"So, do you think they liked us?" Thunderlane asked Soarin, who was flying alongside him. "I stuttered a little at first, but nopony seemed to mind."
"You did great!" the blue pegasus replied cheerfully. He flapped his wings a few times to gain more height and went on: "No—we did great! Didn't you see how excited they were by the end? I'm sure we're going to meet some of them again in a few years."
The two stallions had been sent to the city of Baltimare to inform and educate young ponies about the Wonderbolts, in hopes of attracting new recruits into their ranks in the future. They had just finished their first presentation at a local school. It ended in a display of coordinated flight, where the two pegasi showed the students what sort of things they would learn if they decided to join. Now they were on their way to the next destination.
"I always get stage fright whenever I have to speak in front of a big crowd," the gray pegasus said bashfully. "But I guess it turned out alright, even if I was slightly out of my element in the first half. Flying together was the easy part."
"They're just foals. They aren't gonna hold your delivery to a standard as high as adult ponies anyway."
"Foals will not hold back their laughter if I mess something up, either."
"Stop worrying so much," Soarin said nonchalantly as he started to glide towards the ground. "We still have two more presentations to give today—and another three tomorrow. It's only going to get easier from here." A cloud of dust got kicked up in the air when he landed in front of the building where their next show was about to take place. "You'll be fine, trust me."
Just like Soarin had predicted, the two remaining presentations for that day went off without a hitch. He and Thunderlane were free to do whatever they wanted for the rest of the day. They decided to spend their free time doing some sightseeing around the city of Baltimare. Even though it wasn't one of the largest towns in Equestria, it had more than enough interesting places to keep them occupied during their visit.
The sun was already setting when the ponies finally arrived at the hotel. Thunderlane had reserved a room for them in advance. The gray pegasus checked them in at the lobby and then entered the elevator with his light blue colleague. Soarin admired the mirror-like reflection on its finely polished floor.
"This place looks pretty fancy," he said as they got off the elevator. "I hope the room you got wasn't too expensive. Spitfire is going to have you gelded if she finds out you've been splurging too much on our accommodations."
"It was only one hundred bits per night," Thunderlane assured. "That's unusually cheap for a hotel like this. Oh, here it is." He unlocked the door and stepped aside to let Soarin enter the room first.
"Uh, Thunderlane? There's only one bed here."
"That can't be right," the pegasus said as he stepped into the room. His coat blended smoothly into its dark gray walls, almost making him look like a pair of amber eyes and a turquoise mane floating in the air. "I told them there would be two of us coming here."
"See for yourself."
Thunderlane stared at the small bed in the middle of the room. "Since when have hotels had rooms with only a single bed in them?" he asked bewilderedly. Looking around the room, he could only see a table with two small wooden chairs and a lush green potted plant in the corner.
Soarin shrugged his shoulders.
"I'll go back down and ask what's going on," Thunderlane huffed. He promptly turned around and left the room.
The pegasus hopped off the balcony in the main hall and flew down to the lobby instead of waiting for the elevator. He quickly stated the bed situation to the receptionist. The smiling mare behind the counter gave him a simple explanation for his problem.
"Our hotel provides small single-bed rooms for a lower price," she said. "They have been very popular with ponies traveling by themselves. We knew that you would have company, but then again, couples sometimes book those rooms as well to save money. Maybe we should have made that more clear when you reserved it."
"I guess it's my fault for not paying attention. Can we switch to a room with two beds, please?"
"Unfortunately, we are almost fully booked at the moment. The only room we have available right now is the celestial suite—at 450 bits per night, it is the most luxurious hotel room in the entire city! You can switch to that, if you like."
Thunderlane considered for a moment. He knew that Soarin had been joking earlier but the mental image of Spitfire taking away his stallionhood made him shudder nonetheless. If she ever found out that they had stayed in the most expensive hotel room in town using the funds of the Wonderbolts, she would not go easy on them for sure. Ultimately, he rejected the offer.
"There's another hotel a few blocks away, but I'd imagine it is also full," the mare continued. "This has been a busy day since there are lots of big events going on in the city this week. I'm sorry, but there's nothing else I can do."
"Oh well—thanks anyway."
Disappointed, Thunderlane returned to the room they had and repeated to Soarin what the receptionist had told him. "They did offer me another room," he said wistfully, "but it was way too pricey. I think Spitfire wouldn't be too happy about it."
"Good call. The boss lady can have a real temper at times. Back when I was just a recruit, she once threatened to make me lick her toilet clean after I had done a slightly more serious screw-up."
"Did you have to?"
"She did make me clean all the bathrooms for a week, yes," Soarin muttered. "Just not with my tongue, thankfully." He turned around and looked questioningly at the bed. "So, what are we gonna do now?"
"The fault is all mine," the gray pegasus sighed, "so you can have the bed to yourself."
"But where will you sleep?"
"Right here, I guess..." Thunderlane laid down on the carpet in front of the door. "I've made my bed—now I have to sleep in it," he chuckled, realizing the irony of what he had just said. "Well, good night."
Soarin slept restlessly and woke up around midnight. He tossed and turned for some time trying to fall asleep again before sitting up on the bed and turning his head towards the door. A pale beam of light was cast between the curtains on the pegasus curled up in front of it. The blue stallion started to feel sorry for his friend.
"Thunderlane?" he whispered.
"Y-yeah?" the gray pegasus uttered weakly.
"Have you got any sleep?"
"No, not really..."
Soarin turned on the lights and exhaled deeply. "Listen... How would you feel about sleeping in the same bed with me?"
"It's not big enough for both of us."
"Well, I think it just might be... if we spoon each other, that is."
Thunderlane looked at the blue pegasus with a blank expression on his face.
"It doesn't have to mean anything," Soarin continued. "We are only sleeping, that's all. Since we're both single, I thought it wouldn't be an issue."
The gray stallion looked away hesitantly.
"If you're not comfortable with that, I get it. I just feel bad for you, watching you shiver on that cold and drafty floor. You're not getting any rest lying down there, and we both need to have a good night's sleep to be at our best tomorrow."
Letting out a sigh, Thunderlane finally got up from the floor and climbed into the bed, laying down on his side. Soarin, being slightly taller, cuddled up behind him and pulled the blanket over them. The stallions wriggled around a little, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. A moment later, Soarin had wrapped his front legs snugly around Thunderlane's chest.
"Is this okay with you? I can't find any other place for my hooves to go. I'm gonna fall off the side otherwise."
"Yeah, it's fine. Sleep tight, Soarin."
"You too, Thunderlane."
Sunlight was already seeping into the room between the curtains when Thunderlane woke up in the morning. Soarin was still holding him safely in the embrace of their blue hooves, snoring quietly in their sleep behind him.
The gray pony didn't want to wake the blue one up yet. He raised his head up slightly to see what the time was. Their next presentation would take place at noon, which was still several hours away. The pegasus closed his eyes again and enjoyed Soarin's warmth.
The blue hoof started stroking his stomach. The gray pegasus hummed faintly as the sleeping stallion caressed his belly, sweeping gently across it back and forth. Thunderlane suddenly felt his face redden when Soarin's leg brushed lightly against his morning wood.
"Uh, Soarin?" he asked awkwardly. "What are you doing?"
The blue pegasus snapped awake, promptly pulling his hoof back to his side of the bed. "Sorry about that," he said sheepishly. "Force of habit, I guess. I'm just used to sleeping with a plush toy every night."
"Plush toy? Like that big giraffe you had when you were a small colt?"
"The very same, actually. I still have it, you know, after all these years. It's just that in a group like the Wonderbolts, where everypony always acts all tough and serious, I feel the need to have something warm and soft in my life. It's silly, I know."
"I don't think it's silly. Sometimes I feel the same way..." Thunderlane paused and thought for a moment. "Soarin, can I ask you something personal?"
"Sure."
"I was just wondering—have you ever slept like this before? With another stallion, I mean."
Soarin remained silent.
"Well, I suppose that's none of my business," Thunderlane said regretfully. "Sorry, I was just curious."
"It's not like that—I just thought it might make you uncomfortable to be this intimate with me. But yeah, I've been with a few stallions before. My most recent relationship was with a mare, though."
"Are you talking about Rainbow Dash? I thought you liked her a lot."
"I do like her—as a friend. We used to go out for a while last summer, but it didn't really go anywhere. I guess I wasn't awesome enough for her taste. Why do you ask, anyway? You said you were curious."
"I did?" Thunderlane gulped. "Well, I... It's just... Uh, never mind."
"Come on," Soarin said encouragingly. "I can tell from your tone that something is weighing on your mind. We've been friends since we were small colts. You can tell me anything."
"Fine," the pegasus sighed. "I guess I have sometimes wondered what it would feel like to be together with a stallion..." He paused and swallowed hard. "I sort of had a crush on you once."
"Really?" Soarin said, raising his brow in surprise. "I never knew you felt that way."
"It has been very confusing to me... At some point, I just suddenly started to think that you are really attractive. But since you were with Rainbow Dash at the time, I kept it to myself. I was afraid our friendship would turn sour if I told you."
"I'm glad you finally got it off your chest," Soarin said joyfully. "I'm not upset or anything, I'm actually flattered to hear you say that. But why tell me now?"
"Isn't it obvious? Here I am, being held in your hooves, as fate would have it. I thought it was now or never. Even if you did not have any romantic intentions, sleeping together made my feelings for you surface again. I was worried that might happen."
"Why would you worry about that?"
"I know what it feels like to be attracted to somepony you have no chance to be with. Last time it took me several months to get over it. I guess I should have told you about it earlier, but until today, I assumed you were straight, so it was just wishful thinking on my part." The gray pony started to sniffle. "I suppose it still is..."
"What do you mean?"
"Now that I've told you how I feel," Thunderlane sobbed, "it is clear that you don't like me back the same way." He quickly hid his face under the blanket, cheeks now dripping with tears. "I'm sorry, it's just—"
Soarin started slowly swaying them back and forth in his embrace. "It's alright, Thunderlane," he said slowly in an attempt to console the sobbing stallion. "Just let it all out..." He tried to gather his thoughts while Thunderlane wept beside him. They stopped crying after a few minutes, breathing heavily into the pillow. Soarin cautiously pulled the blanket off their head.
"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.
The sad stallion replied with a sniffle.
"You know, I never said I didn't like you... I just haven't thought about you in that way before. I wasn't even aware that you fancied stallions, much less me in particular. It's a lot to take in. Do I really mean that much to you?"
Thunderlane nodded slowly. He tried to hide his face again when Soarin peeked over his shoulder.
"There's no reason to be embarrassed," the blue pegasus whispered. "I think it was really sweet of you to pour your heart out like that. You must have been carrying that inside you for a long time." He raised his head, grinning widely at the sniffling stallion. "You look so cute when you cry."
Thunderlane could not keep himself from smiling.
"Feeling better now?" Soarin asked.
"Yeah," they said with an awkward chuckle. "I'm really glad you took it so well."
"I told you you could tell me anything," Soarin said, squeezing them softly. "You're my friend, after all."
Thunderlane hummed quietly in relief as Soarin held him in their light blue hooves. The stallions lay silently in bed for some time. After a while, their stomachs started to rumble, breaking the soothing silence.
"Well, I think it's time to get up now and go eat some breakfast," Soarin said eventually. "We can talk more about this later, but let's keep things professional for now. There's still a few more presentations we have to give today."
The two pegasi gave the first presentation of the day at noon. The next show would begin two hours later, and the last one two hours after that. Despite Thunderlane's best efforts to keep his mind on the job, he was so smitten by Soarin that he tripped on his legs and tumbled down at one point. He quickly got back up and carried on as if nothing had happened, blissfully unaware of the foals snickering in the audience.
In the end, they both had successfully fulfilled their duty to the Wonderbolts. After a light dinner, Thunderlane went to a park they had flown over the day before and sat down on a bench. Soarin had asked for some alone time before meeting him there later, which the gray pegasus had naturally allowed. Having nothing better to do, he watched the wind blow fallen leaves around while waiting for his friend.
A small voice in Thunderlane's head had started suggesting that the blue pegasus had already hightailed it and would never speak to him again. "Why is it so difficult for me to stop worrying about things?" he thought to himself, trying to ignore it. "Even if he decides he doesn't want to be with me, I don't think he would leave me hanging like that."
The sky had already been painted with shades of orange and red when Soarin's silhouette eventually appeared above the trees. After a less than graceful landing, the blue pegasus folded up his wings and sat down next to Thunderlane. The perturbed pegasus waited anxiously for Soarin to open his mouth and release him from his torment, for better or worse.
"I've thought about what you told me," they finally said. "I'm still a little bit shocked about all this, to be honest."
"Yeah, I guessed as much."
"I didn't have the slightest idea that you were so enamored with me. I mean, we've been friends for a very long time but you've managed to keep your true feelings hidden so well..."
"Actually, I only started getting those feelings after you got together with Rainbow Dash last year. I don't know, maybe I was jealous of her or something. That's when I finally accepted that I prefer stallions to mares. I've never before had such strong feelings for anypony other than you."
"How do you feel about me now?"
"You've always been one of my best friends, Soarin. I wish—" Thunderlane began to blush, his voice quieting down to barely a whisper. "I wish we could be more than that..."
Soarin looked shyly at Thunderlane and chuckled. "I have to admit, I really enjoyed sleeping with you last night. Spooning you felt strangely natural, even though it wasn't supposed to be romantic. It's been a long time since I've felt the warmth of another stallion like that. I think I could get used to it."
Thunderlane raised his hoof, eyes lighting up with excitement. "Do you mean—"
"I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'd like to find out too if we can be something more than friends. So, let's just try and see what happens. You should've told me about your crush earlier, you silly horse."
Soarin hugged Thunderlane heartily. The gray pegasus murmured quietly in his embrace as he stroked their turquoise mane with his hoof. The two ponies sat on the bench holding hooves and leaning against each other, watching the sun slowly descend below the horizon.
After the nightfall, the tired stallions returned to the hotel. They would spend another night there before going back home and reporting for Spitfire the following day. The blue pony climbed into the bed and turned off the lights. This time it was Soarin's turn to be the little spoon. Thunderlane laid down behind them and wrapped his muscular legs around their body.
"What a trip this has been," Soarin said, yawning loudly in the middle of his speech. "I'm beginning to think you reserved this room on purpose to make me fall into your clutches."
"Who says I didn't?" Thunderlane quipped as he pulled the blanket over them.
"You—you're not serious, are you?"
"Something for you to wonder about as you drift off to slumberland."
"Oh, come on..." Soarin yawned again. "Well, I guess it's time to settle down for the night."
"Would you like a little massage before that?" the gray pegasus asked as he began rubbing their light blue wings with his hoof. "You seem a little tense after all that flying."
"I don't know, I'm pretty tired. Maybe tomorro-mmhm..." Soarin started to moan, his sore wing muscles relaxing under the pressure of Thunderlane's hoof. "Ooh, you're making a compelling argument there. Mmmh..."
"Just let me do all the work," Thunderlane said quietly, pulling the blue pegasus closer with all his legs. "You can return the favor in the morning. Good night, Soarin."
"Good night, Thunderlane."
