"Hey Cap, glad to see you up and kicking again," Soarin said as Spitfire walked into the Wonderbolts’ headquarters. The lieutenant wore his trademark goofy smile on his face. "How's Dash doing by the way?"
Spitfire smiled and shook her head as her thoughts were immediately drawn to the prismatically maned mare who’d been on her mind almost non-stop ever since the “incident”. The astonishment of Dash’s acceptance of her had driven her to move way too quickly, a decision that had doubt gnawing away at her. Had she made the right choice in opening up to her fellow ‘Bolt?
"Pretty much back on her hooves. She’ll probably be here in the afternoon," the captain answered as the two of them headed for her office. "You should have known that she'd pick up that flu from me when you sent her over."
Soarin just shrugged, “From what I heard it was very much justified. Dash told me you nearly burned down your apartment in some misguided attempt at cooking. Nice of you to take some time off to look after her though. That was honestly not something I had expected you to do.”
“Well, like you said. I owed her after she’d helped me out, so it was only fair that I’d return the favor,” Spitfire answered, acting as if nothing major had happened. Dash had initially refused the offer to stay in her home and have the Captain look after her, citing that she had a much more important job than she had, but Spitfire wouldn’t have any of it.
She did accept me for what I am after all, but there’s no reason to give her the opportunity to accidentally say anything about my condition to anypony. Better to be safe and take care of her myself.
“Hey, I’m not judging. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you’ve actually taken a liking to that mare,” Soarin quipped while suppressing a grin. Spitfire stumbled over her hooves for a moment and a massive blush formed on her face. A quick glance to Soarin revealed that he most definitely picked up on the cue.
“Not a word to any of the other ‘Bolts,” Spitfire warned threateningly, but the stallion wasn’t going to let her off the hook that easily.
“You know how hard it is to keep secrets on an empty stomach? And the food at the cafeteria just isn’t going to cut it,” he said deviously.
“I’ll get you a pie, you extortionist.”
Soarin tapped his hoof against his chin, pretending to mull over Spitfire’s offer. “Usually that’d fill my stomach pretty well, but I’m afraid that I’m absolutely famished right now.”
The captain groaned in frustration as she had to raise her offer. “Two pies, and I’ll find that apple baker you got that pie from at the Grand Galloping Gala to make them for you.”
If I remember correctly, that baker was one of Dash’s friends.
Drool nearly escaped from Soarin’s mouth as the two of them reached Spitfire’s office. “I think that’ll do it. Thanks Cap, you’re a lifesaver!”
“Yeah, yeah. Now get your flank out of here and go back to work,” Spitfire said as she walked into her office. There were various trophies she’d earned in a display case along with some other memorabilia. On the walls hung a couple of Wonderbolt posters, and on her desk there stood a small statue of a ‘Bolt in Flight’. Notably, the pile of documents on her desk was much smaller than she’d have expected it to be.
Guess I’ll have to thank that goofball for covering for me again. It would have been a pain to work through all the built-up paperwork if he hadn’t done some of that for me.
Sitting down in her chair, Spitfire picked up the first file of the stack in front of her. It was a resume of a pegasus who had applied to the academy. The Captain had to hoof pick all the candidates sent to her as only the best would be able to make it through, and there were only a few spots available.
Going into an autopilot of sorts, she worked through the entire pile of dossiers as quickly as possible. Two weeks of almost complete inactivity had not been good for her physical condition, and getting some exercise in the gym would be very welcome.
At about the half-way point, Spitfire opened one of her desk’s drawers and rummaged through its contents, pulling out a small hoofful of amethysts and popping them into her mouth. She savored the taste of the gemstones as they shattered between her teeth. She tried explaining to Dash how they tasted, but they’d quickly found that explaining something as abstract as taste was nigh impossible. For example, try explaining how an apple tastes to somepony who’s never tasted an apple, there's just no way to do it.
With the little snack in her mouth, she finished the final files and signed the invitations of the pegasi who she’d determined to be able to make the cut. After putting away the files in their appropriate categories, Spitfire made her way out of the office and headed towards the gym.
A glance at Soarin’s office revealed the stallion to be hard at work with his own paperwork, a pile much larger than the one she had worked through.
Did he really work through most of my paperwork before his own? Now I really owe him those pies, not just to keep him quiet.
Deciding to leave the stallion to his work, Spitfire made her way through the facility's hallways to the locker room. After quickly undressing and grabbing a towel, she entered the adjoining gym. Music blasting from the speakers that hung from the walls assaulted her ears. Turning the volume down a bit to a more tolerable level gained the attention of two of her fellow female Wonderbolts, Fleetfoot and Misty Fly. The decrease in music volume immediately alerted them that a new pony had entered the gym, and they recognised their captain entering the room.
“Hey Cap, finally back on your hooves?” Fleetfoot called out as she was lifting weights with her wings.
“Definitely. I’ve been lazy for long enough now,” Spitfire answered as she got on a treadmill to warm up her body for the workout.
“How’s Crash doing by the way? I thought that I overheard Soarin say that you took a couple of days off to take care of her,” Misty asked, mixing herself into the conversation.
“I’m doing just fine, thank you very much,” a fourth, new voice answered as Dash came trotting into the gym as well. Something that surprised Spitfire as she hadn’t expected Rainbow to arrive for a few hours yet.
“Hey Crash, welcome back!” Fleetfoot exclaimed as she gently placed the weights back in the appropriate place on the rack. “We’ve missed that beautiful flank of yours around here!” she added with a smirk. Spitfire inconspicuously looked away to not draw attention to the massive blush on her face at the mention of Rainbow’s flank.
Come on Spitfire, keep it together. We agreed to keep it under wraps for a bit. No need to stupidly give yourself away.
Dash let out a laugh as she replied. “Careful there Fleets, Blaze might get jealous if you start hitting on other mares!”
“Who says Blaze isn't up for a threesome?” Fleetfoot shot back, a blush immediately formed on Dash's face as she tried to sputter a reply. Misty nearly rolled over from laughter at her fellow ‘Bolt’s flustered reply. Spitfire couldn’t help but smirk either as she galloped along on the treadmill.
“And how about you, Cap? Care to join as well?” Fleetfoot asked, continuing her streak.
Spitfire bit the inside of her cheek lightly to stop a blush from forming. If they saw her crack now, they'd surely ask questions until they found out about herself and Dash.
“Why stop with just me? I think Soarin and the other 'Bolts would love for some relaxation time.” Spitfire smirked. “I should make a mandatory training session out of it, file it as a 'team building exercise'.”
A round of chuckles went through the gym before everyone settled back in to their workout routine. Energetic music in the background helping to keep everyone going while they purposefully made their muscles burn.
It didn't take long for Misty and Fleetfoot to finish their workouts and leave the gym to do other tasks, leaving the large room filled with sports implements to Rainbow and Spitfire alone as they turned off the music at the captain's request.
“Sooo… you're okay with a foursome with Blaze and Fleets?” Dash said, barely containing a smirk. Spitfire did not show the same restraint as her face turned beet red.
“I should have fried you in my apartment,” Spitfire groaned, hiding her face by looking away.
“Definitely, though I heard from a griffin friend that baked pegasus is much tastier,” Dash said with a smirk, thoroughly enjoying the captain's embarrassed reaction. “In all seriousness though, how long are we going to play this thing cool? The other 'Bolts are going to catch on really quickly if you keep blushing like that.”
Just as Dash said, Spitfire's cheeks lit up slightly and a sheepish smile formed on her face. “I can't help it! Every time I think of you I just can't keep a lid on it! And I really don't want to tell the others yet, it's just… I…”
Dash momentarily stopped with her exercises and put a comforting hoof on Spitfire's shoulder. “You're afraid the other 'Bolts will find out about your secret via me, aren't you?”
Spitfire tried stuttering a reply to that but was silenced by Rainbow's soft hoof on her lips. “I'm not a complete idiot, Spits. You don't have to worry about me giving away something that big. That would be so not cool.”
“I'm sorry,” Spitfire softly said, a tear rolling down her cheek as Dash removed her hoof from the captain's mouth. “I should trust you more. After you've first accepted me, then not just shooting me down for asking you to be my marefriend, and to top it off keeping my secret safe… You deserve better than me…”
Dash leaned forward, bringing her muzzle close to Spitfire's and looking her straight in the eyes and placing a hoof on the captain's chest. “There is no one more awesome than you, Spits.”
More tears welled up in Spitfire's eyes and a lump formed in her throat as Rainbow continued staying loyal to a fault.
I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from the Element of Loyalty.
Shooting forward, Spitfire wrapped Dash in a bone crushing hug… literally. Dash gasped for air as she tapped Spitfire on the back to hopefully make her realize the captain was choking her out.
“Air!” Dash managed to croak out, quickly being dropped to the ground by Spitfire who looked terrified of the prospect of having hurt Dash.
“Oh my gosh! I'm so… I didn't mean to… Are you-”
“I'm fine Spits, you're just a lot stronger than anycreature I know,” Dash cut her off, taking a couple of deep breaths to compensate for the previous lack of oxygen.
“Half dragon,” Spitfire responded, still looking guiltily at Rainbow.
“I guess I should have expected that one. Even with you having been out of it for two weeks,” Dash chuckled, before getting back on track with the conversation. “But that still doesn't change that hiding your secret isn't good for you.”
Spitfire shuffled back a bit as a cold sweat formed all over her coat. “D-Do you think that's really a good idea? W-what if they reject me, or chase me away!? I can't… n-no… must not…”
Spitfire was full on hyperventilating as she went through all the horrible scenarios she'd thought up over the years, prompting Dash to take her turn giving out a hug. Rainbow gently stroked Spitfire's hair while the quivering captain was snugly laying against Dash's chest fluff.
“Shhh, calm down Spits. We don't have to tell the other 'Bolts first. We can start with some pony else. My Ponyville friends for example. They've seen a whole bunch of crazy things, and I'd be surprised if anyone in Ponyville wouldn't be cool with it for that matter,” Dash explained, Spitfire calming down as she could hear Dash's heart beat in the fellow athlete's chest.
Are there really more ponies that'd accept me, and what if they don't? Will they run Dash out of town too? What if I destroy Rainbow’s friendships?!...
No, she's right. I'm just giving pathetic excuse. Maybe I should try it with one other person.
“A-Alright, but only to one other pony. No more,” Spitfire stammered as she broke the hug and wiped away any tears that were still present.
“Awesome! I know just who to talk to!” she exclaimed. “So, when should we go?”
Spitfire thought for a moment, finding that the autumn break coming up in a week was the most logical time. “We should use the pre-winter break. The bolts really don't have anything to do while the weather factory is busy distributing snow clouds around Equestria.”
Dash's face lit up with a large grin. “I'll hold you to that! Now I think I'll be off. I'm not really in the mood for exercise anymore anyway.”
“Guess I'll see you tomorrow then.” Spitfire's reply was tinged with a bit of sadness as she looked away from her fellow 'Bolt.
“Yeah, and Spits?” Dash waited for the captain to look at her again. “The door to my cloudhome is always open to you.”
With that Dash disappeared into the locker room, leaving Spitfire alone in the silent gym. Just like Dash, she too wasn't in the mood for exercise any longer.
You'll be fine Spitfire, Dash wouldn't introduce me to someone if she wasn't sure they wouldn't kick me out… I guess it's going to become very quiet in my house again with Dash gone… Maybe it won't be so bad telling Rainbow's friend about myself, and even if it doesn't work out I'll still get to stay at Dash's place.
The last thought made her heart beat a little faster and the corner of her lips turn up a bit. The future didn't seem as dark as it had before.
Alright! We're back!
Groovy.
I wonder how Spitfire's managed to keep things on the down-low while snacking on amethysts in her office? Purple gemstone shards and dust would show up pretty clearly against yellow fur methinks...
Tsundere Spitfire is cute, also;
Woo great chapter sweetie! Good job!
UPDATE! Looking forward to more.
Nice Chapter,but sure you aren´t prgressing it a bit to fast? I for my part would have loved to actually read when they ask each other to be marefriends.
Try having them meet while you're at it
kinky
Yeah, just imaging how excited Spike will be the hear the news
9922203
Just say it's candy. Only someone like Maud would be able to tell the difference from the crumbs. As long as no one tries to eat from her secret stash...
Only one other pony... I detect a loophole. And who (besides Loyalty, in this situation) would be more accepting than she who bears Kindness? Well, who'd more like to meet a half-dragon pony than a dragon with a crush on a pony?
...Not sure if that particular train of thought's going to go anywhere, depends on whether Dash works by word or by spirit… But still.
9922203
She spits fire, not gemstones. I don't reckon they're something that tends to stick, at least until they are shards and dust, and by that point, they're in her mouth.
9922389
...That works, too, rock candy is a thing.
I find this to be adorable
I am really pity Soarin missing all the intimate actions.
9922394
Pinkie Pie is an option. She likes everyone. Up until they prove to be a "meanie" everyone gets a chance to be a friend, even villains. Pinkie is the least likely to reject anyone.
Whereas Fluttershy might get scared and take some convincing, Pinkie is too crazy for that to be an issue. The only question is if Spitfire is ready for Pinkie's level of energetic attention.
They should tell Twiggles, having practically raised Spike herself she's bound to take it in stride and just pester get with questions about how half dragon ponies work
9922406
The issue is not if Fluttershy is scared. I mean, she's scared of practically everything, so whether she's scared of Spitfire is neither here nor there. In fact, I feel that Fluttershy could set aside her fear of other ponies if a pony, particularly a friend of a friend, was feeling nervous about revealing a secret to her. She set aside her overwhelming fear of dragons to comfort a dragon who she herself had just scolded into submission! As far as Pinkie being an option, that is true, but, super-accepting as she is, I feel that Fluttershy would be a better option, in part because of the pink menace's... Energetic attention...
what if they test it out on one of the 'bolts? Fleetfoot or Soarin seem pretty cool with Spitfire, I bet they'd probably think she was cooler being part-dragon (more if Soarin gets pies at the same time)
That is a very valid point. If there’s one town in Equestria that’s generally accepting of the unusual, it’s the one next to the Everfree where the Bearers live. A half-dragon pegasus wouldn’t even register as a Tuesday.
9922645
Well, yeah. I'm certainly not saying Fluttershy is a bad option, and I pointed out Pinkie's downside, but I'm not saying either one is better than the other. Circumstances may prevent it, but it's likely that Spitfire will get introduced to all of Dash's friends on a more personal level (they're all already acquaintances) regardless of revealing her heritage to any one of them. This is still a story of much possibly and endless directions it could go. I think Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Applejack are Dash's closest friends likely to be the chosen one, but Rarity could keep a secret and would understand keeping up appearances, and Twilight could impart wisdom in forming friendships. Heck, Starlight Glimmer is the closest to a therapist that Dash is friends with, and Spitfire here could use one of those.
Looking at the options, I think Fluttershy would be the safest bet, no younger sibling, not many awkward questions, and is totally not going to be squicked out by the admission of eating meat (because, you know, she works with predators all the time) the way the others might be.
Of course, since they will eventually get out to a wider audience, I do wonder if Spits might be in for some diplomatic work in the future? Emissary to the Dragon Lands kind of thing?
I think the best bet would probably be Twilight or Spike, actually. Twilight would take the completely academic approach as well as respecting the secrecy...and Spike is a dragon. Nothing there he's going to be freaked out about. And he was raised by ponies, so he knows both sides...
...actually, yeah, Spike is the best choice for 'first one to tell'.
9922813
either your option or, and trust me when i say that this option will be better, twilight, i mean if all goes great the secret will reach the princesses far more quickly then we'd wish an also who better keep this secret than twilight although spitfire might regret it afterwards
The Fire is Burning hot now (๑•﹏•)
9922978
Mm I still say Fluttershy. Dash is the element of loyalty, so she's going to want to help keep this secret, and for that Flutters is the best bet IMO.
I also have to wonder how her parentage will affect Spitfire's lifespan. Will she live only as long as an average pony, or will she live a lot longer?
Can't wait to read more, whoever they tell their reaction is going to be priceless.
9923060
yeah but twilight is the only one that has experience with dragons...
Throw more coal to the boilers! Bring up the steam, and all ahead full! This ship is sailing!
Keep writing. Awesome stories aren't allowed to stop unfinished!
9923317
Spitfire wants to keep this a secret, so Twilight isn't the one he'll want to tell.
9923486
I imagine Twilight has probably gotten a lot better about that sorta thing.
Gib
9923486
i mean i understand that she would not want to tell to twilight but not because she will report it, more like out of fear of her curiosity, i mean she will want to know a lot and i mean a lot
9926655
Which is why RD will not really consider her as an option just yet. No, from what I can see, there is only one mare RD and Spits would agree on, and that's Fluttershy.
9926722
ok, let's rule out twilight but how about spike? i mean he wont say anything, is someone is more loyal than rainbow that is spike
9926785
Spike? Um, how can I say this... Telling the kid dragon who's crushing on a pony that ponies and dragons are at least somewhat 'compatible' will only lead to trouble. I think I'd take Pinkie or Rarity over Spike.
No, I still say Fluttershy is the most obvious choice.
Must have more!!!
Also I think either Fluttershy or Applejack. If she tells Rarity she will probably scream at first, Twilight will want to study her, Pinkie can't keep secrets very well, and Spike is a little too young to be able to not tell somecreature.
9922709
it is also close to tardaris so chimera type critters are nothing new
9941704
Last I checked, Tartarus is at least a day’s journey from Ponyville, if I’m remembering the season 8 finale correctly.
9941862
and the monsters make for Ponyville first when they get out
9942525
More likely, the monsters are naturally drawn to the Everfree, and Ponyville just happens to be right on the border.
9943745
that too
I bet on Fluttershy.
Than it wasn't literally! No bones crushed! It's metaphorical.
I guess Twilight and Spike or just Spike♡