//------------------------------// // Caught // Story: Soaring Skies // by Gallifrey //------------------------------// Soaring Skies by Gallifrey Edited by Reevsie and shad0wstalker Chapter One Caught Lifting a heavy hoof, Soarin' attempted to swipe the little plastic card he had been given over his locked hotel door. "Come on! Work, you stupid thing," he grumbled, repeating the action. He heard a satisfying click and the smart wooden door of his private suite opened, his weary joints creaking in tandem with the hinges as he slumped inside. It's been a long day. Too long, he thought. Canterlot sure doesn't want to give us a break. It had been a hectic day all round: not just for Soarin', but for the whole Wonderbolts team, especially Spitfire. Not only had they performed a highly ambitious and complex show that day, but there had been a media conference immediately afterwards. He cast his mind back as he collapsed onto his bed and closed his eyes. He was sitting on his haunches at a panel with his captain, Spitfire, sitting to his left. The Wonderbolts had no sooner finished their show than the captain and her vice were whisked away to a panel in front of what appeared to be all the press ponies in Equestria. Worn out as they both were, they still managed to put on smiles for the crowd as they began to take pictures, Soarin's perhaps somewhat lacklustre. A blue unicorn stood up. "On behalf of Equestria Daily, I'd like to personally congratulate you and your team on the stunning show you offered us all today. What are your thoughts on your performance?" "Can I have some water?" panted Soarin'. He was swelteringly hot under the unforgiving lights, and sweating profusely under his tight flight suit. Spitfire glanced at him and merely rolled her eyes as she drew a microphone closer to her. "I think I can speak for the team when I say we are extremely happy with how our flying went today. We wanted to kick off our nationwide tour with a bang, and I think that's what's we got: particularly when Soarin' banged into me half way though, sending me off into that triple corkscrew with Rapidfire." She turned to Soarin', grinning, and winked. "So that was a complete accident?" said a pegasus in shocked awe. "Kinda," admitted Soarin', looking around the room. "Any water? No?" "Yeah, it was, but no matter how good you are at something, mistakes will always creep through; we just try to pull off our mistakes in style, and we usually succeed," Spitfire said with a grin, drawing a chuckle from the crowd. "So, Spitfire, are you proud of your team today, despite said 'mistake'?" The yellow mare looked at Soarin', meeting his emerald eyes for a second. She turned back, leaning into the mic for added emphasis. "I can honestly say, without a shadow of a doubt, I've never been more proud of my team than I am right now." Soarin' smiled and opened his eyes. "I need a shower," he mumbled to himself as he hauled his weary body up and plodded to the bathroom. Upon entry, he began peeling off his flight suit, all the while cringing as he felt it cling to his sweaty fur. "This is truly disgusting," he said, nose wrinkled as he tossed it into a washing basket. "They could've at least let us have a shower before the conference, or even before the signings we did after it, but noooo." He continued complaining to thin air as he turned the knob for the shower. Water cascaded over his body and he sighed in content as he felt the stale sweat wash away. His tirade of complaints continued. "I really need to have a word with Spits and see if she can at least let us have a break after a show. It's ridiculous: two hours of flying and not a second's break before we're thrown into the spotlight." He sighed, and continued cleaning himself, occasionally breaking out into off key singing and whistling. Once he was finally squeaky clean and shiny, he returned to the bedroom proper, a towel wrapped around his barrel and mist spilling out behind him. Sweet Celestia, that feels so much better, he thought, stretching his hooves and cricking his neck. Drawing his curtains, he sat down on the side of the bed, lying back and relaxing his tired body with his wings spread eagled. He stared blankly at the ceiling, and it stared blankly back, his mind clearing as he breathed slowly and deeply. After a while, he began to feel bored. He grunted and sat up, pulling his suitcase from under the bed. Flicking the clasps open, he rummaged around it until he found just what he was looking for. His eyes lit up as they scanned the brand new cover of this month's edition of Playpony. The blue stallion hadn't had chance to read it since he bought the special wet mane edition for that month, but patience is always rewarded. Hooves trembling slightly, he skipped most of the magazine and went straight for the centrefolds. His gaze fell upon a very pretty unicorn who was standing on her hind legs, blue hair hanging against her alabaster coat. Her magenta eyes held a sultry look, and she was licking her lips in a seductive manner. Soarin' admired her, so absorbed that he was completely unaware that he was no longer alone in his room. Spitfire had opened Soarin's door, and the sight that greeted her made her want to fall down laughing. Soarin' had his back to the door, and hadn't noticed her entry; she watched with amusement as the poor stallion lusted over the magazine. She crept cautiously across the room, sneaking up to him with stealth in her very breath. This was going to be fun. Oh, what to do? Clear my throat? Shout? Sound shocked? Angry? Jump on him? She considered her options for a moment, before deciding to do a convoluted mix of all of them. "Soarin' Windsong, what the fuck are you doing?!" she yelled in a slightly gravelly voice, pouncing over the bed to collide with the suddenly petrified pegasus, who started violently and dropped his magazine. "Spitfire?! Um, it's not what it looks like I swear! I was... um, reading the articles?" he finished lamely, eyes pinpricks of fear. Spitfire meanwhile was too busy rolling around on the floor in a fit of giggles to be paying all that much attention. "Sweet Celestia, your face!" she said breathlessly, standing up and wiping her eyes of the tears of her mirth. Soarin' merely stood awkwardly, all previous excitement totally obliterated. "Oh wow, I gotta do that more often," she panted, taking a seat on the bed. "No you don't," the stallion grumbled, sitting next to her. "Oh, lighten up Soar," she said, giving him a playful hit on his shoulders. "Why are you even up here?" he asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. "I've been going round, thanking everyone for the effort they put in today. I really am proud of you all," she beamed. "And last, but by no means least, I came to congratulate my best friend." There was a moment of silence. "Who?" asked Soarin'. "You, you dolt!" said Spitfire with exasperation. "It's not like we've known each other since we were foals or anything!" "Oh, right. And I know that, but you have a lot of friends, Spits, so I didn't know who was top." "It's you, you big dummy." Soarin' smiled. "Thanks, Spits." "No worries. Anyway, I think we're missing the bigger picture here." "We are?" Spitfire nodded and pointed at the issue of Playpony that was crumpled on the floor. "Well," said Soarin', his cheeks flushing from pale blue to crimson in the blink of an eye. "W-we all get urges don't we? Th-there's nothing shameful about it, it's completely natural," he stammered as he shoved it back into his suitcase. "If there's nothing shameful, then why are you bright red?" Spitfire teased. She took a certain amount of pleasure from watching him squirm. "I-I dunno, it is rather warm in here, that might be it..." Spitfire gave him a quick once over. Soarin' felt as though he was being x-rayed by those warm, amber eyes. The yellow mare saw how tense he was, she saw how his eyes were not quite meeting hers, that faintest glimmer in their emerald depths, the twitch in his left ear. No other pony would notice anything, but Soarin' had been her good friend for so very long, she knew what was on his mind, he always got like this when it'd been a while. "How long's it been Soar?" she asked casually. "Wh-what?!" "You heard me pony boy, when did you last get laid?" Soarin' never ceased to be amazed at just how brash and blunt Spitfire could be sometimes. "'Bout eight months," he mumbled. Spitfire whistled. "Whoo, that's pretty long for you. You normally have the pick of the litter, what with all the fangirls you have, not to mention fanboys" she said, giving him a sly wink. "What's got your tail in a knot all of a sudden?" "I guess I kinda want a relationship, ya know?" "Aww, is my 'ittle bitty Soary growing up?" Spitfire teased, inching slightly closer to him as she poked him in the chest. "Maybe I am. I'm not getting any younger, am I?" "Oh, don't start talking like that. It's depressing." "Hey, anyway, seeing as how I told you, it's only fair you tell me, right?" said Soarin', turning the tables in one sentence. Now it was Spitfire who was blushing. "Well?" he pressed, smirking. He turned to lie on his bed, leaning against the headrest, forelegs behind his head, clearly enjoying himself. "Frou theefs," she murmured, avoiding his gaze. "I'm sorry, what's that?" he said, putting a hoof to his ear. "Two weeks!" "Huh," said the stallion, surprised. "Not long ago then." "I was drunk," said Spitfire, as though this was an adequate excuse. "Can we change the subject now?" "Why? This is what you did to me." "But it's funny with you!" Spitfire whined, pouting. "Fine, what do you wanna talk about?" "I wanna talk about what you're going to do about this relationship predicament you're in." Soarin' paused. "Well, what do you think I should do?" Spitfire looked thoughtful for a second, then scooted up the bed, batting one of Soarin's hooves nonchalantly. "I think you should perhaps ask somepony to go to dinner with you while we're on tour," said Spitfire tentatively. She was blushing, and Soarin' couldn't work out why. "Where are we headed next?" the stallion asked, looking around for his calendar. "Ponyville, tomorrow. Jeez, Soar, you need to be more organised." "Pffft, why organise when you know everything anyway?" "That's... actually a good point," she conceded. "So, Ponyville you say? Hmmm." He stared at Spitfire, seemingly deep in thought. The yellow mare's heart beat slightly faster in anticipation. "I'll send a letter to Rainbow Dash then, see if she wants to hook up." "Wait, what?" said Spitfire, feeling her heart now sink horribly in her chest. Soarin' seemed confused. "You said ask somepony to dinner while we're on tour. We're on tour, and I'm gonna ask Rainbow Dash to dinner!" He flashed a bright smile at his pegasus friend and sprang up off the bed to look for parchment and quills. "Oh, yeah... of course," murmured Spitfire, head down, her fiery mane swaying in the disturbance caused by Soarin' as he leapt up, "Rainbow Dash." "Spits, you're a genius!" said the stallion happily, ruffling her hair with a free hoof. "I-I guess I have my moments, don't I?" she mumbled. She looked up at the excited pegasus. "Soar?" she began. "Yuh-huh?" he said, pausing in his rush to look at her. Spitfire held his gaze, wanting to tell him so many things. "I... I think I'm gonna hit the hay, it's getting late." "Sure thing, see you tomorrow mornin' pony gal!" She gave him a weak smile and walked to the door. She loved it when he called her pony gal. "G'night," she said on her way out. "Sweet dreams!" The door shut and Spitfire trudged back to her room. She fell on her bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering just what in Equestria went wrong.