//------------------------------//
// Hot Tub Confession 
// Story: From Sky to Earth 
// by RaijingtheClockworkPony 
//------------------------------//

	Soarin' hated parties. He didn't mind going to them but he hated being there. It was never the music that got him nor was it the food. It was the ponies that he didn't like. He hated when groups would crowd around him, constantly asking him questions or flirting with him shamelessly and it didn't help that Soarin' wasn't very outgoing. Some of the members of the Wonderbolts would even go as far as calling him awkward. Tonight was no exception to this. The Wonderbolts had just finished a big show in Fillydelphia and had returned to the Hotel. Soarin' had lain down on his bed hoping to use the peace and quiet to get some rest. The quiet that followed only lasted for a few minutes before the rest of the team decided that a party was needed for them to have some fun. As with almost every other party the Wonderbolts threw it was loud, crazy, and much to Soarin's annoyance, filled with plenty of mares. 

He found himself surrounded by mares, each asking him the same types of questions he was always asked. 'What's it like being famous?'; 'Can you help me meet Rapidfire?'; 'Wanna get out of here and do something fun?' The questions went on and only served to make Soarin' more and more uncomfortable. After an hour of being harassed like this he told the group that he had something he needed to do. He left the party and wandered around the hotel until he came across the spa. He peeked inside and found that it was empty aside from one lone stallion in a janitor uniform moping the floor. 

The stallion looked up and noticed Soarin'. "Why hello there. You're on o'them Wonderbolts right?"

Soarin' sighed and nodded. The stallion tipped his hat at him. "Pleasures mine. I take it you wanted this room to yourself?"

Another nod. "Well in that case let me just turn on ol' hot-tub here, and then I'll get out o'your mane."

The janitor got the hot-tub started and headed for the door. "Do you need a masseuse or somethin'?"

Soarin' removed his goggles. "No. I'll be fine alone. Thank you."

The stallion tipped his hat again and left. Soarin' removed the flight suit and took a step into the warm, bubbling water. It felt like heaven. As he soaked in the water his mind turned to the party and all the ones before it. His mind kept bringing him to one fact that was upsetting him the most. Most if not all the other Wonderbolts had dates, and if they didn't they would find one real quick. Maybe I need to take some time off... His musings were interrupted by the door suddenly opening and two ponies walking in, their lips locked to each other.  One was his team captain, the other her coltfriend.

Spitfire wrapped her hooves around Thunderlane's neck as he pinned her back to the wall. She was standing on her hind-legs staring deeply into his eyes when she saw motion behind him. She glanced over to see Soarin' blushing deeply as he reached for his goggles. He froze when he noticed her eyes on him. She started pushing on the stallion holding her up.

"Thunderlane."

He started kissing her neck. "Yeah?"

She lost herself for a moment in his touch but quickly regained composure. "Thunderlane."

He looked up due to her stern tone. "What?"

She motioned with her head behind him. He turned and saw Soarin' trying to avoid eye contact with the pair of them. Thunderlane immediate let Spitfire down and tried to think of something to say. Spitfire however had her eyes locked on Soarin'.

"Not much of a party huh?"

Soarin' just nodded. She sighed. "Thunder I need to talk to him for a moment. Would you please wait for me outside? I'll only be a moment."

Thunderlane tried his best to hide the disappointment that he felt but Spitfire noticed. She walked up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry. We'll pick up exactly where we left off."

He smiled and gave her a peck on the lips. "I'll hold you to that."

He gave Soarin' a nod then left the pair alone. Spitfire waited until the door was shut before she moved next to the tub and leaned on it. 

"Why are you in here instead of at the party?"

He lowered his head closer to the water so that his chin was barely in. Spitfire sighed once more then removed her goggles. She knew when Soarin' was in one of his moods, they had been friends from the very moment they met at their flight training. Soarin' had been sleeping on a cloud and she had crashed into said cloud. She spent the next hour of that fateful day apologizing and trying to make it up to him. Finally he told her to stop and that he would consider them even if she promised to be his friend. She accepted and they had been like brother and sister since that day. 

She removed her flight suit and entered the water next to him. She gently placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Hey, come on. You can tell me."

He glanced up and noticed the gentle smile she always used on him when he was feeling down. That smile should be illegal.' He sank lower into the water so his mouth was completely under. A series of bubbles and mumbling sounds was all Spitfire got.

"Soarin' I can't help you if you don't talk to me. Please?"

He lifted his head back up. "All the other 'bolts have dates."

She waited for a moment to see if there was more. "Okay... what does that have to do with you being in here?"

He looked down at the water. "I don't..."

His ears flattened against his head. "No matter where I am, in a party or here in a tub, I never have a date. I'm always sitting there alone."

She watched as he sank lower in to water and tried to hide his growing sadness that was covering his face. She moved closer to him and wrapped a foreleg around his shoulder. 

"What about all those mares I saw you with?"

He shifted away from her. "You know those types. They aren't interested in me. They only care about the money I have or if I can give them what they want. If I wasn't a Wonderbolt they wouldn't give me the time of day."

She moved across from him and grabbed his chin with her hoof. "Hey don't think like that. You can find a mare if you just put some effort into it."

He grabbed her hoof with his own. "How? If I go anywhere I get swarmed by fans or paparazzi. The moment I tell anypony my name it's 'Wonderbolts this' and 'Wonderbolts that'. I hate being famous."

He punctuated his point with punching the water. Spitfire jumped a little from the sudden act of aqua-violence. She watched as Soarin' slumped back down in the tub groaning slightly. She moved next to him and brought him close in an almost motherly hug. A minute passed in silence as both of them thought about what had just been said by Soarin'. Spitfire wanted to help him but didn't know what she could do. She racked her brain for any possibility when a crazy idea popped into her head. It's so crazy... but... this might just be what he needs....

"Soarin', I know how to fix this problem. I'm going to find you a mare."

He looked up at her sudden alarmed. "What? No, you don't need to do that."

She got out of the jacuzzi and grabbed a towel from a nearby rack. "Fine. If you go back into that party and ask a mare out on a date then I will not find one for you."

A moment of silence pasted between the two. Soarin' weighed his options. On one hoof Spitfire knows me better than anypony so she would be able to find me a nice mare. On the other hoof I could ask one of those partymares out. He reached his choice.

"Just tell me when and where for the date."

Spitfire left the room with a triumphant grin on her face as Soarin' sank back into the water.