Work Isn't so Hard With A GOOD Friend

Occasionally, Aero would glance behind him to check Sunrise was still on his tail. Despite her disability, she had been able to keep up with him, now and during the delivery earlier in the day. He spotted the hotel not far from them and made his way into land. He touched down just outside the main door, his hooves clicking against the cobbled street.

Surveying the hotel, Aero hadn't quite remembered just how large and fancy this place really was. On second thoughts, maybe this wasn't the best place for ponies like them. Too late now though.

Her hooves clicked on the street, as she leaned onto Aero. She smelled the air, and smelled what she thought was Dragon-sneeze flowers. She was near Aero, very close, as they walked in.

"May I help you?" asked the receptionist, a welcoming smile on the face of a unicorn.

Aero pulled out a card and presented it to the mare. "A certain Miss Rose Allure told me to exchange this card in a Colton Hotel for a room if I needed it," he explained, rather uncertain whether this was legitimate.

The mare took the card to examine it. She looked over at another mare, probably her manager, who gave a nod in response. The receptionist very quickly organised a room for them and handed Aero a key.

"Third floor, room 42. Complimentary dinner will be served in the restaurant for you, or as room service if you prefer. Have a lovely stay."

"Thanks," replied Aero, a little dumbfounded as he head over to the elevator with Sunrise. "So that happened."

"Yeah, I guess." she said, yawning. She was leaning on Aero, practically asleep. She was hungry though, probably the reason she was awake.

Feeling Sunrise leaning against his side, he draped a wing over her back like a warm, feathery blanket. Aero could feel hunger gnawing away at his stomach, and imagined Sunrise was probably feeling the same, so he gestured to a hotel staff member.

"Can we have two of whatever the chef's meal of the day is brought up to room 42 please," asked Aero, receiving a nod from the stallion before he hurried away to deliver their order.

While it was certainly nice to be waited on this occasion, Aero still couldn't understand the idea of this type of luxury and pampering on a daily basis. It would certainly start to grind away at his sanity.

Aero lead them into the lift and was soon up in their room. He noticed that the room had a double bed, much to his surprise. Despite the events of today, he was still a little shy about sharing a bed with Sunrise.

Sunrise yawned and nuzzled against Aero's neck. She felt a bit of tension in it, and asked him about it. Lifting her head, she asked, "What's up?"

"Nothing," Aero replied quickly. He was a little surprised that Sunrise sensed his hesitation. "I'm, erm, gonna take a shower."

He head over to the bathroom and locked himself inside. Aero took a deep breath and let it out before running the shower. He felt he needed some time to process the events of today. So much seemed to have happened in such a short period of time. This whole situation had escalated so quickly, or so it seems to him. A warm shower would really help...

Sunrise made her way to the bed. After laying on it and stretching to the full width and height a pony of her size could get to, she found the bed was the only one. It must have been big enough for the two of them. The thought of sleeping with Aero caused a squeak and hid under the covers. That's what must have made him tense. She couldn't blame her ignorance, but she wished she could. At moment's like these, she wished she could see again. Which brought up another topic she would rather avoid.

Her disability. She knew it would become the mane addressee eventually, but it still scared her to think that she'd have to tell him. About her stupidity in her first Eclipse, about how she never saw what her sister looked like, how she shunned herself for a bit... How could that be said so easy as just a clip-clop of a hoof?

After a few minutes of washing and drying, Aero remerged from the bathroom feeling very refreshed. His muscles that had felt compacted and tense were now loose and relaxed. He ran a hoof through his mane as he stepped out the door to the sight of Sunrise already under the covers.

Aero stepped over to the bed, resting a slightly damp hoof on Sunrise's head.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, just realized a few things." she said. It wasn't false, but wasn't whole. She didn't want to tell him/

"Oh, right."

Aero wasn't exactly sure what that meant but decided not to ask. He liked to have his privacy respected so could imagine that Sunrise would want the same. At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Aero answered it to see a waiter with a trolley with two meals on it.

"Your order, sir. Rösti casserole with eggs, carr- Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt," said the stallion, as he spotted Sunrise in the bed and the damp state of Aero's coat. He smiled slyly and winked at Aero, before backing away. "I'll let you get back to it."

It took Aero a moment to catch on to what he was implying but before he could retort, the waiter was halfway down the hallway. Red faced, he brought the trolley inside.

"Erm...hungry?" he asked, hoping she had missed the embarrassment.

"He is so... so... Ugh." Sun said, scrunching her face up, a blush bright red on her muzzle. She caught the worker's memo. She nodded at Aero's question, cuddling a pillow.

Judging by Sunrise's bright blushing face, it seemed she hadn't been spared from the waiter's embarrassing comment. Still, she looked rather adorable hugging the pillow in her hooves. In fact, seeing her on the bed sheets, her mane laying around her head...

Suddenly feeling heat on his own face, Aero concentrated on their meals.

"Erm, food smells good," he said, trying to distract them both, as he tried some of his own dish.

Sun sniffed the air and licked her lips. "It sure does..." she said, the heat from her face fading a bit.

But the fear of explaining her ignorant foal-hood came creeping back it. She ignored it for as long as she could, which was about halfway through dinner. She burst into tears, and tried to stop herself.

Aero quietly tucked into his meal, happy to be fed. He was almost done with his dish when he noticed Sunrise suddenly start crying. Wide eyed, he immediately abandoned his meal and shimmied over to her side.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" he asked, putting a hoof on her shoulder.

"I'm afraid, Aero, I'm scared..." she said. Very specific, she knew, but she didn't really want to tell him.

"Scared?" he repeated, confused.

Aero pulled her in tighter, using a wing to wrapped around Sunrise and pull her into his body for a comforting hug. He wasn't sure what the problem could be. Had he done something wrong? Or something else?

"Hey, don't worry, if that waiter comes back, I'll show him," he said, half jokingly, hoping to lighten the mood a little.

"No, not scared of him, Aero... Scared of something we sorta talked about before." she told him. They had a brief talk about it, but it was more her yelling at him.

"Oh?"

Aero racked his mind to find what it could be that was scaring her, but he couldn't come up with anything. Perhaps her nightmare she had earlier with him and the knife?

Whatever it was, he wanted to be here for her. He rubbed his hoof against her shoulder to reassure her and leant a little closer.

She felt his warm, calming body press against her's a bit more. She was a lot calmer now, and it was soothing to her, to know that he cared so much.

"Whatever it is, we can deal with it, okay?" Aero assured her. He noticed how this seemed to be working, that Sunrise appeared to be a little more calm.

Aero wasn't great for comforting others or giving advice and never had been. He always found that he was too blunt and insensitive towards others, even when he didm' mean to be. But with Sunrise, he seemed to be able to do things right.

"You can talk about it if it makes you feel better, or you don't have to say anything."

"It'll be spoken about sooner or later... I guess now... No, I just can't right now, I'm really sorry." she said placing her forehead on his chin. She really did at least want to tell him she wasn't born blind. But not right now. Right now she just wanted to enjoy his company and his sweetness.

"That's fine. That's absolutely fine," he replied softly, leaning down and kissing Sunrise's forehead.

They had only just started this relationship today so Aero wasn't expecting, nor did he really want, them to share their deepest secrets and fears. They might end up overloading each other with information.

Well fed, comfortable on the bed, and happy with Sunrise in his hooves, Aero slowly laid back on the bed with her. He was content to just rest here with her.

As Aero layed in the bed with her, she began to drift to sleep. She cuddled close to Aero, and fell to dream land.

Little Sis?!

Sun!

Absie, what are you doing he-

Run!

Aero was the most comfortable he had been in a long time. The warmth of Sunrise's body tucked against his own and the softness of her coat against his hooves was amazing. He looked down at her again, noting how peaceful she looked as she slept. He kissed the top of her head again, gently running a hoof through her mane.

This could be the start of something great, he thought to himself, smiling as he closed his eyes. Now, don't mess it up.