Rainbow Dash was floating on a cloud of hot concrete. Her ears were ringing and eyes blinded by the bright dancing lights. She had a vague notion that she should be getting up and going somewhere; but she was so sleepy. She figured she would wait a few more minutes until she could breather better, then she would leave.
There was a cozy dream where a pair of strong wrapped around Rainbow, and pulled her onto the broad back of a stallion which then began taking her someplace nice. After a comfortable ride she was laid down on the ground and a pair of hooves began pushing up and down on her chest, and then a pair of lips kissed her. Short, unshaved stubble scratched against her mouth for two breaths and then it stopped, and the pushing on her chest started again.
This seemed like a really weird way to make out, but after the second round or so it occurred to her that she was being resuscitated. She thought about opening her eyes, but then realized that she was just about at the end of one chest compression session and decided that she’d let awesome-red-guy kiss her one more time before ‘waking up’.
A hoof pinched her nose shut and then warm, moist lips applied themselves to hers; breathing deeply into her lungs. Dash’s eyes fluttered open, and found herself looking into the eyes of some guy she’d never seen before in her life, wearing the breastplate of a royal guard. Her free hoof started flailing and the stallion pulled away.
Around her seemed to be all sorts of noise as the theater burned a short distance away; a crowd of spectators watching in silence as pegasi firefighters scrambled to douse the flames with rainclouds. She shook her head, causing the hat that had barely stayed on until then tumbled off, catching the stallion’s attention as he checked her cutie-mark. “Oh my gosh.” He stuttered, “Your Rainbow-”
Dash shoved a hoof in his mouth before he could finish that sentence. Everyone else seemed too busy to pay them much attention, so no one had heard what he was about to say. They stared at each other for an awkward, questioning moment and then she slowly removed her hoof from his mouth, grabbed his breastplate with both hooves and head-butted him in the face. “Arg; what the-” a second smack shut him up, making his eyes roll back as he passed into unconsciousness.
She felt really bad for doing this; but Tank had taught her that a hard enough knock to the head typically erased the last twenty minutes or so of memory and she really didn’t want to be answering any questions about why she was dressed like Trixie. She checked to make sure he was still breathing, kicked Trixie’s garments into a nearby corner and then lugged the guy a short distance to the nearest paramedic that didn’t look like he was already busy.
“I was just flying past and I saw some pegasus that looks like Trixie beat this guy over the head and then run into that alley. You take care of him and I’ll go catch her.” She didn’t give the paramedic any more time to think or respond. She dumped the guard softly but unceremoniously on the ground next to him and then took off in the first direction that seemed ‘away’ from the pile of burning theater.
She gave herself the length of a few blocks past the rows of emergency services, and then another street and a hundred yards of altitude before she let herself look back at what she’d done. Given that she’d been rescued from ground zero of where the fire had started, Dash figured anyone else who’d been in there would have also gotten out alive, but that didn’t stop three hundred years of cultural history, and a few million bits worth of wood and stuff from going up in pretty flames.
She had the hat and cape that should have covered her well enough; given that the smoke machines had still been active on the stage when the fight was going on. The other Wonderbolts wouldn’t turn her in, and so as long as that guard forgot what he’d seen, she was safe… probably.
If she was under suspicion, her best bet would be to pack up whatever she could carry and leave Canterlot while she could; but doing that could incriminate her even if she wasn't under suspicion yet. She figured her best bet was to try and move on like nothing had happened… and maybe talk to Spitfire about establishing an alibi.
Unlike the rest of the team, Spitfire wasn't an idiot; and knew how to make someone believe a story. She and Dash had clashed several times about their varying definitions of 'honesty'; but this lying really was necessary. Besides, it really wasn't her fault the theater burnt down: Trixie had lit those candles and it was Trixie's crates of phosphorous that had ignited the blaze.
Why the hay did she had that phosphorous there anyway?
She took off towards the stables; a low headache setting in as the adrenaline wore off, coupled with a growing realization that she looked and smelled like she'd been in an explosion. She stopped on top of a large cloud to preen her feathers and rub the soot off her coat.
Long hard strokes against the soft spongy cloud removed most of physical evidence, but she didn't remove the misgivings from her mind. She settled down to do some of the breathing exercises Twilight had taught her, and tried to rehearse what kind of cover story she was going to give Spitfire; but instead found herself wondering what kind of alibi awesome-red-guy would give himself, if any.
Dash had at least put the forethought into getting a disguise so she blended in. He on the other hoof just waltzed onto the stage buck naked without even covering his cutie-mark like he didn't care who recognized him. Then he helped Derpy out of the hole like he didn't care being able to prove he had any reason for attacking Trixie and anyone else who got in his way.
He and Rainbow Dash had saved each other’s lives, and she never even saw his cutie-mark.
What if Trixie was some kind of super-terrorist mastermind who was gonna use the phosphorous to blow Canterlot off the mountain, and awesome-red-guy was some government super-spy who was on a secret mission to kick her flank before she did. Rainbow Dash seriously doubted this as a plausible explanation, but it was still fun to think about.
In reality though she figured it was much more likely he didn't care if anyone saw him or his cutie-mark because he knew that nopony there would recognize him. The way he started that fight gave Rainbow Dash the feeling he was accustomed to spontaneous violence and probably moved from place to place; hunting the minions of some elderlitch necromancer.
Yup, that was probably it.
She knew she would probably never see him again which, as frustrating as that was, meant she could make up any story for him she wanted. Tomorrow he’d probably end up being a time traveler from some post-apocalyptic future; that would be cool… but then that would also leave the possibility open that he was her great-grandson or something. Not cool. He could come from a parallel universe then; that made more sense.
Finding herself considerably more relaxed than she was a few moments ago she spread wings and took off at a slow easy pace back to the Wonderbolt stables where she knew she'd find hot food, a clean uniform and a worried, confused, and very angry Spitfire who met her in the sky as she was coming in.
“What, on earth, did you do?”
Rainbow looked over her shoulder, like she was wondering if there was somepony else Spitfire might be talking to, then turned back and pointed hesitantly at herself as if to confirm she was the one Spitfire was talking to; “Nothing.”
“You burnt down the bloody theater!”
“No I didn’t.”
“Then who did?”
“I don’t know.” Muttered Rainbow Dash musingly, “Maybe it was that red unicorn that bashed Trixie and her co-shows to a pulp.”
“And who was he?”
Rainbow Dash put her hoof over her heart, and looked Spitfire in the eyes, “I honestly, don’t know.”
Spitfire drew back a little bit, and crossed her arms across her chest; giving the impression of a disapproving parent, “Alright then; what did happen?”
Rainbow Dash breathed deeply and then confidently said what she had rehearsed in her mind to say, “Derpy got stuck going down Trixie’s trapdoor. Trixie was trying to force her down the hole, either not realizing or not caring that she was about to break Derpy’s wing. You saw that part right?”
“I didn’t see anything.”
“Well that means you weren’t paying attention.”
“What happened next?”
“I flew down to try and break up Trixie’s show and help Derpy out of the hole before she got hurt; but I don’t think anyone recognized me since I was wearing a cape and had that Fleetfoot had gotten me from the souvenir shop.” Spitfire scoffed and Dash pretended that she hadn’t heard her:
“I’d just reached Derpy when Red-Guy showed up and started wrecking the place. I flew out of there to avoid getting into a scuffle, but one of Trixie’s pegasi co-shows tackled her out of the way when Trixie was about to kill Red-Guy; then ran back stage when the Royal Guards flooded in. I flew outside as soon as the fire started, and saw her slipping out the back door, one of the royal guards tried to stop her but she knocked him out. I took the guy to a medic in case he needed help but the pegaus -”
“You attacked a royal guard!?”
“...Nope... that was the other pegasi that looked like Trixie that did that. Not me.”
Spitfire turned and pointed down at the Wonderbolt Stables, “Last week, Soarin got stuck, in a vending machine, trying to steal a snack for his pet rock; and even he is not going to believe that you had nothing to do with that fire.”
“… Are you sure?”
“You still have soot behind your ears.”
“Drat.” Muttered Dash, licking her hoof and trying to wipe it away.
“You’re just spreading it further” Sighed Spitfire, plucking a morsel of nearby cloud, “Here, let me.” Spitfire hovered behind Rainbow, rubbing the soft evanescent material into her coat.
“Is it gone?”
“One blob is, but you have about eight more on your back that you got from; ‘not being anywhere near that fire when it started.’” Dash gulped, Spitfire fetched another cloud, held it over Rainbow and gave it a solid buck, letting a freezing cascade fall over her shoulders. Spitfire went back to hovering in front of Rainbow, just outside of the shower’s spray. “Who’s the red stallion?”
“I don’t know.”
“Level with me.”
“I am.” Insisted Dash, “I don’t know him.”
“And the knocked out guard?”
“Doesn’t know what hit him.”
“And Trixie?”
“Never saw past my disguise.”
Spitfire stared at her for a long time then sighed, “This is still going to be a hard story to sell.”
“I know.” Admitted Rainbow Dash, “Which is why I understand you’re going to need some extra holiday after this season ends,” Spitfire looked slightly amused, “Which will end early since we’ll be skipping out the smaller towns, just like you suggested.” Spitfire looked more amused, but didn’t say anything yet, “…Money?”
Spitfire sighed, “We can figure the details out later, for now we need to get your story straight with the rest of the team, before they start mixing with the guests at the party tonight; but you owe me.”
Dash nodded, and took off after Spitfire, giving her wings extra hard flaps and a few barrel rolls to dry out by the time they reached home base; but it didn’t make her feel any better about the situation. Technically she hadn’t confessed to anything, but Spitfire knew that something serious had happened, and Dash knew that she wasn’t going to let this go easily.
Inside however it was a different story. All Dash and Spitfire needed to do was walk around, laughing about how one of Trixie’s own assistants had turned on her as soon as the red stallion showed up; and everyone joined in, no one wanting to be the only one who didn’t see what everyone else did.
Somewhere along the lines someone suggested that the red stallion had been having an affair with Trixie, and chose to ruin her magic show as revenge for her cheating on him. Something about this story was unsettling to Rainbow Dash, but Spitfire supported it and within an hour or so it had been recorded as probable fact.
Rainbow did apologize, profusely, but in private to Fleetfoot for ripping the hat and cape off her, which was accepted making Rainbow confident that she would keep her sweet mouth shut. By the time everyone needed to suit up for Tiara’s party, Rainbow Dash felt confident that she was safe. Meanwhile tiny pangs of guilt nibbled at her for the smaller towns she’d just canceled on because of time constraints, which really meant their money wasn’t good enough to see their sports heroes, and Spitfire’s words reverberated through her skull.
“You owe me.”