Insomnia Most Pleasant

Four phony protrusions sat on the drying rack as the super glue took its sweet time to cure. By sunrise, they will have hardened into properly bony illusions.

The negotiations went smoothly. The royal pegasisters will share the sofa and comfort each other with hopeful lies over their mother's fate. Hitch, appropriately enough, would get the stallion stall once it was cleaned out. Sunny would take the far end of Izzy’s bed, which supposedly was “big enough for all of us if we were willing to cuddle.”

“Girls,” Izzy’s voice spoke out, “let’s help Hitch clean the stall I’ve used as my closet.” She specified, “Sunny and Zipp, help me pull,” as she grabbed a trio of rope harnesses. “Pipp, I need you to spot us and check alignments while Hitch pushes.”

Sunny and Zipp assembled themselves to flank Izzy’s sides while Pipp cantered up the stairs onto the interior balcony for a pegasus view. Hitch made his way through the clearing and braced himself between the far wall and the contraption of hardwood and heavy metal.

“Just what is this thing?” he asked.

Izzy proudly shook her shoulders between her new friends, “Industrial sewing machine.”

Everypony rolled their eyes and soon prepared themselves to pull (or, in the case of Hitch, push).

As the ropes grew taught, Sunny found herself rubbing shoulders with Izzy the same way that she would flirt with Hitch. If she pressed herself directly into Izzy after they finished the pull, would Izzy feel the same way? Would she gently diffuse the moment like Hitch? Why am I feeling this way about a mare? Or somepony at all who isn’t Hitch? she thought. It must be from our anticipatory snorting into the same pool of air, she continued her attempt at reason.

“Ready…” Izzy’s voice broke Sunny free of her romantic ruminations as Sunny felt Izzy’s shoulder tense up next to her own tense shoulder. “Pull!”

Three mares strained on the wooden floor as Hitch attempted to push them forward.

“STOP!”

Everypony relaxed and stared at Zipp.

“I need to trade places with Izzy,” she said.

“You just want the best spot, don’t you?” Izzy teased.

“I, I should have caught that,” called a soft overhead voice. Pipp continued, “I’m usually the star, not the spotter.”

A confused silence followed.

“Even though we cannot fly, our bodies are still adapted for flight,” Zipp attempted to explain.

The room remained equally quiet at the unsuccessful explanation.

Zipp hesitated while she ran the numbers. Were these new friends truly trustworthy? More pressingly, if they told the truth to one of their friends, would it spread and be used to harm the pegasi?

“Are you? Are you okay?” Izzy nuzzled Zipp cheek-to-cheek.

Zipp gently exhaled into Izzy’s nostrils before she finished her explanation. “Don’t tell anypony this until all our breeds can peacefully live amongst each other,” she prefaced. “The hind legs of a pegasus are extremely weak to torsion. The old books say that the bones are hollow to save on weight. Our front legs have extra-dense bones to support the added weight of wing muscles when we gallop on the ground.”

“So if we’re pulling three abreast—especially on this wood—we mares with solid bones back there need to steer,” said Sunny.

Two pegasus mouths hung open in surprise at an earth pony independently piecing together the next part of secret pegasus anatomical knowledge.

“Trust me, Sunny knows far more than just two things about pulling heavy loads,” Hitch said with a shrug.

With that settled, Izzy switched harnesses with Zipp; the three mares again readied themselves to pull.

Sunny then noticed the difference in the feel of feathers on fur. Unlike Izzy’s or Hitch’s coats constantly brushing against her own, it felt like the wind was pressing against her side with the force of a muscular mare without disturbing her mane when Zipp moved a millimeter ahead of Sunny. When Sunny stepped forward, Zipp’s wing ensnared the tips of the hairs of her hide all along her left side, pulling them back. As they made slow progress, Sunny wondered what Izzy would taste in Zipp’s luminescence. Wintergreen? Peppermint? Ice crush? Mountain X Stream Blast?

The cleared closet reverted to its original purpose; Izzy gave some final bedtime instructions to her gathered guests.

“If you need a shower, the bathroom with the working shower is the door immediately to your left as you step into my bedroom. Zipp, you should have no problem sneaking in without waking me if you need it overnight. If any of you get hungry for a nighttime snack, please help yourself to the overgrown grazing patch out back. It’s built to feed four but I—” her ears flattened and voice dropped “—live alone.”

The ponies grabbed their respective saddlebags and began to make their way to their respective sleeping quarters. Hitch closed the bottom half of the door to his stall to keep watch over the pegasi for intruders. The royal sisters made their way to the sofa, placed their bags down, and used each other as a pillow. Sunny followed Izzy up the stairs to the mystery door.

Inside was not a bedroom. Rather, Izzy’s suite contained a full studio apartment. Yes, the bed truly could fit the four mares—probably Hitch, too, if they all cuddled. However, the second table with an unused tea set as well as the sink under the window opposite the bed caught Sunny’s eye.

Sunny looked over to Izzy, then back to the tea set, and hugged her neck around Izzy’s. Izzy froze, returned the embrace, and cautiously nibbled at Sunny’s withers. Meaning and intent were plain for anypony, should the walls have turned transparent, to see once Sunny returned the favor.

Seconds passed in appreciative silence.

“Would you like some bedtime tea?” Asked Izzy.

“Do, do you have something to calm me down? Pulling that sewing machine worked me up.”

Izzy reared and opened cabinets to either side of the sink.