High Fashion, High Noon

by GJT_Productions

Spitfire

Lead Wingpony Soarin' gave a worried sigh as he looked out of the Canterlot HQ of the Wonderbolts at the agitated pegasi crowds gathering outside the building. The signs they were holding - "OUR DREAMS MATTER" and "SPITFIRE MUST GO" - were the most plain indication of the tense atmosphere than Soarin' was tempted to compare to a siege. It seemed the Wonderbolts as an organization were under heavy attack, and he wondered whether it would survive to the next performing season...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The attacks and protesting were a direct result of the parasprite release fiasco at a Canterlot performance that lead to Captain Spitfire and Soarin' himself being briefly imprisoned on Princess Celestia's orders. Although Spitfire and Soarin' were ultimately cleared of wrongdoing, the whole incident had seriously damaged public trust in the Wonderbolts, at least in Canterlot, and triggered the crisis Soarin' was currently caught up in.

While Spitfire and Soarin' were imprisoned, Second Lead Wingpony Misty Fly was Acting Captain, and had done two things primarily: one being agreeing to the Celestia-demanded fines and damages, and the other offering full ride readmissions for pegasi previously rejected from Wonderbolt Academy, supposedly to "help restore good public relations". The costs associated with these measures were extraordinary, certainly high enough to bankrupt the Wonderbolts in short order, but the intense public pressure meant Spitfire could not safely scale them back when she was restored to her position.

Then Misty Fly made a media statement announcing that unless she was appointed Wonderbolt Captain by the end of the current performing season she and several other Wonderbolts would start a rival organization called "The Blue Thunder" and take in any pegasus refused by the Wonderbolt Academy. Lieutenant Captain Aten quickly followed this with his own public statement encouraging the pegasi offered the full rides to take Misty Fly's "Plan B" should Spitfire renege on the promise. A rumor spread that Misty Fly and Aten were working together to blackmail Spitfire into resigning her position, and to Soarin' it certainly seemed like the rumor was true.

The day Soarin' had already had was quite tense. Spitfire had started it by calling an "emergency assembly", canceling the normal drills and public visitation times for the day. The protests had built up over several days, and Soarin' braced to hear Spitfire's resignation statement. Instead, he and the rest of the Wonderbolts got something almost as bad.

"I just got a written notice this morning." Captain Spitfire wearily explained as she addressed her fellow Wonderbolts - the days of stress and sleepless nights of worry had taken a notable toll on her energy and determination. "Royal Guard Captain Gibraltar has warned he will no longer provide Guard protection from the protesters if I do not resign within the next 24 hours."

Shocked gasps spread throughout the assembled crowd - Soarin' and the others realized without Guard protection, the Wonderbolts would have no safety from the protesters outside. It appeared that Celestia had lost faith in the Wonderbolts as an organization, or at least with Spitfire being in charge of it. It did not matter that Gibraltar later denied ever giving such a notice, or that eventually it was found to have been a complete forgery - with no time for the truth to catch up to the lies, Spitfire seemed doomed. Either she would be forced out of her position, or take down the Wonderbolts out of sheer stubbornness.

"Fellow Wonderbolts, our course of action is quite clear." Misty Fly interrupts before Spitfire can continue her speech. "The Captain must announce her resignation quickly and to the protesting crowds outside. There is no alternative now."

Soarin' wasn't surprised by Misty Fly's comment - she had the most to gain by Spitfire's resignation. What he was surprised by though was the number of supportive affirmations that followed - five other Wonderbolts, almost half the entire Wonderbolt team, spoke up in favor of Misty Fly's suggestion. Soarin' looks over at Fleetfoot beside him, and Fleetfoot responds with a concerned eyebrow raise, clearly sharing Soarin's concern.

"I will address the protesters myself, however I want." Spitfire replies with a dry seriousness that makes it clear she was refusing to back down regardless of the consequences of that action...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was this address Spitfire was now going to make, to the agitated crowd outside. Soarin' sees Spitfire go by with a clipboard under one of her wings, and gives his captain a sympathetic look as she goes by. Behind Spitfire is Fleetfoot, joining Soarin' to help him pull back Spitfire out of potential harm's way should the crowd turn violent. Although Spitfire is addressing the sign-toting crowd from a balcony two stories above, that wouldn't stop any pegasi from just flying up and taking shots at her.

As Spitfire emerges out onto the balcony, a chorus of boos and chanting "SPITFIRE MUST GO!" over and over again erupts from the crowd below. Soarin' and Fleetfoot exchange alarmed glances, wondering if Spitfire would even be able to get her speech started. Something long and thin whizzes between them, at the line of sight, coming from outside, and reflexively both Wonderbolts turn to look in the direction the object came from.

Immediately their blood starts running cold at the sight they encounter. Two Royal Guards in full armor, one with a "30" crudely painted on and the other with a "40" painted on in the same crude manner, have slammed into Spitfire! For a horrifying moment, Soarin' and Fleetfoot are paralyzed, the crowd roaring with approval as the two stallions yank Spitfire down and begin beating her up.

Soarin' and Fleetfoot finally start moving, but almost immediately get smacked in the face by objects thrown by the attackers - Soarin' by Spitfire's clipboard tossed toward him and Fleetfoot by an empty crossbow weapon. They are stopped for only a few seconds, but it's long enough - they hear Spitfire cry in agony as she's slammed hard against a wall. Just as the other two Wonderbolts are recovering to move again, the attackers slam into them as they zoom past into the building, knocking them off balance once more.

The surreality of the situation dawns on Soarin' and Fleetfoot as they look over at the crowd cheering as Captain Spitfire lays bruised and curled up in a fetal position on the balcony floor. Soarin' and Fleetfoot work together to help Spitfire back up, but it's clear she's going to need to be looked at by a doctor.

"Help me get her to the hospital, Fleetfoot. Those bruises look pretty bad." Soarin' orders.

"Yes, sir!" Fleetfoot replies, and she takes the side of Spitfire opposite the one Soarin' is on now to mind the Captain's wobbly walking and prevent another collapse on the floor.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spitfire and her two assistants get down a flight of stairs and few hallways before they meet an unexpected obstacle - Misty Fly in the middle of the hallway, flanked by Lightning Streak on one side and Fire Streak on the other. Between the three ponies, the hallway ahead is blocked.

"You seen where the attackers went, Misty Fly?" Soarin' asks, trying to fight back the rising fear in his mind.

"No I didn't, nor did my assistants here." Misty Fly replies with cold disinterest.

"... The Captain needs medical help. Let us pass, Misty Fly." Soarin' continues, glaring in response to the seeming disinterest Misty Fly and her partners were having in the conversation.

"The Captain had opportunity to avoid this situation. But she was too stubborn. And soon she will pay. This is the only warning she, and you, will get." Misty Fly replies with tone and glare equally acidic, before she and her partners turn away to clear the path ahead.

Both Captain Spitfire and Lead Wingpony Soarin' are too stunned by the defiance and the situation around them to do anything, and Fleetfoot just stands frozen in total shock. After Misty Fly and her partners disappear, there is only Spitfire's heavy breathing heard in the hallway.

"Sir, what did we just see?" Fleetfoot finally asks to break the stunned silence.

"Death, Fleetfoot." Soarin' responds, looking over at Fleetfoot with a haunted expression. "The Wonderbolts are dying, and there's nothing we can do about it..."

Comments

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

Lead Wingpony Soarin' gave a worried sigh as he looked out of the Canterlot HQ of the Wonderbolts at the agitated pegasi crowds gathering outside the building. The signs they were holding - "OUR DREAMS MATTER" and "SPITFIRE MUST GO" - were the most plain indication of the tense atmosphere than (that) Soarin' was tempted to compare to a siege. It seemed the Wonderbolts as an organization were under heavy attack, and he wondered whether it would survive to the next performing season...