Waking Up Next to You

by The Abyss

The Thing I Want Most

The first thing that Rainbow Dash felt when she woke up was that of being cold. With a soft groan, she cracked open a bleary eye and looked about for the blanket on Twilight’s bed. Her belly was warm, but her back was absolutely frigid. Spotting the edge of the blanket halfway down her left hind leg, Dash lifted it up and kicked the blanket up. She caught it in her left hoof and yanked it up past her shoulders. It only took a few moments before its warmth seeped into her, bringing her a small modicum of comfort.

Lifting her head from the back of Twilight’s, Rainbow peered out the window and saw snow building up against the bottom of the window pane. The sun barely pierced through the clouds, leaving her with little evidence as to what time it was. The fact that the sun was already up was evidence enough, however. With a sigh, Rainbow laid her head against the back of Twilight’s and pulled her closer. She flicked her tail to lay around Twilight’s flank, then laid her left hind leg over Twilight’s cutie mark. Dash snuggled as close as she possibly could to her marefriend, trying to eke out as much warmth from their embrace as she could.

Rainbow closed her eyes and smiled as she buried her snout in between Twilight’s ears. She nibbled on the tip of her left one and finally settled down in between them. Though just as sleep began to tug at her mind again, tempting her to let go and slip back into the world of dreams, she felt Twilight begin to stir. Her heart sank and her ears flicked back, for she knew that when Twilight woke up, there was no stopping her from getting up.

“Morning, beautiful...” Rainbow whispered as she planted kisses on Twilight’s head.

“Morning, Dashie...” Twilight stretched, pulling herself out of Rainbow’s embrace.

Dash frowned slightly as she felt her belly become cold. “No, don’t get up... please?” she whimpered. Rainbow unfurled a wing, wrapped it just below Twilight’s forelegs, and tugged her back down. She closed her eyes and hummed in satisfaction as her belly became warm once more.

Several moments passed without Twilight putting up a fight, though Rainbow felt that she remained tense. She rubbed Twilight’s side with a hoof, then gently ran a hoof over her wing. Feeling a few stray feathers, Rainbow lifted the sheets to confirm her suspicions. “When was the last time you preened yourself?”

Twilight sighed and rolled over, once more pulling herself out of Rainbow’s embrace. “I don’t know... a month or so?” She laid her head back down on the pillow and nuzzled the tip of Rainbow’s muzzle with her own. “What about you?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Uh... last week? I had some time during my break at work, so I just went ahead and did it then.” She returned Twilight’s nuzzle. “So... it sounds like you need to be preened pretty bad. I could do it for you, if you want.” Dash let her hoof come to rest on Twilight’s wing. “Since it’s Hearts and Hooves Day, I figured that taking care of you would be a great way to start off our special day...”

Twilight glanced away and bit her lip. “Sorry, but as much as I’d like that, I just don’t have time. I’ve got a big day of studying and researching planned, and...”

“What?”

“I’ve put this off for as long as I could, but I really have to get this done. Our dates have just kept me from my work, and today is the only day of the month that I am free to take care of it.”

“Oh...” Rainbow let herself go slack as she frowned. A few moments passed in a tense silence before an idea popped into Rainbow’s mind. “Hey! It’s still kinda early in the morning, so... wanna snuggle some more?” She smiled hopefully, praying that Twilight would give in to her needs.

Twilight pursed her lips. “I... I can’t. I’ve already slept in too much this week, and I’m already behind on my schedule.” She slipped from the bed and trotted to the bathroom. “I’m gonna take a quick shower, okay?”

Rainbow sat up and crossed her forelegs. “Fine...” she said, putting as much disappointment into her tone as she could. As she heard the shower turn on, she stood up and flew to the door leading down to the kitchen. Rainbow paused as she let her hoof rest on the doorknob. “Hey! What if I make Twi breakfast?” she asked herself. After fluffing her wings, she trotted from the bedroom and made her way through the hallways of Twilight’s castle until she found herself in the ground floor kitchen.

“Hm... what to make, what to make...” Rainbow rubbed her chin as she peered into the pantry. When she spotted a box of pancake mix, her eyes lit up. “Perfect!” She snatched it from the shelf and tossed it onto the counter. Rainbow went to the stove, tossed some wood in the opening, and tossed a lit match inside of it. She blew on it softly until she had a nice little fire going. Heat poured out of the opening, and for a few moments, Rainbow held up her cold forelegs to warm them.

Figuring that the fire was as big as it was going to get, Rainbow closed the opening and tossed a pan on top. She made as much batter as she could, then poured all of it into the pan, figuring that she could make one massive pancake that they could share. As the batter started to sizzle, Rainbow eyed all of the dirty dishes in the sink and figured that she could help Twilight out by taking care of the mess.

Rainbow grinned as she imagined Twilight appreciating her hard work. She scrubbed at the numerous plates, pots, and pans as she tried to get it all done before Twilight finished up with her shower.

“Rainbow, can you come up here please?” she heard Twilight’s voice echo from a box in the side of the wall. She had installed a few magical talk boxes around the castle as a means to refrain from yelling a while ago.

Rainbow Dash trotted over to the talk box near the entrance to the kitchen. “Okay, I’ll be up there in a few seconds!” With that being said, she pushed open the window to the right of the stove, sat perched on the ledge for just a brief moment, and pushed herself out into space as she spread her wings wide. Rainbow flew to the balcony outside of Twilight’s bedroom and let herself in. “What is it, Twi?”

“Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to reiterate that I have a lot of work today. As it is now, I’m really behind schedule like I said, and I cannot waste a single iota of time today.” Twilight stood in front of the mirror, running a brush through her mane with her magic. “Anyways, I’m going to need a near-absolute silence today if I am to get all of my work done.”

“Here, let me...” Rainbow Dash said softly as she felt her heart droop. Hearing Twilight say that she was behind schedule again meant that they wouldn’t be able to spend anytime together that day. Dash sat behind her and snuggled up close, laying her hind legs around Twilight’s. Her belly brushed up against Twilight’s back as she took the brush from the air. Holding it in a hoof, she started brushing her marefriend’s hair, working out all of the kinks and knots that she saw.

Rainbow smiled as Twilight relaxed. She’s always getting so worked up about her work... she thought. If this was going to be the only time today to show her affection, she was going to stretch it out as much as she could. A minute passed in near-silence, the only sound in the room being the brush running through Twilight’s mane. Noticing that Twilight’s mane looked perfect, Rainbow wistfully glanced to the side as her words about being behind schedule rang in her mind.

With a hint of regret, Rainbow set the brush down and laid her head down on top of Twilight’s, looking into her eyes through the mirror. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you look?” she murmured, a soft smile trying to tug her lips up, though the knowledge that Twilight was going to be busy all day kept a smile from forming. Her ears flicked back as she felt Twilight nuzzle into her neck.

“Just about every single day, Dashie...” Twilight stepped out from under Rainbow and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I really do have to get to work now, but first, I have to make some breakfast.”

Dash’s ears flicked up at that. “Don’t worry, I’ve already got that taken care of!” She stood up and opened the door for Twilight. Her nose crinkled and her eyebrows furrowed as she smelled something burning. The pancakes! Her eyes went wide and her ears flicked back as she prayed that what she was smelling was just a figment of her imagination.

“What’s that smell?” Twilight asked as she cocked her head to the side. She looked at Rainbow and saw her guilty expression. “Please don’t tell me that’s...”

“Breakfast,” Rainbow forced herself to say. She bit her lip as she glanced at Twilight, who stared right back at her with an exasperated look. “Uh... be right back!” With that being said, she opened her wings, ran back out to Twilight’s balcony, then flew outside. She flew in a tight spiral as black smoke poured out of the open kitchen window. Rainbow hovered just outside the window, her eyes squinted. A few moments passed before she decided to just barge right in, for better or for worse.

Rainbow flew back a few meters then flew straight at the open window with enough speed to stay in the air after she folded her wings to pass through the small opening. The tip of her back right hoof caught on the edge of the window, yanking her to a sudden halt. She felt an immense source of heat just off to her side as she began to fall, but with a couple flaps of her wings, Rainbow was able to settle down between the counter and the island, panting heavily.

She heard the sound of Twilight’s signature magical pop signalling her arrival on the other side of the kitchen door. Rainbow had no time to assess the situation before it slammed open, revealing a seething Twilight. Tearing her eyes away from her marefriend, Rainbow grabbed the handle of the pan, and taking care to not get burnt by the fire, she tossed the whole thing into the sink, then turned on the water to put out the fire. As she heard Twilight stomp her way into the kitchen, Rainbow threw the other window open and used her wings to push the rest of the smoke out of the kitchen.

“Phew! Crisis averted!” Rainbow wiped her brow with a hoof and turned around to find herself muzzle to muzzle with Twilight. Ignoring the look of disappointment on Twilight’s face, Rainbow cracked a cocky smile and flicked her mane out of her face. “Came to kiss the hero, eh?” Instead of feeling the soft caress of Twilight’s lips upon her own, she felt Twilight slap the side of her face instead. “Ow! Hey, what gives? I put out the fire and saved the day, didn’t I?” she asked, rubbing her smarting cheek with a hoof.

“Yes, you did put out the fire, but you also started it!” Twilight said through gritted teeth. “Just look at my kitchen! How could you be so irresponsible?” she demanded, stomping a hoof on the ground for emphasis.

Rainbow wilted from the verbal onslaught, forcing her to take a step back. She held Twilight’s gaze for a few moments, then looked at the devastation she had caused. Bits of black, burnt pancake mix lay smoking on the stove. Rainbow looked up and realized that everything in a ten-foot radius of the stove had a fine layer of soot on it. “I, er... I was just trying to make you breakfast, Twilight...” she said meekly, rubbing her foreleg with her right hoof. Her ears flicked back as she lowered her head. “And can’t you just, ya know... clean all of this up with a simple spell?”

Twilight stomped up to her and huffed.

“So... is that a yes or a no?”

Comments

[Diesel_Punk]

New Abyss story is best story

[Madox]

what could there be better to start a weekened than a new story of my favourite author

I feel really sorry for dashi, I hope she can find a way to get a nice Hearts and Hooves Day

[Pony writer]

Another amazing story from an amazing writer.

[Theholycensor]

I can't read

[PegasusMesa]

The long description has a few repetitive word choices, in both "waking" and "planned".

[Grif_Bladefeather]

*hands cadence cupids uzi* your gonna need this.

[badninja]

Wow you have been productive recently. Another story of yours added to my tracking folder.

[Penn Hooven]

Oh my. Um... Sorry RD, you'll just have to find another way to get her attention...well, attention in a good way.

[Colorful Melody]

Cute.

[SomeponyElse]

I look forward to more!

[reaper3-1]

Nice start abyss , love that dashie is the big spoon in this one (unlike your scoots story) buut was the slap really necessary?
Anyways i'm looking forward to moar

[TheMoreLovingOne]

I can't read this. The premise is good, but the slap and just how awful and out of character Twilight is ruins it for me.

[NightmareTRXY32]

i like it. i have hints of Twi Dash in a few of my stories. Their so perfect together dont you think?

[Madlypiggypiggy]

Cute, rainbow should get a job at McDonald's

[Treue75]

Needs more snuggles.

And a more relaxed Twilight.
The intention of making breakfast is already something, isn't it?

[Kyosilver]

6979549 yeah that's jarring for me too

[FirePrincess]

OMG You write like a god!

[Thatguywiththeface]

I feel your pain rainbow