Chapter 3: A Night Out
“So tell me, did you like what you saw out there?” Spitfire asked as she came over to where Zack was standing, shaking a few stray drops of sweat from her fiery mane as she walked.
"Have to admit I was pretty impressed,” Zack replied, matching her smile with his own, and abandoning the cloud wall he had been leaning against. “I can see why you’re called the best team of flyers around... and just quietly, I can also see why you’re team captain.”
Even in the crimson light of the setting afternoon sun, Zack could see Spitfire’s cheeks go a little red, a sight which he couldn’t help but grin at and find strangely adorable. Affectionately, he unfolded his arms and gently ran his right hand through the spot of damp mane between her ears, prompting the golden mare to giggling once more at the ticklish sensation.
By that time it was getting late, and the Wonderbolts’ training had, after several hours, finally finished, much to both Spitfire’s and Zack’s relief as it was starting to get dark. Now the team of elite pegasi were heading for the comfort of the showers, allowing the two odd friends to spend a moment alone.
For most of the day Zack had practised his sword skills on spare clouds while Spitfire trained with the rest of her team, the two managing a short conversation at the short lunch period, but otherwise only communicating my smiles and glances.
“Tch, you’re such a flatterer Zack, but thanks,” she said happily, the embers in her cheeks at last dying down, and allowing her to face him directly again. “Say, I’m kind of hungry… you want to go out for dinner tonight?”
Zack’s mouth was open in reply before he fully comprehended what she had just asked, resulting in the usually composed and deadly looking SOLDIER to be stuck embarrassingly with his mouth hanging open. He shut it as quickly as he could, but Spitfire had already began laughing her head off, resulting in Zack having his own turn at having his cheeks go red.
“You sure?”
“Duh,” was Spitfire laughed reply, the golden pegasus grinning and shaking her head in amusement. “Come on Zack, I can’t have you spend your entire time standing in the shadows; you need to get used to being in pony society if you wanna be a 'bolt... besides, you and I both know the hotel food is crap anyway.”
Zack knew that to be true. Breakfast for him had literally been a combination of high-grain toast, a small bowl of bland cereal, and a cup of perhaps the worst possible drink imaginable; he hadn’t even bothered to ask what it was.
“Spitfire, I haven't got any money,” Zack sighed dryly in meek protest, rubbing his temples with a gloved hand. “How am I supposed to pa…”
“Zack, it’s on me dummy,” Spitfire jumped in, as usual wearing an strikingly unnerving grin as she came forward, reared up, and pushed Zack back against the wall with her front hooves. “Let’s just go out for a night, just you and me to celebrate you getting accepted by the team... and kicking Soarin’s arrogant flank in the process. Please?”
The SOLDIER admitted he had suddenly found himself stuck between two hard places; on one hand his honour hated the idea of her having to pay for him to eat, but at the same time she seemed so eager to just relax, and the last thing he wanted to do is spoil that chance and offend her... and after all, it wasn’t like she was asking him on date or anything.
“Alright,” he sighed at last, a small smirk crossing his face a moment later as Spitfire, rather oddly, gave out an excited squeal and did a backflip. “But nowhere overly fancy… I’m not the suit and tie type, and I’m not letting you throw away all your hard earned money on my sorry ass either.”
Spitfire just giggled and shook her head in amusement at the statement, before turning and quickly making her way back towards the mares shower blocks, leaving a still slightly confused and embarrassed Zack behind.
“That’s cool, I’m not the dressy type either, and I happen to know a place that’s perfect for us… just give me a couple minutes to tidy my locker and get cleaned up a little, then we’ll get going.”
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An hour later, Zack found himself slightly regretting that fact he had taken up Spitfire’s offer of a night out together; of all the reasons he had thought to encounter, however, the true reason was not one of them.
He had planned for a thousand different problems to arise, and had mentally prepared for every one of them in turn; most of said resolutions including the use of his fists. Unfortunately, he hadn’t planned for problem number one thousand and one, the exact problem he was currently faced with.
“Ugh… what is wrong with me?” Zack snapped mentally at himself, rubbing his face as he once again tried to push the continually reappearing thought from his head, the one that had lodged itself in his mind the moment Spitfire had left the stadium shower block. “Why I am being like this? I swear I wasn't like this around Aerith.”
Said problem was, strangely, Zack’s inability to take his eyes off his golden mare counterpart.
Zack had, as expected, waited patiently for Spitfire to ready herself back at the stadium, just like any honourable man would have. When she had emerged though, Zack had found himself unable to say anything, and even an hour later now was struggling to contain his wayward eyes.
The golden mare had washed and groomed her coat and wings, so they looked and gleamed as well as the precious metal. She had then seemed to brush her tail so not a single wrinkle existed in the long fiery strands, and brushed her mane so it lay flat against her soft set shoulders, but danced gracefully with each individual step.
It was a strange feeling, to say the absolute least; she was human in every way bar appearance, but still, acknowledging that he found her something along the lines of attractive felt... rather weird.
“Ugh, control yourself,” Zack grunted to himself again, walking a little behind Spitfire so he could slap himself across the face without her seeing him do it. “She’s your friend, and what would Angeal say about this if he saw you acting like you are?”
“You okay back there, Zack?”
Zack instantly silenced his thoughts as he looked up at Spitfire, who was watching him curiously like she was a touch worried.
“Yeah… fine… just a little confused about something is all,” he sighed in reply, rubbing the back of his neck with a gloved hand. “It’s… complicated.”
“How about you stop thinking for a bit,” the mare smiled, slowing for a moment so when she began walking again, she and Zack were side-by-side “You always seem lost in your thoughts, just take a break from them for a little while and enjoy yourself.”
"Little hard not to be," Zack huffed, a little drearier then he'd intended.
Spitfire offered him a nuzzle on the wrist. "I'm just saying that the best way to move on from something, and something that you can't change especially, is probably to stop dwelling on it."
Somewhat grudgingly, Zack took her advice and fixed all mental capacity on the world around him, his glowing blue eyes tracing every detail and locking it into his long term memory.
The two of them were in, or what seemed to Zack, to be quiet suburban area of Cloudsdale. The road they were walking along was lined with single or two story houses, and the occasional shop or similar. Here and there the occasional street lamp illuminated the white cloud which literally everything was made from, the golden light bringing the marble-like substance to life before the SOLDIER’s eyes.
Every so often they would silently pass a house who’s lights would be on and would be filled with voices; it was usually at these Zack noted Spitfire would slow momentarily and close her eyes, like she was listening or perhaps even remembering, although he knew better than to pry into her personal thoughts and hence said nothing. Admittedly, there were times when he would do the same thing, remembering when he was young and things were far simpler.
By now the sun was fully set and the star studded darkness of the night had at last set in, bringing with it the unlikeable edge of cold which was biting into Zack’s skin, resulting in him having to tuck his gloved hands into his arms pits as another gust of icy air swept over his flesh. He wasn’t complaining, as he was used to coping with conditions that were a lot worse, but the feeling of having the cold sink it’s fangs into his warm body was still not a feeling he particularly enjoyed.
“So where exactly are we going?” he asked tentatively at last, trying to break the unnerving silence that had taken over.
“It’s a little place I used to work when I younger,” Spitfire laughed, flicking a few fiery mane strands from her face as she glanced up at him. “You’ll like it. It’s nice without being fancy, and luckily it’s not far either.”
Zack flashed a quick smile and tried to hide the fact he was cold, although considering he wasn’t wearing any sleeves to speak of... it was no doubt kind of obvious.
Eventually, Spitfire’s words rang true, and a medium sized rectangular building awash with bright light came into view.
As soon as it came into full view Zack found his nose bombarded with the smell of cooking food. Admittedly, it wasn’t like any food he had smelt in his life, but it smelt good none the less, and judging by the number of pony customers he could see through the various windows, it tasted good too.
As they got even closer, Zack noted a large mounted neon light sign standing out the front, which flashed every few seconds between various coloured symbols... symbols that meant nothing to the SOLDIER but he guessed were perfectly logical to Spitfire.
“This is Sky High’s Diner,” Spitfire offered as she pushed the glass door open , and then beckoned Zack inside, the scent of cooked food literally flooding out the door and overwhelming his nostrils. “Like I said, I used to work here, so I know the menu off by heart, which helps considering I know you can’t read our language.”
“I’ll let you order for me then,” Zack chuckled, ruffling her mane with his hand as he walked past. “But don’t spend too much, alright.”
As was expected, the two became the centre of everyponies’ attention as soon as they walked in, all eyes following the odd looking pair of the armored SOLDIER and golden pegasus, with a combination of surprise and curiosity being the most prevalent as they crossed the room. Neither, however, took any notice of the gawking, and instead with Spitfire leading quietly made their way to a window side table and sat down, the mare sitting beside Zack in order to help him with his meal.
Just like everything else the table and seats were made of shaped cloud, but were surprisingly still firm and comfortable, plus the view of the crystal clear night sky outside and the Diner's soft background music made the atmosphere a strangely calming one.
“So you used to work here then huh?” Zack asked, looking blankly at the unreadable white paper menu in front of him before turning it Spitfire. “You mind translating for me?”
The pegasus just bit her hoof and giggled a few times, causing everypony else eating in the diner to look strangely at them and for Zack to blush under his black locks.
“How about I just order you a Cloudsdale burger?” She smiled. “It’s my favourite when I feel like something decently sized... plus I know personally that griffins can eat it, so your stomach should be able to handle it as well.”
“Alright, sounds good to me.”
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“Well you weren’t kidding,” Zack chuckled as he scrunched up his sauce dotted napkin and dropped it back on his plate. “These guys can make decent food.”
The mare grinned and finished her drink before replying.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Spitfire replied happily as she downed the last of her strawberry milkshake, using her hoof to wipe the small amount of pink residue from her lips. “I haven’t been back here for a while, so I kinda thought the place might have changed. Thankfully it hasn’t.”
By now it was late, but neither Zack nor Spitfire cared; the night had been perfect, and the meal simple and cheap but filling all the same.
And the eating of it in each other’s company had made it all the better. Then again, Zack liked to think that anything was better done with friends.
He tried not to dwell on that thought too much.
Now with their bill paid the two found themselves simply sitting at their table, looking out the window and watching the stars. After a while the SOLDIER allowed himself to lower his emotional barriers a touch, and affectionately run his right hand through Spitfire’s soft mane, the young mare in turn dropping her composure a tad and eventually moving her head to rest on Zack’s chest while he did.
If this was what simple friendship was like in Equestria, Zack figured he could get used it.
By now just about everypony else who had dined around them had gone home, leaving the two friends to at last enjoy themselves without being stared at constantly. Zack didn’t mind being watched, he knew that being different meant it would happen one way or another, but it was only once he was out of everyponys’ sight that he felt he could actually relax, even with his Buster Sword across his back.
“Thanks for coming with me tonight, Zack,” Spitfire sighed happily. “I just really needed to get away from… my team for a while.”
“You mean from Soarin?” Zack asked quickly, tilting his head so his blue eyes met her own gold ones. “He’s not giving you a hard time about me, is he?”
Spitfire just sighed and closed her eyes before answering.
“It’s nothing to do with you Zack… it’s just being around Soarin in general I can only do in small doses. Training and shows are alright because we don’t talk to each other that much, but having to share a room with him... well, it's kind of like constantly having my tail pulled… it’s painful.”
Zack bit his lip for a moment as he thought about what he wanted to say. He wasn’t exactly sure if he should, but he wanted to understand why the two of them were constantly at each other’s throats.
“Spitfire… what exactly happened between you two?” he asked after a moment, facing her with a stern expression as he stopped stroking her mane. “I know there has to be a reason, and one way or another you both need to work through it. Look… I know he’s a dishonourable pain in the ass, but he’s not by any way what I would call mean. Besides, if there’s something seething between you two, maybe I can help you both work it out.”
Given how proud she came across as, Zack had half expected her to either get up and leave, or kick him in the face.
She did neither though, but instead gave out a sort of defeated groan before shifting a little bit.
“We weren’t always enemies, Zack… actually, when we were younger we were really good friends. We met in Flight School here in Cloudsdale, heh, I still remember it; it was our first day of school, and I was really, really nervous, so I really didn’t talk to anypony unless I had to. Soarin though has always been pretty confident with himself, even back then," a snicker escaped her muzzle. "Anyway, sometime through the day Soarin saw me, and decided to come over and introduce himself. He asked if I wanted to be his friend… and, well, he quickly became my best friend.”
Zack saw a small grin cross her face at the words, though her eyes stayed firmly shut.
“We got along pretty well with each other, and we stayed really close friends through school, but he was a natural flyer and the best in our class… and well, heh, I wasn’t exactly great back then to be honest, so throughout Junior Flight School I always kind of looked up to him in way. As we got older and went into our higher school years though... we drifted apart. Soarin discovered the social side of school, and I had my head in my books… all I wanted was to be a great flyer like him, Zack, so I learnt everything there was to know about flying, and I practised every single day, which meant I didn’t get involved in the social events or dating scenes like he did.”
At last she opened her eyes and cast them around the now quiet diner.
“That’s why I got a job here in the first place; as soon as I was old enough I hired a private trainer to give me some professional guidance in my flying, but my parents weren’t exactly swimming in bits, so I paid myself. All the while Soarin was off having fun with his friends and school-fillies, and in the meantime blitzing classes and beating me in every test without effort. I guess after a while I got jealous of his natural ability… and eventually that got to a point where I didn’t just see him as a friend, but also as a rival… like I no longer wanted to be like him, but I wanted to be even better than him. So I studied hard and worked even harder at my flying, and eventually it paid off; I graduated top of our class in both practical and theory, and Soarin got second… and that was when everything between us unravelled.”
“You mean he couldn’t accept the fact you were better than he was?” Zack asked quietly, drawing the mare a little closer.
Spitfire snorted and nodded. “Yeah… after the graduation ceremony ended, I... I brought him and a few others here to celebrate, but Soarin was acting really weird... and he kept getting agitated by everything. After we all ate I finally had enough and asked him what was wrong… and he actually had the nerve to ask me if I had cheated in our exams, or slept with one of the judging coaches... in front of everypony else. I told him the reason I had beaten him was because I actually studied, and put in every ounce of effort I could at school. Ugh, that was when he just lost it totally and snapped, said some really mean things I’d rather not repeat in front of all my friends, and then... just stormed out.”
Zack in an instant forgot all his emotional barriers, and pulled the quivering mare onto his lap and into the safety and comfort of his arms, not even caring about whether or not they were still being watched. In response she curled her front hooves around his chest and buried her face in his sweatshirt.
“I-I always knew he had a big ego Zack... but I never thought it would make him turn on me in front of everypony like he did that night. He knew how hard I had worked through school, and I thought maybe he’d be happy for me," Spitfire gave a final snort, before seeming to pull herself and her emotions back together... although she seemed to content to stay where she was. "Instead I learnt a lesson that I should have a long time earlier; Soarin only cares about himself. We didn’t talk or have anything to do with each other for ages after that night, not even when we were in Junior Speedsters Flight Camp together… but when we were both selected for the Wonderbolts... well, we agreed to at least try and get along again. He's levelled out a little since then, but Soarin is still the centre of Soarin's world. ”
Zack was silent as he held her in his arms, inwardly trying to fight the idea of introducing the stallion to Ifrit the next time the two of them met.
Eventually, Spitfire's shaking died away, and so did his burning anger. He still, however, refused to let her go from his embrace, and she gave no indication of wanting him to either.
“What he did to you, Spitfire… was wrong.” Zack said at last, his gloved hands tracing her soft golden cheek. “And I will never let him hurt you or any… pony… ever again, because if he does, it'll be me that he'll be answering to. On my honour.”
Spitfire, somewhat to his surprise, let out an amused giggled and lifted her head from his chest, brilliant golden eyes meeting his own glowing blue ones with only a few centimetres between his face and the end of her muzzle. It did reminded him of times spent with Aerith, but those thoughts we're promptly quashed; there was no need to ruin the moment by dragging up such things.
To see her smiling again made Zack bubble inside, and in turn caused a grin spread across his own face; it felt good to know that he had someone to call a friend.
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Notes:
Had to make the romance start somewhere, but I don’t intended to rush it by any means.