On The Wings of Love

Rainbow Dash groaned as the sun peaked through the “windows” of her cloud house, though they where no more than holes in the wall, they still let the unwelcome sunlight in to tell Dash a new day had started.

The unfortunate thing being, it hadn't woken her up.

She hadn't slept.

At all.

“BUCKING HAY!!!” she cursed rather loudly to herself.

She hadn't had a full night's sleep in over a week!!!

She'd been working full shifts on the weather team all week, sometimes pulling a double when other members wouldn't show for their shifts! Yet, she couldn't for the life of her get a solid night's sleep!!!

What made matters worse is that she knew WHEN it had started, but no idea as to WHY.

It had picked up right after the day she did a sonic rainboom to save Rarity and The Wonderbolts from certain death at the Best Young Flier Competition.

The weird thing was... Dash was used to the “Binge-and-Crash” lifestyle that on-the-edge fliers like her where famous for.

A simple look around her house confirmed that. Energy drinks, junk food wrappers and more than a few empty alcohol bottles littered the floor of her house. She could EASILY drink full-grown stallions under the table!!! Even Applejack had difficulty keeping up with Rainbow Dash when drinking shot for shot!! (even though she'd never admit it)

Despite that fact, Rainbow Dash was suffering big-time due to sleep deprivation. She had almost flown headlong into Twilight's tree the other day on her way home from work, her brain just barely snapping out of its near-comatose state in time for Dash to dodge!

Cloudchaser, a fellow weather-pony, had talked to their boss, noting the state that Dash was in, and gotten her a full week off from work on the weather team.

“I better not see you back here until you can fly a straight line with your eyes closed!” she remembered her boss telling her as he sent her home last night. He knew just as well as Cloudchaser that Dash was “off,” and didn't want to risk her getting injured on account of her insomniatic state. Problem was he had let it slide for this long because he didn't want to have the weather team missing its strongest member.

“I owe Cloudchaser for that one.” Dash thought drearily as she stumbled across her room. Still half-asleep, heading towards the kitchen so as to make herself some breakfast. Even though she only intended to nap most of the day, she still needed food. Her rumbling stomach confirmed that as she stirred.

“Ugh...” she moaned in response to her stomach's complaining

An Athlete's metabolism...

She opened the cabinets, only to find half a box of oats and a bottle of honey.

Not much, but it would have to do.

She sat down on the couch in the living room, eating straight from the box and occasionally pouring some honey straight into her mouth to help sweeten the half-stale oats. She wasn't going to get a gourmet breakfast today.

“Heh, Pinkie Pie would probably feed me until I couldn't even walk out the door!” Dash absentmindedly said to herself as she ate. Her eyes suddenly brightening up at the idea.

“YEA!! I'll go to Sugarcube Corner and get some REAL breakfast! She said to nopony in particular as she grabbed a bag of bits and burst from the door of her cloud-house. Free-falling until the last possible second, Dash fanned her wings out and leveled out, heading towards sugarcube corner at blistering speed.

**26 seconds later, at Sugarcube Corner...

Pinkie Pie suddenly had her “pinkie-senses” kick in. Her tail twitched as she was setting down a pan full of blueberry muffins on the counter. That meant something was about to fall out of the sky! She was barely able to duck before Rainbow Dash zoomed in through the open kitchen window, face-planting into the granite counter-top next to the muffins.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie said, completely un-phased by Dash's sudden, violent entry into Sugarcube Corner. “It's a bit early for you isn't it?” gesturing to the clock on the wall, a questioning look crossing her features.

Dash looked up at the clock... it was a quarter after six. The sun was just BARELY above the horizon!

“Uuugh!” Rainbow Dash groaned, growing more disgruntled as the time became evident.

Note to self, fill in the east-facing windows of my house!

“Hey Pinkie, I know its early but cou-” Dash started

“SURE!! Have some of those blueberry muffins you're laying next to!! They're totally Delish!!” Pinkie blurted out, not giving Dash the chance to finish what she was saying.

“But how di-”

“Easy, anypony with eyes could see you've been “running on empty” for the past few days Dashy!” the pink earth pony explained, again, not even giving Dash the time to finish her sentence.

Sometimes, Rainbow Dash seriously questioned whether pinkie cou-

“No I can't read minds, silly! Now eat up! You must be starving!”

Dash just looked at her with a disbelieving stare. She hadn't said a word.

Shaking her head incredulously, she looked to her left to see and suddenly smell the WONDERFUL blueberry muffins Pinkie had made.

“Thanks Pinks!” Dash said enthusiastically before practically throwing herself onto the muffins before her. They where absolutely, positively, PERFECT!!!

As Dash unceremoniously devoured every muffin, Pinkie Pie slid a bottle of milk down the counter. Dash looked up right as it came to a stop, just shy of her nose. She had been about to ask the pink earth pony if she had something to drink.

“I swear to Celestia, she can read minds!” Dash muttered to herself as she opened the bottle and watched her friend walk to the store front before starting to chug the bottles contents.

It was at this point that Dash realized just how hungry she was! Going back over the last few days in her head revealed that she hadn't had a solid meal in two days!! Up until now, she had literally been running off nothing but Minotaur-Madness energy drinks!

“I don't know how you drink these Dash!!” She remembered Twilight saying to her one time.
“You know these things can kill you right?! They have enough stimulants in them to make your heart explode!” She had continued.

“I dunno, just like the jolt I guess.” Dash had replied.

Her mind snapped back to the present as Pinkie walked back into the kitchen, a pair of warm Bear Claws in hoof.

“Thought you might want one of these to finish off breakfast!” Pinkie said as bouncy as ever.

“Thanks Pinkie.” Dash said before accepting the sweet treat and stuffing her face with it.

“No Problem Dashy!” Pinkie quipped enthusiastically before continuing; “You'll need the energy! My Pinkie-Senses are telling me something BIG is going to happen soon!”

At this, Dash froze. When Pinkie Pie's Pinkie-senses flared up, you heeded the warning! Twilight had found that out the hard way, Dash didn't need to!

“Say what?!” Dash said after swallowing the last bite of warm bear claw.

“Yup!!” Pinkie explained as she bounced up and down in front of Dash in her usual manner.

“Who knows, it may just involve you!” Pinkie added, pointing at Dash, stifling a giggle.

“Heh, yea right...” Dash said nervously, between Pinkie's pinkie-senses and her uncanny ability to get in just about everypony's head; even her jokes seemed prophetic at times.

“Maybe you'll FINALLY get some sleep?” Pinkie said, attempting to be helpful.

“Ugh, that would be GREAT!” Dash sighed, exasperated.

Dear Luna, if I could only get some sleep!!

“Well maybe you just have too much on your mind?” Pinkie said in a rare moment of seriousness.

“Sometimes, I'll have something on my mind and won't be able to sleep. Ooh! And sometimes I don't even know what that something is until I figure it out.” She said, returning to her usual bouncy, nonsensical self.

Dash looked at her blankly, half of what Pinkie had just said made absolutely no sense to her.

“Sooo, your saying I should see if something is on my mind, even though I don't know its on my mind?”

“EXACTLY!!!!”

Dash facehoofed lightly, Pinkie was bar-none the craziest pony she had EVER known. Maybe Twilight could help her make sense of everything? She was rational most of the time.

Feeling better from having actually eating breakfast, Dash walked towards the door; saying her thanks for the muffins.

“Thanks Pinkie, there's a bag of bits on the cou-” SMACK!! The bag of bits hit her soundly on the flank. Whirling in surprise, she saw a dismissive Pinkie Pie heading back towards the kitchen.

“Nope, those where on the house Dashy. Now get going to Twilight's like you where planning!”

Again, shaking her head incredulously, Dash picked up the bag of bits and started at a trot towards Twilight's tree.