On a Whim

Chapter III

Cast and crew

“Top bunk!”

This was the last one. Do this and you’ve got it in the bag, Applejack. Last. Bucking. Tree. With a grunt of exertion, Applejack kicked the trunk of the apple tree with all her remaining strength. She grinned triumphantly as the tree’s delicious fruit rained into the baskets below. “Last one down and it’s not even noon.” She said proudly, turning to her brother.

Big Mac kicked a hoof in defeat. “Alright AJ, you won fair and square,” Applejack stared at him evenly, devilish smirk on her face. “…and you should be proud.” Applejack leaned forward a bit. Big Mac sighed and reached into his saddle bag. He withdrew a grease stained paper bag and handed it to her. “…and you win the last piece of Granny’s pie.”

Applejack smiled broadly and took the bag. “Why thank you Mac, you shouldn’t ‘a.” Big Macintosh grumbled something about it being an unfair competition before making his way back to the farmhouse. Applejack made to follow him, but stopped in her tracks when a large shadow passed over her. Looking in all directions, she could see trees being covered by it. It was as if the entire property was being devoured by the night in the middle of the afternoon. Didn't think the weather patrol scheduled rain today. Applejack looked up, expecting to see a group of pegasi pushing a storm front in. What she saw instead made her drop the bag she held.

“Something wrong Appleja…” Big Mac trailed off as he turned around. “What in Equestria is that thing?” he said under his breath. The sun was blocked by a massive shape looming above the Apple residence. So large, in fact, that the two farmers had to crane their necks just to look at it clearly.

There was a sharp thwang as a harpoon trailing a line of rope left the behemoth and landed in a cloud of dirt mere feet from Applejack. With an undignified squeal of surprise, the farm mare fell over backwards. From her position on the ground, Applejack could clearly see a young earth pony slide down the rope, landing softly next to them. He was a mottled grey and black pony, younger than Applejack, but with a shockingly strong build that made him look nearly as large as Big Mac. The stranger wore a tattered tank-top and a leather sash of some kind across his chest. Releasing the line, he looked at them with a toothy smile that sent chills down Applejack's spine. Once back on her hooves, Applejack backed away until she was next to her brother.

“Allo Mr., Miss.” The newcomer said in a thick Manehatten accent. “I’d like ‘ta ask you a few questions, if you’d be alright with that.”

Applejack and Big Mac shared a confused glance before looking back at the young stallion. “W-what kind of questions, stranger?”

The stallion’s smile widened. “Nothing difficult, just wanted to know if either of ya had seen a new stallion in town, friend of ours, actually. Orange? Brown mane?"

Both farmers shook their heads silently. “Sorry mister, we’ve been out here all day, haven’t seen a soul ‘til you came along.” Applejacks gaze steadily rose up the rope as she spoke, still bewildered by the vehicle above her.

“Should be traveling with a green mare, goes by Misty. Ring any bells?” The stallion pressed further.

“Sorry, haven’t seen nothin’.” When Applejack looked back down, the stallion had lost his smile, and instead was glaring at them impatiently.

“They came in town to search for a unicorn, a powerful one. Any idea who they might be looking to meet?” The stallion began walking closer to them, prompting the farmers to back away.

Something doesn’t seem right here. Applejack thought as the stallion approached her. “Haven’t a clue, sorry.” Element of honesty my flank.

The stallion seized his advance, looking the two over again with suspicion.

“Alright then. Thanks for your time.” He began walking back to the rope before turning around again. “Oh, and I’d rather you not tell anypony we visited. We wouldn't want to have to come back again, would we? It’s such a nice plot of land, after all,” he said threateningly. He grabbed onto the rope with his fore hooves as it slowly rose back into the shape above, leaving the harpoon embedded in the ground menacingly. The shape began to pull away, leaving as quickly as it had come.

Applejack shared a worried glance with Big Mac, who was already galloping back to the farm house. “I’ll get Applebloom,” he said, concern in his voice.

“Right,” Applejack responded as she watched the massive machine leave. “Ah think I’m gonna run to town an’ check on Twi real quick.” Big Mac nodded and she trotted off towards Ponyville.

<<<<<>>>>>

The cold winter air rolled over the deck of the Volans as it slid around the Everfree forest. It was crisp and still, even as the sun reached the highest point in the sky. On the wheel deck, Sparky was steering the ship away from the town, humming a cheery tune to himself. Misty was on the foredeck idly looking at the hills as they rolled by with passive interest. Behind her, West was leading the two new travelers back to the wheel deck, where a small staircase led below deck.

“Givin’ ‘em the grand tour then?” Sparky called from above.

“I will, after we get this pegasus looked after.” He nodded toward Rainbow, who was still propping herself against Twilight in an attempt to stay standing. “She hit her head pretty hard, apparently,” West replied.

Sparky nodded at this, eyeing the blue mare curiously. “When did that happen, anyways? When she clonked onto my deck? Didn’t look like she hit all that hard.”

West shook his head “She said something about a tree, don’t know what she meant by that.” Rainbow Dash’s cheeks turned a shade of pink, and she hid her face behind Twilights’ head in a vain attempt to hide.

Sparky smirked and looked back to his controls. “Ah well, let me know when you’re finished with her. I’ll ‘elp you show 'em around.”

West nodded his thanks and turned to Twilight. “I’ll take her below and have her looked after. Why don’t you… uhhh…” West looked around the deck for inspiration before settling on the bow. “Talk to Misty for a little while?” Twilight looked tentatively at the green mare on the front of the boat, then back to West.

“Uhh… sure, I suppose we could get to know each other a little better…” Before Twilight could say anything more, West effortlessly hoisted Rainbow Dash, who seemed too tired or delirious to do anything about it, off Twilight’s shoulder and onto his own.

“Great! I’ll have her well looked after, don’t worry. We’ll be down the stairs behind the first door on the right if you want to check in.” With that, they were gone. Twilight turned around and looked at the mare on the opposite end of the deck.

I should at least formally introduce myself, Twilight thought; she didn’t even seem to know my name earlier. approaching her from behind, she greeted her, making an attempt to sound friendly despite the strange circumstances. “Hello Misty, sorry we didn’t get properly introduced earlier. I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight smiled warmly and extended a hoof to shake, but the mare didn’t turn around.

“I know,” Misty said dryly. Twilight bit her lip and awkwardly put her hoof down. They stood in silence for a moment.

“So how long have you been on this ship?” Twilight asked, attempting to make conversation with the stoic mare.

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow when you start making yourself useful,” Misty replied before turning and walking away as if Twilight wasn’t there. The unicorn stood on the deck for a minute, watching her retreat below deck. What was that about? Had Pinkie been onboard, she would not have stood for this. But, being Twilight, the subject was dropped immediately until further notice. Now having nothing better to do besides stand alone on the deck, Twilight decided she might as well check on Rainbow Dash.

Trotting to the rear of the ship, Twilight made her way down the flight of stairs West had used a minute earlier. Darkness quickly engulfed the unicorn as she walked down the steep staircase, as sparsely placed candles acted as the only source of illumination. The walls and floorboards seemed old and broken, but every visible surface was surprisingly clean. At the base of the stairs, a long hallway lined with eight unkempt bunk beds spread towards the bow. Behind her, two doors stood on either side of the staircase, pressed up against the hull. Taking the door on the right, Twilight found herself in a small infirmary. Unlike the hallway, it was brightly lit by a row of candles along each wall near the ceiling. It seemed far more sterile than the hallway outside, for the floor was tiled in a shining white and the walls were plastered with clean wallpaper. Off to one side, West was standing by one of three small beds, spreading some sort of green salve on a sleeping Rainbow Dash. Glancing up, he gave Twilight a confused look.

“What happened to talking to Misty?” he inquired.

Twilight shrugged. “She didn’t seem very eager to chat. She said something about talking after I started working.” This made the orange Stallion frown.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about her. She can be a bit…” West struggled to find the right word for a moment. “…gritty the first time you meet her. She’s not a bad pony, believe me.” He chuckled slightly at his own comment. “Believe me…” West looked back to the pegasus on the bed in front of him. “Anyways, our patient here should be just fine. No concussion as far as I can see and no need for stitches. I’d venture a guess that she will wake up with a headache and nothing more.” Twilight was relieved to hear this, and it showed. West smiled and walked across the room to wash his hooves in a small metal basin against one wall. “She’s a friend of yours I take it?”

Twilight nodded, not taking her eyes off the pony sleeping soundly on the table. “She was just trying to protect me. I didn’t know she hit the tree so hard.”

Looking back, West could clearly see the guilt in her eyes. He shook his head, drying his hooves off. “This is by no means your fault. She just wasn’t watching where she was going.” He stopped drying and looked up. “…right?”

Twilight glared at him. “I didn’t hit her with a tree, if that’s what you’re implying.”

The stallion raised a foreleg defensively “Sorry, just asking.” Twilight turned back to her friend. West began to make his way out, thinking it best to leave the two alone.

“Thank you, by the way.” Twilight said quietly without looking back at him. West stopped in the doorway for a moment and nodded before continuing out.

<<<<<>>>>>

“There are certain advantages to being left home alone,” Spike said to himself as he walked out of the kitchen, balancing a monstrous ice-cream-sapphire-donut-rice ball sandwich on his back. He dropped the teetering tower carefully on a table, eyeing his creation hungrily. “This is my greatest culinary achievement, hands down. And Twilight says I can’t cook. HA!” Plopping himself in a chair, Spike rose his fork in preparation for the feast ahead of him.

knock knock knock

Spike froze in place, listening.

Knock knock knock

The sound came again, louder this time. Sighing in frustration, Spike dropped his fork and went to answer the door. “It’s open! Lock was busted open this morning, anyways.” Before he reached it, the door flew open to revealing a frantic orange mare.

“Where’s Twilight?” Applejack asked impatiently. “Ah need to talk to ‘er as soon as possible, it’s important.”

“She left earlier today with a couple of ponies, something about an adventure. I didn’t pay attention to the details.” Spike waved a hand dismissively, returning to his seat at the table.

Applejack looked at Spike in disbelief. “Whaddya mean she left? Just like that? Without telling anypony? When’s she commin home?” Spike shrugged, cutting a piece out of his sandwich. “Ya don’t know?” Applejack ran up to Spike, who was desperately trying to get one of each ingredient into one bite of his sandwich. “Spike, don’t you care about this? Twilight could be in trouble, and you’re just sitting here gorging on… what the hay is that thing?”

Spike looked away from his plate. “Oh, just something I whipped up. I call it a-“

“Ah don’t care!” Applejack yelled impatiently. “I need you to tell me where Twilight went and who she went with. Somepony visited the farm today asking if there were any powerful unicorns in town and he looked shifty ta me. I’m worried he might have been talking about Twilight.”

Spike looked between his meal and Applejack for a moment, trying to decide which should have priority. After a moment of deep contemplation, he dropped his fork and hopped off the chair. “She left with a stallion and a mare I haven’t seen before and went through town to the south, but I don’t know where. What makes you think she's in trouble?”

“Was it a green mare and an orange stallion?” Applejack pressed, ignoring his question. A worried look began spreading across her face.

Spike gave her a funny look. “Yeah, how’d you know that?”

Applejack kicked the floor in frustration. “Horseapples! Alright, Ah’ll go tell Rainbow what’s happening. They couldn’t have gotten far, maybe she can find them before sunset. Then ah’ll wrangle up the other girls and decide what to do from there.” She began to walk back out when Spike stopped her.

“Actually Applejack, Rainbow Dash sorta… went with Twilight…” The dragon suddenly became very interested in the tops of his feet under Applejack's gaze.

Applejack face-hooved. “Ya know what, ah shouldn’t be surprised. Mind sendin’ a letter to Canterlot for me, or did Celestia go with ‘em too?”

<<<<<>>>>>

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes slowly. Her head felt light, and a throbbing headache was pulsing though her forehead. What did I drink last night? Closing her eyes once again to ward of the stinging light, she pulled the sheets higher. Her eyes snapped open. Sheets. Sheets, not clouds. She wasn't at home. Looking around the room in confusion, she saw that it was small, the only furniture being three small beds. The walls were covered in cheap looking white wallpaper that was peeling in some places, revealing the wooden paneling behind. She began dragging herself upright in bed to get a better look, but froze when she heard a soft snort close by. Whipping her head around franticly, she saw the source of the sound. At the foot of her bed, a familiar purple unicorn was curled up in a small chair sleeping soundly. Rainbow raised an eyebrow, trying to remember where she was and how she got here. Ok, so I was home. Then I went to the library. I got Daring Do, then… what? I ended up in this trashy hospital with Twilight somehow… must have been an awesome party. Wish I could remember it. She let out a dejected sigh and fell back down into the bed with a soft clunk.

Twilight’s eyes shot open at the small sound, and she immediately sat up. “Rainbow Dash! You’re awake! Are you ok? Oh Dash, I’m so sorry about all that! I didn’t see you after you hit the tree, I didn’t know how hard you hit and I-“

“Whoa whoa whoa, slow down, Twi! What happened? How did I get here?”

Twilight stared at her for a moment, eyes wide. “…You don’t remember?”

Rainbow Dash slowly shook her head. “Last thing I remember I was at the library getting another Daring Do book. How did I end up in the hospital?”

Twilight looked at Rainbow in disbelief. “Rainbow, you’re not in the hospital, you’re on an airship. Remember? I left with West and Misty? The two who came into the library when you were upstairs? When I left you followed us out and-“

“-head butted a tree. Gotcha” Rainbow Dash finished, nodding slightly. She looked at her bed sheets for a moment before allowing her head to fall backwards in the pillow. She remained silent for a moment before rolling onto her side. “You’re a bucking idiot for doing all this, by the way”

Twilight slid back into the chair she had been sleeping on and looked at the floor. The two sat in silence for a few minutes. When Twilight broke the silence, it was barely above a whisper. “I’m really sorry, Rainbow, I just… I wanted to do something new. I know I rushed into this, but I just haven’t been doing anything interesting." The unicorns voice began to crack as she spoke. "I wanted to do something exciting… First day out and I almost gave my best friend a concussion…” She blinked a tear out of her eye, only to have it be replaced with more. Rainbow lifted her head to look at Twilight, but swiftly returned to the wall when she saw her tears. They couldn't meet each other’s eyes for the longest time. The only sounds where the creaking of the hull, the soft thumping of the engine, and the small unicorn’s sniffles.

Ah, hell. Now you’ve done it Dash. Rainbow thought. She continued staring at the wall for a few minutes, trying to ignore the sounds of her best friend crying. It didn’t work. She turned over in her bed and stared at the ceiling. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’ m just… A lot happened today, yanno?” Rainbow Dash said quietly. The sniffling stopped. Rainbow looked up just in time to see Twilight diving on her to give her a tight hug. She recoiled for a moment before smiling slightly and hugging her back.

“I’m so sorry” Twilight said quietly.

Rainbow Dash smiled beside herself. This pony really takes things hard. When they broke the embrace, Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “I agreed to come with you, didn’t I?” At Twilights nod, she began to laugh. It started as a giggle, but quickly escalated to a body shaking guffaw that could be heard across the ship. Twilight could only stare at her friend in concern as the pegasus rolled in the bed, laughing like a mad pony.

"...Are you alright Dash?"

Rainbow Dash nodded enthusiastically, barely able to speak between gasps of air. "Never better."

Twilight sat there a moment, waiting for Rainbow to say more, but no explanation came. "So... What's so funny?"

Rainbow Dash stat up a bit straighter and looked at Twilight with bright eyes. "We're going on an adventure!"

Twilight only nodded slightly, putting on an unconvincing smile. She had no idea why Rainbow Dash had seemingly forgotten all suspicion against the crew, but she certainly didn't want to remind her of it. If Rainbow wanted to come along, it was all the better in Twilight's mind.

“Sparky came in earlier and said dinner was going to be served at 6:20 or so, so I think we should get washed up.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and motioned toward the salve on her forehead. “You go ahead Twi, I’ll be out in a minute. Just need to get this green goop off of me.”

Twilight smiled, this time genuinely, and happily trotted back out into the hallway. This just got a lot more interesting, Twilight mused to herself. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she nearly ran into Sparky, who was coming out of the door to the left of the staircase.

“Oh, sorry about that Miss. Sparkle,” the stallion apologized as he backed up, straightening the covered platter he held on his back and pushing his flight goggles higher onto his forehead. “Sounds like our patient is awake. And lively, if the laughter is any indication.”

Twilight smiled and nodded knowingly. “I’d say she’s feeling better, yes. She’d like to come to dinner tonight too, if there’s enough to go around.”

Sparky gave her a warm smile. “I’m not about to let a sick mare go hungry, Miss. Sparkle. There’s plenty to go around. Always is. Go ahead and take a seat at the table. Dining room is the last door at the end of the hallway.” Twilight nodded her thanks before continuing her prance to the dining room.

Opening the door Sparky had pointed to, Twilight was awed by the room before her. The dining room was positioned in the bow of the ship, with the enormous glass panel she had seen earlier giving an incredible panoramic view of the land below. The room was surprisingly large, too, for the walls curved with the sides of the ship, indicating it traced the entire width of the vessel. These walls were lined with ornate paintings from exotic locations, and glass cases displayed foreign artifacts and antiquities that Twilight didn’t have names for. A gold chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating the room in a warm glow. A long wooden table ran down the center of the room, with a dozen aging red velvet chairs lined along its edges. A white tablecloth was set across the table, along with tarnished silver utensils that gleamed shades of gold in the ambient candle light.

“Ah, just in time!” Twilight turned to see West adjusting a table setting. “I was starting to think that you wouldn’t be eating with us.”

“I’m glad I didn't sleep through it, this room is amazing!” she responded, still admiring her surroundings.

“Yup. For such a small ship, Sparky keeps us well accommodated. I think you’ll find it comfortable enough on board. Is your pegasus friend going to be joining us?”

Twilight nodded. “She should be here in a moment. She’s making a fast recovery, to say at the least.” Behind West, Misty trotted in and sat down at one corner of the table without greeting either of them.

A few minutes later, Sparky walked in balancing a large covered silver platter on his back and a bowl on his forehead.

“Dinners on!” he said to the assembled ponies.

Twilight chose a seat on one end of the table across from West, and Sparky promptly sat down next to her. Misty abandoned her isolated seat in favor of one next to West, who shot her a smile as she did so. “Dig in, everypony!” Sparky announced as he removed the cover from the silver platter, revealing the delicacy below. “Eggplant Parmesan, enjoy!”

Twilight gasped at the plate as the others began to load their own plates with a slice of the delicacy.

“Something wrong, Twilight?” Sparky asked, noticing her surprise.

“No, no, not at all. I haven’t eaten like this since I lived in Canterlot! Who cooked this?” Twilight said as she hungrily began to shovel some of the food onto her plate.

Before anypony could answer her, the dining room door swung open as Rainbow Dash walked in. West immediately lowered his fork and looked at her. “There she is. How are you feeling Miss…” he trailed off, realizing he didn’t know her name.

“Dash” Rainbow finished for him. “And I’m fine, thanks.” She smiled at Twilight as she spoke.

Misty froze mid bite. Putting down her fork, she looked at the cyan pegasus as if she had turned into solid gold.

“Miss. Dash,” he nodded. “I’m afraid we never got properly introduced when you first… arrived.” Sparky rolled his eyes at West’s choice of words.

Rainbow Dash broke eye contact, rubbing a hoof on the floor awkwardly. “Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I wasn’t thinking very clearly back there.”

“I’m sorry, what did you say your name was again?” Everypony in the room fell silent and looked at Misty as she spoke.

“Uhh… Rainbow Dash?” the pegasus answered slowly, looking suspiciously at Misty.

“Rainbow Dash?” Misty repeated, eyes widening. Rainbow Dash nodded, still not understanding the green mare’s angle. Misty’s  muzzle was split by an enormous smile. “Oh, Celestia I don’t believe it!” She seemed to be giddy with excitement, much to the confusion of all the others in the room. “I mean, you looked familiar, but I didn’t even think… Do you remember me? We went to flight school together! I was cheering you on when you did your first Sonic Rainboom! I’ve been trying to track you down for years now to catch up; I can’t believe you were in Ponyville that whole time! That’s amazing! I was so jealous of you in school; you were, like, my idol! I mean, I had two years on you, but still! I still remember this one time where, um… uhh…” Misty looked around the room to the others, who were snickering at her rant. She sank slowly back into her seat, blushing profusely.

“I didn’t realize you knew Miss. Dash,” Sparky said, failing to hide an amused chuckle.

“Yeah, you’ve never so much as mentioned her before now,” West added in.

Misty, having already regained her composure, sat up straight in her seat. “Yeah, I just… didn’t have any reason to tell you before.” She resumed eating, desperately trying to move past her gushing. The stallions continued to snicker until a death glare from Misty silenced them.

Rainbow Dash beamed as she looked over the room, and stood up a bit straighter than she had a moment ago. I do make a pretty awesome idol, don’t I? She thought. With a new sense of belonging, Rainbow walked over and sat down across the table from Misty and began to talk with her.

Twilight leaned over to Sparky, who was grinning at the mares' change in behavior. “You’d be surprised how easy it is to win Rainbow Dash’s trust,” Twilight whispered.

“Appears that way. She’s in good company though; I’ve never seen Misty talk so much in all the years I’ve known her.”

Twilight nodded as she began to eat. “What’s her job on board anyway? I haven’t actually seen her do anything yet.”

“She’s with us as a guide. Considering we’re likely headed into unexplored territory, she could prove invaluable.” The brown stallion cut a small edge off his dish and took a bite, politely wiping his mouth before continuing.  “She’s an explorer for hire, a real life Daring Do, really.”

Twilight smiled between bites. “You know Daring Do is a grave robber in those books, right?”

Sparky turned to the unicorn and gave her a mischievous wink. “Yes I do.”

“Oh, I see” Twilight glanced at the mare across the table with rejuvenated curiously. She was still talking with Rainbow Dash, occasionally taking a large forkful of food before resuming her excited chattering. Beside her was West, who was picking at his plate halfheartedly while listening intently to the mares beside him. “And what’s West’s job?”

The brown stallion shrugged passively. “He’s technically a passenger, but he makes himself useful enough.”

Twilight looked back in surprise. “He’s not a crew member? What’s he doing on board?”

Sparky paused in thought before answering. “Best you ask him yourself, I think.” Twilight eyed Sparky but did not press the matter. While unsettled by not knowing who he was, it was simply too late to investigate. Good food and a warm bed where priority now.

<<<<<>>>>>

After diner, the crew filed out of the dining room and went their separate ways. Sparky said his goodnights and retreated into a doorway marked ‘captain’, while Misty walked into the kitchen with the dirty dishes.

West stayed behind with Rainbow Dash and Twilight and led them into the main hallway at the base of the stairs. “You can take any cot you want here, unless it’s labeled otherwise,” he said, motioning towards the walls of bunk beds. “Take your pick, I’ll be back in a second to blow out the candles.” With that, the stallion disappeared behind the infirmary door.

Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other.

“…Top bunk!”

“Top bu- damn it!” Rainbow said angrily. The blue pegasus mumbled something about reflexes while Twilight smiled and hopped onto the top of the nearest bunk bed.

“You know there are seven other beds in here, right Rainbow?” Twilight asked, peeking out from her raised cot.

Rainbow Dash looked up at her with a grin. “Oh yeah, huh?” Dash looked up and down the row before hopping onto the one in front of Twilight’s chosen bed. Looking to her left, Rainbow saw that the bed across from hers had been replaced with a small hammock. A wooden sign with a compass rose hung behind it, with all letters except the ‘W’ removed. Must be West’s bunk Rainbow thought as she got comfortable in her new bed.

A minute later, the orange stallion returned to the hallway with his jacket slung over his shoulder and his strange sheath lying across his back. He made his way towards his hammock, blowing out candles as he walked. When he got to the end, he tossed the jacket to the deck below his bunk and the sheath onto the wall. West fell into his hammock with a grunt, swinging it slightly with his weight. Wriggling for a moment to get comfortable, he let out a sigh and closed his eyes sleepily.

Rainbow looked up and down the hallway. She had seen Sparky walking to his quarters, Twilight and West were in their beds, but where was her new fan? Did Misty not sleep in here? As if on cue, the green pegasus walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway, her hiking khakis replaced by loose fitting pajamas. Oh, I should try and get a bunk with her! That’d be awesome! We could talk all night! Rainbow leaned over to ask Misty, but paused as she saw her approach West’s hammock.

“Why do you never leave any room for me?” Misty asked playfully.

West smiled, eyes still shut. “It’s hard to leave room in a hammock, Misty.”

The mare smiled back and jumped into the hammock with the stallion, pressing herself against his side and spreading her wings over him gently. “Night everypony!” she said in an uncharacteristically chipper voice as she blew the last candle out.

Rainbow only stared at the couple slack jawed. …Wut?