It's Not What It Looks Like!
“So, how exactly did you manage to get your hoof stuck in your bed again?” Moonwhisper asked as he observed the scene. Princess Twilight Sparkle stood at the side of her bed, her front right hoof wedged firmly between the box spring and bedframe.
“Well, I was planning on doing some magical research on the properties of different materials when exposed to magical fields,” Twilight explained. “I remembered that I had a cold iron rod lying around in my room, but then I accidently dropped it and it rolled under the bed. I tried levitating it out, but…”
“But cold iron is infamous for being magically non-reactive,” Moonwhisper said.
“Right. I did manage to get ahold of it for a few seconds, but I lost control and it bounced up into the bedframe. Normally I’d have asked Spike to help get it, but he’s out helping Rarity, so I reached in to try and grab it myself and now I’m stuck. I could just teleport out, but the thing is I managed to grab hold of the rod and if I teleport out I’ll lose hold of it and be right back to square one.”
“And you’ll have the same issue if I try to levitate you out myself,” Moonwhisper added. “So, I’m guessing you want me to try pulling you free manually. Alright, let me see what I can do.” Moonwhisper proceeded to awkwardly try and figure out some way to pick Twilight up from either side of her.
“Moonwhisper, you’re not going to be able pick me up from the side, you just won’t have enough leverage,” Twilight finally said. “I think the best way to do it would be for you to climb over me and pull me straight up.”
“Climb over you?” Moonwhisper asked with a slight blush. “Twilight, are you entirely certain you want me to…”
“It’s fine, just hurry up and pull me out of here. I really don’t want to be stuck here all day,” Twilight said, impatience starting to creep into her voice.
“Very well then, hold on.” Still blushing, Moonwhisper moved behind Twilight before rearing up and over her. Leaning forward, Moonwhisper braced one hoof against the bed and hooked the other under Twilight’s right leg. “Alright, I’m going to start pulling now, just let me know if you need me to ease off.”
*********
“Hold your horses, I’m coming,” Starlight Glimmer said as she hurried to the castle’s entrance. Somepony was hammering on the door and Twilight and Moonwhisper either didn’t hear it or were too engrossed in whatever they were doing to be bothered. “What in Equestria is the emergency?” Starlight asked as she threw the doors open. Standing just outside were Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who to Starlight’s shock were standing alongside Twilight Sparkle’s parents.
“Hey Starlight,” Applejack greeted Starlight cheerfully. “Rainbow Dash and Ah were droppin’ off Apple Bloom and Scootaloo at the Ponyville Station fer the trip they’re takin’ with Sweetie Belle and her folks when we ran into these two. Seems they decided to drop by Ponyville to give Twilight a visit.”
“We just thought we’d surprise our daughter by dropping by,” Twilight Velvet said. “To be honest, I don’t think we’ve ever actually visited Twilight at her castle before. Speaking of things I don’t think we’ve ever done, I don’t know that we’ve ever been properly introduced. I’m Twilight Velvet, Twilight’s mother. You must be my daughter’s student Starlight.” Twilight Velvet held out a hoof to Starlight.
“Yeah, that’s me,” Starlight said as she shook Twilight Velvet’s hoof. “Well, if you’re looking for Twilight I think she and Moonwhisper are working on something inside. Why don’t you guys come inside and I’ll let her know that you’re here.”
Twilight Velvet and Night Light trotted inside, with Applejack and Rainbow Dash following close behind. “Ah hope y’all don’t mind, but RD and Ah were hopin’ to ask Twilight a few questions we had about what she thinks we should do about keepin’ in touch with Rockhoof and the other pillars.”
“Yeah, Applejack’s kinda worried about how they’re adjusting to the whole ‘back after a thousand years thing’,” Rainbow Dash added. “And to be honest, I don’t really blame her. I mean, how long did it take Princess Luna to get used to how things are these days?”
Nodding, Starlight led the group into the castle. “Twilight and Moonwhisper were in her room last time I checked, so we should probably check there first.” As the ponies drew closer to Twilight’s room, Starlight thought she could hear something coming from deeper inside the castle. “Is that...it almost sounds like somepony grunting.” Starlight thought to herself before dismissing the thought. Before Starlight could try and think of an innocent explanation for whatever it was she was hearing, however, the noises gave way to barely audible voices.
“Gah! Try and be a little more gentle.”
“Sorry, it’s just that this is a bit tighter than I expected. I think we should have probably used some sort of lubricant.”
Starlight’s eyes widened as she looked back at the ponies behind her. However, Twilight’s parents seemed to be too engrossed in conversation with Applejack and Rainbow Dash to have heard whatever it was Starlight had. “No, I have to be hearing things, Twilight and Moonwhisper couldn’t be…” Starlight shook her head to clear her thoughts as she pressed on. Unfortunately for Starlight’s efforts to keep certain images out of her head, the grunting continued unabated. Moreover, by the time they made it just outside Twilight’s room they were punctuated with what sounded like muffled exclamations from Twilight.
“I’m almost there, just…a…little…more!”
Starlight coughed nervously as a blush started to creep into her cheeks. “Umm, maybe we should wait a bit. Twilight and Moonwhisper are probably really busy and I don’t think we should bother them.”
“Come on, Starlight, what could Twilight possibly be doing that could so important that she can’t talk to us?” Rainbow Dash snorted as she pushed past Starlight. “Hey Twilight, you’ve got company!” With that, Rainbow Dash tossed the door to Twilight’s room wide open. The assembled ponies were then treated to the sight of Twilight letting out an ecstatic cry with Moonwhisper mounted on top of her. The sound of the door caused both Twilight and Moonwhisper to turn their heads to see Starlight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Velvet and Night Light all clustered around the doorway and blushing furiously.
“Whoa nelly!” Applejack exclaimed, summing up everypony’s reactions quite succulently.
Twilight Sparkle and Moonwhisper, meanwhile, shared a quick glance before addressing their sudden audience in unison. “It’s not what it looks like!”