Salvation | Rebirth

Everyone was tired after the intensity of tag, each spotting a sheen of sweat and a dusting of dirt and grime. And now, naturally, everyone wanted to get clean, especially since they all planned to sleep together eventually. No one was looking forward to feeling hard particles of dirt stuck somewhere they should never be, after all. However, there was one issue - there was only one shower, it was outside, and the water was cold.

"Oieeeeeeeee!" Lina yelled shamelessly as she jumped away from positively freezing-feeling water, "Fuck is that cold! Sure we're not in winter yet?"

"It's not that bad," Swingblade rolled his eyes, stepping under the shower, only to immediately shudder and step back, "Okay, it's, uh, a bit bad," then his eyes widened comically and he started jumping around, "Really bad!"

"Got some ball freeze, huh?" Pebbles teased, getting under the shower and barely shivering, "I mean yeah, it's cold, but not that cold."

Soon after, everyone grew brave enough to get under the shower and quickly yet also thoroughly get all the sweat and dirt off themselves. Swingblade had to be almost dragged there, then kept under it as both Precision and Pebbles scrubbed him with a pair of brushes they found.

It turned out that ponies tended to shower and bathe together quite frequently, and it was not at all out of the ordinary for them to help each other get clean. Wild found it odd, even though it made perfect sense. He, however, was fairly certain he would not want the same for himself. He was patiently waiting for others to be done first, making no move to add himself to the group. Artful was, likewise, standing apart. Wild wondered why he didn't want to join, but he decided not to ask, suspecting that it could be related to Artful's own past. Whatever the case was, it wouldn't be right for Wild to bother him - after all, no one was bothering Wild about his own unwillingness to join in, which he was grateful for.

Once the foursome of Swingblade, Precision, Pebbles, and Lina were done with showering and went inside the cabin - with Lina promising to start on the fire - it was Wild's turn. He gestured invitingly for Artful, and the pegasus did not hesitate to join in. The memories of the morning resurfaced in Wild's mind, making him blush, though he knew he would never be willing to have a repeat of it where anyone could see. Besides, the temperature of the water was not conducive to it anyway. Wild shivered a bit, but it wasn't the worst he had ever had. Artful, however, let out an audible if quiet gasp once water touched him.

"O-oh, it is a bit... cold," he said.

Wild just shrugged, lifting a brush in his magical grasp and silently offering to get Artful clean and do it quickly. Artful nodded, and Wild got to work, making sure not a speck of dirt remained on Artful's fur. He got into the job so well no sexual thought entered his brain. He briefly noted that Artful had seemed to put on just a bit of muscle, though not much for it to truly show visibly.

While they did have to work quickly since the water’s temperature didn’t allow for a long and pleasant soak, Wild didn’t mind that. Naturally, this whole issue could easily be solved by going back to the dorms and taking a nice warm shower there, but it would, unsurprisingly, defeat the entire point of being at the cabin.

As Wild worked, he thought about how far along things have come for him in the past few weeks. He went from being alone to having a partner, and he had sex, which was something he didn’t think he would ever have. In truth, it felt liberating to allow someone else access to his body in this way, to know that there was no intention of harm. Having done that, now Wild felt more in control than possibly ever before, and the pleasures that became accessible to him were a nice bonus as well.

Wild continued to wonder whether he was going too far and too fast, but it appeared Artful did not mind it at all. This pace was, perhaps, not what he would ever have with another human, but it was apparently not all that unusual for ponies, at least as far as Wild was aware.

"So... how's it going, s-so far?" Artful asked, still shivering under the water, interrupting Wild’s thoughts, "I noticed y-you had... something on your mind."

"...It is nothing bad," Wild said after a short moment of consideration. He didn’t voice his thoughts about relationships and his life, knowing it was, possibly, maybe, a conversation for later, when they were all alone, with a proper amount of time set aside for this conversation. Then he thought about Swingblade and what he had learned about him. He decided not to reveal it, not to talk over accidental exposure that happened between the two of them, as well as a hint that Swingblade could have asked Wild out if he wasn’t in a relationship already. It wasn’t all that important, Wild considered, and he also didn’t know whether Swingblade wanted others to know he was into stallions as well as mares. Wild could see that it could be embarrassing after all the words Swingblade said about mares, seemingly doing his best to assert that he liked mares and mares only. Honestly speaking, Wild had his own relationship to worry about, and what others did or didn’t do or wanted to do or didn’t want to do, and so on and so forth, none of it was his business, truly, and not what he needed to spend his time and energy on. Swingblade's sexuality and whatever he did with it wasn't something he needed to worry about, and so he wouldn't. In the end, he said, "I am doing alright. It is all... nice."

Wild was not lying either. While he was still somewhat fearful, anxiety simmering somewhere deep within, nested so firmly that he couldn't dislodge it, only prevent it from erupting and poisoning his mind into either frozen inaction or thoughtless action, he still had everything more or less under control. This anxiety was not enough for him to abandon the sleepover and hide in his bed. He was staying, and he could trust himself not to mess things up, at least for the most part, and he could trust those with him not to mess things up, at least on purpose.

There were a lot of doubts, he realized, but it was not something he could help. He needed to keep those possibilities in mind, just in case they turned from possibilities to reality, and then he wouldn't be caught with his metaphorical pants down. Unpredictable things generally didn't seem to go well for him, so it was truly in his best interest to be attentive and wary.

Despite the mess on the inside of his head, he had actually thoroughly enjoyed the game of tag, allowing himself to feel, for a blissfully long while, like a child again. Even though his early memories of playing with other children were marred by his own anger at losing, and he was a sore loser then, there was still some form of nostalgia that he felt about it all. And now, he had relived it but without the burdens of the past, and he also won, or at least didn’t lose, so that made it all easier to bear too.

Artful accepted his answer, and soon enough Wild had finished brushing all the dirt out of his fur.

“Would you like me to do you too?” Artful asked, and Wild, after a pause, nodded.

Artful used his mouth to grab the long handle of the brush, then started working on Wild. Wild was still surprised by the fact that ponies just used their mouths to grab things and use them, and seeing Artful’s neck move made him feel a bit odd. However, he let Artful do it, safe in the knowledge that he wouldn’t take advantage of this.

Wild knew perfectly well Artful desired him, and that had certainly proven to be true that morning and the day before. He was still amazed at the fact that it happened, that he liked it, and that Artful liked it too. Perhaps he was not hopeless when it came to that sort of thing. He could now more clearly see the fact - and not just a thought - that he was desirable, at least physically. He... didn't quite know how to feel about that in general, but he was pleased when it came to Artful liking him specifically. It was just another thing he would have to deal with.

Not long after, both of them were clean. They shook off the excess water and trotted into the cabin, where the rest of the group had already made the fire going. It was still a bit chilly on the inside, however, and so everyone was gathered in front of the fireplace, bunched up together. Artful joined them first, and then Wild settled down by Artful’s side, on the outside of the group.

“Come on, get warmer!” Swingblade complained, still shivering.

“I do wish I learned the warming spell,” Precision nodded, “Seriously, each time winter comes, I want to do it, but I just forget.”

Wild took a mental note to look up the warming spell for himself. He would not forget. He had experienced enough cold for a lifetime, let alone two.

Precision snatched a piece of a dry log from a pile of them, opened the fireplace door, and chucked it inside. The group stayed in front of the fireplace as it slowly but surely heated up the cabin, chatting about essentially nothing. Wild simply enjoyed the sensation of warming up, as well as feeling Artful’s body against his. So far, he didn’t regret his proposition for a sleepover, although a part of him still wished he hadn’t done it. It was a vague feeling of regret that didn't quite materialize properly. After all, he could have spent this day differently, perhaps by himself, or perhaps with Artful. His thoughts drifted towards his partner, and he realized he wanted more of him. Whether it was a deep-seated sort of desperation for companionship and pleasure or a simple natural desire, he didn’t know. However, one thing was clear - if it was just him and Artful for days on end, he wouldn’t mind it overly much. They would spend time discovering each other, in mind and in body. Wild did not show it outwardly, certainly not know, but he desperately hoped things would work out between the two of them so he would not be alone.

Once all the ponies warmed up, Precision declared it was time for a game.

“So,” she started, setting a simple board game on top of a table, “This is ‘Don’t Wake Daddy’. We are a bunch of siblings at night-”

“That’d be weirdly incestuous,” Pebbles commented, earning a hard nudge from Precision and a bit of a giggle from Lina. Wild huffed slightly, the corners of his mouth twitching upward, Swingblade's face twisted into a grimace, and Artful was somewhere between that and outright laughing.

“-and we need to get to the cookie jar,” Precision continued as if Pebbles hadn’t spoken, “And we gotta be careful not to wake daddy. If he wakes up, he’ll bring whoever woke him up back to bed.”

It was a simple game of moving from tile to tile until the finish. The order of players was decided by their age, from youngest to oldest. A spinner decided what color of the tile the player would go to, and different tile colors corresponded to different effects. There was a purple star - if the player got it, they would get on the tile in front of the leader, and if they were the leader, they would have to spin again. Each player was also assigned a card, and if the color of the card matched the color of the tile they got on, they were safe. Otherwise, they would have to imitate a noise from a list of them in the game, and then press a certain number of times on the alarm clock next to the daddy’s bed, which was in the center of the board. With enough presses, the alarm would ring, and the daddy would spring up, thus sending the one who made him wake up to the starting point.

“It’s one of my favorite games,” Precision admitted, “So, fess up the ages, everyone.”

It was no doubt that Lina was the youngest, so she would go first. Next was, to some grumbling, Swingblade. After that, it was Pebbles, then Precision - and, funnily enough, the difference in their ages was just a couple of weeks - then it was Artful and, finally, Wild. He didn’t share his birth date, but he was certainly the oldest of them all in mental age and possibly in physical age, and definitely chronologically.

Lina spun the spinner, landing on yellow. She made her move, and this tile was safe. Then Swingblade spun, landing on-

“Oh no!” he said, moving his piece to the tile. A hoof scuffle, two presses on the alarm clock. He pressed once, pressed twice, then sighed in relief.

Pebbles spun, got yellow, and was safe. Precision spun and got-

“Aw yeah, purple star!” she moved her piece in front of Swingblade’s, “See ya later!”

Artful was next and got green. It was four presses on the alarm clock button. Triumphant in expression, he showed his card - which was also green.

Wild then got to his turn, finally, and landed on the purple star. With a small smirk in Precision’s direction, he placed his piece right in front of her as she pouted.

Wild knew it was just a children’s game, but it was fun. Or, at least, amusing, as they had to take turns to imitate the sounds.

“SQUAK!” Swingblade yelled with a smile on his face when he landed on yellow and got a rubber duck.

“Pffbt,” Lina sounded when she landed on a fart.

“B-dishh!” Artful vocalized, then had to press four times on the alarm clock. One, two, three-

Daddy sprung up.

“Ah well,” Artful smiled, resetting the daddy and going back to the start.

Wild had some trouble with being loud enough, but he too had fun imitating all those sounds, briefly forgetting that he ever had issue with speaking. He got fully into the game, invested in his own victory, though he still felt a bit bad when he got a purple star again and had to go right in front of Artful.

The game ended with Lina getting to the cookie jar first.

“My cookies, suckers!” she proclaimed to some friendly booing from the others, “I’m gonna eat them all! I’ll eat them up!”

For a short while, everyone simply made silly noises at each other after the game’s end. Pebbles was annoying Swingblade by popping with her mouth while Lina was making little farting noises. The somewhat chaotic scene even made Wild giggle, which helped him relax further. Everything was going well, as far as he was concerned, and he was actually having genuine fun. There was certainly no more regret that he had proposed the sleepover.

The next game was Artful’s, and Wild remembered it - it was the same game about escaping from the castle and an assassin that Wild and Artful first played together seemingly a lifetime ago, and it was another race to he finish line.

“Oh, come on!” Pebbles complained when her dice throw sent her around the first area of the game for the third time while everyone else was already in the second one.

“Going round round, going round round,” Precision teased her.

Eventually, Pebbles managed to get out without getting caught by the assassin, although she would have to be lucky to catch up to others. Swingblade was in the lead, quite certain of his victory.

Only to fail at getting high enough dice throw five times in a row as everyone else caught up to him, and half the group overcoming him.

“Stupid dice, roll!” he groaned in frustration as he got a one.

They continued the game into the evening, and soon the sun was setting. The fireplace had heated up the cabin until it was a bit more than pleasantly warm, and the group started growing sleepy, yawning here and there.

“Dunno about y’all, but I’m done,” Lina said after they finished the game, “Sleepy time for me.”

“Yeah,” Swingblade said, letting out a big and loud yawn, “That was fun, but yeah, gotta sleep.”

“So, what’s the arrangement?” Precision asked, “Pile, spoon stack?”

“...spoon stack?” Wild asked, and Precision looked at him as if he asked what the grass was.

“Y’know what spooning is, right?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“Alright. Peebs, let’s show him what’s what,” she said. Pebbles and Precision then lay down on the bed, with Pebbles hugging Precision, with Precision’s back to Pebbles, “Alright, so this is spooning. Peebs is the big spoon, I am the little spoon. Spoon stack is just more than two people doing this at the same time.”

Wild nodded slowly in understanding.

“...I think a pile,” he settled on saying. He probably wouldn’t particularly mind being hugged from behind by Artful or the other way around, but he wanted a bit more freedom of movement than being sandwiched between two ponies or anything of the sort.

Soon enough, everyone was together on the bed. Artful was lying on his stomach, Wild pressed to one of his sides, and one of Artful’s wings was draped over him. Lina settled next to Wild, though not so close as to restrict him. Precision and Pebbles were spooning, just slightly separate from the other three, and Swingblade settled right in the center and had almost immediately fallen asleep, his wings spread wide and covering both Pebbles and Lina.

Wild found himself slowly drifting off to the sounds of the breaths of others, and a smile spread on his face. The day had gone by well, he had enjoyed it, and he could go to sleep knowing everything was alright. Perhaps he wouldn’t mind repeating the experience again someday in the future.

For a moment, he wondered if this was how normal people felt like all the time. However, before he could dwell on it too much for his own good, he was sound asleep.