Fleeting Romance

by Sketchy Changeling

Chapter 2: Chance Encounter

The human and the pegasus looked at each other silently for a second before one of them spoke up.

“I guess I should watch where I’m going, huh?” Fleetfoot chuckled.

“Nah, I wasn’t watching where I was going, either,” said Cory. “Wait, you look familiar. Have we met before?”

“I doubt it,” said the mare. “I haven’t met many humans, so I probably would’ve remembered you.” She gave the human a good look and saw that he was as small as she was. She couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Oh,” he said. “Well, you do look familiar… Oh, wait! You were on TV this morning! You’re one of the Wonderbolts, right?”

“Ah, that,” Fleetfoot said, thinking that Cory was another fan. The Wonderbolts had been garnering human admirers lately. “I’m guessing you want an autograph?”

“Oh, no. I wouldn’t want to be a bother,” he said. “Besides, I’m not really into the whole sports scene. I don’t even know the names of any the members.”

“Well, you can start with me,” the pegasus said with a smile. “My name’s Fleetfoot.”

“Nice to meet you, Fleetfoot,” said the human. “My name is Cory. Maybe I’ll see you around while your team is staying here?” With that, Fleetfoot said goodbye to Cory and continued on towards Bite of Heaven. As she walked, though, she got that strange feeling that someone was following her. She turned around to see Cory walking a couple of feet behind her.

“I’m not following you, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he said.

“I hope not,” she joked. “I wouldn’t want to be followed on my way to the diner.”

Cory’s eyebrows rose at this. “Really? I was heading to a diner, too. Which one are you headed to?”

“Bite of Heaven,” she answered. “One of my teammates recommended it to me.”

“That’s where I’m headed, too,” said Cory. “My roommate took me there once.”

Fleetfoot smiled at him and decided to use this coincidence to keep from having to sit alone at a table. “Wanna sit together? It beats sitting by myself,” she decided.

“By yourself?” Cory asked. “I assumed that you were going there to meet up with your teammates.”

“Nah,” said Fleetfoot. “Some of them are at the hotel and others are at the gym. Apparently I’m the only one that wants to enjoy our time here in Canterlot. So, my offer still stands; wanna sit with me?”

Cory was taken aback by the request. It’s not every day that a celebrity asks you to have a meal with them, let alone so casually. “Oh…” he said apprehensively. “Well, would that really be a good idea? I mean, if anypony saw us together, rumors of a secret relationship would spread like wildfire.”

Fleetfoot showed a small smile. “Don’t worry, I have the perfect solution,” said the pegasus. She runs her hands through her mane several times so that it’d stay down instead of retaining its wind-blown look. She then took a box of contacts out of her pocket and put the contacts in her eyes, making them appear pink rather than the usual green. To top it off, she put on a set of fake glasses. “Ta-da!” she said.

“Wow,” Cory said, “so even non-unicorn ponies can easily disguise themselves.”

“Yup, all you need is a clever mind,” she said. “Well, let’s go get a table.”

Fleetfoot and Cory walked into the diner and asked for a table. The mare at the front of the establishment raised her eyebrow at Fleetfoot for a moment, but she shook her head and led the duo to a table.

“Oh, man. I thought she saw through your disguise for a sec,” said Cory.

“That hasn’t happened for a while,” said Fleetfoot. “She’s a smart one, that mare.”

“Who are you, James Bond?” he joked.

“Who?” she asked.

“Oh… he’s a fictional character from human films,” Cory said meekly. “Well, that joke went down the drain,” he thought.

“I’m screwing with you, man,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve watched my fair share of films from the human world.”

Cory nervously chuckled. Fleetfoot’s casualness was… disarming, to say the least. She was acting as though she’d been his friend for the longest time.

“C’mon, Cory. Throw me a bone here,” she said. “At least give me a genuine smile.”

“Oh, sorry…” said Cory. “I’m just a little… intimidated, is all.”

“Intimidated? By me?” Fleetfoot asked. “You’re funny. I know I’m a famous flyer, but right now, I’m just a regular mare.”

“Okay, well, how about we try and get to know each other, then,” Cory said, trying to man up.

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” said Fleetfoot. “Since you already kinda know who I am, why don’t you tell me about yourself first?”

“Okay,” Cory said. “Well, I’m a transfer student at Canterlot University, and I’ve been living here for two months.”

“College kid, huh?” said Fleetfoot. “So how do you like Equestria?”

“To be honest, I really like it,” the human admitted, finally getting comfortable. “It’s a lot livelier than my hometown, for sure, and I was really desperate for a change of scenery before the move.”

“Interesting,” said the mare. “Have you declared a major yet?”

“Nah, not yet,” he said. “I’m not really sure what I want to do with my life. I know I’m only nineteen years old, so I shouldn’t rush things, but I just feel that there’s something more out there for me.”

“Nineteen, huh?” Fleetfoot thought. “I think it’d be best if I didn’t tell him that I’m four years older than him. I might intimidate him again.”

“I’m actually kind of jealous of ponies,” Cory admitted.

Fleetfoot was simply just trying to get Cory to relax, but now she was intrigued. “Jealous of ponies?” she asked. “How so?”

“Well, you figure out what your purpose in life when you’re little,” Cory explained. “When you’re a human, finding out what you’re destined to be can end up to be an endless cycle of trial and error. I just don’t feel like going through that cycle.”

Fleetfoot was surprised at what Cory said. It was a perspective that she’d never heard before. Then again, she hasn’t had many conversations with humans, or any other non-pony species, for that matter. After mulling it over for a minute, she finally had a response. “I’d have to disagree,” she said. “I think that half the fun of finding your purpose lies within the search.”

Cory chuckled. “It’s not often that you hear such a profound statement from an athlete.”

“The same could be said for a nineteen-year-old, Cory,” Fleetfoot retorted.

“Well, enough about me and my lack of a life,” he said. “I know you get this question a lot, but what is your life like?”

“Actually, I don’t usually get that question,” she answered. Whenever I make an appearance with the other Wonderbolts, all the questions go to either Spitfire or Soarin. They’re pretty much all most of the fans talk about, aside from the hardcore buffs that know all our stats by heart.”

“I guess it sucks to be the one that doesn’t stand out,” Cory said with a consoling voice.

“Oh, no. It’s nothing like that at all,” Fleetfoot says, waving her hands in front of her. “Sure, Spitfire and Soarin get a lot of attention, but I have my fair share of fans. Besides, neither of them let the popularity go to their heads. We’re all like a big family, a big, dysfunctional family.”

Cory laughed. “Really, now? So I guess it’s not that bad, then.”

“Not at all,” Fleetfoot laughed back. “You know, there’s one thing that not many fans know.”

“And what’s that?” the human asked.

“I was the first pony Spitfire recruited to be on the team,” said the mare. “We’ve been best friends since foalhood.”

“Really?” he said. “That’s interesting.”

“You know, Cory, I’m gonna be honest with you,” said Fleetfoot. “At first, your quietness was starting to bore me, but I gotta say that you’re pretty interesting.”

“Well, that’s not something I hear often,” he said. “What makes you think I’m interesting, Fleetfoot?”

“You’re a guy searching for his purpose in life,” she said with a matter-of-fact tone. “How could that not be interesting? Like I said, half the fun of finding your purpose is the search.”

The waitress finally came and took Cory and Fleetfoot’s orders. She gave Fleetfoot the same look she received from the mare that seated them, and like said mare, she shook her head and walked off.

“I don’t think your disguise is as effective as you claim it to be,” Cory snickered.

“Oh, whatever,” said Fleetfoot.

She and Cory continued to converse over their lunch, and when the bill came, Cory took out his wallet. “It’s only fair that I pay my half of the bill,” he said.

“Nah, I got you. Consider it as a thank you for making my lunch more enjoyable,” Fleetfoot said.

“Oh, I can’t accept that,” Cory said modestly.

“Just shut up and take the favor, kid,” the mare chuckled.

“Alright, alright,” he said. “And where do you get off calling me kid? You can’t be that much older than me.”

“Care to take a guess?” she said as she paid the bill and got out of her seat.

“Most females usually don’t allow guys to guess their age, but I’ll give it a shot,” he said, accepting the challenge. “Twenty-one.”

“Twenty-three.” Fleetfoot corrected.

“Heh, most ladies would just say ‘Yes, I am twenty-one,’” said Cory as he and Fleetfoot walked out of the diner.

“Well, I look the same way now as I did two years ago, so it’s no difference to me,” she said, waving it off.

Cory smiled at the mare. This was arguably the most interesting lunch he’s had since moving to the pony world. “It was nice meeting you, Fleetfoot,” he said. “Thanks for picking up the tab.”

“Don’t mention it, man,” she said. “Thanks for making my lunch less lonely. Oh, and it was nice meeting you, too. Maybe I’ll run into you again sometime, Cory.”

“Maybe,” he said. “See you around.” With that, Fleetfoot and Cory parted ways; Fleetfoot was headed back to the hotel, and Cory headed back to his house.

---

“Well, I see the house doesn’t look like a war zone,” Gaffer said as he returned home to see Cory playing a video game.

“You really should have more faith in me,” said the human. “I may not be that old, but I’m responsible.”

The unicorn scoffed. “You didn’t stay in here and play video games all day, did you?” he asked.

“No, I also watched TV and took a nap,” Cory retorted.

“Very funny,” said Gaffer.

“Joking aside, though, I did leave to get some fresh air,” said Cory. “I went to Bite of Heaven.”

“By yourself?” Gaffer asked as he took a seat next to his roommate. “You must’ve looked real lonely in there.”

“Actually, I wasn’t alone,” Cory corrected. “There was somepony with me.”

“Really?” the unicorn asked. “Who?”

Cory was about to answer, but then he realized that he was about to tell Gaffer that he went out to lunch with a celebrity. A comment like that would most likely garner some questions from the unicorn, questions that Cory did not feel like answering.

“You don’t need to know her name,” he said.

“Her? You went to lunch with a girl?” Gaffer asked in disbelief.

“Why do you sound so shocked?” Cory asked, feeling a little offended.

“Well, it’s just that you don’t have any female friends here that I know of, so it’s a bit of a surprise,” the unicorn said.

Cory grunted. He really dodged a bullet there. He would eventually tell Gaffer about who he had lunch with, but he’d do that later, when he was more in the mood to play Twenty Questions. In the meantime, he reflected on his afternoon. In contrast to Cory’s usual idea of celebrities, Fleetfoot seemed really down to earth. She also seemed to be pretty insightful, her remark about “half the fun bring in the search” sticking in his mind the most. He wouldn’t mind running into her again. It’d be nice to have somepony other than Gaffer to have a good conversation with.

But she was a famous athlete with a schedule. What were the odds of that happening?

---

“Ah, that was a good workout!” Spitfire said as she entered her and Fleetfoot’s room, where Fleetfoot was lying on her bed, reading a magazine.

“If you’re trying to get me to feel guilty about not going to the gym with you, you’ll have to try harder,” she said.

“C’mon, Fleetie. You know I’m not like that,” said the captain. “If you didn’t want to go, you didn’t want to go.” She sighed. “You did miss out on an awesome post-workout shower, though. Canterlot Gym has the most awesome showers!”

“You made sure that Soarin wasn’t peeping, I hope,” Fleetfoot said, chuckling to herself.

“You know he doesn’t have the stones,” Spitfire scoffed.

“You wish he did, though,” the smaller mare said, looking up at the larger one with half-lidded eyes.

“Quit doing that,” said Spitfire.

“I don’t see why you two broke up when you both still liked each other,” Fleetfoot said. “I mean, if you both love each other, and there were no complications, then why break it off?”

“There was a complication, Fleetfoot,” Spitfire corrected. “Our careers. We couldn’t have a serious relationship AND focus on our responsibilities to the team.”

“Why not?” the blue pegasus asked. “The main strain on relationships involving athletes is the separation when one of them has to go away for a long period of time. Since you two are on the same team, that problem is nonexistent.”

“It’s more complicated than that,” Spitfire lamented. “There’s also the constant hounding from paparazzi, and whenever we made an appearance while we were together, the questions would always gravitate towards our relationship. With all that in mind, Soarin and I decided to end it before the stress made us say things that we’d end up regretting.”

Fleetfoot sighed. “I don’t know why you two would willingly suffer through that. If you ask me, I’d say that it would’ve worked out.”

“That was one risk that I’m not willing to take,” said Spitfire, her eyes then took notice of Fleetfoot’s discarded contacts case and fake glasses. “Did you go out today, Fleetie?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah. Just went out for a quick bite to eat,” she said. “I ran into this guy and we ended up eating together?”

“Oh really,” the captain said with a raised eyebrow. She took a seat on the bed and got her ears ready. “Spill.”

“He was a human,” said Fleetfoot. “Nice kid, nineteen, college student, and he was a pretty good conversationalist once I got him to open up.”

“Wow. Didn’t take you long to tell me at all,” said Spitfire.

“You’re my best friend, Spit,” said the small mare. “You know there are no secrets between us.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t spend your lunch sitting at a table by yourself,” Spitfire said as she got off the bed.

Fleetfoot chuckled as she thought back to earlier that afternoon. Cory seemed to be a cool guy. He was a nice contrast to Soarin and Rapidfire’s gruff natures. Sure, he wasn’t sure of what to do with his life, but like he said, humans don’t have it as easy as ponies when it comes to that. All in all, Fleetfoot wouldn’t mind getting to meet him again.

But he was a college student with a schedule. What were the odds of that happening?

Comments

[Silver Page]

And now the awkward run-ins will begin. First, they run into each other at the mall or other place of shopping, then the two will run into each other at a place they both like/place catering to same hobbies, and finally, one of them will walk in on the other while bathing. Mix it up, and have Fleet walk in on Cory. That would be a chuckle.
Anyway, great job, liking the character development.

[Ivellios]

The odds of that happening again depends on the writer of the story.

[Juu50x]

So far, so good. Interested to see where this is going, and are you going "show" anything that tells this is connected to your "Chaos Next Door"?

[Android]

If I may give a bit of advice, unless someone else has done that already, I haven't read that far ahead yet, but if you're gonna put character thoughts into the story, I would remove the quotes and put everything in italics just so people don't have to read into it too hard.

[ReverseBrony]

Dude, I love your writing. Keep it up .

[Lupus]

What were the odds of that happening?

540,000 to 1 give or take. But luckily for them they live in a world of destiny, where very little happens without a reason.

[AuthorGenesis]

Sure, he wasn’t sure of what to do with his life, but like he said, humans don’t have it as easy as ponies when it comes to that.

Looks about frantically, while making silencing motions with his finger. Don't let the CMC hear you say that!

[Science-Mare]

What are the odds of that happening...
Karmas a bitch
Coincidence is a complete arsehole (not in this story but you get my point....I hope)