Morning Routine

by ZOMG

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Romance, Sex
Length: 5131

Rainbow Dash hates getting up early so she can go through such a tedious routine. It's such a waste of valuable time. She could be sleeping or enjoying a few extra moments with her marefriend in their nice, warm bed.

Rainbow Dash hates getting up early to go through such a tedious routine. It's a waste of valuable time. She could be sleeping or enjoying a few extra moments with her marefriend in their nice, warm bed.

Of course, that doesn't mean she can't have a bit of fun with it.

Preread/Edited by The Albinocorn, Foals Errand, Lambent Dream, and Timaeus

Cover Art by zeroexe109 can be found here.

Published 2015-01-09 20:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-01-09 20:00:02 UTC

Those Stupid Stretches

Rainbow Dash hated mornings.

It wasn’t the sun shining through the window to disrupt her sleep. It wasn’t the weekly team meetings she usually had to run before she could set up Ponyville’s weather. It wasn’t even the fact that she had to unwrap her hooves and wings from around Twilight’s waist and remove her muzzle from the crook of her neck.

Well, the latter was a major downer. Completely not cool, if you asked her. An entire day like that, breathing in the scent of books, ink, and a hint of the lavender perfume Twilight wore seemed like a dream…

But no, that wasn’t the problem at all. It was something far worse.

Everything hurt; the joints and muscles in her wings, along with those along her back, her knees, the left side of her neck. Rainbow snorted as she slowly edged herself away from Twilight’s sleeping form, wincing with every motion. Every movement was like somepony was driving a nail into her and stomping on it for good measure. I’d rather have somepony try that. At least I could buck ‘em in the face!

In this case, she couldn’t solve her problems in her typical ‘done in ten seconds flat’ manner and revel as everypony cheered her awesomeness. She had to take this slow.

Slow  was not in her vocabulary. Slow  was for foals. Rainbow Dashdid not do slow.

She said as much to Doctor Stable when he’d given her the diagnosis: her joints had some sort of carti-something deficiency, her muscles were suffering from repeated strains, and her bones were still suffering from fractural damage. He recommended that she begin and end every day with a series of long, slow stretches to help her muscles recover and ensure that the amino-whatsits were worked out.

“C’mon, Doc! Aren’t there some meds I could take or some spell you could cast? If you can’t, Twilight could!”

“Twilight Sparkleis not a medical practitioner, admirable though her ability may be. It would be ill-advised for her to attempt magical surgery on you. My recommendation stands, Miss Dash. Do the exercises. And do them correctly.”

“But this stuff is boring! And it’s slow! I don’t do slow!”

“You do now, Miss Dash.”

Rainbow checked that she was far away so that her hooves wouldn’t hit Twilight before rolling out of bed and landing nimbly on the floor.

She bit her lip, hissing as the pain bit deeper into her back. No matter how routine this was, she couldn’t shake the habit. She was used to landing on the soft floor of her cloud house.

To a mare who lived the majority of her life in the sky, the crystalline floor of Twilight's castle was almost foreign to her hooves. Even having lived in Ponyville for so long, she still longed for the soft touch of clouds against her hooves.

Hmm, maybe that can be our next date. Just me, Twi, and a trip to Cloudsdale. We can drop by, see mom and dad, find something she’d like to see, and grab a bite after. Wonder if she’d like Skydancer’s…

She made a mental note to check in and see what openings there were for a night out. While she might not favor dressing up, Rainbow could suffer one night if it put a smile on Twilight’s face.

A twinge in the base of her left wing brought her back to reality.

Plans would have to wait. Her beloved wings were being finicky and demanded attention, yet again. For a brief moment, she considered blowing off the stretches like she had yesterday, in favor of slipping back into bed and laying with Twilight just a bit longer.

Rainbow snorted. If she did that, Twilight would have her plot and not in the fun way. She’d end up having to do those lame stretches extra slow while listening to a lecture on the importance of following doctor’s orders.

It was just Twilight’s way. Once a friend had a problem, she threw herself into researching whatever it was until she knew the ins-and-outs.

For her marefriend, she went just a tad over-the-top. A tower of books on pegasus anatomy and medicine still stood in Twilight’s study as credit to that point. Her new castle had temporarily become a pegasus medical research facility.

Unfortunately, that meant Twilight was in the know on Doctor Stable’s diagnosis. Of course, the girls had all been there out of concern, but Twilight had the specific exercises and dosages he’d given. Stupid emergency contact thingy.

Might as well get it over with now. Rainbow shifted her left hooves out a half step and puffed out her chest slightly, craning her neck back to work out some of the kinks. She winced as three pops sounded in rapid succession. Her eyes darted left to check that Twilight was still asleep.

No movement. Good. Popping her neck was one of Twilight’s pet peeves. Not so much that it happened, but rather the sound and discomfort involved.

How Rainbow fell so hopelessly in love with such a mother hen, she would never know. Well, that wasn’t quite true. She knew exactly why she loved the anal retentive little princess in that warm, comfortable bed.

She shook her head. If she kept thinking like that, she’d never do these stupid stretches. Then, Twilight would find out somehow and she’d be in trouble.

Back left hoof out, roll hips back and try to sit slowly. She had to start with stretching her hips and hind legs first, every time. That was where all of her power came from when she pushed off to take flight. Crashing, sideswiping, and bucking bad guys in the face had taken their toll. Every morning, her knees protested, stiffening up and resisting each command she gave for them to move and help her go about her day.

A grunt escaped her lips as her muscles tightened and strained. The first stretch was always the worst, always the most painful part of her morning.

Once again, she snuck a glance over to check that Twilight was still asleep. She stirred a bit, mumbling something incomprehensible as she rolled over onto her side, facing Rainbow.

Rainbow sighed quietly and slowly raised herself to a standing position before shifting her weight and stretching her other leg out, but this time her eyes weren’t wandering aimlessly. The way Twilight’s nose scrunched up, how her ears twitched, and those cute, sleepy mumbles. Even fast asleep, Twilight was always thinking about something.

Rainbow’s lips curved upward as she switched to her front legs. What could be running through that brilliant mind? Some ridiculously long, overly complicated, math problem perhaps? One that she would take one look at and bemoan how completely uncool it was while Twilight shushed her and stared at it, idly scratching out a few notes as she slowly worked it out?

Yeah. That’s it. Totally rockin’ that brain and dominating some crazy problem.

She hated math. If she couldn’t add or subtract the numbers in her head, Rainbow wanted nothing to do with any of those silly problems. But when Twilight did it…

It was one of the few things that could make Rainbow sit still and keep quiet. The way those gorgeous purple eyes focused on the numbers and letters. They truly were the window to the soul. The way they widened and she stared at the page, lighting up whenever she made progress. And then there were her little ticks.

Her ears flicking, tail swishing, and her feathers twitching and ruffling with her mounting excitement and jubilation, all culminating in that adorable little squee that escaped her as she jotted down the answer.

Rainbow couldn’t understand the problems Twilight worked on, she didn’t understand how anypony could be interested in stuff like that. But she’d be damned if she didn’t love watching Twilight pore over it. While pretending to read Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone, of course.

She turned slightly to the left and muttered a curse as her shoulder popped.

“Rainbow?” Twilight called sleepily. “What’s wrong?”

A glare was directed at the traitorous joint. You’re so lucky you're not detachable! She turned to face her marefriend, taking note of her disheveled state.

Patches of lavender fur stuck up, her mane was swept up and unkempt, and a few feathers were ruffled. She looked at Rainbow through bleary eyes, before pausing to rub sleep from them. Just like a little foal.

Rainbow licked her lips, ignoring the temptation to hop back into bed and just snuggle with her for a while. It should be a crime to look that cute without even trying. “Just stretching, Twi. Go back to sleep.”

Twilight shook her head and matched Rainbow's gaze with half-lidded eyes. "Heard a pop. And you in pain. What hurts?"

"It's just my shoulder being stiff, nothing to worry about. See?" She switched legs and repeated her exercise, wincing as another pop sounded. "Doing all my stretches, just like Doc ordered!"

Her marefriend hummed and nodded before settling down to lay on her stomach, eyes locked on Rainbow as she continued. The bags in her eyes showed that she was quite tired from a long day of studying and a late evening spent wrapped in those powerful, blue wings, but Twilight still took in every curve, every movement of Rainbow’s body.

Just as she always did.

And Rainbow revelled in the attention; it made the slow, torturous actions worthwhile if it gave Twilight more reason to watch over her. The excuse was always the same.

“I just want to make sure you’re doing them properly, Dash. I don’t want you to hurt yourself if I can help it.”

A very sweet gesture, but Rainbow wasn't born yesterday. She was no genius, not by any definition, but she knew when her marefriend was watching her stretch. It wasn't just to be sure she didn't pull something.

Her lips curved upward, hidden as she looked away and continued her stretches, this time planting her weight on her front hooves and arching her back to shift forward, slowly driving her hips toward the floor.

That smirk grew into a full, shark like grin as she caught Twilight's sharp inhale, along with the telltale ruffling of feathers.

And now that I have your attention...

Rainbow held her pose, counting backward from ten as she’d been ordered. If she tried teasing verbally, Twilight would make up some long-winded, stammered, and altogether adorable excuse about her focus being for scientific curiosity or medical examination or whatever it was she felt like blaming today.

Yeah. Sure, Twi. And I’m a penguin. Rainbow gave herself a mental pat on the back as her countdown ended. She placed her left hoof in front of her right and twisted so that she was facing away from the bed. She stole a quick glance over her shoulder, just enough to see Twilight’s eyes looking her up and down. As if they were trying to take in her entire frame all at once. Scientific curiosity about how amazingly hot I am, maybe. Yeah, there it is. Ten out of ten Twilight’s agree: ‘Oh, Celestia, yes!’

It was all she could do to bite her lip and hold in her laughter. If not for the fact that her little game would be ruined, Rainbow would've been all over that joke. Twilight's look of utter mortification would almost be worth it. A nice excuse for her to plant a kiss on that cute muzzle and watch her scrunch up and squeal in protest. She'd keep that on tap for later. Actually getting her stretches done took priority.

If she finished those pesky things now, she could have all the time in the world to tease, cuddle, and kiss her little bookworm. It would be a perfect time to see just how bright she could make that blush go.

Rainbow switched hooves and twisted to face the bed. She plastered her usual smirk in place, just to keep up the image. “You know, you really should get some sleep. We were kinda up late and you’ve got a bunch of stuff around here today.” A thought hit her. Busy Twilight meant less time together at night—she’d end up collapsing as soon as she hit her mattress. Busy Twilight also meant a stressed out marefriend, which was at the top of the uncool list. “I could swing by after weather patrol. We’ve got a light day if I remember right.”

Twilight didn’t answer immediately, her gaze still lingered on Rainbow’s powerful wings and soft, meticulously preened feathers, wandering all the way to her flank and down to survey her legs.

Subtlety just wasn’t her forté, especially when it came to making eyes at Rainbow. With a shake of her head, Rainbow relaxed her posture and cleared her throat. “Twi, you hear me?”

She chuckled as Twilight blinked and flinched, almost as though Rainbow had flicked a feather against her muzzle to jolt her back into the real world. "Oh—uh—no thank you, Rainbow. I'll be fine."

"You sure? I can swing by before I train."

"I'm sure. But I appreciate the offer, dear."

Rainbow shrugged and shifted her weight to her hind hooves. She arched her back, dragging her front hooves to stretch out the upper part of her spine. This particular stretch always got the funniest reaction.

Then again, she could hardly blame Twilight for staring and letting her feathers ruffle when she'd just stuck her rump in the air.

It certainly got Twilight riled up. Especially when Rainbow shot her a teasing wink and flicked her tail ever-so-slightly to the side.

She snuck a quick glance over her shoulder. Her grin widened as she noted the deep purple streak across her mare friend's muzzle, and those feathers ruffling so. If her body wasn’t aching, she’d have gone all in. Maybe a bit later. If she's not worn out tonight.

Twilight wasn’t off the hook though. Judging by the wide-eyed stare, she was eager for the next bit of this particular stretch.

Rainbow had to rally every ounce of self-control as she caught sight of Twilight’s tongue poking out cutely and slowly running across her bottom lip. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on stretching rather than the heat rising in her cheeks and the hungry look in Twilight’s eyes.

Finish the stretches, then play. She took another breath and rolled her hips, deepening the arch in her spine.

A low hum made her wings twitch. Rainbow bit her bottom lip, trying her very best to keep her little game going. She snorted and gave herself a mental wing upside her head. Stretching had to be done, as much of a pain as they were.

Rainbow closed her eyes and counted backward from ten again, holding her posture and taking care to breathe like Doctor Stable had drilled into her head. Deep in through the nose, slow release through the mouth. Don’t hold your breath as you stretch.

Her ears pricked up at the sound of Twilight shifting around in their bed. Four light clops of hoof on crystal—the repeating cadence grew louder as Twilight came closer, stopping just behind Rainbow.

As much as she liked to lead in their playtime, Rainbow couldn’t suppress a shudder as Twilight’s feathers tickled against her flank, right over her cutie mark, and slowly trailed along her side.

“That’s twenty seconds,” Twilight purred, her warm breath ghosting over Rainbow’s eartip. “You can relax now.”

Her breath came out in a weak, shuddering gasp. Rainbow licked the underside of her upper lip and nodded as she relaxed her posture. “Y-Yeah, just lost my place.”

“That so? Well, next come your wings.” Rainbow choked on air as she felt Twilight nip lightly at her ear. Her marefriend stepped around her, lightly tickling her chin with a feather and flicking her tail against her muzzle. “Make sure you work them thoroughly.”

She could only nod and unfurl her wings. Slowly, she fanned them out until her primaries were lined up with her shoulders and held them in place. Tendons strained and her face screwed up into a grimace. Rainbow held back a hiss as she held position and waited for the pain to abate.

Twilight nuzzled just below her right ear before stealing a quick lick to her cheek. “Breathe.” Her voice was husky, tinged with want as well as authority.

On command, Rainbow released her breath. She bared her cheek and smiled, but Twilight didn’t take the cue.

Instead, Twilight chuckled into her ear and continued walking around, trailing her wing along Rainbow’s cheek, over her shoulder, and up her wing until their primaries touched.

Rainbow bit back a whimper and squeezed her eyes shut. “T-Twi!”

“Finish your stretches, Rainbow! Doctor’s orders!” She leaned in and tenderly kissed the base of Rainbow’s wing.

        Any retort she might have shot back died in her throat. Rainbow’s knees shook, she sucked in her lips and tried her best to stop a whimper from escaping. After a moment of struggle, and several deep breaths, she managed to grind out. “Not. Playing. Fair!”

        Twilight nuzzled into her side, drawing her muzzle in a slow half-circle around the underside of her joint. “Your ten seconds are up.” She planted several fluffy kisses up Rainbow’s wing, stealing a few small licks as she worked her way up to those soft, cyan feathers. “Where’s your head, Dash?”

        “Oh, don’t even pretend—” A sharp gasp slipped out as she felt a pair of lips teasing her feathers. Her wings twitched and slowly began to return to her sides. She turned to look over her shoulder, locking eyes with her tormentor. Rainbow whimpered and pouted. “Twilight, please!”

        “Finish your stretches!” she repeated without mercy. Rainbow could see the mischievous spark in those half-lidded eyes. “Really, Dash, you need to focus! Don’t let your mind wander!”

        “Like you’re making it easy on me—eep!”

        Twilight smirked around a mouthful of feathers. She nibbled lightly on the quills and slowly teased them with her tongue. She released her grip in favor of nuzzling against into her marefriend’s plumage, planting light, fluffy kisses on each feather. “Wings straight out, fully extended to the side.”

        Rainbow shivered, whimpering as she tried to will her wings to extend. Ignore her! Block it out and finish up, then pay her back double—no, triple! Just ignore that sexy, brilliant, adorkable mare kissing and licking my feathers!

        Her eyes fluttered shut. She was floating on a cloud, high above Equestria, with nothing but her wind against her fur and Twilight at her side. There was nothing else, nothing but her beautiful marefriend, the endless sky, and herself, floating without a care in the world.

        Wings twitched under Twilight’s torment. Rainbow struggled to bring them under her command, fighting her own body’s demands that she surrender to her loving marefriend’s touch. What was I doing again? Stretching?

        Rainbow Dash closed her eyes. She sighed and leaned to her right, fanning out her feathers as she did so. Forget it. Fighting was pointless.

        The rare times Twilight took charge… Rainbow hummed just thinking about them. Every kiss, every nip sent her on a rush, a greater thrill than the Sonic Rainboom. She could close her eyes and see the air ripple before her, forming a cone just before she pushed past and shot through the barrier. All she needed was a bit more, just a little more speed and she’d be there! Or in this case…

        Soft lips wrapped around one of her pinions. As Twilight maneuvered the feather into place, Rainbow bit down on her lip. She couldn’t move. Every bit of her was devoted to savoring her marefriend’s touch.

        Twilight released her, moving to whisper into her ear. Her warm breath tickled the fuzzy tip. “Dash,” she cooed, “come on, now. Extend your wings out all the way.”

        Rainbow mumbled something under her breath. Getting her wings to move was like trying to fly through one of Discord’s stupid clouds.

        Muscles strained with her every move. Her left side tightened up, but she grit her teeth and fought through. She ignored the pain, pushing against her body’s furious demands that she stop there.

        Twilight’s breath left her ear. “Go ahead. Finish up. I’m out of the way.”

        Taking a deep breath, Rainbow managed to regain some of her composure. That was totally… Unfair. Her eyes narrowed, she snuck a glance over her shoulder. Oh. You’re gonna get it, egghead.

        With her mind set Rainbow Dash forced her wings out to their fullest. A twinge of pain shot through the base of her left wing.

        She growled. Not. Gonna. Keep. Me. Down! Rainbow snapped her wings open, stretching them skyward as fast as she could.

        A hot lance was driven into her left side. Rainbow let out a strangled cry as she fell forward. She landed on her right side, clutching at her wing.

“Rainbow? Rainbow!” Twilight darted around her and was at her side before she could blink. All signs of flirting fled her face, her smirk falling to a deep frown. “What happened? What hurts?”

“L-left wing!” Rainbow gasped. She shut her eyes tight to hold back tears.

“All right, hold still! I’m going to cast a spell to check you. Where exactly does it hurt?”

Rainbow could only point to the base. Her wing was clamped tight against her side, as if cradling itself. She didn’t dare try to move it for fear of inviting more pain. “Hurts bad…”

“Just stay still.” Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Let me see what’s wrong. Take a deep breath and try to relax. Don’t keep that muscle tight!”

All she could do was nod and listen to the twinkle of magic. She shuddered as Twilight’s aura enveloped her wing, tickling her feathers as the spell allowed Twilight to peer through feather, flesh and bone.

A sigh caught Rainbow’s attention. “You’ve definitely pulled it. You won’t be flying today.”

“But I’ve got patrol!” Rainbow tried to push herself up, only to crumble under the pain. She growled and slapped her hoof against the crystal floor. “Horseapples!”

“You’re not working like this, not when you’re in this much pain.” The twinkling aura of Twilight’s magic engulfed Rainbow. She squeaked as she was lifted off the floor and floated over to their bed. “I’ll let Thunderlane know, he’ll understand and rework the team schedule.”

Huffing and crossing her hooves, Rainbow was lowered down onto the bed. “That goofball will feather up the cloud patterns.”

“He did just fine when we visited my brother last weekend, Dash.” Twilight hopped up, flapping her wings and landing nimbly next to Rainbow.

 The aura around Rainbow’s body dissipated. Her fur stood on end as if she’d kicked a thunderhead wrong. She shifted her hooves, making to get up but froze at the sound of Twilight clearing her throat.

Turning slowly, Rainbow met her marefriend’s gaze, wincing at the sight of those beautiful purple eyes narrowed in her direction. She gave a slow, awkward chuckle and gave her most innocent smile, complete with a wide-eyed stare. C’mon, squirt, let’s see if your gig works to get me out of a bind!

Twilight’s eye twitched, her horn sparked with magic. Rainbow yelped as her ear was caught and lightly tweaked. “You stay right there, Rainbow Dash! No work, no flying! Period!”

Any protests died on her lips. Rainbow’s ears lay flat as she realized that Twilight was using the voice—the one that meant she was in big trouble. Just like the time Cloud Kicker had to go flying off to the library to tell her that Rainbow had been hurt trying to wrangle half a thunderstorm by herself. Or, further back, after she’d bucked the dragon in the face.

She rubbed a hoof against her shin, thinking back to how she skipped out on her stretches last night. If Twilight had known, she’d have pushed Rainbow out of bed in the middle of their cuddle session and demanded that she run through them—figuratively—twice.

But she didn’t ask last night. For the first time since that visit to Doctor Stable, Twilight didn’t check; she had trusted Rainbow enough to take her word for it. If she found out that it was a lie…

Rainbow gulped as Twilight’s magic ghosted over her wing again. She was going to ask anyway, then there would be real trouble!

Either way, my wings are clipped. Rainbow chewed on the inside of her cheek. After a moment’s thought, she let out a deep breath through her nose. Might as well just tell her now and get the lecture over with.

“I didn’t stretch last night.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, choked with apprehension. “I lied. I just wanted to come home and hold you after working so hard all day, so I acted like I’d done it after practice.” Rainbow paused, turning her head so she wouldn’t have to see the look of betrayal on Twilight’s face. She burrowed her muzzle into the pillow and mumbled. “I’m sorry.”

Her muscles tensed as she waited for the coming explosion. Twilight’s bouts of temper were few and far between, but those times she was truly mad…

Any other time, Rainbow would’ve taken wing and fled for Canterlot, if only to hide behind Twilight Velvet. Princess of Friendship or not, Twilight Velvet could cow her daughter with a simple raise of her eyebrow and a few stern words.

But in her state, Twilight had her dead to rights. She was trapped, like Daring Do hanging over a pit of deadly vipers, there was no escape! All that remained was for Twilight to deliver the final blow.

“I know.”

        … Or not?

        Rainbow turned so fast that she popped several vertebrae, she managed to catch sight of Twilight wincing at the sound. “You what?” Her jaw hung open. “You knew?”

        She could see Twilight shift in place, wings twitching at her side. Twilight’s magic flickered as her concentration broke. “I know your routine, Dash. You never stretch out in the field unless I’m there. You always come home and try to cuddle, even though you’re sweaty and smelly after flying all day. Then, I always push you off and tell you to do your stretches and shower. But last night,” she looked down at the comforter, “I didn’t want to wait to be held. I was… greedy.”

        “Greedy? I don’t get it, Twi. Greedy is, like, the total opposite of you!” Rainbow could only wave a hoof in a circle in her position. “You’re always looking out for everypony!”

        “Not always.” Twilight ground her hoof into the bedding. “Last night, I just wanted to pretend that we weren’t a princess and a Wonderbolt Reserve. And this morning, I just wanted to play like normal couples. Because… I wish sometimes that I didn’t have to watch you hurt yourself pushing so hard.” She let out a deep sigh and shook her head. “And I catch myself wishing you wouldn’t do this to yourself for some dream.”

        Rainbow’s hooves shot to the mattress. She began to push herself up, a fresh retort on her lips to counter Twilight.

        But she was stopped as Twilight’s hoof was gently placed against her lips. She gave a half-hearted glare and a slight quirk of her eyebrows to prompt an explanation. Twilight raised her head to meet Rainbow’s stare.

        Twilight’s eyes shone with pain and disappointment, but not for Rainbow. No, that glare was a far sight different—her eyes would burn with righteous fury and she would grind her teeth together before launching into a lecture.

        After being together, Rainbow knew how to read Twilight’s moods quite well; the burning anger wasn’t present, nor was there any sign of her jaw locking up.

Twilight was disappointed at herself.

        A heavy pause settled over them. Twilight lowered her hoof and let it settle on Rainbow’s shoulder. “But I can’t ask you to do that. Because it’s your dream. And...” A smile played upon her lips. “Because I fell in love with the way your eyes light up whenever you fly or talk about making it, just as hard as I love you—you stubborn, smart-mouthed mare.”

        A warm, tingling sensation filled Rainbow’s chest, dulling the pain in her left side.

        If not for her pulled muscle, Rainbow could’ve launched herself into the air and done backflips, singing “Twilight loves my flying!”

        But, since she couldn’t show off her acrobatic skill, Rainbow settled for pushing herself up and leaning in close to her marefriend. “If that’s you being greedy, I think I’d be cool with a more selfish marefriend!” She closed the distance and gave Twilight’s lips a chaste peck before settling back onto the bed. Rainbow laid down on her stomach, regarding Twilight with a teasing smirk. “But I think I need my mother hen marefriend to take care of me right now.”

        Twilight snorted and brought a hoof to her mouth to stifle a bout of laughter. The heavy mood lifted with a few words.

Chalk one up for Rainbow!

        “I suppose I do need to take care of my big-mouthed, reckless marefriend, don’t I?” Twilight giggled, leaning down to kiss Rainbow’s cheek. She pushed herself out of bed, her hooves clacking against the floor. “I’ll go get you a hot pad and some of your pain medicine. Do you need anything else?”

        Rainbow brought her hoof to her chin. “Eh, some water would be nice… but a copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone and my reading buddy marefriend would be a ten on the awesome scale!”

        “You may have to wait on the book. I still have to let Thunderlane know that he’s taking over for you today.”

        “After that, then,” Rainbow cheered, waving her right hoof.

        “Sounds like a plan.” Twilight turned, shaking her head and chuckling to herself at some unspoken joke.

Probably about how awesome it is to have a marefriend like me! Or she thinks I’m being silly again. She gave a mental shrug and slipped under the covers. The bed was still warm from the pair of bodies that lay in it all night. Perfect.

        So, today was a wash for training and weather work. She had plenty of those days when things went screwy around town, or when she had to go save Equestria with her friends. A day on the mend due to injury was just tedious.

        But, at least she had Twilight to spend her day with. And Spike, once he woke up and found out that his “future big sister-in-law” had hurt herself; meaning that he’d run around, waiting on her and trying to make her as comfortable as possible, in spite of any protests she or Twilight might offer.

There were definitely worse ways to spend her day.