Another day at the office they say, and after many years of my life I had discovered that making a good cup of coffee was something of an artform. Everyone has their particular tastes: sugar or no sugar, milk before or after you pour in the boiling water. But no matter what, a good version of this recipe always requires the knowledge of how someone actually likes their coffee made in the first place.

Clearly nobody had communicated this to Sunny, but I could definitely taste the determination in every cup regardless of how it’s made. I also happen to be in a magical horse land trying to get the correct schematics for the upcoming Fillydelphia performance that was now only just beyond a week away, so when it was all said and done I was happy to receive any sort of home comfort in the form of a warm beverage to keep myself as relaxed as possible.

“I wish I wasn’t so bad at maths,” I muttered under my breath, pushing a few strands of hair from my eyes and looking back to the numbers on the page that verified the height and diameter of the loop, showing how each prop would have to be placed with at least a two metre danger zone to allow for any accidental moments if a pony strays off course or falls to injury. Part of me thought that I might be over-dramatising the situation a little, but I chose theatre production back on Earth for the simple reason that I wanted to be as far away from numbers and graphs as I could professionally get.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Miss Rebecca?” I heard Sunny call from the doorway.

“I’m fine, but thanks for asking,” I replied, managing to strain a smile as I looked up to see the familiar bat pony staring back at me from the edge of the room. Sunny tilted her head slightly; a bit of grimace showed on her features which caused me to doubt my own facade.

“You’ve been muttering to yourself for the last hour, Miss Rebecca. I hope it’s nothing you can’t handle,” Sunny said with a hint of worry to her tone.

As much as the comment almost made me want to cry for some form of assistance, the professional side of my brain stepped in along with my pride as I shook my head and replied politely, “I’m sure, Sunny.”

With the reassurance made, Sunny smiled a little before slowly making her way back down the hallway. My eyes quickly averted from the door to the nearby window as I could feel my mind clawing away at me, wishing to call it a day.

Usually at this time in the afternoon me and Soarin would have started making our way home, most of my work was already stacked and ready to go from a hard day’s grind. The reason I was still here however, was the fact that Spitfire needed to speak with Soarin about their management plan to keep this place running smoothly while they were off with me to Fillydelphia. Soarin had explained to me that it’s a good way to keep some form of discipline within the team, whilst allowing for the less primary Wonderbolts to have some form of communication and guideline between them while the more active members were away. I could understand the the theory behind such practices, but when it extended my work hours that was pretty much the moment where my brain would just shut off.

With the knowledge that I’d still be stuck here for at least another half hour because of this meeting, my mind turned to a more pressing issue of the letter that I still hadn’t sent to Celestia, despite my constant self-nagging to do so over the last few days since me and Soarin both had been out to explore Cloudsdale with one another. Since then it had started become something that was growing on my mind day in and day out, but with the increasing pressure of the show and wanting to spend more time with Soarin, it’s only served to increase the worries and fears that I have no clue how to communicate to a sun goddess.

As I thought more about the issue, within my bored state there seemed no better time but to try and experiment with some form of test copy before writing out the real thing at Soarin’s place. My mind began to light up with the thought of doing something more productive as I grabbed a spare blank piece of parchment from the far side of my desk along with a quill.

“Think I better start with an apology,” I mused, writing out the first few lines to acknowledge my lack of updates to the most powerful being I’ve ever met. The casual way I thought about it almost made me giggle. Though I tried my hardest not to, I couldn’t hold back for long before delving into the time I’d spent with Soarin over the last month. I felt as if I was finally clearing the air, even if that just happened to be a blank sheet of paper. Despite my lack of direction making it a bit all over the place, I seemed to get out everything that satisfied both my heart and my mind within an acceptable time too.

“Guess I should probably give it a once over,” I began, beginning to read the first few lines before-

“Miss Rebecca!” Sunny sang as she almost seemed to prance in her step when she entered my office, “I just thought I would come and say goodbye for the day!”

I couldn’t blame her actions, I’d be the same way too if I could head off home at this very moment. I quickly averted my attention and placed the parchment randomly on a one the stacks of finished work I already had organised as I stood up to bid my farewell, “I hope you have a nice evening, Sunny!” I began with a smile.

The brightly coloured mare mirrored my happy expression, “You too,” she began, glancing around my desk, “Seems like you’ve been very busy today! All this stuff has to be completed before you leave for Filly?”

“‘Fraid so,” I replied with a regrettable nod, taking a glance back at my own table to see the piles of work that I’d gone through over the last week. Some detailed all purchases and modifications of the new props while others laid out guidelines for how they should be correctly set up, “I haven’t even be able to give them to Spitfire and Soarin yet for a once over to make sure they’re even happy with some of my plans.”

Sunny nodded sympathetically as she took another look at me and my desk before smiling a little, “Is there any stacks here that need to be taken to Spitfire and Soarin?” she questioned. “If you want, I can drop them off on my way out.”

It barely took more than a split second and without a moment's hesitation to nod thankfully in return, “Well, it’s one thing off my list!” I beamed happily, quickly remembering the piles of paper in question and pushing a nearby stack towards the mare as she attempted to lift them all with a wing.

“Well, see you tomorrow!” Sunny finished after grabbing the last paper, quickly turning and heading off down the hallway. Seeing her go almost made me let out a sigh of relief as I sat down again and looked over to where I had placed the letter.

No… No, no, no

I started picking up the top page to each stack and quickly scanning them to work out if any looked like the page I’d just been working on, the realisation was quickly settling in made my stomach drop. I slowly glanced back up the hallway, one thing very clear in my mind.

Well, shit.

Part of me wondered why my luck always ended up getting me in situations such as this one, running through the hallways of my workplace with a cold sweat and a frantic look on my face. I thought I would have been able to catch up to Sunny by now, but that mare can trot fast if she could navigate this building that quickly. I was getting closer to Spitfire’s office as I finally caught a glimpse of her, but I couldn’t call her over and explain what it was specifically that I needed without her either getting confused, weirded out or both.

As Sunny rounded the final corner to Spitfire’s office, I held back and stopped behind said corner in order to have a vantage point to see what would happen next. I felt like a kid in school trying to get a secret note back from the teacher so my crush wouldn’t find out the truth.

I looked around to seeing her set the stack of papers down just outside the office, my hopes began to rise as I thought maybe Sunny would just leave them at the doorway and let Spitfire and Soarin discover them after their chat. However, the hope soon turned to fear as I saw her knock on the door; hearing someone call her in made my mind suddenly fall into a frenzy.

I have to do something, now!

I looked around as if I was going to find some sort of miracle answer just lying in plain sight, because if it that would work in any world or universe I thought here would be at least somewhat of a very good example. Unfortunately as time was quickly closing on me, I was only finding one way to solve this problem.

I swallowed hard and readied myself as I began to walk forward. I could already feel my heart that was beginning to thump in my chest as I strained my brain to push through the fear of total, impending embarrassment and humiliation. As I made it to the door, my thoughts got the better of me as I didn’t think to check my spacial awareness.

“Ohhf”

“Shit, sorry Sunny!” I gasped, looking down to the poor bat pony in horror as she held a forehoof to her head. My eyes darted up quickly to see Spitfire and Soarin both eyeing me curiously, both seeming to have the beginnings of amusing smirks taking form on their lips.

“I-It’s fine, Miss Rebecca! I’m sorry I should have-”

“No, that was my fault,” I interrupted apologetically, struggling to strain a smile through my wincing. Sunny nodded in acknowledgement, but was still a little bit out of the whole situation. As she came around again, she made a clear exit for the office this time. “Well, I’ll leave you all to it!” she finished before vanishing out of sight, leaving me with the last and undoubtedly biggest hurdle I’d need to get through.

“Is there something we can help you with, Bex?” Soarin asked as I looked over to the stallion. My brain was now beginning to work on overtime as I quickly fumbled an answer whilst trying to keep myself emotionally in check at the same time.

And Soarin’s question still needed answering.

“Uh, n-nothing really. I just came to check up on you guys!” I bluffed, silently praying to myself that I wasn’t looking like a huge idiot right now.

Thankfully Spitfire acknowledged my answer without question, “Well we were just about to finish up anyway, trying to make any headway with fuzzball here can be a bit of a struggle sometimes,” she chuckled lightheartedly.

“Hey!” Soarin began, eying his best friend, “You asked for my help!” he jabbed, folding his arms in a playful manner which looked as funny as it was effective to win the mare over.

Spitfire rolled her eyes whilst maintaining a sizable grin on her muzzle as she took the stack that Sunny had placed on her desk. My heart leapt into my throat as her forehoof fiddled with the top page. I could feel a sweat begin to drip down my forehead as they continued their conversation, oblivious for what was literally teetering on the edge of being revealed to the world.

“Well you’ve helped plan the training schedule at least, so we can just deal with the housekeeping later on,” Spitfire replied, “I’ll let you two get home for now, I’ll make sure to take a quick look at what Rebecca’s done here before I sign out too.”

My body froze right then and there, I could hear the preempted laughter forming in my head from the scene that was inevitable to occur the moment Spitfire raised her hoof. I shut my eyes, but instead of hearing gasps or confusion, I heard something different all together.

Spitfire began to giggle slightly at Soarin’s huffy expression, I opened my eyes again to find she hadn’t taken her eyes off him yet.

“I only meant to poke fun, you big softie,” she teased, leaning over the desk as she nuzzled Soarin’s cheek, another one of those acts which I had become accustomed seeing between the two of them now. Luckily the display in question had brought Spitfire’s attention away from the stack as Soarin dropped the act and began to chuckle along with her. This seemed like a good moment to drop in while I could, quietly moving around the two and towards the corner of the desk where the stack was still positioned.

“Well Since Bex is here, we may as well discuss the travel arrangements for heading out to Fillydelphia,” Soarin began, making me freeze as I looked back to the two whilst trying my best to keep a calm and cool mental state.

“What do you mean?” I asked in an attempt to seem in tune with the conversation, mentally slapping myself afterwards for asking quite an obvious question.

Spitfire smirked at the opportunity I’d presented, “What? You weren’t planning on walking all the way to Filly, were you?”

Soarin laughed, “Well if she wants to start now I’m sure she’ll get there in time.”

I deadpanned and rolled my eyes, “Very funny, I’m dying of laughter here. Seriously though, what do you mean by travel arrangements? I thought we were just flying over.”

“It’s possible,” Spitfire began, “but it’s easier to hook up with another mode of transport to save the risk of anyone getting wing related injuries before the event, or worse.”

Soarin nodded in agreement as he continued the topic of conversation, “For further away cities, the quickest and easiest way to get around is using the train, getting a couple of carriages booked out is easy, and then it’s just a case of getting everyone rounded up for the big day.”

“It should be simple on paper” Spitfire with a small sigh as she seemed to look of distantly whilst remembering past events, “but you’d be surprised how similar the Wonderbolts are to a pack of school foals.” Soarin chuckled again as Spitfire concluded, “Anyways, the train is leaving in the morning which should put us in the city centre for late afternoon, I just hope that everyone stays coordinated and respectful during the journey.”

I nodded along with the conversation, making sure that neither of them saw me as my hand casually found its way onto the top of the paper pile. I decided to continue the conversation in order to keep them distracted. “If you’re wanting that to be the case, then Fleetfoot is going to have to be kept to a minimum throughout the trip.”

“Only if Spits is happy not getting seduced by her into doing any more pranks,” Soarin added.

Spitfire looked at Soarin with a raised eyebrow, “Would you like to be public speaker for the press when we get to Filly?” She dared, filling the air with slight tension.

As Soarin’s eyes slowly turned to pinpricks, my hands slipped the top page away, quickly folding it crudely in my hand before depositing it into my left pocket. In the meantime, Spitfire’s smirk had only gotten bigger.

She chuckled before standing up. “In that case, I’d leave now before my hoof has a chance to write that spot next to your name!”

I had to try and hold back my own smirk while Soarin gave Spitfire a farewell hug before we left. As we said our goodbyes, I was more relieved of the fact that I’d somehow managed to avoid mass rejection and humiliation with a simple conversation.

Should have become a detective, I mused confidently to myself.

I was still conscious of the fact that I had to write out the letter for real when we got back to Soarin’s home in Canterlot. I only hoped I’d be able to sneak it back out in the morning to post to Celestia. With any luck, I’d get a response before we headed to Fillydelphia. Right now though, my main focus was getting back and having some much needed rest time.

Soarin didn’t seem like he wanted to wait around either, so it wouldn’t take us long to get home. Though now it had gone past sunset, and I could feel from my mental clock that we were at least an hour or so behind our usual schedule that my body had become accustomed to. With the exhaustion of work finally setting in, there wasn’t too much conversation between me and Soarin as we exited the building and made our way down to the main gates of the Wonderbolt Headquarters.

My yawning had gotten pretty intense since we’d been outside, and Soarin broke the silence with a little laughter before speaking up, “I’m glad we’re keeping you hard at work, Bex, soon you’ll be begging to go home!” He teased sarcastically.

My brain wasn’t up for an intellectual battle at this point, the rush of adrenaline from my earlier mistake had kept me unaware of how tired I really was, so I decided to play along instead. “If I wanted to leave, I’m sure I’d have held you hostage by now and demanded Celestia to find a solution quicker,” I began with a chuckle, “Imagine that, me some kind of space pirate! Jumping to planets with a trusty ray gun or something.”

Soarin leaned down to allow me to hop onto his back, he looked back to me with a quizzical expression, “Minus the fact that Celestia would probably banish you to the sun or something.”

I giggled at the thought, probably more casually than Soarin would have liked as he chuckled back awkwardly at the comment with a more playful expression that silently asked me not to follow through with that idea. I decided to shut my mouth before I said something crazy, climbing on top of the stallion as he spread his wings before taking to the skies. My body began to relax to the soft, slightly colder wind of the night as we flew through the air which almost lulled me to sleep by the time we reached the ground within Canterlot. As I clambered off Soarin’s back, the only thing keeping me awake now was the thought eating away to finish that letter.

“Home sweet home!” Soarin sang, pushing open the door as I followed in behind him. He began making a his way up the stairs as he continued, “I’m just going to wash up before making some dinner if you’re hungry enough to eat,” he asked.

I nodded, heading over to the couch. “Sure thing, I’m sure some food will help me stay awake for a little longer at least.”

Soarin smiled and nodded before heading to the top of the stairs and out of sight. My gaze averted over to the coffee table where I left most of my things, still having refused to take a guest bed at this point. Before I had even had a chance to really think about anything in regards to it however, I usually ended up crashing on the couch after long nights at the headquarters. As I sorted through my stuff, I found the parchment and all the accessories that I needed to get to work on the letter, my hand dug into the pocket and brought out the folded test letter as I placed it down along with the other things.

Seating myself on the plush couch, I took the quill in my hand before opening up the experimental letter, using it as a guide for what I was about to officially write. My fears began to tug at me once more, almost seeming to pull my hand backwards as my mind began to second guess what I’d already written.

No I thought, pushing my hand back down to the paper this is too long overdue

And with that, I wrote.

Dear Celestia,

I thought it was about time that I wrote to you and updated you on my status regarding my life in your world. Soarin’s been nothing but the best in the time that I’ve known him, the job that I’ve been given has allowed me to stay busy and not dwell too much on the issues that I currently face. The cloud walking potions have been very useful, and I’m currently making friends with more of the ponies at the wonderbolts everyday thanks to ability to walk around and enjoy the social life that Cloudsdale has to offer me.

I honestly couldn’t do any of this without you and Soarin’s help which I thank you both greatly for, but I wish to share that over the course of the past few weeks since I’ve lived with Soarin, I have a concern that I have started to feel some sort of attraction towards him romantically. I think what I’m asking for is some form of guidance as I’m worried about talking to him about said feelings, but with his charm and personality and I’d be foolish to try and deny that I don’t feel some romantic attachment to him.

We’re heading off to the Wonderbolt’s show in Fillydelphia as you may more may not know, Soarin said that we will be travelling by train. I hope to hear back from you soon, and I would love to hear the progress on finding a way for me to head back home if you’ve made any headway in that department.

Sincerely yours,

Rebecca.

I signed the last part of the letter and sighed happily, letting the quill rest to the side as I yawned and flopped onto the couch to relax. I was happy to have that finally done with, and at the very least it was a weight that had been lifted off my shoulders for the next couple of days until I heard my response from Celestia. As I looked to the ceiling of the room, I began to slowly drift off. It didn’t take long before sleep totally consumed me for the night.

It was only a few moments later that Soarin cantered back down the stairs after having washed up, he looked over to the couch to see Rebecca already sleeping soundly. He chuckled to himself as he made his way over, grabbing the nearby blanket in his teeth and draping it over the sleeping lifeform. He smiled towards the human before his eyes gazed over the letter that was resting at the edge of the table.

“Oh,” Soarin blurted as his eyes caught sight of the item in question. He knew that he shouldn’t be reading such a thing, but his eyes had already skimmed over a few of the words before he’d even had time to blink. From what he’d seen alone, he couldn’t help but gaze over to Rebecca with slight shock captivating his face.

With a quick snap of his mind though, the stallion turned to a more serious look as he went back and folded over the letter with his hoof.

Author's Note

Whoops.