“There is the Hay-in-a-Bale!” Tempest pointed with her forehoof and began her descent towards the thankfully more modern than the one in Dodge City. “All passengers have prepared for landing!”

“I see it!” Dusky peeled off and began his descent to the ground. “I don’t know about you Tempest, but I'm looking forward to something unhealthy and full of calories.” When he landed Dusky began to fuss over his appearance, once more becoming the mare that he was always meant to be inside. ‘She’ stroked her charcoal grey mane and smoothed ‘her’ ponytail.

Noticing this, Tempest tutted like the mother hen she was and, seeing what a mess Dusky was making of said ponytail, proceeded to fuss over it for her. Once her mane was sorted, Tempest used her wings to smooth out the wrinkles in the red dress. “Dusky, you look lovely.”

“Thank you, Miss Tempest,” Dusky smiled and, changing his voice ever so slightly, completed the transformation from stallion to mare. “I was worried I looked like I'd carried a pony supersonic twice. Through a hedge backwards.”

“You're good,” Tempest gave the submissive royal pegasus a last critique, “Definitely no yellow stain on your dress.”

“That'll do me!” Dusky giggled and bowed politely as Tempest opened the Hay-In-A-Bale’s door and allowed the Princess to enter ahead of her.

Airmail looked up from her strawberry milkshake as she heard the door open and close, a big smile all over her face. The hour or so apart from Tempest had been too long indeed. “Hey, the explorers are back!”

Wildfire too perked up her ears and sniffed, at once hearing and sniffing Tempest’s familiar hoof-steps and her scent as her marefriend trotted through the diner from the door to their table. “Hey Honey,” the blind mare greeted her, “Did you have a nice ride?”

“Dusky!” Excited to see his lover, Brush Stroke launched himself from the table and ran over and immediately wrapped his mare up in a very tight bone crushing earth pony hug as if it was the very first time that he had seen ‘her’, for that’s what the Prince was now, his mare.

While Brush Stroke hugged it out with Dusky, Tempest likewise hugged Airmail and then Wildfire in turn. “It was a lovely ride,” Tempest grinned a very wide grin at that, for her experience had been far, far more than just ‘lovely’. When Airmail scooted up and made room for her, the violet mare sat down, the wide grin still on her face. “I saw a good bit of country side from a comfy perch.” The countryside in question though had been whizzing past at an almost imperceptible blur.

“My mare did well then, Tempest?” Brush Stroke asked proudly, very proudly indeed. When the violet weather pony nodded, the artist hugged his mare ever tighter, so much so that Dusky was starting to struggle to draw breath. “Are you hungry, love?” He asked, finally allowing her to inhale.

Tempest nodded again as she got herself comfortable next to Airmail’s right. “I had to keep my hooves inside the vehicle at all times so she wouldn't nibble on them.”

Laughing at that, Airmail flapped her azure blue wings from her position between Tempest on her right and Wildfire on her left and hovered over to the counter. “I'll get your usual, love.” She called back to Tempest over her shoulder, getting a welcome kiss blown in her direction as a thank you.

Still in Brush Stroke’s embrace, Dusky nodded as her belly gave a very loud rumble. “I am Sir, yes, could I get the biggest hayburger they serve, please?” She blushed as her belly rumbled again. The two supersonic flights had taken more out of the royal pegasus than she actually cared to admit.

Brush Stroke gave his hungry mare a delicate little kiss on her nose and bade her to sit at the table. “Of course you can, sexy mare.” At that, the mid blue earth pony stallion made his way over to the serving counter and ordered his Dusky a three quarter pounder triple stacked hayburger with three cheeses and haybacon. He also got more cheesy hayfries for himself, Wildfire and Airmail, seeing as she had already got them all refills on their shakes.

“Airy that was the bestest ride ever!” Tempest squealed joyously after she’d taken a sip of her vanilla shake that her herd-mate had just set down in front of her. Tempest did at least wait for her to hover her way back between herself and Wildfire before she continued, “Everything was going by so fast! I can't imagine hitting a bird or even a bug at those speeds!”

Wildfire giggled and took a slurp of her own shake. “D hit a house once going that fast, remember, D?” Of course, being blind she couldn’t see Brush Stroke’s wince at her comment, especially given what they’d agreed moments earlier.

Taking a very, very long slow sniff of her massive burger, Dusky smiled and put her left wing tight around her Master’s back. “No,” she said with a grin at her best friend, “I was told about it after the hospital released me two months later.” Indeed, Dusky knew full well she had been lucky to even survive that at all. She had only gotten away with broken limbs and a mini coma because the pressure wave from the rainboom had demolished most of the building first.

In a very loud stage whisper, Tempest said, “Not helping Wily…” seeing Brush Stroke’s wince though, she couldn’t help but feel amusement and sympathy in equal measure for the acrophobic earth pony. “But, at that altitude there really was nothing to hit,” she supplied quickly.

“And,” Dusky put in as she took a hungry bite of her burger and swallowed it, relishing in the heavily calorific greasy bundle that slid down her throat, “That is why I only attempt them at a minimum thousand feet altitude.”

Somewhat pale, Brush Stroke rested his right mid blue forehoof on his lover’s before she could pick up her mammoth burger once more. “Ahem…Dusky, we were chatting while you were gone, and well...um, I ah, I would like it if you'd be able to take me that fast…please…” he asked as per his agreement with Wildfire, before his nerve vanished altogether.

“Some advice for you, then.” Tempest interjected through a mouthful of Airmail’s cheesy fries. She’d have stolen Wildfire’s but she couldn’t reach. “Keep your head pressed to the neck as that reduces air resistance and makes it easier for the passenger to breathe. Holding on wasn't an issue, there is very little turbulence. I didn't experiment with ear licking, but you can certainly give it a try,” she finished with a giggle as Airmail successfully defended her fries against a second attack.

Dusky, for her part, had her mouth hanging all the way open and then some from shock alone. “R-Really Sir, you want to go for a rainboom ride?” Her mouth was still hanging wide open when Brush Stroke nodded silently that yes he would. She still couldn’t believe her ears. “It would be my sincere pleasure, but perhaps tomorrow?” She asked with a sheepish little smile. “I'm not up to it right now, Sir.”

Brush Stroke smiled a very relieved smile indeed as he went back to his vanilla shake. “That would be fine, Dusky.” He finished with a gentle little kiss to Dusky’s nose.

“Now you're going to make me want a ride,” Airmail said as the third cheesy fry raid from Tempest succeeded in the loss of a few of her valiant soldiers.

“You're more than welcome to go first, Airmail.” Brush Stroke replied, barely holding back his giggles when the azure blue mare passionately kissed her marefriend and got her stolen fries back.

“You're tired D?” Wildfire smirked as she slurped hard at her thick chocolate shake, “Now that's a first!”

Tempest saw the flash of temper in Dusky’s pink eyes and sought to head it off at the pass. “I'm glad you're as fresh as a daisy…”

“Wildfire!” Dusk snapped, unintentionally slipping his character before getting a sharp rap across his forehoof from his dominant lover that quickly brought the effeminate pegasus back into ‘her’ role. “Ahem…ah…M-Miss Wily,” Dusky corrected herself as Brush Stroke kissed the rapped hoof, “I've just covered about one thousand six hundred miles in around ninety or so minutes. So yes, I'm a little tired, thank you.”

“Oooh...” Wildfire blushed and went a little quiet, “Oh wow...I’m sorry, D that's really impressive.”

“Indeed it is, sweetie.” Brush Stroke smiled and hugged his mare tightly, happy that the whole incident was brief and over with.

“You flew with Oils on your back for ninety minutes, so you too did well, Wily.” Tempest put in, offering her support too for her marefriend.

Straightaway, Wildfire grinned wide, her descending mood buoyed back up to where it was before her slip of the tongue. “I did well?”

Dusky nodded her agreement to that. “Quite right you did well, and…I'm sorry I sounded a little testy with you.”

“Oh, um, that’s alright D,” Wildfire blushed and occupied herself for a few seconds with clearing the last remnants of her cheesy fries, “y'know me, act first think later.”

Airmail nodded at that, when she had finished her own plate of fries and her strawberry shake. “You ready to go, Wily?” She asked, believing a brief separation flight was in order to properly let the situation calm down.

“Yuppers,” Wildfire beamed, her plate and her shake empty, “I’m all refreshed and recharged!”

“Finish your meal and take your time, Stormy.” Airmail said to her herd-mate as the violet mare stood up to allow Airmail and Wildfire to get out of the booth seating pads at the table. Brush Stroke stayed sat down with his mare, who was valiantly taking delicate bites of her plate sized burger. “You two won't have much of a problem catching up with us.” After giving and receiving nuzzles to everypony at the table, the azure blue mare flicked her tail under the blind mare’s nose and led her outside. “Let's fly, Wildfire.”

Once they were airborne and once more headed back towards Trottingham at a comfortable thousand feet of altitude, with Wildfire and her flight headset leading the way, Airmail flew up alongside her diminutive lover and brushed her flank with her wingtip. “I said it would be easy for them, but that’s no reason to make it easy. You set the pace but I'd like to cover at least three hundred miles without a stop.”

“I gotcha, Pretty!” Wildfire checked her flight headset and, getting a reading of fifty miles per hour, she left the southern city of Marezona behind her as she accelerated up to seventy five with a few strong hard flaps of her yellow wings. “Y'know, this isn't as hard as it used to be, Pretty.”

“You've shown a lot of improvement, Wily,” Airmail smiled as she accelerated to match her marefriend’s speed and course heading. “Of course, healing your wings may have helped you just a tiny bit. You do know it is a one hundred miles round trip from Manehatten’s city centre to the weather factory?”

“Healing my wings was a big help.” Wildfire nodded, “You remember when I flew with the weather patrol that Friday afternoon before the Open Mic night? I was buggered after just an hour.”

Quietly, Airmail nodded, in spite of Wildfire of course not being able to tell. She remembered those ‘early’ days as well as anypony. The lead editor was amazed and impressed in equal measure with the amount of progress her little lover had made towards her recovery. “So, now we work on stamina.”

“My wings as they were then just couldn't handle more than an hour's flight.” Wildfire smiled at that. Even though it had only been ten or so days, she just couldn’t remember how badly her wings had hurt her before. All the badly healed breaks, the fractures, the trapped nerves, the tortured flight muscles…it had all become ‘standard’ daily pain over the years. “This trip would've been impossible for me before, though I don't think it’s stamina I need to work on.”

“You don't?” Airmail asked with a raised eyebrow, “Hmmm, so you can hover for about four hours with no issue then?”

“Well yeah, um I mean no I can't but yuppers I need stamina, I mean...” Wildfire squealed as she began to get flustered in flight. “Oooh! I-I mean…I think I need to work on not putting my hoof in my mouth first.” She finished with a very red blush colouring her cheeks.

“Yeah,” Airmail giggled, running her right hoof playfully along Wildfire’s left flank. “And here I thought you wanted to put my hoof in your mouth.”

“Well yuppers of course I do,” Wildfire continued to blush, “Only like all the time, that’s not what I meant though.”

“I know what you meant,” Airmail giggled as they flew over a crystal clear fast flowing river that was heading towards the Unknown South. “I love you, Wildfire.”

“I love you too, Airy.” Wildfire beamed as she flew on quietly for a few long moments. “I just wish you didn't have to keep apologising for me, that’s all.”

“Oh,” Airmail looked up from the beauty of the river and the rolling hills beyond it, “and why is that?”

“You might've noticed, the mouth opens before the brain engages.” Wildfire replied quietly, “The next thing I know either you or Stormy's saying sorry to somepony like I'm a thoughtless filly.”

“What would you have us do?” Airmail asked with a very audible sigh, “We do both care about you.”

Wildfire didn’t answer straightaway. Silently she flew over what her headset informed her was a tributary of the Delamare River that flowed through Fillydelphia to the South Celestia Sea. “I know you do, and I love you for it, you shouldn't have to though is all…” quietly she flew a little bit further, maintaining her seventy five mile per hour speed, “It’s no excuse, but we didn't really talk much, y'know, before.”

‘No,’ Airmail thought with a wry smile, ‘There’s been too much kinky sex to waste time talking…’ she giggled in spite of herself. While the sex had been a blast, as had the past week and a half, and she wouldn’t change a minute of it, she did wish there had been more talking time. Still, it had been necessary to get the blind mare over her issues. “How long have you known me?”

“Eleven days, Pretty.” Wildfire answered quickly. Crap at math as she was, even she knew that much.

“To be fair to both of us, we really haven't had a lot of down time to just get to know each other.” Airmail commented thoughtfully after a second or two to reflect on what her diminutive lover had said. “So far it has been a wonderful engagement with you, but it has been hectic too.” This much was definitely true. Wildfire herself had spoken to her and Tempest about this and said that much, that she felt like her hooves hadn’t touched the floor since that Thursday.

Airmail’s thoughts however were soon derailed by a very innocent question from the blind pegasus. “Engagement,” she started, turning her head in her direction, “Are we getting married?”

Airmail didn’t quite know how to respond to that, so she just giggled, hoping that as clueless as Wildfire was sometimes, this time she was being purposefully so for comical reasons. One look at her serious face however proved that to be false. It was clear what Wildfire thought. “I'm still single, and I've been living with Stormy for a long time.” She said after a deep breath, “Mapper did marry Serenity, but she really had to for medical rights. Is…that what you want, Wildfire?”

“It’s like mum used to say,” Wildfire answered somewhat quietly, “you meet a pony you love, they love you, you get married and make with the happy ever afters.” She shook her head though, “that’s just foalish rubbish, isn't it? My mum believed it though…”

“Not really.” Airmail interrupted her, “Look at the married couples in the herd, I doubt they'd say it was rubbish.” She then gently caressed Wildfire’s flank with her wingtip. “You didn't answer the question, either.”

It was at that moment Wildfire realised her attempt to divert and change the subject hadn’t been successful in the slightest. “Do I want to get married?” She asked in turn, blushing bright red, “Yes, yes I would.”

Now Airmail smiled a very wide, genuine, smile. “So,” she asked, although she already had a decent idea what the answer was going to be, “who do you want to marry?”

It was barely a second before Wildfire squeaked, “You! I want to marry you!” Wildfire’s heart was beating a gazillion beats per minute, and not at all from the exertion of the seventy miles per hour pace. She couldn’t believe she’d just said that. She also couldn’t believe she was in a position to have a mare to say that to, after everything that had happened to her.

“Oooh,” Airmail smiled, “so you do like the older ponies…” the azure blue lead editor flew forwards a little and caressed the blind mare’s cheek with her wing tip. “We’ll have to see what Stormy has to say about it.”

“Well you're pretty and awesome and really cool when you spank me and it’s really the best ever being with you…” Wildfire breathed a very necessary breath as she ran out, “And, I'm a gushing filly who should stop talking.”

Airmail’s heart melted then and there for this diminutive yellow pegasus who had just bared hers to her. “I'd kiss you right now, but we would most likely crash.” She giggled and caressed her again, earning herself a smile. “It is good to be open with your feelings. Now my turn. I love you, but I've never thought of marriage. I'm not against it of course. Otherwise I'd have said something when Mapper got married. I guess Stormy and I are comfortable where we are. Now you have entered my life, love.”

“Yuppers, I have,” Wildfire mumbled, thinking from that exchange that she had no chance with the older pegasus at all. Still, like her mum said, Faint heart never won fair pony. “And…I'll never forget the day you entered mine.” She said hopefully, a little spark of her still daring to dream that Airmail would say yes.

“It was a Thursday afternoon, I think.” Airmail smiled, playfully tapping a hoof to her chin in thought. “That night was the night I did you wrong.”

“Hey, don't be silly,” Wildfire turned her head to her lover’s direction and scoffed as they flew along, “hop on my back and gimme a kiss.”

“I have one better as I've seen you do it,” Airmail giggled, “Fly upside down and when you're good just glide. I'll swoop in and give you a kiss and we shouldn't tangle wings.”

“Alrighty!” Now that sounded like fun. Concentrating, the blind pegasus angled her wings and performed a perfect primary feather roll so that she was on her back and, holding her pinions out, glided on her back. As soon as she was inverted, Airmail glided in over her and planted as passionate a kiss as she could manage until gravity began to pull her towards the ground. Straightaway she flipped back over and flapped her wings to regain her lost height. “Now…that was awesomes!”

“I can agree with that.” Airmail smiled a very wide smile and flew alongside her blind lover once more. “Seriously though, we can talk it over with Stormy, but I'm sure she won't have a problem with it.” She said calmly, bringing the conversation back to the wedding ‘proposal’. “First of all though we do need to really learn about each other. We've both done the 'meet the parents', now I have to hope Stormy's parents don't make you decide to marry her instead.”

Wildfire could scarcely believe it. Was Airmail really agreeing to what she thought she was agreeing to? With her, really? Married? She didn’t dare believe it. “I…I can do serious, sometimes. I do have a question though, you’ve been with Stormy ages and not married her, why bring it up with me after just eleven days?” At that, she thought quickly, not wanting to have stuck her hoof in her mouth. “Um, ah, not that I don't want to, I do, I really do…”

“I didn't.” Airmail replied simply and honestly. “You did. Engagement is a military term when two forces combine. Sorry, but you thought I meant something else, I believe.”

Wildfire’s heart sank. It sank through her body like a five ton weight. “Oh. I messed up again, didn't I?” She felt smaller and more foolish than she had in a very long time. She’d bared her heart and soul. “I-I really thought that's what you meant.”

“Love,” Airmail caressed her lover once more. She knew, wholly knew and understood what the past few seconds had just cost her marefriend. “Wily, it is okay, because now I know your heart better than I did a few minutes ago.”

Wildfire’s ears, which had been slicked back to her head, now perked up. “It’s…it’s really alright?”

Again, Airmail wanted to melt. The little pony really was so adorable. “Yes love, it is really all right. Still, we need to talk to Stormy, and I expect some romantic dates that don't involve denting the refrigerator.”

“Poor fridge door,” Wildfire immediately burst out laughing at the memory of that wonderful night out. “He never stood a chance!” Once she finished laughing, a thought occurred to her. About how she had shouted at her later that night. “Hey Pretty, I'm sorry too y'know, for doing you wrong that Thursday.”

“No, do not be sorry for that.” Airmail corrected her quickly and definitely, “You have forgiven me, and I have forgiven you. That was a difficult night, but it did lock you into my heart forever.”

“I yelled at you and made you cry.” Wildfire said quietly. “Not a very good start, Airy.”

Airmail however wasn’t allowing her to take all the blame for that, not by a long chalk. “And I let Mapper follow through with Luna's plan to break you.” She pointed out to her marefriend as she caressed her flank lovingly. “I was there watching the whole time. I was crying long before you yelled at me.”

Wildfire thought about that quietly for a few moments of flight. “So,” she said presently, “we agree Thursday was a toughie, right?” She asked and blew her older lover a kiss.

“I can agree to that,” Airmail smiled, “then Friday came and it was a wonderful day.”

“Yuppers, that Open Mic was sweet. I loved reading you that poem.”

“You have a lovely voice, too.”

“Thanks babes,” Wildfire beamed her wide beaming smile at that. “And you're really smart y'know, you came up with that whole Wildflower thing for my headset…” she trailed off to silence and her smile became a blush, “then I go and prank you…”

“It was a good prank though,” Airmail giggled. She remembered that prank, and the spanking fun they’d had afterwards in their bedroom as a result. “Don't think you have to change for me. If you want to change, you need to do it for us as a herd.”

Put at ease, Wildfire giggled. “You were just the awesomest after, that spanking you gave me was sweet. You know what was the best though? When I saw you in the dream.” The yellow mare’s tone took on a very faraway dreamy tone now. “You were the first of the herd I met, and the first I ever saw. That dream meeting was really special. I loved you before, but that night I started fancying you too. You're just really pretty, with your fur and your mane and your um…fur.”

Airmail couldn’t help but giggle. By Celestia’s sainted white flank Wildfire was adorable! She couldn’t resist a little teasing. “I'm so wiggling my hips for you right now.”

“Pretty!” Wildfire exclaimed, “I'm trying to fly straight!”

“Okay,” Airmail laughed, happy that her teasing had worked, “so I'll just fly in front of you with my tail lifted like a flag.”

“Yuppers, ‘cos that's a lot better!” Wildfire giggled as she was told by her flight headset that Point Two was flying in front of her. “I saw Stormy too and how cute she is, well I...I didn't think we'd be talking marriage anytime soon.” She was still amazed that Airmail was technically single.

“How are you doing, flight wise?” Airmail asked over her shoulder. They’d been flying at seventy miles per hour now for well over an hour.

“Alrighty love,” Wildfire answered quickly. “Surprisingly I'm not thinking about my wings!”

~ ~ ~

Way back in Marezona, in the Hay-In-A-Bale, Tempest was busy shovelling in her cheesy fries at a delicate pace. “I'm sure this stuff is going straight to my hips,” the violet mare grinned as she brushed her unruly black mane away from her face. “But, I just don't care!” She declared with foalish glee.

“I'm with you Miss Tempest,” Dusky smiled, the midnight blue fur on her face streaked with grease and flecks of stray haybacon. “Right now I couldn't care less, this huge burger is amazing!”

“Oils, what was your parents’ occupations?” Tempest asked. Seeing as they were sharing each other’s company for a while, the weather pony decided it prudent to get to know her new friend a little better. Plus, she was feeling particularly nosey too. “Both of mine were weather ponies, they’re retired now.”

While his mare busied herself with putting away the monstrous burger – the artist had no idea where Dusky put it – Brush Stroke smiled at the thought of his parents. “Dandelion, my ‘mum’, he’s fifty two, he owns a flower shop in Trottingham, his special talent is growing flowers and he's had that shop for about twenty years now. Starbright, definitely the ‘male’ of the two, he’s sixty and he was a captain in the Equestrian army Medical Corps. He retired from active service fifteen years ago.”

A thought occurred to Tempest then, to do with her mother’s favourite treat, something she hadn’t bought her in a good long time. “If we get back soon enough, I'll need to pick up some flowers for my mom, then.” Tempest said, almost thinking aloud. “Chrysanthemums if your dad has them. My mom loves to nibble on those.”

“Dad has all sorts of flowers,” Brush Stroke replied with a shrug of his mid blue shoulders, “he's even got a whole wall filled with really rare ones. I'm sure he has whatever you could need.”

“Vanilla shakes, too?” Tempest asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on her face as she slurped her shake.

Dusky simply giggled around another mouthful of her burger while Brush Stroke smiled. “He has tea.”

“Tea?” Tempest giggled, “I'm shocked.”

“Oh yes, Dandelion just loves his tea.” Brush Stroke commented, thinking back on all the many and varied types of tea his dad adored. He had brands and varieties for every single meal, holiday and situational disaster. No matter what, Dandelion had tea to match it. “How long have your parents been retired?” He asked, as curious about Tempest as she was about him.

“My sire, Lightning, just two years ago.” Tempest explained as she took another mouthful of her cheesy fries. “My mother, Mist, retired to do a weather desk job about five years ago.”

“I think Starbright would like Dandelion to work less in the shop,” Brush Stroke smiled as he thought of his handicapped father, “but staying at home would drive him crazy.”

“That would be true.” Tempest had to agree with that. She knew exactly what he meant. “My mom still works so she can escape my sire,” she let out a little giggle, “Of course my brother still lives at home.”

Brush Stroke chuckled, from his own experiences with his parents he could well understand that. “When I was younger, Starbright tried helping out at the shop a few times until dad had enough of his ‘help’ and threatened to turn him into fertilizer for his flowers.”

Tempest burst out laughing, almost coughing up her shake. “In a way, I'm glad Wily didn't go for a weather job. The five of us with different jobs makes living together a lot smoother.”

“Exactly that,” Brush Stroke agreed, helping himself to a hoof full of his mare’s onion rings. “My dad has a very 'organised chaos' approach to his shop, whereas father is strict on order. It didn't last, thank Celestia.”

Having demolished three quarters of her burger, Dusky swallowed the mouthful she was working on. “There you go again, always thanking Aunt Tia!” The royal pegasus smirked and reached for her milkshake.

“Yeah, you really need to include a body part in that you know,” Tempest snickered, thinking of her friend Sonic in the greater herd as she finished off her shake. She cleared her throat and gave a loud example. “By Celestia's left teat these fries are delicious!”

Caught entirely unprepared, in mid-bite, Dusky choked a little and Brush Stroke had to gently slap his mare’s back. “By Celestia's arse that was funny!” The artist sniggered while Tempest simply ate the rest of her plate with a huge grin.

“Y-You…” Dusky gasped, tears in her pink eyes. “You...are both...evil, Sir, Miss!”

“Oh my love we aren't that bad,” Brush Stroke giggled and laid a somewhat apologetic little kiss on his lover’s wet cheek.

“By Luna's inner folds we are, Sir!” Tempest declared loudly, earning her several curious glances from the few other diners that had entered the Hay-In-A-Bale in the last few minutes. Looking at the particularly scandalised face of an elderly unicorn mare she couldn’t help it anymore and lost it in fits of laughter.

At her seating pad, it was all Dusky could do to not colour up in a huge blush while Brush Stroke joined in with the riotous laughter. “By Luna's awesome teats I quite agree!” When the mid blue earth pony stallion let loose with however, Dusky lost the blush battle.

Dusky groaned, “I hate you both.”

“I can feel all the love!” Tempest snorted through her gales of laughter.

Leaning in to his lover, Brush Stroke gently lifted Dusky’s face from the table with a hoof under her chin. When he was looking into those pink eyes he loved so much, he gave her lips a delicate little kiss. “You love us, really.”

Immediately melting into the wonderful kiss, Dusky smiled. “You know I do, Sir.”

“Dusky,” Tempest smiled apologetically, “can you tell I've been around Sonic for far too long? He really loved swearing by your mom when she was present to hear him.”

Dusky giggled and, not breaking the embrace, replied; “Just a lot, Miss Tempest.”

“Sonic was - is – a lot of fun,” Brush Stroke grinned widely as he finished off his shake. “As is his partner Trails. It was so funny when they came over to my North Park apartment in Manehatten.”

Now Tempest was very interested, especially as she knew full well Trails liked to cross dress as a mare as much as she liked to dress as a stallion. “Was it Trails or Shoe that paid you two a visit?”

“It was Miss Shoe,” Dusky replied, her blush firmly back in place and looking like it wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. “And yes, I fell for the act.”

Fresh laughter erupted from Brush Stroke, “Oh, did you ever fall for it, my love!”

“She said she'd gone to the night court as she was pregnant with my foal and wanted to marry me!” Dusky reeled off quickly as she though she ought to explain for Tempest’s benefit.

“Pranksters the two of them.” Tempest giggled, passing her judgement.

“Tempest, you should've seen my Dusky's face, it was such a picture!” Brush Stroke laughed.

“It wasn't funny!”

Despite Dusky’s insistence that it wasn’t funny, both Tempest and Brush Stroke erupted in a fresh bout of giggles. Much to the elderly unicorn’s disapproving glare from the neighbouring table. “Have you by any chance told your mom or mum about that prank?” The giggling violet mare asked, ignoring the unicorn completely.

“No, I haven't,” Dusky answered emphatically, “because they are more than capable of coming up with their own pranks.”

“I'm sure there will be a prankster’s conference on gaming night,” Tempest commented, not entirely helpfully.

Despondently, Dusky put her forehead in her hooves. “Sweet Celestia, help us all…” she muttered as she picked up what was left of her burger, determined to finish the lot.

“You forgot a body part.” Tempest couldn’t resist.

“Aunt Tia's sweet horny horn help us,” Dusky amended, making sure to stick her tongue out at the giggling violet weather pony for good measure. “Especially as mom tells me Twilight's coming this Thursday, too.”

“The Princess is coming?” Brush Stroke asked, his ears perking up.

“It’s a good thing I told Thespian already that Twilight’s coming.” Tempest paused then, a delicious idea for a wonderful tease running through her mind. “Does the Princess of Libraries prefer alphabetical order by title or author?” She asked, freezing up with a cat-that’s-got-the-cream grin plastered all over her muzzle.

“She likes both, Miss Tempest,” Dusky answered absent mindedly as she chewed and swallowed the last of her burger. “That's why she's forever re-shelving the library,” it was then that the midnight blue pegasus looked up and noticed Tempest sat opposite biting her lip in an effort to keep silent. Not sure she wanted to know, she asked, “Miss Tempest...what are you planning?”

Clearly holding in a huge laugh, Tempest was very pleased she’d finished her meal and her shake, lest she spit it everywhere right now. “I-I m-mustn't say it!” She spluttered, glee and mirth threatening to overcome her at any moment, which of course they did a second later when she blurted out; “Questionnaire!” Her blue eyes alive, she put both of her forehooves over her mouth.

Letting out a sigh, Dusky slumped forward and banged her head on the table. Beside his lover, Brush Stroke almost fell of his seating pad in laughter. “I will never ever live that down, will I?” Like the laughing stallion, Tempest found she couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. By now, the others in the Hay-In-A-Bale were staring at the three of them, most notably the old unicorn.

The old mare’s disapproving tuts were too much for Brush Stroke and the artist actually fell on the floor, holding his sides he was laughing so hard. “I'm travelling with hyenas,” Dusky sighed, “Hateful, hateful hyenas…” Tempest, laughing so hard she could only point a hoof and mouth the words because no intelligible sounds were coming out, rolled on her pad.

Slowly, and with a considerable effort on her part, Tempest at last was able to get her breathing under some sort of control. “I do hope she brings a copy of it.”

Likewise, Brush Stroke pulled himself back up to a sitting position. “So do I, Tempest!” He snickered with a great deal of glee. He’d heard tales of this near mythical questionnaire, now he’d really like to finally see it.

“Am I the only one who hopes she doesn't?” Dusky asked forlornly, lifting her head a few inches from the table.

“Dusky, there is not a chance in Tartarus she won't bring it.” Tempest grinned a particularly evil grin, “At least not after I speak with Mapper, anyway.”

“You are actually loving this, the two of you, aren't you?”

“So very much, my love!” Brush Stroke chuckled. Like Tempest, he was completely ignoring the disapproving looks he was getting from the other diners.

Dusky sighed a deep sigh. “Well, in hindsight, I wish I'd gone to any other pony for advice than Twilight…”

“Don't you ever change my love,” Brush Stroke smiled and pulled his mare into a deep tight hug, gently kissing her ear just the way she liked. “Promise me?”

Tempest, while she had been ignoring the looks from the diners regarding their somewhat rowdy behaviour, hadn’t the staff talking behind the serving counter and pointing their way. She knew any moment now a manager type would be trotting over. She decided to save them the trouble. Are you ready to catch up with the other two?”

“Yes,” Dusky exclaimed as Brush Stroke stood up, “for the love of Aunt Tia's sainted arse crack, yes!”

“See,” Tempest snickered as she too stood up, “now you're in the spirit!”

“Are you riding me again, Sir?” Dusky asked when Brush Stroke held open the door for her.

“Not here sweetie, there are ponies looking!” Brush Stroke couldn’t help himself. His little joke was worth the picture perfect eye roll he received from his mare.

Tempest again burst into giggles as she walked out ahead of the mid blue earth pony. “After that display?” She asked with a giggle.

Dusky shook her head and, checking her ponytail, spread her powerfully strong midnight blue wings in preparation for the flight to come. “You two are the filthiest minded hyenas ever!” Dusky giggled and again tested her flight muscles. While the rest and the burger had rejuvenated her to some extent, she was still nowhere near her top form. “Come on, Sir, get on, I bet they'll be miles away by now.”

“How far is the next Hay-In-A-Bale?” Tempest asked while Brush Stroke got himself comfortable on his mare’s back.

Dusky found herself thinking about that for a moment as she straightened her red dress. With her Master riding, she knew the flight from here to Trottingham wouldn’t be the easiest she’d ever undertaken. Still, it wasn’t all that far away now. “I'm not all that sure, Tempest.” To be honest, she wasn’t all that sure where they were now, really.

“That was a joke, Dusky.” Tempest snickered and, spreading her violet wings, took off into the clear blue early afternoon sky.

With a very loud raspberry, Dusky took off into the cloudless blue sky and even with the load on her back quickly reached Tempest’s height of a thousand feet with a few flaps of her wings.

After flying along at a steady – for her at any rate – one hundred miles per hour for thirty minutes and enjoying the early afternoon sun warming her back as they flew along, Tempest broke the comfortable silence when she realised that Airmail and Wildfire were still nowhere in sight. “They really are pushing themselves.”

After another hour of pleasant quiet flight, in which Tempest was quietly impressed at just how far her marefriends had come on their own, she peered ahead and thought she saw two very familiar specks way ahead. “Oh!” She exclaimed, once more breaking the easy silence, “I think those two dots may be them!”

Passing the Delamare River, Dusky squinted ahead at Tempest’s sudden call. “I think you're right, Miss Tempest.”

Brush Stroke, who had for the past ninety minutes occupied himself with licking, kissing and nipping at his mare’s ears, also looked forward. “Oh my, they really were pushing themselves, weren’t they?”

“I'll have to give Wily a hoof bump for getting that far,” Dusky commented with a smile as they sped up, “Miss Airmail, too.”

As she flapped her wings a little harder to catch up with her distant marefriends, Tempest giggled, “They are both flying at about the same level so it is good they push each other. Shall keep our pace or sprint to catch up?”

“Well Miss Tempest,” Dusky grinned after a moment’s consideration, “the immature thing to do would be to buzz past them at a foalish turn of speed…”

“I think they are doing too well for us to do that to them.” Tempest interrupted her friend sharply. “No need to rub in what they just can't do yet.”

“You’re quite right Stormy,” Brush Stroke agreed, then he turned his attention to his mare and not all that playfully he hipped her ear hard. “That was mean, Dusky.”

Dusky flicked her ear and whispered quietly, “I’m sorry Sir, Miss Tempest.”

“On a different day, I would have said yes, but today I don't want to demoralize them over something so minor.” Tempest commented, feeling a teeny bit bad for the admonished pegasus because the idea had been a fun one, just not today. “When you're next in Manehatten we will buzz them at the lake.”

Up ahead, Wildfire was scanning her headset for directions and any course corrections she might need to make to point herself straight at Trottingham when she got an alert from her Point One. “Pretty,” she said brightly, “we have a Stormy shaped bogey approaching from our rear at a fair old rate of knots.”

Airmail looked behind her over her shoulder and was able to spot Tempest and Dusky in the distance. “It's been well over an hour since we left, so I'd say we're doing pretty good.” She said to her blind lover, “Want to keep this pace or stretch our wings for a few minutes?”

“I'm feeling like I can do anything right now,” Wildfire giggled, and indeed she was, what with the sheer excitement of the very recent marriage talk cascading all around her head. “I say let’s go for it, babe!”

“You lead,” Airmail said, eager to be able to ogle her marefriend’s shapely hindquarters, “but I still want another thirty minutes before we land, so pace yourself.”

“Alrighty, Pretty!” Flapping her wings, Wildfire with some effort accelerated up to eighty five from seventy miles per hour. Flying a few feet behind her, Airmail was able to keep up but she was pushing herself too. Fifteen minutes later, Wildfire decided to slow back down to a much more maintainable speed of seventy. “I ah, I think that's enough exuberance, Pretty.”

Breathing hard, Airmail likewise slowed down and moved up alongside Wildfire’s left flank. “Good, that should hold them off for a couple more minutes.”

Hearing her lover and now her fiancé breathing hard, Wildfire let out a delightful little giggle. “It’s nice to know I can still make you out of breath, sweetie.”

Airmail flew a little closer to her diminutive lover and caressed her with her wingtip. “You'll always take my breath away, my love.”

Wildfire blushed hard, both at the touch of the wingtip on her flank and the touch of the words on her soul. “Pretty, the headset says I'm all yours for ten more minutes.”

Airmail nodded. “Let's wait till they are a minute out and do one of those fly by kisses.”

“I like the sound of that,” Wildfire agreed with a ready smile, “You want me to flip over again?”

“Yes, we may as well put on a good show for them.”

“Alrighty, we'll give them a minute or three to catch up,” Wildfire giggled as a thought occurred to her, something that Airmail had said to her a little while ago. “So, where do you want our first non-fridge harming date to be, Airy?”

“I liked the place we went to.” Airmail replied after a moment’s thought. “Maybe with just a few less beers between the two of us the next time.”

“I think you're right on that, Pretty, I'd like that.” The little blind pony sniggered, “I'll spare you any theatres.”

“Just don't spare the dancing.”

“It must be true love if you want more of this…” Wildfire wiggled her hips in mid-flight, “on any dancefloor.”

Airmail gave her little mare a very appreciative look, especially her hindquarters. “I like the way your cutie mark moves me.” Even though it was hidden beneath the extremely thin fabric of the flight suit and its proximity sensors, the lead editor knew the stylised fireball was there and she could picture it clearly in her mind.

Wildfire giggled, “You like my flames?”

“They set my heart on fire.”

“And here I thought it was my eloquence and poetry that won you over,” Wildfire snickered and wiggled her ass a little more. “While all time you're ogling my cute flanks!”

“Don't be down playing the poetry,” Airmail corrected her gently. It wasn’t just her flanks, she was ogling her breasts too. Her soon to be milky breasts full of milky milk. “I'm a romantic after all.”

“Want a quick one?” Wildfire asked suddenly, breaking the azure blue pegasus out of her breast induced reverie.

“You are incorrigible!” Airmail exclaimed, though she found her gaze drawn once more to her lover’s breasts, all barely contained and well defined in and by the flight suit. “I'm all about quality and not speed, my dearest.”

Wildfire sniggered, “I meant, a quick poem.” Although, the way she felt right then, she could’ve jumped her fiancé on the nearest cloud, if there had been any nearby. “I thought of this one for you just now.” With that, she started to recite;

“Love not with your eyes but with your mind
Obvious really because true love is blind
Who cares what you see, it is what you feel
True love my friend is very hard to conceal
May never see love but it surely can be felt
You know that feeling when two hearts melt
Hooves may tingle and the heart does flutter
One single touch and you will melt like butter
Beauty is skin deep, it's really only a disguise
Once you have fallen in love, this you'll realize
Ponies may put on make-up, their face to hide
Only thing that matters is what they have inside
They have money and fame, but I still couldn't care
Looks and money can't buy love that only two share
May look good together but you don't need to be smart
True love won't be bought it must come from the heart.”

“I hope that is the first page of your second book of poetry.” Airmail beamed, all of a sudden very aroused by her lover’s poem, when she had finished her wonderful little recital.

“It certainly is Pretty,” Wildfire beamed with pride. “I call it ‘love is blind’, and it’s the first entry in what I will call the ‘Awesome Airy’, section.”

“I think I'm worth a triple A rating, love.” Airmail smiled so much, with so much love in her voice that she wanted Wildfire to hear it. “‘Awesome Adorable Airy’.”

Wildfire giggled, she liked the sound of that, a lot. “Yuppers, I'll go with that Pretty, so um, did you like it?” She asked, somewhat nervously. This was the first in her new book, it had been a rather big day so far, and she was nervous.

“Well, I thought beauty was forced, but yes!” Airmail said, “Yes, I loved it!”

Wildfire giggled happily, “I haven't lost my touch, then?”

Airmail glanced over her shoulder and saw Tempest and Dusky coming up barely a few hundred feet behind them, she judged they were less than a minute away. “Time for your upside down manoeuvre so I can thank you properly.” She called, directing a wink back to her violet herd-mate.

“Alrighty, Pretty!” Wildfire smiled and as she prepared to once more perform the primary feather roll she grumbled playfully, “I swear I’ve never spent so much time on my back…” with that she angled her wings and her feathers and flipped over on to her back, flapping her wings to allow her to glide. Again, Airmail swooped up and over her for the kiss but, this time she allowed her left wing tip to trail all the way from Wildfire’s tail up to her nose before she flapped off to the side.

Tempest, flying up to re-join Airmail and Wildfire, clapped her forehooves delightedly. “Nopony told me it would dinner and a show!”

As she felt the touch of her fiancé’s feather, Wildfire erupted in a fit of fresh giggles before righting herself in mid-air. “Warn me before you do that, Pretty!” She groused playfully.

“Nice manoeuvre Miss Wily,” Dusky gave his best friend her seal of approval as she flew along her right side. “I'll have to remember the upside down glide thing.”

“She got that right on our first flying session.” Tempest commented with a fair amount of pride in her voice. “I think Wily was a stunt flyer for the Canterlot Fire Department.”

Wildfire shrugged her shoulders. “Well, you have to be able to get everywhere with a hose just in case there aren't any clouds to hoof,” she said simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Indeed, Miss Tempest,” Dusky agreed, she was beginning to struggle a little bit under the weight of her Master on her back. The two rainbooms didn’t help either. “I was never one for aerobatics, I'm more straight line speed.”

“And you are very, very good at straight lines, er speed…” Tempest snickered at the midnight blue pegasus before once more turning her attention back to her two marefriends. “I'm a bit surprised by you two, and proud. It took us longer to catch up to you than I first estimated it would.”

“Airy knew you'd catch us,” Airmail smiled, “she just wanted to make it not so easy for you.”

“You did give us a decent chase, Miss Wily.”

“Airy,” Brush Stroke smiled at his mare’s comment before continuing, “May I ask what did Wily do to earn that little show?”

About to answer, Airmail paused and, in a valiant attempt at imitating Wildfire's best upper crust Canterlot accent, said; “Well, Wildfire, the published author of poetry did compose a new poem for her next book dedicated to me.”

Wildfire’s ears flicked at the imitation of her accent and, faux outraged, exclaimed; “I do NOT sound like that!” With the use of her actual accent, Airmail had a very foalish giggle fit.

“True,” Tempest commented, barely keeping her own giggles in check, “you are far stuffier!”

“Y-You do a little…” Dusky giggled like the mare she was, on her back, Brush Stroke joined his mare in a delighted snigger.

“Well!” Wildfire exclaimed in her fullest affected Canterlot accent. “I have never been called stuffy before!” When Dusky joined Airmail and now Tempest in the fit of riotous giggles, Wildfire stuck out her tongue and raspberried them all with a pout. “I am not stuffy…” she added a little sulkily.

“Uh oh, Miss Tempest, I recognise the early stages of pouty Wily...” Dusky saw the pout and knew from past experience her best friend was fast reaching the point where the teasing wasn’t fun anymore.

Tempest glanced from Dusky to Wildfire and back again. She had to agree with the Princess’s assessment of the situation. “I'm sure that when she remembers the upcoming bath I promised her, she will be less pouting and learn that we laugh with her and not at her.”

Straightaway Wildfire giggled, her bleak mood lifting almost immediately like the flick of a light switch. “I haven't forgotten the bath, Stormy.”

“We're going to get at least another hour of solid flying in,” Airmail spoke up as for the first time since they had left Ponyville earlier that morning they all flew together in the loose diamond formation with Tempest at its head. “I do hope we don't slow you all down too much.”

“N-Not at all M-Miss Airmail…” Dusky replied, breathing heavily and panting just a little. “The ah, the steady pace is most welcome.”

Airmail caught the laboured breathing from her new friend and was mildly surprised, given the royal pegasus’s flying prowess. “How far did you go with Stormy hitching a ride?” She asked curiously.

“Th-The ah…” Dusky’s breathing became noticeably heavier then, “The t-total trip there and back was somewhere around one thousand six hundred miles, Miss Airmail.”

“Dusky,” Airmail said definitely and not a little kindly, now she fully understood the nature of her friend’s exertions; “You can call for a break too, not just Wily, but any of us can.” She squinted off into the far distance and her keen trained eye spied a series of low lying clouds. “To be exact the two of you can go about sixty miles ahead and find a cloudy resting place to wait for us.”

“I…ah, I could actually really use a break,” Dusky grunted with determined effort to stay airborne, “if nopony minds?”

“Of course not Dusky,” Brush Stroke hugged his mare’s neck tightly and lovingly kissed her ear. “Let’s do as Airy sensibly suggests and find a place to set down.”

Dusky sighed thankfully and very gratefully. “I will…” she panted hard, she too had seen the series of clouds sixty miles distant that Airmail had pointed out. “Look for us on those Nimbostratus clouds that Miss Airmail pointed out in a straight line from here.”

Airmail nodded, “We'll call you when we get close.”

“Alrighty Pretty,” Wildfire smiled over at her best friend’s direction, “You wanna race, D?”

“N-No Miss W-Wily,” Dusky grunted with a definite wobble to her wings, “Because right now I'm struggling to maintain sixty f-five…”

“Aww, c'mon D,” Wildfire began to accelerate up to seventy five, “You can catch me easy-peasy!”

As Tempest gave Dusky a wave of her forehoof – a clear signal to fly ahead of them and to let her deal with this – the violet weather pony counted backwards from ten down to one, in order to contain the flash of temper that threatened to burst forth from her. She had to do this twice. “Wily?” She asked after a few minutes.

“Yuppers, Honey?”

“There is a cloudlet ahead of us at this altitude, about three miles away.” She spoke tersely through gritted teeth, “You beat me there and then you can race Dusky. Deal?”

“Deal!”

“So, go already.” At that, Wildfire flapped her yellow wings hard and flew off as fast as she could manage, accelerating all the way up to eighty five, according to her headset. Laughing, Dusky peeled off from Airmail and Tempest and flew on to the resting spot far in the distance.

As Wildfire flew off at her new top speed, Tempest hung back and flew behind her, watching Wildfire like the proverbial hawk. Likewise, Airmail was following to make sure her herd-mate didn’t do anything foalish like locking up her wings. That would be bad. Very bad. Two and a half miles ahead already, almost at the cloud, the blind mare consulted the tracker on her headset and found that the Point One was still behind her. She knew Tempest was better than that. “Stormy...why aren't you miles in front?”

Just as Wildfire was scant feet from the cloudlet, Tempest whooshed past her and stopped at the cloud first and turned around just in time to see the diminutive yellow pony rest her forehooves on the edge of the cloud. “Whoo!” She cheered, slightly out of breath, “That was fun!”

“Oh yes…” Airmail panted, breathing very hard as she arrived lastly at the cloudlet. “Oh yes, what fun and joy.”

Happily, Wildfire was bouncing on the cloud as fresh as a daisy. “Now,” Tempest said firmly, “if you had flown sixteen hundred miles, do you think you would have come in second?”

At that, Wildfire immediately stopped bouncing. Her ears slicked back, her tail went between her legs and somehow she seemed to become even smaller than she already was. “Yeah...” she said in a very subdued tone, “I guess I would. I’m, sorry Stormy.”

“You are forgiven…” Airmail interrupted her then when she flopped face first unceremoniously into the surface of the little cloud. “Double forgiven.”

Wildfire blushed as she too laid down on the cloud. “I um, I did the hoof in mouth thing again didn't I?” She asked quietly already knowing the answer. “D’you think D's okay?”

“I think Stormy didn't give Dusky enough down time before catch up with us.” Airmail commented, though her voice was somewhat muffled as she hadn’t lifted her head up from the cloud.

“That may be true,” Tempest answered, more thinking out loud than answering in the strictest sense. “He seemed fine at the time. Rest up with us here, Wily, and we can all go and catch up with him. I think he was doing close to a hundred when I lost sight of him due to the clouds.”

“Alrighty, Honey.”

“Yeah,” Airmail sighed, finally lifting her head up, “no hundred for me, thanks.”

“You just like laying on a fluffy cloud.” Tempest said with a smile, then a sneaky little thought ran through her mind. A tease too good to pass up. “But…what if some other pegasus went and peed on this one?”

The effect of her tease was immediate. As if suddenly re-energised, Airmail flapped vertically upwards. “Ewww, how can you know?”

That was all it took for Tempest to lose it in a fit of laughter. “All weather ponies 'go' on clouds, Honey said so!” Wildfire snorted out her laugh, clutching her sides at Airmail’s extreme reaction.

“Yeah, especially her!” Airmail pointed an accusatory hoof at the laughing ball of feathers that was Tempest. Suddenly the cloudlet didn’t seem so attractive a rest point anymore. “I'm rested, let's fly.”

Flapping her own wings, Wildfire took off. “Oh, alrighty babes.”

“So,” Tempest asked once they were all back in the air and once more headed on their way towards Trottingham, “You wrote a new poem for Airy?”

“It’s top secret,” Airmail replied quickly before Wildfire had a chance, “You'll have to buy the book!”

“I did,” Wildfire giggled, “Well, I thought one up for her, anyway.”

“If you think one up for me, don't tell it to Airy.” Tempest said with a smile, “We can swap them later.”

While Airmail let out a loud raspberry at them both, Wildfire smiled. “Oh, I'm sure I can think of a poem about a cool sexy pegasus and an awesome bath…” she carried on smiling, the beginnings of just such a poem running through her head.

As they flew, a thought occurred to Airmail. Not something that was ‘bothering’ her as such, more something she was curious about. “Stormy, on the flight you had, was Dusky really that good?”

“Yes, it was just amazing!” Tempest let out a very fillyish squee and her blue eyes went a little faraway. “I could literally see the air bending around us, focussed on Dusky’s forehooves.”

“What was the speed like?” Wildfire asked, as curious as her fiancé. “I bet it was weird, seeing the scenery moving by you so fast.”

Tempest thought about that for a moment, trying to articulate and put into words her remarkable experience. “Actually, from that altitude it wasn't moving all that fast, until you realize just how high up you are. If anything, it was the silence that was the weirdest thing.”

Wildfire nodded. She’d learnt the principles of supersonic flight from Flight School and University. “Oh yuppers, ‘cos of the speed of sound thing and you can’t hear anything!” She beamed, proud to be able to show off the fact that she did in fact know something.

“There wasn’t as much wind as I thought there would be either.” Tempest continued, gently caressing Wildfire’s right flank. “There was sort of a ‘shield’ that extended out in front of us from the compressed air wave.”

“Oh!” Wildfire exclaimed. She knew about this too! “You mean kind of like a bow wave from a ship with a bulbous prow, it lessens the friction of the water so that the ship can sail quicker!”

Pleasantly surprised, Airmail turned to face her diminutive lover, “Wily, I didn't know you knew so much about ships, my love.”

Wildfire smiled dreamily, “Oh, Airy I love ships, especially those old style ocean steam liners that sailed the Luna Ocean and the Celestia Sea, like the Maretania.”

Airmail grinned, “I'm really glad I took you whale watching, then.”

“So am I,” Wildfire smiled a very, very wide smile at the memory of Ocean’s fishing boat and the pod of Caneighdian wales back in Vanhoover just the other day. “I really didn't know what to expect for my first boat trip, and I'm super glad you were there with me.”

“With us three together, you can always expect fun.” Tempest commented as they flew along, the afternoon drawing on now.

After a few minutes of flying in silence, Airmail spoke up. She deemed it was about that time that they tell their marefriend and herd-mate about what they had discussed in her absence. Stormy, Wily and I had a rather serous talk during our flight together.”

“Yuppers, Stormy we did.” Wildfire agreed, her heart starting to beat faster now. She wasn’t at all sure as to how Tempest would react to their news. “I was seriously serious.”

“Okay,” Tempest snorted, “I'm not playing twenty questions so what did the two of you talk about?”

“We were talking,” Wildfire started then she paused, taking a deep breath before she carried on. “Pretty mentioned an engagement and, I kinda misunderstood what she meant and I, well I um…” she squeaked, “I asked her to marry me!”

Tempest had to do a double take at that. “Woah, okay…now, now that is serious.” She took a few moments to properly digest that little nugget from her little nugget. “So Airy, I take it you are agreeable to that?”

Airmail looked from Tempest to Wildfire. She could practically hear and feel the little mare’s rapid heartbeat when Tempest asked that. “Yes I am.” She replied after a moment, “We never brought it up, even after Mapper and Serenity got married.”

“Are you alright, Stormy?”

Tempest smiled at her obviously nervous little lover. “Of course I am, my love. I'm fine. It is a bit of a surprise. I never thought this old maid would get married.”

“A lot has changed over the years.” Airmail started, “Remember when I cautioned Mapper and she said to Tartarus with what others may say. Turns out she was right.”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire commented with a very happy relieved little smile that Airmail had basically confirmed that she was now her fiancé. “I have to agree there, life is short, almost as short as me and now I'm living it I don't want to waste a second.”

“Well, I'm happy for the two of you,” Tempest asserted, though there was a hint of ‘something’ in her voice. “And, even if you are the Alpha, Airy, I think you should bring this up with Mapper and Serenity.”

“I will, once we have moved back in together again.” Airmail promised Tempest and herself, for that matter, although the azure blue mare did immediately catch the ‘something’ in her herd-mate’s voice. “Are you sure you're okay, Stormy?” She asked tentatively.

“Yeah,” Wildfire started again, “Are you alright Honey?”

The use of ‘yeah’, as opposed to her far more common ‘yuppers’ gave Tempest cause for pause. It let her know just how seriously her lover was taking this subject, and she was grateful for that. “I love you both, I love the whole mini herd. This really doesn't change anything other than legal standing should something happen.” She answered after she considered her answer.

“That much is true,” Airmail put in kindly, “but it is still a really, really big step to be taking.”

“Yuppers, Pretty's right,” Wildfire said, perhaps a little too quietly, “and I really don't want to upset anything.”

Tempest actually laughed out loud at that. “Did you think I might get jealous?”

Wildfire blushed a very, very deep red. “Um…maybe, yes.”

Tempest thought on that for just a moment. While it was a foreseeable worry, it was ultimately baseless. “Jealous, no, unhappy, only if you want to take Airy from the herd and start a life with just the two of you.” She answered honestly from her heart. Her heart which skipped a little beat when she saw Wildfire take a breath to answer her.

“Never, Stormy,” Wildfire answered quickly and shook her head for emphasis, “never ever!”

“See, no problem.” Tempest smiled heartily, though her large sigh of relief was very noticeable, regardless. “Besides, you'll still need me. Can't piss on Airy, after all.” The fact that Airmail let out a very loud ‘eeeew!’ only made Tempest giggle harder.

Wildfire too let out a little giggle, “now that's a very good point Honey, she won't feed me the alfalfa, either.”

Now that did surprise Airmail, just a little. “You really are looking forward to that, are you?”

“Well,” Wildfire wouldn’t say she was looking forward to it per se, but it was what Tempest was into, and they had spoken about it at length before today. “I'm willing to give it a try just once,” she said, to which Airmail giggled, “I'm really glad nothing much is gonna change though, really.”

“I might have to modify the insurance policy…” Tempest giggled in such a way as to imply it wasn’t necessarily a joke.

“I meant between us,” Wildfire explained somewhat needlessly, thinking that Tempest didn’t get what she’d said.

Airmail shook her head with a wry smile, “Love, that was a joke.” She caressed Wildfire’s left flank, although she herself suddenly wasn’t sure. “It was a joke, right Stormy?”

“Me,” Tempest placed her right forehoof on her chest, her best poker face plastered on her muzzle. “Joke about finances or fiancés? Maybe…”

Wildfire blushed bright red. She’d gone and done it again. “Ugh…one day I will see the jokes coming and not fly straight into them, won’t I?”

“But we need a second straight mare in the herd!” Tempest protested that statement with a smile.

Wildfire looked over in Tempest’s general direction. She was very puzzled as to why her herd-mate would say they need a straight mare in their same-sex mini herd. “Um…do we?” She asked innocently.

Airmail simply giggled while Tempest facehooved at what Wildfire had asked. Oblivious Wildfire was cute Wildfire though, so it was adorable. “You do know what she means by 'straight', right?”

“Yes...maybe, well okay no, not really.” Wildfire flustered as she tried very hard to work out just what Tempest might’ve meant. “Is it something else I've gone and flown into?” She asked, her head hanging dejectedly down a little.

Tempest sniffed, “It isn't as funny if you explain it.”

Airmail shot her herd-mate a glowering look, one that Tempest usually shot her. “Stormy?” She asked warningly.

“Fine,” Tempest sighed and rolled her blue eyes. “The straight mare is the 'serious' one in the comedy routine. That’s what I meant, Wily.”

“Oooh…oh I see.”

“Stormy thinks she is funny.” Airmail said as she flew closer to Wildfire’s left side and gently rubbed her cheek with her wing tip, “and she usually is.”

“Yuppers, she is Airy,” Wildfire agreed, “and she cooks better than us too!”

“That is why we get to keep her.”

“Fine,” Tempest snorted, “but Wily is still the maid.”

“Can we keep her for the triple fried egg sandwiches?” Wildfire asked, a very wide grin all over her yellow muzzle.

Tempest couldn’t help but laugh at that. “You see, when in doubt you go with the gut.”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire laughed as they flew along, the now mid-afternoon sun beating on their backs, “and those sandwiches you made were super yummy!” Her laugh became a giggle as she thought on what Tempest had just said. “I suppose I can be the maid, after all I do have the dress and the practice!”

“Maid, dancer, singer, poetry reader, and official hoof washer.” Airmail giggled as she reeled off Wildfire’s best qualities.

“Really Airy,” Tempest said, very genuinely impressed with her herd-mate for her easing up on the whole ‘hoof phobia thing’, “You have come a long ways.”

Airmail was about to answer that with a sly quip when she noticed Wildfire wobble between herself and Tempest. Straight away, her ears were up and she moved in a couple of feet closer, just in case. “How you doing, Wily?” She asked in a voice so full of concern she got Tempest’s attention too.

“Me?” Wildfire asked as she straightened up and flew level once more. “I’m not bad, those bursts of eighty five and the upside downyness are starting to catch up with me though I think,” she gasped, breathing heavy.

“We’re still about thirty miles out,” Tempest said gently, all serious now she was aware that Wildfire was beginning to struggle, “we can slow to fifty.”

Wildfire panted, “Th-Thanks Stormy…” she slowed her pace down to fifty miles per hour, “I ah, phew…I think I know how D feels…”

“Good,” the Mother Hen in Tempest showing herself once more, “How are you doing, Airy?”

Sweat was all over Airmail’s brow, and her own breathing was beginning to become laboured. “F-Fifty is good for me too.”

“Nice and steady, that's us.” Wildfire smiled through her heavy breathing, her heart beating hard.

“Given time I think you should be up to my speed and better, Wily.”

Airmail playfully rolled her brown eyes to the heavens. “Yes, just what we need in the house, another speed demon. Stormy, remind me to purchase a new re-enforced refrigerator.”

“Ah, ah you see, no.” Wildfire corrected her new fiancé. “No, see, you specifically asked me for dates that don't result in a dented fridge. Besides, Fireflight's gonna be the one buzzing all around the house, not me!”

“Ah yes,” Airmail laughed, “There’s nothing like the pitter patter of little hooves.”

“I do so look forward to that day…” Tempest commented before a thought occurred to her, given that Wildfire and her Airy were struggling in flight. She did want to get to Trottingham before dinner later, but they had the time for a rest break. “Give Dusky a call to see where they are. There is a little town about four miles ahead of us.”

“Alrighty, Honey.” Smiling, Wildfire reached a forehoof into her saddlebag and fished for her cell phone. Retrieving it she quickly swiped through its menus and called up her best friend.

Dusky answered on the second ring. “What’s up Wily?” The royal pegasus asked.

“Where are you guys hiding?”

“A little town, not far from you,” Dusky answered after a few moments in which she was finding out just where they were. “Master wanted a break on something more substantial than a cloud so we landed. We’re straight ahead at the diner called Hoofprint Hayburger.”

“Cool,” Tempest interjected as the call was on speaker, she was familiar with the tiny little town ahead. “We are about five minutes out from you.”

“Do you want anything ordering while you're on the phone?” Dusky asked, following a little nudge from Brush Stroke sat next to her.

“Anything with tomato sauce on it!” Tempest called immediately from Wildfire’s right side.

“Something cheesy!” Airmail requested.

“Miss Airmail, you can’t eat one of Miss Wily's jokes.”

“Ha. Ha Dusky,” Wildfire raspberried the speaker of her phone while her best friend and her herd-mates erupted in good natured laughter. “I’ll have a hayburger and fries please, D.” With her friend still laughing, the little blind mare hung up and put her phone away in her saddlebag, as a moment later they were descending to land in a tiny south eastern town that was barely big enough to qualify as a town at all. Indeed, Wildfire had never even heard of Hoofprint let alone know anything about the place. But, here she was five minutes later landing on an unknown sidewalk and entering the Hayburger joint. As soon as they were inside, Airmail wasted no time at all in giving her fiancé a deep tongue probing kiss.

Dusky saw the kiss, the rather deep and passionate kiss and she nudged Brush Stroke who turned from his mare and both looked, with the mid blue earth pony artist showing his appreciation with a very loud very long whistle. Surprised at first, Wildfire soon began to return the kiss in kind until Airmail pulled away for breath. “My Wily tastes good all the time, with or without jokes.”

“Wowsers!” Wildfire exclaimed, her wings very hard and erect at her sides, “When we get hitched I want at least two of those every day!”

Dusky smiled from their table where a small plate of cheesy fries, fries with tomato sauce and a quarter pound hayburger awaited their three friends. “Dinner and a show indeed, Miss Airmail.

Airmail beamed as she led the way and let Wildfire sit first. “Love, I don't think Dusky heard you.”

Puzzled and intrigued, Dusky looked up from her cup of earl grey. “Heard what?”

“Pretty and I are getting married!” Wildfire replied as she took her seating pad between Tempest and Airmail.

Dusky blinked once, then she blinked a second time. “Really?”

“Really!”

Airmail sniffed her cheesy fries. “Really.”

“Really.” Tempest affirmed, though her reply was muffled by the fries she was already chewing on.

A split second later and Dusky let out a very girly squee and, leaning over the table, hugged Wildfire as tight as she could while Brush Stroke bumped hooves with the azure blue mare. “Well done Airy!”

“We still need to do some planning, well, a lot of planning, but I'm sure you'll both get an invite.” Airmail beamed as she returned the artist’s hoof bump.

“Yuppers,” Wildfire giggled when her best friend released the hug, “I'm sure we can stretch to inviting you both, D!”

A very sudden thought occurred to Airmail then, a beautiful lovely idea that seemed just perfect in its simplicity. “Do you remember Coffee Bean?”

Wildfire’s ears perked up at that. Of course the little blind mare remembered the old zebra Priestess both from the Open Mic night and the Saturday shopping trip the day afterwards in Manehatten. “She's Caffy's aunt, and a very cool zebra.”

“I recall her a little,” Dusky agreed with a nod of her head as she sipped her tea, “Though I know we left early that Friday night.”

“As long as Wily agrees,” Airmail continued, “she is my choice to precede over the ceremony.”

Wildfire thought that was a very good idea indeed. She liked Coffee Bean a lot, and she couldn’t think of anypony or any zebra, better to do it. “Of course Airy, I'd love her to do it.”

Airmail took a few minutes to not so delicately shovel three hoof-fulls of cheesy fries into her mouth before she turned to Tempest over Wildfire’s back. “How are we doing for time, Stormy?”

Tempest checked the wall clock in the diner and saw it was coming up to three thirty in the p.m. “We are still ahead of schedule, so it's all good.”

Wildfire was so surprised to hear that she almost spat her burger. “What, even with all my stops?”

Straightaway, Tempest leant down and kissed Wildfire’s cheek before she could get too downhearted. “I planned ahead for yours and Airy's stops.” She said with a smile and a lick of her marefriend’s left ear.

Immediately, Wildfire brightened up. “Oh, that's alright then!” Happily, she went back to attacking her hayburger with the same verve that Airmail was demolishing her fries.

“Have you got any plans for the honeymoon?” Dusky asked, her ears perked up and her pink eyes bright and sparkling.

Swallowing her mouthful of fries with a bit of a struggle, Airmail laughed at that. “Let’s get to the wedding first, I think.”

“Like Pretty said,” Wildfire giggled, “we haven't planned much yet, D.”

“Well if you should get stuck for ideas there's a log cabin lodge the other side of the white tail woods on the west coast you're more than welcome to use,” Dusky offered, thinking of the royal retreat that was hidden away from the rest of the world on the shores of White Tail Lake.

“Maybe,” Airmail said considerately, “There’s a lot of places on the east coast too, and in Manehatten itself.”

Wildfire admittedly felt a little lost. It had all happened so very fast. “I haven't begun to think of any of this, I'm still buzzing because Pretty said yes!”

“Okay,” Tempest said loudly as she checked her schedule, “our next planned stop is two hundred and a bit miles away, at a pokey little coast town called Trottingham!”

“How are you, Dusky?” Brush Stroke asked, his voice full of concern for his mare.

Dusky offered her Master a loving nuzzle of reassurance. “I'm refreshed, enough to carry on, and we aren’t all that far away from our destination now.”

“Yes,” Tempest gave Dusky a nod of approval, “Wily, Airy are you up for a flight of that distance?”

“Sure,” Airmail nodded as she flexed her wings, which was just an excuse for a hug with her new fiancé, “this old mare still has a few miles left in her.”

“Yuppers!” Wildfire exclaimed in her feathery hug, “that shouldn't be a problem Honey, and less of the 'old' please, Pretty.”

“Unlike somepony's mum, I'm joking.” Airmail smiled, finishing off her little plate of cheesy fries with a smack of her lips. “But, I'll do less joking for you, love.”

“Oh you don't have to change anything for me,” Wildfire grinned as she ate the last of her hayburger. “I just thought you were putting yourself down, and I can’t have that, can I?”

“Me?” Airmail snickered, getting up from the table and leading the way to the door, “I'm the second most awesomest mare in all of Equestria!”

“It is getting deep now.” Tempest rolled her blue eyes as they all left the small town diner, “Let's fly!”

“Are you riding with me again, Sir?” Dusky asked his lover, giving him a respectful bow of her head as she did so.

Brush Stroke tapped his hoof to his chin in a show of faux consideration, after a moment of making his mare wait and nuzzle his hoof, said; “Yes, I think I'll mount you again, sweet Dusky.”

With a very deep blush all over her midnight blue fur, Dusky waited for Brush Stroke to get on her back and she took off into the warm mid-afternoon sunshine. Alongside her best friend, Wildfire giggled at Dusky and as she too took off, to Airmail, she said; “You're the funnest most awesomest mare in Equestria, Pretty.”

“Thank you Stealth Pony.” Airmail replied to her fiancé as they flew up to a thousand feet of altitude and they continued on their way to Trottingham at a steady and very manageable fifty five miles per hour.

As they flew along in relative peaceful comfortable quiet, what little conversation there was soon turned to Dusky and Wildfire’s fateful trip to Manehatten eleven days ago now. Soon it became Dusky’s turn to speak up and fill in some blanks. “While I was in Manehatten on my duties opening the hospital wing I found Caffeinated's coffee shop and I soon got talking to him and he invited me and Vocal Chord to his BDSM party. As you all know, Vocal couldn't make it because of the gig he was playing, so I took Wily from the home instead.”

Wildfire giggled at the recounting of their story. “I'm very glad you didn't want to go on your own, D.” She commented after a moment’s pause.

On Dusky’s back, Brush Stroke kissed his lover’s ear. “So am I Wily, so am I.”

Airmail paused just a little longer and gently caressed the blind mare’s flank with her wing tip. “I'm totally happy about it.”

Tempest joined in with Wildfire’s giggles. “I'm happy too, Dusky.”

“Given what's happened since then,” Dusky said as she turned her head and gave her stallion a loving kiss, “I'm real happy about it.”

Wildfire giggled, “You know, if we told ponies the story they wouldn't believe us, right?”

Tempest looked ahead into the very far distance and the smudge on the horizon that suddenly came into view made her smile. That smudge was her old home, Trottingham, at this distance it was smaller than a bit coin. “You should hire a screenplay writer and make it into a soap opera.” She suggested with a smile.

Dusky sniggered at that comment. “Well, I was going to suggest you write it out and publish it alongside your poems,” the midnight blue pegasus grinned, “You could call it ‘Releasing the Flame’.”

Wildfire laughed out loud at that, “Yuppers, right guys, the past eleven days would read like the plot of a cheesy romance novel, who'd want to read that?”

“All depends on where you put the book,” Airmail commented with a giggle.

“Pretty, you're awful...” Wildfire laughed, “But, I suppose I could write it out, eventually when I'm done writing my poems for Professor Twilight to publish.”

“The Memoirs of Empress Wildfire!” Tempest declared, coming up with a title for her book that she deemed better than the one that Dusky had invented.

“Empress, not Queen, Miss Tempest?” Dusky asked with a raised eyebrow.

“There can only be one queen, Dusky,” Airmail laughed as she flew alongside Wildfire and slightly in front of Dusky in the loose diamond formation, “and Wily can't be taking your title.”

Brush Stroke chuckled at that and cuddled his mare, a thought occurring to him. “So Dusky, what were you doing in Manehatten? I mean, I know you were opening the new wing of the Manehatten General Hospital, I mean after that. You hung around the city and got to know Caffeinated and was invited to the adult party, but this Vocal you were with was busy that night?”

“That’s right Sir,” Dusky answered straightaway. “As a favour, my mom had sorted him and his band out a warm up gig in Canterlot, and, as the gig in question was a huge success and they were booked on a multi-stadium nationwide tour, he broke up with me the next day.”

“That's when I caught you moping around in the North Park?” Brush Stroke asked with an affectionate nuzzle, even the other three mares went quiet at this point, as they were all very curious too as to what had happened when the two stallion’s had met that Friday afternoon.

“Yup,” Dusky replied, “that's when I met you, my love.”

“I just can't see Dusky being all mopey,” Tempest teased, throwing the mid blue earth pony stallion a very knowing wink over her shoulder.

“Oh, she was at first.” Brush Stroke answered the violet weather pony, wholly ignoring the very heated blush on his mare’s face. “She sat right in front of a landscape work I was half way through.”

Airmail couldn’t resist joining in with the teasing. “Did you add her and turn it from a landscape to a portrait?”

Brush Stroke nodded, distracted for just a moment by the tiny smudge in the distance that was Trottingham getting gradually bigger and bigger. “I was about to, after we'd spoken for a little while, but 'somepony',” he coughed and pointed at Tempest, “decided to make it rain.”

Tempest shrugged innocently as if she had nothing to do with what had happened that Friday afternoon. “The perfect rain to force two lovers inside, together, with hot steamy action.”

If Dusky’s blush was receding, now she coloured up afresh in a very bright blush indeed. “It was certainly that, Stormy.” Brush Stroke smiled, again ignoring his mare’s blush. “It just meant I could paint her in the privacy of my apartment, instead.”

“Did you manage to apply any paint to canvas?” Airmail asked, entirely unsympathetic to Dusky’s renewed blush.

“Eventually I did,” the earth pony artist conceded, “At least after spending a good few hours setting the scene.”

“Very smooth Oils, very smooth indeed.” Tempest snickered, both at Brush Stroke’s technique and at Dusky’s embarrassment. “So, how long was it before you knew just who you’d captured in your Manehatten love den?”

Brush Stroke paused for just a moment while he thought about that. Certainly at first, his mare hadn’t been exactly ‘upfront’ with who she was. “Well, at first she downplayed herself quite a bit, but the bit finally dropped at the Open Mic Night when Princess Luna and Lady Octavia appeared.”

Airmail was impressed. Then again, that sounded just like something the royal pegasus would do, and she wasn’t all that surprised if she was honest. “Well played, Dusky!”

Dusky giggled and returned the hoof bump to Airmail when the azure blue mare flew closer. “I couldn't not own up to it when both your parents arrive and demand to know who the stallion with you is, could I?”

“I must say Wily,” Brush Stroke said, for once diverting attention away from his mare, “Your poems that night were very good indeed.”

Now, it was Wildfire’s turn to blush, and blush she did, a very bright red. “Thanks Oils!”

“I might be able to talk her into autographing one of her books, should you buy one, of course.” Airmail interjected with the tone of an agent touting for sales.

Brush Stroke nodded seriously, “most certainly I will, Airy!”

Wildfire however was more concerned that her best friend’s stallion liked one of her poems. “Oils, which one did you like from that night?”

“The 'wildfire' one in particular I thought was good,” Brush Stroke replied, then he gave a nod over to Airmail. “I'd certainly appreciate an autographed copy if you could twist the authors hoof?”

“I will,” Airmail promised, “Once I make sure they are scrubbed very clean.”

“I have a feeling my hooves are going to be very squeaky clean from now on,” Wildfire giggled then she paused when she heard her cell phone beep loudly in her saddlebag. Reaching back with her forehoof she retrieved her phone and swiped her way through the menus to her texts. “Oooh It’s Air Raid! She says they've been driving seven hours straight and they're halfway there to Manehatten!”

Tempest now was very interested indeed. “Text her back and ask how many tickets she’s got so far?”

Giggling, Wildfire quickly typed out her question and sent it, only to get a reply barely a few minutes later. “She’s only got one so far, she said she got flashed by a speed camera on the freeway doing...oh my, she was doing one hundred and fifty! Apparently, Darkie was rather 'upset' with her.”

“I'm sure she was,” Airmail deadpanned as seriously as she could, “That car of hers should be able to go a lot faster than that…”

Straightaway, Wildfire sent her old ex-marefriend a text requesting details. Again, she got a reply in short order. “It can love, up to one hundred and ninety five, but there were a few cars in the way so she had to slow down.”

“I wish her well on her journey.” Tempest offered, getting a nod of approval from Airmail. It wasn’t just the journey to Manehatten she wished her well on, but the personal journey once she got there. Tempest knew from the brief time she had spent in Air Raid’s company that the lime green racer had a long way to go before she forgave herself.

“I'll tell her we all do…” she trailed off to silence as she sent the text message, and true to form she got a reply almost straightaway. “She says they've stopped for a break at a Hayburger joint on the way. Even Raid won't use a phone and drive,” she giggled for a moment, “she also says congratulations on the wedding, and good luck to us both.”

For what felt like the millionth time in the past few hours Tempest rolled her eyes. “You should hire a sky writer in case there’s somepony who doesn't know.” Thankfully, the distant smudge that was Trottingham was by now much closer.

“I haven't told everypony!” Wildfire protested, “Well...not yet, anyway…”

“I stand by my comment, then.” Tempest giggled, very much looking forward to that relaxing bath with Wildfire in her parents’ house.