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

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

Dashie Said Yes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It does if I help!”

-= X =-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Too long entirely, Pinkie.”

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

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

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

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

-= X =-

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hey, Fillydelphia flight control accepted it!”

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

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

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

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

“Piiinkiiie!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“We haven’t.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Were we that obvious?”

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

“Of course.”

Author's Note

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