Rainbow Dash cringed away from the alcohol-sodden wad of cotton as it brushed over the fresh cuts in her wing and retracted the injured appendage.
“Ouch! Twilight, careful with that. It burns like Tartarus!” pressed Rainbow through her clenched teeth.
“Sorry, Dash, but you are the one who landed in a thorn bush and now I’m going to take care of you. No ‘buts’. And I have to disinfect your wounds before I patch you up,” came the purple unicorns firm but gentle reply.
Grumbling at the rather unpleasant outlook of getting tortured by the menacing ball of wool again, Rainbow shot it a grudging glare and hesitantly spread out her wing again to give her marefriend easier access.
With a concentrated expression, Twilight floated the drenched white ball over another cut and cleaned it from dirt and any bacteria that might cause it to fester. Carefully, she tended to each little wound she could find on the wing, gently stroking Rainbow’s shoulder whenever she flinched away from the pain and waited for it to subside. Sometimes she would even place tender kiss on the on the spot she had just washed, earning a little sigh and causing a stirring in her lover’s chest.
Eventually, the last cut was treated, the last bruise smeared with a healing ointment and Twilight floated over a roll of bandages, unrolling the first few inches with her magenta aura.
“Awww… Come on! Is that really necessary?” complained the cyan pegasus and pouted like little filly, “I can forget flying if you put these on me!”
“That’s exactly the point, Dashie,” Twilight explained with a small smile, adoring how cute the pout looked on her marefriend. “You know as well as I that you’re in no state to fly right now. If you stay put for the rest of today and maybe tomorrow and let the ointments do their job, you’ll be as fit as always in no time.”
A short glance in the librarian’s eyes told Rainbow that the unicorn wouldn’t take a ‘no’ for an answer here. Annoyed by the prospect of being grounded, even if it was for less than 24 hours, she threw her head back groaning loudly. “Argh… Fine!”
“Thank you. It’s much easier to take care of you when you are not struggling.”
“Yeah, whatever… Just let’s get this over with.”
Not wasting any more time, Twilight closed in and wrapped the long straps of cloth around the athlete’s injured wing. Soon, it was tightly secured in a comfortable position at her side.
To test if it would interfere with any movements she might make, Rainbow bent her spine in various ways. Satisfied with the result, she stretched her back and turned to the purple unicorn responsible for the restraint, who stared at her eagerly, as if she was waiting for something.
“They’re good, Twilight. Thanks!” To emphasize her point the cyan mare demonstratively moved her wing around within the boundaries of the bandages, before suddenly a mischievous grin snuck upon her lips. “You know… since I’m obviously not able to fly up to my home with this, I’ll have to stay the night here. Any complaints?”
“No, of course not. You’re always welcome.” Twilight laughed and stepped forward to plant a peck on Rainbow’s muzzle. “Why don’t you go upstairs? It’s late anyway and I’ll take care of everything else.”
A short glance outside the library's window confirmed the brash pegasus that her purple marefriend spoke the truth. The sun was setting in a beautiful red glow, bathing the clouds, the town and the inside of the library in a warm light.
“I guess, you’re right… I’m a bit hungry though. Could you get me something to eat?”
“Certainly. Just go up let me do the rest,” Twilight assured the stunt flyer with a smile.
That was good enough for Rainbow. Hesitating no longer, she headed for the stairs and went up to Twilight’s bedroom to make herself comfortable on the new king-sized bed they had acquired when they came to the conclusion that their relationship was stable enough to make investments like this.
Walking by the nightstand, she casually grabbed the latest Daring Do book from it and jumped on the bed.
A content sigh escaped her when she sunk into the soft mattress. Yeah, it’s been definitely worth the price.
Rolling over onto her belly, she placed the book before her and started flapping through the pages until she reached the point she had stopped earlier. Not before long, the pegasus was enthralled by the adventures of her favorite hero.
Rainbow was so enraptured that she barely noticed when Twilight entered the room, a wooden tablet with a tea pot and daffodil sandwiches floating beside her, enveloped in her magenta magic and a folded purple blanket on her back.
A warm feeling crawled up Twilight’s chest when she saw the cyan pegasus on her bed, her wonderful eyes glued to the pages of a novel and a joyful grin spread across her lips.
Silently, she approached her marefriend and carefully placed the tablet on the nightstand. Then she lifted the blanket from her back and unfolded it with her magic.
Finally, Rainbow looked up from the book and greeted the librarian with a delighted expression.
“Hey, Dashie.” Twilight smiled warmly. “I brought you a bite to eat and that tea should have a calming and relaxing effect, so it should be easier for you to stay down when you drink it. And the blanket is just in case you get cold.”
A feeling of love boiled up in Rainbow’s heart. Whenever she had the tiniest problem or injury, Twilight would always fret over it and try to make it better. She always took care of the cyan athlete like a mother of her foal when it hurt itself.
At first, the brash and independent pegasus had been a bit weirded out by this, but as time passed she had learned to appreciate it. All the little things the unicorn did were to ensure she was well and sound, even if she had to compromise on some things, like staying on the ground for a day.
Sometimes she felt even a bit guilty and felt like she was using Twilight, but then she saw how happy it made her to take care of her, doing everything she could to give her as much happiness as possible to show how much she cared about the athlete.
In the end, that’s what counts most. Caring about the other. Isn’t it?
“Thanks, but I think I know something better than the tea to keep me down.” Rainbow smirked.
“So? And what could this be?” Twilight asked and curiously cocked an eyebrow.
“Well… She’s purple, has a knack for magic and is undeniably cute. But most importantly: She’s not here on the bed with me!” Rainbow shamelessly grinned.
A light blush formed on Twilight’s muzzle, along with an amused smile.
“I guess I know what you mean…” the unicorn replied and climbed on the bed, spreading the blanket over them.
Carefully, as not to accidently touch the pegasus’ injured wing, the librarian crawled over to her and cuddled herself against the cyan mare’s warm body. They repeatedly readjusted their position until Twilight laid half on top of her lover, her legs wrapped around Rainbow’s neck and vice versa.
Twilight drowned in the magenta eyes of the athlete and bliss washed over her. Gratefulness and unending love lay in her gaze. Seconds became minutes and they simply kept staring at the other, content with the serenity of the moment. Eventually they gave up the eye contact and their lips met in a tender and passionate kiss.
For what felt like an eternity, the tongues of the two lovers danced together and around each other, playing, teasing and invading the other’s mouth whenever an opportunity called for it.
When they finally broke apart due to their lack of breath, Twilight rested her head on Rainbow’s shoulder, panting heavily and inhaling the sweet, fruity scent of the prismatic mare’s mane. Its aroma was more intoxicating than any perfume she could imagine.
While the unicorn was lost in the haze of her mane, Rainbow Dash freed her healthy wing from the embrace to wrap it tenderly around her lover and pressed Twilight against her warm body. Not even a single sheet of paper would have fitted between their coats.
Softly caressing the silken fur of the purple mare in her arms, Rainbow pressed her nose against Twilight’s neck and brushed against it affectionately. The gentle nuzzle drew Twilight’s attention away from the colorful mane of her marefriend and charmed a moan out of her.
Twilight met Rainbow’s gaze and looked deep into her lover’s magenta pools.
“I love you, Dashie.”
“I love you, too.”