere else? He probably left us the couch and the bed so we'd be comfortable if we stayed the night. He probably didn't care where he slept, just so long as he had company." They looked back down at his prone form as he continued to lay there, motionless except for the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest as he breathed. They hadn't even been out of the room all that long, and yet he'd managed to fall asleep in that short amount of time? Just how much relief had he felt simply by having them here with him? "Well, our plans for the night are pretty much wasted. What do you wanna do instead?" she eventually asked. "Well... we do have this nice room, practically all to ourselves," Doily pointed out. "It'd be a shame to waste the opportunity to enjoy it, don't you think?" Holly looked at her, and slowly understood what her friend was suggesting. Thunder's quarters were way nicer than anything they had access to on their own. And he couldn't exactly complain if they utilized it since he'd invited them over in the first place. So they might as well take advantage of situation and make the most of it. "Yeah. Yeah I could go for that. It's probably be for the best anyway, I don't think he'd do too well if he woke up and we weren't here; dude probably has issues," she replied. "I'll take the couch if you want the bed." "Actually, I had a slightly different idea," Doily spoke up. "It'd be awfully rude of us to leave him just laying on the floor like he's a dog. Maybe we should put him to bed, in his bed, and we'll share the couch? It looks like it's big enough to hold both of us easy enough," she suggested. Holly thought over the suggestion, looking between them, at Thunder Strike, the couch, and finally the bed. And finally, after much debate, she eventually shrugged. "You know what? Sure. Go pull back the covers and I'll see about lifting him," she said as her horn began to glow. Actually lifting Thunder up off the ground, as it turned out, was a much taller order than she'd anticipated. He easily weighed twice as much as the heaviest thing she'd ever lifted on the job before, and she'd nearly dropped him upon getting him just a few inches off the floor. Even just keeping him aloft and not jostling him was a challenge in itself, leaving her struggling as she walked and slowly floated him over to the bed. Getting him up high enough to clear the mattresses had been just short of impossible, and setting him down gently was just about worth forgetting as a possibility. She'd managed all of it regardless, but not without feeling thoroughly worn out in the process. "Dude weighs a ton," she panted, "he's stout enough to be an earth pony." "He certainly looks the part with all of those muscles he has," Doily noted, a slight smile playing on her lips as she looked at him in the middle of the bed. "I've heard some ponies say that he could out-bench Lieutenant Wall." Holly snorted in amusement at just how absurd the notion was. Brick Wall was an absolute chonk of a stallion with a reputation for more physical strength than even the Sisters. The idea that Thunder could out-lift him was just too ridiculous to take seriously. But then again, what did she really know? She'd never seen them go head-to-head in a test of strength, so maybe it was possible. Their thoughts were interrupted as the stallion in question shifted slightly on the bed, but otherwise remained quite still where he laid, showing no signs of waking up. "Um... what do we say in case anypony asks what happened tonight?" Doily asked. Holly shrugged dismissively. "We just tell them the truth; he was as gentle as a little lamb the entire time, and was more focused on our comfort than his own satisfaction. Let them make of it what they will." Doily giggled in response, the idea too good to ignore. It was both honest and dishonest, and she loved it. "Anyway," Holly yawned, "lifting him tapped me out. I'm ready to crash myself. I don't know about you but I'm ready to go to bed." Doily contemplated the statement, again looking to the couch. It was certainly big enough that the two of them could probably lay at opposite ends without touching hooves. And they would have a nice view of the skyline to sleep by. But... "We could. Or maybe... we could do something different?" she suggested, a tinge of hopefulness in her voice. "His bed really is too big for just one single pony..." Holly looked back at Doily, and the nervous but hopeful smile that she was wearing. "Do you think he'd mind if we..." Holly contemplated the question, glancing between her friend and the bed. "Somehow, I don't think he would," she relented and shrugged. "Let's just do it, I'm too tired to argue." The pillow was retrieved from the floor, and the bed carefully readjusted and repositioned in a way that left Thunder situated in the middle of its large structure. Leaving the sides with just enough room to fit a couple of others; a fact that Doily capitalized on by slowly climbing up on the side of the bed closest to Thunder's front and laid herself down next to him, letting out a subdued groan into the pillow as she practically sank into the siren's call of the mattress. Holly followed soon after, taking the other side and hunkering herself down next to Thunder's back. She found the mattress to be every bit as welcoming as Doily made it out to be. "Might not've been what we'd planned on. But this isn't too bad, really," she idly commented as she rolled over and got herself comfortable. "You good, Doily?" "I'm good," Doily whispered as she carefully took her glasses off and placed them on the nightstand next to her side of the bed. "Are you good?" "Eh, good enough, all things considered," Holly replied and shrugged, before finding the light switch to the room with her magic and flicking it off, leaving the only source of illumination being what was coming through the window. "Goodnight," she said with a yawn. "Goodnight," Doily replied. After a moment's thought, she slowly rolled herself over until she was facing Thunder, and carefully leaned in to gently kiss him on the forehead. "Goodnight to you, too, you big goof," she whispered to him with a cheesy grin, and slowly shut her eyes. Perhaps it wasn't the nigh they'd originally been planning on. But to her, if anypony asked her opinion, it was still a night that was worthwhile. A night that she could enjoy with her friends as the amicable silence slowly washed over them, as she slowly drifted off to sleep.