A Moment Together
The door to the showers opened, letting the warm humid air mix with the cool dry air of the locker rooms. A yellow pegasus exited through the door, the mist rolling off her wings as she headed toward his locker after a calm, reenergizing shower after a long day’s work. She opened up a locker, grabbing a towel to dry herself off with. After running it over her amber mane, and down her tail, she threw the towel into the bottom of her saddlebag and turned toward the mirror. Spitfire's mane was now less wet but still damp, her normally spiked hair falling down the sides of her head.
She was the only Wonderbolt left in the locker rooms, preferring to take her time relaxing in the shower, letting the hot water ease her sore wings and muscles. The other members of the flight team had already gone, opting to make use of the little remaining daylight to make a dash for the nearest restaurant, hoping to catch the “early-griffon” specials. She however, had no plans for this evening, and took her leisurely time. As Team Captain, she had definitely earned it.
They all had a hard day. They performed for the annual Cloudsdale Air Show. It was a big event in Cloudsdale. It had always been a tradition for the Wonderbolts to close the show with a stunning air performance. This year Spitfire and Jetstream, the teams flight instructor and planner, had planned a mock dogfight for their main show. It was a hard show pull off, with only a few members on the team even knew basic dogfighting tactics. But Thunderhead, Divebomb and Stratus have all been formal Royal Air Force dogfighters. Though none have ever been in real combat, their skills were enough to beat all the others on the team, forcing Spitfire to try to spilt them up in hopes of balancing the odds and giving the audience a good show.
As she finished her mild preening, she went to where she had placed her Wonderbolt flight suit. It was slightly sweaty from the day but with a mild soak and a nice fluff, it would be good as new. Well, almost anyway, she thought as she exited the building.
The cool midsummer’s day was a much needed break from the weeklong heat wave Cloudsdale had been experiencing. The sky was completely covered in clouds, their presence giving the sky a dull blue hue.
And the air around the Cloudsdale Coliseum was fresh and crisp. She was just about to fly away when she saw a figure up on the third row of bleachers. Wondering just who it was, she flew up to where the figure was lying. As she got closer, she could make out the form of a sky-blue pegasus with a navy blue mane. He had the cutie mark of a set of wings, crossed with each other. Spitfire recognized him immediately.
“Soarin’?” She called out.
Soarin’ turned toward her, “Oh… Hey Spitfire, didn’t think the team was still here.”
“They aren’t,” she explained, “I took my time in the shower. Really fine way to end the day, in my opinion.”
“Yea, it was a long day for me, too.”
He turned back, eyes seemingly locked onto a point somewhere in front of him.
Spitfire looked at him in concern, “Is everything all right?” She asked.
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, for one you’ve been up here for who knows how long, staring at nothing.”
Soarin’ didn’t look up.
“Oh, well... I guess I have.”
She walked over to him, and sat on all four hooves next to him. It wasn't the first time she had seen him like this. She remembered the first time she had seen him do this. It was before she was team captain. It was during a practice session, Soarin's first year on the team. He was nervous about trying out, and had acted in a manner similar to what he was doing right now.
“Soarin’, something’s bothering you, I can tell...”
Soarin’ continued to stare at the point, but he lower lip was puckered, a sign he was thinking.
Finally he said, his big green eyes staring at her now, “It’s about today. Something happened during the closing ceremonies, after we performed.”
Spitfire had an idea of what he was referring to. “You mean when Bubblegum kissed you?”
“Yes.” Was his only response, his eyes now fell back to the ground.
Spitfire thought back to when it happened. They had just finished the closing ceremonies at the air show. Their performance involved 6 Wonderbolts, Spitfire and Soarin’ included. The Wonderbolts team consisted of more than 6, but the fight teams consisted of 6 pegasi at once, each flight squad having different members. The air show had all of them perform, but the finale consisted of the best members of the team: Thunderhead, Skylight, Bubblegum, Nightingale, Soarin’ and herself.
After the show, they went out into the crowd to meet their fans. She remembered Thunderhead was posing for pictures, remembering him being grabbed by a slightly overly energetic mare for a picture. Spitfire thought she had squeezed him a little too tight for after they separated he walked a few feet and promptly fell on his flank, forcing Spitfire to suppress a chuckle. She and Skylight were signing autographs, mostly to children, their eyes full of joy at the sight of their role models in front of them.
Soarin’, however was in a daze, His seemed like he was in a dream, not paying attention to his surroundings. All of a sudden, Bubblegum, the team’s second oldest member apart from Spitfire, walked right up to Soarin’ and kissed him on the lips. The crowd largely seemed not to notice it, too busy with picture and parents dealing with screaming fillies and colts. But Spitfire did notice a look that Spitfire could have described as unsettled look on his face. A few moments later, things had gone back to normal, but spitfire had suspected that Soarin’ still was bothered by what happened.
And it seems that she was right, judging by the state Soarin’ was in now.
“You know, she is just means she likes you. She kind of show is in a very intense way.”
Soarin’ looked up at her, “Yes, I know that, it’s just...” He seemed to not find the correct words to say.
Spitfire stared at him for a moment, letting what Soarin’ had said sink in.
“So that means that you are not troubled by the kiss?”
“Yes-well no but...
Soarin’ got up and Cloudsdale over to the formed clouds that was the railing for the stadium. Spitfire joined him, Cloudsdale laid out behind the far stadium wall. To their right, while they could not see it due to the cloud cover, the sun was just starting to set, morphing the colors of the clouds into a deep red glow as it began to set. Above them, Spitfire thought she saw a hint of a few starts struggling to reveal themselves amongst the clouds. “
“The thing is... well...”
She noticed him start to fidget around more, tapping his hoof on the ground in an erratic beat.
“Spitfire... The thing that you have to know is... I...”
Soarin mumbled something, the words were unintelligible to Spitfire. Spitfire had never seen him act so shy before. She noticed the immense difference in Soarin’ when he woke up today.
"Soarin’, I can’t understand what you are saying, you need to speak louder."
“I kinda.... like stallions.” Soarin’ said, as if the words were hot coals. The words seemed to take an enormous effort for him to say, as he sat back down, eyes retreating back to the ground. His breath was coming in short hard breaths, which eventually smoothened out.
Spitfire just sat there, taking in what she had just been told. A gust a wind blew past them, making Spitfire’s semi-wet mane flop around in the breeze. She hardly noticed it, her mind processing what she just learned. Soarin’ is a colt-cuddler... Frankly, she had a bit of an idea, but to hear it now from him...
"I knew this before I joined the team,” Soarin’ said before she had a chance to speak. "I thought I would be able to hide that info, until the time was right to reveal it to everyone. Once I got to know everyone. But…"
“But then today happened. Bubblegum kissed me. And this wasn't the first time she had shown affection for me. Remember the New Year’s Eve party this year? "
While Spitfire was at the party, she could only vaguely recall the events of that date. They, as a team usually spent their new year’s eve together. This year, the party was at their headquarters. It was a large cloud home near the weather factory. All the team had come this year, an unexpected deviation from past years, where most of the team spent the year by themselves, or with family. Spitfire had ordered pizza from a local restaurant, and hired their own DJ.
Seeing her trying to remember, he explained it to her, "It was after midnight, about 30 minutes into the new year. You were dancing with some of the team, while I was sitting out on the balcony. All a sudden she comes up to me. I could already tell she had had a bit too much cider at the party. She was slurring her words and walking funny. She started to advance on me. I tried to resist but didn’t help. In a flash she was up in my face. And...” he didn't bother to finish.
“Now I initially happened to suspect it was some of the cider she drank that was responsible for her actions, so I didn't give it much thought. But ever since then, she has been acting really nice to me. I didn’t pay it much attention till now, but when she kissed me today....
That's what got me thinking, 'perhaps I’ve waited too long to come out. I-if she has feelings for me... and I just tell her I'm not attracted to mares, she will be... I just don't want to break her heart.”
She saw that his eyes had stated to water. Soarin’ was calm and cool when out in public performing, but he was really a softie at heart. She placed a hoof over the poor, sad stallion’s shoulders, in a gesture of comfort.
“Soarin’, if she does have feelings for you, I can guarantee you she will want you to be open to her about your sexuality. Just go on up to her, and tell her. It’s not as if it is your fault or anything. It’s better for her to know the stallion you really are than to fall in love with the one you aren’t.”
Soarin’ looked up at her, his eyes still full of doubt. “You think so?”
“Trust me, I know Bubblegum,” Spitfire assured him, “She will be able to handle it, more so if she likes you.”
He and Spitfire both sat there for a while. By now the sun had almost fully retreated behind the earth, the sky now growing darker every minute. A few of the brightest stars were able to push through the clouds and shown faintly in the vast expanse of the horizon. Yet the moon had not taken up its position in the night sky, as if the last few remaining clouds were halting its progress up.
Eventually Soarin’ broke the silence,
“Do you know you are the first person I told?”
Spitfire looked at him, “I kind of guessed that. I’m happy you told me first.”
She noticed that Soarin’ no longer looked concerned, but he still seemed rather silent.
“So how do you think the other members of the team will take the news?” he asked, watching her face intently as if trying to gleam an answer off her facial expressions.
“Oh, you need to stop worrying! If it makes you feel better, Skylight recently introduced a friend to me, Thunderhead and Jetstream. Her friend was a filly-fooler, and you know what they did? Nothing. Because they know simply it is not a big deal,” she explained, “And I know you should too.”
He paused for a second. Then as if reaching a sudden goal, he smiled for the first time since she started talking to him.
“You know what, Spitfire? You really are a great advice giver. What you said to me really affected me. Thank you.”
Spitfire patted him on his back, “Hey, you don't get to be team captain without having your fair share of conflicts. It’s not just all about flying, you know.”
“And hey, if you ever have any more problems, you know who to talk to.” She said warmly with a smile.
“Thank you again.” Soarin’ said, finally feeling satisfied.
Now that they were finally both relaxed, they began to appreciate the nighttime fully. The clouds in the sky were already thinning, and the round crescent of Luna’s began to peak over the tall walls of the coliseum. The stars were shining brightly now, the clouds unable to hide them any longer. “Hey, the night is young, as they say. What do you think about going out for a bite to eat?” She said, smiling at him.
Soarin’ turned toward her, a large smile on his face. “You BET!” He jumped up from where he had been sitting, his normal mood shifted into excitement upon the prospect of eating, having not had anything to eat since midday. She could almost hear his stomach growling for food. “What do you have in mind?” he inquired.
“I know of a place that is just a ways away from here. I know the owner and can get us discounted prices on meals. They’ve got great pie." She said in a knowing smile.
Soarin’ stopped in his tracks, "They... have... pie?"
She looked at the ground for a moment.
"Yea, the current special is blueberry pie and..."
Soarin’ instantly jumped forward,
"Onwards to pie!" he said in a straight face, striking an epic pose, until he could no longer hold it and broke out in laughter.
His laughter affected Spitfire, causing her to begin laughing with him.
“I take it you really love pie?”
“Oh, yes! Pie is my favorite food.” He said, his mouth watering.
“Then,” Spitfire said with a smirk usually reserved for the beginning of a race, “shall we depart?”
And so they shot up into the air. By this time, the moon had well established itself as the ruler of the sky; the clouds that have covered the city had all vanished, replaced by a clear nighttime display of twinkling stars, accompanied by two pegasi soaring into the night.