“Snuggling on what?” Twilight squeaked. Her eyes went wide and her ears flicked back as she lifted her head from Rainbow’s shoulder. She felt herself tremble, but she didn’t want to show it, especially since she was still snuggling with Rainbow.
“It says the lower extremities, so...” Rainbow cocked her head as she peered at the book. “It says that snuggling on or below the belly lets ponies feel closer to each other... somehow,” she added with a giggle. “Well, I guess we won’t know until we try, right?”
Twilight nodded, biting her lip to quell the excited squeak that lay on the tip of her tongue. Her heart was racing fast and even though she tried as hard as she could, she could not stop her tail from swishing from side to side. “Tell me about the position, Dash...” she murmured, relishing the last few moments of the position they still held.
“Let’s see...” Rainbow muttered. She lifted the book up so that the both of them could read, and said, “One pony must stay in the same position from the previous one while the other one lays their head in the first pony’s lap. Depending on the level of friendship and how close you are to the other pony, it is optional for the first one to brush the lower one’s mane. Doing so in the correct environment and in the correct manner is meant to help ponies bond on a more emotional level.”
Twilight’s eyes widened at that. Oh my freaking gosh, this sounds amaaaaaazing... Blushing furiously, she sat up and stuck out her lower lip, giving Rainbow Dash her best puppy-dog look. “Say Dash... mind if I be the lower one? My head feels kinda cold, and I don’t like it cold...” Oh come the heck on, Twilight! You have to think before you say the first darn thing that comes to your mind! This is the second time you’ve slipped up! Think, Twilight, think!
Rainbow cocked an eyebrow and peered at her, a strange, inquisitive look upon her face. “Uh... sure?” she asked with a nervous giggle. “You alright? You’re acting a little strange.”
“I, uh... yeah, I-I’m fine!” Twilight said, a hint of nervousness creeping into her tone. She shook her head and ran a hoof through her mane before looking up at Rainbow, an apologetic smile on her face. “I, er... I didn’t get enough sleep last night, and I woke up early to work in the library,” she lied.
“Oh, that makes sense,” Rainbow said. She relaxed and folded her wing back to her side. “You know, if you just want to go to bed now, we can do that. I’ll sleep on the couch, and—”
“No!” Twilight paused and took herself a couple of notches down. She took a couple of slow breaths and said, “You are—I mean, uh... this is really important to me, Rainbow. I can’t say I’ve had so much fun studying, too.”
Rainbow let off a soft giggle, then she smiled at her. “Yeah? Glad I could help ya.”
Me too... “So... shall we get to it?” she asked, biting her lip and smiling.
“Sure. Now, did the book say anything about which direction you should face? I don’t remember.”
Twilight shrugged. “I’ll look away from you, I guess. That makes sense, right?” She lifted her head from Rainbow’s shoulder and sat back for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to do this. After a few moments, Twilight stretched herself out and glanced up at Rainbow. She smiled at her and nodded, letting her know it was okay to go ahead.
Twilight’s eyes shifted downwards to Rainbow’s haunches. “So you want me to lay my head between your legs, right?” Twilight pressed her back up against the back of the couch and laid her head right in Rainbow’s lap. She angled herself so that the back of her head lay against Rainbow’s left leg and the back of her neck lay against her right leg. All things considered, it was rather comfortable.
Remembering that they had a blanket, Twilight lit her horn and levitated it to her. She draped it across Rainbow’s shoulders and laid the rest over her, then let out a soft sigh of content. The blanket was just big enough to cover half of her hind legs, so she curled up and laid on her side. Tucking the edge of the blanket under the tips of her hooves, she snuggled closer to Rainbow and folded her forelegs up against her chest. She flicked her tail to cover her flank, and she took a deep breath.
She closed her eyes and slid her head back until she felt Rainbow’s belly against it. Twilight wiggled her head into a more comfortable position and made herself relax. There was no point to snuggle with someone if you were tense all the time, after all.
Twilight giggled softly as she felt Rainbow’s belly grow and then shrink with each breath. It didn’t feel like a disturbance to her, instead, it felt rather comforting. As the minutes dragged on, she started to wonder if Rainbow was going to run a hoof through her mane. She’s probably not gonna do it, she thought with a tinge of disappointment.
As she let off a soft sigh, she felt Rainbow shift beneath her, and before she could ask what she was doing, she felt a soft and gentle hoof tentatively brush against her mane. Her breath caught in her throat and she tensed up, but the tension melted away as the Rainbow’s hoof trailed down her neck. Her smile widened, and she felt a pair of butterflies fly around her stomach. Her heart started beating faster and her cheeks warmed in a soft blush.
Twilight took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Thanks, Dash...” she whispered so softly that she wasn’t sure if Rainbow heard her or not. The warmth of the blanket coupled with Rainbow’s pets made her feel drowsy. Sleep tugged at her eyelids, and everything was simply perfect. Letting her mind wander, Twilight toyed with the idea of how things could be different if they were together. Waking up in Rainbow’s embrace just like this, or in any position for that matter, would make her the happiest mare in all of Equestria.
She wiggled in Rainbow’s embrace, unable to fully contain her excitement. Cracking open an eye, Twilight murmured, “You’re really comfy, Dash...”
Rainbow chuckled softly. “Yeah, I know... You aren’t too bad yourself.”
Twilight smiled and tugged the blanket in a bit closer. She felt so warm, though it wasn’t warm enough to make her start sweating. Dash’s legs weren’t as comfortable as the pillows on her bed, but it didn’t matter. The feeling of being this close to somepony she’d had a crush on meant the world to her, and she wouldn’t trade it for all the bits in Equestria. On top of all this, feeling Rainbow slowly brush her hair with a hoof sent light tingles down her spine.
After another couple of minutes, Twilight felt Rainbow’s hoof stop near the base of her neck. She lifted a hoof and grasped Rainbow’s. Twilight held it close to her, held it against her beating heart to try and show Rainbow just how much she cared. After several moments, she let go of Rainbow’s hoof, but Rainbow didn’t move it. Instead, she felt Rainbow grab her hoof again. She had half a mind to ask what she was doing, but she decided against it. This moment was too great to end, and she didn’t want to make things awkward. Besides, they were only on the second position.
Twilight let herself go limp in Rainbow’s grasp. Her breathing slowed, and sleep threatened to take her at any moment. She heard a rustle beneath her, so she cracked open an eye and saw Rainbow’s tail flick up every few seconds. It was mesmerizing to watch, and it purged all higher brain functions from her mind. The warmth from the blanket coupled with Rainbow’s warmth, plus the feelings of being loved all came together and made her drift off to sleep.
Rainbow smiled down at Twilight and started brushing her mane again. “How’s it feel, Twi?” she asked softly. “Must feel pretty good if you haven’t asked to move onto the next position, eh?” Rainbow waited many moments for Twilight to respond, but when she never did, she cocked her head to the side and peered down.
Twilight’s chest rose and fell steadily on a near perfect rhythm, her breaths coming in softly. “You sleeping?” Rainbow asked. She poked Twilight’s shoulders and said, “Hey, I see one of your super old books sitting in a puddle outside.” When Twilight didn’t respond to that, Rainbow knew for certain that Twilight was fast asleep.
“Heh, silly mare... must have worn herself out...” Rainbow resumed stroking Twilight’s mane. Her warm breath tickled the inside of her thigh, but she didn’t want to move, for Twilight looked far too serene simply laying there with her. Rainbow was thankful that out of all of their friends, Twilight trusted her enough to do this. She knew from personal experience that you really had to trust somepony without reserve if you thought you could fall asleep near them.
And here she had Twilight fast asleep in her lap.
She let a warm smile slip on her face as she resumed stroking Twilight’s mane. After another couple of minutes, she let her hoof come to rest on Twilight’s shoulders. Rainbow shook Twilight gently. “Hey, sleepyhead...” she said with a giggle. As Twilight started to stir, she asked, “Have a nice nap?”
“Huh?” Twilight pushed herself up off of Rainbow and rubbed her eyes. “How long was I out?”
“I don’t know, maybe ten minutes? It wasn’t long, really.” Rainbow chuckled and pushed a few stray hairs out of Twilight’s face. “You looked adorable all snuggled up on my lap.”
Twilight blushed furiously and she glanced away, unable to meet Rainbow’s gaze. “Th-thanks,” she stammered, rubbing her foreleg with her other hoof. “Uh... you were, er... really comfy...” she squeaked out, her voice about as soft as Fluttershy’s whenever she got scared. “And like I said, I’m just kinda tired. I’ve really driven myself into the ground this past week, and well... you know...”
“Yeah, I know how it is. Work’s been kinda rough. Some ponies haven’t been showing up on time for work, some of the others are starting to get lazy...” Rainbow sighed, then looked at her with a smile. “It’s just great to let loose with a friend and just relax.”
Twilight nodded and returned Rainbow’s smile, though she did it somewhat hesitantly. “So... shall we move onto the next chapter?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly with excitement. “What’s next? Surely the positions are going to get better the deeper we get into the book!” Twilight sat up and rubbed her eyes, trying her hardest to wake back up. As awesome as sleeping in Rainbow’s lap was, she was far too excited to see what the book had in store for them.
Twilight grabbed the book with her magic and opened it up to the correct page. “Let’s see now... chapter two is all about snuggling in...” Twilight’s eyes shot open wide, her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes shot between the next word and Rainbow.
“What is it, Twi?” Rainbow grabbed the book from Twilight and read the title out loud. “Chapter two: snuggling in bed.” She closed the book and leapt from the couch, hovering in mid-air. “Now this sounds like a lot of fun!” Rainbow held the book to her breast and landed near the base of the stairs. She walked up the first few steps and looked back over her shoulder. Rainbow flicked her tail once, fluffed her wings, and shot Twilight a sly smile. “You gonna join me, or am I gonna be the only pony in your bed tonight?”
“Oh, uh... I-I’m coming, Dash!” Twilight stammered out, her stomach feeling like fifty butterflies just suddenly appeared inside of her, struggling to escape.. As she watched Rainbow trot upstairs to her bedroom, she smiled and started jumping around in circles. How could I have gotten so lucky?