“Gift exchange?”
Sweaty blue suits flopped to the floor of the locker room as the Wonderbolt trainees changed out of their uniforms. Rainbow Dash tossed her flight goggles haphazardly into her locker, a puzzled look spread over her face.
“What’s that about?”
Fleetfoot answered, her head halfway obscured by a towel as she dried her mane of sweat and cloud vapor.
“For Hearth‘s Warming, duh. It’s been a tradition at the academy since forever ago. Everypony takes part, even the instructors. They’re doing the drawings today.”
Rainbow followed after Fleetfoot as they headed toward the showers adjacent to the locker room. Fog built up as the air warmed and water steamed off the checkered tiled floors.
“Huh, yeah, I guess we used to do something similar at the weather factory. But what’s this about drawings?”
“Well, we draw names to see who we’ll have to get our present for. It’s supposed to be anonymous so neither party knows who’s giving what, though word usually gets around anyway. Can’t keep anything secret at the academy…”
“Yeah, that’s true. I still can’t get over Thunderlane’s obsession with the Power Ponies.”
“Kinda like your obsession with Daring Do?”
“…that’s different.”
The two spent the rest of their shower in silence. Dash wondered idly who she'd get for the gift exchange. If it was Soarin, well that would be easy enough; a fresh apple pie from Sweet Apple Acres and that stallion would be more than happy. If it was Cloudchaser then she could ask Rarity to order some of that fancy mane conditioner she has from Prance. Easy peasy. For most of the cadets and instructors it was simple to think of one or two things the pony would enjoy as a gift.
“This will be a piece of cake… or pie if I get Soarin.”
Fleetfoot’s eyes were covered in shampoo. She turned toward the sound of Dash’s voice with perked ears.
“Huh, what was that?”
“Nothing.”
When Rainbow and Fleetfoot finished and exited the locker rooms they met up with some other cadets. Everypony made their way to the mess hall where they found a large jar set up on a table in the center of the room. The jar was filled with tiny envelopes, presumably holding all the names of the ponies at the academy.
A line was already forming as ponies took their turns to draw a name from the jar. Some opened their envelopes and smiled in delight, some remained neutral and others showed something short of bafflement.
The line grew shorter and it was finally Rainbow’s turn. She reached a wing in as nonchalantly as possible and pulled an envelope out. The crowd in the mess hall had mostly cleared out by then so Rainbow was able to find a quiet corner to check and see who she got.
A small card fell from the envelope when Rainbow opened it and she snatched it up mid fall with a deft hoof. Flipping the card over, she found a small image of a dazzling lick of flame with the name “Spitfire” written out in neat cursive underneath.
Rainbow’s eyes widened in surprise. It never occurred to her that she might have to get a gift for the captain. An audible groan sounded from Rainbow as she tucked the card away into her feathers. What in all of Equestria was she supposed to get the world-renowned leader of the Wonderbolts?
She never spoke much with Spitfire outside of getting reprimanded for showing off too much. Rainbow thought back to all of the interviews the Wonderbolts had given over the years and couldn’t remember ever hearing Spitfire talk about her hobbies or personal life. It was always strictly business with her which didn’t leave Dash with much to go on as far as a Hearth’s Warming gift went.
“What’s up, Dash?”
“Oh! Hey, Soarin.”
The stallion startled Rainbow who’d been too engrossed in her own thoughts to notice him before. Seeing him there sparked an idea in her head.
“Hey, you’ve known Spitfire for a while now, right?”
“Umm, yeah, I guess I have. We go way back. Started here together as cadets back in the day. Heh, good times, good times.”
“So do you have any idea what would make a good present for her? I’m asking for a friend…”
“Hmm, that’s a good question. Y’know I never really thought about what she does in her spare time. Whenever I see her she’s always either working or practicing. Don’t think I’ve seen much else aside from that.”
“Great… So even you don’t know.”
Rainbow let out a dejected sigh. Her one hope dashed before her eyes. Soarin looked over at her, his wing stroked his chin in consideration.
“Well, you could always ask her directly. She’s in her office right now, I think. Not doing much besides filling out some paperwork. She could use a distraction. Celestia knows she works hard enough as is.”
“Well, I—I mean my friend wants it to be a surprise. I don’t want to tip her off by asking her directly.”
“Maybe try asking her indirectly? Spitfire was never one to pick up on subtlety. If you went about it the right way she’d be none the wiser.”
“Huh, I guess that makes sense. Alright, I’ll give it a shot.”
Dash headed out of the mess hall and down the corridor to the captain’s office. She hesitated when she reached the office door, gathering her thoughts and nerves before knocking.
“Come in!”
When Rainbow entered the room she found Spitfire seated at her desk with a stack of papers off to her side. The captain held a stamp in her hoof, hovering it over a document from the stack.
“Reporting in, Captain.”
Rainbow stood at attention with a hoof raised in salute. Spitfire finished stamping the paper and setting it aside before looking over Dash.
“At ease, Cadet. What brings you here today? I didn’t send for you. Don’t tell me somepony blew up the cadet bathroom again…”
“Uh, no, ma’am. That’s not why I’m here.”
“Then what is it?”
A bead of sweat ran down Rainbow’s neck. Talking with Soarin had made her believe this would be easy, but now that she was actually there in front of Spitfire the words were a lot harder to find.
“I—I…I’m bored.”
Spitfire raised a questioning eyebrow at Dash.
“Bored, Cadet?”
“Yeah, I mean, I usually hang out with my friends on the weekends, but everypony is busy doing something else this time. So I’m kind of on my own and I think it would be a waste if I just spent it hanging around without anything to do.”
“Are you asking for more work? Because I can have you scrub the entire mess hall with a toothbrush if you find yourself so… bored.”
“No, what I mean is… Well, what do you do when you get, y’know bored?”
Spitfire looked like she was about to tell Rainbow to get her prismatic butt out of her office, but Dash cut her off before she had the chance.
“So I normally don’t make a big deal of it, because I’m not a huge egghead or anything, but I like to read sometimes; Daring Do specifically.”
“Then why don’t you go read? Seems like a decent way to pass time… instead of wasting mine.”
“Well, I would, but I’ve kind of already read all of the Daring Do books… like seven times actually. And I’m not much into reading anything else. So I was thinking of maybe doing something different, but that’s where I’m stuck. What do you do to pass the time?”
Spitfire set down her stamp and leaned back in her chair. She tapped her hooves together, thinking over what Dash had said. It looked like she was trying to figure out if this was some sort of prank or something. Rainbow held her tongue and tried to look as innocent as she could.
“Did Fleetfoot put you up to this? Or Cloudchaser? I swear those two will pull you newbies into all of their shenanigans if no pony told them off.”
“No, ma’am. Just a genuine question. I figured since you work so hard all the time you must have a good way to relieve all the stress.”
“Are you coming onto me, Cadet?”
“What?! No, that’s not what I meant!”
Spitfire turned her chair so she faced away from Dash. It looked like she was studying the cloudy skyscape beyond her office window. Rainbow held the silence.
“Relieve the stress… Well, I guess there’s that.”
“What’s that, ma’am?”
An inscrutable expression passed over Spitfire’s face as she looked back at Rainbow. She seemed somewhere between embarrassed and annoyed and Rainbow hadn’t the foggiest idea of what that meant.
“…Ogres…”
“Uh, sorry, what was that, Captain?”
“Ogres and Oubliettes.”
A moment of silence passed between the two ponies. The clock on the wall behind Rainbow ticked away the seconds as the two stared at each other; Spitfire looked obstinate and ready to defend herself from judgment, while Dash just looked confused.
“Like the game with the little figures and dice and make-believe characters?”
“It’s called role-play.”
“Oh. And you find that fun?”
Spitfire shot Dash a look as if to say, “Yes, I do. And if you have a problem with that then it’s the last problem you’re ever gonna have.” At least, Rainbow got that impression anyway. But she had no plans to judge Spitfire on having a nerdy hobby. Even Rainbow knew that being a die-hard Daring Do fanatic would label her as a nerd to anypony who couldn’t accept others as they were. No this was just the opportunity Rainbow was waiting for.
“That’s cool. I think my friend Spike is into that game. He plays it with some of our other friends sometimes.”
“It’s better when you have a regular group. Makes everything go smoother for the players.”
“You have a group then?”
“Yeah, we meet in Cloudsdale at a friend's house every week or two. We’ve already got a full party, but if you’re interested then I could ask if you could join in. Since you’re so bored and all.”
“Uh, yeah. Well, I wouldn’t want to intrude or anything. Maybe I’ll ask Spike to let me join in one of his games. I mean, if you’re into it too, then there must be something fun about it.”
Spitfire shrugged and opened a drawer at her desk. She pulled out a little velvet pouch with a golden string that sealed the opening. She loosed the string and a set of dice rolled out onto the desk.
“I don’t know. I guess, I just like the whole chance aspect of it. That and the fact you can play as some pony completely different from yourself.”
“I’m surprised you would want to be anything other than the leader of Wonderbolts. I mean, that’s already the coolest thing in the world.”
“It is cool. But it’s also a lot of work.”
Spitfire picked up a die and rolled it across the desktop. The little polygon tumbled end over end before settling on the number six.
“Sometimes it’s nice to just let fate take the lead.”
A small smile touched Spitfire’s lips as she stared down at the die. Dash recognized the smile. It was the same one that Applejack got when she played her fiddle, the same one Rarity got when she got a massage at the spa, and probably the same one she herself got when she was reading one of Daring Do’s adventures.
Rainbow finally had an idea of what to get Spitfire.
A week later, the Wonderbolt Academy was a buzz of noise and excitement as ponies gathered in the mess hall to exchange gifts. The presents were laid out across one of the long dining tables with the names of their recipients attached to each gift.
Rainbow couldn’t hold in her squeal when she opened her present and found a replica Daring Do safari cap inside. Soarin laughed in delight as he held up a large fresh pie, his mouth already drooling at the sight. Thunderlane whinnied in excitement when he tore off the wrapping paper of his gift and saw that it was a full volume of the Power Ponies latest story.
Everypony seemed happy with their gifts. They all showed off their presents to each other, speculating on who had gotten what for who. Some presents weren’t as perfect picks as Rainbow’s or Soarin’s, but everypony was still having fun and filled with the spirit of Hearth’s Warming.
When the crowd in the mess hall had cleared out, Spitfire made her way over to the table once filled with presents. Pretty much all of them were gone now so it was easy enough to find a small box with her name attached.
She carefully undid the bow holding the lid of the box tight. When she pulled the lid free she found a little blue pouch with “O & O” threaded into the fabric. Inside the pouch was a set of dice; rainbow colored.
Spitfire could help but let a small giggle escape as she gazed down at the dice.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Dash.”