Bedtime for Ponies

          You check the clock - Nine pm - Time for bed. You step into the living room to seek out your guest for the night, the troublesome Rainbow Dash. As you look around the living room, you are unable to see her anywhere.

“Rainbow Dash!” you call, hoping she'll respond. To your surprise, she flies into the living room through an open window, landing gracefully before your feet, smiling widely. “Time for bed!” you say to her, which immediately changes her smile into a frown. You scoop her up in your arms before she has a chance to fly away, and even though you hold onto her tightly, she keeps on flapping her wings furiously against your chest, trying to escape.

You quickly step into the bedroom and shut the door behind you before letting her go. She flies out of your arms and hovers mid air, crossing her arms in protest. You smile at her, and nod towards the bed, hoping she'll change her mind when she sees it.

As she turns to look at the bed, she lets a wide smile escape at the sight of it. A rainbow coloured blanket was pulled back ready for her to get in, and a cloud shaped pillow sat at the top, the perfect finishing touch. She looked at it before looking back at you, turning her nose up at the bed, pretending it wasn't good enough for her.

You point again to it, specifically the Wonderbolt mobile hanging above the bed, featuring all the star fliers themselves. You look back at her, to see an even bigger grin upon her face. Unfortunately she masks her happiness as soon as she catches you watching, continuing to sulk.

I expected you'd be this stubborn, you think to yourself. Luckily you have a plan. You reach into the drawer on the bedside table, and pull out a mug of apple cider, a small bead of condensation running down the edge of the mug. At the sight of this, Rainbow Dash beams with happiness, and flies towards you, arms stretched out for the cider. You quickly hide it behind you back and smile slyly at the filly.

“First you get into bed, then you get your drink!” you say, to which she reluctantly nods, immediately flying to the bed and leaping under the covers. She crosses her arms behind her head, leaning back comfortably upon them. You walk over to her and ruffle her mane playfully, before draping the bed sheet over her cyan coloured body. You make sure to tuck the covers in tightly under the mattress, to stop the little filly from flying out of bed once you were gone, otherwise she'd never go to sleep.

Once you're satisfied she's not going to fly away at a moment's notice, you pick up the cider from the floor and hand it to her. She grips it tightly in her hooves and giggles loudly at the thought of finally having a taste, drool running freely from her mouth.

She places the mug to her lips, and downs the cider in one massive gulp. She smiles happily when finished, before burping loudly. You laugh at the sound as Rainbow Dash joins in, laughing and clapping her hooves together. Once done enjoying yourself, you walk over and take the mug from her, setting it on the bedside table.

“Do you want to hear a story before bed?” you then ask the little filly, to which she shakes her head from side to side in response. She then rolls over and snuggles up under the blanket, letting out a contented sigh. Fair enough, you think to yourself, she isn't a fan of  reading after all.

You leave her be, and walk to the plug socket on the opposite wall to plug in the usual night light, when you hear a quiet huffing. You turn around to see Rainbow Dash sitting up in bed, shaking her head again.

“What? You don't want a night light?” you ask, to which she continues shaking her head indicating a no. You do as she wishes, and leave it on the floor. Of course the tough and mighty Rainbow Dash isn't afraid of the dark!

You stand up again, only to accidentally bump the nearby bookcase, knocking several books onto the floor. You quietly curse your misfortune and rub your sore head, before picking the books up and placing them back on the shelf. You put the last one away and turn around, only to see Rainbow Dash sitting in bed smiling eagerly at you, her face changing to a frown when she notices you aren't holding a story book.

“So, you do want to hear a story after all?” you ask, to which she nods reluctantly, her cheeks turning a shade of red. “Alright then, let's find you a story,” you say, turning to the shelf to select a book. Of course you know exactly which book you had planned to read  if she wanted a story, removing it from it's place on the shelf. 'The Flight Manoeuvres of Stunt Pilots.' Ideal for such a keen flier.

You carry the book to the bed and sit down on the edge of the mattress, holding the book out so she can see. You open it up and begin reading specific pages aloud, mainly the ones with diagrams so she can study them intently. As you look at the diagrams, you have difficultly working out how half of the moves are performed. You turn to look at Rainbow Dash, only to see she is smiling eagerly. Her eyes closed as she pictures how to pull off such stunts, her head tilting back and forth as if she was mid flight already. Clearly it comes naturally to such a skilled pegasus, you think, as you continue to read.

After half an hour, she lays back, and rests her head on the cloud pillow, closing her eyes, a content smile on her face. You stand up slowly and put the book back on the shelf, marking the pages for her to look at tomorrow. You leave the bedroom, turning the light off as you go. You look back in to check she's still asleep, only to hear a loud snoring coming from the bed. You laugh quietly to yourself, glad you're not sharing a room with her.