What Happens in Pegasus

You’d expect resorts with a swimming pool to be overloaded with loud, obnoxious foals galloping back and forth, screaming and splashing about and (eww) peeing in the pool. Luckily, there’s not a single kid to be seen in this particular pool. Las Pegasus is more of an adult pony’s city anyway.

That said, that doesn’t mean you should behave like adult ponies. Point proven when Dash’s hoof shoves you from behind, resulting in a spectacular belly-flop into the blue pool below. A moment later, you rise from the water, grab Rainbow’s hoof from poolside (“Oh geez - not the hooves! Geddoff-geddoff-geddoff!”) and drag her face-first into the water with you.

Thus began a ten minute splash-fight between you and her. Playful dunking, tickling, water-wrestling and kissing weren’t in the rules, but it didn’t stop you both from doing it.

“Alright, alright, I give! I give!” she shrieks with laughter, splashing up water as you hold her tightly and relentlessly tickle her to victory. You let her go, and give her a while to catch her breath. “Okay, you win that round…”

“Ready for round two?”

“Uhh…” she looks around before starting to paddle towards the pool’s side. “A race! First one from this side of the pool to the other!”

“You’re on!” You position yourself alongside Dash, rear legs set to push off from the side of the pool. “On three, okay? One-”

“TwothreeGO!”

As Dash blasts off from the wall side, you anticipate her head-start and push off yourself. At first you’re keeping up with her just fine, using your wings in a breaststroke motion while your body does a fast-paced front crawl. Around the halfway point, she begins to speed up, leaving you behind for a secure win. There was never any doubt she’d win though; she’s the fastest pony you kn-

Before you even finish that thought, you’re overtaken by two blurs that propel through the water at a ridiculous speed! They zoom past you, dragging you slightly by the current of water in their wake, before swimming straight past Rainbow Dash and slapping their hooves on the other side of the pool to confirm victory. Whoever they were, it was like they were bolts of lightning the way they… oh.

Two familiar faces grin back at you and Dash from the ‘finish line’. Two faces that, during any other day, would be perfectly welcome. But today?

“Fancy meeting you two again,” Spitfire says nonchalantly, wiping the water from her eyes, “We were just stopping by to use the jacuzzi, but when we saw you both having a swim in the pool, we couldn’t resist!”

Rainbow Dash snaps into her ‘talking-with-Wonderbolts’ mode; “Haha! Yeah, you sure showed us!”

Soarin’ pipes up, “No, waitasec, I’ve got one! Rookie, I’ve decided what I’m gonna call myself from now on instead of Soarin’…” he raises his hooves out of the water in a flourish, “Soakin’!”

A mix of groans and pity-laughs emanate from the other pegasi, you included.

“I’d groan louder,” Dash chortles, “But that’s not the worst I’ve heard from you, Soarin’.”

The female Wonderbolt‘s ears prick up, “Now, this I have to hear!”

“Spitfire, you don’t need to hear it, you’ve probably heard just as worse…”

Soarin’s attempt to stop Rainbow Dash’s storytelling ends up in vain. She continues “Okay, so we’re at the gala, and my buddy Applejack is running a food stall there, alright? Soarin’ walks by and she asks if he’s hungry…”

“Aw nuts…” Soarin’ buries his face into a fore hoof when he remembers where this conversation is going.

“Then Soarin’ says-”

“As a horse!” both Soarin’ and Rainbow Dash finish with the exact same words. Spitfire crumbles into a floating heap of laughter when she hears it.

“Yeah, that sounds like our Soarin’ alright!”

********

These Wonderbolts aren’t so bad. You’ve spent the past hour having fun in the pool with them, up to the point of finding an inflatable ball and playing water volleyball without a net (there‘s nothing wrong with imagination, after all).

Perhaps you just felt intimidated by their celebrity status before. Spitfire’s the most laid-back pony you’ve met in a long time, while Soarin’ himself seems like a friendly joker at heart. A bad joker, but still…

Soon, the four of you decide to migrate to the jacuzzi area; a huge circular tub in a separate room from the pool area. You spy the doors for a steam-room and a sauna on the way there too.

You all get settled in the hot bubbling tub, letting the bubbles massage your tired body and wings. You and Rainbow Dash settle on one side with the two Wonderbolts sitting opposite. In fact, why just the two?

“Where are the rest of the Wonderbolts right now?” you ask, “Unless you’re only doing a two-pony show tomorrow.”

Soarin’ replies with a friendly chuckle, being the only pony there to see the funny side of what you said, “They’re all in different hotels. We’ve all split off to find the best hotel in Las Pegasus; that way we can all go there as a whole next time we’re performing here.”

“Misty and Silver Lining are staying at the Illusion,” Spitfire explains, “Fleetfoot and Rapidfire are trying out Tropicanter, and High Winds and Wave Chill have Sunset Stallion. Meanwhile, Blaze and Fire Streak are at Red Tom’s Resort, and Surprise and Lightning Streak are trying the Four Princesses.”

“Oh, and Spitfire and I are trying Hurricane’s Palace.” Soarin’ quips.

“I think they noticed.”

“Just making sure…”

You nod; sounds like a perfectly reasonable explanation to you. Dash, on the other hand, notices something strange about the list Spitfire rolled off.

“Hey Spitfire, I noticed that everypony you just mentioned is trying them two at a time. You know, a filly and a gentlecolt each…”

The Wonderbolts captain can already guess where this topic is heading.

“Yeah, that was sort of intentional.”

“So… does that mean, say, Misty and Silver Lining are dating?”

The fire-headed mare shakes her head. “Dating isn’t really the term we’d use. We’re more of a big… group of friends here. Each to their own.”

“Oh, I get it!” you pipe in, “You’re all just buck-buddies for each other!”

Wow, that was not a very clever thing to loudly declare in a public place. Luckily only you, Dash and the two Wonderbolts are present.

“That’s… one way of putting it.” Soarin’ says, “It’s a long, hard road when you’re on tour, so we all need a form of, y’know, relief one way or another.” His voice lowers, “And before you ask, yes; that’s why Spitfire and I are paired up.”

With a grin, he rests a foreleg over Spitfire’s shoulders, in the same way a jock on a date would in a cheesy teen movie. Spitfire, with a look you could only describe as ‘mischievous’, cuddles up to Soarin’ in response. You weren’t about to say out loud what they were planning to do when they reach their hotel rooms tonight. Well, you know the old saying; what happens in Pegasus…

You mimic Soarin’, taking a foreleg and wrapping it around Dash’s shoulders nonchalantly, wearing a wry smile. “Well,” you say in response to Soarin’, “I’m paired up with a special somepony of my own, so I guess it’s a win for all four of us-”

“Wanna switch?”

Whoa, where the heck did that come from? Even Dash double-takes at the sudden offer.

“Soarin’!” Spitfire nudges him sharply, “I’m pretty sure they’re an actual couple!”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Rainbow Dash nuzzles up to you, “I’ve got an awesome stallion of my own, Soarin’. Thanks but no thanks.”

You can’t believe it. Soarin’, her lifelong crush, was right there, offering himself up - in Las Pegasus, no less - and she still willingly turns him down. You hold her tighter, and give her a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”

She whispers back, “Don’t mention it.”

“Sorry, I didn’t think you guys were that serious with each other.” Soarin’ shrugs. Spitfire, however, sees fit to stand up and leave the jacuzzi, letting the droplets fall from her finely-toned body and wings.

“Spitfire? Why are y-”

“Just going to the steam room, Soarin’.” she says with a barely covered sense of irritation. Before Soarin’ could reply, she was already out of the room.

He turns back to you and Dash. “Was is something I said?”

“Well, you did offer to swap her for me without even asking her.” Rainbow explains, “I’d be mad too if I was your girlfriend. Which I‘m not, of course!” she adds quickly.

“You don’t get it; she’s not my girlfriend, Rainbow Dash,” Soarin’ sighs, “we just hang out and do the favour of sexual relief every now and then. I’m pretty sure she’s not looking for anything serious between the two of us.”

“Then why do you think she’s offended?” you ask. When Soarin’ doesn’t answer, you take a chance and push him a little further, “In fact, I’m willing to hazard a guess that when you are all choosing who gets paired off with who, Spitfire was the one who chose you, not the other way around. Am I right? ”

“Of course!” he retorts, “She chooses to pair with me… every… time…” And then the realisation hits him. “And… I’m an idiot. She really likes me like that, doesn‘t she?”

The not-so-wonderfully-intelligent Wonderbolt leans back in the jacuzzi, obviously giving himself a mental kick. You ask if he should go into the steam room and apologise to her.

“No, no,” he shakes his head, “I know better than to hassle Spitfire when she’s in a mood.” After another moment’s thought, he gets out from the jacuzzi himself. “Let her have the steam room, I’ll be in the sauna instead. Need some time to think.”

Soarin’ closes the door to the sauna behind him, leaving both you and Rainbow Dash alone in the jacuzzi.