The Quickverse Chronicles

by Quick Fix

Moral Grounds (Spitfire/Flitter)

May 19th, Year 5 under the Four Princesses

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The skies of Equestria normally felt awash with energy, thanks to the inherent magic of the pegasi that allowed them to shape the weather as needed. Today though, in the late afternoon sun that bathed Canterlot in a gentle glow, the air was even more charged than usual. With the official foundation of the Equestria Defence Force taking place within the capital that morning, thousands of ponies had made their way into the city to assist with the final details of creating Equestria's first standing military in two thousand years and learn the exact roles they would play in this new institution. The day was starting to wind down though and many ponies were starting to pack up and begin to return to their home bases across the land.

In the central courtyard of the new EDF base, eight such ponies were taking off for their flight back to Cloudsdale. While their official military designation was now sky wing squadron one, everypony knew them far better as the best of the best among the pegasus race; the Wonderbolts. Decades of serving Equestria as both a stunt performance and search-and-rescue unit had kept it's members sharp and agile, the addition of proper combat training over the past few months had only added to their considerable capabilities. Each member of the team was now as honed as a pegasus could get in their respective fields, from the lightning speeds of Fleetfoot or Rainbow Dash, to the raw determination of Spitfire and Misty Fly, the strength of Soarin, the agility of Vapor Trail, the endurance of High Winds and even the unstoppable attitude of Sky Stinger. Every one of them had earned their place here as a guardian of Equestria's future.

"Alright everypony," Spitfire called to the seven pegasi keeping in a tight wedge formation behind her as they cleared the Canterlot city limits. "I'll be saving the rundown for when we get back to base. For now, loosen up a little and enjoy the flight."

Everypony saluted and almost immediately relaxed, some lifting their goggles up or stretching in their flight suits. Considering how relentless their training had been, the chance to simply savour being in the air and flying for themselves was long overdue for a few of the Wonderbolts.

"Woo! I can't believe this is actually happening," Sky Stinger exclaimed from his position on the right edge of the formation, what was visible of his teal blue muzzle sporting a huge grin. "I mean not only are we now the best fliers in all of Equestria, but we're also the best fighters too."

"Most of us are. You're not officially a soldier yet, newbie." Misty Fly commented from just behind him.

"But, umm, you can't deny just how good he is." Vapor Trail piped up from her position, fidgeting slightly as she said it. Considering how her feelings about Sky was one of the worst kept secrets in the unit's thousand year history during their time in the academy, nopony called her out on it.

"I wouldn't worry too much. When Dizzy's trying to be mean, you'll know," Rainbow Dash told her as she shifted a little closer in flight. "Besides, nopony's denying he's earned his wings of wonder, right?"

As the rest of the team was steadily drawn into the discussion, each giving their own views on what being a wonderbolt meant now, Spitfire watched them all with a gentle smile on her face. She knew it had been tough on the older members of the team to see their friends Surprise and Blaze transferred out to other units in the sky wing, so to see the bonds remaining strong between those who had flown alongside her for years and the newcomers who had only earned their place with the main team as recently as two months ago brought her a sense of comfort she hadn't realised she needed. Seeing them like this helped as well. Five years ago she would have made them all make the flight silent and in perfect formation. It hadn't been until they had met the rainbow mare in their midst that the wonderbolts, and Spitfire herself, had begun to break away from that insistent, best-at-all-costs mentality that had unknowingly been their greatest flaw.

Now the wonderbolts were the best not just because of their abilities, but because of the ponies that stood among them.

Everypony present had seven friends at their side, dozens more across the land that had either flown with the squad in the past or were among the numbers that made up the reserves and trainees. The wonderbolts looked out for each other now, acting not for what would serve the overall team best but for what would help each pony be their personal best. Though she couldn't take credit for starting her team down this new and improved path, Spitfire had committed herself to keeping them on it for as long as she remained their leader. That was something to worry about in the future though, right now she could simply relax and join in the conversation with the friends that were by her side right now.

Even with their slower flight, it felt like no time before an hour had passed and the team was ready for their approach to Cloudsdale, currently in position over the wetlands of Equestria's southeast coast. Every active trainee and reserve had been summoned to the wonderbolts headquarters in the city already and so Spitfire wasted no time in touching down and leading the others back inside.

As she stepped into the hall where everypony was waiting, Spitfire silently noted to herself that the Wonderbolts were at their highest numbers in decades. Eight ponies in the main unit, six reserves, nine trainees. Admittedly part of that was down to the fact she had been asked to increase the numbers in the event of the unit needing to be deployed into combat, but she liked to believe that this many ponies really were good enough to fly the Wonderbolts name as well. The reserves and trainees scrambled up from their tables as they noticed her and stood to attention, virtually indistinguishable from each other in body as they all had their flight suits on. The last modification of the flight suits meant the only difference was that the reserves' suits stopped at their necks. Only full members could wear the headgear though.

"Alright ponies, listen up!" Spitfire snapped as her wingponies joined the others, sliding effortlessly into what she called her work mode. "The formalities are done with and the Wonderbolts are now officially part of the Equestria Defence Force. Everypony in Equestria will be looking at us for protection and inspiration, and every one of you is going to have to bust your flanks even harder not to let them down. Am I right?!"

"Yes ma'am!" Twenty-five voices replied in unison.

"First things first, General Searing Current made it adamantly clear to me that we are the elite among the best fliers and she wants me to maintain that standard!" Spitfire gritted her teeth slightly at that part. "To that end, I've had no option to tighten the advancement criteria. Both Wonderbolt and military training are mandatory for consideration to join the main unit. Anypony who thought they could wait to do one or the other, too bad, you're stuck as a reserve at best until you fix it!"

Her ear twitched as she caught the sound of a pony unable to hide their frustration at the news and whirled round, staring down a lime green stallion in a reserve flight suit. The ponies either side of him tensed up as she advanced, though to his credit he never broke his focused gaze at the cloud wall behind her.

"You got something to say on this, Air Razer? You think you can be a solider without learning everything you'll need?!" She barked at him, taking off slightly in her professionally honed anger.

"N-no ma'am." Air Razer replied, his tone cowed enough for Spitfire to bring herself back down to the floor.

"Damn right," She told him as she resumed her pacing. "Secondly, for everypony who HAS done everything needed to be eligible to be a Wonderbolt, congratulations on officially making it this far! The ranks are still being finalised so you don't have to call me captain for a few more days. That said, as soon as I find out what yours is, I'll be letting you know. Thirdly, and I want to stress this one, despite how all this may have sounded, I have no intention of running things any differently. Understand me?"

"Yes ma'am!" They all said as one again.

"I'm serious," Spitfire stopped and sighed slightly, letting herself slide out of her serious work side and back into the more relaxed side she had started to grow comfortable in. As she looked back at the whole team, she cracked a small smile. "Just because we're part of a bigger structure now with a whole mess of new orders and challenges, I don't plan on turning the Wonderbolts into something we're not. You're my wingponies, my squadmates, but you're still my friends more than anything. So, I'll be in my office if you have any questions, otherwise I suggest you all take some time to unwind while you can. We'll be starting with the new training regime at the end of the week. Dismissed!"

As Spitfire turned and made her way out of the mess hall, everypony saluted her before relaxing and turning to their comrades to discuss the developments. While most of them either congratulated each other on their new positions or offered commiserations for losing their chance to make it to the main team so soon, Soarin made his way through the gatherings in search of one particular pony. He soon found her leaning against a table in thought, a light blue-purple coated mare with a mint green mane and raspberry coloured eyes. She also had the flight suit of a reserve on, though the sight of it made Soarin's heart ache a little at what she had gone through while wearing it.

"Flitter?" He said softly as he came up to her, drawing the mare's attention out of her stupor.

"I have to do it now. While I still can." Flitter told him quietly, taking a slow breath before making for the exit of the hall at a brisk pace. Soarin stayed next to her, knowing she'd need him beside her.

Flitter had been a reserve for nearly three years now, her flying was never in doubt but she seemed to lack the same confidence as the other Wonderbolts. This had come to a head a year ago while assisting emergency services on a mission in Whinnyapolis, when he had found her failing at fire containment, choking on ash build-up and at her breaking point. While Soarin had been able to keep her going long enough to salvage the situation and while the two of them had struck up an unlikely friendship in the aftermath, they both knew her odds of becoming an actual Wonderbolt had been severely dashed by the incident. The fact she had managed to complete the EDF training program and thus still be eligible for the team had come as a surprise to everypony. Now though, they walked the halls in silence without so much as an echo of hooves on ground thanks to the cloud construction.

"Do you want me to come in?" Soarin asked as they reached the door to Spitfire's office, waiting patiently as Flitter hesitated for several seconds.

"Only if it sounds like I'm in trouble. I want to at least try to do it myself," She eventually replied, looking up at him and smiling softly. "Soarin. Thank you for all your help. I don't know where I'd be without you."

Soarin simply nodded and patted her on the shoulder, not needing any more words. Anything he could have said, he'd been telling her all year anyway. Flitter took one last moment for composure and knocked on the door before stepping in and closing it behind her. Her focus shifted away from the task at hoof slightly as she saw just how sparsely decorated the office was. Spitfire tended to keep her things at the Wonderbolt barracks on the academy plateau, so the only items in here were the desk, a bookshelf and the window that looked out over central Cloudsdale. Spitfire was seated at the desk, now out of her flight suit and writing something down in what looked like a journal. On seeing who was coming in she put her quill down and pushed the book aside.

"Flitter. What's on your mind?" Spitfire asked.

"I ah...Yes, captain," Flitter replied, swallowing her nerves back. She reminded herself one more time that she HAD to do this and straightened up. "There was something I needed to discuss with you."

"Alright. I'm listening." Spitfire replied as she got up. Flitter could see the look in her superior's eyes, mind racing as she tried to figure out what was wrong. That kind of rapid analysis and thinking was why she was leader, but Flitter somehow suspected she wouldn't figure this one out before she said it.

"The thing is, well...There's no easy way to say this so...Iwanttoresign!" She blurted out, pulling her head closer to her body and bracing for the reaction. When none came she slowly opened her eyes again and looked forward. Spitfire was staring back at her, her expression neutral and calm.

"Okay...Could you repeat that a little slower?" She asked, to Flitter's surprise. That was a better reaction than expected.

"I don't think I can remain a Wonderbolt, ma'am," She explained, starting to pace around the room. If she kept moving, she would be too busy to dwell on her nerves. "When we were just stuntmares and rescue workers, that I could do. I can keep up with the others in those areas. Being a soldier though...The idea that being a Wonderbolt now means that I'll have to fight. To kill. I know that that's likely limited to monsters, but what if someday the call comes through and we have to fight changelings? Or griffons or zebras? Or even other ponies? I-I'm sorry but I don't think I can do it. I know I've never been the most promising reserve or done anything special, but I wouldn't be at my best if I stayed. if I did and I cracked under those kind of situations...I think this is best for everypony."

As she finished speaking, Flitter came to a halt and placed a hoof against her face. She'd done it, now she'd have to face the consequences. What those would be, she couldn't say right now. The world seemed to be frozen around her as she felt her chest degrading into a mess of emotion. Relief that she had managed to make this decision against dread of what such a decision would mean for her life. The moment was broken as she felt a gentle hoof against her left shoulder and she looked round to see it was Spitfire's hoof. The mare herself was by her side with a look that was...

Understanding?

"Flitter, can I be honest with you?"

"I..." Flitter put her hoof back down and turned to face Spitfire. "Of course, ma'am."

"I'm very impressed with you," Spitfire raised a hoof to halt Flitter's objection before continuing. "The honest thing is, after what happened in Whinnyapolis I was anticipating this day coming. You deciding you'd had enough and walking away. You didn't though, you kept trying and you kept performing as good as anypony. Hell, you're still actually my first choice for the next reserve to promote. The fact that this is the reason you've decided to stop, well it just makes me respect you more. I thought that somepony might think that way but, you've given me a lot to think about on the topic as well."

"I see..." Flitter replied quietly as she undid the silver Wonderbolts badge on her chest and offered it to Spitfire. The final chance for either of them to reconsider. Once that badge changed hooves, it was done.

"It's a damn shame to lose you, Flitter," Spitfire said as she looked down at the badge. "No matter how bad you may feel about your flying, just remember that even right now, you're still eligible to be a Wonderbolt. And you'll always have friends here if you need us."

"Thank you, Spitfire," Flitter managed a small smile as Spitfire held a hoof out and she placed the badge down in it. "I'll return all my things and say goodbye to the team before I head back to Ponyville."

"Keep the flight suit if you want. We'll all be getting redesigns soon anyway."

Flitter nodded and gave a last salute to her former leader before stepping out of the office. Once she was alone again, Spitfire gave a sigh tinged with sadness. It never got any easier to lose the ponies that followed her. A few years ago she might have refused the resignation and just told Flitter to think about it for a few days. That was the old Spitfire's way though, the one that believed that her team just needed to push themselves to be the best. The current her would never be okay with forcing a pony to remain active but unhappy. For now, she simply sat down and opened her journal again, wanting to get her thoughts down while they were still fresh.

---

"It's done." Flitter told Soarin once she closed the door behind her. Soarin simply nodded in response and pushed himself off the wall he'd been leaning on. Normally a chipper goofball by the standards of the team, the fact he looked despondent himself over the development was as clear an indicator of how he was taking it as a giant neon sign.

"Alright. I'm gonna miss seeing you around." He eventually told her as she approached him. It took a moment for him to realise just how much he meant it.

"You too, big guy." She replied, turning and wrapping her front hooves round his chest. Soarin paused at the sudden hug before gently patting her back. What was this about and why did he suddenly feel really warm?

"C'mon, it's not like we're never going to see each other again. Right?" He told her once she released the hug.

"I hope not, not with a friend as good as you," Flitter replied, looking and sounding somewhat more confident in herself. "For now though, thank you." Flitter smiled up at Soarin again and headed off to say goodbye to the rest of the team, leaving a strangely confused stallion in her wake.