"Whoa, girl, take it easy!"
Fluttershy suddenly found herself face-first in a cloud. Of all the things to end up face-first in, she supposed a cloud was one of the better options. She'd seen Rainbow Dash end up face-first in things far less optimal than a comfy cumulus, and frankly she wanted no part of that.
"Whuh, what?" Fluttershy asked. "Did we do it?" Absence of pain notwithstanding, the sudden stop still took her by surprise. The last she'd known, she was hurtling through the sky at speeds she didn't know she was capable of, working in tandem with Rainbow and the other Ponyville pegasi to create a funnel strong enough to propel a supply of lake water to Cloudsdale. Things had looked bleak for the group when Thunder Lane, Blossomforth, and a number of other pegasi came down with a sudden bout of the feather flu, prompting Fluttershy to finally join in despite her earlier reluctance.
"Yeah, we did it!" Rainbow said, a proud smile on her face. "You did it!" It was rare for Rainbow to pass the praise for something she was involved in to another pony, but it was warranted here. It was Fluttershy's extra wingpower that had finally pushed them over the top; without her, the entire effort would have been for naught. It was no record like Rainbow was aiming for, but they had succeeded, and that was all that mattered. A timid high wing shared between friends finished the deal before the two touched down.
"Great job, Fluttershy!" Flitter exclaimed as Fluttershy and Rainbow landed beside them. "That was awesome!"
"Yeah, we couldn't have done it without you," Cloudchaser agreed. To hear this praise from two mares who had earlier been giggling at her efforts was cathartic for Fluttershy, and while she wasn't usually one for basking in attention, a little piece of her was admittedly starting to enjoy it.
"Nice job, Rainbow Dash," Spitfire said as she flew up behind them. "You may not have set a new record, but you showed a lot of guts." Spitfire had come to town to observe the goings-on, and Rainbow was more than happy to see one of her idols. Rainbow opened her mouth to respond, but a voice made whatever she was going to say get caught in her throat.
"You're in no position to talk."
All the color drained from Rainbow's face as Sugarcoat's voice cut through the air. She quickly looked to Spitfire, terrified over what her reaction would be. For her part, Spitfire held her calm, relaxed demeanor, raising a brow at the unicorn.
"What was that?" Spitfire asked. Rainbow found herself unable to speak, and was left trying to silence Sugarcoat through sheer mental force of will. Shockingly, it didn't help.
"I said, you're in no position to talk," Sugarcoat repeated. "Remind me again why you were just standing there instead of helping them out?"
Rainbow tried once again to say something, but her throat had gone completely dry.
"I'm here to record the team's top speed," Spitfire replied simply.
"And yet when the team didn't look like it could make the minimum wingpower needed to funnel the water, you just stood there," Sugarcoat said. "You'd think the captain of the Wonderbolts would get off of her rump and help if it meant actually getting the water that Cloudsdale needed. Your wingpower could have easily covered the gap, instead of making Fluttershy push herself. Maybe Fluttershy should be the captain of the Wonderbolts instead of you."
Rainbow silently began preparing for life without being a Wonderbolt. If Spitfire knew that she was friends with Sugarcoat, then her chances at joining the team were dead in the water. The silence was deafening as Spitfire and Sugarcoat glared at each other. It was a good ten seconds before the tension was lifted by a tiny upturn of one corner of Spitfire's mouth.
"You know, you're right," Spitfire said. "Probably should have helped. Good that Fluttershy was able to show her stuff and help out, but I shouldn't have put her in that position when I could have easily done my part." She gave a salute to Sugarcoat. "Thanks for that, and sorry, everypony. Good to know even an experienced pony like me can still learn something here and there." With that, she spread her wings and took off.
"She seems cool," Sugarcoat said casually as she walked past Rainbow, who was still trying to pick her jaw up off of the ground.
looking up to Rainbow's "Rainbow connection" as some "handsome" hyppogryph would say.
Pretty solid Spitfire there. I can't remember a time the Wonderbolts actually earned the reputation they apparently have before somepony chews them out for being stupid and/or useless.
That worked better than it had any right to.
Da-pfft! Wow! Didn't see that coming.
(Note: I couldn't find the right words to describe this, so I just made a random comment. Nothing more. Just so you know. )
Still wondering when we're gonna see how she plunges into Equestria via Midnight's outburst at the Games...
Nice one! I hadn't even NOTICED that Spitfire was just standing around doing nothing in this episode. Then again, it isn't very surprising. Spitfire's not exactly reliable and often comes across as a massive jerk, albeit an unintentional one.
We're still in Season 2, right?
I can't wait for Wonderbolts Academy version of this.
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Yup! Though if I can keep up this rate of chapters, we'll be done with it within the week.
7113789 It would be scary if this turned out to be a stable time loop.
...huh. That actually seems to be Spitfire's Modus Operandi. Behave in a completely unacceptable manner whenever she's around Rainbow, and then wait for Rainbow - or someone around Rainbow - to call her on it.
...kinda makes me think the reason Rainbow isn't a Wonderbolt yet is because Spitfire has her tapped for a military commission. She doesn't want Rainbow to be just any Wonderbolt...she wants her to be an Officer.
Maybe it's not her job
Dang, if Sugarcoat thinks this is gonna be the last time she calls out Spitfire, just wait 'till season 3...
You know, that thought never crossed my mind? What was Spitfire going to do if they couldn't get the water up to Cloudsdale? And I still want to know how the hell did 12 pegasi going sick equal over 200 wingpower and Rainbow was the fastest at 16.5?
This may make it just a tiny little easier for Rainbow Dash to call out Spitfire in Wonderbolts Academy.
Considering there's a good chance that Sugarcoat's speech will be to the rest of the Mane 6 going "You idiots are really considering going into a military zone where there are lots of pegasi pulling off maneuvers?", RD will need it.
If Sugarcoat gets a chance to go back to Earth will she take it, since she's in a relationship with Big Mac now?
For some reason I think Sugarcoat will bend time and become a princess. Heck, if she does get her wings then she would probably become one of the head honchos of the Wonderbolts.
Come on Twilight, somebody, step your game up!
That was good.
Really good.
Okay, even though Spitfire was just there as a judge and seeing how judges aren't allowed to help, I can TOOOOOTALLY see where Sugarcoat is coming from.
Besides the episode's still awesome.
7115380
It wasn't a sporting event, or even a competitive event.
She was there to oversee a vital national fuction.
Also this old thing.
img15.deviantart.net/7724/i/2013/271/4/9/hurricane_spitfire_by_doublewbrothers-d6o9d4j.png
Well done. Once again Sugarcoat steps in to give good advice.
I love Spitfire as a fic character, but I hate how she comes off as incompetent...
I hope Sugarcoat returns for more bluntness in Equestria someday, Twinkletail.
Spitfire is best Drill Sergeant
7343171
Can I tell you how happy you made me with this.
Also, apologies to everyone for the lack of updates...I promise I'm going to try to get back to this. I was having a little trouble coming up with something for Ponyville Confidential, and then life got in the way.
7343241
Hmmm Ponyville Confidential.
I could see the CMC discovering and revealing Sugarcoat's secret or simply guessing correctly.
No.
No.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The thing I always dread most when reading incomplete stories!!!!!
BEING CAUGHT UP!!!!!!
Looking forward to the next update soon.^_^
7343241
Truthfully speaking - I have mixing feelings about this story.
On one side - its LACKS in backstory department. Like how some keeps on living. Is she leeching of off Twilight? Does she work? How she knows where she should be? Does she knows about mlp? How she travels undetected? And many others....
On the other side - its OH SO SATISFYING to see someone with common sense there. And she's not just good at it - she certainly delivers, while delivering it.
So it's kinda evens out this deal for me. Its definitely lacks in plot/story telling, but it delivers on so many other levels.
Keep up your good work. Have a fav&watch.
7343241 Is there any possibility of an update?
I know it has been awhile, but any idea when/if this story is getting updated?
Yeah, I miss this story.
Where is my Semi-bae?
P.S. Lemon Zest is my real bae, but I just want to know when this is being updated.
I love everything about this story.
How long has it been since you wrote a chapter about me, Twinkletail? A year and two weeks now?
You know that really says a lot about me. Being a Crystal Prep Shadowbolt, I would show disgust, bur Principal Cinch says that emotion is not allowed because it might subtract from our skills at winning the Friendship Games.
If you did this stuff to Sour Sweet, Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, or Sunny Flare, how do you think they would feel?
8119404
I'm a bad pon
I kinda got stuck on an episode and then never got back to it. I'll need to work out my difficulty with that episode and then get back to this, cause I really did enjoy writing it.
8120141 I hope it comes back soon, because I really enjoy this series.