//------------------------------//
// Words can Hurt 
// Story: From Sky to Earth 
// by RaijingtheClockworkPony 
//------------------------------//

	A cool breeze wafted across Soarin's body and wings. He felt the breeze ruffle his feathers gently as his mind slowly regained awareness. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed the darkened shape of Fluttershy. He looked to the sky and spotted the moon. It's really late. I should get her home. He slowly pulled away but felt her reach for him as she slept. The sight of her trying to stay close to him warmed his heart. He lifted her hooves away from himself and moved to the edge of the cloud. He looked down to see that the cloud had drifted quite a distance to the east of Ponyville. 

A soft voice reached him. "Soarin'? Where did you go?"

He turned to see his date moving around on the cloud. He moved back to her side. "I'm right here. I didn't want to wake you." She sat up on the cloud and looked up to the moon. Soarin' lost himself as the silver light of the moon cascaded over Fluttershy. She's so beautiful no matter what. He wrapped a wing around her. "I don't want to worry you but our cloud sorta drifted pretty far."

She looked at him. "How far?"

Soarin' tried his hardest to sound like it was nothing to worry about. "Well... to put this lightly...um, it would be faster to fly to my home than to fly to yours."

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Oh, well I better get going home then. I have quiet the trip back."

She started to move away from Soarin' to the edge of the cloud. Soarin' bit his lip as he fought with himself silently. I can't just let her fly home alone and in the dark no less. I should fly with her. He got up and moved next to her. Or I could invite her over to my home to spend the rest of the night. The thought entered his head the moment he opened his mouth.

"Wait, Fluttershy."

She turned to him. "Yes?"

He felt his cheeks warm. Should I? What if she thinks I'm trying to... His blush deepened. He bit his lip again. 

"Doyouwanttocomeovertomyhouse."

He took a breath. Fluttershy blushed and gave him a smile. "Um... what?"

He shuffled on his hooves for a moment. "I meant to say that if you wanted to stay at my house you could. Would be faster than going back to Ponyville alone, I mean only if you want to..."

He looked off to the side, his ears pinned to his head in embarrassment. He braced himself expecting her to become angry at suggesting something like that. I bet she thinks I'm just asking her over so I can— His thoughts were cut off by the gentle voice of the yellow mare. 

"That sounds nice. I would like to see your home."

Soarin' looked back at her his ears perking up. "Really?" She nodded. "Well, my home really isn't much. It's not nearly as cozy or lovely looking as yours."

The pair of ponies lifted into the air and descended lower to the ground and glided to the outskirts of Cloudsdale. Their flight lasted no more than twenty minutes but Soarin' didn't notice. He was to bust watching Fluttershy as the she flew through the air with the moon light dancing on her flowing many and fluttering wings. Soarin' was glad she didn't look over at him or he would have died from embarrassment. They came up on the small home and landed in front of the door. Soarin' opened the door and held it open for her. They entered the darkened home and Soarin' made his way to turn on a lamp.

Fluttershy looked around the now lit home with a small smile. "You have a nice home. I like the color."

Soarin' was about to say something but his eye was caught by a shape on his table. Much to his and her surprise Shade was sitting on top of his cage asleep.

Soarin' walked over and lifted the sleeping bird and placed it into the cage. "How did he get in?"

Fluttershy walked next to the window in his kitchen and inspected the window. "The window is open. He must have flown in. He's really smart."

Soarin' finished placing the raptor in the cage and motioned to the stairs leading to the upper floor. They made their way to his bedroom, Soarin' turned on the lights to the room on. They were both greeted by the sight of the clean and rather orderly room. Inside the room was a large bed with blue sheets and a red blanket with matching pillows, a dresser with a few scattered bits laying on it, and not much else, in fact the only other thing in the room that made it feel like more than a guest room was the poster of the band Green Hay hanging on the wall. 

He motioned to the bed and Fluttershy laid down on it. Soarin' turned to leave but was stopped by Fluttershy's voice. 

"Where are you going?"

Soarin turned and saw the slightly confused look on her face. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I was going to sleep on the couch. I figured you would like the privacy."

She gave him a soft smile. "I would like to finish this night with you. Please? Were both tired and we both could use a good night’s sleep on a bed."

She patted the bed she was laying on and motioned for him to join her. Part of Soarin's mind kept reminding him that this was all too good to be true but the rest of him couldn't care less if it wasn't. All he knew was that he was now lying next to a mare that made his heart beat faster just by being near her.

Soarin' felt the bliss of sleep pull at his consciousness but was awake enough to feel the kiss Fluttershy gave him on the cheek and hear her say 'Thank you.' Wrapped up in each other they fell asleep once more. 
                                                                                                                                                                                          

Just a few more minutes... Fluttershy tried her best to ignore the first morning rays of light that filtered in through the window. She stretched her wings and noticed as a soft golden glow cover the walls as the light played off her wings. Most mornings she wouldn't have noticed such a subtle effect, but for some reason this morning was different. Maybe it was the soft pillow she had her head on, maybe it was the pleasant night of sleep that she had had, or maybe, just maybe, it was the handsome stallion lying next to her with a content smile on his sleeping face.

She wondered for a moment if she should take a look around his house. On one hoof he had invited her in so she was technically allowed, but on the other hoof it would be rude to go poking through his belongings. What if he something he has in this house is meant to be private? Oh, I couldn't stand to make him feel that I invaded his privacy... but a small look around the house couldn't hurt could it? Shade might need to be fed as well... The thought of Shade hungry and stuck in his cage made up her mind for her.

She cast another look at Soarin' and felt her heart flutter. She had just spent the night with a stallion she had only known for the better part of two days. She wanted to be more assertive and that was why she kissed him but Fluttershy never thought that a simple kiss would have led to this. She moved a bit of his mane out of his face and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. She giggled as he mumbled something in his sleep and snuggled closer to her. She slowly detached herself from his grip as gently as she could. She stood up beside of the bed and made sure that her moving out of the bed didn't disturb his slumber. The content smile on his face faded a little but was still there. Satisfied that she hadn't woken him up she quietly left the room and headed down the stairs. She found Shade awake and picking at the door of his cage. 

"Let me get that for you." She opened the cage and let Shade out onto her shoulder. "There you go. I'll let you out so you can hunt." 

She made her way to the kitchen window and opened it, letting the large predator out into the air. Fluttershy left the window open so Shade could come in when and if he wanted. She glanced around the room she was in and saw that it looked like any other kitchen that a pony would see in a home and garden type of magazine. The one thing that stood out about this room was that it didn't stand out. 

She walked into the living room and she found that it was the same as the kitchen. Nothing stood out or showed that a pony, let alone a famous Wonderbolt, had lived in the house. She inspected the rest of the lower floor. The bathroom and dining room were the same. I wonder if he even bought any of this furniture or it all came with the house. She walked back up the stairs and reached the landing with a slight frown. The fact that Soarin' didn't do anything to make his house feel like a home worried her a little. She looked down the hall and noticed a door partially open. I shouldn't go in there. It might be something private... but a little peak couldn't hurt right?

She made her way down the hall and gently nudged the door. Inside was a room that was quite the opposite of the first floor. It was filled to the brim with all the little touches that made a home. In the middle of the room was a personal home gym, next to it was a small rack of dumbbells of various weights, and right on the wall behind that was a small calendar looking booklet with dates and numbers on it. She walked closer to it and noticed that it was meant to record the number of hours he worked out. The last date, the previous Sunday, he had marked down five hours. 

I... don't doubt that. He saved me and flew us around without breaking a sweat. She glanced away from the workout equipment to the walls of the room. Everywhere that wasn't the window and the workout calendar was covered by posters of various bands. Green Hay, ZZ Trot, Draft Punk, and many others. She spotted a few signed records hanging near the posters she assumed they belonged to. She felt all the worrying she had felt mere moments ago fade as she looked at the posters. This was a room that he clearly spent time in and went out of his way to decorate. 

What's this? She noticed a small desk crammed in the corner of the room. She walked over to t and noticed a few papers laying on it. Looks like Wonderbolt paperwork of some kind... Her focus shifted to the pictures sitting on the desk a few inches away from the papers. The first one she picked up was of Soarin' and a bright gold mare Fluttershy knew to be Spitfire. They were both smiling, Spitfire was crying as well, and holding a pair of goggles each. She saw a banner in the background that read: "Congra— Soarin' an— tfire!"

She couldn't read all of it due to the happy pegasi blocking the banner with their legs but she had a good guess at what it was for. They had become Wonderbolts and were celebrating. She placed the photo down then picked up the next. This one held a lot more ponies in it. The only one she could recognize was a much younger looking Soarin', who looked like he was just old enough to live on his own. The rest of the ponies were an assortment of earth ponies and unicorns that she had been told about. They were mostly reds and deep purples in color which made Soarin' stand out all the more. 

"We have a reunion happening in a few weeks. If you would like to meet them you could join me."

Fluttershy gave a frightened *EEK!* and nearly dropped the photo. She turned to see Soarin' smiling at her apologetically. 

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He took the picture from her hoof and looked at the photo for a moment before placing it back down. "Took that before I got accepted into the Academy." He chuckled. "Wasn't easy growing up as the only pegasi in a few miles of the farm."

His smile grew warmer then he looked at her. He noticed the embarrassment on her face. "I think you would love my mother. She was so good with the animals on the farm." 

Fluttershy looked at the photo and spotted the scarlet unicorn holding the hoof of a deep purple filly. "She looks nice. I like her mane."

Fluttershy felt her cheeks go red as she realized just how silly that sounded. Soarin's smile didn't falter. He motioned to the door. 

"I normally get coffee and a bagel for breakfast and I was wondering if you wanted anything. Shouldn't take me more than a few minutes."

Fluttershy tilted her head slightly to the side. "You go out to eat for breakfast?"

Soarin' nodded as he headed for the hallway. "Yeah, I found this little bagel shop when I first moved here and I've been going there ever since."

The pair made their way down the stairs and to the sofa. Fluttershy took a seat as Sorain' walked towards the door. "Are you certain you don't want anything?"

Fluttershy stayed silent for a moment. "Actually... a bagel does sound nice and coffee would help with the trip home."

After she told Soarin' how she liked her coffee he set put into the morning sky and headed towards the awakening city. After roughly half a minute of flying he noticed a pair of ponies, a stallion and a mare, following him. He landed on the street and cast a glance behind him to see that they had landed down the street as well. Must be new, all the veterans gave up on getting pic of me a long time ago. He walked on the sidewalk and reached a small news stand. 

"Hey there." Soarin' gave his normal, cheerful greetings. "One Cloudsdale Daily please."

The vendor was a bright blue pegasus with a striking orange mane. Normally he would smile back or crack a small joke with Soarin' but today he was looking at Soarin' like a pony would look at week old leftovers, not exactly disgusted by them but willing to put up with them. 

His reply was short and rather cold. "Two bits."

Soarin' pulled out the bits and placed them on the stand. His eye was caught by the sight of the Inquirer, and National Equestrian stands empty.

He pointed to the empty paper stand. "Huh... I've never seen the National Equestrian sold out. Any good articles in it today?"

"Yeah. You would be interested in the article." The news pony's voice was just as cold as before. Soarin' shuffled uncomfortably as he placed the newspaper he had purchased into his saddle bag.

"Yeah... we’ll have a good day."

Soarin' cast a confused glance at the news stand and its owner then shook his head. Must be having a rough day. I heard about a flu going around, maybe he's just sick or something. He pushed the thought from his mind as he came upon a small coffee shop. It was a quaint little place that was designed to look like a small bakery from the time of Equestria's founding. It had a nice charm to it that drew Soarin' to it every time he saw it. 

He entered as he thought about the time he had first entered the shop. He had been wandering around Cloudsdale after he had finished moving into his house and had wanted to see the city. He had found the small building to be interesting and his curiosity of what type of establishment it was wouldn't let him go home until he found out. From that day forwards he always wen out of his way to visit and get a bagel.

A gruff voice came from behind the counter. "Well, well, well. Looky here Barbs. Our loyal Wonderbolt has returned. What can I get ya kid?"

Soarin' gave the pump stallion a friendly smile. The aged stallion behind the was Basil, the owner and baker of the shop. His brown coat was slightly faded from age and had spots of flour on it. Flour obscured his cutie mark but Soarin' knew it like the back of his own hoof, it was a blob of dough on a small patch of flour. The one thing that Soarin' liked about the stallion was that he treated him like any other customer and not like a famous pony. 

Soarin' walked up to the counter and started digging for the bits to pay with. "I'll have two plain bagels, a poppyseed bagel, one usual for me and one coffee. One cream and two sugars for the coffee."

The large stallion pulled the bagels out of the display case and set himself to getting the coffee. From a doorway that led to the kitchen of the shop came an elderly mare that had aged gracefully. She was of a pale red in color and had her mane, a paler red than her coat, and a cutie mark of a rolling pin. 

She came rushing around the counter. "Oh, Soarin' it's good to see ya! You been eating plenty? I would hate to see you get skinny. I swear that captain of yours works you too hard."

Soarin' found himself in a tight embrace. Basil groaned from behind the counter. "Ahh Barbs, leave the poor boy alone. He's doing fine. Besides we have customers, at least try to act professional."

The elderly mare ignored her husband and dotted over Soarin' while talking a mile a minute about everything. Soarin' just grinned as she talked. The old pair was always like this, they treated just about every pony they met like they were a family member. Soarin' spaced out for a moment but was pulled sharply back to reality when he heard Barbs talking about something a little close to home.

"And now you've got your own little mare to bring food home to. Isn't that just the sweetest thing ever Basil?"

Soarin' shook his head. "Whoa, hold a sec. What did you just say?"

The older mare gave him a confused smile. "I said you're bringing that pretty mare of yours a nice breakfast. I think it's really sweet of you. When do we get to meet her?"

Soarin' felt his blood ran cold. He was in shock. How could they know? The older pair failed to notice this while they waged a merry war of words. 

"Barbs he doesn't need to bring her here to meet us. We ain't his family." 

The older mare looked offended. "You're saying you don't want to meet this mare?"

He shook his head. "I ain't saying that but I am saying is that he doesn’t have to bring her here if he don't wanna. I'm certain that the Miss Fluttershy has a job of her own to take care of."

Hearing the name of the mare he was in love with quickly brought Soarin' out of his shocked state. He moved to the counter. 

"How do you know her name? How did you even know I was dating her?"

Basil's eyebrows rose in interest. "Sonny half the damn city knows about you and the pretty lass. It's all over the papers." He reached behind the counter and pulled out an issue of the National Equestrian. The cover made Soarin's heart stop, and it even felt like it had switched to reverse. The cover was a large picture of him and Fluttershy walking in the woods. 

The caption read: "Soarin'. Has he found love or just a tool?"

He couldn't think. His mind was reeling from what the title alone could mean. He looked at the elderly baker his face slowly turning into a look of panic. "Can I borrow this?"

Basil nodded his face filled with concern. "Kiddo I don't believe a word of that article but all lies contain a single grain of truth and this one’s grain is that you're dating a lovely mare."

He opened to the page mentioned on the cover, pages six through eight, and quickly started reading. 

Love or Ploy
Written by Silver Tongue

Love is in the air it seems. The famed Wonderbolt Soarin' has found a mare to call his own and he couldn't have found one more stunning or graceful as Fluttershy. This couple could only seem to be described as perfect but are they really? 

I for one would like to point out a few facts. First: Both of these ponies are no strangers to fame. All, if not most, of Equestria know of the Wonderbolts and the impressive shows they put on for the public. Soarin' is one of the veteran members of today’s team and considered to be one of the greatest flyers to ever join the team. Fluttershy was a model whose career was much like the flash of a camera. Short but intense. She modeled for the famous fashion expert Photo Finish. "Fluttershy vas a perfect model, so graceful and elegant. My only regret for her iz zat she left the business before I could show her to the vorld!" Photo Finish recalled with a hint of pride in her voice. She went on to say that if Fluttershy ever wished to return to the fashion world she would always have a home in her fashion lines at Photo Perfect. It's obvoius that her career could start beat up in a heartbeat if she so chooses.

Second: Most celebrity romances last on average only a year. Is this romance doomed to fail? By no means, but I wish to point out that it isn't likely to last very long. We can look at many of the other romances that have formed within this elite group of ponies. The captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire, has been with over six different stallions and is currently rumored to be with her seventh. The six confirmed stallions have all been famous, two of which were teammates. One has since retired and settled down. The other four were a fashion designer, high ranking noble in control of banking, a movie star, and our very own Prince Blueblood. The prince himself has an outstanding record of relationships, most notably the year he called 'record breaking' in which he dated twenty different fashion models in the course of a year, and he is currently in a relationship with the notoriously famous show pony Trixie.

Third: Most of the relationships are shallow to the extreme. Many of them ended after on or both of the members announced something 'big' for their career. Spitfire is again a notorious example of this. Three of her six hook ups ended with a Wonderbolt related announcement. One of them ended after her partner announced his new fashion line and less than a week later they broke apart. Less than a week after that Spitfire hooked up with stallion number five. These relationships were all built so they could use them for publicity and once they served their purpose they were tossed aside like a week old newspaper. 

Fourth: Both have gone out of their ways to avoid fame. Soarin' is the more notable example of the two does to his popularity and status as a superstar in Equestria. His Wonderbolt teammates have been in the news countless times both alone and in groups, the articles ranging from the charity events they were putting on to public scandal. Soarin' has almost no mention in every major news source outside of the sports section. If one were to read anything but the sports they wouldn't have a clue who this stallion even was. Fluttershy on the other hoof is a bit of a mystery mare. Every article of her all date to roughly a month of each other and after that range there is nothing. It's almost as if she appeared then disappeared just as quickly. Now I ask you this. Why would these two hook up when they both have gone out of their way to avoid fame? 

Now you may be wondering why I've gone to the trouble to point all of this out. Let's take a closer look at the new couple then shall we? Two famous ponies falling in love out of the blue, one of which is close friends with Spitfire and a constant performer to the royal family, and we are supposed to believe that this is true love? These ponies both know that by becoming a couple they will bring the attention of the media to them like hungry pigs to fresh slop. I present the question to you: Is this really what it appears to be or is this yet another attempt at grabbing fame? Will Soarin' be making an announcement later this year or will the lovely Fluttershy come back to the spot light and reclaim the fame she left behind. If it is a sick power play for more attention then I give this 'relationship' a month before the 'tragic' breakup.

Now I will be the first to say that if this is a legitimate relationship then I will apologize and be thankful that they are an exception to the attention grabbers they have to share fame with. I, like many, am a fan of the Wonderbolts and have nothing but respect for the performers. I also have respect for Miss Fluttershy because she gave up a life of fame for her personal life and goals. However I will simply have to wait this out to see the truth behind it all, to see if this is love or merely a fantasy. Until that time I will simply leave you with these facts and let you decide yourself if they are genuine.

Soarin' placed the magazine in his saddle bag and quickly collected his food. His mind felt dull and numbed. He couldn't process what he had just read. He rushed out the door after giving a hasty farewell. In his haste he nearly ran over the mare that had been following him. The bright yellow mare didn't seemed perturbed by that fact and seemed delighted by it more than anything else. 

She took a step back and quickly checked her mane. "Ah, Mister Soaring I presume?"

Soarin' took a step to the side and found himself face to lens with the camera of her companion. "It's Soarin' miss..."

She picked up on the assumed question. "April. April O'neigh. I'm from the Cloudsdale Daily. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time."

He glanced over at the camera that was clicking occasionally. He let out a small sigh. No way to avoid this now. "Sure but I have somewhere I need to be."

She pulled out a small note pad and smiled in a bubbly way that put Soarin' on edge. "Perfect! Now first off are the rumors about your relationship with the Miss Fluttershy true?"

He shuffled on his hooves hoping that this wasn't going where he thought it was going. "Yes. I am currently seeking a relationship with her. Nothing official yet."

Despite how calm and collected his voice sounded he knew that he couldn't last much longer. They were starting to gather a small crowd and it was starting to grow. He tried his best to smile and keep his body calm. The new reporter failed to notice his movements and scribbled something down on the note pad.

She looked back up with a genuine smile. "So you two aren't official then?"

Stay calm and pretend it's Spitfire... that's not helping actually. He returned a grin as phony as hers was genuine. He tried his best to sound like he was making a joke. 

"I wish, but in all seriousness we would have announced it if it was. For now all I can say is that we are currently friends and that if it moves onto something more you will know."

She let out a small chuckle and wrote some more on the notepad. "And what do you think of the allegations leveled at you by Silver Tongue? I'm certain you've read the article he put out?"

Soarin' swallowed. Celestia save me. "Everypony has opinions. He made some valid points in his article but he even stated that if he was wrong he would apologize. I intend to hear that apology." He gave the recruitment smile and the reporter and a small portion of the crowd laughed. Soarin' noticed the crowd for the first time and saw the scowls and glares that many were giving him. "Now if you would please excuse me I have some bagels to eat."

He gave the report a curt smile and lifted into the air. He tried his best to fly slowly and keep himself from sprinting back to his home. He reached his home quickly and stopped at the entrance. What if she sees the article? What if she believes it? He stopped right as his hoof reached the door knob. He couldn't think of that, he just couldn't but the thought was now much louder and refused to stop. She'll think that this was all fake and that I'm no better than Blueblood or any other marenizer. He bit his lip and made a choice.

He opened up his door and made his way into the kitchen Fluttershy was in the living room gently cooing to Shade. 

"I'm back. Sorry it took so long. There was a... long line."

She walked into the room just in time to see him toss the National Equestrian in the trash. He noticed her looking at him. 

She walked over and picked up her coffee. "What was that?"

He picked up his own and gave her a smile he hoped was disarming. "Nothing, just an old issue. All the articles were boring anyways."

The remainder of the morning was consumed by eating the bagels and Fluttershy leaving to attend her animals. She gave Soarin' a kiss on the cheek.

"This was really nice. I'll see you this Saturday. Should I know what to expect or will it be a surprise to?"

Soarin' shook his head. "It's just a simple dinner. I'll pick you up around six and then we can head over to the Stomping Mare."

Fluttershy gave him a quick smile. "I'll see you then."

With that she lifted off into the air leaving Soarin' by himself with his thoughts. The one that came to the forefront of his mind was one he wished would just shut up. If...when she reads that article then finds out I lied to her... He shook his head. The article was just a bunch of lies. They had to be or else he would lose the mare he had fallen in love with.