//------------------------------// // 7. My Weekend Trip // Story: Three of Hearts // by Anzel //------------------------------// To my dismay I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Sunny over the course of the week. She had been out traveling with Princess Celestia to see that Sparkles pony. As a result I spent the whole week alone with Mr. Clockerson. It was just after lunch on Friday and I was glaring up at him. He now had a hat, googly eyes, a mustache, and a tie. “I’m so sick of you.” He stared down disapprovingly at me. My helmet was on my desk. I was trying to let my mane rest so that it would at least be somewhat together for Soarin. Purple magic surrounded the helmet and set it back on my head… gently. I was really starting to dislike my helmet. Of course no sooner had I put it on then the lieutenant poked his head in. Lucky break, Azurite! I stood to attention. “Sir.” “Hello Azurite, excited for the weekend?” “Yes, sir! I’m going to the Wonderbolts’ show in Manehatten!” The lieutenant came fully into my office. “Well now, that does sound exciting. No doubt Vice Commander Soarin got some tickets for you?” “Yes, sir.” He didn’t need to know that they were not exactly a result of me doing the Wonderbolt’s paperwork. “Very good, then. Come see me Monday morning. We’re going to have a whole herd of new ponies to process in the near future. I want to discuss strategy.” “I’ll be there, sir!” He nodded and turned to go but his eyes slowly drifted up to my very oddly decorated clock. “He is very eccentric, sir,” I said. “I see that… I’m going to look into getting you an officemate. Have a good weekend, Azurite.” “You too, sir!” An officemate could be fun. Of course having another pony in the room meant minding my manners more and talking to Mr. Clockerson less. “I hope she’s nice!” I told Mr. Clockerson. Going through the stack of papers on my desk took an hour or so and that put me even closer to the end of the day. “I’d best go primp a little.” Mr. Clockerson seemed indifferent to the idea and that was good enough for me. I took off for the filly’s room and set my helmet in the next sink over. The Azurite in the mirror looked decent enough, even with her mane slightly crushed. She was also really smiling. We took a few moments to wash our faces, primp our manes, and apply a little eye makeup. Just a hint for some additional color. “Alright, Mirror Azurite! We’re set. Good luck on your date!” I turned from the mirror and put my helmet on. “You, too,” I heard her say. That froze me up and then I shook my head. Too much imagination. Once I was back at my desk I settled in for the final stretch. Any minute Soarin would show up and the weekend would start. My eyes flicked to the small bag I’d packed and hidden under my desk. I’d never been on an overnight trip with a stallion. We’d be spending a lot of time together. Oh Celestia… we’d be spending A LOT of time together. What if he discovered he doesn’t like me? Doubt started to wiggle its way into my mind. A weekend trip as a second date? What was I thinking! I should cancel. What would I tell him? My fish was sick. My plants were sick. My plants ate my fish. “Hi Azurite,” Soarin said. “Fish plants!” I exclaimed in surprise. “What?” “My plants ate my fish and then got sick?” Soarin looked thoroughly confused. “Uh… I’m sorry? Are you ready to go?” No! “Yes.” What? No! Soarin smiled at me and I melted a bit. “Okay. Well why don’t you lock up? I’ll be right out here.” “Okay.” Okay… okay… Step one, remove armor. Check. Step two, get overnight bag. Check. Step three, lock office. Check. Step four, tell Soarin you can’t go. “Are you going to fly me there?” Azurite, you disobedient filly! The stallion laughed. “I’m good but I’m not that good. For big shows like this we take the train. All of our gear travels that way, too. We wouldn’t want to wear ourselves out the night before a show right?” “Right! To the train then?” I asked. “Yup!” ♥♥♥ Did you know that the Wonderbolts have their own train cars? I didn’t! There are at least three that they travel in when they’re on tour. It is also important to note that these cars aren’t the sort regular ponies travel in, either. They’re custom built! One of the cars had a small exercise area and a lounge. The next had a kitchen, dining room, and sitting area. The final one was all bedrooms and each member of the team had their own private one. It was like being a rock star and I was one of them. At least temporarily. Soarin and I were seated together in the second car playing some sort of card game that was above my head. He didn’t seem to mind though. Spitfire was laying on a couch nearby looking over my shoulder. Slowly I levitated a card and she said, “Not that one.” Down it went into my hooves. Next card, “Nope.” Gah! Finally a third. She didn’t say anything so I played it. Soarin set his own card over mine. Even though I didn’t get the game I had learned enough to know he had just beaten that card. There was a giggle behind me. “Whose side are you on?” I asked. “His, of course! He’s my teammate,” Spitfire teased warmly. “Oh… well that makes sense.” Soarin sat quietly and then picked up a pencil and paper. “Well, you now owe six kisses, twelve hugs, and a nuzzle.” “High stakes, I see.” Spitfire laughed. From further down the train car there was an exaggerated, audible sigh. Fleetfoot came over to us and asked, “How come Soarin gets to have his little groupie on the train?” “I invited her,” he replied. “If you invite somepony I won’t complain.” “If I invite somepony it will be SOMEPONY. Not just a tagalong.” What a bi… bitter pony! I dropped my cards and stood up. “Ease up there, short stack,” Spitfire said as she rolled off the couch and got between Fleetfoot and me. “You know the rules. We’re all allowed guests. Azurite has been a perfectly polite one, too. There are plenty of other places to be if you don’t want to see her.” “Now you and Soarin need to get your tails glued on straight and soon,” she continued. “I’m a little sick of this snippy behavior. I was an idiot to let you two have your thing, so I’m not going to make the same mistake twice. Clear it up immediately or I’m shipping one of the two of you to Bravo Flight and… since Soarin seems to be reasonable about this situation, that is looking like you.” Fleetfoot’s mouth dropped open and she sputtered a bit. “Hmmph!” was what she managed before tossing her mane and stalking off. “Wow… thanks, captain.” Soarin said, looking equally in shock. I just did my best to make myself look small and not part of the conversation. “Don’t thank me. I’m serious. You’ve been good but it isn’t all one-sided. Don’t think I won’t ship you off if it is necessary. Clean the mess up. Clear?” “Crystal clear. ma’am!” he said. “Azurite, would you like to come with me to play darts in the lounge?” Spitfire asked me. I use the term ‘ask’ but it was really more like an order. After a brief glance at Soarin I responded, “Yes, ma’am!” Then off we went. ♥♥♥ “Okay, so you’ll be fine here?” Soarin asked me. Slowly I turned a little circle in the gigantic mega-suite that we had been given in Manehatten. It had a big bedroom with only one bed… squee!… a living room, a kitchen, and the most opulent bathroom I’d ever seen outside of magazines. It was bigger than my apartment. “I’ll be fine! If you come back tonight and I’m not here just assume I got lost in the orchard. Have a good practice!” “What orchard?” he asked. Oh Soarin… “I’m being silly… because you know… the room size.” Soarin stared a moment. “Oh! Because you’re small.” Close enough! “Yup. Have a good practice?” “You bet!” He leaned in and offered me a light peck on the lips. “You owe me five more.” Happily my headed bobbed in agreement and then I pushed him out the door. He was already running behind and I didn’t want him in trouble because of me… plus I was going to avail myself of the ridiculously large tub the second the door closed. One gleeful trot later I was in the bathroom with the tub filling. “Complimentary lavender bubble bath? Why yes, Azurite, thank you!” I tipped some of that in. “Towel warmer for when you get out? Of course, Azurite!” When everything was just right I hopped into the tub and nestled down into the water. It was heavenly. If being with Soarin meant getting to live like this than maybe I should… oh Celestia. Was I a groupie? Was I into Soarin because he was famous? Purple magic yanked the plug out of the tub before it sought out non-warm towels. I wrapped myself in one and peered in the mirror. “We’re not doing this for the perks, are we?” Mirror Azurite shook her head no. She was always the more reasonable of the two of us and until recently we had no idea that fame meant this sort of thing. Still… I had better tone it down a bit and not get used to all of the super nice amenities. Quickly I dried off, hung my towel, and put on the complimentary robe that was clearly meant for Soarin. It swallowed me whole and was wonderfully soft. While trotting out to the living room my hoof caught in the dragging robe and I pitched forward. With an undignified squeal I landed face first on the carpet. Oww… My nose hurt but after a quick check I was otherwise unscathed. “Now… what does a non-groupie pony do in an extravagant room while waiting?” There was a magazine rack and I went over to look through them. “Oh, Mares Monthly! That sounds fancy.” Peering at the cover I read aloud, “Twelve surprising ways to please your stallion in the hay.” Ponies could put that on magazine covers? Oh well. “Sold!” ♥♥♥ Soarin was late. Way later than I imagined he would have been. Thankfully I had the magazines to keep me entertained. Mares Monthly had almost been a bust. Most of the tips were so weird I could never have even considered trying them. Plus where was I going to get a hot tomato? I’d nearly set the thing aside but there was a section of stories near the back. One of them was a serial titled The Mare’s Temptation and I just had to keep reading it. A prince and a commoner having a love affair right under the nose of the elite? I was on my third time through the snippet when the door opened. Soarin walked in looking extremely beat. “Azurite?” he called, looking right at where I was nestled in the robe. “Uh… you didn’t actually get lost did you?” Hopping up and shaking my head I yipped, “No! I’m right here.” The robe was all consuming and I had to peer out from the collar. The stallion chuckled and came over to me. He pulled the garment back. “Oh, good. I was worried. Sorry I’m so late. Training is normally like that. Especially the night before a big show. I am beat. What did you have for dinner?” “Dinner? No, I waited.” “Oh… oops. We ate. You know, to keep going. You should order room service.” He then looked around. “Were you just sitting here the whole time? The room doesn’t even look touched.” “I didn’t want to mess it up, so I’ve been here reading the magazines.” Soarin titled his head. “Seriously? But there are so many things to do in the hotel.” “I’m not a groupie. I’m not here for all of the fancy stuff,” I said firmly. With a sigh he sat down in front of me and rubbed my ear with a hoof. That sent shivers down my neck. “Don’t listen to Fleetfoot. I know you’re not after my fame or bits. That doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from them a little when you’re alone, though. Tomorrow, before the show, do something fun.” “Okay.” Time to work off another smooch. He met me halfway and it took all of my willpower not to pull back. Soarin reeked of sweat. Big musky stallion sweat which is very different from mare sweat. A quick little kiss later I offered, “How about a hot bath?” “Oh, yes, please. I’m exhausted.” He flopped onto the floor and I thanked Celestia. Sleeping with a sweaty stallion didn’t seem like fun. Once in the bathroom I started the tub on hot again. Then I ‘accidentally’ poured some of the lavender bubble bath into the water… twice. Everything would be just right again. “Your bath awaits my winged companion!” “Thank you.” He walked slowly into the room and settled into the tub with a delighted sigh. “This is exactly what I needed.” My rump settled to the edge of the tub and I dangled my hind legs into the water with Soarin between them. Reaching down I softly rubbed his head. “You look sore.” “You better believe it. We train hard… just not hard enough to risk injury. You have to understand, ponies expect us to be perfect. We’re the best flyers in all of Equestria. We don’t have any room for error. It is hard on the mind and body. That is why…” He motioned at the extravagant bathroom. “...all of this. Work hard, play hard, I guess.” “I never imagined…” Slowly I pushed his head down and underwater to get his mane wet. Then it was time to shampoo it. “Are you sure it is right for you?” “Without a doubt! I may look all exhausted right now but I can’t imagine doing anything else. While I’m young and my body is able I’m going to give it my all. When I can’t I’ll hang up the goggles and go train the next generation.” “As long as you’re happy,” I replied while washing the sweat out of his mane. It was easier to work with than glitter. “What about you?” Scrub, scrub, scrub. Celestia, why do stallions smell so much more? “What about me what?” “What is your career plan? Do you want to be like… pony relations general?” I giggled. Pony relations general? There was no such thing. “Well… I love my job even if I’m new to it. I’ll probably go career like you. Chief Warrant Officer Azurite has a very good ring to it.” Soarin dunked suddenly and then stood up, water going everywhere. It took all of my limited coordination not to fall over backwards. “You’d make a great chief. Anyway, I’m good now. Ready for bed?” Bed… yes, I was. “Uh huh!” I floated a towel over to him and he wrapped himself up. We took a few steps out of the bathroom and towards the bedroom. Then he stopped. “Hey Azurite, listen. I realize what it meant when you stopped me from saying I’d be good.” He did? Goody! “But…” No! No but! “And this is in no way related to you. I’m exhausted. Would you be upset if we just went to sleep?” Oh, was that all? “You look like you can barely stand. I think we can let this one slide… as long as you at least cuddle a little.” “I can cuddle. Come on, let’s hit the hay.” “Bed!” I corrected quickly. I didn’t want to hear any more about hay thanks to Mares Monthly. Soarin looked at me funny and then just laughed. ♥ 7 ♥