The day was unbearably hot. It was the middle of summer and just far enough past noon for the sun to have heated the whole land to a sweltering temperature. It was the kind of time that pegasi used their own wings to help fan themselves off. It was also the kind of time that changelings were grateful to have those holes in their bodies. It helped with ventilation.
Oh, but it wasn't merely the bare sun that made the heat so intense. Thick cloud cover blanketed the sky with a claustrophobic darkness, keeping the light out but not doing a single blasted thing about the hot waves of temperature. If anything, the clouds only made it worse by dumping unbearable levels of humidity to make the air feel close and unwanted. It probably felt a good twenty degrees hotter than it already was. One could see the sun behind the dark curtain and know, bitterly, that it was radiating its heat down below as if there were hardly any clouds at all.
Chrysalis waved a forehoof in front of her face to get some wind. She was sweating and the air whistling through her hoof holes felt rather good. The occasional buzz sounded from her wings, which moved on reflex to cool off. Twilight was currently doing something similar with her own wings.
“It's hot,” Chrysalis remarked, as if it was some incredible wonder that none had yet noticed. Whether she was speaking to the day in general or the two current occupants of the treehouse was unclear.
“No. Really?” Twilight droned from her desk. A little magic flipped the page of the book in front of her.
The changeling looked to the book her queen was reading. She had to lean her head around a bit to make out the title on the side where it was visible just under the left-side flap.
Hot: How To Be.
A hum-like laugh echoed throughout the library in several frequencies, some beyond the hearing range of most ponies.
“What?” Twilight deadpanned without taking her eyes from the pages of her book. They kept scanning along at a reasonable pace.
“Only my queen would want to know how to be hot when she already is,” Chrysalis' laugh toned down to a giggle.
Twilight, however, seemed encouraged by this declaration. “Why thank you, Chrysy,” she smiled and finally looked over to her changeling.
“Uh,” the tall shape-shifter stammered. It might make sense for the knowledge-obsessed pony to take it as a compliment, but there was still that feeling of a page missing somewhere. “Well, um,” she buzzed unsure. “We are both hot, after all.”
It was true. They were both sweating, though Chrysalis was now sweating for two reasons rather than one. Why was Twilight looking at her like that?
“That's a bit self-serving don't you think?” the alicorn now abandoned her book entirely and walked casually over to Chrysalis. “Not that I'd deny your...alluring physical status.”
“Alluring?” the changeling cocked a brow. She wiped some sweat from her forehead and felt the damp strands of her blue-tinted mane. She wouldn't describe how she probably looked to be “alluring.”
“I think you'd be an eight out of ten right now according to the book's scale,” Twilight decided as she stepped right up to Chrysalis' face and brushed some of the damp strands behind her ear. Thankfully, her own mane was short enough to be far less trouble in these situations. “I like a little change now and then but some points will always and inevitably be lost for the lack of cleanliness. If we're going to go with the slightly soaked look then I prefer it to be after-shower, early morning, and on the ring pad with a cool breeze coming through the window.”
Chrysalis felt very confused. It was as if she had attempted to have an intelligent part in a conversation but didn't have the faintest clue what it was about. Much like marriage, actually.
Twilight's smile wilted a bit from seeing the lost expression. “I'm sorry, it's just that I thought...”
“It's okay,” Chrysalis assured without knowing what she was assuring. “You're just very hot right now. It's hard to think straight like that. I certainly know that I can't.”
Twilight smirked, her lips wavered, and then she stifled a giggle. “I think I know why you look so worried.”
“Huh?” the simple buzz came.
“I do believe,” Twilight waved her hoof up for exclamation and for an entirely unnecessary lecture point, “that we are having two conversations at the same time.”
“Huh?” the simple buzz repeated.
“You're making me hot,” Twilight said suddenly while putting her hoof down and forming the biggest tooth-filled evil grin she had worn in quite a few months.
“I'm sorry,” the changeling frowned. She started backing away, all usual pick-up on flirtatious conversation failing to engage.
“I thought so.”
“I don't follow, my queen.”
The alicorn tutted gently. “The term 'hot' has many different uses. One must, however, be careful when attempting to interpret a given conversation so that double or alternate meanings are not derived where they were not intended. Improperly assuming an implied meaning can result in some very embarrassing situations. In this case, I was implying...”
“Implying what?”
Twilight raised her brows. “Need I clarify?”
“As fluent as I may have become, some of your pony ways still elude me when it comes to conversation,” Chrysalis admitted, biting her lip a bit in disappointment. She was still quite articulate in her speech, though.
“I was saying you were 'hot' as in beautiful, enticing, attractive, and several other complimentary terms.”
Chrysalis' face reddened. She sweat a bit more, but not from nervousness. She was quite comfortable with taking praise from her queen. “Perhaps a kiss then? If my queen finds me so becoming.”
“Nah,” Twilight grinned again, turned, and walked back to her book to continue reading it. “It's too hot.”