"Idle rainbows are the awesome's workshop."
Graphs
***
No major settlements existed beyond the great peak of Canterlot mountain. There was no real reason for one to be there unless there was some need for privacy. Most stays were temporary, seeing as living off the land takes far more effort than getting what you need from a polite yet greedy vendor in the market.
Ponies could go their whole lives without seeing the shorter, but by no means short, ridges on the side opposite to Canterlot. Those who had, however, would find meteorological phenomenon similar to the Everfree Forest. Clouds drifted lazily over the light forest below, all on their own.
Luckily for two cyan Pegasi, there was nopony there on this particular day. They found a decent sized cloud high above the dent in Equestria known as Canterlot Valley. The stallion eagerly shrugged off his saddlebag, which had nearly enough force to penetrate the cloud as it fell. The mare cantered over to the edge to survey their home for the next couple of days.
“This should be good,” Dash thought aloud. “There are enough clouds floating around for us to practice with.”
Blitz rolled his wings around uncomfortably, angrily eyeing the luggage that had made his flight over a mountain less than enjoyable. “We’re using clouds in the performance?”
“Uh yeah? Can you think of a flying competition that didn’t use clouds?”
“No,” he deadpanned. “I only remember one flying competition and I wasn’t even there for that one.”
“Well ponies use clouds in these things,” she said as she laid down on her stomach. “Now shut up and give me the scroll.”
Blitz grunted and rummaged through the pack. He emerged with a severely creased piece of paper and set it down next to Dash.
“And the quill,” she added, not moving to get it on her own.
Her clone rolled his eyes and retrieved the writing utensil. She sighed again as he dropped it on the paper.
“And the ink.”
“As you wish, your majesty,” Blitz muttered on his third walk to the bag. “You want me to go fetch a leaf to fan you with? How about a massage?”
The bottle of black liquid landed with a poof next to the mare. She grinned and uncapped the ink. “Nah. I’m good for now.” Dash proceeded to pick up the delicate feather in her teeth and steadied the tip between her hooves. She gently lowered it to wet the end.
Are you sure you don’t want that massage, Dashie?
Dash’s eyes popped wide open and she spat out the quill. In her shock, she nudged the ink off the cloud’s edge. She watched it fall, frozen in her inward conversation with her more lewd half.
Yes I’m sure!
Come on, the voice purred. Don’t you think he’s earned it?
I don’t want that!
Stop chewing you lip and think that again.
“Smooth,” droned Blitz sarcastically from behind her. He leaned over just in time to see a minute black splat on the ground. “What was that all about?”
Dash shook her head and pushed the paper off the edge too. “Nothing!”
Blitz raised an eyebrow at her suddenly nervous tone. “Weren’t we going to plan out our routine on that thing?”
Dash glanced at the slowly falling scroll rocking back and forth on its way down. “Uh, n-no. I mean, no! We don’t need that stupid thing. I already have it worked out anyway."
"Wait, I don't even get a say in how we're doing this?"
"Nope," Dash replied frankly. "Besides, that was the boring part. Now we get to fly."
Blitz considered his lack of a role in decision-making and decided he was okay with skipping the "boring part".
"Alright then," he said, flourishing his hoof toward the expanse of the valley beyond them. "Lead the way."
...
"But Twilight-"
"No buts," Twilight replied to her assistant, who sat atop a pile of homework one would expect from an evil college professor. "You need to learn these things. What if I ever need your help in an emergency?"
"Then I call the hospital like a normal pony," Spike grumbled.
"What if it's more urgent then that? What if I need immediate attention?"
"Oh please." The dragon threw up his arms. "What's going to happen to you while you're alone in the library? Are you going to get a paper cut through an artery?"
"It could happen! Quick, where is my carotid artery?"
Spike rolled his eyes and pointed to the center of the unicorn's neck. The dragon may not have been as erudite as Twilight, but a good year or two in a library can grant one a surprisingly large amount of knowledge. There were also the encyclopedias he had been forced to read through the day before.
"Because you mortally wound yourself in the library on a daily basis. How could I have forgotten?"
"Is that sarcasm? I guess I didn't assign enough work, then." She moved to collect more literature for him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him pout and return to his studies. A small stream of smoke flowed out of his nostrils and the air around them became blurry with heat. A satisfied smirk spread across her muzzle as she cantered up the stairs to her current project.
She had begun to prepare a magically secure safe to guard certain possessions that some ponies seemed to always find at the worst possible time. Some jewelry, some notes, her diary that was more about studies than her own thoughts, and maybe even a few books that needed to be hidden.
One such book was laid out upon her desk. It just so happened that some useful notes on protective spells were found within it. It also just so happened that she stumbled upon a familiar section in the book and got sidetracked. That section just so happened to be about duplication.
"I know I'm right. I shouldn't do it. I just shouldn't..." Twilight began mumbling to herself again. She may have come out of her discussions with Rarity as the winner, but they were by no means total victories. Her friends' longing had left quite the impression and a part of her mind remained devoted to arguing her stance even when nopony else was present.
"There's just...no need for it...right?"
Her eyes wandered to the folded up scroll she had left on the page. She couldn't live with researching just Rarity's haphazard knot of a spell. So the magician had developed, refined, and recorded her own. Far fewer risks and far less ambiguity. She went over the steps again in her head. Aside from fatigue, the spell itself was harmless.
After a second recalling of her work, she heard the sound of the door opening and returned to the main room. Sometimes she forgot that she actually did have a job to do.
"Oh Twiliiiiiight!" sang a high pitched voice from below.
The unicorn smiled and shook her head. Some happy enthusiasm was definitely what she needed right now.
"Yes Pinkie?" she said, hopping off the stairs. "Can I help you?"
The pink pony nodded her head rapidly. "Yup! Remember how three weeks, four days, and two hours ago we were walking outside and I was telling you about how I wanted to make something and you asked what and I said some kind of eclair and you asked what kind of eclair and I said I don't know I'll think about it?"
Twilight blinked as her train of thought caught up with miss motor mouth. "Uh, sure. Why not?"
"Well I thought of what kind of eclair I want to make and I need you to help!"
Twilight sighed and laughed slightly. "Okay, what kind of eclair?"
Pinkie searched for an answer. There were plenty of things in her head. There was even a replica of Ponyville. However, there was nothing filed under "Kind of Eclair".
"I don't know what to call it yet, but I'm going to put a bunch of sciency stuff in it and I know you're really good at sciency stuff so I need you to come and help me put sciency stuff in my eclairs."
A multitude of encounters like these taught Twilight to just stop asking when it came to some of Pinkie's schemes. For whatever reason, Pinkie's plans (Pinkie Plans, as she calls them) seem to always have some hidden logic in them. Logic that one would never find even if they spend a week cooped up in their basement studying them while their dragon keeps telling them silly things like "You should eat something" or "You should probably sleep at some point". The nerve.
"Alright, I'll come help you with your, eh, sciency stuff. Spike, you're on library duty while I'm gone. But if nopony shows up, you're on study duty. Got it?" She smiled as if this was an enjoyable task for a young dragon.
"Just go," he said. "At least I'll be able to focus on reading without you mumbling about how right you are. Seriously, are you writing a paper or something?"
Pinkie appeared over his shoulder, placing her head directly between Spike and his book. "And what are you studying mister grouchy pants?"
He leaned his head around the mare's massive mane without much concern. "Medicine. Twilight wants me to be a doctor by Monday."
"Ohh. Is it hard? Can I call you Doctor Spike now?" Her head remained well within his personal bubble.
He leaned back and looked at her with an overwhelmingly exasperated expression. Then it was gone, replaced by boredom and acceptance. "Sure. Go ahead."
"Yay! See ya Doctor Spike!" Pinkie hopped over to the doorway. "C'mon Twilight, we've got eclairs to titrate!"
"To what now?" she replied worriedly.
"To bake. Let's go!" She hit the street running. Twilight followed much more slowly and much more cautiously.
Spike heard somepony shout "For Eclairs!" before he was shut into the library.
"Insane," he muttered. "They're all insane."
...
The sky was shaking. Or maybe it was the ground. The point is that one of the two was shaking.
The valley hadn't seen quite as much action as one would expect from the supposedly chaotic land between populated areas. The clouds occasionally expelled some excess water. One might even muster some lightning once in a while. The wind was usually rather calm. Something must have been causing a disturbance.
Or two somethings.
"Let's go!" shouted one blur to another. They were circling a cluster of scattered clouds, gradually growing closer to the center. Their polychromatic trail became nearly solid in their wake. On the first blur's cue, they redoubled their efforts and flew in an even faster and smaller circle. The clouds kept shying away from the obscene wind, starting to expand upwards to avoid being vaporized even further.
"I got the top!" yelled the second blur (In all fairness, it may have been the first again. Who can tell at a high speed?). And so it did. The blur altered its course, turning at a right angle upward to orbit the clouds vertically. They halted their ascension, gathering back in a compact clump.
The clouds found themselves surrounded in effectively all directions, leaving them no choice but to gather at the center of the now crossing rainbow trails.
"And break!" said what was probably the first blur, cutting away from the deadly areal ambush. The second followed instantly, gliding straight upward to lose momentum.
Rainbow Dash angled her wings to directly oppose the air she was rudely pushing against. Sensing an opportunity, the air forced itself against her feathers, decelerating her significantly. A cloud rushed to meet her hooves, grasping them as well as a cloud could. She dipped one wing into the makeshift landing pad to turn around while skidding to a stop.
She whipped her head skyward, breathing heavily through a ferocious grin. Silhouetted against the beaming sun, a cirrus cloud drifted down to her with a blue head sticking over the top.
"What's the matter?" Dash taunted. "Forget which way to scatter?"
"Nah," Blitz replied with the same tone. "Just felt like something to cool off." With that, he collapsed onto his back just as his cloud collided with his partner's.
Dash ran a hoof through her sweaty mane. "Ooh. Sounds good to me." She hopped across to the cooler cloud and buried her face into it. The frosty sensation was a welcome shock to the mare. She settled into it to disperse more of the heat her body was scrambling to get rid of.
They laid there in contented silence, with their target clouds still huddled tightly together.
"So after that we smash into it, right?" Blitz inquired when he caught his breath.
Dash drew her head from the chilly relief, blowing some hair from her eyes. "Mhm. Then we do it again. Think you can handle it?" Dash challenged.
The stallion bared his teeth. "Do you even need to ask?" They broke into laughs and hoof-bumps. "This is gonna be sweet!"
"Oh yeah. C'mon. Let's keep it up!"
They rolled their wings around, causing satisfying, yet probably unhealthy, cracks. The pegasi approached the edge of the cloud, wings flared.
"On three?" Blitz asked.
"Why wait?" Dash answered.
They shot off into the terrified clump of clouds.
...
It should not have been possible to be covered in icing already. They hadn't even made the icing. Yet here it was, drying onto Twilight's mane and coat. It was also drying on the kitchen walls. She probably would have felt uncomfortable if there was time to acknowledge anything at all.
"Pinkie! Slow down! I can't do this as fast as you!" Another bowl of batter was hurled in her direction. She halted the bowl with her magic, forgetting that the batter was in motion as well and would most likely remain in motion. It splatted into her face.
"We can't slow down, Twilight! Eclairs are best if served immediately after baking. So if we serve them quicker than immediately, they'll be even better!" Pinkie turned the dial on her mixer to the skull icon and punched a large red button on the side.
The unicorn lit her horn and her confectionery mask was lifted off her head and back into the bowl. "That's not how it works!" she said, rubbing her now tingling cheek.
"Hey Twilight?" said Pinkie under her chef's hat. "What was the molrarity of that stuff you made?"
"Molarity," Twilight corrected. "It was about 2. Very dangerous, but you diluted it. You diluted it, right?"
"Well I only wanted to make a quarter batch, so I only used a little milk in that one. Is that going to change anything?"
"Yes. It won't be as..." Twilight began. Then her eyes widened and she dashed to the sink.
"OW OW OW OW OW!"
The water alleviated her pain all too slowly. She shook her head rapidly to wash all of her face. Her school experience screamed that this was by no means the proper procedure for an acid spill. Her face, however, said it would do.
Pinkie shut off her industrial mixer and walked over to the unicorn in the sink. "Hey, it's not bath time yet, silly."
Twilight took her time washing before lifting her drenched head to the baker. Small patches of skin were exposed through burned away hair. "That was extremely dangerous! You can't go throwing that stuff around! Why did you even want that in your eclairs?"
Pinkie tilted her head as if it was a silly question from the silly mare with the silly acid burns. "Well, I was reading that some dragons have trouble digesting rocks and gems and all, so I thought I would experiment with some desserts that could help it all go down easier. I wanted to bring Spike over too, but you sent him off to medical school." She wiped a small tear from her eye. "I miss him already..."
Twilight watched incredulously as her friend wept over missing someone not a kilometer away. She gave the messy room one more glance and decided she should leave before whatever illegal machinery Pinkie bought off the black market decided to blow Sugarcube Corner to kingdom come.
A ding broke Pinkie's thoughts, stopping the tears. "Oooh! They're ready! Come on Twilight! You need to taste them with me!"
Twilight forced a smile through her terror. "A-actually, I need to go to the... uh... um... I'm on a diet. I can't. Sorry. Bye."
Pinkie grimaced, sticking out her tongue. "Ew, diet. Oh well. Thanks for your help Twi! I'll take it from here."
"Heh heh, yeah. You too," she dismissed, backing out of the building and shutting the door. A few steps later, she broke into a gallop away from her friend's death kitchen.
She felt bad for leaving such a mess, sure. However, survival instincts had a habit of taking over in this type of situation. All she could think of now was getting herself cleaned up. There were also her itching burns to tend to.
About two minutes away from Pinkie, her librarian's stamina kicked in. She slowed to a plodding walk, still a ways from her home.
"That's a new look. Ah'll never understand fashion mahself. Ain't no way I'd be walkin' round like that. But, if that's what's in style, who am ah to judge?"
Had the drawl not been enough to identify the speaker, Twilight's frayed nerves and expanded magic senses would have told her it was Applejack sending good-humored jibes her way. She blew a strand of crusty hair out of her eyes and eyed the farmer. She wore her stetson, as always, and the way she held herself showed that she had probably been exerting herself as well.
However, having actually done work most of her life, Applejack could pull off that look.
"You don't like it? It's the newest thing." Twilight turned her body like a model, showcasing the extent of her new look.
The earth pony chuckled, shaking her head. "Ah'll have to take yer' word for it. Anyway, what have you, eh... been up to?"
Twilight began to speak, but instead pointed her hoof to a column of smoke rising from the part of town she had just left. Applejack frowned.
"Pinkie?" she asked.
"Pinkie," the unicorn agreed.
Applejack could only shake her head. No more questions needed to be asked. At least, none about that.
"Well ah was on mah way to ask ya somethin, but it looks like ya'll have had enough for today."
Twilight brightened at that. Although it was true that she could use some rest, she could use some company that made sense a bit more.
"Please. I've been through worse. What can I do for you?"
"Well, it's just that the apples have been hangin' on today. They ain't comin' down. Ah can't figure out why. Just wanted to ask ya to help me get em' off, or at least find out what's happenin."
"Of course I'll help!" The unicorn exclaimed. She could aid her friend, and do a little plant research in the process. "But, first, could I borrow your water spout. It's starting to get a little hard to move."
Applejack smiled gratefully. "Sure thing, Twi. Let's go." She motioned behind her and they both set off to the fields.
...
The air was unusually hot. Must have been something about being torn to pieces repeatedly. What a wuss.
Two pegasi looked out from one of the few remaining clouds at what had been their playground, the intricacies of the first portions of their performance burned into their heads. They breathed heavily with the happy exhaustion that can only come from way too much exercise. Their wings were flared, comfortably for once, at their sides against the falling sun.
"Ha! Are we awesome or what?" asked Blitz, reaching out with his wing for a high flap.
Dash obliged him, slapping her wing against his. "Psh. As if you even needed to say it."
"What? I can't complement a pony? We looked great out there. You looked great out there."
The mare grinned. "I'm not gonna argue with that. But I still couldn't have done most of that alone. You're a big help."
"Thanks." They both inhaled deeply and evened out their breathing. There wasn't a sound other than the wind and the rumbling of two stomachs.
"Hey Blitz?"
"Yeah?"
"I think we skipped lunch."
They took one look at each other before trotting off to where they left their bags. Blitz lifted a flap and stuck his head in.
"What have we got?" Dash asked, having fallen to her side.
"You name it," Blitz said, muffled through the tough fabric. "I hope you like apples." He emerged first with a sack of apples, then a container of applesauce, and then several bottles of apple juice, all of which should not have fit in the bags.
"I think I would eat anything right now." She twisted off the cap of one bottle and drank the sweet liquid greedily. She had had nothing but stale cloud water for hours. This tasted like divine nectar.
Blitz was already on his third apple. He passed her the sack while she hoofed over a bottle. After an acceptable amount of stuffing their faces, they finally collapsed back from their makeshift dinner table. The rumbling of the stomachs had been replaced with moans of satisfaction and mild regret.
"I don't think I'm hungry anym-" Blitz's cheeks puffed out mid-sentence, trying to contain what was attempting to exit his mouth. It was a losing battle, though. His lips parted and a thundering belch echoed through the otherwise picturesque landscape.
There was a long pause. The wind hesitated to continue. Perhaps it feared the scent of recycled apple.
"Dude," Dash finally said. "Nice."
She burst out laughing, rolling around on the cloud. Blitz could do nothing but join her.
By the time they finished cracking up, Blitz had a thought (For once).
He propped himself up on a foreleg, facing his double. "Hey Dash, did you hear the entire song that we're performing with?"
"Of course," she answered, giving him a look. "How would I know how to match our flying up to the music if I've never heard it?"
"Well I never heard the whole thing. Do you have, like, a recorder or something with the song on it?"
The mare dismissed his question with a wave. "No need. I already know what we're doing."
"But how come I never get to know what we're doing?"
"I dunno. Maybe you should pay more attention."
Blitz pouted and fell back onto his back. He mouthed Dash's words, miming her face with exaggerated silliness and malice. Dash could only grin, shake her head, and continue to digest.
...
Applejack could hear growling.
That was something a farmer had to look out for. Although beasts were rare outside of the Everfree Forest, one might find its way into an apple tree occasionally. Fruit bats were the most common, though generally harmless. A few bigger animals ventured into the dwelling in the past, but they were promptly escorted out by Big Macintosh. Somewhere, there was a manticore with a crooked tooth and a dent in its forehead. That one would not be returning.
This, however, was a different growl.
"Ah think that's enough, Twi. Ya did yer best." Applejack attempted to console the unicorn, but the growl intensified with her approach.
"It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make any sense!" Nothing was keeping Twilight up but pride and adrenaline. She no longer regarded the apple with curiosity. She now faced it with full-blown rage.
The bucket was empty. It should have been filled several times over by now. However, their labor had yet to bear, well, fruit. The ponies had started on the first tree they found. And stayed there. For hours.
Applejack winced as the unicorn sent another volley of magic at the stubborn crop. If any other pony raised a hoof to the tree in any way that did not have to do with bucking, that pony would be missing a few teeth courtesy of Kicks McGee. However, Twilight had an air about her that threatened the worst pain that magic could buy.
The purple energy struck home, directly on the fruit's stem. It had force enough to sweep the legs out from under a pony, and being focused on such a small point turned it from dangerous to downright lethal.
It splashed against the rather thin fibers holding the apple onto the tree. It held, swinging mockingly on the branch.
Twilight cried out in frustration and stomped her hoof. That was a spell they taught in self defense classes. She had to duel her sensei for the rights to learn it. They kept the scroll hidden in a safe with three locks and a 24-hour guard. There was a ceremony and everything.
The apple deflected it for the umpteenth time that evening.
"Apples don't do that. Apples don't do that. Apples. Don't. Do. That..." She trailed off. Applejack finally managed to get close enough to try and calm her. Her mutterings continued and she hung her head, ears tucked down.
"I'm sorry. It just... I can't."
"C'mon Twi. It's fine. Let's get you home. You look beat." The earth pony led her down the trail toward the lights of the town.
"It's not alright. You asked for help and I couldn't do it."
"Hey, ya can't always give what somepony wants. Ya tried, and I'm mighty grateful fer that." Applejack smiled at her lowered head.
Twilight looked up at her, still miserable. "I know. I just really want to give help when somepony asks. Sometimes it gets too hard to juggle everything. Heck, here I couldn't even juggle one task."
Applejack shrugged. "That's the nature o' this kind o' thing. Ain't nothin ya can do bout it. No need to feel sorry. It's too bad there ain't two o' ya."
That last remark went unnoticed at first. The farmer kept eyeing her companion, waiting for the greased up gears in the unicorn's head to get a-movin'. Then, like a cuckoo-clock striking midnight, her eyes widened and her ears shot up. She mouthed Applejack's last words.
Sensing her queue, Applejack slowly changed her direction, heading back to the farm they just left.
"I'll see ya later, Twi! Thanks fer yer help!" She broke into a gallop away from the unicorn, who still didn't change her pace or expression.
Her gaze was fixed upon the ground the whole way two her home. She just kept mouthing those words.
"Two of me..." she whispered as she approached her front door.
"Two of me?"
...
Applejack stopped at the tree she had spent the day staring at. There were a few marks around the pesky apple. Some bark was missing here and there. When she got close enough, the apple flickered out of existence.
There was a clapping of hooves coming from the darkness. A white unicorn stuck out of the brush, wearing a Royal Guard surplus flowered headdress if there was such a thing.
"I applaud your improv, Applejack. Very subtle." She gave a wicked smile.
Applejack just raised an eyebrow. "Y'all try bein' dodgy with her and see how that works out."
She raised a white hoof to her chest. "Why, Applejack. I was being genuine. You truly have lovely acting skills. I was just about ready to shed a tear when you told her all that about not always being able to help. You can bet that will end up in a friendship report soon."
The earth pony was still unconvinced. Unfortunately, there was no telling the intentions of this particular pony. Applejack decided to just assume she was, in fact, being genuine.
"Well thanks. Yer little illusion was pretty good too. That there swayin' was a nice touch."
"Was it? I feared it was going to be too much for her."
"Yeah, she was bout' ready to blow that tree clear to Cloudsdale."
The unicorn carefully removed herself from the foliage, freeing her curly purple mane from that incredibly stylish hat.
"Do you think we got through to her?"
"Y'all didn't see her face. Either we got through to her or she rethought her life right in front of me. Might have been both."
The white pony smiled again. "That's what I like to hear. I guess we didn't need Fluttershy's part after all."
"After what Pinkie did? She could hardly handle this one."
"I suppose you're right." She cantered past the orange apple farmer. "I'll keep you and the others posted on any changes."
"Alright. Pleasure workin' with ya."
Rarity turned her head to give an alluring flutter of her eyelashes.
"Isn't it, though?"
...
There was little to no desire to continue practicing after dinner. The air grew cold now that the sun was fully gone. The food in their stomachs was likely to leave if they shook it up at all. They settled on taking an abbreviated bath in a river before talking through the next portion of their act.
The cold of night is often underestimated. Even in the summer, temperatures go way down. And if you grew used to the hot air, forget about it. You'll think you came down with frostbite.
Try that feeling up a few hundred meters in the air. Sure, it's far away from those pesky predators, but it's also far from pleasant.
"...and we'll end there, I guess," finished Dash, holding her limbs close to her center. Her wings curled around her with her feathers blocking the wind if not the cold air.
Blitz mimicked her stance. "Great. Can we get some shuteye now?"
"Yes please. I'm freezing here."
They stood up and surrounded their luggage. Dash stuck her head inside and produced two puffy sleeping bags. They each took one and tore into them like a hungry Pinkie with a pie. When the multicolored tornadoes faded, they were both wrapped up in their sacks.
They grimaced at the sluggish pace of their warmth. The blankets were cold to begin with. With their conscious minds preoccupied with discomfort, their deeper parts assessed their options.
Talking, although it has been fun, is not working. They shut it out every time.
If they don't like shouting, perhaps a whisper will sway them.
Their bodies refused to bless them with comfort, giving them only the occasional lull in shivering. They tumbled around in their bindings uselessly. All the while, thoughts eased their ways into their heads.
Finally, they both sat up.
"It's pretty chilly out here," Dash said nonchalantly, not looking at her clone.
"Yeah," Blitz agreed. He shot her a glance. "We should probably huddle together."
"For warmth," Dash specified.
"Ya know, since it's so cold."
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
"..."
"..."
A long pause later, they wordlessly zipped their sleeping bags together. Each stood shivering over it with uncertainty. Dash started settling into it first. Blitz cautiously followed.
Their coats brushed together. The warmth was immediate. Blitz suppressed a groan, thankful his reddening face was not visible to her. The bag prevented his wings from noticeably flaring out, possibly humiliating him. They wiggled deeper into the blankets, their skin rubbing together maddeningly.
When they reached the end at last and were completely submerged in soft fabric and soft pony, Blitz threw caution to the howling wind and curled his forelegs around Dash's stomach. She accepted them, tucking her wrists over his hooves.
There was some wiggling and final adjustments, but they eventually reached their goal.
Comfort.
For the first time, neither of them were displeased with their position. When they settled down, Dash seemed to relax. She shut her eyes and rested her head on Blitz's shoulder. Although his throat went dry, he was in no rush to move away. He decided to just rest his head, tilting it so it was right behind Dash's. It certainly was cozy. A sigh escaped from both of them.
I'm kind of surprised I'm not having any of those weird thoughts, thought Dash.
This kind of thing usually starts them. Did something change? wondered Blitz.
Nothing felt different. She was just there next to him and there was nothing weird about that.
Dash opened an eye to peek at him. The warmth was great, sure. But there were other benefits too.
It's not like he's bad looking or anything. This is sort of nice...
She didn't attempt to stop her wings. It was normal to unfurl them during sleep. That was actually a common cause of cramps in pegasi. If they happened to brush against Blitz, that was his problem.
They did, but Blitz sure didn't have a problem with it. He was trying to ignore everything and sleep at this point. As much as he would have liked to keep contemplating this situation, there was work to do in the morning.
He buried his muzzle into her mane to block out the wind. Yeah. That's definitely why. Then he happened to breathe.
The smell wasn't quite fruity. It resembled some sort of plant. Maybe a flower. He continued to inhale.
We didn't bring any shampoo or anything. Did that river just smell like that? It didn't make me smell like that.
While pondering the origin of the scent, Blitz did not notice that he had slipped into a trance. His breathing quickened slightly, if only to take in more of Dash's mane.
The mare, however, was in no trance. She felt the rustling on her mane as it destroyed her progress at sleep.
"Blitz. What are you doing?"
He didn't respond. He just nuzzled his way further into the green portion of her hair. He may have mumbled something, but it could have been a moan.
"Are you... smelling my hair?"
Some time later, he gave a muffled affirmative. "Mhm," he hummed.
Dash was hesitant to react. This was sort of weird. There was really only one thing to ask.
"...Why?"
Blitz waited to inhale again. "Smells good..." he said. His speech was rather slurred.
Well, he answered her question. Not that it helped her understand at all.
That doesn't make sense. It has to smell like sweat or something. Is he even awake?
She twisted around in his grip so that she faced him. She then rotated their bed so that she was on top of him. His muzzle never left her even as she crawled up to his head.
Let's see what he's smelling. Or smell. Smell what he's smelling. Whatever.
She lowered her snout onto his spiky mane and gave a tentative sniff. She could only describe it as like some weak perfume. Except, there was no point in the day in which Blitz had access to perfume. Even she didn't put on, and it was socially acceptable for her to do so. She doubted her male counterpart would even think of it.
Dash kept smelling until she was in a trance as well. It definitely smelled good and it wasn't like she was going anywhere.
Blitz, meanwhile, was close to being smothered under her neck. Still, all he could think was, Where did the smell go?
He tightened his grip on the smell and started pulling it down to his nose. It tried to stop him, but not much. It seemed to be poking around him, trying to find a new spot to rest. Dash was experiencing the same issue, with her smell prodding her neck, approaching her face.
She wrapped her hooves around its neck. Maybe she just wasn't close enough to smell it again. Blitz got the same idea, pulling on the smell's waist.
Dash's mouth met something. It touched her lips, but still left empty space beyond that. She could no longer smell the smell.
Maybe it tastes good too?
She extended her tongue, trying to get a feel for where she was. It met something else. It certainly didn't taste bad.
The taste extended into her, seeming to try and get its bearings as well. They both just kept fumbling around, actually enjoying the experience quite a bit.
What is this even?
"Who."
Who?
"Who."
What do you mean who?
"Who."
She opened an eye to observe "who", somewhat annoyed at the interruption. However, she couldn't see beyond Blitz's annoyed eyes searching for "who" at the same time.
Wait a minute... she thought.
The gears were turning. Those damned sticky gears. Sweet Celestia, how were they even functioning.
Ah! There they go.
"Blith?"
"Dath?"
It was sort of hard to speak correctly with their tongues inside each other's mouths. So they parted.
"Blitz!?"
"Dash!?"
Their eyes widened and they tore violently away from one another.
"Oh my gosh!"
"Oh my gosh!"
"What are we-"
"How did-"
They each grabbed their heads in their hooves, screaming simultaneously.
"WHAT THE HELL!?"
...