The interior of the prefab was more than a little cramped, with rooms branching from a center aisle barely wide enough for two ponies to squeeze past one another. The walls were metal and the floor covered in a sort of grooved rubber, possibly to deter slipping. Warm lights were set into the ceiling, and ran along the length of the aisle.

Dash had gone in first, with Ditzy close behind. When they were both inside the door closed behind them automatically, making Ditzy jump.

"Chill out, there's nothing to be scared of. Unless you happen to be claustrophobic." teased Dash.

"Claustro... What does that mean?" asked Ditzy.

"Never mind. It's not important." Dash wanted to get the layout of the place first off, and carried on toward the end of the hall. She passed a door to the showers and another to a private restroom on the left, and three doors to separate bunk rooms on the right. When she reached the end of the aisle she found a cupboard, sink and coffee dispenser set neatly into the back wall.

Satisfied that she had seen all there was to see, Dash abruptly turned about, unaware just how close behind her Ditzy actually was. Before she could do anything to stop it her breasts swung into Dizty's, knocking them aside and into one another. Dash's (sightly) smaller rack settled first, and Ditzy's slid back into place a moment after, their nipples brushing on the backswing and making them grit their teeth.

For a moment, the two of them just stood there awkwardly, breasts pressed against each other, their faces hot.

"Um... Did you have to follow me all the way back?" asked Dash when her mind settled down, sounding quite annoyed and feeling rather embarrassed.

Ditzy shrugged. If there had been room, Dash would have placed the palm of her hand against her forehead in distress.

"Well, could you maybe step aside? I wanna take a shower." said Dash.

Sheepishly, Ditzy backed up against the wall on Dash's right. She looked at Dash expectantly, but noticed her staring.

"What?" she asked.

"Ugh." grunted Dash. This time she really did place her hand on her forehead. Her left one, mind, in order to avoid smacking Ditzy's tit from below. "You take up as much space this way as you did facing forward." said Dash.

It was true enough. Ditzy's wings made it difficult to be flush against the wall, and her jutting breasts made Dash think of a subway turnstile. Even if she pressed herself against the other wall and shuffled by, she still didn't think she could make it without playing bumper-boobs.

"Rude." said Ditzy, who was only doing as she was told. It wasn't her fault the aisle was so cramped. She puffed up her cheeks, which might have looked especially goofy on account of her eyes, if she didn't hide one under her hair for just that reason.

Dash sighed. "Look. How about you go first? Facing away from me, the second door on your right should open on the showers."

With Ditzy leading the way this time, the two of them entered the shower room single-file and were each in their turn relieved to find it more spacious than the aisle.

There were also, thankfully, two separate shower heads. Set side-by-side into the outer wall, each had its own knob to control the temperature and water pressure.

Dash wasn't entirely certain where the water actually came from, but at that point didn't much care. The sight of the showers had brought her fatigue to the fore like the foam crest of a crashing wave.

The two of them settled in and, one after the other, the twin showers came on. After an initial shock from the initially ice-cold water, which Ditzy failed to avoid despite having seen it happen to Dash mere moments before, the ponies finally relaxed for the first time in nearly twenty-four hours.

It had been a long time since the two couriers had been afforded such luxury. The last outpost they visited had been mostly automated, maintained by a skeleton crew. The only lodgings were sleeping capsules set into the base of the platform.

Dash remembered the way the rain looked coming down onto the glass. It was soothing and suffocating at the same time.

This was much better.

For a while she just let the water hit the top of her head, flattening her hair and falling around her like a veil. Though more spacious than the aisle, there still wasn't room enough to extend her wings, but she did relax them a little.

As for Ditzy, she was enjoying the unusually high water-pressure. She liked the way the stream felt on her neck and shoulders, the water flowing between her wings and clinging to the curve of her back before being split by the croup of her tail.

"Hey Ditzy, check this out." said Dash, pressing a button she found near the dial that briefly infused the water with a gentle shampoo.

Dash scrubbed her light-blue coat, lathering up suds by rubbing her arms and legs. She tossed her head back and ran her fingers through her rainbow hair, opening one eye and smiling.

"Don't just watch me. Try it yourself!" said Dash, laughter in her voice. She was feeling too good to be annoyed.

Ditzy pressed her own button, then scrubbed up under her arms and beneath her breasts, lifting them up one at a time in order to reach the fold beneath.

They took their time, remaining in the showers until the water eventually began to run cold.

When both valves had been shut off a series of powerful fans hidden in the wall behind a nigh invisible grating came on and buffeted them with warm air until they had both been blow dry.

Though their feathers were ruffled and their hair was frizzy they were glad they weren’t dripping wet when they found their bunks and fell asleep.

Author's Note

This was originally going to be part of the first chapter but ended up running a little long. I decided to break up the introduction into parts, and this is probably the second of three, after which the adventure should begin in earnest.