One Night In Manehattan

by Whiteout

First published 17th of December, 2011

Being a Wonderbolt is everything Dash ever thought she wanted, but is it worth it?

Flying with the Wonderbolts is everything Rainbow Dash ever thought she wanted, but are her dreams worth what she's missing? One night can change a lot of things...

Wow, I hadn't expected this to go up so fast, but here it is on Equestria Daily as well!

Chapter 1

In a cheap hotel room somewhere on the lower south side of Manehattan, curled beneath a thin blanket, a pony lay dreaming. At least she assumed she was dreaming. Finding herself wrapped in warmth and cuddled up against what felt distinctly like another pony wasn’t the sort of thing that happened in her waking life. She’d wake up any minute now, and be alone and lonely again in the shoddy hotel room the Wonderbolts’ management had booked for her as part of the arrangements for the current tour.

With a small grumble of annoyance, the pegaus rolled over, curling more tightly around the warm coat that had been pressing against her side. This tour had been nothing but a disaster, and just the thought of it was enough to shake the wonderful sense of contentment her current position was bringing. Trying to push thoughts of work out of her mind, she slid a hoof over the soft withers in front of her, gently pulling her unexpected companion closer. She was rewarded with a sleepy murmur of happiness, and she buried her face in a soft mane and let her mind drift.

This kind of dream was becoming entirely too common, lately.

Slow, calming breaths pulled in the scent of sugared strawberries and warm fur as she just relaxed and let herself soak up the fleeting peace of the dream. It had been almost a year since she’d been home long enough to have the pleasure of just lying like this, cuddled up against the pony of her dreams, just listening to her softly breathing. She craved it, needed it like she needed open skies and the rush of wind in her mane. But the scheduling just kept getting worse.

It was hard to tell time in dreams, but it seemed to her that this dream was lasting longer than the last few times she’d imagined it. Not that she was complaining. But usually something would have woken her up by now. Smiling slightly at her own pessimism, even in a dream, she drifted back into deeper sleep.

*BANG BANG BANG*

The thunder of somepony’s overenthusiastic hooves on her door startled her, and she had rolled out of bed and was halfway to the door before managing to get her eyes all the way open.

“M’ coming. Keep your saddle on!”

Fumbling at the door lock with all the dexterity a half-awake pony could muster, she finally manged to unlatch it on her third try, and swung the door open to glare grumpily into the hallway. The blue pegasus stallion standing at her door, foot still raised to knock again, wilted a little under her glare.

“Why the hay are you trying to kick my door down, Soarin’? I was sleeping!” She was clearly not amused at being dragged away from a pleasant dream.

Soarin recovered his usual cheerful grin quickly enough, and nodded. “Sorry, didn’t know you were still snoozing. We were just about to order some breakfast, and Spitfire sent me to see if you wanted in. We still need to figure out the formations for the last two shows, after all.”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Sorry, didn’t mean to snap at you. I was just having a... good dream, and really didn’t want to wake up.”

At Soarin’s snicker, Dash poked him with a hoof. “Not like I could sleep last night anyway, with you two going at it like rabbits next door!”

The pegasus stallion blushed heavily at that, slapping a forehoof to his face with a groan. “You heard that?”

“Thin walls. I’d be surprised if anypony on the floor didn’t.” Grinning at his discomfort, Rainbow leaned against the doorframe nonchalantly, her grin widening as she watched her Captain stutter as he struggled for a response.

“I’m just messin’ with you, Soarin’. Must be nice having your marefriend on tour with you, though.”

They both laughed as the older Wonderbolt got his blush under control, and found his voice again. “Well, it does have its perks, but right now I’m more worried about what she’ll do to me if I don’t get back so we can order breakfast! You coming?”

“Yeah, gimme a few minutes to shower, and I’ll head over.”

“Sounds good, I’ll let Spitfire know, and get breakfast on the way.”

“Awesome.”

With a wave to Soarin as he headed back to his room, Rainbow turned back into her own, kicking the door shut behind her and rubbing at her eyes with a hoof. A rustling in the direction of the bed made her tense for a moment before dismissing it as just the blanket sliding, and she turned to head to the bathroom and a much desired hot shower. A few steps later, Rainbow Dash froze, her wings mantling in surprise as a cheery voice piped up from the direction of the bed.

“Ooo. Did somepony say breakfast?”

The cyan pegasus whipped around to stare wide-eyed at the curly-maned head now sticking out of the pile of blankets on the bed and blinking sleepy blue eyes at her.

“P...P....Pinkie? What?”

The bright pink pony eyed the startled pegasus for a moment, her cheerful expression fading a bit as Dash’s shocked reaction to her presence registered.

“I... I got here last night, Dashie. Don’t you remember?”

Rainbow Dash could only stare, frozen in place by conflicting emotions. Her mind was reeling as she racked her brain for memories of the night before, coming up with dreamlike fragments and disconnected scenes, but no real explanation. Her heart, on the other hoof, had clearly decided to toss confusion out the window and was doing ecstatic loops of sheer happiness at seeing Pinkie again.

“I showed up and then we went out to party?”

The pink pony’s cheer had rapidly faded, and she now looked up at Dash through the drooping strands of her unruly bangs, her soft blue eyes pleading for some kind of reassurance from the startled pegasus.

“I guess you don’t....”

Pinkie sighed and looked down at her hooves, quietly berating herself. “This was a bad idea, I shouldn’t have come.” She sniffled. “You don’t even want me here...”

The party pony trailed off, just closing her eyes until a gentle hoof lifted her chin, and she opened her eyes to look up at Dash. Her heart skipped a beat to stop as Rainbow Dash smiled down at her, her own magenta eyes more than a little misty above a tremulous smile.

“I thought I was dreaming.”

The slow smile spreading across Pinkie’s face was like dawn breaking over Cloudsdale. Lunging from her blanket nest like an uncoiling spring, the pink party pony pounced upon the pegasus, wrapping her forelegs around Dash in a tight hug. Surprised at the sudden weight, Rainbow fell back against the headboard, bringing her own forehooves up to comfortably embrace her marefriend. Dash couldn’t help but chuckle as Pinkie Pie’s head settled on her shoulder, leaving her buried to her chin in unruly pink curls.

“I’m soooo sorry, Pinks. With all the shows, and the appearances, and the endorsements, and the bad sleep...” Rainbow Dash sighed, stroking a comforting hoof over Pinkie Pie’s shoulders. “I can hardly tell if I’m awake at all some days.”

“It’s okay, Dashie.” With her cuddled so close, the pegasus could feel Pinkie Pie’s words in her chest as well as hear them. “I’ve been reading your letters, and should’ve expected you to be a silly filly after so little sleep!”

They rested in comfortable silence for several minutes, both content to be exactly where they were. Eventually, a thought occurred to the pink earth pony, and she pushed herself up on her forelegs to look down at Rainbow Dash. “What do you remember from last night?” Pinkie asked, raising one eyebrow curiously.

It was a long moment before Dash answered. “Well, if I wasn’t dreaming after all... after you pounced me when I opened the door, we went out for dinner at that buffet around the corner, right?” She grinned up at Pinkie. “And they probably don’t want to see us again any time soon.”

Pinkie giggled and smiled. “It’s not -my- fault they didn’t really mean ‘all you can eat’!”

“They weren’t expecting a pro.” Dash laughed as well, before continuing. “Then... I think we went dancing, didn’t we?”

Pinkie nodded, slowly. “Mm hm.”

“Right... now I remember, there was this wicked cool DJ with the neatest shades!”

“Yep! That’s DJ-Pon-3, or Vinyl Scratch to her friends.”

Rainbow Dash blinked up at Pinkie. “Wait, you know DJ Pon-3?”

“Duh!” Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “I know everypony, Dashie!”

“Well, yeah. But how in the hay do you know her?”

The smile on Pinkie Pie’s face just grew a little wider. “I met her at a party in Ponyville, and suggested her to a few ponies who needed music for their parties a while back. She was so happy she asked me to do a song with her for her next album!”

“That’s just so... Pinkie Pie.” Dash shook her head, with a smile. “But yeah... so we were dancing, and then they closed down the club for the night so we were out roaming around Manehattan...”

The cyan pegasus trailed off, deep in thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Sorry, Pinkie Pie, that’s all I’ve got. After that, all I remember is waking up here cuddled up with you.” Leaning up a bit, she nuzzled the pink pony above her. “Best way to wake up ever.”

Pinkie returned the nuzzle, but leaned back again to eye Dash with what she thought looked almost like disappointment. “That’s all you remember?”

“Yep. Sorry, Pinks. I’m sure more’ll come back when I get a little more awake.” As if to prove her point, a yawn overtook Rainbow, and she covered her mouth with a hoof. “Only one way to do that, though. Lemme up so I can shower, then we’ll go get you something sweet to munch on, and get me a bucket of coffee.”

With a nod and a giggle, Pinkie Pie rolled off of Rainbow Dash, and the pegasus climbed off of the bed to head to the bathroom. Glancing back over her shoulder, she smiled at the absolutely adorable picture Pinkie made, lying on her back with her head hanging off the edge of the bed. Her upside down smile was still firmly in place as she watched Dash go, and the pegasus couldn’t resist taking a moment to stretch just to enjoy the little blush that came to Pinkie Pie’s cheeks when she realized Dash had caught her watching.

Not that Rainbow Dash minded. She gave the other mare a knowing smile and a little flirt of her tail before vanishing into the bathroom.

As hot water streamed down over her, Rainbow Dash felt the muzzy fog of too little sleep start to lift. As the heat soothed away all the little aches and pains that too much work and too many long weeks in a row had knotted into her muscles, she hummed with quiet pleasure. It was definitely time to yell at somepony about the accommodations, she decided. Bad enough to be stuck on the ground to ‘avoid the paparazzi’, but all these earth pony beds were a pain in the flank for somepony used to clouds.

On second thought, it wasn’t all bad. After all, she was pretty sure that Pinkie Pie couldn’t walk on normal clouds, no matter how she’d handled Discord’s little jokes a few years ago. With a grin, the cyan pegasus ducked her head under the spray to let the warm water run through her mane. She had to admit, a bed with an utterly adorable and super snuggly pink pony in it had a great deal of appeal, cloud or no cloud.

That image lingered, and Dash was perfectly happy to dwell on it until her attention was called back by the unconscious shifting of her wings, and she blushed and snickered before turning her mind to less risible thoughts; such as the previous evening.

Now that she was more awake, Rainbow remembered Pinkie’s arrival. She had been headed back to the hotel after a day full of trying to get the newer backup fliers of the team trained on their part in the showpiece for tomorrow’s performance, sore and tired. The only thought on her mind had been falling into bed and hoping to wake up less exhausted than she already was.

Dash had gotten the door unlocked on the second try, but barely had time to swing it open before a cry of “DASHIE!” rang out and a bright pink blur had tackled her. Before she could blink, she found herself wrapped up into an almost crushing hug by a cheerfully babbling Pinkie Pie.

“OHMYGOSHDASHIE!” The pink pony’s words were almost a squeal as she gleefully squeezed the startled Wonderbolt. A moment later, Pinkie pushed the other mare back out to leg’s length to smile hugely at her until the red lock falling in Dash’s startled face drew her eye.

“Ooo.You let your mane get so long! It looks super awesome and I’m so happy to see you ‘cause it’s been way too long and you know I get lonely even with letters ‘cause you can’t hug a letter well not really hug it like a pony even if it’s still better than nothing so I figured you were probably lonely too so the Cakes let me have a few days off and I decided to come surprise you but then you opened the door and looked so down that I just had to hug you right now and are you surprised? Huh? Huh?”

Throughout her rapid-fire chatter, Pinkie Pie’s nose had gotten closer and closer to Rainbow Dash’s own, and Dash found herself staring into a pair of shining blue eyes at close range as she tried to find a proper reaction to the sudden arrival of her best friend and long-term mutual crush.

“Pinkie? What...” She sounded confused, but the corners of her mouth were already starting to turn up into a smile as she realized that the one thing she wanted more than a two-day nap was bouncing on her hooves a few inches away.

“You are surprised!” Pinkie Pie giggle-snorted, her nose crinkling adorably as she bounced in sheer glee. “I totally wanted to give you a super awesome extra special...”

The rest of the sentence was lost as Rainbow Dash’s confusion was overwhelmed by a rising tide of joy, and she opted to demonstrate rather than answer verbally. Pinkie Pie’s rant cut off with a surprised squeak as she fell back on her haunches. With almost desperate eagerness, the Dash pressed forward and kissed her, letting all the happiness and longing of a long-overdue reunion wash over them both as their lips met.

Several endless seconds later, Dash pulled away, grinning at the pink mare. “Breathe, Pinkie.”

Pinkie Pie gasped in a breath, then licked her lips. She looked thoughtful for a moment, then perked up. “Oo, cherry!”

They had both broken down in helpless giggles at that point, Dash remembered, reaching up to turn the hot water up. She’d had just enough time to toss her saddlebags in the closet before they’d decided to go get dinner and talk. She sighed. It was incredibly frustrating that they’d needed to catch up.

Dash loved being a Wonderbolt. It was what she’d always wanted to do, and the complicated aerial ballet of speed and finesse was something she took a very justified pride in excelling at. It wouldn’t be boasting to call herself one of the top five flyers in all of Equestria, just acknowledgement of the facts. But it came at the cost of several months on the road each year, and constant practice to stay in the kind of shape a world-class athlete needed to be in.

Scowling at an out of place feather, the cyan pegasus reached back to preen it into place with her teeth. The time away had been getting worse, lately. The Wonderbolts’ old manager had retired two years ago. The new stallion to the job, Silver Lining, had stepped up their scheduled appearances substantially. Normally, they would have been home for the season two months ago, but some big spender out here in Manehattan had talked him into a series of exhibitions that were going to keep them out for another month yet.

For most of the Wonderbolts, it was just part of the job. More chances to show off and maybe score a lucrative sponsor's bits. Rainbow Dash found that whole business distasteful. Sure, ponies were willing to pay her lots of bits to say how cool some product of theirs was, but she got into this to fly, not to be somepony’s walking advertisement. Besides, the way those ponies looked at her, like something they could buy and sell, made her flesh crawl. But that wasn’t the worst part.

The worst part was that every minute she was here was one she wasn’t spending at home, catching up with her friends and glued to Pinkie Pie’s side. The ‘off season’ was only four months long in the first place. Losing most of it to this ‘prime fundraising opportunity’ was absolutely frustrating, but her contract said she had to do it, or quit. As much as she wanted to spend that time in Ponyville, she was part of a team, and she wasn’t giving up on the others. No matter how many nights she spent dreaming about being wrapped in the soft touch of pink fur.

Long distance relationships sucked.

The thought of Pinkie Pie served as a reminder that she was waiting, and Rainbow Dash reached for the shampoo. Enough time soaking, Spitfire and Soarin’ would have breakfast in by now, and no doubt Pinkie was starving. The pegasus smiled at that as she worked the lather into her mane with her hooves. Pinkie’s appetite was legendary around Ponyville, and it would be fun to see how her fellow Wonderbolts reacted to an earth pony who could out eat three athletes.

She chuckled at that, then winced as her hoof caught on something that made her right ear twitch painfully. Blinking, Rainbow Dash felt around with a careful hoof, one eyebrow going up in confusion as something metallic clinked against her hoof.

“What in the hay?”

Ducking back under the shower to rinse out the shampoo, she poked at the strange object a couple more times, earning another wince when she tried to pull it and it took her ear with it. Hopping out of the shower, Dash wiped at the bathroom mirror with a wet fetlock before leaning her head to try to get a look at whatever was stuck to her. There was definitely something there, but the steamy mirror’s reflection was cloudy.

With growing worry, Rainbow snagged a towel from the rack and used it to clear the mirror. Gently, she pushed the riot of color that was her mane back, baring her right ear to find a small white-gold hoop though the piercing she’d gotten back in flight school. She didn’t remember putting on any earrings last night, she thought.

Something was nagging at the back of her mind as she puzzled through her memory, and she idly stared at the earring as she thought. It was actually kind of cool looking, she thought. It wasn’t flashy, like the gaudy things Rarity so loved to wear. Just a simple band with some kind of small engraving and three tiny gemstones. Eyes widening in panic, Dash leaned closer, her muzzle almost pressed against the glass as she stared at the earring.

“Is that...”

Three tiny gems dotted the band, two blue and one yellow, cut to the shape of balloons. Their tails wove together across the band in simple yet attractive scrollwork, showing the jeweler’s careful craft. A craft that was lost on Rainbow Dash, as memories flashed through her mind. Walking home from the afterparty last night, revelling in the slide of fur as Pinkie took every opportunity to brush up against her. She remembered wishing that every night could be like this, and a decision.

Pinkie Pie was sitting on the bed, attempting to drag a brush though the mass of fluffy chaos that was her mane when the bathroom door crashed open and a still-dripping pegasus ran into the room. Startled, she let loose of the brush, her eyes widening as Rainbow Dash stalked quickly over to stand over her, ignoring the water her soaked mane dripped onto the blankets.

Her heart pounding and a little bit scared of the intense expression on Rainbow’s face, Pinkie Pie looked up at her and asked, “What’s wrong, Dashie?”

With a shaking hoof, Dash gently brushed the pink pony’s unruly mane away from her right ear. A matching band, white gold with a tiny silver cloud trailing a lighning bolt of cleverly carved red, yellow, and blue gemstone stood out gleamed against Pinkie Pie’s soft pink coat, as she had expected. Sinking down on her haunches, the shaky cyan pegasus gathered Pinkie’s forehooves in her own, and stared up into her softly puzzled blue eyes.

“Pinkie Pie?” She asked, her voice as shaky as her hooves.

“Yes, Dashie?” Pinkie’s own voice was soft, curious and a little scared of what could have shaken the brash mare this badly.

“Did...” Dash swallowed around a lump in her throat, then continued. “Did I ask you to marry me last night?”

Pinkie’s eyes widened at the question, and she blinked with cheerful relief. “Of course not, you silly filly!”

Dash’s heart felt like an iron vice had closed on it at Pinkie’s words, and she looked away, unable to meet the other mare’s eyes. So that was it, the one thing she could never find the courage to do, and she’d failed again. She barely heard the other mare move until a soft hoof on her chin pulled her back around to look at Pinkie, and her heart shuddered in her chest again.

The pink pony’s face glowed with happiness and love as she looked down at Rainbow Dash and smiled.

“I asked you first!”

Chapter 2

It had been a pretty nifty morning so far, even by Pinkie Pie’s high standards. First there was waking up snuggled up next to Rainbow Dash, which was always the best possible way to wake up. Then there was the less great bit, where Dash had forgotten her presence last night. That was definitely not the best, Pinkie had decided.

Pinkie Pie had plenty of time to think about it just now, as she stripped the blankets off of the bed she had shared with Rainbow Dash. They were thin, scratchy things, as suited the rather run-down and cheap hotel that the Wonderbolts had elected to put their stars up in, and Pinkie crinkled her nose at the taste of cheap detergent after dragging the wet linens off of the mattress. The expression did not linger nearly as long as the taste, though. Nothing could ruin Pinkie Pie’s good mood today, for one absolutely awesome reason.

The thought alone was enough to make Pinkie giggle as she turned away from the bedding to stand before the dresser’s attached mirror and consider the pink pony reflected in it. The little smile of contentment that had hovered around the corners of her mouth all morning threatened to stretch into a full on grin as she rolled that thought around in her mind like a giant gumdrop. Rainbow Dash said yes. The brash, funny, courageous, stubborn, silly, absolutely adorable mare who was currently humming off key in the bathroom was all hers.

Reaching up, Pinkie Pie crinkled her nose in concentration as struggled with the brush that had been hanging, forgotten, in her mane since Dash had bolted out of the shower. A couple of quick tugs, and it was clear of the poofy pink chaos of curls. In the mirror, a glint of light caught Pinkie’s eye, and she gave up fighting an almost painfully wide grin as she admired the simple engagement ring that decorated her right ear for a moment, before the bathroom door opened behind her, billowing steam, and an intimately familiar voice called from inside.

“Hey Pinks, if you want hot water, you’d better get in here!”

In the mirror, Pinkie’s fiancee poked her head out around the half-open door, bits of brightly colored mane poking through hastily wrapped folds of thin toweling around her head. A very similar ring glinted against the greyish towel as Rainbow Dash flicked her ear to dismiss a ticklishly errant drip of water before smiling at the sight of Pinkie in the mirror.

“C’mon, silly filly. This place sure as hay isn’t the Mareiott, and I don’t want it going cold on us before we get the shampoo out of those curls of yours.”

The affectionate teasing earned a grin from Pinkie Pie as she climbed to her hooves and trotted towards the bathroom. “Silly Dashie, it doesn’t take that long to take care of my mane!”

An answering grin lit Rainbow Dash’s face, and she waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Pinkie Pie.

“It does if I help!”

It was some time later as a well-washed pair of ponies stood outside of another hotel room door, just next door to their own room. Rainbow Dash rapped on the battered wood with one forehoof, before stepping over to Pinkie with a mischievous grin. Pinkie raised a curious eyebrow, then broke into giggles as Dash’s muzzle was buried in her mane for a quick nuzzle. Gentle teeth pulled one of the larger curls in front of Pinkie’s ear to hide her ring.

The sound of hooves approaching the door from the other side lent a certain urgency as Pinkie Pie returned the favor, quickly ruffling Rainbow Dash’s bangs to bury her right ear in messy red mane. The two mares had just enough time to trade knowing smirks before turning to present well-practiced expressions of innocence to the yellow mare just opening the door.

“Finally! We were starting to think you’d gotten lost!”

The slightly sarcastic tone of Spitfire’s greeting was softened by her smile, and she nodded a greeting to both other mares before stepping back to make room in the doorway.

“Come on in. We got tired of waiting and ordered, so breakfast should be here pretty quick.”

Looking around curiously as she entered, Pinkie Pie noted that the co-Captains of the Wonderbolts must have merited the closest thing this place had to a suite. The room was a good bit larger than Rainbow Dash’s, sporting a table and four worn-looking chairs in one corner, near a mini-fridge and microwave. Behind the table, a tiny balcony was perched outside a pair of double doors, with a sad-looking and empty flowerpot sitting against the railing. A princess-sized bed was the only other substantial furniture in the room, currently covered in tangled linens and uniform pieces. Clearly, Pinkie decided, it was laundry day for the Wonderbolts.

Pinkie’s attention was pulled back to their hostess as Spitfire closed the door behind them. The yellow pegasus brushed the unruly strands of her messy two-tone orange mane out of her eyes, then turned to pull Pinkie Pie into a quick hug with a smile.

“Didn’t know you’d gotten here, Pinkie Pie! Good to see you again. Maybe you can get this one,” She gestured to the somewhat puzzled looking Dash with a hoof. “To relax a bit.”

Dash’s chagrined “Hey!” was ignored in favor of a giggle as Pinkie Pie nodded enthusiastically. “I’m sure planning on it! Even I can tell Dashie’s been working herself too hard again.”

Spitfire’s answering laugh was faintly weary as she let go of Pinkie and settled back into the chair she’d vacated to answer the door. “She has. We’ve all been working hard this season, but without Rainbow, I don’t think we would still be in the air.”

A derisive snort from Dash interrupted Spitfire’s praise. “Oh, knock it off. I’m just doing what you guys brought me onto the team to do.” Pinkie didn’t miss the slight blush coloring Rainbow’s cheeks. For somepony who liked the occasional well-deserved boast about her skills, praise from ponies she respected always made Dashie squirm a little. It was adorable.

Still trying to hide the blush, Rainbow Dash flopped down in one of the empty chairs as well, Pinkie bouncing into the chair next to her with an enthusiasm that set the old springs creaking.

“Anyway, we’ve all been working really hard to finish on a high note. Even if somepony seems to think we don’t need any downtime.” Dash’s words dropped off into a grumble. “Stupid pain in the flank Silver Lining and his stupid ‘sponsors’.”

Spitfire ran a hoof over her eyes, shaking her head. “Yeah, not much we can do about that, Dash. That ‘pain in the flank’ is in charge of this tour, like it or not.” Settling her hooves on the table, the older mare eyed Rainbow Dash. “Just keep the griping between us, okay? We need you up in the air, not grounded because the management’s having a snit fit.”

“Don’t I know it.” Looking for a change of topic, Rainbow Dash raised a curious eyebrow at Spitfire. “Speaking of pains in the flank, where’s that stallion of yours, anyway?”

A chuckle from the bathroom doorway answered Dash’s question before Spitfire could, as a pale blue stallion stepped out into the hotel room. One of the hotel’s dingy towels was draped over his withers in mute evidence of just what he’d been up to, swaying damply as the stallion trotted over to plant a light kiss on Spitfire’s ear.

Pinkie Pie blinked to herself in puzzlement as Soarin moved past her. It took her a few moments and a glance at Dash to realize what didn’t seem right. All three of the Wonderbolts were a -lot- thinner than she remembered them looking when she’d seen them last. It hadn’t been as obvious at first, since Spitfire seemed closest to her usual self, but Soarin’s wet coat showed off the faint outlines of his ribs. The same sort that she could remember feeling when Dash snuggled into her for warmth the night before. Clearly they weren’t kidding about the workload.

It was Spitfire’s turn to try and ignore her own blush as Soarin settled into the last empty chair with a smirk at Rainbow Dash. “You sound more awake this time, Dash. I see you forgot to mention you had company, too. Great to see you again, Pinkie Pie!”

Tucking the implications of her observation away for later, Pinkie turned her best smile on the Wonderbolt Captain. “Hi! It’s been a while, Soarin!”

“Too long entirely, Pinkie.”

“Well maybe if you silly ponies took more time off, we’d see each other more often!” Pinkie Pie giggled.

From beside her, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “We don’t exactly set the schedule, Pinks. That’s up to the management. Besides, I don’t think these two know what a day off is like anymore!”

“Hrm.” Soarin screwed up his face into a look of utmost concentration, tapping one forehoof on his chin. “Nope!”

The light knock of room service arriving was barely audible over the laughter of the four friends.

Usually, Pinkie Pie loved meals with the Wonderbolts. The hard-working aerobats were among the few ponies who could keep up with her own appetite, in working season, and she felt no real need to hold back with them. More and more, though, it was obvious to her knowing eye that something was off here.

The breakfast for three that room service had delivered was rather offputting. The others dug in without comment, other than to ask for a spare place setting for Pinkie, and she happily accepted a share of the selection of pastries presented. Her first bite confirmed what her practiced eye had long since noted. These were definitely not top notch. In fact, the Cakes would have been embarrassed to have their name connected to such pitiful pastry! It was enough to put her off her appetite, and she set the rather sad muffin on her plate before turning to Spitfire.

“So, how’ve you two been? Getting news out of Dashie here is like trying to wring juice out of a rock sometimes!”

Rainbow Dash looked up from the pancakes she was applying syrup to at that, a bit defensively. “Hey, I know I’m no Twi when it comes to letters, but I do write!”

Across the table, Spitfire chuckled. “Yeah, we know all about you and writing, Rainbow. No other Wonderbolt’s ever filed a flight plan like ‘Arrive, rock audience’s socks, leave.’ and gotten away with it.”

Setting the syrup down, Rainbow Dash just shook her head and took a bite of the whipped cream and syrup covered pancakes, swallowing quickly to retort.

“Hey, Fillydelphia flight control accepted it!”

“Of course they did, we’d already filed for full clearance for the show.” Spitfire said with a grin.

Rainbow Dash looked away first, slightly embarrassed but still grinning and sporting a dollop of escaped whipped cream garnish perched on the tip of her nose.

“Hrmph. They still took it,” She grumbled. “Good enough.”

The whipped cream was more than Pinkie Pie could resist. Leaning over, she licked it off of Dash’s nose with a broad swipe of her tongue, then pulled back with a giggle as Rainbow Dash blushed furiously.

“Piiinkiiie!”

It was almost a whine, somewhere between embarrassment and amusement. Rainbow Dash buried her face in her hooves as the other two Wonderbolts shared a knowing look and smile.

“Mm. Maple and whipped cream. Tasty!” Pinkie grinned unrepentantly.

Pinkie Pie’s grin was contagious, and Dash returned her smile while still trying to ignore the blush spreading across her cheeks.

Pinkie’s attention turned to Soarin as he wiped away a few crumbs with a napkin before speaking up.

“We’re doing fine, Pinkie Pie. It’s been a long season, but after these last two shows we can take a good break and start working on new routines for next year’s shows, no problem.”

After a quick shift of his eyes towards Spitfire, he continued with a slight smile.

“I know we’ll both be happy to be done for the year. I don’t think we’ve ever been on the road this long before.”

Next to him, Spitfire growled under her breath as she poked at the salad she’d chosen over the pastries.

“We haven’t.”

A moment of silence stretched at that, all three pegasi avoiding each other’s eyes as Pinkie looked between them.

Something is definitely going on here, Pinkie thought to herself, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.

The silence stretched a bit as the ponies munched on what breakfast there was, before being broken as Rainbow Dash cleared her throat and turned to the other Wonderbolts.

“So, um... yeah. Work stuff. What’s on the plan today? We still trying to get the new guys up to speed for the last two shows?”

Spitfire leaned back in her chair, considering Dash for a moment before nodding her head.

“We are... but you aren’t.” The Captain raised one hoof to silence Dash’s inevitable protests with a smile.

“You haven’t taken a day off in months, Dash, and you need one badly.”

Next to her, Soarin nodded as well. “Worse than us, really. We can swap out, but the Rainboom’s yours alone, and you’ve been pushing yourself too hard.”

He grinned then, turning to Pinkie Pie. “So, that said, can you do us a favor, Pinkie?”

Pinkie Pie nodded curiously. “Sure, whatcha need?”

Spitfire leaned forward with a grin. “Get Rainbow Dash out of here for at least two days. No thinking about work, no flight exercises, just keep her nice and distracted. Who knows, maybe you can even get her to sleep!”

Rainbow Dash started to protest again, but Pinkie happily ignored it as she gave the Wonderbolt captains a sketchy salute. “Yes sir & ma’am!”

“Hey, don’t I get a say in this?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Nope!” Pinkie Pie giggled, bouncing to her hooves with a smile. “You’re totally getting fillynapped back to my nefarious... er, hotel room lair!”

Dash just rolled her eyes, climbing to her feet and waving a hoof to her fellow Wonderbolts. “Well, I’m not going to complain too much about more time with you. Thanks, guys, and I guess I’ll see you in a couple days.”

Spitfire just waved, watching as Pinkie almost dragged Rainbow Dash out the door before pushing away her mostly untouched fruit salad and slumping over to lean comfortably against Soarin’s shoulder.

“Were we that obvious?”

Soarin just chuckled as he wrapped one wing over her affectionately..

“Of course.”

Author's Notes:

Well, that took long enough, right? I assure you the next chapter isn't going to take a year and a half!