A Night to Remember

Limits
Chapter 11:

Soarin tugged at the edge of the blanket, smoothing the wrinkles and assuring it was free of debris. Fireflies flitted around the clearing, mimicking the vibrant twinkling starlight overhead. He let his gaze trail idly toward the night sky, flexing his wings casually. The ache had been lessened considerably in the past several days, courtesy of a numbing spell from Twilight Sparkle and regular wing exercises with Rainbow Dash.

He had not yet been able to fly fully however, a hover and glide combination the most he was able to accomplish without inducing pain. The agonizing ache had become an annoying itch clawing at the forefront of his mind, tormenting his instinctual need to unite with the sky.

Lost in thoughts he failed to notice the vibrant yellow mare as she snuck up behind him, her hooves making nary a sound in the damp grass. His eyes flew wide and he was unable to hold in his cry of surprise as she threw her hooves around him and licked his cheek all in a matter of moments. He rubbed at the moistened fur on his face with his foreleg as she released him.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were expecting somepony else.” Spitfire said as she trotted around the blanket, eying the spread. Soarin had no idea what the grey mare liked aside from muffins, so he’d gotten one of everything the pink baker pony had offered as well as a variety of apple themed treats from a somewhat familiar apple farmer set up just outside the shop.

“What are you doing here Spitfire?” He asked after a hesitant moment. He remembered her, his flying partner and closest friend since they were both foals. In fact he remembered her with a vivid clarity, her presence bringing to light, rather conveniently, a big portion of memory regarding his wings. He glanced back at them over his shoulder frowning at their state of disrepair. He had preened them rather aggressively in preparation for this evening and as a result they appeared ragged and unkempt.

“Been wondering where you got to.” The mare said as she grabbed a muffin and began to eat, chewing on it thoughtfully. “Scratch said you’d gone to clear your head. I figure that’d only take a couple hours, but you’ve been gone for days.”

“I’ve been a little distracted.” Soarin answered, flushing faintly as his thoughts strayed toward the grey mare. He wasn’t keen on revealing the whole truth allowing Spitfire to instead amuse herself with his foalish romantic yearnings for a pony he hardly knew. His wings rose a bit at thought of her his soft silken feathers frayed though they were almost glowing in the faint moonlight.

“I knew it!” Spitfire chuckled in triumph, noticing the motion. “I told Scratch some filly had caught your eye!”

Soarin’s face grew warm as he pressed thoughts of the grey mare deeper into his subconscious, and folded his wings. It was uncomfortable being one of ‘those pegasi’, the kind prone to what many liked referring to as ‘wingboners.’ He hid his embarrassment with a cocky grin, one his friend had missed, having rarely seen as of late. She was still bothered by the somewhat vacant look in his eyes however.

“How long you going to stay here?” She asked, teasing done for the moment. “Tryouts are coming up and the Gala…”

“I still can’t fly without hurting and the truth is I don’t know if I ever will.” He answered as she trailed into worried silence.

“I don’t understand.” Spitfire said after a fair bit of contemplation in which her eyes trailed more than once toward his wings. “The doctor said it was just a sprain, he said you’d be fine after a couple of weeks.”

“It was a sprain,” Soarin answered, “But there’s more to it than that. It’s been happening for months, I know you’ve noticed the practices I’ve missed, the routines I’ve fumbled. It’s not just my wings Spitfire. It’s something else,” He tapped his hoof to the side of his head. “It’s something up here.”

“Then fix it!” She cried, worried for not just the future of the Wonderbolts, but the future of her best friend. “There’s medicine and therapy!”

“Don’t you think I’ve already tried?” He said his voice rising, not in anger but in anguish for his own fate. The sky was where he belonged and now that it had been taken from him, he’d become depressed, unable to think clearly, unable to laugh and joke and enjoy the life he once had. “I have! I’ve tried everything I can think of…”

“Then try something else!” She snapped angrily, striding through the picnic ignorant to the food caking her hooves. She had always had a volatile temper, carefully hidden, but easily provoked. Other ponies had always said that was why they got along so well, he was the ice to her fire. “The Wonderbolts need you! I need you!”

“Fire, don’t do this…please.” He begged. “Not now.”

“Yes now!” She insisted her wings flaring, her mane glistening in the moonlight. He occasionally wondered if someplace deep inside she wasn’t made of flame. “You are going to fly if I have to drag you up there and drop you myself!”

The mare blinked in surprise as his hoof flew across her muzzle, snapping her head to the side. A faint heat radiated from the point of impact as she raised her own hoof to touch her cheek. Soarin was staring at her as she slowly turned her head back his way. His eyes were glassy, little storms of emotion swirling in their dark depths. It was a look she had only seen once before and hoped to never see again.

“Go home Spitfire.” He said quietly, his tone leaving no room for argument. The mare took a step back realizing the muck caked on her hooves as she glanced down at what had at one time had been a pasty of some sort. She took a moment to stare at the mess she had made her eyes brimming with apology. “Soarin….I, I’m sorry.” She murmured. “I’m …so sorry.”

“I know.” Soaring answered refusing to meet her gaze. “I know.”

--

Derpy’s wall eyed gaze flicked around nervously as she stumbled over the brambles and roots busting through the path along which she walked. The moon in the sky was dull casting barely enough light to see by but still the determined pony walked on. She had become lost quite easily once she’d left the unmarked borders of Ponyville and the familiar comforts of her usual mail route.

The night had fallen in quickly, lit by a smattering of vibrant starlight and fluttering lightning bugs. Perhaps it had not been the best idea to chase one, as that was the primary reason she had become lost, but not having a destination in the first place was just as viable a reason.

“Why did I agree to this?” She wondered out loud, her voice providing little comfort. Yet another root upset the pony’s pace causing her to stumble. “Sure he’s good looking…” She murmured out loud to herself, trying to conjure up excuses for putting herself in danger for a late night rendezvous with a pony who was essentially a stranger, as well as comfort her quaking nerves with the sound of her own voice. “And no doubt he’s smart, and kind, and…”

A deep blush rose to her face as she struggled to create words to describe her admiration. With a renewed vigor the excited mare trotted faster, stumbling much more often as a result. She swept her eyes along the periphery of the path, searching for something different, something that would lead her to her final destination. Several long minutes passed and she was beginning to lose hope.

Her fallen smile was renewed however as a firefly, its abdomen glittering in the darkness caught her eye. She pranced after it cooing softly, the sound having no affect on its seemingly random flight path. As she followed it that one bug was joined by another, and another, and after too long the bugs had become a multitude of flickering lights hung in the still night air. Derpy blinked several times as she emerged into a clearing the sight she was met with giving her pause and more than a bit of confusion. She was sure it hadn’t meant to look like this, though she had been to more than a few of Pinkie Pie’s picnics and often times this was the end result…

Shaking her head she stepped further in, catching a slight bit of movement from the corner of her wandering eye. The handsome pegasus stallion she’d been admiring from afar lay curled on his side his wings pressed tightly to his sides, his face hidden beneath a foreleg. Alongside him was a checkered picnic blanket, laden with what appeared to have been food at one point. Derpy raised her own hoof as something squished beneath it. A quick sniff revealed the smell of apples and cinnamon, apple pie?

The stallion shifted his head moving around to peer at her over his shoulder. After only a moment of study, his eyes glistening with moisture, he lay back down and Derpy’s quizzical stare fell into one of desolation. Something had happened while she was en route, something that had ruined his surprise, and caused him tears. Biting her bottom lip Derpy contemplated whether she should stay or leave.

Her mind was made up for her as her eye drifted across the destroyed contents of the picnic, settling on what appeared to be the only intact bit of food remaining. A single muffin lay on its side, hidden beneath the remains of what she could only guess had been another pie of some unknown flavor. With a smile Derpy cleared a space on the blanket and sat, brushing the crumbs from the muffin with a wingtip.

“Do you… want to share?” The hopeful mare broke the muffin in half, offering the stallion the bigger of the two parts as he responded dolefully, turning around and facing her, his expression one of apology. Her hopeful smile was infectious however and before long he found himself returning it in earnest.