One Does Not Simply Save the Day
It had been a few days since Vapor Trail had performed her sonic boom at the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot, and her head was still spinning from the amount of attention she had received from it, as well the newfound love she shared with Sky Stinger. Neither of them had really ever been in a super serious relationship before, so this was all new to them. One of Rainbow Dashes friends, Pinkie Pie, had thrown a large celebratory "They are together now!/Congrats on the Performance!" party the day after she came home from the Gala. At the moment though, Vapor Trail had found herself sitting at home relaxing while listening to music...
"Maybe, I love you, maybe I don't, oh my mare-" The song had cut off abruptly, instead switching to a news broadcast "Breaking News! Reporters from Griffonstone say that the reunification of all Griffon kind is going well! Peace talks with the other Griffon-dominant towns have been going quite well! Another summit is taking place in Cloudsdale later this week! In other news, the princesses Celestia and Luna were spotted in Appleloosa apple bobbing for the yearly cider festival!"
Vapor Trail chuckled a bit. "This is what qualifies as 'Breaking News'? Well, I guess it's better than a bugbear attack..." She rolled off of the cloud couch she was laying on and switched the radio off. She had some chores to do anyway, now that her boss had given her the week off. Truly, the Gala performance was probably the best thing to happen to her. Even if it was a bit cathartic at first, the whole ordeal really jumbled up her whole life. The only thing that really stayed the same was the sun coming up every morning, and the moon going down at night.
She moved to the kitchen, turned on the faucet and started to do the dishes when she heard a knock from her back door. The paparazzi, interestingly enough, hadn't moved out from her yard. She now had a legion of fans looking for her every action to be documented, something that she really didn't like. Those coming to her back door were usually trying to avoid those same figures.
"Hold on! I'll be right there!" Vapor hastily turned off the faucets and dried her hooves off. She trotted to the door and opened it up, revealing a smiling Sky Stinger holding an envelope in his wings. They immediately embraced, giving a small kiss on each others cheek. "Oh, honey, what brings you around these parts?" Vapor asked seductively.
Sky Stinger jumped a bit out of excitement, flashing the envelope at Vapor. "I got us a reservation at Nubes Vita!" Sky Stinger did a little dance. Vapor though, just hung her mouth in shock, for Nubes Vita was the restaurant in Cloudsdale. Only the biggest stars and richest ponies were allowed in.
Coming to her senses, Vapor just had to know how Sky had gotten the reservations. "How did you get those?! They must have cost a wing and a hoof!"
Sky came to a bit of a stop and breathed in a bit. "Well... I may, or may not have, said that you were going to be with me..."
Vapor scoffed, a bit offended. "Sky, you know I don't like throwing that weight around!"
"It'll be fine! Besides, we got a limo, what could go wrong?"
Vapor was less frustrated and more dumbstruck, half between smiling and frowning. She loved this adorable idiot, even if he made some rather uneducated decisions. She pulled a hoof to her forehead to massage the headache that was inevitably going to form from this excursion. "Fine.. just promise me this wont be another one of our little 'adventures'."
"Can do, malady. Just follow me."
Sky Stinger had bought a very dashing dress for Vapor made from the finest silk at a boutique in Ponyville for this momentous occasion. She had to wonder if he was saving all this money for such an occasion. But, that didn't really matter right now, for they were in a limo going towards Nubes Vita...
"Wow, Sky, this is really nice." Vapor gave a disingenuous smile to Sky Stinger, who was currently snacking on a plate of cheese, lettuce, and other assorted edibles. Honestly, she found all of this a bit unnecessary. Sure, limos were cool and all, but she was worried this would just bring more attention to them.
"Uh huh! Isn't this so cool?!" Sky Stinger stuck his head out the skyroof "I'm going on a date, everypony!"
Vapor practically yanked Sky Stinger from the window, narrowly missing his head hitting the opening. "Sky! Don't go announcing our date to everypony in Equestria! We are trying to keep this a secret, remember?!"
Sky Stinger rubbed the back of his neck "Sorry Vapor. I just wanted to make this night special for us..."
Vapor frowned a bit and pulled Sky into a hug "It already is. I got you here, silly."
They smiled and cuddled until they arrived to their destination, the driver opening the door to the couple and looking away with a blush. "My apologies. We have arrived at Nubes Vita, sir and madame."
"Heh heh, sorry." Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail exited the vehicle in shame, but quickly lost their gloom upon seeing the classy restaurant. It had classical Pegasus architecture, that being great marble columns that held up extravagant, intricately designed and hand carved marble roofs, accented by a golden sheened paint that gave the whole place a breathtaking look. Hayburgers here definitely cost at least 30 dollars more than at McSoys.
"It's.. it's so cool." Vapor stared at the building in disbelief, only to be interrupted by Sky jabbing her side.
"Look! I think that's the guy who played Iron Stallion! Ooh and there! That's Songbird Serenade!" Sky's pupils dilated in awe at the idea that they would soon be sitting in the same room as these ponies, let alone dine with them.
Vapor had to admit to herself, the prospect was pretty neat, but they looked like a pair of weirdos staring at all this stuff. "Honey, we need to go." She pulled Sky along the carpeted entrance, accidentally showing her face for a split second between her wings, an opportunity that the many reporters and papparazzi that lined the entrance were all to keen on taking notice of.
"There she is! It's Vapor Trail!" Suddenly, all of the flashes of the cameras focused on the two, kicking them into high-gear. They rushed into the reception area, where a pony dressed in a fashionable toga greeted them.
"Hello, may I get your names?"
Sky had to catch his breath. He was shaking from the sudden adrenaline. It was a bit silly, but he didn't want to make Vapor feel as such, so he went along with it. "Our names are Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail, sir."
The pony flipped through a notebook of his and smiled. "Follow me, Mr. Stinger and Mrs. Trail."
"I'm not married"
"Oh, uh, Ms. Trail. Forgive me."
"Don't sweat it."
The stallion led them down to a doorway, opening it to reveal a grand ballroom filled with famous creatures from all across Equestria and abroad. There were Griffon delegates and even a few Hippogriff's scattered about the room. The stage had a band called the Blues Bombers playing some classy music. "You will begin your night here, within the hour, the stewards and stewardesses will transform the ballroom into a dining room, so make yourselves comfortable in the meantime."
Sky thanked the stallion and tipped him a good amount of bits. He then turned to Vapor and reached out his hoof "Dance with me, will you?"
Vapor giggled a bit at the uncharacteristic formal words of Sky. "I would love to, Sky." Taking his hoof into hers, they flew down to the ballroom floor. It was at that moment Vapor realized a fatal flaw in their nights plans "Do you know how to dance, Sky?"
Sky scrunched up his face a bit "I can't say I do. Why don't we just do a bit of shuffling instead?"
"Lead away" Sky started shifting from side to side, Vapor following suit with a bit of a stutter step, doing a goofy looking spin. Sky flew up, motioning Vapor to follow him. He did a moontrot in the air, a move considerably less hard do to the lack of friction, but it was impressive all the same. Vapor chuckled and responded with the automaton and a small air kiss. They flew into each others hooves, kissing in a spinning embrace.
CRASH-BOOM "
"Everypony on the groud! Get on the ground!"
Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger rushed to a nearby decorative ledge in response to the sudden violence. Vapor Trail couldn't believe what she was seeing: Several armed Griffons had burst in through the windows and thrown flashbangs to knock out some of the guests, taking swords to the throats of the delegates from Griffonstone.
The Griffon who appeared to be the leader of the group spoke up once more "This doesn't concern you ponies or Hippogriffs! Just know that we won't stand for this 'Reunification' nonsense! Now get out of here!"
The other guests at the ball needed no more convincing, as a stampede of ponies and hippogriffs rushed out of the building in a panic. Vapor and Sky, however, decided to stay. They hadn't been seen, and they were a part of the military, so they had some training for some combat, it's just that they never really used any of it. That was about to change, as it turned out. The new vigilantes found themselves waiting for an opportunity to strike, but the attackers seemed pretty on-edge, so they never let their guard down. Instead, they decided to probe for any weaknesses.
Vapor noticed that one of the hostages was a pony, namely a one Derpy Hooves. Vapor knew her from her accolades as a racer in her young life. She seemed more annoyed than anything else. Vapor heard her talking to one of the attackers.
"Please let me go." said Derpy, with a frowning scrunched up face.
The guard simply said "No."
Derpy, adamant in her position, persisted "I would really like to not be a hostage right now."
The guard, without missing a beat, responded "Well that's to bad, isn't it?"
"Can I have a muffin?"
"No!"
Vapor giggled a bit at the sight. Another hostage Vapor recognized was Gilda, one of the delegates from Griffonstone. She was probably the target of this raid, as she was one of the main supporters of the reunification of all Griffon kind. The leader was watching her, spewing something about how bad of an idea this was and how it would spell doom for their way of life. Gilda tried to explain her side of the story, but the leader just pressed his blade in harder.
"We have to do something, Sky."
Sky had a mischievous look about him, as if he was about to do something incredibly stupid. She noticed he was looking at an ancient blade mounted on the wall.
"Sky, don't you even think about-" Vapor was cut off by Sky lurching forward and ripping the Spatha off of the wall. "Oh sugarcubes"
Sky Stinger, with his newfound weapon, announced his presence quite loudly in a fake heroic voice "Hello, foul creatures. Why must you imprison these fine ladies and gentle colts?"
"Oh, look fellas, we have a hero. Get him!"
"Avant Guard!" Sky readied himself for the three griffons who came at him. Vapor, taking advantage of the momentary distraction, flew swiftly behind the hostages and knocked a guard out with a quick kick to the head. Sky used the blunt side of the sword like a bat and knocked out the second, the third giving up and laying his weapon down in submission.
The leader, still standing near Gilda, was baffled. "Useless! The lot of you! I should have payed more!" He took up Gilda and held her at blade point. "Don't come any closer! I'll do it! I swear!"
Sky Stinger held down the surrendered attacker while Vapor attempted negotiations. They could all hear some sirens on the outside, giving Vapor an edge.
"Look, Griffon, nopony knows who you are. If you leave now, you might still be able to escape unharmed and free."
The leader shifted nervously, making Gilda squirm a bit. "I-I just... Fine!" He dropped Gilda and tried to fly out of the window he came in, but a policemare tackled him hard before he got very far.
Vapor Trail flinched at the unseemly sight "Ouch" She the galloped over to check on everycreature's health, eventually making it down the line to Gilda. The Griffon was massaging her neck, probably a minor laceration. Nevertheless, Vapor had to try and help. "Are you okay, Delegate Gilda?!"
Gilda stopped her rubbing and smiled a little bit "Uh.. yeah, I'm okay. Thank you. Um... what are your names?"
"Oh! That's Sky Stinger and..." Vapor hesitated. Chances were, this was only going to make her even more popular, but she wasn't really super-into lying to a political ally to Equestria, so she had to answer truthfully. "... it's Vapor Trail..."
Gilda's face lit up. "Your that Wonderbolt sub-in Rainbow Dash was telling me about!"
"You know Rainbow Dash?"
"Heck yeah I know her! We are best friends! Dang, I'm going to be honest with you, I thought it was all over for a second there. Thank you, really. If you hadn't come in and helped.. I could have died. If there is anything I can do, just ask."
Vapor knew exactly what to ask for. "So me and Sky were actually on our first date tonight..."
Gilda and her fellow delegates, along with the other hostages that happened to be caught in the crossfire, were safe. The police had come in, blades at the ready, only to find Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger had already diffused the situation. They apprehended the attackers and checked on the creatures of the ball to make sure they were all safe and sound before thanking Vapor and Sky for their diligent work. Gilda had pulled some weight with Rainbow Dash and the local law enforcement to get the heroic couple a little privacy for the evening...
"Order up!" The cook at the local McSoy's placed a tray of newly made hayburgers and Prench Fries on the serving counter, where Vapor promptly thanked him and carried the tray to a table where a tuckered out Sky Stinger was sitting.
"You know, that was not how I thought our evening was going to go, Vapor." Sky took his hayburger and began eating it.
Vapor smiled warmly "Yeah, but hey, I have to admit it was pretty fun."
"Well I guess thats all I can ask for after this disaster..." He hung his head in sorrow.
"Hey, cheer up. We got through it. Together. What you did back there was really brave. I'm proud of you, even if I didn't seem like I did at first."
Sky looked up "Really?"
Vapor put her hoof on his shoulder. "Really. I would kiss you now, but you just ate and I ain't about that life."
The store manager turned up the radio in the kitchen. "Hey, you two! I think they are talking about you in the news!"
Sky and Vapor perked their ears in the direction of the broadcast.
...today, two brave Pegasus saved me and my delegates lives. I would like to thank the wonderful Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger for their brave actions, for they are true heroes...
"Oh sugarcubes..." Vapor facehoofed.
"What's up?" Sky asked worried.
"I should have asked that she didn't say our names. Now we are just going to get more attention."
Sky laughed a bit. "It's not all bad. We got some banging McSoy's out of it!"
Vapor joined him in laughter. "Hehe, I guess we did, didn't we?" She took up her hayburger and gestured to Sky. "Here's to sleepless nights and free food!"
Sky obliged. "Cheers!"
FIN
Author's Note
Happy Valentines Day 2022!
Thank you for reading and have a great day!
