When Lightning woke up, she noticed two things: The first was that her head felt like jackhammers were having sex in it. The second was that whatever pillow her head was against felt warm and fuzzy.
It took quite a while before she felt like opening her eyes. The only thing that convinced her to was her curiously fuzzy pillow, which seemed to be moving up and down. That, coupled with a soft exhaling sound that was not her own gave Lightning just a little bit of concern.
Pillows don’t usually breath.
Cracking open one of her eyes, she found herself face deep in what was certainly not a pillow. Pulling her head back Lightning saw a gray mass of fur. Her eyes flew upward, and she saw strands of golden, wavy hair. It took her a couple of seconds to put it together through her hangover.
D-Derpy?
The realization hit Lightning like freight train. Her whole body jutted back, and she likely would have fallen off the bed had Derpy’s hooves not been wrapped around her neck.
It took all of her willpower not to shriek.
What the heck? Why am I… Derpy’s bed… spooning… oh shit… Her memories of last night came back in fragments, but one stood out above the rest: helping Derpy upstairs, and then passing out in her bed. Oh Celestia, I’m an idiot.
After several sharp breaths, Lightning managed to calm down slightly. She had not moved yet. In fact, she was paralyzed. Derpy’s forelegs were still wrapped around her neck, and this mere realization sent a chill down her spine.
Her eyes darted around as she tried to decide what to do. Then Derpy’s forelegs retracted, pulling closer towards her body and taking Lightning with them as they did. She mumbled happily in her sleep.
Great. Just great. Lightning wiggled slightly, trying in vain to disentangle herself from her friend. She did not try too hard, for fear of waking up Derpy and creating an even more awkward mess to dump on top of the one she was currently in. When she could not break free, she sighed, her breathing falling onto Derpy’s muzzle.
Could be worse. At least I’m comfortable. Though, comfort was not her primary concern at this point. She shifted around, attempting to escape Derpy’s grasp. After several minutes of struggling, the most she managed to do was turn herself around.
Lightning sighed. Guess I’m staying here till Derpy wakes up. She rested her head on the mattress, and Derpy squeezed her tighter. With nothing better to do, Lightning stared at the clock on Derpy’s nightstand. Five agonizingly comfortable minutes ticked by.
“Grr. Just wake up already!” Lightning shouted out before realizing that probably was not the best idea.
“Eep!”
Derpy’s forearms rocketed away from Lightning’s body. Now freed, Lightning turned around. “Uh… hey?”
Derpy’s head was so red it looked like she might explode. Her ears folded down and her gaze shifted from the bed to Lightning and back again. “Oh my Celestia! Lightning I… I’m so… We…” Her voice seemed to climb an octave with each word.
Lightning cringed, her hangover not enjoying this new onslaught of sound. “Geez, Derpy, calm down a little.”
Derpy took in a few sharp breaths. “I… I’m sorry Lightning, I didn’t… I mean I wouldn’t… I mean… We were spooning, huh…. That’s something…”
Seeing how overly flustered her friend was getting about the whole ordeal, Lightning felt compelled to reassure her that it meant nothing. “Relax, Derpy. You don’t have to apologize.
Her ears perked up. “I… I don’t?”
“No, of course not. The whole thing’s my fault anyway.” Lightning awkwardly rubbed the back of her head at Derpy’s nonplussed look. “I might’ve drunkenly carried you up here and then passed out on your bed.”
“Oh… really?”
Lightning sheepishly grinned. “Yeah.”
“S-so… you spooned with me, then.”
“In a way, I guess so.” She sighed. “Look Derpy, I’m really sorry about this. If–”
“Oh no no no no no!” Derpy suddenly leaped forward, closing the gap between the two of them. “Lightning, you don’t have to feel bad about this.”
“I don’t?”
“Of course not.” She smiled. “This was just a thing that… you know, happened. I’m not upset about it.”
“You’re not?” Derpy nodded ecstatically. “Oh… uh, great. Good to know we both feel the same way about this then.”
Derpy suddenly wrapped her hooves around Lightning. “Yeah… it is really good isn’t it?”
Awkwardly, Lightning returned the hug. It lasted longer than she expected, but it wasn’t the most awkward thing about the morning.
“So is your head giving you a pounding too?” She asked when they finally broke apart.
“Little bit,” Derpy admitted. “Could be a lot worse, though.”
“You got any aspirin or something?” Lightning rubbed her temples. “It feels like–“
“Jackhammers having sex in your forehead?” Derpy finished.
“I was going to say about a bazillion fireworks, but that works too.” Her hoof slowly ran off her face, and she suddenly pulled away. “Eww, why is my cheek wet?”
Derpy blinked, and her eyes surreptitiously darted to the side. “No idea.”
Lightning shuddered slightly. “I’m going to go take a shower real quick. Be right back.” She headed towards the bathroom.
“Okay. I’ll go ahead and get breakfast started," Derpy shyly offered. Lightning nodded her consent before she exited the room.
As she did so, Lightning made sure to shut the door behind her, and then she dashed towards the nearest bathroom. She threw that door shut as well, and locked it. Her face was burning with embarrassment still, so she turned the knob of the shower to its coldest setting before getting in. As the freezing water doused her face, she sighed and began the long and tedious process of trying to block the whole ordeal out of her mind.
No matter how awkward that had just been, Lightning Dust found herself unable to deny one thing; that had been the best night’s sleep she’d had in a long, long time.