//------------------------------// // Making Waves // Story: Say It // by HermitKlam //------------------------------// Twilight lay limply atop a fluffy white cloud high above the castle, panting in exhaustion. Attempting to stretch her tired limbs, she groaned as her abused muscles screamed vehemently in protest. Giving up, she let her head flop down to the cloud and closed her eyes, determined to at least enjoy the warmth of the sun. All too soon, however, a large shadow blocked out the light. It wasn't much of a surprise when she felt a hoof poke her lightly in the side. “You are it.” “Mneh…” Twilight moaned, weakly attempting to swat the hoof away. All she could manage, however, was to pitifully flop her hoof an inch to the left. “Time… time out.” “What?” Luna scrunched her brows up in confusion. “We were not aware that this game had a time limit.” “Break.” Twilight grunted, still refusing to open her eyes. “You have broken something?” Luna’s eyes widened in concern. Hovering closer, she gave her prostrate companion a quick onceover, yet couldn’t find any obvious signs of trauma. “What is broken?” “Everything,” Twilight groaned. “What?” Luna was shocked for a moment, before an enlightened expression slowly slipped onto her face. “Oh! We comprehend now. You spoke in jest.” Grinning, she gently patted the purple pony’s back good naturedly before commandeering a cloud for herself. The two sat in companionable silence, basking in the warm day as they floated over Canterlot. Looking away from the peaceful vista, Luna glanced at the smaller alicorn, only to frown as something caught her eye. Clearing her throat, she attempted to get her attention. “Twilight?” Not receiving a response, she repeated the pony’s name, this time with increased volume. “Twilight?” “Mmm…” Twilight mumbled. “Five more minutes…” “Twilight.” Luna spoke louder, poking her companion once more. “Just, just give me ten minutes,” Twilight rolled over on her cloud and sighed. “S’all I ask.” “Twilight Sparkle.” Slightly irritated now, she let a small amount of power slip into her voice. “What?” Twilight sighed in resignation as she lifted her head, cracking an eye open to regard the blue alicorn. “Your cloud is dispersing.” Luna informed her, tone once again pleasant. “That’s nice.” Closing her eye once more, she attempted to lay her head down on the fluffy mass only for it to meet thin air. Freezing, her eyes shot wide open as she tilted forwards slowly. She tried to scramble backwards to no avail, ultimately slipping off of what was left of her cloud and nose diving towards the castle hundreds of feet below. A scream burst forth from her lungs, the sound only gaining in volume as her wings refused to cooperate. Scrunching her eyes shut, she frantically scoured her brain for a solution, unaware that Luna was moments from catching her. She couldn’t teleport, because no matter where she teleported to, her momentum would most likely kill her. Unlike Pinkie Pie, she was bound by the laws of physics. Unless… Latching on to that thought, she quickly pooled her magic around herself and teleported, disappearing in a bright purple flash. Luna gave a light yelp as she pulled out of her dive, rubbing her eyes. Blinking away the spots, she hovered alone in the sky. “That… is not how one plays tag,” she muttered with a slight frown. Spinning in midair, Luna looked around but did not see any sign of her purple friend. Looking down at the buildings below her, a sudden thought crossed her mind, causing her face to slowly split into a grin. “Oh!” A playful glint appeared in her eyes as she dove towards the castle. “We have heard of this game! Very well, Twilight Sparkle. We shall ‘seek’ you.” -0-0- Celestia sighed blissfully as her head broke the water of her bathing pool, an army of brightly colored suds flowing down her mane and spreading unevenly across the water. Absently humming under her breath, she lazily floated away from the center, stopping only once she bumped into a submerged platform. The platform itself was tilted at an angle, allowing her to stretch out along its length with her lower body submerged and her head resting comfortably above the waterline. Cracking an eye open, she gazed through the gently wafting steam and took in her bathing room with a self-satisfied smile. The room itself was large and circular, its ceiling curving gently in the shape of a dome. Large windows took up most of the space on the walls, lighting up the room with the warm glow of the sun. Stained-glass chimes hung sporadically around the room, merrily reflecting their colors in the sunlight as they twinkled gently, creating a soothing symphony. While the room was adorned with a few pieces of furniture, such as a large cupboard, a well-stocked vanity, and a large plush pillow, its best asset was hooves-down the large pool of water in the center of the room. The pool itself took up most of the floor, easily fitting four to five ponies her size with room to spare. The water was constantly cycled through the use of two inconspicuously placed spouts; one continuously supplied the pool with hot water while the other connected to a sophisticated filtering system which was in turn connected to a drain. Despite the time and resources it took to build, she had not once regretted having this little sanctuary built. Turning her head she watched through lidded eyes as the last of her attendants searched through one of the cupboards, everyone else having left her to soak after her spa treatment. The small mint green pegasus was humming lightly to herself as she methodically searched through each cupboard, sticking her head completely inside each one to search its depths. After a few more moments of searching, a muffled cry of victory reached the princess’ ears. Bubble Balm grinned merrily as she exited the cupboard, a large chalky pink ball grasped gently in her forehooves. Fluttering through the steam, she hovered above the center of the pool for a few seconds before dropping her cargo. Landing on the opposite side on the pool she happily looked towards the lounging princess. “Was there anything else, Princess Celestia?” “Mmm…” Celestia sighed as the chalky ball fizzed as it sank to rest on the bottom of the pool and began slowly dissolving in the hot water, turning it a light pink color. “No, this is just about perfect.” A gentle floral scent began wafting from the pool, carried into the air by the light steam. Light tingles began along her submerged body, the magically infused ball slowly charging the water. “In fact, there is only one thing that could make this any more perfect…” Celestia trailed off with a pleased sigh. Bubble cocked her head to the side, a thoughtful look on her face. “Another Balm Ball?” She hazarded, coming to the conclusion that if one Balm Ball was pleasant, two of them must be extra pleasant. “No, one is quite sufficient,” Celestia chuckled lightly. Opening her eyes slightly, she turned her head to look at her attendant. “It’s not perfect because-” A bright purple flash and a loud shriek cut her off. Looking up with a start, she had just enough time to close her mouth before a purple body slammed into the pool with a large splash, the displaced water surging over her head and soaking the floor in a giant wave. Sitting up, Celestia blinked the water out of her eyes as her horn began to shine. Enveloping the submerged body in a golden glow, she quickly levitated the purple pony above the water. Her student immediately began sputtering and coughing up water, greedily inhaling air as she struggled to clear her lungs. “Twilight?” She breathed, her voice heavily laced with concern. “Are you alright?” Getting her breath under sufficient control, Twilight went limp in her mentor’s magical grasp, a loud groan of defeat escaping her lips. “M’okay.” “Well Bubble,” Celestia blinked, a dazzling smile slowly spreading across her lips. “It seems that I have been proven wrong.” Floating her student closer, she wrapped her hooves around the smaller princess in a gentle embrace. “Everything is now perfect.” “Alrighty!” Bubble grinned happily. “Is there anything I can get you, Princess Twilight Sparkle?” Twilight snuggled further into the embrace, her head resting in the crook of her mentor’s neck as she clung to her. The soothing feeling of a hoof gently stroking her mane was doing wonders to calm her down. Turning her head slightly, she croaked out a muffled response. “It’s just Twilight, Bubbles.” “Alrighty!” Bubble beamed. “Is there anything I can get for you, Princess Twilight?” Twilight sighed in exasperation as she felt more than heard the white alicorn chuckle in amusement. “No thank you, Bubbles. I’m good.” “Alrighty!” Bobbing her head in acknowledgment, Bubble bowed slightly before flittering out of the room, gently closing the door behind her, a merry hum fading as she retreated further down the hall. For a while neither of them spoke, the only sounds in the otherwise silent room being the light tinkling of the chimes and the gentle lapping of the water. Running her hoof one last time through the purple mane in front of her, Celestia allowed her hoof to gently rub the back of Twilight’s neck before it joined its counterpart in hugging her little alicorn. “Not that I minded you dropping in,” Celestia broke the silence, a warm smile on her face. “In fact it was, and still is, a very welcome distraction,” she continued, a hint of a teasing tone coloring her words. “But I couldn’t help but notice you seemed a tad distressed during your entrance.” Twilight burrowed her head further against her marefriend’s neck, another disgruntled groan escaping her lips. “Would you like to talk about it?” Celestia questioned, resuming her slow stroking, this time on the younger alicorn’s back. Long seconds passed by with no response to her query. Raising an eyebrow, she stopped her gentle caress, causing her love to whine in discontent. “Twilight?” “…No” “No?” “No.” Celestia peered thoughtfully down at the lovable pony pouting in between her hooves. Coming to a decision, she swiftly levitated her student once more into the air, ignoring the indignant squawk as she shifted lower onto the platform. Lying down on her back, she deposited the startled pony onto her chest and floated over an amalgam of bathing supplies. “Tell me about your day,” Celestia calmly stated as she lathered a thick bristled brush with soap. Twilight wasn’t stupid; she knew she was in a precarious position. Half submerged and sprawled across her mentor’s chest, the little alicorn’s resistance lasted just as long as it took for her to raise her head. Freezing as her nose bumped into another’s, Twilight’s mind stalled before flashing to a very similar situation that morning. “Tia?” Twilight uttered hopefully. The magenta orbs in front of her twinkled, a brow arched in pointed amusement, causing her to pout and mutter. “Ah, well. It was worth a try.” Sighing in defeat, Twilight pursed her lips in thought, hastily beginning a recap of her day. “Well, after you left this morning, Luna and I wandered around for a bit, ate, walked in the garden, played a game of tag and then I ended up here.” Smiling brightly as she finished her story, Twilight closed her eyes and awaited her reward. A few puffs of warm breath caressed her face before she felt a small peck on her nose. Eyes snapping open, her cheeks puffed out, showcasing her displeasure. Leaning back slightly, Celestia gazed back at her marefriend with an innocent smile. “What did you eat?” Her politely curious tone was laced with an undercurrent of mirth. “Some sort of cake made with waffles,” Twilight replied grumpily, resigned to her fate. “Oh?” Celestia hummed. “Did you enjoy it?” “Yes, I guess it tasted pretty goo-oooh…” Twilight trailed off at the first touch of the brush against her shoulders. Eyes closing in delight, she practically purred as the soapy brush gently yet firmly began scrubbing her coat in small circles. “Go on,” Celestia prompted softly, the brush slowly circling lower. “I-Mmmm…” Laying her head down, Twilight melted further into the larger alicorn as the massage-like grooming seemingly hit every one of her sore muscles in quick succession, turning her into a goopy purple mess. “L-Luna kept teasing me about the noises I was making; said they were ‘positively indecent’.” “O-oh?” Magenta eyes widened slightly before narrowing in thought. “Is that so?” She trailed off, absently floating a bright yellow bottle over and spreading a generous mist of the solution over purple wings. “Mmhmm,” Twilight moaned, her tender wings quivering in delight as a soft cloth gently rubbed in the soothing lotion, lightly stroking her feathers until they gleamed. “That’s why we w-went to the garden. I figured the less w-witnesses to the teasing the better.” She sighed in relaxed contentment as Celestia used a bowl to slowly rinse the suds from her now shining coat, prompting her to continue lazily. “That somehow turned into aerial tag. I overdid it though, and when the cloud I was resting on dispersed, my wings were too sore so I teleported.” Blinking slowly as the distracting sensations ceased, Twilight nuzzled happily into the larger alicorn’s neck. Inhaling the fresh floral scent, she tentatively stuck her pink tongue out and licked the white fur. Smacking her lips together in thought, she leaned forward and lapped more firmly against Celestia’s neck. “And how are they now?” Celestia asked as she tilted her head to the side, exposing more of her neck to the inquisitive licks. “And how are what now?” Twilight mumbled, working her way up the proffered neck. The flavor was undoubtedly floral, possibly peonies. On top of the admittedly pleasant flavor, every lick succeeded in making her tongue tingle. The sensation was oddly addicting. “How are your wings feeling now?” She reiterated breathlessly as she arched her neck lightly towards the searching muzzle. “Oh yeah, they’re great,” Twilight murmured absently as she shuffled upwards and finally pressed their lips together in a scorching kiss, her hooves wrapping snuggly around her neck. “Mmm,” Celestia mumbled into the kiss. Pulling back slightly, she gazed into her flushed student’s face with a satisfied smile. “Good… That’s good.” Closing the distance once more, she wrapped her forelegs tighter around the purple mare, pulling her impossibly closer. Just as the two alicorns began to lose themselves in their own little world, a loud bang reverberated throughout the room as the heavy door was slammed open. Striding into the chamber, two blue hooves clapped in delight. “Huzzah! We are victorious!”