Bleached Blondes Beach Bond

by Cryosite

Sky Room Dinner

“Wow, you still look really flushed. Want me to order another milkshake?” Diamond Tiara sat across from Apple Bloom in a booth meant for four, in one of the many cafes lining Mainstreet. An awning protected them from the afternoon sun shining through the wide street-facing window, and they watched ponies milling about past them, each lost in his or her own little world on the other side of a thin pane of glass.

Apple Bloom looked into her half-empty glass and shook her head. “Don’t wanna spoil dinner. I think I’m calmin’ down anyway.”

‘Ready to talk about what happened? You two were quiet in there so I didn’t really hear anything. I figured you knew other ponies were coming in and out of the nearby changing stalls and didn’t want to draw attention.”

She tried to look at Diamond Tiara, and found it hard to meet her eyes. “I think she was more aware of where we were than I was.”

Diamond Tiara raised one eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Well, at first I thought I was just lettin’ her get to me a little like you suggested. She got to me a whole lot as you can tell. I think if she had wanted to have her way with me, I would have let her.” She took another long pull of her milkshake, then shuddered a little. “I was eggin’ her on by the end before she called it off.”

“Oh, wow. So, did anything happen?” Diamond Tiara leaned over the table, her chest threatening to tip her milkshake over.

“No. I mean, she was touching me, but not like that. Not yet anyway.”

“Well, some touching was to be expected. We both decided that was OK before we started this, right?”

“We did agree, yeah.” She took another long drink at her milkshake, then stared into the table. “But she did kiss me.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? Just ‘Oh?’ She kissed me.” Apple Bloom looked up finally into Diamond Tiara’s eyes, finding her gaze intent. “We kissed. And I didn’t fight it or nothin’. I was in such a mood that I was enjoyin’ it like I was kissin’ you.”

“Hey. It’s alright.” Diamond Tiara reached across the table to touch her shoulder.

“It ain’t alright. I cheated on you, and I’m a horrible girlfriend now.” Apple Bloom flinched at her girlfriend’s touch, but didn’t pull away.

“Hey, c’mere.” Diamond Tiara patted the space next to her on the bench seat, then extended her hooves to invite Apple Bloom into a hug. “You’re not horrible, and you didn’t cheat. We were kinda playing with fire, and I’m not mad things got hotter than we expected, alright?”

Apple Bloom shied away from Diamond Tiara’s offered embrace and remained on her own side of the table. “You ain’t jealous and thinkin’ of leaving me behind in this place to wallow around in my uncontrollable lust?”

Diamond Tiara got out of her seat and slid in next to her. “Apple Bloom—”

“Pear Blossom. I ain’t fit to even have my own name right now.”

“Apple Bloom, you’re not making sense. Even if I were mad and stormed off back home, you know full well you could make it back on your own just fine.” She wrapped her forelegs around Apple Bloom and squeezed her close to her chest, ignoring her protests. The two silently sat for awhile before Apple Bloom gently pulled away and wiped her cheek dry. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to help keep you safe, but you are overreacting a bit to this.”

“Thanks, Dee. I guess I am still kinda worked up. Even if you don’t think I’m a cheat, I am a thief now.” She tapped the magenta dress, neatly folded up on the table beside them.

“She wrote on it, then gave it to you. As far as I can tell, she bought it. It’s on her to square it away with her workplace. You’re not a thief either.”

“I’m trying to have some self-loathin’ here. You’re making it right hard, you know that?”

“Harder than Gregory?”

Apple Bloom stared at Diamond Tiara then burst out laughing. The other patrons of the small cafe turned to glare at them, but she paid them no heed and laughed until she was out of breath. “We really have been playin’ with fire this whole trip, ain’t we? First we get cooked by the sun, then we jump into the local noble houses frying pan, and now even some retail workers are brandin’ our flanks.”

“They want to do something to our flanks alright. At least you landed a cutie. Wish I could have watched her get you worked up. I bet you two looked hot kissing.”

“I wouldn’t know, I didn’t have that good of a view. I spent a good bit of the time with my eyes closed even.” Apple Bloom slurped at her straw, then savored the creamy flavor.

“You didn’t get a good look at her? Neither her vest nor that tail left much to the imagination.”

“I got a few eyefulls, for sure.” Apple Bloom relaxed into the back-padding of the booth and stared up towards the ceiling. “She ain’t har—difficult to look at. But it weren’t her looks that got me going so hot.”

Diamond Tiara leaned on her shoulder, idly running a hoof through her mane at shoulder level. “What was it then?”

“When I went into that changing room, I really didn’t know what I was doin’. Never did figure it out to be honest. I was trying to tease her, but she knew what she was doin’. At first just gettin’ me dressed, and bein’ professional about it. When she finally let slip that she was hot too, she uh.” Apple Bloom lowered her voice and leaned close, realizing they might be overheard talking about delicate matters. “She took charge. It reminded me of how you were with me at the start. Like you asked about before, you could have made me do all sorts of things and I woulda gone along with it. Felt like that.”

Diamond Tiara frowned. “That could lead to some bad situations if we’re not careful.”

“Yeah. It’s kinda scary to think about. You said there were ponies in earshot. She kept whisperin’ anything unprofessional she had to say to me. If she’d been keen to just go at it with me, I’m sure we’d have been found out. More than just embarrassin’, prolly have the guards deal with us for public indecency. She’d lose her job probably, and all sorts of trouble. There I was tryin’ to tempt her into it.”

“Yeah, we may be away from home, but there are some consequences that would follow us back. We already saw how well our disguises stood up to ponies with the means and interest in who we really are to look through them. I think we should stop playing our game.”

“Agreed. It sure was fun though, and we did make a lot of memories we never woulda made otherwise. Even if we’re done playing the game though, we still have a problem.”

“What’s that?”

“I know we ain’t obligated to give tail to anyone we met today, but it don’t seem right to just ignore Cloud Weaver completely. At least Gregory has a story to brag about to his friends like you said. Cloud Weaver can’t do that or she might lose her job. She seemed pretty keen on me showin’ up to her place in a few hours too. I didn’t quite have the sense to leave it vague. I feel I owe her a proper no at least.”

“Seems simple enough. We can just show up at the right time, and explain it to her.”

“I get the feelin’ that showing up to her doorstep with my girlfriend and saying, “sorry, we can’t bang, I forgot about my girlfriend here,” is just asking for a row. At least if we run away from the problem she’ll just be disappointed, not mad as a hornet.”

Diamond Tiara rested her chin on one hoof. “You probably don’t want to go alone.”

“You’re right about that. I dunno if I trust myself alone to say no. And it sure ain’t safe to say yes to someone I hardly know.”

“Running away seems like a bad end and confronting her alone is too risky. I think we need to confront her together.” She tapped her chin a few times. “You said she had a reasonably cool head and was mindful of possible damage to her reputation. If we get her away from her home and have the confrontation somewhere public, that should keep her from exploding. Lets invite her to dinner with us and deal with it head on.”

“Still seems like we’ve signed ourselves up for some bad times. You’re right that we should take responsibility for this and that does seem like the best way to do it.”

“Hey, we could turn this into a good time.” Diamond Tiara’s eyes lit up and she placed her hooves flat on the table. “We spent most of today doing things you thought would be a bad idea, and most of them turned out pretty good anyway, right?”

Apple Bloom finished off the last of her milkshake and mulled over Diamond Tiara’s words. There had been a few uncomfortable moments, but thinking on their hooves had led them to some pretty enjoyable outcomes overall. Maybe she was being a pessimist again. “Alright. Lets try to make this right, not just goin’ for the road with the fewest bumps and holes.”

“Let’s go to her place before she gets off work and leave her a note.” Diamond Tiara glanced over at the dress, though the address written in marker wasn’t visible. “No reason not to do that right now in fact. My dress won’t be delivered before five. Cloud Weaver won’t get her invitation before five. Dinner's at seven. So we have several hours to kill after we deliver the invitation.”

“So we just write her a note, slip it under her door, and everything is fine until dinner? Then we just talk it over like adults and apologize? This seems underwhelmingly simple. I expected this to involve a lot more fretting and worrying, some kind of complicated scheme, a spooky witch or two, and somehow it would all work out in the end.”

“Yup.” Diamond Tiara giggled playfully. “It’s that simple. We should probably be back at the hotel around six if we want time to get ready. So what do you want to do until then?”

“Huh. Well, anypony we still need to get gifts for?” Apple Bloom found herself catching Diamond Tiara’s infectious good mood and smiling.

“We got a lot of those crab stones from Girard, and Guenther said he’d make four extra nice ones for you to give to Feather Bangs and his girlfriends.”

“I think he’ll like’m. Some of the stuff on the walls of the Open Book was Guenther’s work, I think he’s got some real talent. That surfboard looked really convincing.”

“That one was real. While you were chatting with Girard, Guenther told me the story to that board. Girard got attacked by a shark as a fledgling, and that’s why he doesn’t surf. Instead he takes his revenge by cooking whatever he can catch from the sea.”

“Oh. Well, we got Silver Spoon that tea set. Didn’t cost us a single bit, but I can’t really say we got it for free.” She grimaced and poked at her empty glass. “Kinda surprised they still ain’t tried to involve us in some kinda publicity stunt and claim it was an accident or somethin’.”

“I think we’ve been managing to nearly avoid making our own accidental publicity incident.”

“Yeah, but our way was fun.” Apple Bloom’s grin returned.

“Speaking of a fun incident waiting to happen, we have enough glowgems ordered to fill your barn, while we were in Twilight Sparkle Square.” Diamond Tiara bumped shoulders with her.

“That is gonna be fun when those arrive. I hope it arrives at night. I’m both looking forward to and horrified trying to imagine what Pinkie Pie will do when we give her half of them. Maybe we’ll finally surprise her for a change though.”

“Be prepared to party all night. We should have coffee available.”

“Good idea. We can figure out what to do with the rest then. They seem like such a great gift for so many ponies, especially if Pinkie Pie does something crazy with hers. Everyone will be interested in them, it almost feels dishonest.”

“Nothing dishonest about it, we’re just playing the gift market. Drive up interest and demand, then supply that demand. Everypony gets what they want and goes home happy.” Diamond Tiara pushed her unfinished milkshake in front of Apple Bloom.

“Guess you’re right.” She smiled at Diamond Tiara, then went to work finishing off her chocolate shake. “If we end up with too many spares, I’m sure Spike will eat’m.”

“Sounds settled then. Other than the fact that it leaves us with nothing to do until six.”

Apple Bloom finished once again with an extended slurp. “We could go see Celestia’s statue and look at the buildings in that area. We’re all shopped out and done with our game. Just the two of us sight-seein’ together sounds nice.”

“That does sound nice.” Diamond Tiara rummaged through her saddlebags for something appropriate to write on. “Alright, what should we say in the invitation?”

---

“So, like, I am still trying to figure out if this is some kinda prank or something.” Cloud Weaver approached their table, led by their waiter. She was wearing a tiny black dress that managed to cover just enough to bring attention to what wasn’t covered. “Who’s this?”

Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara stood to greet her. “Cloud Weaver, this is my girlfriend, Silver Diadem. This ain’t no prank, we’d like you to have dinner with us.”

“Pleased to meet you, Cloud Weaver. Do join us?”

Cloud Weaver sat with their waiter’s assistance, then eyed Diamond Tiara warily. “I worked for Silver Diadem for, like, two months. Total nag by the way.” She made a pronounced gagging sound. “You look nothing like her.” She looked around, wide-eyed as she took in the setting. “Wow. This place is way cooler on the inside than I imagined it would be.”

Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom exchanged worried looks at part of their cover being blown right from the beginning. Cloud Weaver’s not dwelling on it or challenging further was encouraging though.

“Hope you brought your appetite. We’ve been lookin’ forward to this all day.” Apple Bloom picked up her menu and cracked it open with cheerful enthusiasm.

“I’ve never been here because this is way more than I could ever afford.” Cloud Weaver browsed her own menu with a frown of concentration, then dropped it to the table and looked up at them with wide eyes. “12 bits for a salad!?”

Diamond Tiara smiled smugly over her menu at Cloud Weaver. “Order anything you like. Our treat.”

Apple Bloom excitedly pointed to an item and showed it to Diamond Tiara. “They have crystal corn on the cob! You can’t get that from the empire until Autumn! And crystal berry mash too! We ain’t been by there in years. I’m getting this here crystal corn panzanella.”

“Very good, madam.”

“Anything, huh?” She flipped through several pages, her eyes darting to and fro. “They have chili relleno? I’ve had that on the Boardwalk for a fraction of this.”

“I can assure you, Miss Weaver, our chili relleno will exceed your expectations. Our cheeses have been aged under optimal conditions to perfection, and our chef’s family mole recipe has been honed over a dozen generations. We apologize ahead of time for ruining any future meals on the Boardwalk after you’ve had ours.”

Cloud Weaver stared at the menu for a moment longer. “Alright, I’ll try it.”

“I’ll start with the baby beet salad and creamy onion soup.” Diamond Tiara set her menu down in front of her. “Then finish with the truffle and parmesan ravioli.”

“An excellent choice, Miss Rich.”

“Oh, right. Soup and salad.” Apple Bloom flipped through her menu again. “Corn and ginger and seasonal garden for me.”

“Those will pair nicely with the panzanella, madam. Good eye.” He turned his attention back to Cloud Weaver. “Would you permit me to make a suggestion for your antipasto, Miss Weaver?”

She looked up at him over her menu. “Sure.”

“Posole would pair well with your dish for the regional spice, while the heirloom caprese would add to the variety of cheese in your meal and round out the colors with the tomatoes.”

“I dunno what that means, but I’ll go with it anyway.”

“You won’t be disappointed, miss.” He turned to Apple Bloom. “Have you selected a beverage to go with your dinner, madam? I can offer my recommendation if you like.”

Diamond Tiara pulled out the beverage insert, then looked it over. “They have a crystal wine that would pair well with your dish, App—Pear Blossom. ‘-03? I still can’t get over how old their wines are.” She passed the list over to Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom scrutinized the list intently. “You know they use the sealing date for that, but it ain’t that old the way it counts ‘cause they skipped a whole lotta years. Lets them ask a higher price for bein’ rare, but it’s only really aged ten years or so. More of a collector’s item than a beverage. Too few of them around to really get a feel of how they age either. Manehattan puts out a cabernet sauvignon that ages real good, and that ‘877 was a good, wet year. The local wines might be young, but they have a reputation for a fruity, spunky sort of taste that would work well for tonight.”

“Hmmm. Good point. What do you think, Cloud Weaver?”

“I understood maybe half of that. It sounds like you know what you’re talking about, so I’ll just go with what you pick.” She folded her menu closed and handed it to the waiter. “I’m not even going to look at that part of the menu, because if I see how much that costs, I am totally not going to be able to taste my food. You win, ‘Silver Diadem,’ I’m impressed.”

“You already know that isn’t my real name. You may as well call me Diamond Tiara.” She handed her menu to the waiter. “We’ve made our selection. The Manehattan ‘887 will do nicely. Feeling like a more relaxing tone with dinner.”

“I’ve had the privilege of sampling some of that year, and it would have been my recommendation. I will place your orders with the kitchen, and return with your bottle and salads. Soups will be served after, then your main course.” He paused a moment. “If there is nothing else you wish, madam?”

“Nah, we’re good.”

“I will inquire about dessert after you have finished your meal.” He departed with a bow.

“So, what is this all about if it isn’t, like, some kind of prank?” Cloud Weaver eyed Diamond Tiara cautiously. “Also, I have no idea why it is so popular with you tourists to assume fake names when you come to Silver Cove.”

Apple Bloom grimaced, so Diamond Tiara took the opportunity to answer. “She might have given you the impression there would be a certain kind of fun to be had tonight, but had second thoughts.”

Cloud Weaver leveled her gaze on Apple Bloom, appraising her silently for a few moments. “You seemed real eager back at my work. Dude, if we had been caught I woulda been canned in a heartbeat for sure.”

Apple Bloom looked to Diamond Tiara for support. A nod towards Cloud Weaver was her only guidance. “We realized that when we talked it over after. When I was thinkin’ with a cooler head.” She shifted her gaze from Diamond Tiara to Cloud Weaver. “Again, I’m sorry for putting you in that position.”

“No worries.” Cloud Weaver grinned and rested her cheek on one hoof, elbow on the table in front of her. “You did have me wanting to pin you to my bed, but if everypony turned me down with a fancy dinner like this, I think I might risk my job more often.”

“You don’t seem especially put out by all this. I was worried you might be pretty miserable.”

“So, like, we get a lot of tourists every summer. You guys show up, looking pretty, looking for fast fun, then leave never to be seen again. When you grow up in Silver Cove, you learn to move in hard and fast if you want to have some of that fun, and let go just as fast.”

Their waiter returned and unobtrusively placed each mare’s salad before her, then distributed wine glasses to each mare. He held the bottle aloft for Apple Bloom to inspect, then uncorked it at her nod and poured for each of them, then left it behind in a bucket of ice beside their table.

“Here we thought we were being clever. That describes us all day today pretty accurately.” Diamond Tiara poked into her salad, paying it little heed as she nibbled at it while directing most of her attention on Cloud Weaver.

Apple Bloom dug into her salad, crunching away merrily. “That is kinda uncanny. Back home everypony knows everypony for generations. My family and Diamond Tiara’s go back as long as our town has been around. We grew up goin’ to the same school as fillies.”

“Huh. For something with a fancy name, this is pretty simple.” She bit into a stack of tomato, mozzarella, and basil, shrugged, then washed it down with a sip of wine. “I love that side of history. Like, that sense of personal story and permanence. Even here in Silver Cove we have that kinda story too. Every foal growing up here learns about Feather Cove and Silver Vein, and how the Duke of Los Pegasus granted them this land. On account of them finding silver mines and stuff. Hearing about how they used to live back then fascinates me.

“The ones alive today in those families, like Silver Diadem, act like they personally broke the land we walk on. Of course, if you remind them they didn’t, they’ll make your life miserable for real. I had a real hard time getting back to work after she let me go. Spiteful nag.”

“You make the fast and loose style of Silver Cove sound like a necessity, and that you long for something more stable.”

“It can be hard to climb up around here if you’re not in one of the families. I’m saving my bits to attend university in Manehattan. I love to weave fabrics, and think I can get in with one of the big design firms. I just need to make my resume more impressive, and a degree would help me stand out from the others.” Cloud Weaver managed to work bites of her salad in between her words, and quickly approached an empty plate. “ Mmm. This stuff is good, even if it is simple. Whatever. My real dream is to work with somepony like Lily Lace. Have you heard of her? She’s pretty big in Los Pegasus.”

Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara shared a smile. ‘We’ve heard of her.” As Apple Bloom cleaned off her plate, their waiter appeared as if by magic and placed a steaming bowl before each of them.

Diamond Tiara turned and gave Cloud Weaver a sly grin while handing her plate to the waiter, who disappeared wordlessly. “Even met her in person.”

Cloud Weaver spread her wings excitedly and put her front hooves on the table, rattling their soup bowls slightly. “Oh my gosh! Really? I am so jelly you guys know Lily lace.” Noticing she was drawing attention from other tables, she blushed and settled back into her seat. Once conversations resumed around them and they returned to being ignored, she leaned forward and whispered, “Y’know, I feel like we know each other a lot better now too. Maybe well enough to get that dress onto my bedroom floor like we planned, Pear Blossom?”

Apple Bloom sputtered on a mouthful of soup, then coughed out, “Uh, dancing!”

Diamond Tiara swooped in to her rescue. “What she means is that we plan to go dancing after dinner. I must admit, pretty bold of you to make a move on my girlfriend right in front of me.”

“You already know what we did and were gonna do and you’re not threatening me off, so I figure you’re probably okay with it.” Cloud Weaver slurped some murky red broth from her spoon, then whistled. “Ooh, that’s got a nice bit of heat to it.” She took several more quick bites, then paused to fan her mouth with a wing. “I’ve been with a few mares that were spoken for. You get used to being the other mare, after a while. Part of letting go fast. This is my first time meeting the main mare though.”

Apple Bloom pointed with her spoon at Cloud Weaver. “I do like you so far, but you’re still moving pretty fast for somepony so responsible and lookin’ out for her future. I don’t think you know what you’re getting yourself into, ‘cause if it gets that far, it ain’t gonna be over quick.”

“You are pretty cool now that we know you better, but you still gotta earn it if you want it.” Diamond Tiara stirred her soup slowly, then raised her spoon to her lips. “Come dancing with us, and maybe you can win her tail from me somehow.” She daintily sipped the broth without making a sound.

Apple Bloom squeaked in response. The waiter came to her rescue, bringing their food at that moment. After setting each plate in place and refilling their wine glasses for them, he made to depart, but Apple Bloom called to him. “Hey, what’s this?”

“Your crystalled corn panzanella, milady. Is it not to your liking?”

“Wait, ‘crystalled?’” Apple bloom poked at a translucent-yellow rock in her bowl, nestled in a bed of bread cubes and onion strings. “So this ain’t crystal corn from the Crystal Empire?”

“I apologize, Lady Bloom. Our dish is inspired by the Empire’s produce, but we can only make use of ingredients imported from the Empire when they’re available. In the off-season, we’ve developed this dish to offer instead. If you wish to order something else, I will personally assure its swift preperation and bring it to you post haste.”

“So, is this salt on the corn then? How’d you do that?”

“Our chef developed a spell to not only form the crystals in this way, but to keep the flavor in balance. I can assure you it is quite tasty. It is one of my personal favorites.”

“I’ll keep it. It does look pretty good.”

Diamond Tiara leaned towards her and looked her plate over more closely. “Sounds to me like you might want to spend more time getting to know what you’re ordering before it arrives on your plate.”

“Please let me know if it isn’t to your liking, madam.” He made himself scarce at that point, and everyone poked into their meals.

“So, Lady Bloom? I figured Pear Blossom wasn’t, like, your real name.” She glanced in the direction their waiter had been disappearing in. “At first I thought he was just being polite like a waiter is supposed to in these fancy places. But he keeps being extra polite to you. What gives?”

“Horseapples. Busted again.” Apple Bloom took a large swallow from her wine and grimaced at the bite in her throat. “My real name is Apple Bloom.”

Cloud Weaver sawed at the large pepper on her plate with fork and knife. “That makes more sense. Fits that cutie mark on your flank better. I had been wondering about tha—” She paused and froze up. She looked up into Apple Bloom’s eyes and blinked once. “Cutie marks. Apple.”

Apple Bloom forced a smile, but braced herself against the table reflexively.

“You’re Apple Bloom. As in the Apple Bloom in the newspaper for starting up that cutie mark organization across Equestria two years ago? As in hangs out with Princess Twilight Sparkle in Ponyville? Member of the Apple Family, one of the biggest noble houses in Equestria with members in practically every city and town everywhere? Like, the main House at Sweet Apple Acres described in The Friendship Journal, not just some branch family? That Apple Bloom?”

“Eyup. Howdy.” Apple Bloom adopted a resigned look.

“This wasn’t a prank, you brought me here to gloat over ending me, didn’t you? My life is over. Oh my gosh why does this always happen to me?” Cloud Weaver sunk low into her chair, and looked like she was about to try to hide under the table.

“Now where’d you get a silly idea like that in your head? We ain’t here to end nopony. We felt we wronged you, and we wanted to make amends. That’s the honest truth.”

“But I had my hooves all over you, and I was bossing you around like I was better than you. If it's one thing I know about nobles, it’s they like being on top and never let you forget that for one moment.”

“Well you need to learn yourself two things about nobles it sounds like. We Apples ain’t like that. We don’t hold no airs over nopony. I grew up washing pigs and gathering apples in the orchard from the moment I could walk. Yeah, Celestia gave my great grandpa Apple Seed some land and we done turned it into Sweet Apple Acres, but it was offa the sweat of our brows and the strength of our hooves. We do more work before breakfast than most ponies do all week.”

“You’re starting to brag, Apple Bloom.” Diamond Tiara sipped her wine, then resumed working on her food with dainty motions of her knife and fork.

“You’re really nothing like I expected.” Cloud Weaver lifted her fork, eyeing the stretchy, gooey mess of cheese, then rotated her fork around to gather it up. “I remember reading that article and thinking it was another publicity stunt by some lesser-known noble to get her name out there. Do something charitable, get the recognition, then forget about it and find something else to get praise for.” She popped the hunk of pepper and cheese into her mouth after getting it into a manageable bite size on her fork. “Oh my gosh that is so creamy.”

“Reporters only come for opening day when there’s a story to sell. They don’t stick around to see the day to day hard work and sweat.” Apple Bloom crunched on some bits of corn, sampling the easily crumbled, rocky texture.

“And all those other nobles playing the image game don’t like it very much when you aren’t playing along. One of the reasons we’re here is to get away from all that for a little while and just be a couple of mares again.” Diamond Tiara sipped her wine before tackling another overstuffed pocket of pasta, mushroom and veggie filling, and pesto.

Cloud Weaver chewed on several bites in a row, lost in thought. Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara were content to enjoy their own meals and let her process things. After several minutes she broke their companionable silence. “This isn’t salsa. Like, I’ve had green salsa before, even some pretty runny ones. It’s spicy, but each time I try a bite and think I’ve figured out what I’m tasting, I notice some other flavor.” She mopped up the last bit of green from her plate with a piece of tortilla, then closed her eyes and savored it. “He was right. I don’t think I can look at the Boardwalk rellenos the same way again.”

“I am pleased to hear that you enjoyed your meal, Miss Weaver.” Their waiter appeared out of thin air once again. “I hope you will accept the apologies I offered in the beginning, and allow me only the satisfaction of accomplishment for now.”

“Tonight seems to be about forgiveness. No worries, dude.”

“I hope you saved room for dessert, ladies. We have several tempting treats to offer.” He dealt cards to each of them, then stood attentive.

“I’ll take the house treat. One Sky Room Sundae for me.” Apple Bloom handed her card back to the waiter.

“This almond joie sounds so good. I’ll have that.” Cloud Weaver pulled her card closer to herself to the table’s edge. “Can I hold onto this card? These all look so pretty.”

Their waiter raised one eyebrow but nodded. “As you wish.”

Diamond Tiara snickered a bit, then handed her card in. “Tiramisu for me.”

“I will have them out right away.” Good on his word, he was hardly gone before he was back and placing delectable-looking treats in front of each of them. “Take as much time as you like, and if you need anything further, don’t hesitate to call for me. On Behalf of the Sky Room, I thank you for your patronage, and we hope your fond memories of your time here will bring you back soon and often. Good night and good health Miss Weaver, Miss Tiara, and Lady Bloom.”

As they dug into their sweets, many appreciative sounds mingled across the table.

After draining her glass, Cloud Weaver pushed her empty plate and glass away. “I couldn’t help but notice we all had chocolate for dessert. Around here, chocolate and wine is, like, a cliche shortcut for hopping straight into bed.”