Chance Meetings

by cierragp

1. The Grand Galloping Gala

Soarin always admonishes himself for being careless. Then he forgets.

This time was no exception.

He watches as his pie falls to the floor with a look of horror, frozen and slightly miserable on the inside.

However, his face doesn't stay that way. It transforms into one of slight awe when he sees a quick flash of rainbow and his pie in a mare's hooves.

Uh oh.

He knows her.

"You saved it. Thanks. " He says, keeping his cool, even if he feels the temperature rising a little. It's not much, but he can feel his face going a little red.

"Hey, no prob. " She replies, smiling a little more. He thinks it's too bad he doesn't see her smiling like this often enough.

"Hey! I know you. You're the pony that saved us in Cloudsdale and won The Best Flyer Competition." As Spitfire nudges in, he exits quietly with his pie, before devouring it a little too quickly. Well, he had a whole day of practice and performing - he deserved a little indulgence, but Spitfire probably wasn't agreeing.

"Hay yeah! Name's Rainbow Dash."

"Well, Rainbow Dash. Looks like your skills saved us again. Oh, well, at least they saved Soarin's apple pie. " He hears in the background, but he could care less about Spitfire's subtle mocking of him being a glutton. Pie was pie.

~~~

Rainbow was here for the Wonderbolts, and only them.

It was too good a chance to miss when she saved her idol's apple pie - after all, every press had published things in the past about Soarin's love for apple pies. She might not have cared for pies herself, but when it was her idol's pie...things were different.

"You saved it. Thanks." She could see his face too clearly from here, green eyes shining, a smile that spread throughout his face.

"Hey, no prob." Casual, casual, casual, she reminded herself.

"Hey! I know you. You're the pony that saved us in Cloudsdale and won The Best Flyer Competition." The leader of the Wonderbolts? The leader? She was elated, even if she showed only a small part of it.

"Hay yeah! Name's Rainbow Dash." She hoped he caught it. No, she prayed that he caught it.

"Well, Rainbow Dash. Looks like your skills saved us again. Oh, well, at least they saved Soarin's apple pie. " Spitfire laughed, and she couldn't help but smile a little more.

~~~

The gala was in ruins. Spitfire was probably more than a little too relieved to be out of mingling with ponies she neither liked nor cared for, and most of, she was gone.

It was good for Soarin's little plan. It was too good to be true.

Heading towards the cafe, reasoning that it was good for him to be getting something to drink (it was an excuse for a good donut), he saw from far away several ponies...and her?

He could feel a little heat creeping up his face again. What exactly was happening? She was pretty, but a life of working with those who were considered the most beautiful of the beautiful had desensitized him to beauty.

There was no time to think of that. Ten paces, five, zero...he entered the shop. bells jingling, her turning around and wide eyed with recognition. Was it a good sign?

"A latte please," he said, as Pony Joe stepped out, "oh, and a donut. "

"Soarin, I thought you were an insomniac." Spitfire rolled her eyes when he turned around.

This was one of the times where he regretted picking coffee.

"I'm tired. And we're going back to Cloudsdale." He reasoned, but she was having none of it.

"You need to stop eating sweets. They make you dumb. But I think you're already dumb enough." With that, she left in a huff.

Someone giggled. Someone else snorted.

Soarin turned around to see Rainbow and her pink-maned friend in a frenzy. He sighed but smiled a little.

"Oh don't worry, we don't think you're dumb. Just don't get fat. " The pink mane yelled, and both of them collapsed into another fit.