Creaking wagon wheels broke against the soft breeze and rustling summer leaves. The dirt of the winding forest road crunched beneath the cart - as did it under the hooves of the ponies traveling alongside it. A bright blue stallion pulled it, the harness strapped tightly around body and digging into his soft barrel. Every now and then, his horn lit up as he heaved the cart over pot holes in the road, the wooden carriage and the contents within tumbling from the force.
The mare beside him glanced over at the cart, then to him, eyeing the stallion through her sunglasses. "I can take over again if you want," she said sweetly, seeing drops of sweat roll off the stallion's forehead.
"No, I got it," he replied, his voice calm and deep, though a pant escaped his lungs.
"You sure?" the mare replied, cocking an eyebrow.
"You did the last mile. It's my turn now," he affirmed. He turned his head, taking a moment to admire the sight of her. Her pink body radiated among the green leaves around them, and her bright rosy mane blew in the soft breeze. Underneath the dark tinted glasses, he could make out her green eyes, catching whenever she glanced over at him. Briefly, his own eyes wandered down her body, following her midriff and reaching her flank. Befitting her name, the image of a bright pink flower adorned it.
"I just don't want you to be exhausted when we get there," she told him, turning to face his gaze fully, a small smirk on her lips.
"What? Are you implying I'm out of shape?" he chuckled, another pant escaping him. He huffed in an attempt to hide it, just making it worse. "...whatever, we're almost there. Just a couple more bends in the road."
The mare smirked and nudged him in the side. "I'm not saying anything, Cobalt. I mean... I would be a little surprised that you're not in shape if you do this regularly."
Cobalt snorted. "Climb around in caves you mean? No no, Peach - that doesn't happen on the regular. I do lab studies more than field studies," he said.
Peach Blossom nodded slowly, her eyes briefly glancing towards his flank, the image of a shimmering blue rock and magnifying glass decorating his hips. "So, why did you want to take me here?" she asked him.
"Because exploring caves is fun, even if you're not looking for rocks. And I think you would like it too."
"Oh yeah? Just because I have to chase down rowdy foals through cramped play places in the school yard?" she teased.
Cobalt chuckled. "Because I know you like traveling. Why not travel into what's essentially a whole other world, located just beneath our hooves?"
Peach Blossom puckered her lips and nodded in understanding. "A dangerous world too, I've heard."
"Only if you don't know what you're doing. I've been to this place once before. For first-time spelunkers you would rent an instructor to keep you safe and teach you the very basics. But you've got me for that," he shone, proudly sticking out his chest.
Peach shot him a big smile. They continued down the path, bracing against the cart as they made their way down a slope. The caving gear in the wagon rustled with metallic and plastic thuds.
"Since you've been to this place before?" Peach asked. "Doesn't that make a return trip... like, less special?"
Cobalt's eyes glimmered. "There were plenty of tunnels I didn't head into - and there are also plenty of passages beyond the most accessible routes. Many have not been completely documented.
Like he had hoped, Peach's curiosity was being piqued. "You hoping to find some shiny rocks for your geology project?" she asked, peeking over her sunglasses and letting Cobalt see her piercing green eyes in all their glory.
"Perhaps. That's the beauty of it. You never really know what you'll find deep under the earth." He smiled as he saw the glimmer of excitement in her eyes as well.
Before Peach Blossom knew it, they were already in the caves. As she and Cobalt wandered alone through some low-ceiling tunnels, her excitement steadily grew stronger. Sure, unpacking and gearing up with the plethera of equipment they had brought had been quite the task - helmets with attached headlamps, additional headlamps fastened in rubber straps, thin jackets, a harness strapped across the chest and back for rope attachment and high steel-tipped boots that reached up to her hocks. And, of course, a big, sealed bag for water bottles and home-made sandwiches - they were planning to stay down under the earth for a good while.
Her coltfriend had been right - under here, it was an entirely different world. She had already stopped multiple times to gawk at stalactites hanging near the beaten path, shining at them with her headlamp. When Cobalt showed her an entrance to the less-explored routes, a dark crawlspace leading into complete darkness, she'd gotten antsy and had let him crawl through first. She hadn't considered herself a claustrophobic mare, but these caves were quite something different. Soon enough however, she had gathered her courage, having gotten down on her elbows and crawled after him until they reached a larger chamber, now truly hidden away from the outside world.
Peach Blossom wandered around, the tapping of her steel-tipped boots echoing through the dark tunnels. She took a breath and let out a soft 'woop!' - listening as her voice bounced through the darkness. Cobalt trotted up to her and wrapped his foreleg around her, giving her fuzzy comfort.
"Well?"
"This is exciting!" she said, cuddling up closer to him. "Found any cool rocks yet?"
"Maybe further down," he said, hugging her.
And further down they went, finding the charted path leading deeper underground, all the way to a steep drop that had been crudely fenced off. They anchored their ropes to some steel pegs by the cliff edge, feeding them down into the depths. This time, Peach Blossom volunteered to go first, steeling herself and lowering herself down among the rocks.
Reaching the bottom after just thirty feet, she was all giddy. She shone her headlamp into the passages and tunnels all around her, barely able to wait for Cobalt to rappel down and join her side. "There is so much space to explore!" she said, trotting in place, trying to decide where to go first.
"Heh, eenie-meenie-miney-mo," her coltfriend teased, earning him an elbow in the side.
"I'll 'mo' this one!" she said, pointing at a narrow crawlspace in the wall and trotting up to it. It wasn't a tunnel this time around, but merely a gap in a thinner section of the wall. Rock being rock, the wall held sturdy as she stuck her head and shoulders through, actually needing to wriggle around to fit inside. There was a chamber on the other side, lower in ceiling than the previous spaces, but still spacious enough to stand in. Looking around, something caught her eye, a sparkle along the far wall. Curious, she wriggled forward further through the gap, feeling the rock suddenly pinch her hips. She grunted and wiggled around, trying to find an angle to clear the gap.
Cobalt took his time, hanging back and watching her crawl through, his eyes unbashfully running over her well-developed flanks. He watched as her legs flexed and pushed against the rock floor, pressing her soft behind against the rocks enveloping her. Soon enough, she found enough purchase to push herself through all the way. Rolling over and getting back up on her hooves, she panted and wiped her brow, watching as Cobalt peeked his head through the gap.
"Looks a little tight, this one," he said, also sticking his forelegs through and wiggling his shoulders into place.
"You didn't seem very keen on helping me," Peach said, scraping her boot across the floor.
"Just because you get held up I'm not gonna assume you're stuck," he said, exhaling and wiggling his chest through.
"And here I thought you just wanted to enjoy the view," she said with a teasing smirk, raising herself up on her hind hooves and crossing her forelegs, leaning against the rock wall.
"Believe me, it was very nice," he smirked back. His barrel bunched up at the bottom lip of the gap. He steadied himself, exhaled and sucked it in, wiggling his middle through slowly. That part of him cleared the gap easily enough, only coming to a halt again as he had to squeeze his rear half through as well.
Peach Blossom eyed him as he worked to squeeze his way through and saw him force his belly past the gap. She always liked how a stallion looked when they were exerting themselves, and she was getting that delivered to her in spades. She bit her lip, looking at him. "H-how's it going there?" she asked.
"Ngh, this usually is the hardest part," he said, taking a short breather before pushing off with a hoof against the wall, angling himself and forcing a hip through, slipping through the rest of the way.
"Well... didn't seem so hard for you," Peach shrugged.
Cobalt got back on all fours and straightened himself with a smirk. "When you put your mind into it, you can always get through. Though maybe it's easier because I have a smaller butt?" he suggested.
Peach Blossom let out a small gasp and elbowed him in the side, her cheeks flustering slightly. "How dare you?" she said, puffing her cheeks in fake irritation.
"Oof! What, you think I'm lying?" he asked, still smirking.
"I'm just less experienced in spelunking than you."
"There's more to it than that. Having a namesake 'peach' doesn't help," he dared.
That earned another flustered huff from her - though it was the truth of it that her rear was ample and wide enough to earn that remark. Even she knew that, and a small part of her would be lying if she said she didn't like his comment. "Well, if you weren't so busy looking at my ass," she started, "maybe you would notice those crystals over there."
His look lingered on her, expecting some sort of joke or prank - but as she remained resolute he did eventually glance over, his eyes growing wide as he saw the glittering crystals along the far wall. "Woah!" he gasped, earning a hearty chuckle out of her. "Uh... guess you're right," he said bashfully. "Er, no hard feelings?"
She smiled and kissed his cheek as her answer. Cobalt returned the smile and relaxed, trotting over to the shimmering protrusions embedded into the rock. He dug through their sack of provisions and pulled up a notebook from one of the interior compartments, holding the items in his bright blue magic aura and inspecting the rocks.
"Looks like Baryte," he noted on it's white color, shining his headlamp straight on it, "though it's color seems to shift towards blue at certain points. To see something grow this close to the surface is quite fascinating..." he mumbled, growing more silent, letting the pencil speak as it danced over his notebook.
Peach Blossom on the other hand did not find his study quite as fascinating. She sighed as the minutes ticked by while her coltfriend stared and even chiseled at the crystal from various angles. Part of her was regretting that she had pointed them out to him. Shining her headlamp around, she investigated the walls around them until she noticed another tunnel leading straight downwards. Stepping up to it, she peered down and judged that the walls were generously craggy enough to be scalable.
"Hey," she called out to Cobalt. "I'm gonna head down this passage and check out what's further down. I won't be far away."
Cobalt nodded, not taking his eyes of his notes. "Okay, I'll be right with you."
Peach rolled her eyes. At least he's dedicated, she thought as she turned to the tunnel, seating herself on the edge and carefully climbing downwards, her boots firmly gripping the dry rocks. I really shouldn't mind him taking the opportunity to get some important info for his job... I just hope we can get back to the 'climbing together' part. She wasn't expecting to admit it so soon, but she was quite enjoying this spelunking.
Going a couple feet down and squeezing through a crack, she ended up in another small room. It only seemed to have one path forward, leading into a thin crawlspace. As she took a few steps towards it, her hoof somehow missed the ground and she stumbled forward. Looking back, there was a hole in the floor, going straight down. She ignored it and went up to the crawlspace, leaning down and shining her light through the gap. It went on for longer than her light could reach, and she didn't really feel encouraged to try it out without Cobalt.
Sighing she turned around and walked back, looking along the walls and the floor. Other than the crack she'd climbed down through, there was only a small hole in the low ceiling which seemed to lead back into the above room through a short tunnel. And, of course, that hole in the floor she'd stumbled over.
Peering down through it again, she saw something glittering at the bottom. More rocks, she figured, but these rocks glittered with more strength and beauty than those Baryte-like rocks Cobalt was studying above.
Peach let out a small 'ooh' at the sight. She craned her neck and shined her headlamp light around in an attempt to see more of the chamber below. She couldn't see much, but there seemed to be quite a lot of crystals down there. They weren't far away. She could climb down there and take a closer look...
Looking around once more, she decided that's what she would do. If any of those crystals were loose-fitting, she could surprise Cobalt by bringing one, two or even a couple back up to him. The issue was that the hole, like the one in the ceiling above her, looked quite narrow. Possibly narrower than the hole she and Cobalt had climbed through earlier. Still, she remembered what he had said:
When you put your mind into it, you can always get through.
Though she was not one to typically step outside her comfort zone, today was an adventurous day. She just had to put her mind to it. She seated herself down on the rock floor, stuck her legs in and pushed off the ground.
She ground to a halt right away, her butt bunching up against the edge of the hole. She huffed and wiggled around, feeling her flanks and thighs rubbing against unyielding rock. It was a bit tighter than she had anticipated... but whatever. Her rump was malleable, and she could wiggle her hips around. She just needed to work a bit.
Using gravity on her side, she steadied herself against the floor with her forelegs, leaning her torso around and kicking with her legs, trying to find purchase or an angle to budge her lower body through the tiny aperture. She did manage to slip herself just a bit further down, the pressure around her backside becoming more and more prominent. There seemed to be a particularly tough spot, an impasse, which her thigh was rubbing against.
She took a short breather, using a hoof to rub against the tiny bit of her cheeks still sticking out at the edge of the hole. "Peach-looking butt... pfft," she humored her coltfriend's remark. After a minute or so of packing her soft backside further in, she pushed down again, trying to clear the impasse again. Grunting, she leaned forward, wiggling her leg and feeling her thighs slip past the narrow parts of the rock, inching down further and further, further... further...
Cobalt's voice echoing through the tunnels broke her concentration. Her neck jerked up as she listened to him call out: "Peach? Peach? Are you down there?"
She cleared her throat, only now realizing how thirsty this extertion was getting her. "Yeah, I'm down here," she called out, looking at the small hole above her as it would carry her voice the best. Glancing down at her waist, she noted that she'd made some progress, though very limited. Feeling around with her legs, it seemed at least most of her thighs had gotten past that really narrow part. She could even feel her boot tip touch one of those crystals when she stretched her leg.
"Okay," she heard his voice call out again from above. "I'm heading down to you now. Uh, did you take this tunnel?"
She didn't know exactly which one he meant, but she figured the large, vertical tunnel behind her would be obvious enough to him. "Yeah, I did. Just climb down," she called out, continuing her struggle to see if she could reach the bottom before he got down to her. Her chances felt pretty slim - she had slipped down further, but she just couldn't squeeze her butt past the impasse. She wiggled and leaned and pushed off of any nearby surface, but it didn't help.
Again she was cut off in the midst of her struggle, this time by a yelp and the sound of something heavy sliding against rock.
Peach Blossom gasped and lurched around, trying to find the source of the sound. She imagined Cobalt had somehow hurt himself, but just then the sounds ended, followed by clattering of pebbles against her helmet. It drew her attention upwards, just in time to see a round, yellow object falling towards her face.
She swung her foreleg in reflex, knocking the object away and sending it clattering against the floor with heavy metallic and plastic thunks. It was Cobalt's helmet, the headlamp now shining uselessly into the nearby wall. Peach slowly looked up, the sheepish grin of her coltfriend slowly coming into view as he covered his eyes from her direct light.
"Ouch, uff... hey," he said in light shock.
A beat passed before Peach Blossom breathed out and chuckled in relief. "Cobalt! By Celestia, you scared me!" she said, putting a hoof to calm her beating heart.
Cobalt chuckled as well, though his voice sounded rather strained. "Heh, yeah well... you didn't tell me this crawlspace had such a steep drop," he said, trying to shuffle around.
It took a moment for her to realized it, but she saw that Cobalt had gone into the tunnel and hole right above her - not the climbing path she had taken. "Err... Cobalt? That... wasn't the tunnel I was talking about." She pointed to the crack in the wall behind her. "I meant that one."
"Huh? Ah, ohhh..." he sounded in realization. Shifting around, his shoulders slipped another inch down, coming out of the hole. "That explains it... this space seemed a little... cramped,"
"For a peach, you mean?" she attempted to joke, but it fell on flat ears as she saw him struggling to move around, his forehooves touching the ceiling and walls.
"Hngh... I-I don't think I can push myself back..." he said with more than a hint of nervosity in his voice. The moment he stopped trying to push himself up again, he slid down and got the top of his chest wedged in the hole. "Ah, crap!"
"Oh no! Are you alright?" Peach exclaimed, growing worried herself.
"Y-yeah, yeah... it's just..." Cobalt started, before taking a couple of deep breaths. "Okay... another lesson. It's important to keep a calm and clear head in... situations like these. Thinking rationally goes a long way," he said, speaking both to her and himself. He took a moment to compose himself, with Peach Blossom eyeing him up, trying not to flash him directly in the eyes with her headlamp. "So... maybe you can help me."
"Uh... how?" she asked meekly.
"Either by pushing me back up on my shoulders, or... or, you can climb up the way you came and tie a rope to my hoof or something," he suggested, keeping as still as possible.
"Oh, o-okay. I can try," Peach Blossom said, bracing against the floor and pushing herself up - or at least attempting to.
With a grunt, she felt that the progress she'd made before squeezing into the hole in the floor held her in a firm grip, the rocks clenching her hips, butt and thighs. She pushed against the ground again, harder, trying to extract herself with soft grunts through clenched teeth.
Cobalt heard her, furrowing his brow in confusion. "Uh... Peach? Are you... are you alright?"
Peach pushed more intensely against the floor, and felt the rock keep its intense grip on her lower half. After a full five or six failed attempts at freeing herself, a sinking feeling in her gut came along with the realization of the predicament she was in. She slowly looked up at Cobalt again, panting heavily from the struggle, though more so from the embarrassment and awareness of their situation.
She faced Cobalt's confused look and gulped. "I... Cobalt, I... I think I'm stuck," she mustered.
His face only expressed more confusion. "You're... wait how?" he asked. With her light in his face, it was hard to tell what was happening, but he did notice that the distance to the floor beneath him didn't correspond with his marefriend's supposed height, and that she didn't appear to move from her spot.
Peach Blossom realized this as well and leaned back, shining her light down at where her waist entered the hole in the floor. Cobalt took in the sight, holding his breath in surprise... a mistake that caused his chest to slip even further into the hole in the ceiling.
"Hupp!" he gasped in surprise, trying to hold on to anything, his breathing becoming more labored as his chest couldn't expand as far to fill his lungs with air. "D-damn..."
"Cobalt!" Peach nearly shrieked, slamming her hooves into the ground and pushing off against it. The hole held her body impossibly tight, nearly making her scream. Why?! Why can't I squeeze back up?!! the thoughts thundered in her head. Her hind legs scraped against the walls of her prison, the steel tips scraping violently against cold rock. She remained stuck.
"Peach! Peach... Peach..." Cobalt pleaded, forcing his voice to be calmer. "I'm not in danger, it's just getting kind of uncomfortable..."
"C-Cobalt... I'm trying, but I can't... I can't..." her voice caught in her throat.
"It's okay, it's okay... listen... maybe... I can..." he started, taking a moment to think before exhaling all the way and pressing his elbows against the ceiling, pushing himself further down. His chest painfully rubbed against the edges, somewhat protected by the jacket he wore, though not like that helped with the tightness any. Peach Blossom just stared at him awkwardly as he squeezed down, finally managing to get his chest all the way through and hanging limply upside down, panting. "Ah... hah... there... I did it," he panted.
"Are you okay...?" she asked, her heart drumming like raindrops on a window. Seeing him in trouble was nearly enough to make her forget about herself.
"Yeah... just needed to catch my breath," he said, rubbing his chest. "Damn that is tight." He wiggled around a bit and didn't like what he felt: if he had to suck in his barrel to fit through that previous hole, he was gonna have to do that twicefold here. He looked back down at his marefriend. "Okay, so tell me... how are you stuck?"
"There's... there was this hole in the ground," she started, feeling encouraged by him to take a breath and calm herself down. "It looked like there were more gems or crystals in there, so I tried to go down..."
"... And... you're stuck how?"
"M-my butt," she said, somehow having the awareness to feel flustered about it. "My butt is stuck. I... couldn't fit it down, and now I can't fit it back up."
Cobalt hung there, listening to her and taking it in... awkward silence lasting for a few moments. "I see... so... at least it's kind of soft, then?"
The suddenness of it got a snort out of her. "Wha- you serious?" she gasped.
He even bothered to shrug. "Eh, not really."
She grumped up. "Well, you've got to be... we're both stuck in our own little holes, and..."
"Who says I'm stuck?" he asked.
She looked up at him in disbelief. "I mean... that spot you're in looks... eh, pretty tight, in case you haven't noticed."
Cobalt looked around and then at his wedged middle. "Huh. Would you look at that?" he said, the nonchalance earning another surprised chuckle out of his marefriend. She appreciated that he could keep her in relatively high spirits. As dire as being trapped underground would normally be, he made it feel not as dire. He continued: "I mean... if you can't get out of there, I could try to squeeze down to you and pull you up."
"A-are you sure about that plan?" she asked, fruitlessly pushing against the confines of the hole again.
"Not like I have much choice otherwise... can't exactly back up, now can I?" he said. Bracing his elbows against the ceiling again, he sucked in his barrel as much as he could and started twisting his body further through the gap. If his marefriend had any qualms about the size of her derriere, he was having similar feelings towards the size of his barrel. Yes, he had let it get a bit too big in recent years, and it really came to bite him now that he was trying to stuff it through a hole too small for his frame. He sucked in a pushed, again and again, though like Peach he seemed to reach a limit for how far he could squeeze like this.
He kept up the effort for only a few pushes more, resigning and hanging his legs down towards Peach Blossom who looked at him in anticipation.
"Uhh, yeeahh..." he slowly sighed. "I think I might be a little stuck too."
Both of them fell silent. Peach didn't know what to say, a mellow sob building up in her throat. Cobalt noticed it and tapped the side of her helmet lightly. "Hey... don't worry. These things happen."
She looked up at him, expecting him to be joking. "Whu...? How? Really?" she asked slowly.
"Yeah! Like, all the time! It's just a setback, is all," he said, smiling at her. She couldn't tell if he was lying to the both of them to just to make her feel better, but that smile seemed... genuine.
She wiped her eyes and looked at him again. "So... do you know how we're gonna get out?"
He didn't waste any energy shrugging this time. "Well, no. But that's the fun in it."
Peach blinked. "... Now I know I'm dating a crazy stallion! Where's the fun in... this?!" she asked loudly, her voice echoing through the darkness.
"It's like a Xenophonic drama. We know we're gonna get out, just not how."
"We don't know that!"
"Trust me," Cobalt said, unwavering. "We are."
There was another pause as the both of them thought of what to try. Peach Blossom attempted to push herself up again, minding how her body was trapped. A small part of the cheek and thigh seemed to slip up slightly when she pushed hard, but slipped back down the moment she let up. "Hngh! Damn... my ass is too fat..."
"Your ass is beautiful," he retorted.
"Now is not the time..." she said as she tried twisting herself around.
"No no, I mean it," he continued. "It's just a bit big for the hole, that's all."
"So... too fat," she stated again.
"You think I would want it any other way?" he asked, more quietly.
"... Maybe?"
His lips twitched. "Think I would want you any other way?"
Peach Blossom exhaled and calmed down in her struggles. As absurd as it was, his words were... comforting. Again, she couldn't help but smile at him, even a little bit. "You must be Prench, coming up with all this cheese," she said.
"Heh, bonjour mademoiselle! Viens ici souvent?"
"Pfft, what does that mean?"
"It means: do you come here often?" he said. To his delight, the cave echoed with her lovely giggling. Cobalt breathed a sigh of relief, a feeling hard to find with rock digging into his belly.
"Heh... hoh... thankfully I don't." Peach laughed. "Hey, I didn't know you actually knew Prench!"
"Well, barely. That's the only thing I can really say," Cobalt responded.
"Do... do you know what 'butt' is in Prench?" she asked.
"Hmm..." he pondered, not really finding an answer.
"Maybe... le arsé?" she added, accompanied with a giggle.
"Pfft, if only it were that simple, then I would have spoken Prench fluently years ago," he chuckled. "I'm learning that word first thing when we get out."
"Yeahh... not really making any progress on that front," Peach looked down at her waist again where it vanished into the ground.
Cobalt grunted and heaved against the ceiling again, a few tiny pebbles raining down from above. "Like... nngh! I'm close to getting my barrel through. I just can't... mmph... suck it in hard enough," he grunted, shoving against the rock and twisting his body. His own legs kicked uselessly, his rubber boots somehow failing to find any purchase.
Peach looked up, seeing him struggle and got an idea. "Hey, grab my hooves," she said, stretching her forelegs up towards him. "I'll pull you." He looked down at her, only needing a second to consider it before reaching down and wrapping his forehooves around hers. Both of them took a moment to feel the firm grip they had on each other. Peach gulped. "Just... tell me when you start sliding down. I don't want you to land on me, big guy." That remark earned her a nod and a chuckle. "Okay... one, two, three!"
Together, they pulled on each others' forelegs - Cobalt trying to pull himself through and Peach Blossom just pulling him straight down. Her grip on him and his strong tugs on her arms revealed something else as well: her wedged rump shifted upwards ever so slightly, her thighs pressing harder against the rock as they started to squeeze past that impasse again. Slowly, she started wriggling her hips again as she pulled.
Cobalt, in the meanwhile, sucked in his gut and pulled on his marefriend's forelegs as hard as he could. It did help that she was anchored into the ground - his barrel was actually inching further through the gap. He had to wriggle around like a worm to make any progress. His otherwise modest rolls of fat made him feel hundreds of pounds overweight as they spilled through the gap. Just when he felt like he wasn't going to keep his gut sucked in anymore, he budged and fell down further through the hole before getting hung up again, this time on his hips.
Peach Blossom let out a yelp as he slid down further, her own tiny progress getting undone as her rump re-wedged itself. "Ow, I told you to warn me!"
"Oof... sorry, I was caught up in the moment," he said. Glancing up through the thin streaks of light, he could make out his barrel resting against the rock ceiling and his lower half disappearing into the hole. "At least I didn't go through all the way... hold on," he said. Finding more purchase for his forehooves to push, he pressed against the ceiling and tried forcing himself further down. However, unlike his malleable gut, his hips were firm and wide enough to prevent passage through the tiny hole.
Even Peach could tell something was up as he pushed and didn't budge an inch. "Try wiggling," she suggested, the same strategy she had used when squeezing into her own infernal hole. She found herself staring at him as he strained, taking in the sight a bit too eagerly. There really is something to this, after all...
Cobalt pushed, squeezed and wiggled, grunting as he went - "Nngh! Hnngh! Mph, hnngh!" - but it was obvious he wasn't making any more progress. After a short while of useless struggling, he hung back down, almost able to look straight into Peach's face while hanging straight down. "Aw crud," he mustered. "I'm stuck."
His marefriend looked at him, slightly biting her lip. He half-expected her to tear up again before she reached out and grabbed his forelegs again, pulling herself towards him.
"Ow, ow, ow!" he gasped at the suddenness of it. "Hey, what gives?"
"While I was... nnngh, pulling you... hhngh, I felt myself... nngh, budging!" she explained through strained breaths. Wriggling her lower half, she pressed her boots agains the rocks in the tunnel below her, pulling on him for leverage. He got the hint and helped pull as well, trying to extract her from the tight crevice.
It worked. Slowly but surely, her wide rear end slid back up through the hole she was jammed in. Her rump and thighs squeezed back through and out of the impasse she had tried so hard to squeeze down into before. Strained, Cobalt could only keep up the struggle for a little while longer before he had to let go of her forelegs and hang limply, panting heavily. Peach Blossom continued the struggle herself, planting her hooves on the rocky ground and taking extraordinary care not to slip back down.
Cobalt watched her as she pushed and wiggled tirelessly, letting out a sigh. "Sorry I can't help more than this..."
"I-it's okay. I just gotta... wiggle a bit," she replied, focused on squeezing and pushing herself upwards. Though success crept closer and closer, she couldn't quite find the angle or force needed to scrape her flanks up and out of the trap. Soon, she had to take a break too, content with having gotten herself a little further up. "Hah... still stuck, but not as bad," she panted, looking up at him. "How are you holding up?"
"About the same," he said, though he seemed pretty tired of hanging upside down. "I thought I could clear this hole, but I guess I wasn't really thinking..."
"No kidding, that looks really tight for you. Tighter than this, to be honest," she glanced down at herself.
"I was a bit suspicious of you having taken such a small space down..." he paused, "...small for a peach, that is."
"Hey, that was my joke!" she said.
"Ah, sorry must've missed it," he chuckled, dangling idly. "Soo... I guess the plan is that you squeeze out, and then help me out somehow," he pondered out loud. "Because I don't think I'm moving from this spot without more force, you know."
"I just have to collect myself," Peach said, taking deep breaths and shaking her forelegs around to stimulate blood circulation. There was a strange heat rising within her as well. "So, it's your flanks that are stuck?" When she received a nod as an answer, she mustered a smirk. "So much for 'having a smaller butt', huh?"
"You've got me there," he agreed.
"At least you squashed your gut through alright."
"It was soft and squishy - a bit out of shape perhaps, I will admit - but squishy nonetheless." He looked up at the hole in the ceiling. "I can't compress my hips enough to squeeze myself through. I... can kinda kick against the celing with my legs, but that's it."
Peach Blossom listened as she slowly wiggled around in her hole, the thoughts and feelings bouncing through her mind and running through her body. Just knowing it was her wide flanks and his firm glutes that kept them stuck like this... it was a feeling she had not expected to feel. It felt good. Really good.
"So, uh... might be a bad time, but... I hope you're not... mad about me bringing us here," he said sheepishly. His ears, hanging free from the confines of a helmet, drooped a bit. "I know this wasn't exactly how we planned this to go..."
While he talked, she unclasped her helmet, setting it down on the ground and shaking her hair free, the blissful feeling of letting her head breathe surging through her. He had kept her calm and comforted with all his sweet words before, and she knew how to comfort him in return. She reached up and grabbed his arms again, tugging herself up just enough to come face to face with him. Before Cobalt got to say anything about it, she leaned in and kissed her coltfriend on the lips.
She didn't hold it for very long, just enough for his eyes to widen and then relax. She got the result she wanted. Cobalt smacked his lips and looked into her eyes. His body loosened up and his breathing slowed.
"I love you," she said.
Cobalt didn't say anything. He just kept thinking, breathing... until he reached forward with his lips, meeting hers again. They closed their eyes and held still in a deep kiss. Peach Blossom wrapped her arms around his back to keep herself steady. Cobalt's hooves ran over whatever they could reach; down her arms and across her chest. The boots and jackets they were wearing got a bit in the way, but he was just glad to touch her. Likewise, she hugged him tighter and ran her tongue deeper into his mouth to wrestle with his.
Eventually, they broke the kiss again. Peach nuzzled his snout as she slowly let go of him and sank back down to the floor, resting on her elbows. Cobalt dangled for a bit more before his horn lit up - a clear blue aura surrounding the straps on one of his boots, slowly undoing them. "So," he said, "you're not mad?"
Peach chuckled. "Do I look mad? Sure, we could be doing this under better circumstances, but... as crazy as it sounds, I'm enjoying this somewhat. I dunno, it's just... just..." she blushed.
Cobalt fully undid the straps on his boot and let his arm hang back down, the rubber apparel sliding off his hoof and flopping down on the cave floor. "Unique?" he suggested, the glow of his horn fading away.
"Yeah, kinda. You... you said you liked my butt, right?" she started, looking up at him. "Even when it's... big enough to get really stuck in tight holes...?"
Cobalt grinned. "It's perfect~"
Peach grinned back. "I think so too. I'm... finding this way more hot than I should."
"I hope you're not gonna ask me to push you deeper."
"Hell no, my butt is having a hard enough time getting back out as it is," she laughed. "Not just my butt though, apparently," she nodded up.
Cobalt pulled his hooves up and pushed on the rock ceiling again with exaggerated sounds of struggle. "Mfff... nnngh! Oh help me, marefriend! My butt is too big!"
Peach felt a tingle around her abdomen and thighs as he acted out the situation. "Hihi, s-s-stooop..." she laughed, her hooves scraping around on the rocks as she suddenly didn't know what to do with them.
Cobalt squirmed around a little more before hanging back down again. Being upside down like this was taking a toll on him, but the pinching of rock around his waist and hips paradoxically felt more like a source of levity than imprisonment now. He held out his bare hoof towards her. "Take my hoof," he said, calmly.
She looked at him, then brought up her arm to undo the straps of her own boot with her teeth. After it slid off, she reached up and placed her bare hoof on his.
He smiled at her. "I love you Peach. You're so beautiful, and... I'm really... by the alicorns, so grateful to have you. And I am sorry about this pickle we're in, I really am, but... I'm glad we're in it together. Of all the times this could happen to us, now doesn't seem so bad."
Peach could feel the tear deep in her chest, long before it pushed up to her head and rolled out her eye. She blinked it away, though never turning from her coltfriend's face, gazing at him and smiling.
"I think... we're learning some new things about ourselves too," he added, letting out a small chuckle. "Maybe... if we really feel like it, we could, maybe... take inspiration from this. See if it feels as good under more... controlled circumstances." He glanced away briefly before looking back at her and smiling, clearing his throat. "Hm, but that's for then. I just wanted to say... I'm happy you're with me, here and now. I think I would be scared if you weren't... but I can't be. I love you so much."
That warranted another kiss. Peach tugged herself up on his body and pushed her lips against his, their bare hooves pressed together against each other as they kissed in the darkness.
Renergized, Peach Blossom squirmed around as she made out with him, trying to grind her thighs together. Her hind legs alternated between pressing against the walls in the crevace and hanging straight down. She wasn't focusing on getting out, but the way the rocks pulled at her while she was reaching out to hug and kiss Cobalt... it made her wiggle and squirm her hips in response.
Cobalt took notice as their lips separated. "Hmm... you don't seem to be in a hurry to get out now~" he purred.
"Why would I, when I've got what I want right here~?" she replied, nuzzling his neck.
"Soon you'll want food and water too. And a bathroom break..."
"Shh, sh-shh..." she hushed him, putting her hoof on his lips. "Right now: only you."
He smirked as she took her hoof away. "Well," he said softly. "You would reach more of me if you were free."
"Who says I, hngh, can't?" she said, grunting as she tugged on his body to pull herself up further. It was a rather fruitless effort, craning her neck up to reach and nuzzle against his chest. She pulled on him harder... and felt some of the rocks pressing against her hindquarters slip away. She stopped and chuckled, looking back at him. "Heh, you might get your wish - I budged."
Cobalt grinned and gave her a quick kiss. "Let's get you out, then."
He let her clamber back down to the ground and pull her boot back on, watching her as she pushed against the rocky floor and wriggling about. When she didn't budge any further just from that, he reached out his arms to her, which she took. They started tugging on each other again, starting off slowly, but pulling harder and harder over time.
As tightly jammed as her hips were, Peach felt herself slip up another inch. She was starting to feel the top of her buttcheeks peek out over the edge of the hole. Her hind legs scraped against the rocky walls, though she found little purchase with which to push herself further.
Cobalt noticed, and his horn it up again, hig magic wrapping itself around her chest harness. Peach Blossom suddenly felt this extra force and grunted as it tugged on her body. "Nnngh, hhnngh! Mmph!"
"Come on girl, wiggle," Cobalt whispered as his arms and magic strained him. "Nnngh... you got in there, you can get out... c'mon..."
"Mmmngh, hnnngh!" Peach grunted and struggled, slipping upwards faster from the harder pulling. The pressure on her hips lessened and lessened... her rump spilled over the edge again as it squeezed out of the hole...
And then she was out.
With a mighty pull, her hips were jerked free from the hole. Peach Blossom released her grip on him, landing seated on the edge, panting and huffing from the effort. Cobalt breathed a sigh of relief and let himself dangle again, huffing and shaking his arms. Peach rubbed her hips, letting the steel tips of her boots cool the sore spots. She pulled her hind legs out of the hole completely and shook them, her coat prickling as blood flowed unobstructed through her lower body again.
"Yes..." she mumbled, slowly gathering herself and getting up on all fours. She wobbled a bit after all the time she had been stuck. She couldn't recall how long she'd been there. A good deal of minutes, for sure. An hour? No, not that long. Thirty minutes, she guessed, steadying herself against the rock wall.
"You good?" Cobalt asked.
"Yeah, just a little shaky," she said, smiling at him and smacking her lips. "And... a little thirsty."
He returned the smile. "I left our bag above us, by the Baryte," he said. "Uh, you said there was a bigger path you took?"
"Yeah, I'll get it, no problem." She trotted up to him and put a hoof on his chest. "You look funny hanging like that."
"Pfft," he replied.
"You're not getting hurt, right?"
"Not yet. The sooner I get out, the better," he started, before holding out a hoof, "though a sip of water would help with that effort. You know, before we exhaust ourselves further trying to tug me through."
Peach Blossom slowly nodded, leaning in and kissing her coltfriend again, then leaving him smiling as she turned around towards the crack in the far wall. She bent down to pick up her helmet and headlamp - taking a good second longer than necessary, flicking her tail as she felt his gaze on her - before straightening up and trotting over to the far wall. With a little strain from her sore muscles, she squeezed through the crack and carefully climbed up the dry rock walls into the previous room.
Sure enough, the bag was left near the crystals that Cobalt had studied. She trotted over, unzipped it and rummaged through it, finding one of their water bottles which she uncorked and suckled on, letting the cool, refreshing liquid run down her throat. She hadn't realized how hot and thirsty she felt once she drank.
She corked the bottle and put it back in the bag, zipping it and hauling it onto her back. Taking a few steps back towards the drop down, she curiously glanced around the room and soon spotted a small hole along the wall a short distance away from the route she'd taken. She obviously didn't want to risk anything, but she was a bit curious to look inside. Setting the bag down, she peered into the hole and started crawling inside.
Sure enough: ahead, she could see Cobalt's legs and boots sticking upwards and caught a glimpse of his dark blue tail flicking once - in discomfort or boredom, she couldn't tell. Heat rose within her, and she felt a strong urge to crawl further towards him, to reach his legs and stuck hindquarters and... she didn't even know what she wanted to do. Touch him there? Kiss him? She shuddered and blushed.
Whatever the case, she wasn't going to. She could tell the tunnel got narrower and the walls were already brushing against her rear. She did not desire to get stuck again, so she shuffled backwards and out of the hole, grabbing the bag and making her way down the larger opening.
Reaching the bottom of the climb again, it took a few pushes for force the bag through the crack, but soon enough both she and the bag were through. Reaching Cobalt, she unzipped the bag and handed him a full water bottle, which he gratefully picked up in his magic. Both of them got a rough reminder that drinking water while upside down isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world: Cobalt had to crane his neck upwards, with Peach Blossom supporting him as he drank.
After a few deep gulps, Cobalt separated his mouth from the water bottle and smacked his lips. "Ahh... thanks, I needed that. Though I'll have to wait with the sandwich until I can eat it right-side up."
"Sorry I took so long," Peach said, massaging his neck. "I... I was just looking around."
"That's alright, it gave me a little time to try something," he said, pointing at his horn. "There's a spell I use that helps me and my coworkers to extract crystals. I tried using it, but I couldn't really reach the ceiling," he said bashfully.
"A spell?" Peach Blossom asked. "What does it do?"
"It makes rocks more brittle," he explained. "Not... really good at destroying rocks on its own, that's not the point. It just makes hard minerals suscepible to other tools."
"Other tools?"
Cobalt nodded. "Look through the pack again. There should be a chisel and hammer in there."
Peach's eyes widened. "I'm gonna have to break loose the rock to get you out? We can't just pull you?"
"You and I could probably get a good pulling force, and gravity would help," he started, shaking his head, "but there's no way I'm gonna fit my rump through this hole without making it even a little larger."
"What about going the other way?"
"I think it's gonna be even harder to stuff my stomach back through there," he chuckled, prodding at his barrel. "And that would turn gravity against us, like how it helped you down into that hole, but not back up."
"Fair enough... but, won't it take, like, a really long time to chisel you out of there?" Peach asked, concerned.
"Not if we work smart," Cobalt said, looking up at the hole. "The rock is pretty thick, but if I keep casting the spell, we should be able to grind our way into it at least a little bit. Hopefully enough to get me out."
"And if we don't?" Peach asked, now coming down to earth with how badly stuck her coltfriend was.
He sighed. "Then you'd have to go up above and call in help. As I said, cavers get stuck all the time around Equestria. The authorities..."
"Well, I'm not leaving you, so that's that," Peach huffed, reaching out an arm and hugging him. "I'll get you out, I promise."
Cobalt smiled and nuzzled up against her. "I know you will. I love you."
The wedged stallion was not exactly in a good position to rest for the task ahead, so they got started right away. Peach helped support Cobalt's torso as he bent upwards and pressed his horn against the rock right by the hole. It buzzed and shone as magic pulsated into the rock, creating small cracks on the surface. After the cracks had spread a few cubic inches, he hung back down to gather himself. "That spell is exhausting to cast for longer periods of time," he excused. "A stronger unicorn could go on for longer..."
"You're very strong as is," Peach comforted him with hug and a kiss. She rummaged through the bag and found the tools that Cobalt had proposed: a small chisel and equally small hammer. A drill would have been preferable, she thought, but went to work nonetheless, chipping away at the rocks.
It went a lot slower than she had hoped. Breaking away the rocky crust on the surface worked fine, but it was still very hard in the areas where the spell had not reached. She wasn't able to reach the ceiling if she held just the hammer in her mouth either, so she had to awkwardly hold onto the tools with one hoof each while keeping her arms outstretched. Cobalt offered to help out knocking the rocks with his magic, but Peach refused him. "Save your energy for that spell, I think that's what's doing most of the work."
"You flatter me, but that spell wouldn't do without some honest hard metal finishing the job," he chuckled.
"All in an honest day's work," Peach panted, tapping away at the rocks.
"So..." Cobalt started as he dangled with his arms hanging down. "Think you'll bring your class to explore some caves anytime? Like a field trip?"
Peach chuckled. "Couldn't bring any foals from the daycare here. As for the older colts and fillies, that's not really up to me. I'm just a substitute teacher."
"Maybe you could sway that decision. Tell the teachers of the value of geology and let the kids know they'll see neat caves. That'll attract both camps." He reached up a hoof to scratch an itch on his back. "Aside from that, I think there are some kiddie caves somewhere in the area for even the youngest, with very short tunnles."
"And small I presume?"
"You said you have experience finding kids in play places. What's the difference, really?"
"It's a whole different story between dislodging yourself from a plastic tube versus having to free yourself with a chisel," she grunted, the tool falling out of her hoof as she struck it at a bad angle and clattering against the floor. "Ah damn... at least I'd have a decent excuse to not follow them into the caves to play, with experience to back it up."
"How would you ever explain that to a foal?" he said, clearing his throat and mimicking a higher-pitched voice: "Miss Blossom? Why don't you want to play hide and seek with us? Is it true that you got your butt stuck?"
"I would tell them that when fillies grow up to become mares, they stop fitting into places that they used to," she patiently explained, bending down to pick up the chisel again, "especially when some parts become a bit larger than one might expect. I'd better ask you the same: how would you explain to your coworkers that you got stuck?"
"Easy. I'd tell them I got stuck in a hole while following my beautiful marefriend."
Peach Blossom grinned. "Aww... and what about the part where I had to break apart the rocks to free you?"
"I wouldn't have to, they would already be jealous."
"No fair," she pouted and grunted as she stretched her arms out to break away more of the rock. "It was embarrassing for me, it's gotta be embarrassing for you too."
"Sure, a little," Cobalt shrugged, glancing up to check her progress. "How is it looking?"
"You tell me," Peach said, wiping some sweat from her brow. They had managed to make quite the dent in the rock ceiling, though they hadn't broken through yet. "Does it feel like you can move around more?"
Cobalt pressed his hooves against the ceiling and wiggled around a bit. "Mph! Not yet... but it looks like we've gotten far." He bit his lip, trying to estimate how long he could keep hanging like this and casting that spell before he became completely exhausted. "Phew... let's... let's focus on these points here and here," he tapped at spots on each side of his waist. "If we make it wide enough now for my hips to wiggle through, I think we should be home free."
Peach's heart started beating faster, hearing that they were getting closer. "O-okay. Here, let me brace you..." She helped push Cobalt's torso up so his horn could, just barely, touch the rocks deeper within where she had chiseled away. The hard surface cracked, dust and pebbles falling to the floor. As it did, Cobalt suddenly slipped a fraction of an inch further down.
"Oof! Oh? Nice..." he mumbled, wiggling around to see if he could lift himself up with his hind hooves anywhere. "I would try to hold myself up so you could clear away the rocks, but I can't brace against anything."
"Don't worry, I got you," Peach said. Before Cobalt could protest, she got under him and pushed his body slightly up with her back, getting on her hind hooves again to hammer at the cracked rock with greater determination. His weight on her back began tiring her out pretty quickly, but through sheer will she kept hammering and chiseling. Chunks of rock clattered down as bigger pieces broke off or were grinded to dust.
A full few minutes later, when she finally stepped away to stretch her body and take a breather, Cobalt slipped way further down than before, the top of his hips entering the widened hole. He let out a sigh of relief, brushing away loose pebbles along the hole's edge.
Peach Blossom chuckled and looked at him. "I think I can see your tail."
The stallion wiggled around and pushed on the ceiling. "This is amazing," he said, "I think I'm nearly out... I just need a pull, I think."
"Or two; don't misjudge the size of your butt, darling," she added, grabbing him by the shoulders and tugging straight down. Though he slipped further, causing more crumbling pebbles to peel off the rocks, his lower body wedged in the widened space as his hips and rump began squishing through.
Peach looked up at the hole as he was coming through. She took a moment to enjoy the sight of his rear end poking through the rock hole... though that moment grew to become a second... two seconds... several seconds.
"Ngh, mph! Nngh... uh... sweets?" Cobalt asked and glanced around, feeling his marefriend's pulls were reduced to superficial tugs.
"Ah, sorry... I..." Peach started, biting her lip and glancing back down at him. "I mean... I think this is really hot...~" she near whispered. "Don't you think so?"
Cobalt nodded, grinning a bit himself. They let go of each other as Peach trotted around him, tearing off her boot and reaching out to trail her bare hoof along the rock ceiling until it reached and pressed into her coltfriend's buttcheek.
Damn, she's frisky~! Cobalt thought. Despite the fact that blood had been rushing to his head for a while now, he felt his face flush once more. His body tensed up as she caressed him, his breath becoming shorter and more rapid as a warm, fuzzy feeling began spreading through his body.
"And what do we have here~?" she purred, pushing her hoof further against him as she rubbed her muzzle along his back, slowly kissing him as she went. "Such a cute stallion... but you seem a little... stuck~?"
In the darkness of the cave, the both of them felt free to let loose. "Ah~! Y-yes... yes I am!" he grunted, grinning at her touch.
"H-hah~ why did this happen, you silly boy, hm?" she purred, running a hoof down his waist, glancing up and staring at his firm buttocks hanging from the ceiling. "What made you squeeze into this... tiny little hole?"
"Ngh!" his leg twitched. "I saw... a cool crystal... and I just had to squeeze into this hole to get it."
Peach Blossom leaned down to his ear, "But not all of you got through... did it~?" she near whispered to him. Standing back on her hind legs, she pressed both her forehooves into his lower back, careful not to chill him with the steel tip of the boot she was still wearing. "I think your butt is a little too big~"
"Yes... yes it is," Cobalt groaned, running a hoof across his own chest. "And I've been stuck here for a long time, waiting... hoping for a sexy mare to come and free me~"
She giggled and trotted over to his front, running a hoof from his pelvis down his belly and to his chin, leaning forward and placing her lips against his. Their tongues ran along each other as Cobalt stretched his arms out, wrapping them behind her neck, pinning her closer to him. She broke the kiss, eying him giddily.
"Your rescuer has come~" she spoke, her mane having flipped to cover part of her face. She snuck out of his grasp and flicked her mane back, slowly turning around. "Hmm... but how to go about it~?" she playfully mused. "I could go up there and squeeze into the same tunnel to push... but... I don't think I'd fit~" Her wide flanks pushed against his chest and chin. She felt how cobalt took the chance to run his hoof over her rump and give it a little squeeze, sending a shudder of delight through her body.
"You're right honey," Cobalt said in a soft voice. "That lovely butt of yours is not gonna squeeze anywhere near me. It's too big and lovely for that... you would get stuck too...~" He craned his neck to give her rump a light kiss.
Peach let out a soft exhale, her tail flicking and wrapping around his body. "So I would have to pull you... feel like holding on to my rump, or that I grab and pull on your sexy stallion bod' with my hooves~?" she asked.
"Mmm..." Cobalt didn't have to think for very long. "Turn around and pull me, so I get to see your lovely face."
Peach smiled and turned around, coming face to face with him again. "As you wish~" she giggled, rubbing their muzzles together. Then, she hopped up on her hind legs, wrapping her forehooves around his lower back, feeling his cheek press against her abdomen. It was a secure grip, she would be able to put a lot of force into it. "Just remember to do like Dockira the dancer."
"Hm?" he hummed, his face resting flat against her tummy.
"Wiggle those hips," she winked, tightening her grip. "One..."
Cobalt wrapped his own arms against her body. "Two..."
"...three! Hnngh!" Peach called out, holding him tight and pulling him firmly. He slipped further down, making her think he was gonna squeeze out - but his widest parts wedged in the hole. She felt his grip on her tighten as he tried to pull himself down along her body, his lower body shuffling and jerking around ever so slightly as he tried to wiggle around. She pulled and pulled as a more pebbles tumbled down from above, but he wasn't moving.
Cobalt 'oomph'-ed as his marefriend tugged harder and harder. Having slipped down that inch further, the pressure on his hips was enormous. He felt so close to freedom, but it didn't feel like the space was wide enough for his ever so slightly too large bottom. He held onto Peach Blossom tightly as he pulled, wiggled and pulled, trying to just squeeze himself ever so slightly further. He didn't wanna have to rest up and exert his energy casting the spell again, not while he was so close! Just an inch further... if he could squeeze just an inch...!
Peach was the first to get frustrated with the lack of progress. Without really thinking, as her eyes and thoughts were fastened on her coltfriend's hips and crotch squished up against the rock, she held onto his body and jumped. She threw her hind legs up and clenched them around his back, hanging onto him and putting her whole body weight into the pull.
The pressure increased immensly as his marefriend's whole weight wrapped around him and pulled his body down. He let out a silent gasp of pain and surprise. He felt that she had the right idea though, as he felt himself beginning to shift the final few inches through...
Using what little energy he could muster up, he craned his neck, coming face to face with his marefriend's beautiful, big, wide arse. Looking beyond it, he watched her back, focusing on her jacket and the harness strapped across it. his horn lit up, his blue, magic aura surrounding her harness and tugging it down, adding more weight to her pull - all the while his eyes drifted back to stare at her peachy hind cheeks.
Peach grunted as she felt him tug on her harness, her body getting pulled down ever so slightly. She tightened her grip around him, getting completely lost in sensation as she took note of his body flexing, his hips shifting... his blood pumping...
She reached up with a hoof and rubbed it against his hip. Her other hoof slid up to grope his rump. She squeezed and tugged on his jammed body... rubbing it... shifting it down... squeezing it... straight up feeling him up. So firm, so stuck...! the thought bubbled through her mind.
She saw him shift down a little more... then again... hanging off of him with her whole body and with him tugging on her harness, all she had to do was reach up, place both hooves on the ceiling, and... push.
Amidst the cracking and scraping of the rock, she did just so.
The incredible tightness around his hindquarters ceased in an instant as Cobalt felt himself shift and pop free, plunging the short distance down to the cave floor. Adjusting himself at the last second not to land squarely on his neck, he hit the rocky ground with an echoing thud, rolling out to lie on his back.
Peach Blossom, still clutching his body, shrieked before she landed as well. She couldn't remember when her helmet had gotten unclasped, but the force sent it clattering along the floor, the light strobing along the cave walls as it spun around before coming to rest lighting the both of them up. She caught herself with her forehooves on the ground, dampening the impact about as well as Cobalt's whole body did.
Both of them lay there, taking deep breaths and feeling around for any injuries. As Peach breathed a sigh of relief, she became acutely aware of Cobalt's muzzle being forced against her buttcheeks, and how her own muzzle was squarely pressed against his crotch. She held the pose for a second, flustered and dazed, until she could hear Cobalt mutter softly: "... ... ow..."
She snapped out of her daze and rolled off of him, finally getting to look at his body in full for the first time in... surely an hour by now. It felt longer, for sure. "Oh...! C-Cobalt, are you okay?" she asked, crawling up to his face, concern in her voice.
"I-I'm okay... ouch... nothing broken, just... just a rough landing." He turned his head to her and gave her a weak smile. "Hey... look. I'm out!"
Peach chuckled. "That you are." She laid herself down next to him on her side, her breath flowing across his neck and their faces pressed together. She laid still for a few moments, soon feeling one of his forehooves slowly moving and wrapping around her shoulder. She tightened her embrace and closed her eyes, thinking of nothing else but his touch.
Both of them lost track of how long they lay next to each other, minding only each others' bodies, breaths and the faint echoes along the cave walls. Cobalt was even on the verge of falling asleep, before he felt Peach shift around and sit up. "Cobalt?"
"Mmmm... mph... y... yes?" he mumbled, opening his eyes, blinking to make out the walls dimly lit up by the discarded headlamps. He turned his head to look at her.
"I'm glad you got out safe..." she started, cocking her head. "And... thank you for taking me here. I know... neither of us expected this to happen," she crawled a bit closer to him, leaning her head over his, "and I was scared at first... but I liked it."
"You were really into it just now. I could tell," Cobalt smirked, running a hoof across her cheek.
"And you weren't?" she teased.
He recalled the sight of her waist-deep in her little hole - struggling, pushing... trapped and squeezed with him pulling her. The memory brought a warm, fuzzy feeling to him. They'd found something much better than shiny crystals today.
"Maybe in a more comfortable position," he grinned. He leaned his head up and kissed her, after which he also began to sit up. "I gotta replace the batteries on those lamps," he heard his stomach rumble, "...and grab a snack."
Peach stood up and trotted over to collect her's and Cobalt's helmets while he attempted to stand, his legs more than a little bit wobbly from having been upside down for so long. However, after some quick fixing using his horn and a brief period of darkness, the batteries were replaced and the headlamps shone in full strength yet again. Both ponies clasped their helmets on again before Cobalt rummaged through their sack, pulling up and gobbling down a hay sandwich with the ferocity of a starved chicken.
"You got the appetite of a teenage colt," Peach giggled. She pulled out a wrapped salad bun and chewed on it herself, washing it down with water.
"Mh... wach chan I..." he started, gulping down his moutful, "mph! What can I say... your cooking hits just the right spot after such hard work."
"Bah, it's just a sandwich," Peach giggled.
"A sandwich you made, which makes it special," he smiled, hovering the food up and taking another bite. An olive slipped out from between the buns and bounced away, rolling across the rocks and into the hole that Peach had been in not too long ago. Cobalt swallowed his bite, leaned over and peered down into it. "So... you said something cool down there?"
"Yeah, rocks," she said, earning a snort from her coltfriend. "I mean, shimmering rocks! They looked like crystals."
"I see," Cobalt said, looking further into the hole and seeing some shimmering at the bottom, gleaming and reflecting his strong headlamp. "Hoh, those actually do look pretty cool," he added, letting his sandwich sit on the ground nearby. He used his horn to dig around at the bottom of the hole, with a light tug pulling off a miniscule piece of the crystal and hovering it back up the shaft. "Hmm... interesting," he said, inspecting it. "Some kind of quartz, but... much clearer."
Curious, Peach Blossom shuffled over to where he sat, staring at the tiny piece of quartz he was holding. "Anything... valuable?" she asked. Her thoughts drifted to a clear necklace or set of earrings.
"Possibly." Cobalt looked down into the hole. "Think I could squeeze in and take a closer look?"
"Wha-?" Peach gasped. "No! No way you're gonna fit in there!"
"What if I go head first?" That earned him a punch on the shoulder. "Okay, I'm not, I'm not! I'm just kidding," he laughed.
"Don't scare me like that," Peach huffed, butting her hoof against his chest.
"I thought you weren't scared of this anymore?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Well... it... we would never be able to get you out. Good luck chiseling out this whole tunnel!" she said, gesturing at the whole of the tunnel leading to the crystals. As short as it seemed, carving away all that solid rock by hoof... she didn't even want to imagine it. What she did happen to imagine was the sight of Cobalt squeezing into the rocks head first, slowly getting stuck as he tried to squeeze forward, his softly carved rump hitting the edges... she bit her lip at the thought.
Seeing her face shift in deliberation, he smirked. "Well, yeah. It's gonna take a whole crew to investigate these crystals further. I'll make sure to report it and see if I can organize a little expedition." He cocked his head. "If that happens, would you like to join in? Having found it first and all?"
Peach blushed. "S-sure. As long as you don't tell anypony how I went about finding them... or asking for a demonstration."
"Of course," he smiled, leaning in and nuzzling her. "Carving the hole larger would take a while even for us, like you said. Hm, how did you even fit as far as you did?"
Peach shrugged. "Determination... and a bit of help from gravity, I guess. Honestly, I lost track of how long I was trying to squeeze down."
He nodded, pondered for a moment. "I wonder if Slinky is still with the guys?"
"Slinky?"
"Slinky Slide, scrawny guy, pro cave explorer. If anypony could fit through here, it'd be him." He let out a little sigh. "Probably not though. He was gonna move abroad - searching for lost temples I believe. We're just gonna have to take the time needed to carve our way through."
"Oh," Peach sat and thought. "It's not gonna be easy to get off work, not with exams coming up anyway. Always some teacher calling in sick, heh." She looked at Cobalt again. "I'll see if I get the chance to come and watch, at least for one day."
Cobalt leaned in and hugged her. "You're always welcome," he said, nuzzling against her neck.
Too exhausted by the day's ordeals to continue exploring any more tunnels, the two of them packed up and started heading back the way they'd came, squeezing through the crack and leaving their newfound 'love chamber' behind. They climbed up to reach the Baryte chamber, where Cobalt took a moment to add some final entries to his notebook, declaring his inspection of them finished.
Trailing the cave walls in the meanwhile, Peach Blossom found the hole they'd entered the room through, where both she and Cobalt had gotten held up. She was aware that they had managed to squeeze past it without much issue, but she recalled how she'd temporarily bumped against the edges... a tingle running through her body. Cobalt hadn't helped her then... but maybe he would like to now? She knew she wanted him to.
Let's do this one slowly, she thought to herself, sticking her head and arms into the hole and wriggling forward, squeezing past her barrel and all the way up to her hips. She exhaled, letting her middle fill up the space as she experimentally wiggled around, soon enough letting herself relax in that position. She held that position until she could hear Cobalt's hooves trotting up behind her.
"Oh, Cobalt~!" she said in a flowery voice, glancing at the gap between her barrel and lower half. "I'm too tired and sore to squeeze myself through here - can you give me a little push~?"
"Oh, you poor thing," Cobalt chuckled, hearing her giggle and seeing her tail flick in anticipation. Her hooves scraped against the rock ground as she pushed her lower back up, showing off her flanks bumping against the hard edges. Cobalt crouched down to where she was, his magic lighting up as the straps on his boots once again were undone and came off. With his bare hoof, he touched her butt and pressed lightly into the soft, lovely flesh.
Peach shuddered, feeling him fondle and rub her lower half. As dangerous as it could be, being alone down here had its advantages. She felt him taking it slow, rocking her hips against the hole and pushing gently against her.
"You have a big butt, honey~" she heard him say.
"Pft, you said you loved it," she let out a snorted chuckle.
"Every inch of it." His hooves still on her, she felt his lips touch one of her cheeks and she let out an unexpected moan. She caught herself and cleared her throat, though it was obvious he'd heard it. "Having fun~?" he teased.
"A-a bit too much," she said, wiggling underneath his hooves. She paused for a moment, almost not daring to ask it. "Do you... do you... wanna do it?"
"Hmm?" he hummed, before realizing: "O-oh! Here?"
She nodded, before remembering he couldn't see her head, humming in response. "M-hm! I mean... why not?" she sheepishly grinned.
"Well... because," he started, reaching down and around her hind legs, lifting them up and holding them against his body. "This hole... just isn't... tight enough!" He placed a hoof on her rump again and pushed forward, using his grip on her legs to angle her lower body around.
Peach felt the force on her rear and put a hoof on her side of the wall, pushing alongside him. Soon enough, she popped out as her wide flanks found an angle to squeeze through. She crawled forward and stood herself up, wiping her brow and placing the tip of her hoof on her rump where he had kissed her. She turned around to see Cobalt hover his boots through and stick his head and arms through the hole, slowly wriggling his chest forward.
"I didn't think you were gonna say no..." she said, sitting on her haunches as she watched him squirm forward.
He waited until he had gotten his chest all the way through before looking up at her and responding: "Somewhere more comfortable~" he told her with a wink. "Even I can get enough of rocks for one day."
"Or for a whole month at least," she chuckled, eying his barrel as it slowly inched its way through the gap as he sucked in and pushed. "As for rocks, you still have some way to go," she added, pointing at the hole.
"You haven't even given me the chance," he said, pushing the last of his stomach through.
"And you're leaving me out to dry," she said, getting up and trotting up to him.
"Say what now?" he asked, a devious grin appearing on his face. "Unless you're asking me to lick you between the-"
"Shh, let me have this," she said, reaching out her forehooves and gripping his. Cobalt paused for a moment, before relaxing and letting her lift his hooves up. She pulled on them, watching his torso stretch forward as his hips anchored him into place. She bit her lip and pulled again.
Cobalt wiggled around experimentally, his rump squeezing a few inches further through from the force of her tugs. Just as he felt like he was about to come loose, she set his hooves down, leaned in and nuzzled his nose.
"You're right, not tight enough~" she chirped, smooching him on the forehead.
He chuckled and held out a hoof. "Mind getting me the rest of the way, sweets~?"
She gingerly grabbed it with both hooves and gave a hearty tug. Cobalt felt his hips scrape against the rock, squeezing through soon thereafter. Peach held onto his hoof as he sat himself up, snuggling up closer to him. "We could make a team, helping each other out like this~" she giggled.
"Like a search and rescue team," he chuckled. "For other ponies?"
"For each other," she said, booping him on the nose.
Cobalt nuzzled her back in response. "Well, good thing I know who to call if I ever need some unstickin' from a tight spot."
"Mhmm..." she hummed, though she pondered for a moment. "As long as we're in the mood."
"Peach, love," Cobalt smirked, laying his arm over her shoulder, "it'll make the mood."
Getting out of the caves was a relatively easy ordeal. The only hurdle left was to ascend up the sheer cliff face of one of the pits they found themselves in. They managed it, only by taking a long break both before and after as well as spending the rest of their packed meals. By the time they'd crawled their way back up to the surface, it had become early evening. It was a relief to slip out of their harnesses, jackets and helmets, stacking all of it back into their pony-drawn cart.
"It's late, and it's a lot of uphills going back," Peach said. "Maybe now you'll let me take the first mile."
"And switch more regularly, and take breaks," Cobalt affirmed. "Thought I saw a sweet-looking berry patch on the way here. If bears haven't gotten to it-"
"Think about food so often and you won't be trimming that gut," she prodded his middle.
"Hey! If you exert energy, you gotta get some back in you," he said resolutely.
"Well, you got a point there. You were the one hanging upside down... because of your gut."
He simply huffed as he helped strap the cart's harness around her body. She eyed him as he walked around to check each side, a devious smile appearing on her face and feeling bubbles in her stomach.
"Hm... no, my mistake. It wasn't just your gut," she added, giving his butt a slap as he walked by in front of her.
He let out a neigh and whipped around, an amused grin paired with a blush. "Oh, you peachy sneak."
She laughed. "Hah, don't you mean 'sneaky peach'?"
"Tell me I'm wrong, I dare you," he said, trotting up to her and breathing down her neck. "By Luna... I don't know if I'm gonna last until we get back home~" he whispered rubbing his chin across her neck.
"Maybe that blueberry patch would be soft and comfortable enough for you~?" she whispered back, a strong tingle between her thighs causing her hind leg to twitch, her tail swishing back and forth.
"Let's hope the bears don't like peaches."
"They'll at least get a good show," she said, turning her head to lock their lips again. As they parted, she looked him in the eyes. "Cobalt... thank you so much for this. I... love you."
He nuzzled her back. "I love you too... so, so much."
They remained pressed against each other for a good while before finally, slowly, setting off on the road back home, leaving the caves behind them.
Whatever they had expected to find down there, in the depths under the earth, the caves had given them a treasure beyond gems or gold - a bond of rock, a blooming desire and a memory that would last with them forever.
