Chapter 6: The Storm
With the promised storm looming on the horizon, it fell to Ditzy Doo and the other members of Ponyville's post office to deliver the notices to various homes and businesses. The markets, as well as school and most other events that were to take place the next day, were closed in preparation for what could potentially be quite a dangerous storm, since it hadn't been prepared with regulation Cloudsdale clouds.
The weather team was set with the fiercest of preparations. Rainbow Dash and her team were in the thick of planning what to do with the storm once it finally blew out of the Everfree. The first job would be to wring as much lightning out of those clouds as they could before they began distributing them over the town and the surrounding area. The storm clouds would then be married with the gathered clouds from the holding area to produce as much rain as possible before the whole affair was over and done with.
Getting the timing down was the tricky part. They would have to wait until the storm itself had actually crossed over the border of the Everfree Forest before they set to work. And then, they would have to work quickly to bring it under control before it broke over the town. There was a great deal of difficulty and no small amount of danger involved, but Rainbow believed that her team was equal to the task.
Thus it was that, for all their preparation, a massive disappointment awaited the weather team as the next day dawned.
"No!" exclaimed Rainbow as she glared at the storm clouds hovering just inside the Everfree, "Come on! You can't just stop there!"
It seemed that the wind currents had shifted during the night, with the prevailing winds that had been moving the wild storm in the direction of Ponyville having changed direction. Now the storm was beginning to just slip along the border of the forest, gliding past, just barely out of reach. Even worse, to Rainbow's horror, the clouds had condensed together and she could see the first drops of rain beginning to fall.
The rainbow-maned mare ground her teeth together as she fought desperately to keep tears from her eyes. It's not fair! We need that storm! We need it so badly and now it's just blowing away.
"There's nothing we can do boss," consoled Thunderlane, "We can't touch those clouds so long as they're over the Everfree. We'll just have to hope the winds change again."
"We can't afford that!" snapped Rainbow, "Every drop of rain that storm lets fall is one more drop of water that Ponyville's crops aren't getting. We need that storm. If we let it sit, it's just gonna rain out all of its water."
"But what would you want us to do?" asked Cloud Kicker, settling to hover next to Thunderlane, "Cloudsdale will have our hides, not to mention our jobs, if we try to move those clouds out of the forest ourselves. It's not as though we can move that whole thing without touching it."
Rainbow went rigid, momentarily forgetting to flap her wings as Cloud Kicker's words struck a chord in her mind. "Without touching it." Resuming her hover, Rainbow thought over it for a few moments before the idea struck her. "That's it! Cloud Kicker, you're a genius!"
"I am?" asked the purple pegasus, somewhat bemused by Rainbow's praise.
"We can't touch that storm so long as the winds keep it inside the Everfree," explained Rainbow, "So all we need to do is use the wind to pull it out of the Everfree."
"You want to use the wind," asked Thunderlane, "But how?"
"Easy, we're gonna create our own wind current. It'll be sorta like when we pulled off that tornado." Rainbow grinned at the thought.
"Uh Rainbow," interjected Cloud Chaser, "We only got that tornado by drafting every pegasus in town. We don't have the marepower to generate those kinds of winds."
"We don't need anything that powerful," replied Rainbow, "We just need to create an air current that's gonna lead the storm out over the edge of the forest. Once the lead edge is past the forest boundary, then the entire storm counts as ours legally and we can do whatever we want with it."
Spinning about, she faced her team. "Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna work in a conveyer belt maneuver to create a prevailing wind current that's gonna lead the storm out of the forest. I'll go first. The rest of you are going to pair up. Since we don't need a full tornado, we're just gonna go long and hard. We go out over the southern fields about halfway to town before cycling back below and repeating the process from the start point until we've got a good current going."
Raindrops raised a tentative hoof. "Are you sure we're going to have enough stamina for this. We still need to manage the storm afterwards."
Rainbow shook her head. "Listen up! There is no if. I don't care how tired this little maneuver makes us. The fact of the matter is this. Ponnyville. Needs. This. Storm. If we don't deliver, a lot of our crops are gonna go up in smoke this year. I don't need to go into detail on how big a problem this is gonna be. That's a job for an egghead like Twilight. It doesn't matter how tired we are. This is something we have to do. Got it?"
The rest of the weather team nodded fervently. Rainbow gave them a curt nod of her own in return. "Okay, form up behind me." Leading her team, she paused right near the edge of the forest before turning so that the storm was behind her. Then, with a powerful stroke of her wings, she pushed off, going as hard as she could using her pegasus magic to move as much air as she could with her passage. Two-by-two, the ponies in her weather team followed suit. Rainbow kept up the push until she judged she was halfway to Ponyville. Dropping down, she released her magic and looped back under her original flight path, keeping an eye on her team as the pairs followed over her.
Returning to the starting point, Rainbow once again began pushing as hard as she could. She felt less resistance this time, as the passage of the team had already begun to set the air into motion in the desired direction. By the time she reached the end point, she was beginning to sweat and pant from the exertion, but still turned around for another go. However, as she reached the start point, she saw that extra effort wasn't necessary. Her strategy had worked. There was now a slow, but strong wind current that was beginning to tug the storm out of the forest.
Rainbow watched its progress intently, half terrified that the clouds would lose momentum and begin to drift away again. However, the mass of dark condensation continued the move in the desired direction, until the first wisps of cloud crossed over the border of the Everfree. Turning around, Rainbow saw that the rest of her team had joined her. Favoring them with a triumphant grin, she shouted, "We did it everypony!"
A chorus of whoops and cheers met her announcement. Observing closely, Rainbow noted that her team members were looking a little winded. They had originally been saving themselves for the labor of dealing with the storm itself. That was going to be a job and a half. But now, they had already expended a good bit of their precious endurance on creating that wind current.
Rainbow let out a resigned sigh. There was nothing for it. Turning back to the storm, she squared her shoulders. "Okay everyone. Let's do this."
Rarity hummed cheerfully as she put the finishing touches on her latest design. Fluttershy's dress was now fully prepared and ready for her to wear it once her date with Caramel came around. Gently moving the ponyquin it was mounted on back to one side, Rarity looked around and began to consider the next thing to do with the remainder of her free time. Sweetie Belle was back with their parents. She had no outstanding commissions to fulfill. And, for once, Rarity felt as though she had exhausted the full measure of her creative genius.
Taking a moment to glance out the window, Rarity noted that the sky was beginning to darken. She could even see nearby trees swaying as the wind began to pick up. Furthermore, little drops of rain were beginning to splatter across the ground. The storm, it seemed, had begun.
Bother, thought the alabaster mare rather petulantly, I suppose this means paying a visit to the library to borrow a book from Twilight isn't an option anymore.
Her musings on how to occupy her time were interrupted by a flash of lightning before the sharp crack of thunder rattled the windows of her establishment. "Oh dear, I wish those weather ponies would be more careful with that lightning," she muttered, "Though I suppose that there's only so much they can do with a wild storm."
Once again, she jumped at a loud crack, or rather several, in succession. For a moment, Rarity wondered if her boutique was about to be blasted off the face of the earth until she realized that what she was hearing wasn't thunder, but somepony knocking on her door.
"Now who on earth could be out and about in such atrocious weather?" wondered Rarity as she trotted over and reluctantly opened the door. As expected, the door was nearly wrenched from her magical grip by the force of the wind, which sent a fusillade of raindrops rushing straight at her face. Squinting against the wind and rain, Rarity was able to make out a familiar figure, a tan-colored earth pony stallion.
"Caramel! What in Celestia's name are you doing out there?"
Caramel opened his mouth to respond, but Rarity cut him off. "Never mind! Inside right this instant!" Before he could even begin to move, the aura of Rarity's magic enveloped him and yanked the poor stallion into the boutique, Rarity shutting the door tightly behind him.
Not even pausing to take in his disheveled state, Rarity immediately turned and rushed upstairs to the bathroom, where she pulled out a spare towel. Rushing back down she wrapped it around the shivering stallion and began to rub him vigorously until Caramel had collected himself enough to do the drying on his own.
Once he dried himself, he found Rarity already setting a cup of hot tea in front of him. The tan stallion sipped gratefully as Rarity watched him. "Now then," she said, "What on earth were you doing out in that squall?"
"I kind of want to know who put a storm there today," groused Caramel, "I was just discharged from the hospital and was on my way home when this thing swept up out of nowhere. With all the wind and lightning, I didn't think I could make it all the way back to my house, so I went to the first place I could find."
"That's rather odd," mused the fashionista, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "I'm guessing that the notification about the storm somehow missed being delivered to you. I'm rather surprised no one at the hospital thought to tell you about it when you were discharged"
"Now that you mention it," said Caramel, "It looked like the staff were getting ready for something big. But it didn't look at all like the usual storm preparations, so I figured it was for something else."
"Well they'd have to use something other than the usual methods," admitted Rarity, "After all, Rainbow Dash and her team brought in a wild storm from the Everfree."
"What?" gasped Caramel, "Is she crazy?"
"Things have been rather desperate lately," Rarity pointed out, "Cloudsdale hasn't been sending us any clouds. This has been the first time in a while that Ponyville has gotten a good storm."
"That 'good storm' hasn't exactly been very good to me," groused the stallion.
"Well, you're quite fortunate that you found your way here," said Rarity, refilling Caramel's cup, "The last thing we want is for you to wind up back in the hospital after you just got out. Poor Fluttershy. Things must be difficult for her, what with the males in her life having such a strong tendency towards getting themselves battered to the point of falling to pieces."
Caramel blushed at the mention of the yellow pegasus' name. "I didn't exactly mean to end up in the hospital," he protested weakly.
He was answered by a low chuckle from the fashionista. "Oh I know. I was just teasing you. We're all quite looking forward to your little date with her. I myself just put the finishing touches on Fluttershy's dress. I assure you that once she's ready, you won't be able to take your eyes off her."
Caramel's eyes widened as the blush on his cheeks grew in intensity. "D-d-dr-dress," he stammered nervously.
"Oh yes. Hmm." Rarity put a hoof to her lips as she sized up the nervous stallion. "Although, now that I think about it, you don't really have anything of your own to wear. Oh this won't do at all." A slightly manic grin spread across her face, making poor Caramel quake in his hooves. "Now that I think about it, this is the perfect opportunity. You just happened to drop in here during the storm and won't be able to leave until it passes. I currently have nothing to occupy my time with. Oh this is perfect. I'll make you a suit to make dear Fluttershy swoon!"
Before Caramel could utter a syllable, Rarity had already yanked him up with her magic and set him up on one of her stands. Before his very eyes, he saw rolls of fabric begin to move on their own as Rarity's magic swept it up to swirl around them while she compared colors and patterns against his coat and mane. At the same time, he saw her power drawing out needles, measuring tape, scissors, and other implements of destruction.
"Now then," declared Rarity, the husky excitement in her voice making Caramel gulp, "Let's get started."
"Come on Spike, just a little," prodded Twilight Sparkle, levitating a spoonful of viscous purple fluid up before the irritable drake.
"No! I've already told you Twilight, I'm not sick. It's just some aching that I'm sure is gonna pass." Spike had been dealing with a near constant throbbing ache emerging from between his shoulders for some time. However, this morning had seen it grow in intensity, to the point where Spike could scarcely move his arms or bend his back without grunting in pain.
Naturally, the condition of her little assistant had drove Twilight nearly to a nervous breakdown as she tried to desperately find out what was wrong with him. However, none of the tomes she had consulted had any information on what kind of pain her dragon was suffering...when her tomes had information on dragons at all. Not for the first time, Twilight found herself cursing the lack of information ponykind had on dragons, particularly their physiology. She figured her best bet would be to talk to Zecora. Unfortunately, Rainbow's storm had put a block on that plan for the time being, leaving Twilight locked in the library, alone with her worries...and Spike, of course.
Spike grunted as he moved to sit in a chair that he had set facing the window. Watching a storm was a favorite pastime of his, and one he hoped to make the most of. It was unfortunate that his current pains and Twilight's overbearing sense of concern were making the activity somewhat less enjoyable.
Finally bowing to her assistant's stubbornness, Twilight put the medicine away with a sigh before going to sit next to him. "I'm sorry Spike," she said gently, reaching over with a light hoof to pat his back, "I just worry. We know so little about dragons and I'm afraid that any little problem you have is going to end up being something life threatening." Rubbing a gentle hoof across his back, she looked down and sighed. "I'm terrified," she admitted, "I'm afraid that this is going to be one of those problems where it looks like nothing at first and we'll just ignore it. Then I'll wake up one morning and, all of a sudden, you'll be..."
Spike smiled and reached over, running his claws through Twilight's mane, gently scratching her neck in the way he knew she liked. "It's okay," he said in his most encouraging tone, "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be fine, you'll see."
Twilight smiled until her hoof reached the space between Spike's shoulders. There, under his skin, just barely perceptible, were a pair of lumps. A frown spread across her face as she pressed down slightly to feel the lumps more carefully.
"Um Twilight?" asked Spike, feeling her hoof pressing down on his back, right at the source of his current pain. Fortunately, the pressure wasn't actually aggravating it. But, for some reason, Spike was feeling her hoof much more acutely than he normally would.
"Spike," whispered Twilight, "There's something growing out of your back."
The little dragon went rigid, his eyes widening. He had been shrugging off Twilight's fears as baseless, but now he was beginning to wonder if she wasn't onto something. "What are they?" he asked a little more frantically than he intended.
"I don't know!" exclaimed the lavender unicorn frantically, "None of my books have anything on this. We know the doctor and the veterinarian can't help us. They don't know anything on dragons either. That means, there's only one we can turn to."
The two turned and looked at each other, the word leaving their mouths at the same time. "Zecora!"
"But how?" asked Spike, taking a look out the window, "We really don't want to be out in that now."
"Let me think." Twilight was beginning to pace back and forth. Her mind was presently running the numbers as she began to try and figure how far her teleportation spell could take her. "I think I can teleport us most of the way there. Rainbow Dash and her team are going to be keeping the storm over Ponyville and the farmers' fields right now, so we should be safe once we're near the edge of the Everfree.
"Safe is a loaded word around the Everfree," grumbled Spike.
"No time! Let's go!" Twilight's horn blazed, surrounding the pair in violet light before winking out, leaving the library completely empty.
"Flitter!" snapped Rainbow, "Get that one over there, it's starting to build up a charge." The green-maned mare quickly moved to do as she had been ordered, swooping down on the rapidly darkening cloud and giving it a powerful buck, causing the cloud in question to spit a bolt of lightning with a loud crack. Blossomforth spotted another one and rushed in to do the same.
"Storm Front, keep those clouds from stacking up," ordered Rainbow, pointing to where a group of clouds were beginning to merge together and stretch upward into the air, "The last thing we want is this turning into a hailstorm."
Spotting several clouds of her own, Rainbow rushed to each in turn, bucking the lightning out of them, tamping them down to stop further buildup and the other general work needed to keep the storm under control. The weather team had been working nonstop for the past four hours, constantly in motion in a desperate attempt to keep the wild storm from becoming outright destructive. The fact that the clouds weren't manufactured meant that their behavior was wildly unpredictable. That translated into ceaseless labor for the weather team to keep the whole thing under control.
After finishing with the clouds she spotted, Rainbow designated several trouble spots for the other members of her team. She then picked out a few for herself and got back to work, repeating the pattern that had been going on for most of the day. Rainbow found herself grateful for the time she had spent at the Wonderbolts Academy, the intense training there having done wonders for her stamina. Several members of her team had also been in her class and were showing the fruits of their own training. But the constant demand of the storm was beginning to take its toll. The entire group was sweating and breathing hard. Several of them looked to be on the verge of collapse. Rainbow frowned at her poor judgment. She should have broken them into shifts so that the groups could change out and get some rest. Of course, that meant that each group would have that much more to do for the duration of their shift. But that would still have been better than trying to keep the entire team going for the duration of the storm.
Well, it's gonna be hard, she thought ruefully, But I'm gonna have to start putting them on shifts now. The ponies who are still working are gonna have to push it a little while longer, then they can switch out. Rainbow mentally began to make a list of the ponies to give the first rest to, focusing on ones she knew to be at the end of their endurance, until she had about a third of the weather team. She figured three rotations would be enough to give her subordinates some rest while the extra work didn't overwhelm those who remained.
She opened her mouth, about to call out the first set of names, when a cough startled her from behind.
"Miss Rainbow Dash I presume," declared an officious voice. Rainbow swore she could here the contempt that practically dripped from the stallion hovering behind her.
Biting down a swear, Rainbow turned around to face the pony directly behind her. "Yeah that's me."
The stallion was a grayish-blue with a darker blue mane. He was dressed in a finely tailored suit that made allowance for his wings. He looked to be perfectly groomed, with not a single hair out of place, making him stand in sharp contrast to the sweaty disheveled mare hovering in front of him. At her response, he wrinkled his nose, as though trying to ignore a bad smell.
"Miss Dash, I am here on behalf of the Cloudsdale Weather Bureau to inquire about this storm," he explained, "We noticed it a few hours ago, but never received any forms requesting authorization of said storm. Perhaps you would like to explain where you got your clouds from."
"Yeah," replied Rainbow, more than a little irritated at the interruption. That was just like those bureaucrats, sending someone to question her right in the middle of an important job. She couldn't afford to deal with this snooty suit right now. "I'll answer your questions in a minute. I've got some things to take care of with my team."
"No," declared the suited pegasus imperiously, "You will answer my questions now. I didn't come all the way from Cloudsdale to be kept waiting by a ground-level weather pony.
"Well too bad, I'm busy," snapped Rainbow, shooting off before the inspector could say another word. The officious stallion bared his teeth and flew away.
Gathering up her team, Rainbow quickly laid out the rotation plan. Things went over well and she was glad to see some of her team get some rest. From then on, she was in the thick of it, doing her best to make up for the lost hooves, now that her team would be perpetually down to only two-thirds of its strength at a given time.
"Twilight Sparkle, my friend so dear. What, pray tell, brings you here?"
Twilight couldn't help but smile at Zecora's usual rhyming speech. Something about the rhythmic cadence of the zebra's words put her heart at ease just by hearing it. "Zecora, Spike's been having some problems lately."
Zecora backed up, looking around warily. "I hope too much I do read. Has he again submitted to his greed?"
Twilight shook her head vigorously. "No no, he's right here." Turning around, she showed that Spike was settled rather uncomfortably on her back. The trip had been anything but comfortable for him, given that Twilight's gait couldn't be called smooth by any means, which only served to jolt his back with every step she took.
"Hey Zecora," said the little dragon, giving her a half-hearted wave.
"Come inside and do speak," instructed Zecora, "Tell me why my help you seek."
Twilight and Spike followed Zecora into her home. Twilight set about explaining the situation, Spike's pains, and her discovery of the two lumps between his shoulders. When she finished, Zecora said nothing, but proceeded to give the dragon her own examination, which consisted of gently prodding the lumps on his back, checking the inside of his mouth, and blowing a hooffull of powder over him, making the little dragon sneeze. When she finished, Zecora turned to Twilight with a smile.
"My friend, glad tidings I do bring, for your young dragon will soon take wing."
Twilight's jaw dropped. "What? Are you saying that those lumps are...Spike's wings?"
Zecora nodded sagely. "They are in the proper place for such things. What could they be, but a pair of wings?"
Spike was also gaping at this revelation. "Wings...I'm gonna have wings."
Twilight barely noticed her assistant's growing elation. She was already pacing around Zecora's home, completely lost in thought as she muttered to herself. "This is unprecedented. How could a dragon's wings just grow in partway through its life? All other non-insect animals that I know of that are going to have wings are just born with them. Is this some unique trait to dragons? I have to chronicle their growth. The boon to the scientific community could be unprecedented..."
A wary Zecora watched as Twilight continued her low volume tirade before turning to Spike. "It makes me dizzy, to see your friend in a tizzy."
Spike shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, that's just what she does."
It took hours, but the storm was finally running out of steam. Even so, Rainbow Dash kept her team at it, doing her best to ensure that they wrung every single drop of precious water out of those clouds that they could. And then, it was finally over. The last wisps of clouds began to fade away, leaving a thoroughly soaked Ponyville behind them. Rainbow looked down at her handiwork and grinned. In spite of all the close calls, the damage was minimal. Some roofs had lost shingles and a few trees had been damaged by the wind. A couple were split by errant lightning strikes. But, all in all, her team had done an excellent job keeping on top of things and preventing the storm from doing too much damage.
What would really be nice would be getting some cloud cover so that the water has time to soak into the ground instead of just evaporating away. Rainbow hoped that the sheer level of saturation would ensure that the water managed to do some good before the sun dried it up. Looking about, she noticed that it was late afternoon and getting on towards evening. Even with the sky cleared, it was noticeably cool out. That was good. The water would have the night to soak in before the sun came out the next day.
Rainbow blew a sharp whistle, calling her team to her. "Alright everypony! Great job today. You guys are totally awesome and you should be proud of the work you did." With each word, Rainbow felt her strength ebb. Her wings seemed to be getting strangely heavy. "You guys are dismissed for the night. Get...some...rest..."
As though overly eager to take her own advice, Rainbow's wings gave out and she felt herself began to fall. Fortunately, she didn't have enough time to start gathering speed before she felt herself settle on somepony's back. Feeling the soft silk shirt he wore, Rainbow realized that Storm Front had been the one to catch her. However, she didn't have the strength to care, the world around her dissolving into a haze, from which she could only barely make out the voices of the ponies around her.
"Geez, she's out like a light," came Cloud Kicker's voice.
"Can you blame her?" asked Thunderlane, "She didn't take a single break the whole time and she was doing what...the work of five ponies at once."
"No kidding," commented Cloud Chaser, "I know Rainbow Dash loves to push herself, but this is crazy."
"But she wouldn't be the boss if she were any other way," declared Thunderlane proudly, "Hey Storm Front, you know how to treat Wing Exhaustion right?"
"Yes," replied Storm Front from beneath Rainbow, "I'll take her back to her home and treat her there."
Rainbow wanted to protest that she was fine, but her grip on reality was slowly slipping away. She only barely felt Storm Front's body slip into motion before she was gone.
As the clouds dispersed, the rays of the late afternoon sun streamed through, shining down on Ponyville. The town had definitely looked better. There was a large quantity of litter and debris that had been knocked loose by the heavy storm. But all the homes were intact and nopony had suffered injury, thanks to the notices that had been distributed the previous day.
Meanwhile, in a cottage on the outskirts of town, a black pegasus colt looked out the window, his blue-green catlike eyes surveying the storm's aftermath. "It seems to be over," he observed before turning to his mother, still curled up on the couch.
Fluttershy shakily raised her head, giving the room an uncertain look before her eyes focused on the sunlight, visible through the open window. "Oh, is it really?" Looking around, she made an effort to get to her hooves and stand up, but her legs were still shaky from an excess of tension. "I-I need to get to the kitchen and get started on dinner."
Dawn turned away from the window trotted back to her side. Gently he nuzzled her, pushing her lightly back down onto the couch. "Not yet," he said softly, climbing up and curling up against her, "Just rest for a moment."
To say that Fluttershy hadn't taken the powerful storm well would be an understatement. The howling winds and frequent (not to mention loud) claps of thunder that rattled the walls and ceiling of the house had put her in a state of distress that could only have been surpassed by a visit from a full-grown dragon. Fluttershy had spent most of the storm curled up on the couch, quivering and shrieking at every crack and flash of lightning. Dawn had done his best to comfort her. However, given the extent of his injuries and the fact that he was fairly small meant that there was little he could do. He couldn't wrap a comforting wing around Fluttershy the way she could him. And, given his condition, offering his body up as a stress pillow for Fluttershy to hug would have had problematic effects on his injuries.
Surprisingly, it was Angel who had come up with a solution to the problem, having been the one who needed to deal with Fluttershy's fears during previous storms. The small white rabbit solemnly presented Dawn with the tool that had seen him and his mistress through innumerable storms, a hairbrush. Nothing calmed and comforted Fluttershy like the feeling of her mane and tail being brushed, bringing up memories of her time at home with her loving and affectionate mother.
And so, Dawn had brushed Fluttershy's mane and tail for hours, working slowly and deliberately, trying his best to be gentle with his mother. Fluttershy, lulled into a more relaxed state by the feeling of the bristles pulling through her mane, was able to get herself under control so that small squeaks were the only response she had the the thunder and wind.
While Dawn's efforts had kept Fluttershy calm, her body had remained tensed through the whole ordeal. Now that the storm was finally over, relaxing those muscles had caused them to give out. There was no question that she needed real rest before she tried resuming regular activities. However, she still keenly felt her responsibilities to her son. But Dawn would hear nothing of it, instead using his own body as a block to keep Fluttershy on the couch. Sensing that he wouldn't be budged until he was satisfied that she was properly rested, Fluttershy sighed and lowered her head until it rested near Dawn's. Her ears took in the soft sound of the colt's breathing, while the gentle rise and fall of his side against hers seemed like a pleasant massage. With a slight smile, Fluttershy felt herself drift off into a peaceful sleep.