Against your better judgment, you turn and wrap a hoof around Twilight’s midsection. To your surprise, she immediately curls up her body and leans in to you, moving her head slightly to nuzzle against your barrel.

“Mmmmm,” she softly hums, shivering under her blanket. “You’re so warm…”

Cautiously, you reach your other forehoof out and wrap it around her. In response, her horn lights up, and the edge of her blanket floats up into the air and slowly wraps around you.

The pace of your breaths increases as you gently squeeze Twilight against you. “D-does this help?” you ask weakly.

“Mmmhmm,” Twilight purrs, letting out a deep sigh. Readjusting herself, she positions her head under your muzzle and presses the coat of her barrel against yours. “This feels so good…”

Gently, your crane your muzzle down and press it gently into Twilight’s mane. You are immediately hit with the full power of her scent, which you had only caught the faintest tastes of during your time together. The comforting aroma mesmerizes you, and you can’t help but to rub your muzzle back and forth several times.

With a single, fluid movement, Twilight kicks up her back hooves to lay over yours. Leaning forward, she wraps both of her forehooves around your neck and pulls herself up, such that her flank is resting on the upper sides of your hind legs.

She allows herself to settle back into a position where her muzzle rests tightly against your neck. “That’s better,” she whispers, lighting up her horn to tighten the blanket around you both.

You position your left hoof such that it wraps around Twilight’s lower back and rests on her cutie mark. You rub back and forth lightly and affectionately, being careful not to push your luck. You let your other hoof glide up and down the lower halves of her hind legs, relishing the feeling of her soft coat and the captivating form of her hooves.

Sighing again, Twilight presses her muzzle into your neck. With each breath she takes, you feel the coat on your neck and upper chest move and change temperature. The slight tickle, dampness, and warmth of her exhalations is blissful to experience, as is the occasional stroke of her tail against your flank as she swishes it in comfort.

After a few minutes, the slowing of Twilight’s breaths and the ceasing of her playful neck-rubbing signal that she has dozed off. Staring across the cabin at the reflections of the snowfall behind you dancing across the shiny wooden veneer, you find yourself unable to join her in sleep, instead savoring her intoxicating scent, the soft touch of her coat, and the calming pressure of her body against yours.

---

Some hours later, you and Twilight step off of the train and into an intimidating sea of white, your saddlebags heavily laden with your supplies. As Twilight reads a large map, you note the extensive patchwork of dull-colored buildings nearby, every third one spouting a thick, gray smoke that disappeared into a similarly-colored sky.

“Alright, I know where we have to go to find our hotel,” Twilight declares, folding her map and placing it back into her saddlebags. “Then we can head to the clinic and meet with the doctors.”

“One clinic for the whole town,” you whisper to yourself, silently in awe over the few ponies you could see trudging through the snow between the almost endless sea of arctic hovels.

“Are you ready to go?” Twilight asks.

You turn your head to meet her gaze, and smile softly. “You know it.”

Blushing slightly, Twilight focuses on your destination in the distance and begins a slow trot toward it. You follow alongside her, walking so close that your bodies occasionally touch.

She doesn’t seem to mind.

Proceed to Chapter 39.

Next Chapter: Chapter 33 Estimated time remaining: 46 Minutes