Just Dropping In

by Gunsmith

Chapter 17

I feel warm. I mean, really warm. But not uncomfortably so; it's a level of warm providing the most comfort possible without becoming hot. It's not the covers of the bed; they are warm and soft, but only cover my left side. It's not just my left side that is warm, though, it is all of me. A feeling of warmth that reaches my bones, spreading throughout me. I feel something else, too, enveloping a lot of my body. This feeling is one of something soft pressing against me, against my chest and my stomach and part of my side. Whatever is creating this feeling also seems to be generating the heat that I feel throughout me. I think I know what it is, and open my eyes.

I see a fluffy-looking ceiling made of clouds above me. I can tell that the room is well lit by the morning sun. I realize I am lying on my right side, but my head is facing upwards on the pillow it rests atop. I turn my head so I can see out the window, squinting as the intensity of the light in the room increases. I can't see the sun out the window, and guess it is probably later in the morning. I roll my head back to its starting position on the soft pillow. Soft...I remember the warm, soft pressure, my attention brought to its presence again. I decide to see if I guessed its source correctly, and bring my head off the pillow, looking to where the feeling exists on my torso.

A mess of multicolored hair spills across my chest, or what I can see of my chest, being that some of it is covered by blankets. The hair is that of Rainbow Dash, I quickly see. One side of her head rests against my black fur, rising and falling with my chest as I breathe. I can hear her snoring lightly, and I feel small drafts of air brush against me, in time with her breathing. Only her head is above the purple covers of the bed, but I can feel the rest of her body beneath them. Rainbow's chest presses against the lower portion of mine; I can feel the steady pulsing of her relaxed heartbeat, and the pressure on my chest increases when she inhales. Her forelegs are wrapped about me, softly pulling against my sides. My own forelegs are wrapped around her as well, draped against her shoulders and neck. We hug each other closely in the bright morning light.

This is how I have woken up for something like three weeks; coincidentally, it has been around three weeks since Dash first invited me to sleep in her bed, after the Wonderbolts show. It had nearly given me a heart attack the first time I woke up, her and I hugging. I had tried to work my way out from her clutches without waking her, only to fail; she had woken up, also surprised. It created quite the awkward morning at breakfast. She still allowed me to sleep in her bed that night, though. Again we had went to sleep on opposite sides of the bed, both of us as close to the edge as possible. The next morning, I awoke to find us hugging again. This continued the next morning. And the next. And the next. Each morning I would awake a few minutes before Rainbow Dash, and I would find her in my embrace, squeezing me tightly. After continuing to wake up like this for a few days, I finally gave up panicking or trying to escape without waking her. I think she came to expect it as well, because she eventually began waking up without blushing and quickly pulling away as well. By the time a week had passed, we stopped moving to the edge of the bed when lying down to sleep as well, figuring it to be fruitless in preventing us awaking in the forelegs of one another.

Time has seemed to go by fast. It is hard to fathom that I have been waking up with Rainbow pressed against me for almost a full month already. I figure it to be the routine feel of the days; that, and it is a routine I enjoy more than anything in the world. What is the saying, "time flies when you're having fun"? It seems to apply. I feel happy much of the time. I get to wake up and see the pony I love, every morning. During the week, I go to the job I love. Speaking of my job; my collection of knives I make continues to grow, overwhelming more boxes. I am starting to make swords; not a large variety of swords, but mainly swords that are...elegant. Swift. Precise. I have made a full-sized katana, and am working on a smaller version of a katana, on what is called a wakizashi. The blades of Japanese origin are long, thin, and light, designed to be fast and deadly. I had always admired them, not really knowing why.

At one point I contemplated making a firearm. Only a few minutes of thought caused me to push the idea away. Basically, I decided I didn't want to bring them into the world. Maybe I am thinking with too paranoid a mind. And besides, I enjoy making knives, and axes, and other tools, and other things made of metal that are not guns. Since I am happy doing what I have been, and do not want anything to change, I let the idea go.

I would come home after a day of work to Rainbow Dash and Tank, my favorite pony and my favorite tortoise, maybe even favorite pet in general. We would eat dinner while discussing our respective days; excluding Tank, he doesn't talk much. And then we would go to sleep for the night, Tank landing someplace in Dash's room, her and I falling asleep in the bed. The past two weekends have passed by more quickly than the weeks. We slept in each morning; I tried again both weekends to teach her how to cook, and she has made some more progress. She could probably now survive on something other than basic foods and sandwiches if living on her own, a fact I take some pride in. We spend the weekends flying around the countryside, just screwing around, maybe pulling some pranks on a few ponies here and there, visiting with Rainbow's friends, or just relaxing amongst some clouds. It seems like the best possible way to waste time, and doesn't feel like a waste at all to me.

I think it's the weekend now, a Saturday in...the end of March? Something like that. I look down at the top of Rainbow Dash's head again, smiling a little to myself. My left foreleg is laid over her shoulder, resting against her own foreleg, which lays upon my left side underneath the blankets. I begin moving my hoof across the upper part of her cyan blue foreleg, feeling my fur brush against hers as I rub back and forth gently. Her fur feels so soft, and I end up stroking it more than rubbing back and forth against it. I hear her snoring stop, turning into normal breathing, slightly sped up from her resting state. I stop moving my leg, allowing her to wake up.

She lifts her head a short distance off of my chest, but still lies against me. She tilts her head back, looking at me upside-down. She smiles tiredly at me, and I smile back at her. Rainbow pulls her head forward again, dropping it back onto my chest with a light impact. We continue to lay as we were for a minute, waking up. Eventually she begins lifting her forelegs off of me, and I do the same, allowing her to roll out from under the covers. I push the remaining covers off of me, rolling off the bed and onto the cloud floor. I pull the blankets back up to a semi-neat position at the top of the bed with my teeth, and Dash does the same on the other side of the bed. The thunderbolt decal of the blankets is now visible and proportional, save for the occasional ruffle in it. I look over at the pegasus whose rainbow mane appears untidy from lying against my chest, smiling and nodding towards the stairs. She returns the smile, and we begin making our way downstairs.

In the kitchen, we grab some muffins for breakfast. Tank the tortoise appears out of some undisclosed sleeping spot, and I fetch him a carrot to eat. The three of us eat quietly, the only sounds in the air being those of distant birds chirping and of chewing. After we finish, Rainbow Dash and I continue to sit at the table, looking at each other and smiling. At one point, her face changes with a look of thought. She remains quiet for a few more minutes until a look of remembrance replaces her thoughtful look, and she moves her gaze from some nonexistent spot in the distance back to me.

"Oh, I remembered Twilight asked me to come to a picnic with everyone today. Wanna come with me?" She has to know the answer before I say it.

"Sure. Think they'll mind if I tag along?" It's my turn to know what answer I'll receive. I don't even know why the niceties are a part of the conversation, they're completely unnecessary. Because they're niceties, I guess.

"Nah, they won't mind. My friends like you," Rainbow adds, smiling.

"I'm glad," I say, chuckling a little. "I like them, too."

She chuckles as well. After a moment's pause, she shakes her head, sending her mane flying outward. When she stops, her colorful mane looks normal, no bed-head. Then again, her hairstyle kind of is bed-head. Dash turns and looks out a window, searching for the sun. She leans down some to see it, watching the sky for a moment before looking back to me, magenta irises seeming to shrink as her pupils get larger from the change in light.

"It's pretty close to midday already, wanna go ahead and go?" she asks me. I look out the window as well, having to lower my head some to see the sun; it is approaching its peak in the bright blue sky. I pull my gaze back to her eyes, blinking a few times and seeing some purple spots. I nod and smile to her in agreement. We stand from the low-sitting table. Rainbow Dash trots over to where Tank is, checking on him and alerting him of where we are going (along with informing him no other pets will be there to her knowledge; he seems to decide to stay home), then heads out the door, me tailing her. We jump off into the warm spring day, flying away from her cloud house.

***

The picnic is being held a short distance from the outskirts of the town. The area is basically a big field, with only one tree nearby, at which I see five colorful ponies and one small dragon sitting beside. Rainbow and I land near the group, trotting forward to meet them as they stand to do the same. Various hugs are exchanged between her and her friends. Their attention is then turned to me, and I receive a mix of "Hi, Ferrum", "Hey, Ferrum", "Hello, Ferrum", and a plain "Ferrum!" from Pinkie Pie. I return the greetings to their respective givers, smiling happily.

"I brought Ferrum along, cool with you guys?" Dash asks after her six friends have greeted me. A barrage of "Yep", "Certainly", "Of course", and "Okie dokie lokie" meets her in response, as it has every time she has brought me along with her before. She gives a pleased smile, then we all move back to the picnic area under the lone tree. The conversations begin, asking how everyone has been, comments on the season and excellent weather, the usual. My focus fades in and out of the conversation, but I pick up some comments here and there.

"...how are the apple trees coming along, Applejack?" I hear Twilight ask.

"Ah think they're mighty happy now that it ain't winter," she replies, grinning. The various conversations going on fade out again. It's too hard for me to keep up with them all, so I just quietly listen, looking up at the tree or around at the ponies as they talk amongst each other. I see that Spike is doing the same. He's rolling around a rubber ball he has brought with him to pass the time. I watch him toss it about for a few minutes, mildly entertained. I hear my name, and snap out of my trance, turning towards where my name originated from.

"So, Ferrum, how're yah likin' Ponyville, now that yah been here a while?" asks Applejack. It doesn't take me long to think about my answer.

"I'm enjoying it a lot," I say, nodding lightly and smiling to show my sincerity. I glance over to Rainbow Dash, who sits to my left, and smile, a habitual action resulting from seeing her in my head. I am enjoying Ponyville, especially my workplace located there and the ponies living there, but I know the true source of my happiness. After a second my eyes return to Applejack; I see she's been watching me. She smiles, but there is a hint of another look on her orange face...a knowledgeable one? I am unsure as of what to think in regards to that.

"Good," Applejack says simply, continuing to smile oddly at me for another moment before turning away. I notice the rest of the group has stopped talking to listen to our short conversation; Maybe it's because I don't talk much? Maybe because my voice is so noticeable...

Rarity pops in next, saying, "Oh, darling, I must simply have you try on a few looks! Your coat is so...dazzling! And you are the perfect height for a model, you know..."

I smile, chuckling. "I think I'll have to pass on that one, Rarity. I'm not much of one for fashion."

She frowns. "Rainbow Dash has been rubbing off on you, hasn't she?" This invokes some laughter from everyone. After it has died down, the normal conversations resume, starting with Fluttershy asking Rainbow how Tank the tortoise is doing. A few minutes in, I see Spike whisper something to Twilight Sparkle, to which she nods in reply. He stands up, tossing his ball in one hand and walking a short distance away from the group, out into the sunlight. After a moment's thought, I decide to join him, standing and making my way over to him. He sits on the ground, fiddling with the colorful little ball, and looks up when he sees me approaching.

"Oh, hey, Ferrum!" he says, smiling and standing up. I look down at him, smiling back.

"Hey, Spike! How've you been?"

"I've been pretty good, how about you?"

"I've been good as well." I pause for a moment, continuing to smile at him. "Get bored?" He nods, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, me too," I say, chuckling a little.

"Wanna play some catch?" he asks, holding up the rubber ball in his claws.

"Sure," I reply. He steps back a little ways, then indicates to me he's about to throw the ball. I nod in affirmation, and he tosses the ball. As the ball nears my face, I suddenly think, wait, how am I supposed to catch--? The rubber ball bounces off of my nose, causing me to blink a few times. I look at Spike, who covers his mouth with a small degree of horror.

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..."

"It's alright, I just...wasn't ready," I reassure him, smiling. He heaves a sigh of relief. I look down at the ball, lying in the grass in front of me. How am I going to do this? I look at my front hooves. Nope. I frown in thought. After a moment of going over my various appendages, I finally begin formulating an idea. I glance back towards my right, looking at the black wing that rests against my side. I spread it out, looking at it, then back at the ball, then back to it. I move my wing to the ball, angling it down to scoop up the small rubber sphere. Balancing the ball on my wing, I turn so that my right side is away from Spike, who watches me with interest. Lining up my shot, I quickly throw my wing upward. The catapult effect sends the small ball flying in a high arc through the air, neatly landing in the small purple dragon's outstretched claws.

"Whoa, that was cool!" says Spike, looking awe-struck. I smile, feeling some awe at my accomplishment as well.

"Thanks," I reply casually. I nod for him to throw the ball again, and he does. Well, if my wing can throw...I stretch out my right wing again, lining myself up with the colorful ball hurtling through the air. My wing acts as desired, like a baseball glove, catching the ball and cradling it. I use my catapult system to fling the ball back again. Spike and I throw the ball back and forth for a while; I wonder at one point if this is how ponies are supposed to play catch, or if I am doing everything wrong. It seems to be working, though, so I continue. We gradually increase the difficulty of our throws, stepping farther away from each other, switching hands/wings, attempting to keep the ball in the air by smacking it back to one another, and so on. It passes the time quite effectively, if I may say so myself.

The ball is halfway through the air, heading towards Spike, when a voice calls out. "Lunchtime!" Twilight yells to us. Spike turns, and the ball bops him against the back of his head. He turns in confusion, then laughs before waving an arm to me and running towards the tree. I follow in a slow trot, arriving under the tree shortly. The six ponies have laid out a red-and-white-checkered picnic blanket, and a basket sits in the middle of it. Applejack and Twilight have been assigned sandwich-making duty, apparently, as they pass out various sandwiches after asking what the other ponies want on them.

"Okay, a plain sandwich for Fluttershy..." Twilight says, pausing as she moves a plate with a hay-and-bread sandwich to Fluttershy, who quietly says a thank-you. "...a rose sandwich for Rarity...a...erm...chocolate-covered sandwich for Pinkie..." Everyone except Pinkie Pie wrinkles their nose in some degree of distaste, including myself; Pinkie grins happily, immediately biting into the brown sandwich. "...a sandwich with everything for Rainbow Dash...an apple sandwich for Applejack...a gem sandwich for Spike...Ferrum, what would you like on your sandwich?" Twilight Sparkle asks.

"Everything, please." I still have no clue as to what half of the flowers I eat are, but I know they all seem to be tasty. I watch as Applejack makes a sandwich composed of two pieces of bread, some hay, and an assortment of flowers. She passes it to Twilight, who passes it to me. I take it with a nod and a "Thanks."

"An everything sandwich for Ferrum, and finally, a lavender sandwich for me! Everyone have their sandwich?" She receives seven nods in reply. "Good! This picnic is going accordingly!" The air around everyone is relatively silent for a while as we eat, the only sounds those of birds and insects in the tree above us and the faint bustle of Ponyville in the distance. After some time has passed, the sounds of crunching and munching stop, and Fluttershy thanks Twilight for the food. The rest of us follow suit in a chorus of thank-you's. Conversation continues amongst the mares, and Spike and I leave again to continue our game of catch.

We play for another hour, then Spike informs me his arms are feeling tired, so we return to the group of ponies. I sit down next to Rainbow Dash, who is talking with Twilight. I watch as Spike joins into their conversation, then turn away, glancing around at the scenery. Ponyville's outskirts sit peacefully in the spring afternoon, and I watch as a few ponies trot about outside the houses marking the edge of the town. The environment looks nice, everything fully grown. I spot a few deer in the distance, eating some of the grasses in the field we sit in. My pleasant observations are interrupted when I feel a light tap on my right shoulder. I look over and see Applejack standing there, and give her a questioning look.

"Mind if Ah talk to yah for a minute, in private?" she asks. I feel confused, but nod my head in agreement anyways. I glance towards the rest of the group, seeing what they are doing. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle continue to converse. Fluttershy and Rarity are speaking quietly, I think about hairstyles, as they are indicating on the heads of one another. Spike and Pinkie Pie are laughing as Pinkie balances the ball on her nose and acts like a seal, barking. I smile and stand up, turning to Applejack. She nods towards an area a short distance away, deeper into the field.

The deer dart away into a nearby forest as we get closer to them and further from the tree. Applejack looks around, apparently deciding the spot is solitary enough. I stand in confusion, watching her and waiting for some sort of explanation. She glances back to our friends, smiling a little and turning back to me.

"Ah know yah got yer eye on Rainbow Dash." What a way to start a conversation. My breath catches in my throat before I force myself to relax. I still can't stop myself from blinking at the surprise caused by this sudden revelation. It's no big deal, just calm down. She must see my slight panic, for she continues on, drawling, "It's alright, Ah don't think anypony else knows. Ah'm good at seein' things other ponies might not." I internally sigh a little in relief, nodding on the exterior to show understanding. She glances back towards the tree, watching the ponies for a moment before facing me again.

"Ah just want to say a few things. Rainbow's a good mare. She's the Element of Loyalty, if yah didn't know, and fer good reason. She deserves the best, y'hear?" Applejack pauses for a moment. "Now, yah seem like a good stallion. Yah seem like somepony who can be there for her, and that's what she needs." She looks towards the tree again, alone in the field, then moves her head a little closer to mine. "She ain't never had anypony before, and ah'm sure she's mighty lonely. I ain't never seen her this happy all the time." She stops again, letting her words sink in. "Yah treat her good, alright?" she asks, looking sternly at me. I know the consequences will be harsh if I don't.

"I will," I reply. Applejack takes a step back; she eyes me critically for a moment, then she appears satisfied.

"Good," she says. She nods towards the picnic spot, and I follow her back to it. We sit down, and I try to act as if nothing was said.

Noticing us returning, Rarity inquires, "Is something wrong?" She looks a little worried. I see Applejack out of the corner of my vision; I can tell she'll be unable to tell a decent lie.

"No," I reply with a reassuring smile. "Applejack was just asking me if I had tried some Apple family cider, which I haven't. It sounds like I need to."

"Oh, absolutely yes! They make some the finest cider in all of Equestria, without a doubt," Rarity says. I see Applejack flash a quick smile and nod her head to me, to which I lightly nod back. Rarity and Applejack then begin discussing cider and other drinks, and I return to listening quietly and observing the day. It seems to be getting somewhat late, and the sun will be setting soon.

I listen to Twilight and Rainbow's conversation about flying for around another hour. It seems Twilight is wanting to write some sort of essay on the various tricks Dash can do that are specific to her, especially on the Sonic Rainboom. She describes the stunt as a "fascinating anomaly". Rainbow Dash doesn't seem to be too happy that Twilight is turning her coolness into technicality, but answers her questions eagerly. When they finish, the purple unicorn glances into the sky, checking the time.

"Wow, it's getting late. Spike, we had better go," she says, turning to the baby dragon. He obliges without complaint and stands up, stretching. Twilight uses her magic to fold the picnic blanket and pick up the empty plates, storing them all in the picnic basket. "Well, this was really nice, everypony," she states, smiling at us all. Murmurs of agreement and goodbyes reply to her in chorus. "Goodbye!" she says, trotting off towards Ponyville with Spike on her back.

Fluttershy is the next to stand. "I had better go check on Angel. Bye, everypony," she says quietly, giving a small smile. The five of us remaining say our goodbyes as she trots off towards her house, which I can see in the distance.

Rarity stands up as well, followed by Pinkie Pie. "I had best go as well. I simply must get my beauty sleep!" says Rarity.

"And I've got some cakes to make for tomorrow!" Pinkie exclaims. The two begin heading off towards Ponyville, followed by me, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack's goodbyes. Once they become small in the distance, the three of us stand up. Applejack stands across from Rainbow and I, smiling and looking from one of us to the other.

"Ah suppose Ah oughta' get home, check on the apple trees. Ah'll see ya'll later," says Applejack. She gives a light nod to me, still smiling. I nod back, smiling as well, hoping she knows I won't let her down. The orange earth pony turns and trots off towards the farm, which I can see atop its hill overlooking Ponyville a good distance away. I turn to Rainbow Dash, smiling.

"Wanna go home?" she asks, smiling back. I think for a moment, then am suddenly overtaken by an idea. I pause for a few more seconds, thinking out a new plan, then grin to the cyan blue pegasus.

"Sure...but, uh, how tired are you?"

Comments

[Orange Horse]

....Does that mean... secks?

[Queuefka Palazzo]

So, here's my problem with this story: You show the wrong things.

For example, you go into intricate detail about Twilight, who is not an important character in this story, packing the picnic and leaving, yet you skip over huge time periods between Ferrum and Dash. Instead of showing us how they interact you're just telling us they are interacting. Earlier you mentioned they pulled some pranks on several ponies. I would have liked to see that more than a boring picnic.

Otherwise, when you do show the right things, the story's pretty decent. The scene at the beginning of this chapter was nice.

[Speedbreaker715]

Really hope that last line doesn't mean what it seems to be implying. I started reading this story because I was under the assumption it would just be a romance story, without clop.