“You have the lead to Caffy's place,” Tempest said to Wildfire as they left the Cloudhatten Mall by the same entrance / exit they entered by on its upper deck. The violet weather mare checked her watch in the late afternoon sun and saw it was fast approaching five thirty. They’d been an hour and a half in the mall. ‘Not a bad way of spending ninety minutes,’ she thought, ‘not at all.’ “I'll be watching you work that left wing, just so you know.”

“Alrighty, Stormy you got it!” Wildfire grinned, eager as she was to take flight, she used her tongue to flick on the microphone on the bit in her mouth. After this admittedly epic shopping trip, she was more than ready to show Airmail what she had bought. “Point Six, direction and distance.”

Straightaway, her headset relayed the necessary information into her ear and, turning to face the right direction, Wildfire took off into the late afternoon sky. It still felt pleasant, the warm sun was still there as it ever was, but there was a definite breeze there now as well.

Tempest took off behind Wildfire, flying along in her wake. Banking to the left, the two pegasi flew down over the edge of the sprawling cloud city. It was a concerted effort for her to look at Wildfire’s left wing as opposed to the spot underneath her black tail. “It's fifty miles down to the ground and it’s not a race, so pace yourself!”

“Yuppers, I know, Honey.” Wildfire called back over her shoulder. Seeing as it wasn’t a race, Wildfire flew along at a steady and very manageable forty five miles per hour. All the time, she was getting a soft collision warning to her rear that she knew was Tempest.

“You know what I miss, a little bit?” Tempest asked, once again playing the pack-pony as she was carrying their recent purchases in her saddlebags. Not that she minded.

“What's that, Honey?”

“You used to sing a lot more when you were in your happy place.” Tempest said. And Wildfire had. Tempest only just realised how long it had been since she had heard Wildfire sing, and how much she missed hearing it. In fact, if she thought about it, it was last Monday, on the train back from Vanhoover to Canterlot that Wildfire had sung.

“Oh...” Wildfire thought about it and she knew Tempest was right. “I guess I haven't needed it as much lately as I used to before.” She smiled though as she flew along. “You're right though.” With that, she started to half hum, half sing her favourite song, 'Prettiest Eyes'.

Behind Wildfire, Tempest accelerated just a little and flew alongside her lover. “No longer do you need to hide behind your songs, but now you can sing them freely.” With that, the violet pegasus began to sing along with the chorus, badly.

Wildfire grinned and, though she was trying so hard to not laugh, she couldn’t help it. She started singing the second verse and her giggles got the better of her as again, Tempest blustered her way through the lyrics with no thought to the tone, or tempo, or melody of any kind. With gusto, Wildfire eventually finished the song, nowhere near any kind of tune but absolutely not caring in the slightest. “I…oh, I do love that!”

“Your voice is as pretty as you and it’s nice to hear you sing.” Tempest laughed, the out of tune blast was just what she had in mind, just some silly fun between two loving mares.

Wildfire turned her head to Tempest, “I can do another if you'd like?”

“Love,” Tempest rolled her eyes and shook her head, playfully swatting at Wildfire’s flank with her wingtip, “this isn't about what I like. This about you being you.”

“Well, in that case, I won't do 'Don't Marry Her', so no worries there,” Wildfire giggled, her giggles turning to snorts of laughter when Tempest raspberried her. “Ooh I know...we used to tease Cy with this one so bad back in Uni…” with that, she began to sing ‘Blackbird on the Wire’.

Again, the two pegasi sang loudly, enthusiastically, and above all, badly. Still, Tempest listened and joined in when she could, both mares butchering the lyrics something awful. But, when they finished, they had wide smiles all over their faces. “Y-You tee hee, you ha, sounded good on that one Honey!”

Tempest, well aware of just how ‘good’ or not, in this case, she had sounded, gave a little bow in mid-air. Accuracy though wasn’t the point. Fun, was. Although, on reflection, as bad as they had sounded on purpose, they still weren’t as bad as Octavia had been when she had been forced to sing Lauper at the Open Mic night. “Why, thank you,” Tempest beamed, “I'll be in Manehatten all week.”

“Good, I might take you home, then,” Wildfire snickered as she started singing 'Good as Gold' with all her heart and soul into the performance.

“Oh sweet,” Tempest giggled, not even trying to sing along with this one. “Ah, there’s no jealous mares in your life, is there?”

“None that I know of Honey,” Wildfire replied as she finished her third song, “But there's a few crazy ass weird ones though.”

Tempest gently brushed Wildfire’s cheek tenderly with her wing tip. “Crazy I can handle, I do survive the mirror every morning.”

Wildfire sniggered, “What's impressive is the mirror survives me!”

“That's good,” Tempest laughed, not getting annoyed because she could tell her lover wasn’t putting herself down, more she was joining in the joke. “Save you from a lot of bad luck.”

“Yuppers, like I need any more of that…” Wildfire commented. After a further thirty minutes of quiet flying, in which Wildfire had to consciously flap her left wing harder than her right to stay on course, the little blind mare got a warning via her headset from her flight tech that they had just entered the Manehatten flight traffic pattern. In response, Wildfire went all quiet, concentrating wholly on the flight directions she was getting.

Likewise, Tempest had to concentrate, and she could see. It wasn’t that she had to think of her own flying, it was everypony else she had to be aware of. “Wily, I have your six!”

Thanks to her soft collision alarm, Wildfire knew that Tempest was behind her. She also kind of knew that wasn’t what Tempest meant. “Thanks, Stormy.” Thankfully, on this particular afternoon, there were no inattentive fliers in the air to mess with them. “Looks like a clear run today, Stormy!” Wildfire called back after her headset reported clear sky all the way to the coffee shop.

“Unfortunately, I can't say the same,” Tempest called back, “There’s a tail blocking my view!”

Up front, Wildfire smiled and swished her black tail up and to the side, making sure that Tempest got a clear unobstructed view. “Better?” she asked when she felt cold air blowing across her marehood.

“Oh yes, I can see much better now.”

Wildfire giggled, “good,” and when the blind mare was alerted to her chosen target getting nearer and nearer, she angled her wings and began a nice gentle gliding descent towards Caffeinated's coffee shop. Again, her tech told her that Tempest was sticking to her like flypaper. Seconds later and they both landed almost at the same time on the sidewalk outside of Stripe’s Cup of Java.

Once inside, Wildfire took a moment to orient herself in the shop. She had to really think, as it had been a few days since she had been here last. Quickly though, she had her mental image of the coffee shop in place. “Stormy,” she asked, crossing her hooves, “is the table three down on the right free?”

Tempest cast her blue eyes around the pale blue painted walls and the bright red seats, looking to where Wildfire had suggested. She had an idea just why she had chosen that table by the window when she recognised it. “It is.”

Wildfire squealed in delight. “Can we sit there? I like that table.” And with good reason, too. That had been the table she had sat at all the way back on that fateful Thursday when Dusk had bought her to Manehatten. That to her was a very special table.

“Hi Wily, Stormy,” Caffeinated’s deep rumbling voice appeared, along with its orange stripped owner, behind the counter of his shop. “What can I get you guys today?” he asked in his pleasant easy going manner.

“Hey Caffy!” Wildfire greeted the tall muscular zebra stallion in her typically restrained style, “can I get a black coffee with two sugars, please?”

Tempest placed her order, a creamy Celestia coffee, noticing as she did so that the drinks had already been prepped in his barista machine. She shook her head, putting it down to ‘zebra nonsense’. “Be right there when I get them served up, Stormy.” He smiled, giving her a nod of his head.

“Thanks Caffy!” Wildfire beamed and, turning on the spot, she walked over to the row of tables, counting her way along to the third table and sitting near the window. Just in exactly the same place she was sat at before.

Following Wildfire’s pretty black tail attached to her even prettier yellow ass encased perfectly in the very, very tight flight suit, Tempest sat opposite her in the booth. “Hey, shall we call Airy?” she asked, after checking the large wall clock she saw it was almost six p.m.

“Oooh yes!” Wildfire clapped her hooves, “Do you know, this is the best seat here?”

As it happened, Tempest did know that this was the best seat in the coffee shop and what was more, she knew why. Still, that knowledge didn’t stop her teasing her little lover. “Is that because your rump is on it?”

Caffeinated chuckled as he walked up to the table third along with a tray carrying the drinks and a treat to them from him. “Here you go, my fine mares.” he declared grandly as he set the tray down with his mouth onto the table. “I even got you some choco muffins. And thank you, Stormy,” he finished with a wink.

“Thank you Caffy!” Wildfire beamed, “no silly,” she said, turning her head back to Tempest, “this is where I was sat with Dusk that Thursday when Airy and Lavender came down!” she explained like the others didn’t already know.

“I must have missed that,” Tempest said, rolling her eyes, “and…what are you thanking me for, Caffy?”

Caffeinated had a very broad smile over his face. “Bluefeather came in here earlier and gave me the fifth degree over some black pegasus.”

Wildfire giggled, “that'll be Cy. I take it they met here after all, then?”

“They did and then they took off together.” Caffeinated replied, “No news is good news, right?”

Tempest considered that as she took a long sip of her coffee. Under the circumstances, as her mouth was full of hot liquid, she shrugged until she swallowed. “Is Airy in?” she asked after wafting her tongue with her hoof.

“Yeah, her and Lavender are still upstairs.” Caffeinated, out of habit more than anything else, turned and glanced over at the elevator, “Omega is off doing some political meeting.”

“Caffy!” Wildfire let out a squee, unable to contain her excitement any longer, “I got an office!”

“You sure it wasn't a broom closet?”

“No!” Wildfire squeaked indignantly, making herself look even cuter than usual. “It has a desk, and a couch, and a filing cabinet and a computer and a rack and everything and it's mine!”

Caffeinated laughed before leaning in and nuzzling his new herd-mate’s cheek to let her know he meant it purely in jest. “Office must be nice then. Your first?”

“Yuppers!” Wildfire squealed yet again, her mood instantly recovering along with the nuzzle, “it's my first and it's cool!”

Caffeinated smiled, feeling a very fatherly feel towards the little yellow mare. “Congratulations. At least you got some mares to watch your butt doesn't spread.”

Tempest narrowed her blue eyes at the large orange zebra, “Caffy, I'm going to tell Thespy on you…” to which Caffeinated just burst out laughing harder than ever.

“Thank you!” Wildfire grinned, reaching for her sugary black coffee with her hooves and taking a small sip, followed by another. “Stormy loved my desk. We inspected it straight away.” She grinned an even wider grin when she brought to mind the sexy fun times they had shared in her new office.

“It feels nice against the rump,” Tempest commented, looking on in glee as Wildfire almost spat her coffee. Almost.

Caffeinated didn’t need to be drawn a road map to connect the dots. He saw where Tempest was going. “I see, well, I guess you two proved it is a sturdy desk, if nothing else.”

Wildfire blushed and busied herself with wiping the coffee off of her face. “It ah…it is, very sturdy…”

Giving Caffeinated a congratulatory hoof bump at a wind up job well done, Tempest reached into her very full saddlebag and pulled out her phone. “Hi Airy!” she called out seconds later when her azure blue herd-mate answered, “I’m sitting in Caffy's shop trying to convince Wily she’s marring the wrong mare.”

“We got you coffee!” Wildfire added helpfully.

Rolling her eyes, Tempest put away her phone and instead went for her coffee. For the moment, they hadn’t touched the free muffins. “You said the magic word and she hung up on me,” the violet mare pouted playfully.

Caffeinated nodded solemnly. “One Airy special coming right up.”

Wildfire simply smiled and sat smugly on the seating pad by the window. “I know my mares.”

“Do you now?” Tempest asked with a giggle.

Just then, the elevator door opened and, even across the expanse of the coffee shop, Wildfire could detect the sounds of approaching hoof-steps and the scent of sandalwood. Wildfire sniffed the air, she put two and two together, she knew just who was coming her way. “Airy!”

“Noooo,” Airmail grinned when she reached Wildfire’s side and was immediately pulled into a bone crushing hug by her fiancé, “don't marry this one, she’s far too immature for you, and flighty too.”

“Is that why you didn't marry me?” Tempest asked with a wry smile when the hug was released and Airmail sat down next to Wildfire in the same spot as that Thursday.

“No, I'm too old for you and too grounded.” Airmail giggled and, when the large orange zebra dropped off her coffee and muffin, she gave him a nuzzle of thanks. “Thanks Caffy. So,” she said, turning back to her two mares, “what do you think of Bluefeather, Wily?”

Wildfire giggled, “I liked her, a lot. We could have a real laugh with her.”

Airmail, seated on the pad next to Wildfire, leaned in and delivered an on target lick straight up her left ear. “As long as you don't marry her, we can keep her around for comedic effect.”

“There's only one pony I want to marry, and she smells of sandalwood.”

“Hmmmm…” Airmail sipped her ‘Airy Special’ coffee and sighed happily, melting into Wildfire’s left side. “I so need this…” she meant the snuggle, as much as the coffee. “Wily, you looking forward to working in Cloudhatten?”

Straightaway, Wildfire bounced with excitement. “I've got an office!”

“It is a nice one too,” Tempest commented with a sly smile as she at last decided to go for one of the muffins. While they were always nice, they tasted better when they were free. “Of course, when she shows you her new desk a bit of me is already there.”

Wildfire blushed and tried to hide it behind her hoof. “We ah, we went down memory lane a little.”

Tempest snorted out a loud brash laugh, scattering muffin crumbs everywhere. “We definitely went down.”

Airmail’s brown eyes went wide as she processed that little nugget of information. Then it hit her. “Oh, from your Uni days.” She snickered, passing Tempest a napkin to clean up the crumbs. “Yes, I'll have to test drive your desk too, I think.”

Wildfire giggled, “like Calculus found out, pony polish is best polish!”

“And it should be applied with regular frequency,” Airmail stated like it was obvious and like she was talking about spraying on Pledge.

“Quiet day for you?” Tempest asked, once she had made a victim of the muffin held in her hoof.

“Yeah,” Airmail nodded in reply before sipping more of her coffee, “I got Omega covering the mayor, I’m just catching up mostly.”

Wildfire listened attentively, sipping her own black coffee. “Our day was properly awesomes!” she squee’d when she sensed a lull in Airmail and Tempest’s conversation, “we went shopping!”

“Shopping and a desk top inspection?” Airmail asked with a raised eyebrow, noting with glee the self-satisfied smirk on Tempest’s face.

“After we inspected my desk,” Wildfire smiled, “we had a nap on the couch...” her ears perked up and her wings fluttered, she was suddenly so excited. “OOOH! OOH! I have a couch! And a rack for feathers!”

Airmail smiled and shook her head, her heart melting at Wildfire’s foal-like enthusiasm. “A proper pegasus office, then.”

“And it's mine!” Wildfire beamed, so excited that she hovered a few inches off of the seating pad she was sat on. “It's actually mine! I'll need your feathers, for the wall rack.”

“Oh,” Airmail paused in her attempt to snatch a muffin. “How many do you need?”

“Just one, for the wall, and a picture for the desk.”

“Of your face,” Tempest supplied helpfully, noting with pleasure how brightly Airmail blushed and the raspberry that followed. “Not under your tail.”

“Easy enough,” Airmail swiftly recovered from her blush, “I can leave one when you show me your office.”

Wildfire, who had been about to pick up her coffee, thought better of it as she laughed out loud. “Either end suits me, I kiss them both with equal passion.”

“True,” Tempest added, “but you don't want your partner across the hall drooling all over your desk now, do you?”

“Hmm...that's true,” Wildfire thought out loud, “I don't want to distract Lance…”

Tempest saw Airmail making with a confused head tilt at the mention of a name she didn’t recognise and decided to fill her herd-mate in. “Lance is Bluefeather's Number Two at the Weather Factory.”

“Yuppers, he's alright, too!”

“Having likable ponies at work is a big plus,” Airmail said considerately as she ate her muffin, “Too bad you don't have a Caffy’s a short ways away like me.”

Wildfire snickered as she emptied her beautiful zebra-made black coffee. “I have a foul tasting vending machine. It's a poor replacement but it’s coffee and regardless of its source is a nourishment of the soul.”

Tempest made a very, very exaggerated sigh, complete with a hoof slapped to her forehead before breaking out in fits of giggles. “Of course, the coffee pot is deep in hostile enemy territory.”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire laughed out loud, thinking back to earlier in the day when Tempest and herself had ‘snuck’ into the weather factory’s cafeteria in search of coffee. “And, it's a big risk to infiltrate it alone.”

“But the rewards do make it worthwhile,” Airmail thought out loud.

“That is a very good point, Pretty.” Wildfire smiled, “After all, faint heart never won fair pony.”

“You won my heart,” Airmail purred in her very, very best bedroom eyes, ignoring as she did so Tempest’s giggles and forced retching noises. Slowly, the azure blue mare stroked Wildfire’s foreleg. “And a lot more besides.”

Wildfire sniffed loudly, so moved was she by what Airmail had said. A second loud sniff, and she rubbed her nose with her hoof. “N-Now that calls for kisses!” Quickly, Airmail willingly pressed her lips to Wildfire’s, as did Tempest who leaned over the table and planted a kiss on her. “Thank you!” she beamed happily once all three had shared many kisses.

“Sweeter than wine!” Airmail declared once she had kissed her fiancé for the fourth time. “So, what did you two go shopping for? I think we all have enough socks...”

“Blasphemy!” Tempest declared way too dramatically, cutting across her azure blue herd-mate.

“Pretty!” Wildfire opened her mouth and brought her hoof up to her chest in mock shock. “You can never. Ever. Ever, have enough socks. Am I right, Honey?”

“Totally.”

“Okay,” Airmail shifted on her seating pad and stuck her tongue out at Tempest and dragged the same tongue up the inside of Wildfire’s ear. “You have a point, so, you two bought socks?”

Wildfire shivered, at once hating the fact that Airmail knew about ‘that’ bit in her ear that made her shudder and loving it as well. “Eeek…n-no…” she ruffled her feathers, “we did not!” she smiled, a faint red blush colouring her yellow cheeks, “we bought some wall things for the new house, we bought some books, because we all need books, and you'll never guess what else?”

Airmail of course had no idea, though she was intrigued by the wall things. “Um, ah, um…a disco ball?”

Wildfire giggled, unable to contain herself any longer. “I got a hooficure set!” the little blind mare bounced on her seating pad, “and shampoo! I got rose shampoo! And my own brushes!”

“Oh,” Airmail blinked, a completely blank look on her face. For the longest moment she couldn’t see what was so wondrous and amazing about a hooficure set, a shampoo set and a set of brushes.

That was until Tempest waved her hoof in front of her face to get her attention and made with a series of rapid ear flicks that told the azure blue mare everything she needed to know. Now she got it. Now she understood. “That's...oh...I’m sorry love, we should have done that when you first got here.”

Wildfire however was too excited to notice Airmail’s hesitance. She certainly didn’t notice the ear flicks between Airmail and Tempest. “I've got my own mane brush! My own brush!”

Another series of quick ear flicks and Airmail wrapped Wildfire up in a tight hug. “I'm very happy and I’m very proud of you, Wily.” She kissed her scars, “Now we can brush each other's mane at the same time.”

“Yes!” Wildfire squealed excitedly, before her mood crashed a complete one hundred and eighty degrees. “Um...I-I know it's silly, isn’t it?” she asked rhetorically, to nopony in particular, “m-me getting excited over a silly brush…”

Airmail however wasn’t having any of that. Not at all. Gently, she caressed her diminutive lover’s cheek with her hoof, “How long has it been since you had things that were yours?”

Wildfire, looking down at the table, tapped her hooves together, “In…in the home, all I had was my book.” She fished her hoof in her saddlebag and, once she touched the real leather cover of her poetry book that her mother had given to her many years ago, and she pulled it out and put it on the table between the three of them. “I was lucky, in a way. In the home. Amethyst Glory allowed me to have my book. There were ponies in there that had less than me.”

Airmail rested her hoof lovingly over Wildfire’s and squeezed it tenderly, her eyes looking at the black leather book with its gold embossed lettering. “Part of your soul is in this book. I remember when you read the poems to us.”

Wildfire smiled at Airmail’s touch. “She gave me paper,” the blind mare continued, smiling a wide smile when she felt Tempest hold her hoof as well. “When I was good. She gave me as much paper as I wanted. And a pen.”

“So,” Airmail smiled, her breath in Wildfire’s ear, “how about a new poem about your new mane brush?”

“And about the violet Mother Hen pony that helped me buy it,” Wildfire smiled and sniffed, sniffed a good many times, “As well as the azure blue lovely that'll help me use it?” she asked with a smile, beaming at the both of her mares. “It’s…it's a shame all the paper was lost though…”

“Lost, or taken away?” Airmail asked gently.

Again, Wildfire looked down at the table top. “It, the paper, was taken when Lotus Stripes took my book away from me a month before I met you…I…I was naughty. Amethyst said I hadn’t behaved properly.”

Airmail, just like Tempest who was sat opposite her at the table by the window, performed her breathing exercises at the mention of Amethyst, the home, and ‘behaving’. Again, the two older mares shared ear flicks between themselves. “Didn't Princess Twilight return your book?” Tempest asked gently.

Wildfire nodded, “Princess Twilight gave it to Dusk who returned it, but there were hundreds of loose paper pages.” She sniffed profusely when she thought about all those pages, “I wrote so much on those pages, Honey, so much.”

“You should call Dusk to see if loose paper was recovered.” Airmail said in between peppering Wildfire’s face with kisses, “It wasn't that long ago. You never know, maybe the Arch-librarian may has a stack of unclaimed paper.”

Wildfire shook her head. It was a nice idea, it was a fairy tale thought. Wildfire had learnt long ago there weren’t any fairy tales. “Amethyst burnt them. I know for a fact she did. She said she would. Besides, unless you could read it, it'd be meaningless. If you read it, they were just stories. Silly, silly stories, that’s all.”

Airmail smiled, thankful that Tempest reached over the table between them and dried her eyes for her. “I would very much like a silly bedtime story from you,” she said with a kiss to her lips.

“They were all about Fireflight,” Wildfire explained, again she sniffed, “I wrote about all our Hearths Warmings, her birthdays, how she'd grow up, taking her to school, who she'd be with...silly stuff like that.”

Airmail didn’t think they were silly at all. An ear flick conversation with Tempest revealed she didn’t think they were silly either. It was very clear to Airmail now how Wildfire had remained sane in the care home. Now it all made sense, now she understood why Amethyst Glory had been unable to break Wildfire.

It was her foal.

In the five years in the care home, Wildfire had lived a whole other life, writing about her foal like it was a journal. She had disassociated herself from the physical abuse as if that was the fantasy. All that realisation did was make Airmail love her more. “We will have to record your stories for the foals, too.” She said eventually.

“I um, I think I'd like that,” Wildfire smiled, “who knows? Maybe I’ll write new ones?”

“I don't think there is anything that could stop you from writing new ones,” Tempest said kindly, giving Wildfire’s hoof another squeeze before signalling Caffeinated for coffee refills.

“After all,” Airmail giggled, “I'm here to inspire you now.”

Wildfire sniffed a very deep sniff, “Now, wherever would I get the inspiration though to write an uplifting redemption story about a mare that walked through Tartarus only to be saved by four angels?”

Airmail stroked her chin thoughtfully. “That is a toughie, especially as only two of us have wings.”

“And who says angels need wings?” Wildfire replied quickly.

“The art gallery does!” Tempest laughed a bright laugh as the big orange zebra supplied the coffee refills and took away the empties to be washed.

Nudging the full mug to Wildfire’s hoof, Airmail nuzzled her cheek. “It will be a hard story to write, but we'll be with you all the way.”

Wildfire felt the hot mug and smiled. “I can write angels any way I like, Honey. You're all my angels.”

Airmail leant in and kissed Wildfire’s lips while Tempest added her nuzzles to the mix. “I…I gave up,” Wildfire admitted softly as she took a sip of her new coffee. “At the end, I gave up.”

“Gave up?” Airmail questioned, pausing with her mug inches from her mouth, “If you had truly given up you wouldn't be here now, Wily.”

“Yuppers, I gave up.” Wildfire insisted, sipping more of her coffee, “when they took my book away from me, I stopped hoping I'd be found.”

“Why did you go with Dusk then?” Tempest asked after she had drained half of her mug in one deep swallow.

Wildfire knew why. Deep down, she knew why. “B-Because…I wanted a couple of days where I wasn't going to get beaten, or used, or both. Amethyst didn't want me to go, but Dusk insisted.”

“You haven't told the story about the day Dusk brought you to Manehatten,” Airmail said as she kissed her way all along Wildfire’s cheek. “Maybe you could write that for me. The day a lost mare found hope and discovered love…and found herself too.”

“I'd love to Pretty.” Wildfire smiled, her mood again switching around, picking right up from where it was. “It's got a very beautiful blue pegasus in it who whisks away the lost mare with the immortal line ‘Tempest I met this mare, she's so much fun!’.”

“I hope she’s more fun that the wordsmith here.” Tempest snickered over what was left of her coffee, giggling like a filly when Airmail raspberried her over the table.

Airmail, once her raspberry was complete, playfully nipped Wildfire’s ear hard enough to be noticed. “I'd love to hear and read that story. You didn't give up Wildfire,” she explained, her voice going all serious to match her expression. “You may have lost hope, but you didn't give up and I know that for a fact.”

“It felt like giving up,” Wildfire conceded, “when I didn't have my mum to cuddle any more...it's dumb, but I used to cry for her, in the home, even though I knew she couldn’t reach me.”

Just then, Airmail poked the toe of her hoof into Wildfire’s chest with some considerable force. “Dumb. Dumb, love, is when you stop loving. You. Are. Not a dumb mare. Got it?”

“Oow!” Wildfire squeaked, “Yes, Miss Pokey!”

“That's Madam Pokey to you,” Airmail giggled, “you silly filly.”

“I'll be happy to poke you too,” Tempest interjected with a very wide grin on her face, “with something other than a hoof.”

Wildfire spluttered as she tried, with limited success, to drink the rest of her black coffee. “You promise Stormy? It has been a while since you mounted me. You might've forgotten how to do it.”

Tempest laughed at that. As if she’d ever forget how to mount a mare. “It’s been several hours to say the least.”

“Caffy!” Airmail called out when she saw the mugs were emptied for a second time, “some more choco chip muffins please and refills over here!”

“Coming right up, Airy.”

“Oooh!” Wildfire exclaimed as an idea sprung to her mind, a delicious donut shaped idea covered in caramel. Well, like Tempest had said up in Cloudhatten, she didn’t have to fear not getting another, right? Right? “Um...can I have a donut?” she hardly dared to ask, “A salted caramel one, please?”

“Can do, Wily.” Caffeinated rumbled behind his counter as he got to filling out the order.

“Stormy,” Airmail smiled, “Please take a note. Wily likes salted caramel.”

“Noted.”

Wildfire turned her head from Airmail’s position and Tempest’s, listening as her ears swivelled about. “Um, doesn't everypony? It's the best thing ever, next to chocolate.”

“Airy's sweet tooth doesn't work too well,” Tempest snickered, especially when Airmail performed a picture perfect eye roll aimed in her direction.

Wildfire swore she could hear Airmail’s eye roll. Or maybe it was the sigh that went along with it. “Good thing mine's huge then. Oh, hey Stormy, should I show her the right way to eat a salted caramel donut?”

In response to that, Tempest almost fell off her seating pad as she erupted in fits of giggles, laughing fit to burst as she waved an approving hoof. She recalled clearly, very clearly indeed just how Wildfire ate her donut. Airmail, wholly nonplussed, tilted her head at Tempest’s antics. “I'm…taking that as a yes.” she deadpanned.

Wildfire giggled, “Let’s just say, Stormy found my method most exciting earlier.”

Tempest simply nodded vigorously, managing for the moment to contain herself as Caffeinated once more bought over the requested refills, two chocolatey choco chip muffins and one sticky looking salted caramel donut. “Stormy okay?” he asked with a bemused look on his face after he set the tray down on the table. “Enjoy.”

“Oooh…” Wildfire giggled, almost not daring to believe her luck. “Two in one day!” with her hoof, she carefully nudged her caramel covered prize closer to her muzzle before giving it a long slow lick.

Wondering what Wildfire meant by that, Airmail opened her mouth to ask. Unfortunately, whatever she was going to ask got lost on the way from her brain to her mouth and she just stared open mouthed. Tempest, likewise, was watching Airmail with an amused look. Caffeinated looked up and snickered at both of the older mares. “I'll just be over there, behind the counter.”

“MMmmm...” Wildfire, fully aware that she was laying it on as thick as the salted caramel frosting that coated her donut, moaned lustily as she licked up the side of the donut, giving it the same love and attention as the first that she ate up in Cloudhatten.

Airmail’s wings found that they also liked the scene they were being treated to as well. They flared out from her sides. “You are the biggest tease…”

“Hmhmm…” Wildfire smiled internally, licking at the frosting just a little harder, imagining it was her fiancé’s crotch she was licking. Especially when she – purposefully – sensually tongued the hole. “You don't rush a caramel donut, Pretty.”

Tempest was gasping. Even though she had been treated to this amazingly sensual display before, it still got to her and her wings. Wildfire did after all have a very talented tongue. “After you lick that up, you can go take care of the puddle under Airy.”

“More than happy to clean up aisle mare!” Wildfire replied, her voice muffled by the sticky salted caramel as she made love to the donut. Groaning, Airmail gave a lusty moan as her tongue followed what Wildfire was doing. “I think aisle Airy needs a clean right now…”

“That, or a cold shower,” Tempest laughed. She noted that Airmail was so zoned out she didn’t have a retort to hoof.

“I'd rather give her a clean,” Wildfire snickered and, once she had licked all the salted caramel donut, she felt with her hoof for Airmail’s seating pad and she slipped down underneath the table, intent on licking Airmail like she had licked her donut. Long, hard and slow.

Tempest facehooved, though she wasn’t entirely surprised. “Wildfire,” she said in her best ‘motherly’ tone, “this is not the time nor is it the location, for that.”

“Oh…oh, okay…” Wildfire quickly reappeared with a bright blush all over her face. She had been so close. So very close, to Airmail’s crotch and to the puddle under her. “I’ll clean Airy up later, then.”

Smiling, Airmail gave her diminutive lover an affectionate kiss. “I'm holding you to that, Wily.”

“As long as I get the shower,” Wildfire giggled as she started to nibble on her donut.

“Do you need to go back upstairs?” Tempest asked her azure blue herd-mate.

“No,” Airmail shook her head, “Lavender has lock up.”

“So,” Tempest rolled her blue eyes, “if Wily ever finishes that donut we could go home, then?” she asked, sarcasm rife in her voice as Airmail finished off her chocolate chip muffin and nodded her head.

Wildfire sighed, her ears drooping to lie back on her head. “Honey, I have explained the proper way of eating this,” in spite of that though, the little blind mare did hurry up anyway, polishing off her donut by taking much larger bites.

As he saw that they were all finished with their muffins, donut and third round of drinks, Caffeinated came over, carrying a towel on his back to clean up the puddle that Airmail had left under her seating pad. Not that he minded in the slightest. The shop was relatively empty at this time of day, and it had been a fun show to watch. “You three mares have a fine evening,” he rumbled.

“Anypony still left at your house?” Tempest asked as she got up and hovered her way to stand beside the large zebra.

“Air Raid, Cream, and Amethyst are staying for the time being.” Caffeinated replied, thinking of the lime green racer and the two zebra mares currently at his place following the gaming night party as he whipped the towel in order to usher Airmail and Wildfire out of the way so that he could clean up after them.

“They hit it off then, Caffy?” Wildfire asked curiously as she stood up. She dearly hoped so, anyway.

Caffeinated nodded. “Looks like another fine triad in the making.”

“Aw...I...I'm happy for her,” Wildfire said after a moment’s hesitation. “I hope Raid's finally happy, too.” And she did, too. She had Airmail, it was only right and proper that Air Raid had a pony, ponies, or in this case, zebras, for herself. She was happy now, Air Raid deserved to be happy.

“I hope you're right,” Caffeinated commented as he started cleaning down the table, “she is most certainly distracted by the zebras.”

“Thanks Caffy,” Airmail leant in and nuzzled her good friend, “I’m sorry to leave a mess for you.”

“Don't worry,” Caffeinated chuckled, “I can sell sniffs on the towel.” Tempest laughed at that, while Airmail blushed. Hard.

Wildfire shot her hoof into the air like she was answering a question in school. “Ten bits first sniff!”

Still blushing, Airmail leant in and whispered. “I'll let you sniff for free…”

Caffeinated overheard that and laughed as he worked the towel, “I think Airy is worth more than ten bits, Wily.”

“Oh, certainly, yes she is,” Wildfire agreed wholeheartedly with that assertion, “but that’s all the change I’ve got left after the shopping spree earlier.” She said as she went onto the tips of her hooves and stole a quick kiss.

Airmail licked her lips. “Sweet, sweet lips,” she giggled before turning to face the door. “Let's go, we’ll catch you later Caffy!”

Once the good byes and farewells, the hugs and the nuzzles had been exchanged between the four herd-mates, Tempest led the way out of the coffee shop with Airmail alongside Wildfire, as always on the little mare’s left side. The sun was hanging very low indeed in the sky when Airmail turned to her lover on the sidewalk. “You are a tease and I love you.”

“Yuppers, I know,” Wildfire giggled, wiggling her ass playfully as she turned on her flight headset now that they were outside. She heard Tempest in front of her take off into the evening twilight and spread her wings to follow her up into the traffic pattern. “You're a wonderful, smart and sexy mare. “Airy,” she said as they all flew towards home, “thanks, for that note in the kitchen earlier.”

With Tempest still in front, Wildfire heard via her headset that Airmail had taken up her six position behind her. “It was fun, serving Stormy breakfast in bed.”

“I think leaving you something when I leave for work may become a habit.” Airmail said, calling ahead from her position behind Wildfire.

“Ooh I hope so...reading that note was like having a kiss from you.” Just then, as Wildfire finished the last word of her sentence, the proximity alarm of her flight suit went off in her ear as Airmail moved up and caressed her flank where her cutie mark was with her wingtip. “Hmmm,” Wildfire purred, “best wingtip in Equestria.”

“Thank you,” Airmail smiled as she dropped back to her previous position. As she did so, Wildfire hiked her black tail up and to one side, allowing Airmail a clear and unfettered view of her crotch and, more importantly, her breasts. Flying behind her, the smiling Airmail was soon reduced to a grinning fool.

“Enjoying the view, Pretty?”

Airmail was most certainly enjoying the view. Wildfire’s crotch and breasts were a much better view than the stars that began to paint the darkening sky around them. “No complaints here my love!” Airmail called out, and to her pleasure, Wildfire made sure to keep her tail well aside. Looking at her fiancé though, something didn’t seem right. “Are you drifting left?”

“What? Oh damn…” Wildfire checked her destination, which was their town house, and she discovered that she was indeed drifting off course slightly. “Yuppers, I am,” she quickly adjusted her course.

“Stormy?”

“I’m working it, Airy,” Tempest answered quickly, “don't get your tail in a twist.”

Wildfire felt very silly. “I was concentrating on teasing, not flying. My bad, Honey.”

“Okay,” Airmail shrugged. If Tempest said she was on it and to not worry, then that was good enough for her. “Not going to worry about it. Stormy is the flight instructor, not me.”

Wildfire’s ears slicked back to her head, her tail likewise wilting between her legs. “Amber Leaves used to love playing with my left wing. She could break it with a strike of her bull whip.”

“No excuses!” Tempest called back over her shoulder.

Again, Airmail triggered Wildfire’s proximity alarm when she accelerated and caressed her whole side with her wing from flank to her cheek. “She is gone, I promise you she can’t hurt you anymore, she’s gone and it's time to move beyond the past and into our future.”

Still, as Wildfire flew along she shuddered. Not from Airmail’s wingtip either. “No excuses.”

“Stormy is right about that,” Airmail said kindly, “but hugs are always welcome. Flip over and fold your wings.” The very second that Airmail saw Wildfire roll over onto her back, the azure blue mare surged forward and ‘docked’, wrapping her four legs around her fiancé and holding her tightly in a mid-air hug.

“I have you, my love and I'm not leaving.” Airmail held onto the hug, beating her wings hard but she was still losing altitude. Smiling, the lead editor flipped herself back over, rolling and putting Wildfire on top of her, still maintaining the hug.

“Your turn to fly, Wildfire.” Airmail purred in her lover’s ear. Immediately, the little blind mare began flapping her wings in long slow strokes, using all of her wing muscles like she had when she swam underwater. She could tell from her headset that she was maintaining her altitude as Airmail clung onto the tight hug.