Close Bonds: Twentieth Chapter

You wait outside room 405, idly tapping your foot and leaning on the wall across from the door. Just as you’re about to leave to go steal some candy from Cream, the door opens.

“Hey, Rainbow!” you greet as a happy-looking pegasus steps out of the room. You kneel down and hug her, and she wraps a hoof around your neck as well. When you break the hug, you remain kneeling for the purpose of speaking face-to-face. “So, how’d the cast removal go?” you ask, looking past her to see her now liberated wing.

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe how amazing this feels!” she exclaims, displaying both her wings with a whoosh of air, before quickly pulling them back in and wincing. “Ow…”

“Rainbow! Don’t. Do. That!” Sweetheart hisses, standing behind her. “I just got your cast off, I don’t want to put it back on again.” She shakes her head, taking a deep breath. “Okay, Rainbow. Like I said, it’ll take some time before you can actually fly again. For now, though, you’re going to need to wrap your wing.”

“Uh, like, just once? Or do I have to do it over and over again?”

“Once a day. And it’s easier if you have help.” Sweetheart turns her head in your direction.

You nod. “Ah, okay. I see where this is going.”

“Right. Now, come along you two,” she says, turning down the hall, “I need to show you how to wash the wing, and apply the gauze correctly.”

Dash raises an eyebrow. “I think we both know how to wash a wing already…”

“An injured one. There’s a big difference,” the doctor explains. “And it’s mostly for Ivan anyway, no matter how good he may be at ‘cleaning’ you.”

You take a questioning glance at Rainbow, but she just shrugs, and follows the other mare. You decide to leave it alone, choosing instead to follow in the pegasus’s lead.

“Yuck,” you comment, wiping off all the excess feathers and skin that got trapped on her wing when the cast was on. The moistness gives it a kind of sweaty stench, making you pour some more water on.

“Be careful around the fracture,” Doctor Sweetheart instructs. “If it smells too bad, you can add some soap.”

“Finally,” you say exasperatedly, grabbing a bottle of shampoo.

“Wrong soap.”

You stop for a moment, and stare at Sweetheart. Then, slowly, you place down whatever bottle you picked up, and look at the row of shampoos lined up on the side of the bathtub.

“I think it’s this one,” Rainbow says, holding up a tan container. She’s not actually in the bath; just her wing hangs over the edge. You take the bottle from her, and read the label: ¥o⌠ ~ß•σoß⌂τ⌂∩ ~₩••σo_ß••, or for Sensitive Wings.

You say thanks, and she smiles, most likely recalling the last ordeal you had concerning varieties of shampoos. You pour some on her feathers and rub it in, making sure to be extra gentle where you feel a swollen knob close to the end of her wing.

It’s a little while before you finish. Once you’ve toweled her off, her feathers are a dull blue, and unlike her other wing, lacking luster. Sweetheart trots up, running her hoof through Rainbow’s feathers, as if inspecting your work. “Alright, good. Now, the tape.” She turns around, grabbing a roll of white gauze and placing it on the stool in front of her. “Putting this on is pretty simple. Just watch me do it, and you’ll be fine for the next time.”

As she goes along, she explains to you little things that you might not be able to notice by simply watching. Luckily, the spot where the wing was fractured isn’t too near a joint, she mentions, so you’re able to wrap the tape tightly, if not too tight as to hurt Rainbow.

“Try to change it at least once every two days; once a day is best, but if you can’t get around to it, then every other day is fine,” she says, handing you two rolls of gauze. “This should be enough to last you until the next check-up. Come back to me in, say… three weeks, and I’ll tell you how you’re doing.”

“Alright, cool.” You glance at your watch. “Well, thanks for everything, Sweetheart. We have to go home and get ready. Twilight’s expecting us tonight, and I don’t want to have to take the late train in.”

“Aren’t you riding first class? You get a whole cabin to yourself, with room service. And those heavenly beds…” The thought of sleep obviously appeals to her, as early in the morning as it is.

“Yeah, but ordering food and drink will probably cost money, I’m staying in the Canterlot castle where there’s even better beds, and I’ll most likely end up falling asleep on the train anyway, regardless of the time. And,” you add, flashing a smile at Rainbow, “we’re probably gonna do some sightseeing. I know for a fact that this little pegasus here has been itching to get out of this hospital and go do something.”

Rainbow Dash kicks each one of her hind legs outwards, as if stretching. “Hell, yeah. I’ve been locked up in this damn place for over a week. Can’t wait to get some fresh air.”

Sweetheart chuckles. “Touché to you, Ivan. And you lucky ducks! Funny how this all falls on a Monday,” she alludes, a jokingly suspicious tone to her voice.

“Hey, you’re the one who planned to take Rainbow’s cast off today, not me,” you say, putting your hands up defensively.

She shakes her head, smiling. “I know. Well, you two have a good time, and good luck!”

“Thanks, Sweetheart. I’ll see you when we get back,” you say, turning to leave, but not before waving at her.

You stop by Rainbow’s room, grabbing your bag of clothes and toiletries, and throwing in your new rolls of tape as well. As the both of you near the exit, Cream makes sure to send you off with a warm goodbye.

“Alright, Cream, I’ll see you later,” you wave. You open the door, holding it open for Rainbow before you step out yourself.

“Ahh! It’s bright!” Rainbow gasps, shielding her eyes.

“It’s fine by me if you hiss like a vampony. You can turn into a bat and fly ahead to the shadows,” you tease. “Oh, wait, forgot. Can’t fly.”

You receive a good punch for that. You’ll admit, you definitely deserved that one. The rest of the walk goes quietly, only the occasional stop to say hello to a pony and ask how they’re doing. You assume that Rainbow’s simply savoring her new freedom.

When you get to your house, as expected, there’s yellow tape all around the front yard. You approach the guard in front of it, pulling out a letter from Twilight and showing it to him.

He takes it, inspecting it for a moment before handing it back. “We were informed of your arrival beforehoof. Enter the premises through the back door, stay out of the living room.”

You frown, tucking the letter back into your pocket. Being told what to do in your own house doesn’t exactly sit too well with you.

You enter through the back, stepping into the kitchen. You glance at the fridge, knowing better than to open it and see just how much of your food has spoiled.

As the two of you walk down the hall, you both stop to look out into the living room. The place where it all went down. Something that astounds you, yet doesn’t surprise you, is the sheer amount of collective blood. It’s all in the rug, the majority of it mixed in with the shattered glass, and around the spot where Scootaloo’s dad lost his leg.

For a split second, you begin to feel a hint of regret over your actions; perhaps you’d been a bit hasty in your decision-making. However, upon recalling Rainbow’s shuddering, pained form huddled close to the ground that night, any remorse is gone in an instant.

Rainbow opens the door to her room, and you continue walking until you’ve come to yours. You step inside, sighing once you’ve realized that the sheets on your bed still haven’t been changed.

It was an exciting night, in more ways than one.

As you sift through your closet, looking for suits suitable for rendezvous with a princess, you hear the thud of a semi-soft material hitting the rug. “Ready.”

You turn your head around. Rainbow sits on the ground, a suitcase in front of her, looking up at you. Her expression reminds you of a faithful dog, waiting for its master. “Alright,” you say, turning back to the closet, “Just gotta find something nice to wear, and then we’ll go.”

She says nothing, just trots over to the bed. You hear the bed squeak when she places her hooves on the edge of the mattress, but then quickly withdraws them. You chuckle to yourself.

The soft plodding of hoofsteps makes its way towards you. Then, unexpectedly, you feel two forelegs wrap around your upper leg. You look down to find that Rainbow is hugging you.

You raise an eyebrow. “So, what’s this for?”

She doesn’t answer immediately, taking the time to squeeze you harder for a moment, and then reluctantly let go. “I- I don’t know. I just needed it.”

You pull out a plastic bag, placing inside three suits with the hanger heads poking out. “And why’s that?”

She looks around. “I feel kind of… uncomfortable. For as long as I’ve lived here, this has kind of become my home. And home is… a place where you’re supposed to be safe.” She shivers. “Just think. What if neither of us had woken up? What was he planning to do? Was he just gonna steal things, or did he plan on doing something to us?”

This really does cause you to reflect. What would’ve happened? Would one, or both of you be seriously injured? Kidnapped? Or worse, dead?

You kneel down, wrapping your lover in a tight hug. “I guess we thank our lucky stars that nothing truly terrible did happen, and use this as a lesson to not take what we have for granted. And also to put security spells on the doors and windows.”

She chuckles. “Speaking of not taking things for granted… You know I love you, right?”

Your cheeks burn. How often does she say that? She sounded so sincere, like she meant it. “Yeah.” You pause. “I… love you too, Dash.”

“Fuck… Shouldn’t the train be here already?”

Rainbow glances towards the clock on the outside wall of the train station. “It’s still ten twenty-nine. There’s a minute left.”

You roll your eyes. “Not like they’re literally going to arrive right at ten-thirty…”

In the distance, you hear the shrill cry of a steam engine. You crane your head to the left, and sure enough, a tiny train can be made out on the horizon. When it finally stops in front of you, you pick up both your bags and Rainbow’s, intent on entering as soon as the doors open and the crowd disperses.

You’re about to take a step forward when you feel a tug on your leg. You look down to find that Rainbow is pointing back towards the train office. You follow her hoof to exactly where she directs you, your eyes landing back on the analog clock.

Ten-thirty. Well.

After going inside, the two of you take the stairs up to the top level and pass through car after crowded car, walking by all the third-class riders. You take pity on them, being scrunched into their small, poorly-spaced seats. You eventually come to the car you believe is yours, descending the steps downwards and opening the door to your first-class ride.

The first thing you do? Bump your head on the doorframe.

Rainbow laughs, trotting past you and jumping onto the bed. “Wow, Sweetheart was right. This is nice.”

You duck under the doorway. “Yeah, I’ll bet it is,” you grunt, dropping the suitcases to hold your forehead. You’re a bit more careful about standing to your full height with this next attempt, rising slowly until you’ve straightened out all of the way. Fortunately for you, you get a few inches of head room.

You walk over to the bed, sitting down slowly in case the quality of its craftsmanship can be compared to that of the room’s. To your surprise, the bed is comfortably soft.

This, however, doesn’t alleviate the pain in your head. Rainbow notices you rubbing your forehead, and asks, “What, does it still hurt?”

“No, I’m just holding my head because I feel like it,” you respond sarcastically.

She leans over closer. “Here, let me help,” she says, moving your hand out of the way. Before you can question her actions, she props herself up on your shoulder and kisses the spot where you hit yourself.

After a beat, she lets herself down and smiles. You trace your fingers along the newly-formed, but now painless bump. “I think it worked.”

She chuckles, then drops her head in a bashful manner. “Sorry for laughing. That was kind of mean, wasn’t it?”

You wrap your arms around the pegasus’ back, hugging her. “Nonsense. All in good fun. And, it gives me an excuse to laugh at you without you getting mad.”

She groans, playfully shoving you while still in your embrace. In response, you pull tighter, making her squeak like a little stuffed animal. She tries to escape your squeezing, but only succeeds in falling into your lap, where you quickly pin her down.

“Hey! What gi- Ahh…” She squirms at first, trying to break free of your hold, but melts like butter once you begin kneading her shoulders.

“You ponies… This is your biggest weakness, I know it,” you say, scratching her behind the ears. Her only response is to flip over onto her back, meaning to show you her rubbable belly but also unintentionally showing you her more… private parts. At least, you think it’s unintentional.

You run your hand through her pliable belly, her soft moans eventually drifting into snores. You rub circles into her chest as well, feeling the rise and fall of her chest and the beating of her heart. As you do this, however, something strikes you as peculiar.

You slide your hand over her chest, spreading your fingers. Soft fur sticks up from the spaces between your three middlemost fingers. You realize that, although you’ve rather enjoyed stroking this little tuft of fur lately, you don’t remember it originally being there.

Interesting.

You would ask the little pegasus pony in question about it, but she’s out like a lamp. You hover above her for a moment, reveling in the sensation of her warm breath on your cheeks, before leaning down and planting a quick kiss on her nose.

You step off the bed and walk over to your luggage. You unzip your only bag, opening it up and digging through one of the pockets.

You hear a crumbling sound and touch something papery. You grab it, pulling out what seems to be a note with a list on it, or something. You begin reading the contents of the paper.

To take back what is rightfully ours, we must:
1. Secure the beer
2. Ascend From Below
3. Rain Soda
4. Unleash the herd
5. Skewer the tall beast
6. Wield a Hoof of iron
7. Raise Hell
8. Drink
The hell is this? And more importantly, how did it find its way into your bag?

You set the eerily familiar chant aside. Just one more thing to ask Rainbow when she wakes up.

The second time around, you manage to find what you’re looking for. You pull your iPod out of your suitcase, unwrapping the earphones around it and turning it on as you walk back to the bed.

You sit down, then stick the earbuds in your ears. As you’re scrolling through your music selection, you feel a tug on your shirt. You take the earbud out of one ear and turn to look at Rainbow, who now seems to be awake.

“Can I hear?” she asks. You hand her the earbud, and she sticks it in the best she can without getting it stuck in her ear. You pick a random song and lean back, lying next to your little pony.

Of all the songs in your library, the one to come on is Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.

We’ll do it all
Everything
On our own

We don’t need
Anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me, and just forget the world?

A warm body snuggles up close to your own, and rests her head in the crook of your neck. The both of you stare up at the ceiling, just letting yourselves become in tune with each other’s breathing.

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes
They’re all I can see

I don’t know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things
Will never change for us at all.

Suddenly, a loud rapping at the door. “Room service!”

The both of you groan. “No thanks!”

“I’m here to check your tickets!”

Fucking dammit…

You sit by the window, watching the scenery go by. Rainbow’s on the bed, sipping at some lemonade and munching happily on some hay fries. You would have gotten something, maybe some potato fries, but you hold off on nourishment, saving your appetite for later.

You’re watching something akin to a pine tree go by, when suddenly, darkness engulfs the train. It takes a few moments for you to realize that you’re in a tunnel. The lights come on in the car, admittedly rather dimly, but it’s just a few minutes before you’ve come back out into the open light.

You look out the window again, and your jaw drops. “So this is Canterlot… Wow.”

Rainbow Dash sees your expression and walks up beside you, a smirk on her face. “Awesome, isn’t it? I’ve been here a few times, so the effect has kinda worn off. But go ahead, look at it.”

You don’t respond, more intent on the colossal castles. You’ve never actually seen a castle before, as you’d never gone outside the continental U.S., but you’re pretty convinced that there can’t be anything this magnificent back on Earth.

You finally decide to bring your eyes downward, focusing more on the inhabitants of this marvelous city. What surprises you is the diversity of the population here: minotaurs, buffalo, zebras, horses, griffons, and to an extent, diamond dogs… Ponies still make up the majority of the population, but there are still a large number of non-native species, most of which you’ve only heard or read about until today. And so many of them are wearing clothes…

You feel right at home.

Soon, the train begins to slow. You stand, you taking your suitcase in one hand, Rainbow grabbing hers in her muzzle. The both of you leave the room, searching for the nearest exit.

Once outside, you can’t help but gawk again. Without the window as a handicap to your sight, you’re able to appreciate the city’s full beauty.

“Well, I see that you’ve taken a liking to this place.”

You immediately snap your eyes to the voice. Twilight stands before you, an eyebrow raised.

Your lips curve up into a smile. “Well, well, well,” you say, taking slow, deliberate steps towards her. “Equestria’s youngest, newest princess, in the flesh.”

She sticks her tongue out at you. “I think I prefer to be called Twilight. But thank you, anyway.” She stays silent after this, trying hard not to smile. In only a few moments she gives in, a grin cracking wide across her face. She nearly lurches forward, hugging you tightly around the waist. “It’s so nice to see you again,” she says into your belly button.

You do your best to hug her as well. “You too, Twilight.”

She lets go of the hug, brushing some of her mane out of her eyes once she’s back on all fours. She turns to face Rainbow.

The two watch each other for a moment, studying each other’s expressions. Then, simultaneously, each mare raises their right forehoof. They bump them together head-on, then bring them out to the sides and bump them sideways. Left, right, and then each forehoof goes around the other’s neck, the two of them pulling together into a tight hug.

Something that honestly surprises you is the difference in Twilight since you last saw her. Any alicorn growth a few months ago could have been easily overlooked and gone unnoticed, but now it looks as if she’s had something akin to a growth spurt. She’s a full head’s height above Rainbow, and when thinking back, you realize that she was able to hug you around the waist without even standing on her hind legs.

The two of them giggle mirthfully. Rainbow doesn’t seem to notice Twilight’s change in height; if she does, she doesn’t mention it.

“So, how do you like our hoofshake, Ivan?” Twilight asks. You refocus yourself, realizing that you’d almost been caught staring at the two.

“Oh, uh… Kinda reminds me of a handshake we used to have back on Earth, actually.”

“Hand- Oh, yeah. Really? Hmm…” Twilight begins to ponder this, perhaps for a bit longer than you’d think is normal. “Well, Rainbow Dash made it up. So the credit goes to her.”

You nod. “That’s cool. Just an observation.”

“So, are we walking to the castle, or do you have some sweet princess ride or something?”Rainbow Dash asks.

Twilight shrugs. “I teleported most of the way here. I could teleport us back, but we should probably walk at least halfway there, unless you’re fine with having slight burns and dusting a small layer of ash off yourselves.”

You study her face, trying to find out if she’s kidding. She’s completely serious, you realize, so you look to Rainbow. She shrugs.

You turn back to Twilight. “We’ll walk.”

“And right over there… Do you see that?” Twilight points to the right of you. You and Rainbow look, following her hoof to the front gate of a park. “When the weather patrol receives an order of clouds, they often find that too many have been shipped to use. Instead of discarding them, they like to place them in this park here.”

Rainbow’s eyes widen. “So, wait a second here… You’re saying that there are clouds in that park?”

Twilight nods. “Yep. It’s really nice, since it gives more ground-dwelling ponies the chance to experience what clouds are like.”

“That’s awesome… I haven’t even touched a cloud for weeks…” Rainbow murmurs. You take note of this.

Twilight continues to point out other notable places as you walk along. As time passes by, however, a certain itch festers in the back of your mind. You need to ask Twilight something.

“So, Twilight,” you begin as soon as there’s a break in conversation. Twilight looks at you. You continue, “I noticed you don’t seem to have any bodyguards. I saw guards at the train station, and there are a good number of them milling about the town, but none protecting you.”

Twilight chuckles. “What did you expect, a squadron of guards following me around in formation?”

You’re taken aback. “Well, kind of… This town is full of people who I think could pose a threat to you. I was actually surprised when I didn’t find you smothered in protection.”

“Well,” she smiles, “it seems they’re rather competent in their duties, then.” At the confused look you give her, she points a hoof straight ahead. “Look closely.” You watch, straining to see what she sees.

“Twilight, it’s just a carriage-”

“Not that. Just keep watching.”

You sigh, resigning to continue staring at the carriage. Just as you’re about to question Twilight’s motives again, you suddenly see what looks like the edge of the carriage bend and snap back into place like a rubber band.

Your eyes widen in surprise. Rainbow’s reaction is the same, and the both of you look to your purple friend for answers. She chuckles. “It’s a light bending, or invisibility spell. There’s actually a stallion a few feet ahead of us right now, and the reason that carriage just past him distorted is because the spell faltered for a moment.”

You nod in understanding, though still amazed by the brief magic show. “So, I’m guessing that by ‘light bending,’ you mean that he redirects the light around himself so that we can’t see him.”

She nods. You hum for a second, another problem coming to mind. “But if he redirects all the light around himself, doesn’t that mean that no light enters his eyes either, rendering him blind?”

A broad smile grows across the mage’s face and she claps her hooves together excitedly. “Yes! You’re the first pony outside of the science community to ask that!” Both you and Rainbow give her questionable looks at her outburst, and she blushes. “Sorry for that. Ahem.” After regaining her composure, “Yes, by all means, it does; but with a horn, there are many different ways to detect matter. Usually, increased sensitivity to sound is enough.”

The thought of ponies having their own form of sonar amuses you, for some reason.

Rainbow raises an inquiry. “How come nopony runs into them when they’re invisible like that?”

“It actually happens, sometimes. Ironically, I have the guards do this so that my guests feel comfortable, but when they see a pony run up and just suddenly blunder into nothing…” Twilight chuckles.

This brings a smirk to your face as well. “I’ll bet that doesn’t go too well.”

She gives a so-so nod of her head. “It depends. Usually, everypony around just reasons that the pony in question tripped.”

Rainbow Dash snorts. “Yeah, and the pony who just ran into an invisible guard?”

“Not so much.”

The three of you continue walking. You know for a fact that you’re not the only one staring ahead at the occasional flicker of the invisibility spell.

You notice from the corner of your eye Twilight looking at you, and you in turn look at her. She averts her gaze, looking instead to Rainbow this time.

“What’s up, Twilight?” you hear from beside you. You look, and see Rainbow looking at Twilight questioningly. Apparently, she’s been caught staring at your pegasus as well.

Twilight, however, doesn’t make any hints at embarrassment. “I’m just wondering if it’s now possible to safely teleport us all back to the castle. I think we might be close enough.” She lowers her head, and begins to charge her horn. “Hold on a second.”

Your eyes widen. “Wait. Didn’t you say that there’s a good chance all three of us’ll get-”

“-burnt?”

You blink. You’re up high, very high. Stone towers line the bottom of your vision, and extending out towards the setting sun are rows of buildings.

“Ivan, you might want to step back. I don’t know if the guardrails are proportioned to your center of gravity.”

You suddenly realize that you’re overlooking Canterlot, and that the only thing keeping you from tumbling to your untimely death is a stone rail that rests just under your waist.

“Shit,” you rasp as your heart lurches in your chest, falling over backwards onto the balcony behind you. Your butt and tailbone start to ache upon impact, as you really don’t have a lot back there for shock absorbance, but you’re more worried about keeping as low to the ground and as far from the edges as you can.

Two ponies look back at you, one with amusement and the other seeming disappointed in your reaction. “Um, Ivan? Are you okay?” Twilight asks, bemusement evident in her tone.

“He’s just scared of heights.” Rainbow rolls her eyes, trying to hold back a chuckle. “He acted like this once when I let him ride on my back while I was flying.”

“That’s not why- well, kind of. But in my defense, you said you wouldn’t do barrel rolls and shit like that!” You shake your head, trying to breathe normally and restore yourself some rational thought. “Sorry,” you say once the pounding in your chest has subsided to a steady tempo, “I was just kind of surprised.”

Twilight puts a hoof to her chin, lifting you to your feet with her magic. “By what? The teleportation or our current elevation?”

“Both,” you say, dusting yourself off.

“I thought I performed the spell quite well...”

“I think he’s saying you did too good of a job, Twi,” Rainbow says, throwing a foreleg around the princess’s shoulders.

You nod. “Yeah. It took me a second to realize we even teleported. And why are we…” You look around.

“…On my balcony?” The purple pony shrugs. “It’s the one place I can teleport without freaking out the guards or setting off security spells.”

“Hm… Well, alright. Still, it was a bit scary to suddenly find myself on the edge of a metaphorical cliff, no real warning or anything.”

The alicorn stands there for a moment, then shrugs. “I suppose that’s reasonable enough.” She looks to her side. “And Rainbow, you don’t have to strain yourself doing that, especially with your wing.” Twilight gestures towards Rainbow, or more specifically the awkward position she’s in. Even more awkward is the effort it takes to actually remove her foreleg from over Twilight’s shoulders, leaving her blushing and avoiding eye contact with you while you smirk at her.

“Having a little trouble there, Dash?”

She sticks out her tongue, leading Twilight to cough into her hoof. “Okay, so I suppose I should show you two to your room… You’ll get the grand tour later. You two are fine sharing a room, right?”

You and Dash share a shit-eating grin. Twilight sees this, and blushes. “Forget I asked. Just… come with me.”

“Ah… This is sooo nice…”

Rainbow stretches out on the bed, a few pops sounding off as she does so. You walk over to the window and open the blinds.

The window of the guest room you’re currently in offers a magnificent view of the city. Architecturally, the place is composed of old mixed in with new, with stone, brick and wood structures standing side-by-side with the newer concrete buildings. They, of course, look nothing like the ones on Earth, having a more rustic design as opposed to the squared-off highrises of your home town. Or, former home town. Nevertheless, it looks good.

“Hey Ivan, come here. You need to try out this bed,” Dash calls from across the room. When you turn around, she’s on her back, forehooves behind her head and one leg crossed over the other.

You decide to sit down on the couch set in place to the side of the window, seeing how the pegasus will react. She looks at you, seeming slightly irritated. “What are you doing?”

“Sitting on the couch.”

She gives you a look. “Why would you sit on the couch when there’s a perfectly good bed over here?”

You point to the small couch-side table with the stack of tabloids on it. “Magazines.”

“Whatever. Suit yourself.” She closes her eyes, sinking back further into her pillow.

You pick a magazine off the top of the pile, and begin to sift through it. It’s a lot of models, celebrities, and things of that nature, but you actually find some useful information, such as local restaurant reviews, scenic and historical spots.

When you look up from your browsing, you find Rainbow still in the same spot, idly brushing her hooves together. You decide to finally join her. You set the magazine down beside you, and walk on up to the bed.

She watches you approach, a bored look in her eye. Apparently, the novelty of the bed has worn off on her. “So, are we gonna do anything?”

“I was thinking about- Ooh, this is nice,” you comment, feeling your posterior sink into the mattress as you sit down. “I was thinking about going out for dinner, then just doing something afterwards.”

“Can we go to that one park with the clouds?” the pegasus asks, a twinkle coming to her eye.

You grin. “Sure, why not?”

The twinkle dies away as she asks another question. “Wait. Aren’t the only places around here fancy frou-frou restaurants?”

You give a so-so nod of your head. “Yeah, in the immediate area. There are some cafes and stuff, but they’re not really dinner places… We can go to one of those, if you’d like.”

She waves it off. “Nah, it’s cool. Guess I should be getting ready, then?”

You look out the window. “If you wanna leave before dark, then yeah. And you don’t have to wear anything special, it’s not like they’ll kick us out of a restaurant for-”

The space beside you where Rainbow sat is just that: an empty space. You look to the side, and get a glimpse of a rainbow tail trailing off into the next room.

Hm. Well, guess you’d better start getting ready then.

Author's Note

Alright, did it. This chapter was quite tricky, for some reason. Couldn't seem to get anything right, and probably deleted at least 1.5K worth of words and rewrote them.

Thanks go to hwRAWgers once again, for his proofreading.

Oh, and a heads-up. Updates will probably be extremely unpredictable and erratic from here on out for awhile. So time between chapters could span from a few days to a few weeks. I'll try not to take this long again, but... no promises.