Standing the Heat

Hot and sweaty, moisture pouring from his pores, Richard squirmed under the covers as he lay in bed. He had already cracked open the window as wide as he could, and judging by the fluttering of the curtains there was quite a breeze blowing, yet still he felt like he was in a sauna.

"Fuck this," groaned Richard as he peeled his covers from body, sighing in relief the moment the he felt the breeze caress his bare areas of skin.

"That's much better," he whispered to no one in particular

Feeling cooler, and far more comfortable, Richard lay his head back against the pillow (after quickly turning it over). However, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't fall asleep. As he lay there willing his mind blank, he found himself wondering over the events of the day, quickly coming to rest on Twilight's strange behaviour. What was particularly strange however was the fact his skin began to tingle, but only in the places where Twilight had touched him.

"Hmm, " he thought to himself. "That's rather weird." While the tingling was strange, it was hardly unpleasant. In fact, the only reason it concerned him at all was because he'd never felt anything like it before.

For a moment he considered asking his friends about it, but quickly pushed the idea out of his mind. He could already imagine their answers, and most of them would leave him feeling childish and embarrassed.

Twilight was an automatic no go zone, ignoring the fact he would be subjected to a lecture if he asked her any question with a slightly complex answer, he was getting these feelings because of her. It was hardly fair to subject her to that sort of questioning.

Rarity of course would instantly turn to romance for her answer. "Well, darling, to me it sounds like you're rather fond of Twilight. In fact, I'd even dare to say you 'like' her, if you know what I mean." Of course, such a thought was ludicrous.

Rainbow would probably a little more practical. "Sounds like you just worked too hard, maybe got a little heat stroke and your mind is playing tricks on you." A better reply, and more probably, but it didn't explain why he kept thinking about Twilight, or her rather purple eyes.

Fluttershy would probably not even provide an answer at all, instead she would probably just ply him with tea and biscuits and ask "Are you, um, okay?" over and over again.

Pinkie Pie would be the weirdest of the bunch. He'd been around her long enough to know about her 'pinkie sense' and she would probably assume he'd developed something similar. "Ooh! You've got a Pinkie sense now? Well, I guess technically it's a Richard sense, but still, this is so cool. You've got to show it to me. Please?"

Applejack would probably be the most sensible pony of the six, at least in his imagination. "Hmm, I'm not exactly sure why you'd be tingling, but there could be multiple reasons. Though, to be honest, it's probably nothing. Just wait a couple of days and it'll probably go away."

Then again, there was the far more obvious reason, a reason he wasn't considering them talking about because he didn't want to consider it. The heat potion.

Richard groaned, of course it was the heat potion.

Though it didn't quite explain why he was thinking about Twilight.

"Sure, she's a good friend," he thought. "But I don't like her like that." Even as the thought filled his head he began to doubt it. Memories flitted through his minds eye. The first time he met Twilight shinning brightest of them all.

He had just woken up in Equestria and was already soaked to the skin, having woken up in one of the worst storms in the Everfree Forests' history. Alone, wet and in the middle of a pitch black forest, he had luckily found himself on a path that he blindly followed for hours until eventually both the rain and forest gave up. What he saw before him, a beautiful picturesque town, probably would have taken his breath away if he hadn't just desperately stumbled towards the nearest light for answers; heat; and food.

That light, he soon found out, rested in the window of Fluttershy's cottage.

Walking half dead, up the path, shivering and dripping water everywhere, he weakly knocked on the door. The tiny sound was barely audible over the wheeze of his labored breathing and worried that his knock had gone unheard he raised his fist to knock once more. However, just before he could knock once more, the door swung open and he saw her standing there like a beautiful angel in the light, shock dancing across her features.

As she stood there in stunned silence, he opened his mouth to try and ask, no, beg, for help. However, he must have slipped or something because he found himself tipping forward, bashing his head in the process. The last thing he remembered as blackness crept on him was the touch of Twilight as she turned him over and cradled him, calling out to the others for help.

A small smile cracked across his face as the memory finished, he had been incredibly lucky that he had stumbled in on the girls poker night. Had Fluttershy just been there on her own, then he might very well have not made it. According to the Doctors when he'd woken up several days later, he'd had a very serious case of pneumonia and had they not gotten him to the hospital as quickly as they did, they might have been too late. And while Fluttershy would have done her best to get him to the hospital or nurse him back to health herself, she didn't have the medical training or the strength to carry out either course of action.

As that memory faded others rushed to replace its place in his head. He remembered the times he and Twilight had spent an afternoon reading together; the times he had helped her with an experiment or two; and he also remembered the one time, on Hearths Warming Eve, when he'd been in Equestria just a month or two, falling asleep in front of the fireplace in the Library next to her, his arms wrapped around her middle. All in all, pleasant memories.

"But does it mean I like her?"

He considered it for a second, and came to the conclusion that it didn't. At least, not necessarily. But yet, the doubt still lingered. Why was he doubting how he felt about Twilight. She was just a friend wasn't she?

"No!" screamed a small voice at the back of his head, terrifying him.

"Where did that come from?" he muttered quietly.

Thankfully the little voice was silent, but he was still disturbed.

"I can't deal with this," he sighed. "I'll deal with it in the morning."

Turning over, he buried his face into his pillow and tried his best to will himself to sleep.