Necessary Recovery.

Arpeggio opened the door to his and Thunder's house, the royal blue pegasus still leaning against him. "Here... take a nice hot shower, then head to bed, okay? How's your stomach feeling, Thunder? Be sure to lay down on your side in bed, okay?"

Thunderclap patted his friend on the back. "You are such a great pal. I'm gonna make it up to you." He walked to the shower room. Thunderclap stepped into the shower and let the hot water run down his back. His shower was not very long. He stepped out, wrapped himself in a towel, and walked to his room. He layed down on his bed. Before he went to sleep, he pulled his family portrait up to his face. "Goodnight mom and dad. I love you." He said, maybe a little louder than he meant to. He put the picture back on his bedside table and began to drift off to sleep.

Arpeggio smiled, having heard his roommate. "Now... I gotta get that medicine..." He left the house, quickly flying to the hospital, then returning a while later. He went to his own room, falling asleep, thinking, I need to talk to my parents again soon...

Thunderclap awoke the next morning. His head was pounding. He stumbled out of his bed and into the kitchen. "I need a glass of water." he said aloud to himself. He poured himself some water, and chugged it all. He refilled his glass and chugged it again. "Ok, I'm taking Arpeggio's advice next time. No more gulping down wine,"

"Easy there, bud; don't upset your stomach any more than it already is." Arpeggio was already in the kitchen, cooking at the stove. "Pancakes sound okay? Also, there's a potion on the table; drink that, it'll help with your hangover." He gave his roommate a caring smile. "I'm thinking today you just rest."

"I'm just trying to help my headache." He said, putting his glass down. "And pancakes sound great. Need any help with it?" He picked up the strange potion. He sniffed it. "Smells ok." He drank it, slowly, learning his lesson from last night. "Tastes kinda funny." He said. "Ya, a rest seems good. I also need to visit a post office. Everytime I go to a new town I write a letter to my parents."

"I'll be okay. You." He gave his friend a gentle poke in the stomach. "Need rest. Go lay down on the couch, get comfy, I'll bring breakfast over to you." His tone was joking, but it was clear that he wouldn't accept anything else but complete compliance.

Thunderclap obeyed and lied down on the couch. "You're such a great friend, have I ever told you that before?" He said, stretching out on the couch. "This is a nice couch. I kinda like it." He looked up and stared at the cieling. Thunderclap was not the pony for rest. He needed to do something.

He figured Thunder wouldn't want to rest, but he knew the other pegasus needed to wait. "I'm sure you want to do something, but I'd rather you wait until your hangover's worn off... which shouldn't take a whole lot of time, considering you took the medicine. There's a reason the curtains are all closed... you don't want bright light right now."

He brought a plate of pancakes with maple syrup over to his roommate. "Here. Eat, this'll help you recover quicker." He went to the table, eating his own pancakes. "Hangovers are no fun, eh?"

"In my defense, I didn't expect it to be like this." He said, as he began to eat the pancakes. "Wow! These are amazing! I feel like I've eaten nothing but good food recentally." He continued to eat. "So, um, could you please go into my room and grab my pencil and pad of paper? I plan to write a letter to my parents today."

"Sure thing, bro." Again, not slang in his intention, he went into Thunder's room, taking a look at his picture of his parents as he got the pencil and paper. He walked back out, hoofing them over to Thunderclap. "Here you go."

Thunderclap thanked his friend. He quickly finished up his pancakes. After he had finished his meal, he started to write his letter. He did not spend long, simply writing what had gone on the past day (With the exception of the spa). He quickly signed his name off. "I'll bring this to the post office later." He said. He continued to laay on the couch and stare at the cieling. "You sure you don't need help with the dishes?" He asked

"I'm sure. How's your head doing?" He took the dishes, washing them up. "A little later, we can swing by the weather office and see if they don't have a position open that you can take."

"My head is doing uch better thanks. You sure know how to take care of a guy." He rolled ove onto his side. "And sure, weather office sounds nice. I need money to pay you back for your hospitality." He said, smiling at his friend.

"I really do appreciate that, Thunder. What can I say? I couldn't leave my best friend and roommate to suffer from a hangover." He smiled back.

Thunderclap blushed slightly. "Oh come now. Am I really your best friend? Surely you must have some friends from back in the day who are closer than me." He then sat in silence for several moments. "Anyway, where is the Weather Office? I can go by myself while you do what you do."

His smile faded a little. "Eh... I had a few acquaintances in high school... and there was a griffon named Julian who I was pretty good friends with when I was with the Manehattan Chamber Choir... but he and I didn't click as well as you do with me." He smiled. "We still talk every now and again, but I haven't heard word from him in a while. The weather office isn't far from Town Square, if I recall, so it's not much of a trip."

"Oh I see," Thunderclap said. He seemed to have hit a sore spot, and decided to quickly change the subject. "So, um, I'm starting to feel a lot better now, thanks to you." Thunderclap smiled, trying to make his friend smile more. "So, I'll go to the weather office sometime this afternoon. Will you be accompyaning me? Or do you have other things to do?"

"Mmm... if you don't mind, I'm going to stay here and work on a composition, if you feel well enough to handle yourself." He smiled back, giving Thunderclap a hug. "And I'm glad you're feeling better."

Thunderclap did not know how to react to the hug. Back in his home town, hugs were few and far between. But not wanting to seem rude, and out of his genuine friendship, returned the hug. "Ya, I can handle myself, I won't leave right away however, probably mid-afternoon." He then winked, "Maybe I can hear your composition when I get back?"

"Sure thing, Thunder. For now, I hope you don't mind if I rest on the couch a bit." He broke the hug, sitting down on the couch. "I'd be happy to let you hear it." He winked back, smiling slightly.

Thunderclap smiled, and decided to rest a bit longer before going out. "Of course I don't mind if you sit." He said. Thunderclap the rested his head on his friend's leg. "Your leg is comfortable." He said. His eyes started to close as he continued to rest on the couch.

He gave a slight smile at Thunderclap's resting, deciding to rub his friend's back with a hoof, thinking that might help him relax. "I'm flattered. You just rest until you feel better."

"I will relax." He answered, smiling. His friend started to rub his back, which felt very good. It was relaxing and soothing. It was like the massage from the spa. Thunderclap let his wings spread out as he relaxed even more.

Arpeggio smiled, watching his friend relax. Though he was no professional masseur, he did have some ability with massage; it was good for helping others relax before a concert, after all. Sliding his hooves over, he began to massage Thunder's wings, one at a time, intent to help the royal blue Pegasus have a good nap.