Chapter 7: A lesson in friends and trust
The Grand Galloping Gala was the largest annual event for the Wonderbolts. Their performance in front of hundreds of ponies was followed by an evening spent with royalty and the Canterlot elite. While Soarin always enjoyed the first part of the evening, he loathed the later part. While a kind and respectful pony, he found it incredibly difficult to put up with the upper class. He disliked the formality and the etiquette necessary to interact with them. Most of all though he disliked the occasional upper class twit who would try to use a Wonderbolt as a way to boost their reputation. Trotting through the main hall, he stared sadly at the spot where several years ago a nice country mare had sold apple pies. He had never eaten such a delicious pie before and it always made him sad that the stall had never returned. He deftly grabbed a glass of something from a passing waiter, took a sip and spat it back out with as much dignity as he could manage. Grimacing at the strong taste of the wine, he placed the tall elegant glass on a table before wandering off again. As he wandered across the room, a yellow Pegasus talking with a group of suited unicorns caught his eye. Recognizing the Pegasus, he wandered over to the group.
"Excuse me gentlemen, but if you don't mind I need to borrow my friend for a moment."
Rainbow was enjoying the Gala. 'This time,' she thought 'I'm not hanging out with the coolest ponies around. I AM the coolest pony around!' She was enjoying her new found fame. While she couldn't stand any of the upper class snobs who were there, she loved the attention she received from the multitude of Wonderbolt fans present. She autographed more pieces of paper than she could count, had so many photos taken that her eyes were starting to hurt and had her name yelled out so much, it seemed to throb and hum in the air. Much to their disappointment, Rainbow eventually left her fans and went to find her friends. Twilight had gone to join the Princess do whatever it was the Princess did, so that left just Torchie and Silver. Wandering around the Castle, she found Torchie trying to talk to one of the Pegasus guards.
"Don't bother; they're far too disciplined for that." Rainbow said, clearly amused by Torchie's attempt to chat up the guard.
"Awww, you're no fun." She moaned. "He's so good looking. So hunky and masculine." She said, looking wistfully at the stoic guard.
"Come on Torchie, leave the poor stallion alone." She pulled her friend away from the still expressionless guard. "Maybe when he's off duty." Rainbow whispered into her ear which caused Torchie to snicker. They made their way back onto the main hall where they ran into a somewhat wild eyed and concerned looking Silver.
"What's up Silver" Torchie asked when he nearly crashed into them.
"Bad, really bad. You, Rainbow. Come with me." he gushed, looking around worriedly.
"Hold up buddy. What's wrong?" Rainbow asked, taken aback by her friends somewhat erratic behaviour.
"Soarin told me to find you. Get you somewhere safe. Stadium. Let's go. Spitfire's out to get you. Come on, let's go."
Rainbow's ears perked up and she scanned the hall cautiously. "Ok, if you say so."
She and a paranoid Silver left the main hall, leaving Torchie by herself.
"What the heck are you doing here Spitfire?" Soarin spat. He had pried her away from the unicorns and had taken her outside onto one of the palaces many secluded balconies.
He tried not to stare at her. She was wearing a flowing fiery orange and yellow dress that seemed to writhe like a flame when she moved. While he would never admit it, she did look beautiful.
"Can't I enjoy a party now?" she said innocently.
"Why don't I believe that having a good time is your only motive?"
"Depends who I'm having a good time with." She whispered seductively in his ear.
Pushing the mental images out of his mind, Soarin brushed her away.
"None of that. Why are you really here?"
"Do I have to have an ulterior motive?"
"No, but I know you. What are you planning? Does it have something to do with Rainbow?"
Spitfire showed a brief flash of anger before expertly hiding it.
"I wouldn't lay a hoof on her. You on the other hand…"
"SPITFIRE! Stop it. Seriously, we had something yes. That was a long time ago. I've moved on, maybe you should as well. I don't want to have you following my every shadow for the rest of my life. I have Dash now and… I think I love her, so please, for sake and my own, leave me be!" Soarin pleaded.
"So that's how it is" Spitfire said lowly "Somehow, you fail to see reason, you somehow think you 'love' that silly little filly. What do I have to do to get you back?"
Soarin was visibly angered by this statement; he flared his nostrils and flattened his ears. A low growl built in his chest. Repressing his anger, he slowly said "When. Will. You. Get. The. Point. You lost me a long time ago. What you did is unforgivable. You took what was special away and just dumped it. You don't know how much I hate you for what you did."
"Hate is a pretty strong word" said Spitfire, a little taken aback.
"Hate is not enough."
Spitfire flared up "I did it for our good!"
"We had something special." He growled
"We had a bit more than something Soarin." She said softly, her look of anger had changed to one of remorse.
"Yes… we did."
A moment of silence passed between the two pegasi as they remembered what had been.
"What happened to her?" Spitfire asked.
"She has a family now. I've seen her occasionally, she still doesn't know."
"Will she ever?"
"Probably not." Soarin said sadly.
"Soarin, I had no choice, ther-"
Soarin rounded on her.
"THERE WAS ALWAYS A CHOICE." Soarin thundered. "You chose the easy way out."
"Soarin, you know what would have happened. A bastard child? A scandal like that would have ended our careers even without us having to take care of her as a foal. She's probably much happier now than she would have been with us."
"That doesn't change anything. She was ours. You got rid of her. I can never forgive you for that. YOU took away my chance, my right, to be a father."
"Soar-"
"Don't. Just don't even start. You are truly the worst excuse for pony there is. You have a withered black heart. How dare you even try to interfere with my personal life? Move on. I don't think I to ever want to see you again."
Spitfire was dumbfounded by Soarin's rant. He had never spoken like before. A single tear ran down his face. She felt as if something had snapped in her.
"Soarin… I'm sorry. I never knew you felt this way."
"You gave my child away Spitfire, how do expect I would feel?"
Spitfire sighed. "I know, how stupid of me. Look, I don't regret what I did all those years ago, I did what I thought was right for us at the time."
"It is the past, we cannot change it now."
"I know… I just want you to know, I am truly sorry for what has happened recently. I… I've overstepped the line and for this I am sorry. You're right; I should have gotten over you years ago. I should have started thinking realistically rather than just blindly charging after you." She gave Soarin a friendly hug and a smile. "Goodbye Soarin, I'll miss you."
And without another word she left, leaving Soarin blinking in confusion. 'Umm… What just happened? Did she just apologise?'
He was broken out of his state by the sound of a bell chiming. 'I better go' he thought, 'Don't want to be late for Rainbow.'
Half an hour later, he was still waiting. 'Where is she?' he thought. He spied Shadow mingling with a few other ponies inside. 'She'll know where Dash is, those two seem to get along fairly well' he thought. Trotting inside, he politely removed her from the conversation.
"Hey have you seen Rainbow around."
"Don't you know where she is sir?"
"No. Why would I?"
He face grew a confused expression. "I thought you told Silver to take her somewhere safe."
Soarin's expression turned into one of alarm. "I never said anything like that."
"Wait, where-." Her question was cut off by Soarin
"Where did he take her?"
"Back to the stadium, I think… I don't understand. What's going on?"
Soarin turned back to her, a look of panic on his face. "I don't know! I need to find her."
He took off in a cloud of dust.
"Hey Silver, you alright?"
Rainbow had started getting a little worried about her friend. He had now developed a violent eye twitch. He had also started muttering and giggling to himself.
"Never better." He said back in an insane voice.
The voice reminded Rainbow of the time when Twilight had gone crazy over a late friendship report.
"Are you sure, you sound a bit… out of it."
He put his face right up next to her. "Never better!"
"Riiiight… Hey where are we going anyway?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out."
"Wait, what's that suppo-"
A sudden blow to back of the head knocked her out before she could finish her sentence.