>You awake to, what a surprise, the sun in your face. >You grumble as you rise from your slumber. >That sun has ruined your fun for far too long. >Gentleman? How do we kill the sun? >You know the sun personally. >You probably have a sexual assault case on the sun. >You guess you could travel to Canterlot, fight off all her guards, no doubt have to fight her sister, and then actually kill her to remove the sun. >... >That sounds like a crazy amount of work. >You look at your clock; 12:15. >That is way too much work for this hour on your day off. >Why the fuck were you up anyway? You weren't scheduled to come in today. >You lay your head back on your pillow and begin to drift off to sleep again... >You are interrupted by a trio of bangs on your door. >"Yo! Mous! Wake up man!" >You throw yourself out of bed and make for the door. >You consider caving Anon's head in with a nearby model before you open the door. >No... >Learn what he wants first, then bash his brains in with a Scout Titan. >You swing open the door and give him your best glare. >"WHAT!?" >He jumps back at your sudden outburst, but a smile is quick to form on his face. >"Good morning to you too, dude." he says with a giggle. >If your glare could kill someone, it would be doing it now. >You bring yourself back from the simmering rage you were at. >"What. Do you want. Anon." you spit out. >You've known him for over a decade, he better fucking know you hate waking up by now. >He leans against the wall and grins at you. >"I was wondering if you wanted to go to town with me today, we're both off and I have some shit to do." he says. >"Get Rainbow to go." >Maybe that pegasus could finally come out and fucking say it and these two would leave you to sleep all day in peace. >"Rainbow is in Cloudsdale for till tomorrow, just you and me." he retorts. >Silence falls in the hallway as you bury your face in your hand. >Anon eventually speaks up again. >"C'mon bro, please?" >Damn his eyes. He knew you were gonna fold. >You really wanted to sleep in. >But hanging out with Anon would be cool. >"The last time we hung out together, I got mauled." >"So think of how easy it will be to do better than that!" he says spreading his arms wide. >You peek through your hand to glare at him. >His smile is still wide as a mile. >"...give me a half hour." >Anon crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. "Slowpoke." >You'd punch him or something, but you were already on your way to the kitchen. >You pick through your cupboards, what was there to eat here? >Fruit? No. Applejacks are still not proven safe. Gorilla Munch isn't fit for dogs. >You knew what you needed to get you through this. >Some mother bucking pancakes. >You were amazed that the ponies here had pancakes. >You were even more amazed that they had pancakes that came in a box, you had expected them to only have batter. >You throw them in your microwave and head to the bathroom while you wait. >This was the last day you needed these Antitoxins, your pain had nearly faded away. >You pop one in your mouth and pocket the bottle for later, not bothering with the painkillers. >Your food is done and you sit down to eat, Anon already sitting across from you as he held his head up with his hands. >"Are you just gonna sit there and watch me eat until we go?" >"Yep." was his response. >You sit down and start eating your delectable prize for being up at this hour. >You only saved pancakes for important days. >You finish your meal and start to head to the shower. >"You think they can fix Rainbow at the hospital?" Anon asks. >That took you by surprise. >"What's wrong with her?" >You were concerned. Rainbow was a friend. >"Lately, I've been seeing her wings get real stiff all of a sudden. I think she may have some sort of paralysis." >You bang your head against the wall in frustration. >Dammit. Anon was the smartest guy you knew, he's not allowed to be this dumb. >You walk into your room and grab your anatomy book. >School was in session, bitch. >You flip to the section on pegusi wings. >"Read." >You don't wait for a response. -Anon PoV- >Damn, what jittered his critters? >You turn to the book and flip through some of the pages. >You had no idea what this had to do with Dash, but you'd humor Mous. >Pegusi wings can carry up to 200 pounds...blah blah blah...feathers mold every summer. >This was stupid. >You were worried about your friend, why learn about basic statistics? >You skip ahead a few pages. >Hollow bones, protected by innate magic. >Main bones run along the outer edge with smaller ones inside, muscle and skin stretched over them. >Bones are hollow. >They have primary blood vessels the same way that you had in your legs. >What did this have to do with anything?! >You're worrying about your friend's health and your bro hands you a book of useless facts? What is this? >You're about to close the book when you get to a section that catches your eye "Wing Phenomena" >Your interest re-ignited, you dive back into the text. >Genetic deformities where wings grow in backwards...horrible, but no...wings locking up in flight. >You come to one phrase that causes you to stop. >"Optera Tumesence" >You go through your knowledge of scientific phrasing to try and decipher this thing. >"Swollen Wing" That sounded promising. >"Pegusi wings can become swollen for a variety of reasons, be they from injury, or poor diet." the book read. >Rainbow didn't look hurt and apart from booze, her diet was phenomenal. >"While pegusi wings are sensitive normally, they become doubly so in this state." it continued. >So her wings were hurting? You continued reading. >"While pegusi wings can become swollen for many reasons, the most common is seems to be due to arousal." >Okay, so it looks like Rainbow's wings were always stiff because she was really turned on, that's a relief. >Whoawaitwhat? -Mous PoV- >You step into your room and toss on some clothes. >You weren't dressing to impress here; tee shirt and cargo pants it is. >You walk out into the living room and take a quick glance at Anon. >He looked like his brain just imploded. >"I take it you figured it out." >He looks up at you, his eyes were still wide. >"Hehe...yeah. "Arousal" huh? Nuts. Who do you think is causing it?" he says. >"Huh?" >"Who do you think is getting Rainbow so turned on?" he asks again. >Oohhh... >No. >Dammit, no. >You showed him the book, why can't he put two and two together? >Whatever, baby steps here. >"I dunno dude, let's get going." >You hate lying to Anon, but you'd rather not have to explain this situation to him. >You both step outside into the Equestrian sun. >You try not to glare at the object that constantly wakes you up as you head to the path. >"So what are we headed to town for?" >"Groceries, mostly. I could also do with a new notepad for work." Anon says. >"You went through that big ass notebook that fast?" >Anon shrugs. "Hey, I'm a research assistant." >The both of you continue walking until you see a floating mass of grey and yellow a bit further down. >There she is. >"Hey! Derpy!" >The mailmare spins around at the sound of her name and flutters towards you. >Her smile is infectious. >"Hey, Anon and Mous!" she shouts. >"Hey Derpy." >"Hi Derpy." >"Why are you two headed into town?" she asked as she fell in line with the two of you. >"Groceries, we're low." >"How about you, Derpy?" Anon asks. >"Oh, you know, gotta get these letters out. Especially with tomorrow being what it is." >Tomorrow? >What's special about it? >You think, it was mid February, and you know these ponies had an analogue for Valentines. >Wasn't it called... >"Heart's and Hooves day?" >"That's one thing!" Derpy beams. >You're about to ask her about that when Anon jumps in. >"You have any letters there from you Derpy? Maybe to someone you have your eye on?" he chides. >Derpy blushes and turns away. "Hehe. No, no special stallions in my life." >"That doesn't mean squat, don't think I haven't seen the looks you give that stallion at the clock store." >Derpy blushes harder at your teasing. >A quick look to Anon tells him to keep your little meeting with the clock store stallion to yourselves. >Derpy can find out about Time Lords when she's ready. >Derpy parts company with you two as you enter town. >You even get a hug goodbye this time. >That's new... >As the two of you make your way to the market, you're stopped by someone else calling your name. >"Mous!" >Goddammit, who noWHOASHIT. >FUCK. >LYRA. >ABORTABORTABORT. >You panic as the mint green mare canters up to you both with a cream coated earth pony following her. >"Mous! Hey! I didn't expect to see you in town!" she calls. >The earth pony looked pissed. >"Oh. Hi Lyra. Who's your friend?" you say through gritted teeth. >Gotta keep this conversation short. >This mare looks pissed. >"I'm Bon Bon." she said. >"Bon Bon is my-" Lyra started. >"We're together." Bon Bon finished. >Holy shit. Did her voice just change. >A glance to Anon shows that he saw it too. >TIMETOGO. >"WELLLYRAITWASNICETALKINGTOYOUWEHAVETOGONOW!" you say as you grab Anon and leg it. >"Mous! Wait up!" you hear her call. >You're around the corner before she finishes. >"Did you hear her voice!?" Anon shouts as you walk. >"Yeah, dude." >"What's the deal with that!?" >"I have no idea, but being around Lyra is rarely a good thing." >You both continue walking. >"So...what's Lyra's deal?" Anon asks. >"I don't know, she's obsessed with humans, apparently. Something about our hands." >You wiggle your fingers as you say that. >"Does she always find you like that?" he asks. >"She comes into the spa at least ten times a week." >Anon is silent for a minute. >"What are you gonna do?" he asks. >He's right. You had to do something. >Seeing Lyra a dozen times a week wasn't fucking working. >"I dunno, man." >You'll think of something later, you had shit to do. >The Ponyville market had everything, you just had to know where to look. >You grab Anon by the shoulder and turn him to you. >"Split up, grab your shit, meet back here in twenty." you say with accompanying hand movements. >"Gotcha." Anon says as he heads off. >You make your way around the stalls. >Some bread here, grapes there. >You pay the mare behind the counter. >Next is your delicious pancakes. >You grab as many boxes as will fit and pay the...mare. >You have everything you need and start to head back. >On your way, you begin to notice something off... >You meet back with Anon in the center of the market. >"Book store next?" you ask. >He smiles. "Nah, they had some notepads on the other end of the plaza. I picked up a few." >The two of you share a fist bump at your good fortune and head for home. >Anon speaks up when you're out of town. >"Hey...about the market...did you notice..." >"...all the mares? >"And there being NO stallions? >"And how the market was way less crowded then usual?" >It was a bit rare for the two of you to get on this wavelength. >Usually, one of you had to explain it to the other. >"What was the deal with that?" >"I have no clue dude, I've never heard of anything like that." Anon said. >Maybe it was some weird pony thing. Like Penguin migrations or something. >You arrive back at the house. >Check the clock; 2:15. >You were too wired now, can't get back to sleep. >Your perfect day of absolute sloth has been ruined. >You turn to Anon. >"...day drinking?" >He smiles. "You're on." >Anon heads to the kitchen to grab the booze as you hit the lights and start a movie. >'Lady in the Water'? Why did you even own this? >You and Anon take your places on the couch as the movie starts. >"So, lesbian ponies." >"I know right!" he cries. >After a marathon run of movies, booze, and whatever conversation you could grasp at, the both of you are so far gone they need a map to find you. >Sleepin on the couch tonight. >Anon is passed out on the couch, drooling again. >That fucker could never handle his alcohol. >You grab the remote in your mentally disheveled state and mash buttons until the room is pitch black. >You settle in as you drift off to sleep. >Anon had woken your ass up on your fucking day off so that you could help him get groceries. >Still... >This was good.