The Winning Failure

by marley

Chapter 75

Chapter 75

The next morning Dash was roused by some noise from downstairs. Bleary eyed, she got out of bed and floated down the stairs. Frost had fallen off the sofa was thrashing around in a blanket on the floor. Dash was amused by this but felt so bad that she couldn't laugh. Abruptly, Frost's head popped up from the blanket and looked wildly around. She saw Dash and sank back to the floor.

“Oh, Celestia,” moaned Frost, “what did we do last night?”

“Just a few drinks and a little moonlight flight,” said Dash. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” said Frost, “I think so. What time is it?”

“Morning time,” said Dash. She couldn't be more accurate. The nearest clock was in the kitchen.

Dash made her way to the kitchen and found that it was just after nine o'clock. She drank some water and returned to the living room. Frost had untangled herself from the blanket and was lying on the sofa.

Dash slumped to the floor. “There's water in the kitchen,” she said, “it helps.”

“Does it help aching muscles?” asked Frost. “I hurt all over.”

The two stayed where they were for a few minutes when there was a knock at the door. Dash reluctantly got up to answer it. She opened the door to find Firewing standing on her porch. The mare had a pair of large saddle bags and a satchel and was smiling happily.

“Rainbow!” shouted Firewing, “it's great to see you again.” She skipped forward and embraced the stunned pegasus.

Dash was able to stay on her hooves and tried to return the hug but that was all she could manage. Firewing sensed something amiss.

“Are you alright?” asked Firewing.

“Um, I think so,” said Dash, “come on in. Frost and I might have had a little too much to drink last night.”

Firewing followed Dash inside and saw Frost sprawled out on the sofa. She laughed. Frost looked up and managed a weak smile and waved at her.

“I didn't expect to see you here,” said Firewing. “Is Windy here too?”

“She'll be coming in after practice tonight,” said Dash. “We weren't sure when you were going to get here. We thought you might go to Cloudsdale first.”

“I thought about it but I thought I'd rather just come straight here,” answered Firewing. “So what are we going to do first? I'll bet you have all sorts of moves you want to show me and I guess Frost is going to get me started on the team routine too. What are you waiting for? Let's get flying.”

Dash and Frost looked at Firewing and then each other. Rainbow gave a little laugh while Frost just moaned and let her head drop back down.

“Later,” said Dash, “we haven't even had breakfast yet.” This caused Frost to moan again.

“What were you drinking?” asked Firewing.

“This,” said Dash as she reached for the bottle of Barleyfields. The level seemed to be a bit lower than she remembered. “Frost? Did you drink more after I went to bed?”

“Yeah,” admitted Frost, “I had a little bit more. Just one glass though...I think.”

Dash laughed. “No wonder you're in bad shape. Do you have any idea how strong that stuff is?”

“I do now,” said Frost.

“Let me see that,” said Firewing. She read the label. “Oh my, and you two were drinking this stuff? You're nuts.”

“It's really pretty good,” said Dash. “I'm going to be their spokespony.”

“You've started doing endorsements already?” said Firewing. “I haven't even gotten a fan letter yet.”

Dash started laughing and even Frost managed to chuckle from her place on the couch. Firewing thought at first that they were laughing at her but Dash was quick to explain.

“Wait until you get to Cloudsdale,” said Dash, “you'll be lucky if you can get into your room.”

“Yeah,” said Frost, “you have sacks of mail to go through when you get back. Wait until you see some of it.” She started to laugh again.

“Really?” said Firewing in an excited voice, “that's great! I can hardly wait to see it.”

Dash and Frost were really laughing now. Firewing was perplexed and thought they were still suffering from the effects of their drinking binge.

“You think so, huh?” said Frost. “You might change your mind when you see some of the requests from fans or the offers to pose for magazines.”

“If you want to get married, I'm sure you'll have a couple of dozen offers,” added Dash.

Firewing looked shocked. “You're not serious.”

“Oh yeah,” laughed Dash. “What do you think Frost? About half of it goes straight to the trash?”

“Almost,” said Frost, “I know I refilled one mail sack out of two the first time I went through it. It wasn't quite as bad the second week.”

“Listen,” said Dash, “Spitfire told us how to deal with it and we're going to help you. At least you'll be prepared for some of the stuff you're going to see. When you're back in Cloudsdale, Spitfire can help you out if you're having any trouble.”

“We'll help you catch up,” offered Frost. “Once you can deal with it daily, it's not so bad. You'll have three weeks of mail to go though so it's going to take a while. Some of it can be fun if you don't take it too seriously.”

“Come on,” said Dash, “Let's find you a place to sleep. Frost got my spare room but I thought you could have the little room off the balcony. Windy can have the turret. You can share a room with me or Frost if you'd rather do thatl.”

“I'm sure the balcony room will be fine,” said Firewing, “besides, you snore.”

“Do not,” said Dash.

“Do to,” said Frost. “I heard you all the way down here last night.”

Firewing laughed. “Told ya,” she said.

“Maybe you'd rather sleep on the balcony,” said Dash. “Come on, I'll show you the room. You get yourself together,” she said to Frost. “We're going to Sugarcube Corner for some breakfast.”

“I'll pass,” said Frost. “I'll be okay here. Where's the bathroom again?”

“Upstairs, center door,” replied Dash. “Come with us, a cup of tea will do you good.”

Frost said nothing but got up and headed for the stairs. Dash led Firewing to a doorway that accessed the back of the house. There was a small, brightly lit room with a door that opened onto a balcony. Dash had not used the room often herself, preferring the balcony itself for relaxation. There were some shelves that she had used for storage but were now empty, their contents packed away in boxes.

“This is a lovely room, Dashie,” said Firewing, “but it doesn't look like you use it much. In fact, if you don't mind me saying so, your whole house seems rather empty compared to the last time I was here.”

“Yeah, it does,” answered Rainbow Dash. Though she was excited about her new house, she still held a lot of affection for the home she would be leaving. She told Firewing about having to move and her new house.

Firewing was stunned at the news and insisted on seeing the site of the proposed home as soon as possible. To satisfy her, Dash showed her some of the drawings.

“Rainbow, this isn't a house, it's a mansion,” said Firewing. “When do you think it will be ready?”

“In a couple of weeks,” said Dash. “Charm, the lead architect, should be coming out this week to look at the site. I'll have to get some bits together for her to take along back and even more for Long Flight, he's doing the construction. I got a great deal from Las Pegasus Quality Clouds. I'm even getting a fireplace.”

“Cool,” said Firewing, “I can't wait to see it. Ready for some breakfast?”

“Yeah,” said Dash, “I'm getting hungry. Let's see if Frost is going to join us.”

They returned to the living room and found a still disheveled Frost standing in the doorway looking out at the morning. She turned to them as they entered the living room.

“I guess I'll come along,” she said, “but lets fly a little first so I can shake off some of these cobwebs.”

“Okay,” said Dash, “I'll take you out to where I'm building my new home. It's not far.”

The trio flew towards Whitetail Wood with Dash in the lead. The cool morning air did wonders to revive Rainbow Dash and Frost. After a brief stay at the site, they flew to Sugarcube Corner.

“I was wondering if you were coming for breakfast!” said Pinkie Pie. “Firewing! When did you get here? And you must be Frost. Pleased to meet you. I have some special muffins that I saved for you but I wasn't expecting three ponies. Maybe there's something else you might like?”

“I think the muffins will do,” said Rainbow Dash. “Frost, this is Pinkie Pie, she keeps the whole town smiling. She'll be throwing us a party tomorrow out at Applejack's place.”

“Nice to meet you Pinkie,” said Frost, “I guess Dash told you all about me.”

“Probably not all about you,” said Pinkie Pie, “but I'm sure we'll be friends in no time.”

“Sure,” said Frost, “could we get some tea to go with the muffins please?”

“Coming right up!” said Pinkie. “Go find a seat and I'll bring everything right over.”

The three pegasi found a seat and began to talk. Firewing had been through a week of celebrations. Friends and family, her flight club, her school and the local Manehatten pegasi all had gatherings in her honor. Frost and Rainbow Dash told her of their progress in training and their adventures in Cloudsdale.

“Wow,” said Firewing, “I hadn't even thought about some of the things you two have been through. I guess I'll have to watch my step when I'm out in public. I still can't wait to go through my mail though. I had no idea we could get paid so much for endorsements.”

“You can get signed up for one before we leave Ponyville,” said Rainbow. “We're going to do a calendar for Rarity. It'll be just us four new Wonderbolts modeling Rarity's outfits and we'll split the profits between us and Rarity and then some will be donated to a education fund for the Wonderbolts. How does that sound?”

“It sounds great!” exclaimed Firewing. “Who's idea was that?”

“Sort of Rarity's and sort of mine,” said Rainbow. "The education fund part was Spitfire's idea, I guess." She went on to tell Firewing the story of her conflict with Cloudsdale Construction and the bad discount offer.

“How much do you think we'll make?” asked Firewing.

“Hard to say,” said Rainbow Dash, “I did a little figuring and I think we should at least make about a thousand each. That's a low end figure, it might be more.”

“I'll wait and see,” said Frost, “I don't trust your math.”

“I figure we'll sell about four thousand copies,” said Dash. “At five bits each that's twenty thousand bits. Of course that doesn't include the cost of the photographer or the printing or getting the calendars to the shops. Then you have the shop owner's cut. There's the twenty percent that goes to the Wonderbolt's fund. We'll be lucky to be able to split ten thousand five ways, and it might be less but I think we should all get at least a thousand each.”

“Sounds pretty close to me,” said Firewing.

“Yeah,” admitted Frost, “you must have learned something in school after all.”

“I had to learn more once I got the job as lead weather pony,” said Dash. “I had to do all the budget requests, payroll and stuff like that. Then there were the weather figures too, how much rainfall, dew points, wind velocity... it's all numbers.”

“After you're done eating, why don't we go see Rarity?” suggested Firewing.

“Sure,” said Dash, “she wants to meet Frost anyway.”

The three mares finished eating their breakfast and drank their tea. Rainbow Dash ate most of the muffins since Firewing had already eaten on the train and Frost wasn't feeling very hungry. They said goodbye to Pinkie Pie and made their way on hoof to Carousel Boutique.

Author's Note:

And Firewing has returned. Long time no see Firewing. One more Wonderbolt and the gangs all here. Dash doing math might be a little out of canon but if she runs the weather team she must have some experience with it. I sucked at math in school but once I was out and got a job I got pretty good at it. I can do algebra in my head now and some geometry.

Comments

[Dashie98]

This story needs ALOT of recognition

[marley]

4475487 Thanks very much. Even though I don't have a lot of readers I do appreciate all of you. I never intended it to get this big. I was told in a forum that I should have sex in it. I think I might redo the description box to read 'contains massive amounts of demented sex' just to watch the view count jump.

[Dashie98]

4478808 the sad thing is that would probably work xD