//------------------------------// // Forgive and Forget // Story: If the Flight Suit Fits // by TheLastBrunnenG //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash ducked low under a rusty hanging sign reading “Happy Harry’s House of Hocks.” The door creaked in protest as she opened it and slammed as she tried and failed to ease it shut, a cringe marring her muzzle at the violent noise. The shop had long since set new standards for filthiness and dinginess, its dust-covered state not quite hidden by shadows cast from the single flickering lantern hung high above. “H… Hello?” she called, stepping gingerly over forgotten trinkets and unidentifiable knick knacks. From behind the counter a rotund stallion grunted, glancing up from a folded magazine long enough to arch an eyebrow at what looked to have been the first customer across his threshold in years. Rolls of fat quivered as he spat, “Back already, kid? You here fer dat special order? Yer lucky, kid. Merchandise like dat don’t come cheap. Or easy.” With monumental effort he lumbered off his stool and waddled through an open doorway, calling behind him, “Good fer you dere ain’t nothin’ Harry’s don’t got or can’t get!” Biting her lip, Dash stood in place, not daring to touch any of the piles of clutter which threatened to spill in avalanches of junk at the slightest touch. From within the mounds of castaway litter sparkled a few objects not wholly corroded by time and neglect: a tarnished pocketwatch, still ticking; a trophy plaque, 'Salespony of the Year' stamped in peeling gold plate; a teddy bear, its nose missing but its 'Equestria Rail and Transport' coveralls intact. “Come on, come on!” hissed the pegasus, shifting from one hoof to another as she fought to speed the passage of time. She could hear the obese earth stallion rummaging through Celestia-knows-what in the back room though he showed no sign of hurrying or appearing. She froze, eyes wide and heart pounding as the door creaked behind her and fading daylight momentarily illuminated the little shop before the inevitable slam reduced the room to lantern-light once more. Under her breath she uttered every prayer she’d ever heard and invented a few new ones, all of which went unanswered as the one voice in all Equestria she’d hoped to avoid sliced through the smoke and haze. “Hey, sexy! You’re a hard pony to find, Dash. Well, not really, actually.” There was no mistaking that voice, a voice like crushed velvet and cigarettes, like silk and whiskey. “There’s only one blue pegasus mare with a rainbow mane and tail in all Equestria, so everypony I asked pointed straight to you. Of course, all I had to do was follow the glowing rainbow trail you left, but it was more fun this way.” A giggle followed, the kind that only Spitfire could manage. She slid next to Dash and lay a wing across her teammate, subordinate, and lover. “So, do you mind telling me what you’re doing in a no-name Manehattan pawn shop?” Rainbow managed a smile, fake and weak and obvious. “Just looking for something. About to leave, really. Can we go? We should go, before, you know - “ “Looking for what, RD? My birthday’s next month, and if you’re looking for something,” and she wrinkled her nose as she glanced at the heaps of rubbish, “ah, unique, then I can give you a couple of recommendations.” She leaned in closer to the azure-coated mare. Dash felt hot breath on her cheek, lips brushing her neck, and teeth nipping her ear. “Of course,” Spitfire purred whisper-quiet, “you could just show up with a bow around your neck. Remember the night you won the Aerial Solo Showdown?” Inhaling sharply and fighting down her spreading wings, Dash took a half-step away from her Captain, knocking over a tower of long-lost baubles. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. Seriously, Spits, we should go. I just - “ The yellow flier closed the distance, nuzzling a blue-furred cheek as a greasy and corpulent stallion leered at the mares from around the corner. Her smile dropped a little, worry furrowing her brow. “Dash, I missed you! You took two whole weeks off - that’s half a year’s worth of leave all at once. Then Soarin’ tells me you cleaned out your locker, dress uniform and all. Those uniforms should never leave HQ unless we’re doing a show, you know that. And you know I’d never say anything about it, at least not to you, but you barely said a word when you left.” Desperation and defeat mixed on Rainbow’s face and she shook as she looked down at the yellow hooves holding her own. “Spits, I… It’s complicated, all right? Let’s just get out of here, I’ll explain on the way back.” Clearing his throat, the grinning owner sauntered back behind the counter and set down a blue and gold bundle. “Here ya go, toots! One Wonderbolts parade dress uniform, just your size. Official an’ everything, not even one o’ dem cheap-o knockoffs. I know ya paid fer Lieutenant’s bars an’ all dem other medals, but my sources ain’t found ‘em all, so dis is all ya get. Ya prepaid, so take it or leave it.” Spitfire looked at the rumpled uniform, at her marefiend, and back again. She squinted, confusion plain in her voice as she muttered, “Rainbow, what’s this for? If you needed another dress uniform, you know you could just ask. I’d give you one, I wouldn’t even have docked you.” Dash shook her head slowly. “I needed one, Spits, because I threw my old one in the incinerator. Tossed my medals, my flight suit, everything. Watched ‘em all burn.” She slumped back onto her haunches and continued, “I was going to leave - you, the Wonderbolts, everything. Thought I could just fly off into the sunset and forget it all.” She looked up, locking gazes with her shaking and furious Captain, and her voice was small and distant. “They know, Spitfire. They all know about us. There isn’t a pony in that flight room that thinks I’m qualified. They all know how much slack you cut me, about all the little favors you do for me that nopony else gets. Everypony there, from Fleetfoot and Soarin’ on down, they all swear I got in and stay in because I’m your pet. Because you and I are - “ Pain and shock silenced the trembling mare as Spitfire’s hoof left a red welt across her cheek. Spirfire’s voice dripped venom and daggers. “Don’t you ever accuse me of that again, Rainbow Dash. Don’t you dare! Nopony charges me with favoritism or being unfair and gets away with it - not even you. I run the Wonderbolts on the up and up. Buck what anypony thinks! You got in because you earned it, "she growled, pointing a hoof at Dash's chest, "and you stay on the roster because you deserve it. You think they don’t respect you because we share a bed? Well, welcome to life, Best Young Flier! It’s unfair and it’s hard and it bites. Now tell me one thing, just one, before I leave your sorry carcass here, Rainbow.” She pointed a hoof at the blue and gold heap on the counter. “Why were you buying a new uniform from this sack of manure?” “Because I knew I was wrong,” whispered the Best Young Flier, “and because I wanted to make it right before you found out. Because I wanted everything to go back to being right, like it should have been from the start, because - “ Spitfire took Dash’s head in her hooves and leaned in, forehead to forehead, mane to mane. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply for long seconds. “Dash, for the love of Luna, please stop making me forgive you. You never ask for it, even though you need it, just like this stupid replacement uniform. I don’t know how many more times we can do this to each other, but for now the answer will have to be ‘at least once more.’ Now come on, let’s get out of this dump. You and I are on the practice schedule for tomorrow.”