Chapters The mid-morning sun shines upon the vibrant white clouds of Rainbow Dash’s floating home, lighting it up like a beacon as your wings carry you there. It had become a habit for you to visit her before she leaves for her morning weather patrol shift, often having time for some… intimate activities beforehand. Every time you visit Dash as she’s getting ready, and every time she reminds you why you fell in love with her. It’s a routine you both enjoy.
Upon arrival, you do the usual recital of knocking on her front door with a fore-hoof. However, you weren’t expecting the door to creak open of its own accord; it must have been ajar.
“Rainbow Dash?” you call out, sticking your head through the open door, “Dashie, it’s me! Are you home?”
“Come upstairs!” a sultry voice calls from the floor above. Part of you wonders what she’s planning, while the rest of your senses just tell you to go with the flow.
You make your way up to Rainbow’s bedroom, pushing the door open as you enter and see… oh dear Celestia.
A pegasus of soft blue fur and multicoloured hair lies on the bed, her reddish-purple eyes half shut and a hopeful smile on her face. She bears all the signs of somepony anticipating the very near future. You can guess what that future involves.
“I’m taking the day off from weather patrol,” she says, “so we have most of the day to ourselves. Just you and me, rookie.”
“Most of the day?” you ask, shutting the bedroom door behind you and trotting towards the bed, “Why don’t we just call it the whole day? I’m sure the bed won’t mind.” By this point, you’ve already climbed onto the bed, cheekily positioning yourself over the mare you love. She barely holds back a chuckle.
“Aw, stop it!” she jokes with a blush, “I’m talking about the welcoming party we’re going to tonight! You didn’t forget, did you?”
Oh, of course! You remember talking to Rainbow Dash about one of Applejack’s friends; whoever it was, they were having a party over at Sweet Apple Acres tonight, complete with cider, snacks, friends and an all-round good time. Dash wouldn’t miss those kind of parties for the world.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t forget.” you say, giving her a peck on her adorable blue snout. She kisses back in her usual spunky style.
“Sure ya didn’t.” she squirms about under you, trying to escape from another inbound peck. You hold her tighter and deliver another one, this time on her lips as she giggles. She holds you with her fore-hooves and flips you over, so your places are switched; now she’s on top of you, and you‘re at the mercy of the flurry of kisses.
You recognise the pattern of intimacy already, usually it starts with a playful back and forth kiss-chase, just like this. Then comes the rough playing on the bed. Then comes the fiery kissing, tongue and all. Then comes the passionate lovemaking.
Today, thankfully, is no different.
Soon, you’re playfully holding her down, rubbing her wings that grow more and more stiff. Rainbow Dash massages whatever part of you she can get her hooves on. When your bodies tangle with sweat and arousal, it transcends into a contest of lips and tongues, your kisses as hot as your pumping blood. After a few more minutes, you know exactly what wonderful thing is coming up next…
*******
Half an hour later, and your body is alive with the sensual thrill. Needless to say, your partner feels the same way as you fulfil your side of the act. Her eyes are tightly shut, as usual, no doubt so she can feel every detail from your furious and formidable work. It’s a shame, really; as much as she enjoys having her vividly colourful eyes shut, you really miss looking into them at times like this. It’s one of the many things you love about her.
A sudden realisation crosses your mind amidst the mounting passion; you’ve never once told her you love her. It’s been conveyed to her time and time again, and she’s acknowledged it, of course, but you’ve never actually said it to her face. Perhaps that’s because you’ve never needed to.
Her voice begins to break, rising in pitch with each moan. You recognise that sign all too well; she’s reaching her climax, her best part of the night. What better time to tell her what she knows?
Keeping the same rhythm in your hips, you lean in towards her twitching ear, enjoying the sounds of her being seconds from bursting in ecstasy. Your own pressure starts to build, with the intention of finishing at the same time as her. You whisper the words every boyfriend should, if only for the courtesy of telling her, while giving her the best feeling a couple could share.
“I love you, Rainbow Dash.”
“I love you too, Soarin’.”
…What?
Fff… Bucking what!?!
Your body - along with your senses - grind to a halt right there and then, forcing back the pleasure you were experiencing seconds ago; there‘s no way you‘d be able to finish with that echoing in your skull. You catch your breath, trying to piece together what she said, why she had just said that.
Her eyes flick open, fixing you with an odd look as to why you stopped so abruptly. A moment later, that look is replaced by sheer horror when it dawns on her. She nearly lets loose a curse when she realises, covering her mouth to prevent the situation from getting any worse. After the slowest, most awkward few seconds you’ve ever shared, you pull yourself out of her, and crawl off her bed. It takes even longer for you to form a word.
“Soarin’?”
Rainbow Dash doesn’t answer right away, her face already glowing with embarrassment. Her line of sight drops to the floor, not even able to bear looking at you in this state.
“It just slipped out.” she says quickly. She knew that alone wouldn’t be able to fix what happened, but…
A terrible thought enters your head. You dread to ask.
“How long have you been doing this? How long have you been thinking about him like that? While we were..?”
She doesn’t answer that. She doesn’t want to; she knows the honest answer would just make things worse. Instead, she just mumbles;
“Sorry. The last thing I want is for you to feel like this-”
“Then why were you even thinking of him?” your voice snaps a little harsher than you intended, “Am I not good enough, Dash? Am I just gonna be a rookie to you forever? If Soarin’ just dropped by right now and told you to dump me in favour of him, would you?“
“Heck no!” Rainbow Dash snarls back, flaring up her wings in defiance, “Of course I wouldn’t! But that shouldn‘t stop me from thinking about him! It‘s my mind, I can think what I want, even if that‘s just some crush I‘ve had since I was a filly!”
“Just some crush!?” you bark, “You called his name out - you said you loved him - while we were having sex, Rainbow!”
“Geez, say that a little louder, why don‘t ya!?” she shouts, each step of the argument getting louder in an attempt to overrule each other’s yelling, “Do you really mean to say you don’t have a silly crush of your own!?”
“You are my crush, Dash!”
“So you know what it feels like to have one!”
“I- you- but-” you give up. There’s not much else to say than what’s in the open right now. “If that’s how you feel, go ahead then! You’re their biggest fan, you know where the Wonderbolts are performing next! Fly there and offer yourself up to Soarin’, I‘m sure he’ll be more than willing to give you a quick screw!”
“FINE!” she shrieks, “Maybe I will then! At least he wouldn‘t make such a big deal out of nothing!”
“Is that what this is to you, Dash!? Nothing!? FINE!” On that note, you slam her bedroom window open, and climb onto the windowsill.
“Rookie, wait-”
“And quit calling me that!”
Just before you make the leap, you hear her call you by your real name.
You ignore it. Instead, you drop from her window, falling past her cloud-house and towards the Ponyville streets below, letting the wind whip through your mane for a moment before unfolding your wings and making a beeline back to your own home.
The fewer ponies to see your tear-streaked face, the better.
Your mind has been spinning since your argument with Rainbow Dash. Your body’s just gone into standby until your mind can retake the helm, drifting around your house, checking your fridge for snacks, not finding anything appetizing, then sitting down somewhere and not finding anything interesting. Rinse and repeat for hours at a time.
Yet again, you’re on the way to the fridge when you stop yourself mid-trot. You can’t just keep wandering around like this. You have to tackle this problem head-on. It’s what Rainbow Dash would do.
Rainbow Dash. She could have caught up to you in seconds after you leapt from her window. Instead, she let you leave. Maybe she knew you needed to be alone for a while. Maybe she needed to be alone herself.
Can you really blame her for having her mind wander like that? As you noticed before, the whole sensual routine was getting easier to predict each time you did it. Maybe she just wanted to spice things up in her own head. That’s pretty much Rainbow Dash in a nutshell.
And so what if you do spice things up? You’ve both been together for a while, and retracing the same sex act over and over again isn’t the key to a relationship, no matter how good that act happens to be. Relationships are so much more then that.
And look what you did instead. You made matters worse and probably ruined your relationship with her just because she is who she is.
No! You can fix this! You can clean up this mess, give her something special, just to show her how much she means to you, and spice up this love life! She wouldn’t give up, why should you?
You look out of the window. It’s nearing sundown. You have an idea, but it involves a quick trip to Canterlot - you should pay a visit to a friend who’s been owing you for a while. If he’s still there, of course.
You give your wings a quick flex to warm them up; flying all the way to Canterlot and back is going to be a challenge in itself. Still, flying is a lot faster than taking the train and waiting for it to snake through all of the mountainside; sometimes that takes a whole night. Travel by wing it is!
********
As the sun goes down, an old, feeble pegasus sits in his lavish home, tending to a spot of tea in front of a cosy open fire, before another day is lost to him forever. His wings have never felt heavier, despite them being the lightest they’ve ever been in his life. They’ve been getting weaker every day, as the feathers fall away one by one. The feathers have been dropping faster and faster lately, up to the point where he has to hide his wings from the public eye. It’s somewhat worrying.
But then again, he was always calm and dignified in the face of troubled times. A Scarlet Wing is always calm and dignified. Especially a captain.
Yes, a Scarlet Wing’s captain, back in the day, would stare down a dragon had one ever shown cheek to so much as trample a flower bed! A Scarlet Wing’s captain would single-handedly tear through enemy lines without feeling so much as a scratch! A Scarlet Wing’s captain would stare right into the face of by criminy what the heck oh geez!
A young stallion’s face appears by the window, completely out of the blue; a complete shock to the old fellow. The youngster politely taps on the window - because that would have probably been wiser beforehand - and the elderly ex-flyer unlocks the nearby door and lets the unexpected guest in. He’s a friend, after all.
Or as it should be said; you’re his friend, after all.
“You picked on odd time to visit, kiddo,” the elderly somewhat-celebrity says, “You look bushed, too. Like you’ve flown here from Cloudsdale!”
“Ponyville,” you correct him, wiping the sweat from your face, “Sorry if it’s pretty sudden, but…”
“Now, now, let me guess why you’re here,” he waves an old hoof in front of you, “Is it that you’re finally here to collect on that favour?”
You grin; his mind is as sharp as ever, it seems. “I said I’d save it for an emergency, didn’t I? This is pretty much that.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“I think I’ve screwed my relationship with this filly I love.”
You notice a sense of hesitation from him, as if he was scrutinising, with a furrowed brow, what you had said, “You sound pretty certain of that.”
“That’s because I have screwed it.”
“No, I mean certain that you love her.”
“Of course I do,” you confidently respond, “haven’t you ever screwed up something important and wanted to make amends?”
The old pegasus laughs; a laugh that quickly descends to a wheeze, “A… a Scarlet Wing is too good to screw up in the first place, you know!” he triumphantly declares, “And if we do, we’re always proudly pick ourselves up and continue without… regrets…”
He trails off, staring down at his pitiful wings. You can’t tell what he’s thinking, but you know better than to try to interrupt his thoughts, especially if he’s looking at his wings; they’re always a touchy subject to talk about.
“Tell me about this filly of yours, then,” he says finally, “What does she like?”
You tell him everything you can about Rainbow Dash. You tell her about her friends, her job, her aspirations to become a Wonderbolt one day and even her achievements she’s had so far in life. By the time you’re done, the ex-flyer’s eyebrows are raised in surprise.
“How the heck did you manage to land a girl like her?”
“No idea,” you shrug, “Now you see why I want to keep her.”
“You said she’s a Wonderbolts fan?”
“Yeah.” Of all the things you said, you left out the cause of the argument itself; that was too private even him to know.
Your friend goes into a deep thought again, only this time for a much shorter span. “Have a rest in the guest room, I’ll see if I can make some arrangements tonight, and get confirmation tomorrow morning. No promises, but if I contact the right ponies…”
*******
“How the heck did you-?”
You’re speechless. That small piece of paper in your hooves can’t be real. It only took a single night, and then this gets delivered the next morning? That’s unbelievable. Yet there it is. Right there. There’s no way it could be fake. All the details are on it, even the obscene price.
“It’s no big deal,” the ex-flyer says dismissively, “I still have fans all over Equestria, so there’s no reason why they wouldn’t pull an errand for me every once in a while. I’d like to think this makes us even now, though.”
You only nod; him spending this much money on something which may - or may not - smooth things over with somepony he hardly even knows is more than enough to call any favours even. If fact, it’s almost like you’d have to give him a favour in return.
“No, no, there’s nothing I really want that you could help me with. If anything, I just want…” he freezes as he gains an idea mid-sentence, “Actually,” he says slowly, “You said you came from Ponyville?”
“Yeah.”
“Is there still an apple orchard there?”
“Yes, there is.” What an odd question for him to ask. Actually, you should have been at a party there just last night. Sadly, due to… what happened, you were unable to attend. You wonder if Rainbow Dash went on without you. “It’s called Sweet Apple Acres. Why?”
“No reason,” he says a little too quickly to avoid suspicion, “Now, I believe you have a relationship to salvage.”
“That I do,” you stuff the slip of paper safely within your feathers, ready for the return trip to Ponyville, “Thanks for everything. Take care.”
*******
After your departure, the old pegasus retreats back into his home. So, the old apple farm is still there after all. He wonders if a certain somepony still resides there. He wonders if she’s still angry from sixty years ago. He wonders if she still remembers him.
Why did he just help somepony save a relationship, when he didn‘t lift a hoof to save one he had years back? Maybe he just sees a bit of himself in the youngster.
Maybe she’s still alive and well, and if so, maybe she’s willing to let bygones be bygones. And then he makes himself a promise; to go back there some day soon. He may not have another chance to. Yes, he must make the arrangements right away!
Right after a cup of tea. He just really wants a nice cup of tea right now.
Las Pegasus is an unusual city. It started as an extravagant cloud city in the sky, built by pegasi, with a focus on being a huge gambling and recreation resort away from prying eyes.
After it became apparent that earth ponies and unicorns also wanted a piece of the action, the Las Pegasus council agreed to shift the entire cloud city to ground level, and began paying suitable unicorns to watch over the city entrance. There, they would cast cloud-walking spells on any and all non-pegasi, free of charge; the city made enough profit from the resorts alone.
Eventually, rich earth ponies and unicorns decided they’d like to live there, or at least close by. As a result, normally-constructed houses, hotels and even casinos made from brick and mortar began to spring up around the cloud city’s edge, expanding Las Pegasus by giving it a ground-built district that curves around the city itself. That district became more and more popular, especially since it’s the first district everypony goes though when visiting Las Pegasus.
So there it was; a huge, cloud city resort, based entirely on the ground, fused with a later-built addition from ground materials around the entrance. A city that’s one-of-a-kind.
You and Dash step off the multi-pegasus drawn chariot, a few blocks away from Hurricane’s Palace in the cloud-based district. You’d both taken a train from Ponyville to Las Pegasus’ nearest train station, and from there, a courtesy chariot to the throng of hotels near the city’s centre. You would have flown, but your saddlebags would have weighed you both down. Besides, the whole weekend is meant to be taken easy. To chillax, as Rainbow would put it.
After taking in the nearby sights, you both trot into the lobby of your hotel. It’s refined and sophisticated, with a lively atmosphere. The carpets and furniture alone look like they cost a year’s wage to you. A pianist plays some light jazz in the background. The staff are well-groomed and posh, with elegant mares and classy gentlecolts drifting back and forth, asking if everypony is having a nice time, and taking orders for wines and spirits. A few of the younger members of staff are stuck with bag-carrying duty.
Normally, you and Dash wouldn’t be caught dead in a swanky, high-class place like this. But since it’s already paid for - and not a single bit from your own wallet - well, who’d turn that down?
Strolling up to the front desk, you tell them about your reservation. It’s booked under your own name; a suite two floors up, with a two-pony bed. Not bad.
You decline the bellcolt’s offer to carry your saddlebags, since you’re both just wearing them anyway. You could handle carrying your things up some stairs, it‘s not difficult. However, nothing prepares you for a completely different sort of ‘difficult’ when…
“Is that who I think it is? Hey, Rainbow Dash!”
You and Rainbow turn around to face… either the best or the worst thing imaginable. Spitfire, the famed, fiery-headed captain of The Wonderbolts, stands right in front of you, next to Soarin’. Soarin’!?! The same chump who Dash yelled out two nights ago when you were-!?!
“Yeah, I remember you, alright,” Spitfire smirks as she nudges your multicoloured lover, “Winner of the Best Young Flyer Competition and weather-manager for Ponyville!”
“Yep, that’s her alright!” the blue-maned, blue-coated stallion chirps, “I remember her from the last gala we went to. Remember that, Spitfire?”
“Oh, I remember that one…”
The look on Dash’s face is a mixture of pleasant surprise and hidden embarrassment. She hadn’t forgotten about the incident a few nights ago either, and here she is now, in mid-discussion with the one pony you didn‘t want to be here, while you‘re both on a romantic vacation to forget about the said incident.
This must be why your elderly friend chose Las Pegasus for a resort; he knew Rainbow Dash was a fan, and he knew where they were due for a performance. That sly old stallion. If only you'd told him the whole story.
“So you guys are performing in Las Pegasus?” Dash asks, just for the sake of moving the conversation along.
“Oh, yes,” Spitfire says, “You didn’t know? We can put your names on the guest list if you like.”
Rainbow Dash gives you a pleading look, something she almost never gives. You nod; this weekend is for her, after all. Even if it gets turned completely upside-down in the space of two minutes.
“Okay, great,” Soarin’ grins, “We’ll put down Rainbow Dash and… uh…”
You give him your name, “…or just ‘rookie’ for short.”
“Rookie? That’s what you like being called?” chuckles Soarin’, “I guess I‘ll have to start calling myself Wonderbolt!”
If that was his idea of a joke, he shouldn‘t quit his day job. You give a courtesy laugh along with everypony else, anyway.
After Rainbow Dash spends a few more minutes basking in the presence of the Wonderbolts, they finally agree to catch up on the rest of their plans for that day.
“Alright, remember you two,” Spitfire says as she turns to leave, “We’re performing at midday tomorrow! You’ll be on the guest list! See you there!”
*******
You fling your saddlebag down by your side of your hotel-room bed, and throw yourself on top of the covers. It’s surprisingly comfortable, which is expected from a five-star hotel, but it still doesn’t get rid of that uneasy feeling you gain from meeting those two in the lobby; Spitfire, and especially Soarin’.
“Are you okay?” Rainbow Dash asks, lying down next to you on the bed, “You weren’t expecting the Wonderbolts to be showing up here, were you?”
You shake your head; the only reason you took this vacation in the first place was so you wouldn’t be reminded of… ugh, and here you are thinking about it again when you’re supposed to be unwinding.
“We don’t have to go there if you don’t want to.”
What?
You turn your head to face Dash. By the look on her face, she was being totally serious. Despite getting the one-in-a-million chance of meeting the Wonderbolts in a packed city, and getting a free show out of it, she’s still more than willing to turn it all down for your sake. That’s Rainbow being her faithful, loyal self. That’s the pony you fell in love with.
You still wonder how you became lucky enough to date a wonderful pony like her.
“Nah, we’ll still go there,” you peck her on the lips, “This weekend’s all about making the best of things, so we might as well go to this free air-show. Besides, they’re your heroes, I don’t want to stop you seeing them.”
“Thanks,” Dash sighs in relief, “You’re my hero too, Rookie. C’mon, since we’re doing the Wonderbolts thing tomorrow , I’ll let you chose what we’re gonna do today.”
“Get settled in?” you shrug, “This place has a pool and spa, after all.”
She mulls it over for a moment. “Okay, but no hoof-massages or anything like that.”
“Deal.”
You’d expect resorts with a swimming pool to be overloaded with loud, obnoxious foals galloping back and forth, screaming and splashing about and (eww) peeing in the pool. Luckily, there’s not a single kid to be seen in this particular pool. Las Pegasus is more of an adult pony’s city anyway.
That said, that doesn’t mean you should behave like adult ponies. Point proven when Dash’s hoof shoves you from behind, resulting in a spectacular belly-flop into the blue pool below. A moment later, you rise from the water, grab Rainbow’s hoof from poolside (“Oh geez - not the hooves! Geddoff-geddoff-geddoff!”) and drag her face-first into the water with you.
Thus began a ten minute splash-fight between you and her. Playful dunking, tickling, water-wrestling and kissing weren’t in the rules, but it didn’t stop you both from doing it.
“Alright, alright, I give! I give!” she shrieks with laughter, splashing up water as you hold her tightly and relentlessly tickle her to victory. You let her go, and give her a while to catch her breath. “Okay, you win that round…”
“Ready for round two?”
“Uhh…” she looks around before starting to paddle towards the pool’s side. “A race! First one from this side of the pool to the other!”
“You’re on!” You position yourself alongside Dash, rear legs set to push off from the side of the pool. “On three, okay? One-”
“TwothreeGO!”
As Dash blasts off from the wall side, you anticipate her head-start and push off yourself. At first you’re keeping up with her just fine, using your wings in a breaststroke motion while your body does a fast-paced front crawl. Around the halfway point, she begins to speed up, leaving you behind for a secure win. There was never any doubt she’d win though; she’s the fastest pony you kn-
Before you even finish that thought, you’re overtaken by two blurs that propel through the water at a ridiculous speed! They zoom past you, dragging you slightly by the current of water in their wake, before swimming straight past Rainbow Dash and slapping their hooves on the other side of the pool to confirm victory. Whoever they were, it was like they were bolts of lightning the way they… oh.
Two familiar faces grin back at you and Dash from the ‘finish line’. Two faces that, during any other day, would be perfectly welcome. But today?
“Fancy meeting you two again,” Spitfire says nonchalantly, wiping the water from her eyes, “We were just stopping by to use the jacuzzi, but when we saw you both having a swim in the pool, we couldn’t resist!”
Rainbow Dash snaps into her ‘talking-with-Wonderbolts’ mode; “Haha! Yeah, you sure showed us!”
Soarin’ pipes up, “No, waitasec, I’ve got one! Rookie, I’ve decided what I’m gonna call myself from now on instead of Soarin’…” he raises his hooves out of the water in a flourish, “Soakin’!”
A mix of groans and pity-laughs emanate from the other pegasi, you included.
“I’d groan louder,” Dash chortles, “But that’s not the worst I’ve heard from you, Soarin’.”
The female Wonderbolt‘s ears prick up, “Now, this I have to hear!”
“Spitfire, you don’t need to hear it, you’ve probably heard just as worse…”
Soarin’s attempt to stop Rainbow Dash’s storytelling ends up in vain. She continues “Okay, so we’re at the gala, and my buddy Applejack is running a food stall there, alright? Soarin’ walks by and she asks if he’s hungry…”
“Aw nuts…” Soarin’ buries his face into a fore hoof when he remembers where this conversation is going.
“Then Soarin’ says-”
“As a horse!” both Soarin’ and Rainbow Dash finish with the exact same words. Spitfire crumbles into a floating heap of laughter when she hears it.
“Yeah, that sounds like our Soarin’ alright!”
********
These Wonderbolts aren’t so bad. You’ve spent the past hour having fun in the pool with them, up to the point of finding an inflatable ball and playing water volleyball without a net (there‘s nothing wrong with imagination, after all).
Perhaps you just felt intimidated by their celebrity status before. Spitfire’s the most laid-back pony you’ve met in a long time, while Soarin’ himself seems like a friendly joker at heart. A bad joker, but still…
Soon, the four of you decide to migrate to the jacuzzi area; a huge circular tub in a separate room from the pool area. You spy the doors for a steam-room and a sauna on the way there too.
You all get settled in the hot bubbling tub, letting the bubbles massage your tired body and wings. You and Rainbow Dash settle on one side with the two Wonderbolts sitting opposite. In fact, why just the two?
“Where are the rest of the Wonderbolts right now?” you ask, “Unless you’re only doing a two-pony show tomorrow.”
Soarin’ replies with a friendly chuckle, being the only pony there to see the funny side of what you said, “They’re all in different hotels. We’ve all split off to find the best hotel in Las Pegasus; that way we can all go there as a whole next time we’re performing here.”
“Misty and Silver Lining are staying at the Illusion,” Spitfire explains, “Fleetfoot and Rapidfire are trying out Tropicanter, and High Winds and Wave Chill have Sunset Stallion. Meanwhile, Blaze and Fire Streak are at Red Tom’s Resort, and Surprise and Lightning Streak are trying the Four Princesses.”
“Oh, and Spitfire and I are trying Hurricane’s Palace.” Soarin’ quips.
“I think they noticed.”
“Just making sure…”
You nod; sounds like a perfectly reasonable explanation to you. Dash, on the other hand, notices something strange about the list Spitfire rolled off.
“Hey Spitfire, I noticed that everypony you just mentioned is trying them two at a time. You know, a filly and a gentlecolt each…”
The Wonderbolts captain can already guess where this topic is heading.
“Yeah, that was sort of intentional.”
“So… does that mean, say, Misty and Silver Lining are dating?”
The fire-headed mare shakes her head. “Dating isn’t really the term we’d use. We’re more of a big… group of friends here. Each to their own.”
“Oh, I get it!” you pipe in, “You’re all just buck-buddies for each other!”
Wow, that was not a very clever thing to loudly declare in a public place. Luckily only you, Dash and the two Wonderbolts are present.
“That’s… one way of putting it.” Soarin’ says, “It’s a long, hard road when you’re on tour, so we all need a form of, y’know, relief one way or another.” His voice lowers, “And before you ask, yes; that’s why Spitfire and I are paired up.”
With a grin, he rests a foreleg over Spitfire’s shoulders, in the same way a jock on a date would in a cheesy teen movie. Spitfire, with a look you could only describe as ‘mischievous’, cuddles up to Soarin’ in response. You weren’t about to say out loud what they were planning to do when they reach their hotel rooms tonight. Well, you know the old saying; what happens in Pegasus…
You mimic Soarin’, taking a foreleg and wrapping it around Dash’s shoulders nonchalantly, wearing a wry smile. “Well,” you say in response to Soarin’, “I’m paired up with a special somepony of my own, so I guess it’s a win for all four of us-”
“Wanna switch?”
Whoa, where the heck did that come from? Even Dash double-takes at the sudden offer.
“Soarin’!” Spitfire nudges him sharply, “I’m pretty sure they’re an actual couple!”
“Oh, sorry.”
“It’s alright,” Rainbow Dash nuzzles up to you, “I’ve got an awesome stallion of my own, Soarin’. Thanks but no thanks.”
You can’t believe it. Soarin’, her lifelong crush, was right there, offering himself up - in Las Pegasus, no less - and she still willingly turns him down. You hold her tighter, and give her a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”
She whispers back, “Don’t mention it.”
“Sorry, I didn’t think you guys were that serious with each other.” Soarin’ shrugs. Spitfire, however, sees fit to stand up and leave the jacuzzi, letting the droplets fall from her finely-toned body and wings.
“Spitfire? Why are y-”
“Just going to the steam room, Soarin’.” she says with a barely covered sense of irritation. Before Soarin’ could reply, she was already out of the room.
He turns back to you and Dash. “Was is something I said?”
“Well, you did offer to swap her for me without even asking her.” Rainbow explains, “I’d be mad too if I was your girlfriend. Which I‘m not, of course!” she adds quickly.
“You don’t get it; she’s not my girlfriend, Rainbow Dash,” Soarin’ sighs, “we just hang out and do the favour of sexual relief every now and then. I’m pretty sure she’s not looking for anything serious between the two of us.”
“Then why do you think she’s offended?” you ask. When Soarin’ doesn’t answer, you take a chance and push him a little further, “In fact, I’m willing to hazard a guess that when you are all choosing who gets paired off with who, Spitfire was the one who chose you, not the other way around. Am I right? ”
“Of course!” he retorts, “She chooses to pair with me… every… time…” And then the realisation hits him. “And… I’m an idiot. She really likes me like that, doesn‘t she?”
The not-so-wonderfully-intelligent Wonderbolt leans back in the jacuzzi, obviously giving himself a mental kick. You ask if he should go into the steam room and apologise to her.
“No, no,” he shakes his head, “I know better than to hassle Spitfire when she’s in a mood.” After another moment’s thought, he gets out from the jacuzzi himself. “Let her have the steam room, I’ll be in the sauna instead. Need some time to think.”
Soarin’ closes the door to the sauna behind him, leaving both you and Rainbow Dash alone in the jacuzzi.
“Well, that totally wasn’t the most awkward conversation ever,” Rainbow Dash sighs, cutting through the uncomfortable moment like a knife, “No biggie, just watching my two foalhood heroes get in an argument about me.”
“Don’t feel too bad, Dash,” you give her a reassuring nudge, “At least they liked you.”
“Yeah, sure; Soarin’ liked me so much he was basically hitting on me.” she pauses for a second or two, “You aren’t still mad about our whole incident a few nights ago, are you?”
“No, no,” you hold her a little closer in your half-hug, “I was a little scared on the night it happened, sure. I even felt kinda threatened, but when you turned Soarin’ down without a second thought back there…”
“Rookie, listen to me,” Rainbow suddenly adopts a more serious tone, the kind you recognise as her meaning business, “I admit I’ve had my fantasies about some of the Wonderbolts in my time - not just Soarin’, but the Wonderbolts in general - but none of them even come close to what you’ve given me.”
Leaning over the bubbling waters of the jacuzzi, she pushes her lips onto yours, giving you a welcome kiss. You gladly accept it as she rearranges herself over you, hoisting a hind leg over your hips and sitting face-to-face with you. “You know I love you, right Rookie?”
Your response is clear. You tell her you love her back without a moment‘s hesitation.
With her body draped over you in the jacuzzi’s warm waters, you feel the most relaxed as you’ve been in days. Every faint brush of her body against yours, the sweet taste of her lips on your own, the wonderful bonding feeling, the steady stiffening of your wings, succumbing to the moments of passion you share with the only mare you would ever wish to share it with. Rainbow Dash.
This is a moment you wish could last forever. You wish you’d never have to leave this tub, that you’d wish to never end the intimate games only you and her would play, the usual game of kiss-chase that-
“Hold on a sec.” Rainbow pushes herself from you, placing a hoof on your chest to maintain distance. “We’re leaning towards the same routine again, aren‘t we?”
“Yeah, besides us being in a jacuzzi, I mean,” you sigh, “We ought to do something different, something wild while we‘re in Las Pegasus.”
“I’ve got an idea.” she says softly, lowering herself back over your body, “It’s a little crazy, too.”
“What is it?” you ask. She responds with a giggle, planting another kiss over your lips. Her wandering hoof gently works its way down your torso, drifting lower until it comes into contact with… well…
Let’s just say you’re enjoying every moment of it.
She lowers herself as well, giving a moist kiss to your neck, and then to your chest, and lower still.
“Wait, Dash, what are you-?”
Too late. Before you can finish, she vanishes entirely under the jacuzzi’s surface, the thriving bubbles completely obscuring her from any eyes above.
“Whoa, um, Rainbow D- ahh!”
Your thoughts go haywire. You feel a tongue - her tongue - slowly writhing against the personal belonging between your hind legs, licking and teasing you under the bubbling waters. Every hot, wet caress causes your blood to pump faster and faster as you feel yourself getting more and more rigid.
As the pleasure takes its hold, you let out a sigh in bliss. Oh, the things you’re gonna do to her in return for this-
And then, with perfect timing, the door to the sauna opens.
“In fact, that sauna’s way to hot for me, I’m more used to flying around in the freezing cold,” Soarin’ saunters out, muttering to himself before he notices you, “Ah, hi again.”
Oh dear Celestia and Luna, of all the times somepony could walk in- !
“Um, hi.” you say quickly, trying you best to hide your red face.
“Where’s Rainbow Dash? Did she leave?” he asks casually. Luckily, she’s very well-hidden under the waters of the bubbling jacuzzi, so he can’t see her unless she surfaces for air, which would be a pretty awkward moment for her in front of her idol and crush, of all ponies… oh geez.
Quick, get him out of here before that happens!
“She’s uh, she’s…” you can’t think of anything coherent. You’re too busy trying to ignore the show going on below the surface; her tongue is slathering against your shaft’s tip, curling around and around and…
“Around! She’s, er, she’s around here somewhere.” you blurt out; it’s the only word you could think of! “Maybe she’s in the pool area, you should look for her there- Ahh!”
Another throb of ecstasy gives you an involuntary shudder as Dash stops licking your private tool, and starts enveloping her whole mouth around it. The sucking sensation doesn’t do much to help keep your composure.
Soarin’ seems polite enough not to point out your strange behaviour. “Okaaay?” he says slowly, “Listen, Spitfire and I are having some grub at the Hurricane‘s Palace diner in about an hour, are you coming?”
“Oh, I’ll be coming very soon, don’t worry.”
You know what, you should just stop talking, you’re making it worse!
But it’s true. The surge of pleasure you’re feeling only builds greater, and whatever Dash is doing to you under there, it’s too much to take!
“Alrighty. I‘ll, uh, see you later then,” the Wonderbolt shrugs, ignoring your poor attempt to disguise what you‘re going though. Just as he trots through the door, you can hear him mumble to himself; “Man, that guy must really like jacuzzis…”
The door closes behind him with a click, just as you succumb to the thrill taking you from below the water. A moment later, you finish with a moan, sinking a little further down with the rush of relief. You dip your fore-hooves into the water and give Rainbow Dash a slight pull upwards, signalling to her that you’re satisfied.
She surfaces, sucking in a deep gasp of air, panting as she settles down next to you with a smile. The water adds a shine to every colour in her mane, every curve of her body.
“Did… did you enjoy that?”
You lovingly wrap a foreleg around her. “You have no idea how lucky we are right now.”
“To have awesome lovers like you and me?”
“Sure, but that's not exactly what I meant…” you considered not telling her about the near-incident, but you wouldn’t want to keep something that important hidden from her. Of course, if hiding her under the water while her idol has a conversation with you could be considered ‘important’.
She sinks back into the tub when she realises would’ve happened if she’d surfaced at the wrong time. “That was way too close. What if he‘d never left?”
“It would’ve been embarrassing for all three of us.” you think aloud, before tightening your fore-hoof around Rainbow Dash, “If it’s any help for you, it felt great. I’ll make that up to you somehow, I promise.”
Both of you didn’t hang around long after that near-incident. Two empty stomachs dictated the next course of action; trot to the locker rooms, dry yourselves off and meet the two Wonderbolts at the Hurricane‘s Palace diner. You’re thinking of something lazy and filling, like a greasy veggie pizza. Fine dining indeed.
Taking a towel from your locker, you proceed to get the drying part out of the way as quickly as you can.
Psst.
No sign of Soarin’ to be found among the other stallions here; he must have already left. Maybe you’ll go to some casinos with him after dinner, since that’s what Las Pegasus is all about.
Psst!
Now that you think about it, you wonder if Spitfire’s still in that steam room? She never left while you and Dash were in the jacuzzi-
PSSSST!
You snap back to your senses to find Rainbow Dash’s face, wearing the silliest grin, sticking through the stallion’s-room door.
“Rookie, you’ve gotta see this!”
“What is it?”
“Just… just follow me to the mare’s locker room, it’s awesome!”
“You want me to do what now?” you ask, “I’m pretty sure I won’t be allowed in there.”
“It’s cool, nopony else is there,” she insists, “But you’ve gotta see what I’ve found! C‘mon!”
You sigh; once Rainbow Dash has her mind set on something, the only way you could possibly get her to stop is by just going along with it. “Fine, just give me a minute to get ready.”
*******
Five minutes of drying later, you enter the (fortunately empty for now) mare’s room to find Dash hiding in one of the changing cubicles. With a subtle knock to the cubicle door, it swings open, and a pair of hooves grab you and drag you in there as well. She locks the door behind you.
The first thing you notice is what she’s wearing; the unmistakable Wonderbolts flight outfit. The nylon and spandex material hugs Rainbow Dash’s every curve and bump perfectly, almost as if it were a second skin. A pair of goggles nestle between her eyes and her mane, completing the Wonderbolts look. Although it’s not the goggles you’re having fun staring at.
“Where did you even find that?” you ask, almost afraid of the answer.
“Found it in an open locker, can you believe it?” Dash grins, flexing her wings as if simply wearing the outfit would make her a better flyer than she already is, “Wide open in an unbuckled saddlebag. I’m not stealing it though!” she adds quickly, “We just wanna wear them for a few minutes, I’ll put them back before anypony realises they’re gone.”
“Uh, we wanna wear them?”
She points to some familiar blue fabric folded on the changing bench; another Wonderbolts costume. “The saddlebag was crammed full of ‘em! See, the Wonderbolts usually go so fast when they perform, they often rip and tear their outfits with the speed, so they always carry a ton of spares on tour!”
“This isn’t stealing, is it?”
“Not if we put them back right after we’ve worn them.” she shrugs, “I just wanna see what we look like with them on.”
“Well, I’m not the biggest Wonderbolts fan-”
“Nah, that’s my job!”
“-but I’ll do it for you, alright? We just can’t take too long in case we’re caught. The outfit suits you, by the way.”
Oh my, did you just see her blush under that fabric? Rainbow Dash watches you change into the newly-acquired flight-gear, a show that she’s more than happy to watch. But you can’t help but notice…
You know, with the costume on, if you put the goggles over your eyes to cover them, and slick your mane back like this, you look a lot like-
“Hey, Dash,” you chuckle, “do I remind you of anypony?”
“Whoa.” Her wings flare up involuntarily. Whether it’s from shock or excitement, you can’t tell. “That’s just… take it off, Rookie, you look way too much like Soarin’ with that on.”
“What’s the matter, Dashie?” you coo teasingly, warming up to her, “Don’t you like the idea of being this close to a Wonderbolt?”
“Uh, eheheh?” she doesn‘t give a direct answer. Her features under the costume are almost glowing red, “But… but you’re my boyfriend, and…”
Your hooves slowly embrace her as she stutters, drawing her closer and closer to you.
“…and I shouldn’t b-be thinking about, you know, silly crushes at a time like-”
Her exposed lips are met with your own. The kiss stops her in her tracks. It’s a familiar taste of wild fruit and berries you‘ve always loved, as varied as her very mane. When you feel her go limp in your forelegs, you guide her to the changing bench, lying her down on it.
“Wh- ah… what do you think you’re doing?” she pants. You make a note of how she doesn’t exactly ask you to stop.
“I’m thanking you for that little treat you gave me back in the jacuzzi,” you smile, clambering over her. You feel the bump of your hips connecting with hers, and the faint rhythm that picks up from there. The outfits you both wear restrict you from going any further, but that doesn’t stop you from rubbing the slowly growing bulge in your costume between her legs. Her breathing becomes deeper, faster. She’s loving every moment of this.
“Aah… rookie…” she pants, her eyes beginning to glaze over in advance for the upcoming euphoria, “I wasn’t expecting this, I…”
“You don’t have to call me rookie, you know,” your stallion-hood begs to be released from the constrains of the outfit, but you continue regardless; you know this is more for Rainbow Dash than for you. In fact, why not give her the best gift an understanding boyfriend can give? “Who did you say I look like in this Wonderbolt’s costume?”
“What?” the hesitance in her voice is understandable, “Rookie, are you sure you actually want me to call you Soa- ahh…” she trails off, losing herself in the moment again as your trembling bulge rubs against her mare-hood more and more rapidly.
“Yeah, I know,” you nod, thinking back to the fiasco that happened the last time she called you that name by mistake, “but just this once, while we’re both in costume, I think you can get away with a little role-play.”
Without warning, she leans forward and plants a kiss on your lips. “Did I mention that I love you, rookie?”
You smile, nod in acknowledgement, and pick up the pace.
*******
Hmph. That idiot Soarin’. Though she supposes she can’t be mad at him forever.
Spitfire opens the door to the mare’s locker room, fresh from spending enough time in the steam-room to calm down. But honestly, Soarin’ was really being out of line when he just offered to trade her for Rainbow Dash just like that. Really, it’s almost as if he doesn’t care! No, that can’t be true; he’s a little slow on the uptake, but surely he’s got a soft spot for good ol’ Spitfire? They’ve been through so much together…
Just as she dries herself off, she hears the most terrible thing coming from a nearby locked cubicle…
Creak… creak… creak…
“Oh, Soarin’,” an oddly familiar voice giggles as the repetitive creaking gets faster and faster, “Aah! Aaaah! Soooariiin~!”
It gets even worse when Spitfire recognises the voice.
That… that heartless pig! Convincing sweet little Rainbow Dash to cheat on her boyfriend just because he’s a Wonderbolt! And in the mare’s room, no less! Spitfire has half a mind to kick down that cubicle door and give him a piece of her mind! No, wait. He needs to be taught a lesson. It’s Las Pegasus, surely there’s going to be a perfect time to do that to him in public! Didn’t they have a dinner table reserved for tonight? Yes; that’s when she’ll see him next, and that’s when she’s gonna let him have it!
Without even checking to see if she had everything, she buckles her saddlebag shut and sneaks out of the locker room door, leaving the two figures in the cubicle none-the-wiser. Soarin’s gonna be in for a shock tonight.
*******
You both collapse after the strangely wonderful exercise. You’ve never felt more drained, but it was worth it for your Rainbow Dash; she’s still red-faced and dizzy from the ecstasy. The only bad point from all of this is how you’ve both… left your shares of evidence in the Wonderbolt outfits. You got lost in the moment yourself, you see, and… well…
“It’s alright,” you assure her, and yourself, “we’ll just take these outfits off and sneak them back into the bag, they won’t notice until the next day, hopefully. You said the bag was stuffed full of them anyway…”
Imagine the look on your faces when you discover the saddlebag’s owner had already come and gone, leaving the two of you with Wonderbolt costumes damp with sweat and other bodily fluids.
“Oh no.” Rainbow Dash’s hooves cover her mouth in the revelation, “Ohmygosh no. You don‘t think anypony heard… anything, do you?”
All you can do is shrug. You only know as much as her. “On the bright side,” you try to cheer her up, “I guess we’re keeping these costumes now.”
An hour passes, and two pegasi, after dropping their newly acquired outfits off at their hotel room and having a quick, yet thorough wash, canter into the huge dining area. Fancy tables, fancy music and a fancy atmosphere fills the whole room, sparing no expense as one of Las Pegasus’ finest restaurants. Soarin’ waves you over to a four-seated table, where he passes you a menu.
“I’ve already chosen what I’m having,” he says.
“It’s not a pie of any kind, is it?” Rainbow Dash teases.
“What? No, of course not! Geez, I don’t have pie all the time, you know. I’m not obsessed with pie or anything.”
With perfect timing, a unicorn waiter saunters over, hovering a pencil and notepad, “May I take your order?”
“Yup, root-vegetable pie, please!”
Chuckling, you and Rainbow make your own orders. “Where’s Spitfire, by the way?” you ask as the waiter departs, “Surely she’s coming too, right?”
Soarin’s smile fades as soon as he hears her name. “I honestly don’t know,” he shrugs, “She wasn’t in our hotel room, either, I hope she still isn’t mad about what I said in the jacuzzi.”
“About you trying to switch her for me?” Dash says, “Nah, you said she just needed time to cool down, I’m sure she’ll be okay once she’s here. And then you can apologise to her, maybe even ask her out for real or something. You’d make a cute couple.” she adds.
“You really think so, huh?”
The minutes tick by as your meals are prepared. Still, there’s no sign of Spitfire. You drift in and out of conversation with Soarin’ and Rainbow Dash, although you can’t help but overhear a conversation going on a few tables away, between the unicorn waiter and a griffin customer.
“So, what’s in the ‘Farm Food Feast’?”
“That would be a selection of meats more suited to a griffin’s diet, rather than being stuck with real food like the equine folk. All sentient animals were willing organ donors, as per Equestrian law requires.” the unicorn drawls with a sense of slight disgust at the concept of eating meat, “It contains a lamb and mint sauce pie, complete with a fillet of chicken wrapped in bacon. The whole thing is soaked in steak gravy with finely-diced mushrooms.”
“Ugh, no thanks; I can’t stand mushrooms…”
Las Pegasus; the city that caters to everyone, pony or otherwise.
Your meals arrive, and still Spitfire is nowhere to be found. You feel a sense of legitimate concern growing from her team-mate and her number one fan. Soarin’ promises to check the hotel room again after the meal.
“I don’t think that will be necessary.” you say, nodding towards the figure that trots through the restaurant’s door at a purposeful pace. It’s Spitfire. And she seems to be carrying some papers in her mouth, between her bared teeth.
“There you are!” Soarin’ chirps, “We were wondering where you disappeared off to-”
His greeting is cut short by the slam of paper being flung onto the table. Very official-looking paper, at that. His expression turns from his usual bright demeanour to being genuinely serious. When he pushes his half-eaten food aside to read the documents, his face takes a turn for the grave.
“Spitfire, what’s-”
“You know exactly what this is about!” the fiery-headed pegasus snarls, “The Wonderbolts are supposed to be more than the finest flyers in Equestria; they’re supposed to be living examples of what it means to be an Equestrian citizen! A faithful, benevolent, open-hoofed, and most of all, honourable citizen! Something you clearly aren’t!” She takes a moment of silence to catch her breath from the shouting, “Which is why I left to report your little escapade to our manager. We both agreed you’re not fit to fly for us anymore. Here are your resignation papers; you’re fired from the Wonderbolts.”
“What!?”
You can’t tell whose exclamation was louder; Soarin’s, Dash’s or your own. Glancing around, nearly every eye in the restaurant is turned your way.
“B-but why?” Soarin’ stutters in bewilderment, “I don’t understand what you mean!”
“I’m talking about your little ‘performance’ in the mare’s changing room!” Spitfire’s voice starts to rise, as if she’s getting tired of her ex-partner’s innocent-act, “And how you abused your status as a Wonderbolt to woo a girl who was already in a relationship! Speaking of which…” she turns to Rainbow, “Why the heck did you even go along with it, knowing that your poor boyfriend was in the same resort? Don’t even wouldn’t bother sending in applications to us, Rainbow Dash; we’ll never accept somepony as selfish as you!”
That statement alone causes her voice to crack in shock; her lifelong dream shattered by the words of her own hero. Her eyes seem to glaze over in despair when it dawns on her what this is about…
“I don’t know what the heck you mean!” Soarin’ cries, “I didn’t do anything with Rainbow Dash, I’ve never even seen the mare’s changing room!”
“Soarin’, I was in there too!” by this point, her patience is lost, “I heard everything, I even heard her call you by name! I’d be more regretful about firing you if you weren’t being a stubborn pig and pretending it didn’t happen! What I do regret, however, is how we’re breaking this to the only innocent pony here!” She calms down, only momentarily, as she turns to face you, “I’m sorry, rookie. Really I am, but your girlfriend’s been cheating on you with this jerk.”
“No she hasn’t!” you blurt out the truth, not really comprehending the consequences, “She was with me at the time. I was in that cubicle with her, not Soarin’.” It’s only after you say it, does it occur to you that Rainbow might not want you to reveal why she was calling you by somepony else‘s name. Still, it’s better than the alternative.
This new information stops Spitfire’s accusations in their tracks. “But… what… why did I hear her call out Soarin’s name if she was with you?”
Well, that’s it; you’re gonna have to come clean with the whole thing now. You’re gonna have to tell both of Rainbow Dash’s heroes her secret; that she fantasises over them. Oh Celestia, saying that’s gonna ruin her reputation, but if you don’t come clean now, she’ll never get into the Wonderbolts at all!
Or maybe…
“Because I asked her to,” you speak in a half-truth, “I’ve always wanted to be called Soarin’, because it, uh, gives me an ego boost. So I can be called somepony that Dash looks up to.”
And then there’s the awkward moment of silence. Not only from the ponies around the table, but from most of the restaurant. This would be a lot easier if all those eyes weren’t looking at you.
“Really?” Any signs of anger in the Wonderbolt captain’s voice has been replaced with bewilderment. Soarin’ echoes her, not entirely sure what to think about the situation either.
“Yeah, really?” you hear Dash whisper to nopony in particular.
“I’m serious,” you dig yourself into a deeper hole, hating it by every word, “I like it when she calls me a Wonderbolt. It’s kinda my thing. A few nights ago she was calling me Lightning Streak.”
Spitfire turns to your girlfriend with an expression ranging between confused and aghast, “Rainbow Dash, is this true?”
Dash can’t even speak from the tension; she just dumbly nods her head up and down in agreement, going along with your harebrained plan.
“And… and Soarin’ wasn’t there after all?”
“Sorry,” you shrug, knowing full well that you’re directing the blame for this whole debacle on top of your head, “Soarin’ left while you were in the steam room. We were in the mare’s changing room because we thought it was empty unlike the stallion‘s room, and it was kind of spur-of-the-moment for the both of us.”
You opt out of mentioning any missing Wonderbolt costumes. You wonder if she even noticed such a thing in the first place.
Spitfire places a hoof to her temples, trying to urge her brain into making sense of that. After a while, she sighs; “Nopony would ever admit to something as weird as that. Especially not in public. There‘s no way you’d make that up, right?” She tries to say more, but in the end the just resigns herself to believing you. She slowly picks up his resignation papers, folding them under a wing. “I’m so sorry about all this, all of you! I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like that. I’m going to reverse this decision with our manager before it‘s final, I won’t be long.”
As she turns to leave the restaurant, you overhear her muttering something in disgrace; “Agh, I’m such an idiot… Can’t believe this…”
Rainbow Dash finally finds her voice, and leans in towards the other Wonderbolt, who didn’t seem to let something like a near-firing get in the way of his pie. “You should really go with her, she sounds like she could use a team-mate’s support.”
“What? No way, I shouldn’t hassle Spitfire when she’s stressed-”
“You said the same thing last time, Soarin’, back in the jacuzzi! But remember what else we said back there; she likes you, and more than just in a buck-buddies sorta way. You like her back, don‘t you?”
“Well of course, but I- but there’s- oh, for royalty’s sake…” he deflates in defeat, “You’re right. Should’ve done this a long time ago.” With a few more mouthfuls of vegetable-root pie, he leaves the rest and sets off to offer Spitfire the help of a true friend and team-mate.
Considering the amount of patrons in the restaurant who are still throwing side-glances at you, mostly due the commotion you’d been a part of (and you’re sure they heard every word of it), you decide to dump enough bits on the table to pay for your meals and slip out of the door. Rainbow Dash uncharacteristically tags along in silence.
On the way back to the hotel room, you spy the two Wonderbolts in the hallway. They both stand there, exchanging comforting whispers, with a foreleg wrapped around each other in a hug. It’s safe to say they’ve made up. You decide it’s better to take the long way back to the hotel room, rather than intrude on a personal moment.
Dash’s head buries itself in the pillow, where she lets out a muffled groan of frustration and hopelessness. There, she just remains face-down on the bed, hoping that if she can’t see her own embarrassed self, nopony else can.
“Hey, don’t worry yourself,” you place a hoof on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, “It could’ve gone a lot worse.”
“It could’ve gone a lot better, too!” she rolls over to face the ceiling, “As if Spitfire hearing us in the locker room together was bad enough, she nearly fired Soarin’ over it! She nearly had us pinned as cheaters or something! She nearly made it so I’d never become a Wonderbolt for as long as I lived!” That last one almost causes her to choke up; you recognise that crack in her voice.
“Nearly, sure,” you try to point her towards the bright side, “But she didn’t! They reversed the decision to fire Soarin’, and I’m pretty sure they’ve got you chalked up as innocent too. There‘s a lot of things that almost happened,” you lie down next to her; the bed itself is feeling a lot more comfortable after the whole commotion, “but that only means it didn’t happen. It could’ve been way worse. Don‘t worry your little head about it.”
You give her a stroke of her multicoloured mane, easing her stresses, before she gives you a thankful smile. From there, she gives you a sleepy, yet strong embrace, nuzzling you as you both lie there on the comfortable hotel room’s bed. Soon the madness of the past day is finally out of sight and out of mind, with Rainbow’s soft rhythmic breathing lulling you into a welcoming slumber.
“Hey, rookie?” she mumbles sleepily. You shift closer to her, showing her you’re awake, “You know how you took the blame for the whole locker room thing?”
You nod, as if she could see you through her heavy eyelids, “I didn’t want you to get in trouble with your idols.”
She squeezes you like something precious, something that the world had only one of, and that one was hers.
“You’re the coolest boyfriend ever.”
At that moment, you decide that you could happily lie there, holding your Rainbow Dash, forever if time would allow.
And that was only your first day in Las Pegasus. The rest of the weekend is going to be huge, especially with a Wonderbolts show tomorrow noon. Just before you drop off to sleep, you gain the silly idea of paying a trip to a nearby launderette sometime before you go.
*******
“Showtime in five, everypony, let’s dazzle ‘em like we always do!”
The manager of the Wonderbolts shows her usual upbeat demeanour as she does each and every time they put on a show. While half of her job was managing the Wonderbolts in terms of touring and performing, she always puts in extra effort to keep their spirits high and their sense of fellowship strong. The flyers of the squad respond energetically to her following pep talk, however two of the members, the captain and her number-one wingman, only smile calmly.
“You aren’t still mad about me kicking off at the restaurant last night, are you?” the fiery-headed captain murmurs.
“I was never mad, Spitfire,” her friend replies, “I was just glum at you hating me, y’know? I’d never want to see you angry at me.”
“And why would that be?” she asks, expecting a corny line like ‘because you mean so much to me’.
“Because you’re darn scary when you’re angry.”
Ah yes, she remembers now; she’s talking to Soarin’.
“But, uh,” he continues, “it would also suck to think that I made you angry in the first place too. I don’t ever wanna be the kind of stallion to do that to you.” He takes a small breather to prepare him for what he’s about to say next; “Listen Spitfire, I have to ask, you know how we’re sometimes together when we’re on tour? Like, together in the bedroom?”
“We’re going to perform in two minutes; I know you’re fast, Soarin’, but that’s kinda pushing it-”
“No, I don’t mean that,” he says, “I’m just wondering if after the show, we could do stuff together. Not even in the sexy way, either, I mean something like going out on the town, have some fun, maybe share a pie between us…”
“Whoa, really?” Spitfire had never heard that before, “You’d actually want to share a pie with somepony?”
“With you, Spitfire, of course I would!” Soarin’ gives a warm smile, “Of course, it’d have to be an extra-large pie, but still…”
Giggling like a school-filly on a date, Spitfire humbly turns to her partner, “Sure thing. Looking forward to it already.”
“It’s time, Wonderbolts!” the manager cheers, “You know the drill, get out there and be fantastic!”
*******
As the Wonderbolts did their thing - bolting around and causing general wonder amongst the awestruck audience - one of the members notice something very strange in the crowd. Something they didn’t see all that often.
Two strange figures sit in the front row, where the ‘guest list’ group would watch. They both seem to be wearing perfectly made Wonderbolt outfits. Of course, they were probably just fan-made replica costumes, right?
(Spoiler; Look out! Jacuzzi and costumed role-playing fetishes incoming! Oops, too late!) - Crowley
The flight back from Canterlot is always an easy one; just spread your wings and glide down from the mountaintops. Sometimes, when the wind’s just right, a pegasus could reasonably get to Ponyville without flapping their wings once! Yeah, gliding is great, despite the risk of getting wing cramp.
It’s noon by the time Rainbow Dash’s cloud home comes into full view. Landing just outside her front door, you check to see if your gift is still nestled firmly among your feathers. It’s still there, good; now to knock three times, give her the news and…
No answer. You try again.
Still nothing. She would have definitely finished her cloud-clearing duties by this time, so she’s either at a friend’s house or…
Oh no; what if she really did go out to wherever the Wonderbolts were performing, like you teased? Nah, that would be crazy, think harder.
Didn’t she say she was going to a party? Yeah, the welcoming party at Sweet Apple Acres. Maybe she’s still there.
At the very least, you have to make sure. And if she’s not there, her friends could point you in the right direction. You decide it’s worth checking either way.
********
Flying over the farm’s orchard, a sea of green leaves and red apples, you finally spy a multicoloured dot bucking the apple trees with a larger red-and-orange one. There she is!
You swoop down, determined to make this right before she leaves this orchard. Rainbow Dash takes one glance at you and shies away, only for a moment, before replacing that look with one of defiant irritation. Even now, she puts up a defensive barrier between you and her pride.
“Whadda you want?” she grumbles, shuffling the apple-filled cart off her back. She looks to her companion, MacIntosh, for a break. He just nods silently and carries on apple-bucking without her.
“Dash, I just want to talk, okay?” you plead, hoping she’d calm down; knowing Rainbow Dash the way you do, you’d come to expect this sort of cold demeanour. She’s always been quick to anger, and slow to forgive.
“We’re talking now.” she states dryly, “You missed the party, by the way. Great night that was too; cider, hoof-wrestling, carrying oversized apes over rooftops, the usual shtick.”
“That’s not what I- wait, carrying what now?” You’re drifting off-topic, better bring it back. “No, never mind, forget I asked. What I want to say, Rainbow, is that I’m sorry.”
“And why the heck would you want to apologise?” she scoffs, pushing you back, “It’s not you who fantasises over, I dunno, Spitfire or somepony during our alone time. Not that I‘d judge you for that sort of thing. Unlike you.”
“That’s why I’m apologising.” you tell her, “I’m sorry for overreacting. I can’t be mad at you being you, Dash. I know you were only trying to keep things fresh in your mind, thinking about… y’know.” you pause to retrieve your gift - the strip of elaborately decorated paper - from the feathers of your wings, and offer it out to her. “I want our relationship to be interesting too. Which is why I got you this. It’s from an old friend of mine.”
She snatches one from your hoof, and looks it over. Her jaw drops when she realises what it is.
“A confirmation receipt..? For a weekend at Hurricane’s Palace, Las Pegasus!?” She looks between you, the receipt, and back again. “Where the hey did you get seven hundred Bits from? H- how did you even afford this?”
“I didn’t,” you shrug, “My old friend did. He owed me a favour and made the reservations for us! I was surprised at how generous he was too.”
“And who exactly is this friend of yours?”
“An ex-flyer for the Scarlet Wings. They were an old flight team.” you explain, “A few years ago, when I was visiting Canterlot, he was getting harassed by some paparazzi. They kept poking their noses into his personal life just for something to report about, and when I saw what was happening, I chased them off for him. He said he’d do it himself if he was young enough-”
“Wait, wait, wait…” Dash holds up a hoof to stop you, “You realise the Scarlet Wings retired, like, ten years ago, right?”
“I know, he‘s a little frail these days.” you nod simply. “That didn’t stop some vultures with cameras wanting a piece of him, though. Anyway, after I helped him out, he promised to pay back with a favour. After our argument yesterday, Dash, I decided to call him up on it. And, well…” You gesture at the receipt in Rainbow Dash’s hoof, “That’s how we’re going to a five-star resort. He’s way more rich and famous than he gives himself credit for. He even said this was ‘no big deal’ to him.”
“But why?” she asks, “Why are you being so nice to me when it was my loud mouth that started this whole thing? If it wasn‘t for me, we‘d never have argued. We’d never have been in this mess in the first place.”
“But Rainbow Dash, I was the one who overreacted,” you place a hoof on her shoulder. You make a note of how she doesn’t try to brush it off right away. “Relationships aren’t about getting along without any arguments. They’re about getting through them together, despite our differences. Just like what we‘re doing now.”
Her ever-colourful eyes look up to yours. You notice they’re just slightly watering. “Let’s go to Las Pegasus,” you say, “We’ll set off first thing tomorrow, and when we’re done, we’ll forget we ever fought in the first place, okay?”
She wipes her eye (there’s something caught in it, obviously) and embraces you in a hug. “For what it’s worth,” she sniffles into your shoulder, “I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” you whisper, “Me too.”
“Can I still call you rookie?”
You chuckle, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
You pull out of the hug, and lower your face towards hers. Without needing any further indication, she brings her face up to yours.
There, you connect with a heart-mending kiss that made the troubles of yesterday seem so… pointless. So distant and inconsequential. She warms herself up to you as you kiss, trying to get as much out of it as she can.
She really missed you. She really cares for you. And that’s why you’re going to be together through thick and thin.
The kiss ends, but the cosy buzzing of love between you remains unhindered.
“Let’s go pack our bags.” you tell her, “We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
