What Happens in Pegasus

An hour passes, and two pegasi, after dropping their newly acquired outfits off at their hotel room and having a quick, yet thorough wash, canter into the huge dining area. Fancy tables, fancy music and a fancy atmosphere fills the whole room, sparing no expense as one of Las Pegasus’ finest restaurants. Soarin’ waves you over to a four-seated table, where he passes you a menu.

“I’ve already chosen what I’m having,” he says.

“It’s not a pie of any kind, is it?” Rainbow Dash teases.

“What? No, of course not! Geez, I don’t have pie all the time, you know. I’m not obsessed with pie or anything.”

With perfect timing, a unicorn waiter saunters over, hovering a pencil and notepad, “May I take your order?”

“Yup, root-vegetable pie, please!”

Chuckling, you and Rainbow make your own orders. “Where’s Spitfire, by the way?” you ask as the waiter departs, “Surely she’s coming too, right?”

Soarin’s smile fades as soon as he hears her name. “I honestly don’t know,” he shrugs, “She wasn’t in our hotel room, either, I hope she still isn’t mad about what I said in the jacuzzi.”

“About you trying to switch her for me?” Dash says, “Nah, you said she just needed time to cool down, I’m sure she’ll be okay once she’s here. And then you can apologise to her, maybe even ask her out for real or something. You’d make a cute couple.” she adds.

“You really think so, huh?”

The minutes tick by as your meals are prepared. Still, there’s no sign of Spitfire. You drift in and out of conversation with Soarin’ and Rainbow Dash, although you can’t help but overhear a conversation going on a few tables away, between the unicorn waiter and a griffin customer.

“So, what’s in the ‘Farm Food Feast’?”

“That would be a selection of meats more suited to a griffin’s diet, rather than being stuck with real food like the equine folk. All sentient animals were willing organ donors, as per Equestrian law requires.” the unicorn drawls with a sense of slight disgust at the concept of eating meat, “It contains a lamb and mint sauce pie, complete with a fillet of chicken wrapped in bacon. The whole thing is soaked in steak gravy with finely-diced mushrooms.”

“Ugh, no thanks; I can’t stand mushrooms…”

Las Pegasus; the city that caters to everyone, pony or otherwise.

Your meals arrive, and still Spitfire is nowhere to be found. You feel a sense of legitimate concern growing from her team-mate and her number one fan. Soarin’ promises to check the hotel room again after the meal.

“I don’t think that will be necessary.” you say, nodding towards the figure that trots through the restaurant’s door at a purposeful pace. It’s Spitfire. And she seems to be carrying some papers in her mouth, between her bared teeth.

“There you are!” Soarin’ chirps, “We were wondering where you disappeared off to-”

His greeting is cut short by the slam of paper being flung onto the table. Very official-looking paper, at that. His expression turns from his usual bright demeanour to being genuinely serious. When he pushes his half-eaten food aside to read the documents, his face takes a turn for the grave.

“Spitfire, what’s-”

“You know exactly what this is about!” the fiery-headed pegasus snarls, “The Wonderbolts are supposed to be more than the finest flyers in Equestria; they’re supposed to be living examples of what it means to be an Equestrian citizen! A faithful, benevolent, open-hoofed, and most of all, honourable citizen! Something you clearly aren’t!” She takes a moment of silence to catch her breath from the shouting, “Which is why I left to report your little escapade to our manager. We both agreed you’re not fit to fly for us anymore. Here are your resignation papers; you’re fired from the Wonderbolts.”

“What!?”

You can’t tell whose exclamation was louder; Soarin’s, Dash’s or your own. Glancing around, nearly every eye in the restaurant is turned your way.

“B-but why?” Soarin’ stutters in bewilderment, “I don’t understand what you mean!”

“I’m talking about your little ‘performance’ in the mare’s changing room!” Spitfire’s voice starts to rise, as if she’s getting tired of her ex-partner’s innocent-act, “And how you abused your status as a Wonderbolt to woo a girl who was already in a relationship! Speaking of which…” she turns to Rainbow, “Why the heck did you even go along with it, knowing that your poor boyfriend was in the same resort? Don’t even wouldn’t bother sending in applications to us, Rainbow Dash; we’ll never accept somepony as selfish as you!”

That statement alone causes her voice to crack in shock; her lifelong dream shattered by the words of her own hero. Her eyes seem to glaze over in despair when it dawns on her what this is about…

“I don’t know what the heck you mean!” Soarin’ cries, “I didn’t do anything with Rainbow Dash, I’ve never even seen the mare’s changing room!”

“Soarin’, I was in there too!” by this point, her patience is lost, “I heard everything, I even heard her call you by name! I’d be more regretful about firing you if you weren’t being a stubborn pig and pretending it didn’t happen! What I do regret, however, is how we’re breaking this to the only innocent pony here!” She calms down, only momentarily, as she turns to face you, “I’m sorry, rookie. Really I am, but your girlfriend’s been cheating on you with this jerk.”

“No she hasn’t!” you blurt out the truth, not really comprehending the consequences, “She was with me at the time. I was in that cubicle with her, not Soarin’.” It’s only after you say it, does it occur to you that Rainbow might not want you to reveal why she was calling you by somepony else‘s name. Still, it’s better than the alternative.

This new information stops Spitfire’s accusations in their tracks. “But… what… why did I hear her call out Soarin’s name if she was with you?”

Well, that’s it; you’re gonna have to come clean with the whole thing now. You’re gonna have to tell both of Rainbow Dash’s heroes her secret; that she fantasises over them. Oh Celestia, saying that’s gonna ruin her reputation, but if you don’t come clean now, she’ll never get into the Wonderbolts at all!

Or maybe…

“Because I asked her to,” you speak in a half-truth, “I’ve always wanted to be called Soarin’, because it, uh, gives me an ego boost. So I can be called somepony that Dash looks up to.”

And then there’s the awkward moment of silence. Not only from the ponies around the table, but from most of the restaurant. This would be a lot easier if all those eyes weren’t looking at you.

“Really?” Any signs of anger in the Wonderbolt captain’s voice has been replaced with bewilderment. Soarin’ echoes her, not entirely sure what to think about the situation either.

“Yeah, really?” you hear Dash whisper to nopony in particular.

“I’m serious,” you dig yourself into a deeper hole, hating it by every word, “I like it when she calls me a Wonderbolt. It’s kinda my thing. A few nights ago she was calling me Lightning Streak.”

Spitfire turns to your girlfriend with an expression ranging between confused and aghast, “Rainbow Dash, is this true?”

Dash can’t even speak from the tension; she just dumbly nods her head up and down in agreement, going along with your harebrained plan.

“And… and Soarin’ wasn’t there after all?”

“Sorry,” you shrug, knowing full well that you’re directing the blame for this whole debacle on top of your head, “Soarin’ left while you were in the steam room. We were in the mare’s changing room because we thought it was empty unlike the stallion‘s room, and it was kind of spur-of-the-moment for the both of us.”

You opt out of mentioning any missing Wonderbolt costumes. You wonder if she even noticed such a thing in the first place.

Spitfire places a hoof to her temples, trying to urge her brain into making sense of that. After a while, she sighs; “Nopony would ever admit to something as weird as that. Especially not in public. There‘s no way you’d make that up, right?” She tries to say more, but in the end the just resigns herself to believing you. She slowly picks up his resignation papers, folding them under a wing. “I’m so sorry about all this, all of you! I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like that. I’m going to reverse this decision with our manager before it‘s final, I won’t be long.”

As she turns to leave the restaurant, you overhear her muttering something in disgrace; “Agh, I’m such an idiot… Can’t believe this…”

Rainbow Dash finally finds her voice, and leans in towards the other Wonderbolt, who didn’t seem to let something like a near-firing get in the way of his pie. “You should really go with her, she sounds like she could use a team-mate’s support.”

“What? No way, I shouldn’t hassle Spitfire when she’s stressed-”

“You said the same thing last time, Soarin’, back in the jacuzzi! But remember what else we said back there; she likes you, and more than just in a buck-buddies sorta way. You like her back, don‘t you?”

“Well of course, but I- but there’s- oh, for royalty’s sake…” he deflates in defeat, “You’re right. Should’ve done this a long time ago.” With a few more mouthfuls of vegetable-root pie, he leaves the rest and sets off to offer Spitfire the help of a true friend and team-mate.

Considering the amount of patrons in the restaurant who are still throwing side-glances at you, mostly due the commotion you’d been a part of (and you’re sure they heard every word of it), you decide to dump enough bits on the table to pay for your meals and slip out of the door. Rainbow Dash uncharacteristically tags along in silence.

On the way back to the hotel room, you spy the two Wonderbolts in the hallway. They both stand there, exchanging comforting whispers, with a foreleg wrapped around each other in a hug. It’s safe to say they’ve made up. You decide it’s better to take the long way back to the hotel room, rather than intrude on a personal moment.