//------------------------------//
// Sandwich - Jondor 
// Story: AppleDash Group Collab 
// by DbzOrDie 
//------------------------------//

Being inside a sandwich.  That’s what it felt like to the two ponies crammed in between their friends in the crowded concert hall.

In order to house a larger audience for such an important event, Celestia had temporarily transformed the individual plush seats of the hall into long plush benches.  Comfortable on the rump, but not so much on the hips and withers when an entire row of ponies were crushing you into your neighbor.

On Applejack’s side, Rarity and Fluttershy were dabbing at their eyes with hoofkerchiefs, clearly moved by the play.  On Rainbow Dash’s side, Twilight was desperately trying to keep Pinkie’s natural exuberance quiet and subdued.  Between them, AJ and Dash felt like the hay bacon in a BLT.

Every so often, they shifted uncomfortably against one another.  Normally, they didn’t mind bodily contact, but that usually took the form of an impromptu wrestling match, not being crammed in between their friends and being bored out of their minds at a romantic play.

They wouldn’t have been there at all, except that Celestia had insisted on the presence of the Elements of Harmony.  After their failed invasion, the changeling hive had done some soul searching and found a way to not only use their shapeshifting abilities for good, but also to safely generate and collect the emotions they required to feed.  Celestia was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, provided she had a backup plan, in case things got out of hoof.

After about the twentieth time they shifted positions, trying to get even a little bit more room to breathe, Applejack finally decided on a plan.  She moved her right foreleg from between herself and Rainbow and put it around the latter’s withers instead.  Dash’s eyes went wide in surprise, then went even wider when AJ suggested she do the same.

In a whisper, Applejack made the case that it would hardly be the first time they’d grabbed each other around the neck and this way, they’d have more room.  Dash reluctantly agreed, wrapping her left foreleg around AJ.  The shifting and shuffling drew to a halt, leaving both ponies free to make silent gagging noises about the mushy play and to chuckle quietly back and forth at the faces they were each pulling.

After a particularly entertaining round, they found themselves leaning against each other in silent giggles and hugging each other in mirth.  But when the giggles coasted to a stop, the giddy feeling still hadn’t quite left their minds, and they stayed huddled close to each other, reflecting that perhaps being sandwiched together wasn’t all that bad after all.