Now You Must Snuggle In It
Y'know, I'll admit it. I know exactly how I got here.
I could just as easily blame the universe. I could just... throw my hoof up to my forehead, sigh dramatically, and pretend that fate had, once again, attacked me unprovoked. It's actually pretty tempting, too. Rarity gets away with it all the time, so why couldn't I? It's not like she has control over who gets to play the damsel in distress card, right?
But, no. I can't. Mainly because it'd be way, way too easy. And Celestia forbid I let somepony else take the slack for once. Element of loyalty and all that jazz. No, I have to put up with the situation I've been put in, whether I like it or not. No moaning, no yelling, nothing. Plus, I'm pretty sure the 'This is the worst. Possible. Thing!' line has already been coined.
I mean, I'm not complaining or anything. In fact, it's the complete opposite of that. Sure, it's kinda uncomfortable and stuffy, but whatever. It's not every day you get aggressively snuggled by the princess of friendship on your own sofa. I've actually been fantasising about this kinda situation for a while now. Granted, the context of said imagined snuggling contained a lot more consent on my part, and preferably have included Commander Spitfire instead of Twi, but it's the concept of it that counts.
But now that this is actually happening? It's kinda... different. Not that 'Oh Celestia, change it back before it ruins everything!' different. Not the 'Oh, that's better.' different, either. It's that 'Oh.' different. The different that makes you stop what you're doing and think about it for a second. You kinda learn to separate the different types after your best friend goes and pops a set of wings out of nowhere. Kinda throws you for a loop.
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for the egghead. Like, really happy for her. And we were all pretty much expecting something to happen at one point or another. I just thought that she'd get a place teaching magic at some college or whatever. She's read more than enough books to qualify. What we didn't expect was for Celestia to decide that there needed to be another princess running around.
But hey, look on the bright side, at least I get to teach Twi how to fly now. I ain't gonna say no to more time spent with my favourite nerd.
So, I might as well as back up a bit, tell you the story from the start. Like Applejack says, 'There ain't much point to complaining about something when ponies don't know absolutely everything about the object of ridicule. S'how ignorance is made.'. And what was the quote that Twi used a while ago when she was reading that one story? 'Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.'? Probably. Something some king said once, apparently.
Anyway, it all started when Twi asked me if she could crash over at my place.
"Hey Rainbow, could we move this reading session over to your place?"
It was midway through summer, and Equestria was going through one of it's few scheduled heat waves. The air felt humid and smelt of fresh morning dew. Very few ponies could be seen milling around outside, as the majority of them were quite busy within their own homes, sitting in front of open fridges or inside ice boxes.
Inside of the library, two ponies sat near to each other, reading. Twilight looked up from her tome and temporarily paused the fanning of a nearby clipboard as she regarded her friend with the sudden question.
Rainbow had just finished her daily quota of cloud bucking and exercise, and was now spending her afternoon attending the weekly scheduled reading session. Twilight had figured that since Dash was so engrossed with the Daring Do series, they could read the series together at the Golden Oaks library.
Rainbow's ears perked up as she was distracted from her signed copy of Daring Do and the Pursuit For the Perished Protagonist. She raised an eyebrow at the purple princess from her spot on the sofa.
"What? Why?" She asked.
Twilight looked away for a second and began nervously stroking her tail, shifting her position on the cushion beneath her. "Well, technically..." She began. "The higher in the atmosphere you go, the less pressure in the air there is. So, because of that, it-"
Twilight was interrupted by Rainbow clearing her throat and deadpanning at her, fluffing her wings for emphasis.
"O-oh! Wings. Right. You must already know all about that." The faint hints of a blush could be seen briefly, before she forcefully shook it away. "So, uh, just because it's colder up there, I guess." She paused, her ears twitching. "This heat wave is making it really difficult to concentrate on the inner workings of quantum mechanics." She hastily explained as she flashed Rainbow Dash her most convincing smile.
Dash generally knew when Twilight was fibbing, mainly because her ears would always twitch frantically beforehoof. Because of this, she shot Twilight a skeptical look.
"A-and, uh, I've never really been over to your house before. On account of not having these things." She awkwardly shuffled her wings and chuckled to herself. "We could just read and, uh, stuff..."
Rainbow sighed and nodded. Twilight seemed eager, and she couldn't think of any potential downside to letting her over for a bit. She'd just have to do a bit of quick tidying, which wouldn't take too long.
"Yeah, sure. It's getting pretty stuffy in here anyway."
Twilight's ears immediately perked up, and an eager smile appeared on her face.
"Really? Great! I'll just... go grab some things, okay?"
Rainbow opened her mouth to respond, but Twilight had already tossed the clipboard, rushed out of the room and clambered up the stairs, knocking a few book piles over on her way, as well as knocking Spike as he came in from the kitchen. He stumbled back for a couple steps before falling onto his butt.
Dash could barely hear a hasty apology being called down the stairs before the door to Twilight's bedroom could be heard slamming shut.
Spike rubbed his head, a grimace masking his features, as he blearily blinked the stars out of his eyes.
"What was that all about?" He asked dazedly.
Rainbow Dash could only shrug.
Despite what most ponies say, I'd like to think I'm pretty observant.
I'm not as observant as Twi, obviously. She could see that you had a problem before you yourself could. I'm just saying that I'm not blind. I do notice when something is different, or when somepony is acting a bit strangely. I just... deal with it differently.
So, for example, Twilight has been acting real funny around me lately. Like, whenever we would go out to Sugarcube Corner to grab lunch, she would always be giving me these... looks. Whenever I looked away, she'd start ogling me like I'm the only pony in the world. It was pretty flattering at first, and I enjoyed the attention, but after a while, it got a bit... I dunno, daunting? I don't think that's the right word for it.
But fair enough, right? I mean, I am pretty awesome. It's just common sense that I'd get a few onlookers.
But it's just gotten to the point where Rarity's actually expecting me to do something about it. I mean, I want to, but I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about the whole thing myself. She keeps dropping the odd hint now and again, which are as blatant as they are thought out. And then, if that doesn't work, she just goes and brings the three of us together for lunch or something like that, before 'remembering' that she had some kind of appointment to go to.
The following couple of hours can only be described as painful. Twilight does her best to pretend that she isn't totally into me, and I do my best to pretend not to notice how much she completely fails at it. It just leaves me feeling more awkward, if anything.
I mean, Rarity and I get on well enough, but I just refuse to stay in her boutique for more time than is needed. I swear, dresses are as deadly to me as kryptonite is to Supermare. If I get near one, I can feel myself getting girlier and girlier by the second. It's the worst.
And, look, no offense to the girl, but she doesn't even have the experience to back up her expertise on romance. The Trenderhoof shebackle came completely out of left field, and the Blueblood incident went absolutely terrifically in my honest opinion. As far as I know, the only experience she has is in hovering around crushes. Spike is a good example.
Come on, the only worthwhile relationship she's maintained was with a rock!
Ahem.
That's not to say I don't love the mare. She gives some decent fashion advice, as long as she keeps away from all that frou-frou stuff, and she can provide good conversation, as long as she keeps the topic away from recent gossip or Twilight.
And it's not exactly like I'd refuse Twilight either. As soon as she actually asks. After all, she's been a good friend to me. That means something. As far as I'm concerned, we'll let this thing ride out and see where it goes. Preferably when I'm ready, and when I'm not being forcibly snuggled to Tartarus and back.
Anyway, the flight to my place was pretty uneventful. The air was getting a lot cooler and the wind was finally starting to pick up, so the flight was a lot easier than expected. All I did was dodge a few clouds, wave to some birds and notice Twilight staring at my flank for an awkwardly long period of time. A strategically placed turbulence change fixed that. After a bit of gloating, I dug her out of the clouds, laughed it off with her, and continued on our journey.
"Twi, are you totally sure we need all this stuff?" She said as she dropped a pair of overloaded saddlebags to the floor. "I mean, this is a heck of a lot to bring for a couple hours of reading."
Twilight smiled as she followed Rainbow through the front door, closing it behind her. "Yeah, it's just a few essentials. Nothing big." Her smile shrank slightly as she looked around the main room of the cloud house.
The room was a very pale shade of blue, with white trimmings and highlights bordering the walls. A plush red couch sat in the leftmost corner of the room, with all manner of comic books, magazines and other miscellaneous items haphazardly strewn over it. Next to the sofa sat a small table, a soccer ball and an empty electric guitar case. A few posters of the Wonderbolts and some popular bands were all pinned up onto the wall.
The floor, however, was absolutely covered in junk, ranging from candy wrappers to crisp packets, from energy drink cans to crumpled up newspapers.
Rainbow smiled apologetically at Twilight. "Uh, sorry about the mess."
Twilight chuckled and waved a hoof at her. "Oh, don't worry about it. Just because I'm kind of a neat freak doesn't mean everypony else has to be." She explained as she flared up her horn. "Let me just..."
Suddenly, all of the junk was enveloped in a lavender aura, levitated off of the floor, gathered into a ball, and quickly shoved into a nearby cupboard.
"There we go." She chirped happily, trotting up to the sofa. Her saddlebags floated alongside her, being carried with her magic.
Rainbow Dash's mouth hung open, before it snapped shut. "Thanks, Twi. I swear, sometimes I just forget how powerful that magic of yours is." She said, gratefully.
"No problem!" She chirped again, jumping up and onto the plush sofa. She spent a few moments plodding her hooves on the soft fabric before unceremoniously dropping onto her belly, her legs splaying out in all directions. She spent a few moments more reveling in the sensation of the velvety soft cushions against her fur. Her eyes were closed, she had a small, content smile tugging at her cheeks, her ears were pointed tilted forwards and her tail swished back and forth behind her.
Rainbow watched her nerdy friend's antics with a warm smile.
Eventually, she broke the silence.
"You enjoying yourself there, Twi?"
Twilight eyes shot open and her ears stood at attention. She rotated her head so that she could see Rainbow raising an eyebrow at her. She could feel her own cheeks getting hotter.
"Oh. Yes, thank you." She said, smiling gratefully. Then, she blinked. "Oh, uh, did you want to sit down? Sorry, I'll just-" She quickly realised as she went to get up.
"Nah, it's fine. Don't worry about it." Rainbow waved her hoof at the librarian. Twilight immediately sat down again. "Would you like something to drink?" She asked, gesturing towards the kitchen.
Twilight attempted to nod her head, but only succeeded in burying her muzzle deeper into the sofa. "Yes please," she said, her voice muffled slightly by the cushion.
Rainbow rolled her eyes and nodded, then made her way into the kitchen.
Retrospection is a funny thing.
In my opinion, looking back always seems to make me feel stupider. It's not a bad thing per se. I guess you could link it to how you're a different pony to the one you were five minutes ago, or something like that. But, it doesn't change the fact that you're still gonna do or say something new that you'll look back on later and say "Yeah, that was pretty dumb.", despite going through that exact same sequence before and 'learning from it'.
The phrase "Ponies make mistakes" is said when somepony makes mistakes, so that they don't make that mistake again. Neat, right? But what you don't realise is that they're not really saying "You won't do it again, so it doesn't matter.". They're actually saying "You'll still buck up again, so it doesn't matter.".
Sure, it sounds kinda harsh when you say it like that, but it's true. Like, Celestia has been around for a freakin' long time, and I've seen her stub her hooves on doorframes. Twice.
Look, point is: lying here, snuggled up to Twi for what feels like the best part of an hour? It's given me time to think about a few things.
For example, maybe I've been too harsh on Rarity lately. I mean, she's only trying to help out. Sure, that 'help' is pretty freakin' annoying, obvious to anyone with a pair of ears and a functioning brain, and doesn't actually do anything to help in the slightest. But it's the thought that counts.
But, here's the real kicker: It's pretty much guaranteed that Twi is gonna wake up at some point. And when she does? There will be an aftermath. Twi is prone to freaking out over some of the smallest things, so something like this is probably gonna throw her into another tizzy.
She's gonna panic. I'm gonna get kicked off the sofa. She's gonna ask me out. And then I'm gonna have to say yes.
And then, worst of all, Rarity is actually gonna be right for once.
And that is the worst. Possible. Thing.
It'll be terrible. She'll tease at first, which won't be so bad. I'll just have to ignore her for a while. But then she'll start inviting us to brunch. And trivia night. And... and cocktail parties!
But you know what? If push comes to shove, I'll just make a point of pouting all the time.
That'll show her.
So, all in all, I just hope that going out with Twi isn't going to be a mistake. And even if it is, I hope it's one I don't regret.
Here's to hoping.
Rainbow's eyes widened as she saw Twilight lying on the couch. She was covered by a star-decorated comforter, with only her muzzle and bright lavander eyes poking out of the warmth. Her mouth was still stuck into that content smile, and her eyes darted back and forth as she read the book levitating in front of her. A very faint blush was also constantly present on her cheeks.
Rainbow shook her head and smirked, then began to trot up to the adorable mare. She could see Twilight glance at her, and then to the drinks in her possession. Twilight carefully levitated one of the glasses from the pegasus's back and tilted it up to her lips.
Rainbow giggled as she saw Twilight's cheeks bulge and eyes widen in response to the lemonade's fizzyness.
"You okay, Twi?" She asked, a lilt of barely-concealed amusement in her voice.
Twilight swallowed the sugary drink and pouted at her prismatic friend.
"I thought it was water..." She moaned.
Rainbow giggled again, stuck her tongue out at her friend, and sat herself down on the now-visible rug, at the foot of the couch.
She paused for a second, before looking up at her reading buddy. "Hey, uh, where'd you get that blanket?"
Twilight merely flared her horn, which caused the saddlebag she had brought to lift up and tip over, dropping another, thinner quilt, and a bunch of differently sized books onto the floor.
The answer seemed to satisfy her for a moment, before she realised that all of those items couldn't possibly fit into a single saddlebag. She made to ask Twilight about it, but the purple alicorn beat her to the punch.
"Enchanted," she stated curtly.
"Oh." Rainbow replied, lowering her hoof.
The next few hours passed in relative silence, only interrupted by the turning of pages, the shifting of cushions and the sound of soft breathing. As time passed and it got further into the afternoon, the temperature got chillier and the sound of bird calls quietened to make way for the sound of crickets chirping.
Eventually, Rainbow figured it was time to send Twilight home so that she could catch up on some well earned rest.
The sentence died on her lips, however, when she saw Twilight was quietly snoring away. She was lying on her back, with the blanket rising and falling slowly on her barrel, in time with her soft breathing.
Rainbow had no idea what to do. After she took a few moments to consider her options, she decided that it was a better course of action to let her sleep. After all, she didn't want Twilight to accidentally fall asleep on the way back.
As she began to trot off to her bedroom, Rainbow couldn't stop herself from pausing and looking back at the peacefully sleeping alicorn currently draped over her sofa. Against her better instincts, she trotted back over to Twilight. Then, with a small smirk, she took the top of the blanket in her teeth. She then began to slowly and carefully tuck the princess of friendship in.
As she was doing this, she didn't notice Twilight starting to roll over in her direction. Mid-roll, the purple pony unknowingly stretched her forelegs out in some attempt to reach for something to hug. Before she could react, Rainbow could feel a pair of hooves wrap around her barrel. Then suddenly, she yelped as she was pulled into the sleeping alicorn's grasp.
Rainbow's eyes widened. She attempted to move her wings or wriggle out of the impromptu hug, but the firm hold kept her from making any headway.
"Um, Twi?" She ventured, hoping to wake her friend up.
Her only response was a particularly loud snore into her ear.
Rainbow's ears went flat against her head as she tried again, in vain, to wriggle out of Twilight's grasp. After a good five minutes of struggling and flailing, Rainbow was left too drained to move, and resigned to think of a different plan. After a bit of thought, she came up with one. Slowly, she stretched her neck up so that her muzzle was right up against Twilight's ear.
"Hey, Twi!"
Immediately, Twilight's eyes screwed tight, her ears went flat against her head, her muzzle scrunched up and she mumbled something sounding like disapproval. Rainbow felt a strong pang of guilt for doing it, but again desperately attempted to shift out of the hold.
Although, instead of weakening, her grasp only tightened around the pegasus's barrel. It was then that Twilight began to turn over again.
Rainbow could only yell a muffled "Gah!" as she was hoisted up and over the deep-sleeping alicorn, before being wedged in-between Twilight and the backrest of the sofa.
She moaned exasperatedly, then flailed her hooves one last time in the air before giving up.
It was only when she stopped shifting that she could feel Twilight nuzzle the top of her head whilst humming approvingly.
They stayed like that for a good while, Twilight softly snoring away and Rainbow laying there, thinking. At some point during her thoughts, she had subconsciously wrapped her own hooves around Twilight's mid-section and accepted that she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
It was only until an hour passed that Rainbow started to feel the effects of her exhaustion. After some deliberation, she sighed, closed her eyes, and buried her head into Twilight's chest. She concentrated on the warmth emitting from her friend, as well as the knowledge that the two of them would deal with this when, and only when, they had to.
Before long, Rainbow joined Twilight in her deep, peaceful slumber. Soon after, Twilight wrapped her wings around her friend and sighed contentedly.
