Firestorm stood like a soldier, watching over Applebloom and Sweetie as they continued playing while Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo dried their wings behind him.
“You know you can relax right?” Rainbow asked.
“What?” Firestorm asked while looking over his shoulder at Rainbow Dash.
“You can relax, you look tense. If you’re worried about those fillies coming here with their parents to yell at you for telling them off like you did, I’m pretty sure you don’t have to worry about that happening.”
“That’s not what I’m thinking about, but even if it was why shouldn’t I worry?”
“Just trust me, it won’t.”
“Hey Firestorm?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yes?”
“Thanks, for everything I mean. Saving us from the fire, helping us deal with Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon, and that thing with you did with me where we flew right out of the water, it was awesome! Thanks. Do you think you could teach me how to do that trick?”
Firestorm glanced over at Rainbow Dash who gave him a reassuring smile before speaking, “Scootaloo even I could never go from swimming to flying like he did, do you know why?”
Scootaloo shook her head; her face looked like she had just been told Rainbow Dash was actually her mother.
“Look at your wings, what do you see?”
Scootaloo looked at her small wings which were still damp, “My wings are soggy.”
Rainbow Dash smiled, “Mine are too. Now look at Firestorms’ wings.”
Scootaloo leaned over to see past Rainbow Dash to Firestorm who was spreading his wings for her to see, “They’re dry!”
“Exactly, that’s because our wings have feathers. When our feathers get wet they lose their shape and air doesn’t move around them like it should so it’s difficult or impossible to fly,” Rainbow Dash explained. If there was one thing she knew, it was flying.
Firestorm moved closer to add further detail, “My wings don’t have feathers and they don’t let water cling to them, they would stay dry even if I was flying through a storm.”
“That is so cool! I wish I had wings like that…” Scootaloo said as she flapped her wings trying to get them completely dry.
Firestorm felt a stab of pain, just one look at Scootaloo and he knew the young pegasus might never experience the joy of flight on her own. He looked at Rainbow Dash who gave him a knowing look before looking beyond him at Applebloom and Sweetie Belle as they rushed towards them still soaking wet.
“Are ya’ll dry enough to fly yet? Sweetie Belle an Ah are ready to go and Ah still need to get some of mah stuff from the farm for our sleepover at her sisters place tonight,” Applebloom said quickly.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m ready,” Scootaloo said approaching her friends.
“Would you mind walking with us?” Sweetie Belle asked Firestorm, “I don’t like the idea of Diamond Tiara and Sliverspoon seeing us alone after what you said to them.”
“I would, but I have some errands to run,” Firestorm said before looking to Rainbow Dash, "Would you mind escorting the VIPs to a secure location and then getting the rest of your friends, the ones I met the other day, and meeting me at the library around 7?”
“Yeah sure, I can walk with them,” Rainbow said giggling at his playful terminology.
“Thanks. I’ll see you guys later,” he said to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“Bye Firestorm,” they said in unison as he flew off.
Firestorm replayed the events of the day play over again in his mind during his short flight back into Ponyville. He dwelt on how much fun he had but he couldn’t get over Scootaloo. He shook the thoughts from his head as he arrived at his destination, the new restaurant which was due to open that evening. Making a quick pass over the establishment, Firestorm could see a delivery cart dropping off produce and other food products for its grand opening before he circled around and landed at the front door. He new they would not be open for at least another few hours but he wanted to see about getting a reservation. He knocked, he waited, and in less than ten seconds the door opened.
“Yes, may I help you?” asked the pony who answered the door. He was obviously a waiter, a unicorn, his short mane and tail were black, though not as intense as Firestorms’, his fur was a pristine white, with light blue eyes, his cutie mark was hidden by his jacket, and had a figure hindering on skinny and scrawny.
“Yes, I was hoping to set a reservation for this evening,” Firestorm answered.
“Please wait here, I’ll have to ask the manager,” the stallion replied.
A minute later a noticeably larger stallion opened the door. His fur was a desert tan color, his mane and tail were only a slightly darker shade of the same color, his eyes were a subtle brown, his cutie mark was also hidden by his jacket, and his figure the polar opposite of the waiter who had originally answered the door. “Ah,” he said with a polite smile, “you are the one my waiter said was asking about setting a reservation for tonight?”
Firestorm opened his mouth to speak but lost the opportunity when the sound of shattering glass made both ponies jump. Firestorm stopped a plate with his hoof as it attempted to roll out the door and past him. When he looked up the manager was gone and the door was wide open. Firestorm quietly made his way inside.
“What happened?” the manager demanded.
“I’m sorry sir, my hoof caught on one of the tables and I dropped the box with the plates,” a unicorn waiter said.
“Oh no, no, no, no, no! What were you doing trying to move a box of two hundred plates all by yourself? You know what, never mind, how many plates survived?”
“At least one,” Firestorm said as he made his way towards the manager and the waiter while balancing the plate on his wing, “What about the rest of them?”
The manager motioned towards the box, he was less concerned about Firestorms’ presence and more about how many plates had survived the fall.
When the waiter opened the box a pile of shattered porcelain plates answered the managers’ question.
“This is a disaster! I was supposed to receive two boxes of these plates but I only received one and now they’ve all been destroyed!”
The manager and the staff were shocked when the pile of broken plates was engulfed in a red aura. The debris slowly warped within the magic until one hundred and ninety nine dinner plates were gently placed on a nearby table. Everypony turned their attention to Firestorm who was sitting on his haunches holding the plate he had retrieved in his hooves. His wings tucked in his sides and his eyes opened along with a smile. “Good as new. Better in fact…”
Firestorm dropped the plate in his hooves which shattered the moment it made contact with the ground. He repaired the plate just like the others and then dropped it again. The plate hit the floor and made a loud clattering sound but failed to shatter or even crack, “…I applied a damage control spell, you could throw these plates off a mountain and they wouldn’t break,” Firestorm said with a content smile.
The manager approached Firestorm, like everypony else in the restaurant he was completely slack jawed until he was right I front of Firestorm, “THANK YOU!” He cried pulling Firestorm into a bone cracking hug. He had no idea how a bat pony had performed a spell but he wasn’t about jinks it by asking, “You said you wanted reservations? Done! How many? Dinner is on the house for you and your guests!” The manager said ecstatically as he released Firestorm from his grip.
Firestorm took several deep breaths, “The reservation would be for me and six others, though I’m not sure if we will all be arriving at the same time, should I give you their names?”
“Yes, yes, of course,” the manager said while retrieving a pencil and notepad.
“Okay, so it will be me, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie,” Firestorm said. He immediately noticed the manager had a surprised look about him, “Is something wrong, did I say their names to fast?”
“No, there is no problem, I’m just surprised. You see Miss Applejack’s farm will be providing my restaurant with apple cider, Miss Rarity tailored the suits my staff and I wear, Miss Dash provided me with a favor of pushing a thunderstorm back a day for my opening night, Miss Pie supplied me with some of her personal patented desert recipes, Miss Fluttershy provided me with some fireflies which should make the evening quite romantic for couples, and I cannot even begin to describe how much help Princess Twilight Sparkle has been! Why, without her, I don’t think my restaurant would be opening up for another month at least! Even in my wildest dreams I never would have thought the Elements of Harmony would play such a large part in the opening of my restaurant. I…”
“Wait, wait, what did you just say, the Elements of Harmony?” Firestorm asked.
“Yes, Princess Celestia sent Miss Sparkle here several years ago when Nightmare Moon returned, she and her friends found and used the elements against her and brought them back along with Princess Luna.” The manager explained before returning to the matter at hoof, “Naturally I have already given them invitations, I could put you all at the same table if you like?”
“Yes, that would be wonderful, thank you.”
“Of course, that will not be a problem. Umm, may I be so bold as to ask how you know them?”
“Well, I didn’t know they were the elements of harmony until just now, I knew Twilight had connections to Princess Celestia because she sent a letter to her regarding me and my… status,” Firestorm said while spreading his wings and releasing a small energy surge of magic to make his point clear, “Princess Celestia instructed her and her friends to befriend me and I figured friendship shouldn’t be one sided so I decided I would treat them to dinner tonight.”
The manager nodded his approval, “Excellent! What time should I expect my guests of honor then?”
“I believe we should be arriving around 8.”
“Wonderful! Dinner at 8 for a party of 7 with the 6 Elements of Harmony and 1 lifesaving stallion,” the manager said gleefully.
As if on cue one of the staff members began banging a dinner plate against a table challenging the strength of Firestorms’ damage control spell.
The manager slowly looked bashfully at Firestorm, “I don’t suppose you could…?”
“Apply the damage control spell to you glasses and soup and salad bowls? Not a problem,” Firestorm said with a knowing smile.
Twilight looked around the room at her friends who had been gathered at the library by orders from Rainbow Dash who gave her no clues as to why they had been gathered there. Before she tried to get an explanation from Rainbow for the umpteenth time there was a knock at the door, right as the town clock tower struck seven o’clock. Twilight opened the door and performed a sloppy reverse somersault when the first thing she saw was Firestorms’ glowing yellow eyes. As Twilight got to her hooves Firestorm entered the library and closed the door behind him, “Where is Fluttershy?”
“She couldn’t make it, her pet rabbit is still sick and she didn’t want to leave him unless it was absolutely necessary,” Rainbow Dash explained.
“I’m sorry to hear that, is everypony else ready to go though?”
“Where are we going anyway?” Twilight asked.
“To dinner, there is a new restaurant opening tonight and when I found out the Elements of Harmony had all contributed to it in some way I knew it would be the perfect place for me to treat you all to dinner, “Firestorm said before making his way towards the door.
Twilight exchanged a nervous glance with each of her friends. Applejack stepped forward, “Uh, Firestorm?”
“Yes?”
“We are the Elements of Harmony.”
Firestorm stopped in the now open doorway and took a deep breath. He looked over his shoulder at Applejack and then Twilight, “Yeah, I know.”