(I'm taking a short break from my other stories to think about what to do next with them, so I will work on this story in my spare time for now. I also need you guys to know that I went on vacation to Lithuania to attend a funeral for my Aunt. I'm just letting you guys know that I'm still a little shaken up from it, and my writing might be slightly effected. I doubt it though, but if you spot something amiss with my grammar... tell me and I will try to fix it)
"Ohshitohshitohshit." You cling to the yellow chair as you loose sight of Spitfire beneath the water's surface. You mentally prepare for her surprise attack from below, but what she does next shocks you. Rather than launching you into the air, like her usual playful attitude, she calmly resurfaces next to you with a gentle smile on her face. You can't speak, shocked at the foreign action.
She floats next to you with her head above the water... just smiling, "Well... are you going to invite me on board captain."
You didn't understand what she meant at first, but soon understood what she wanted, "Oh... ok."
You move over slightly to allow Spitfire to sit on the floating chair with you. And with one powerful flap of her wings, she was able to take off from the water and easily land on the chair. It was astounding to see just how powerful pegasi wings were, even though they were EXTREMELY sensitive. The chair was big enough to hold you and Spitfire comfortably, as she leaned back against the chair like you were.
She turns her head to look at you, "Thanks for hooking us up with the show in Las Pegasus Ducky."
You smile, "It was nothing, you hired me and you get to reap the benefits of my success." She frowns a bit, which worries you, "Whats wrong? Did I say something-"
"No no it's fine, I mean I did get you the job in the first place, It's just... It's just that..." She looks back up to the cloudless sky, "I don't know how to thank you properly."
"What do you mean?" Spitfire then turns completely towards you and looks into your eyes. She moves a little closer, brushing against your warm skin with her soft wet coat.
She then wraps her dripping wing around you, "What... What I'm trying to say is..." She gulps nervously, "A-are you free for-"
"SPITFIRE!!" The booming voice frightens you, which causes you to fall off of the chair and back into the cold water. You quickly resurface to see Rainbow Dash at the pools edge.
"WHAT IS IT RAINBOW!?" You see Spitfire staring at the rookie with a scowl on her face.
"Whoa..." Rainbow Dash takes a step back, "Take it easy Spitfire. I just came to tell you that the boss needs to see us ASAP in the briefing room."
"Again?" Spitfire sighs, "What is it this time?"
Rainbow shrugs and looks at you, "And you need to come too Ducky."
"What, why? I'm on vacation."
"Ya... she said that she couldn't care less and will, 'Fire your fat flank,' if you didn't come along." You knew that Daisy would actually do that in a heart beat.
You groan, "Fine..." You make your way to the edge of the pool and pull yourself out. You then grab a towel and start to dry yourself off, when Spitfire lands next to you.
"Ducky, we really need to talk later."
"Well what is it? Can you not tell me now?" Spitfire blushes and looks down, averting from your gaze. You place your hand below her chin and push her head up so that her eyes meet yours, "What's wrong Spitfire, you've been acting different lately." She doesn't speak, "You can tell me anything Spitfire. You are my best friend and I care about you more than anything in the world." You start to see tears form in her eyes... which seriously worries you.
She finally musters up the courage to speak, "I... I... I lo..." She then pulls back from your hand and quickly tries to wipe away her tears, "N-nevermind," She then spreads out her wings and takes to the sky.
You stand near the pool as you watch your best friend disappears in the cloudless sky, "Oh Spitfire." You turn around to see Rainbow Dash shaking her head, "I'll go after her, tell the boss that I might be a little late."
You chuckle, "The amazing Rainbow Dash... late?"
She giggles, "Don't taunt me." She then takes to the sky, in pursuit of Spitfire.
You Mutter, "What has gotten into Spitfire? Am I doing something to hurt her? Does she hate me?" You push the sour thoughts away, as you quickly put on your shirt and make your way to the briefing room.
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"I'm an idiot! I'm such a bucking Idiot!" Spitfire was crying uncontrollably as she flew to... Celestia knows where. She was flying at record breaking speeds, when she heard a familiar voice from behind.
"SPITFIRE! WAIT UP!" It was the rookie. Spitfire slows her speed to allow Rainbow Dash to catch up, and eventually came to a stop. Rainbow Dash flew in front of Spitfire and took a moment to catch her breath before speaking, "Whats wrong?"
"Nothing... nothings wrong."
Rainbow Dash scowled, "Thats a load of crap!"
"W-what!?"
"Ever since you found Ducky, he's been changing you completely!"
"How would you ever know rookie!?"
"You eat differently, you can hardly sleep anymore, and you treat Ducky better than anyone else!"
"So what? Are you saying that I can't change!?"
"Quit avoiding the issue, I want you to say it here and now!"
"Say what!?"
Rainbow Dash's tone drops "You know what I mean."
Spitfire looks away, "No I don't."
"Say it."
"S-say what?"
"Say it!"
"No!"
"SAY IT!"
Spitfire brakes down, "ALRIGHT! I LOVE DUCKY!" She looks down at the distant ground below, as tears begin to flow down her face, "I... I love him so much." Rainbow Dash smiles and embraces her friend, "I love him more than anything else in Equestria."
"Then why don't you tell him?"
"Because, what if he doesn't fell the same way, what if I offend him and make him quit the Wonderbolts, what if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore."
"Hay... you should never need to worry about that."
"But I do, I told him about a month ago that I had feelings for him... but he didn't feel the same way. And ever since then, my feelings have only grown stronger for him."
Rainbow Dash let go of Spitfire and looked into her eyes, "Spitfire, he will always be your friend no matter what. You know him better than anyone else, and you know that he would never allow that to ruin your friendship. Listen, I was there when you told him about your feeling, and I don't think he was rejecting you. I think that he was just... scared."
"But why was he scared?"
"I don't know. Maybe it was just too soon for him. You need to remember that he is from a completely different world. Love might be different there than here, and I might have an idea to find out about it." Spitfire wipes away a few tears and allows her friend to continue, "Storm Cloud owes me a huge favor. I could get him to convince the other boys to ask Ducky about his species' 'love habits'. They're all very good friends and hangout a lot in their free time."
"T-that would be awesome."
"I could also ask the girls to find out what he thinks about you. I could also ask Ducky for a massage, and from what Echo says, he loves to talk and on occasion... share secrets."
A smile finally appears on Spitfire's face, "Your a good friend Rainbow."
"After the meeting, I will inform the other Wonderbolts about the plan. Now lets go home, I'd rather not deal with the boss in an angry mood."
They both giggled, "You don't have to tell me twice."
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The briefing room was a moderately large, rectangular room. It had four rows, with six chairs each row, that faced the front where the projector screen was placed. All of the Wonderbolts were in attendance... except for two. You take your seat at the edge of the third row, and start to think about Spitfire.
A familiar yellowish pegasus with a blue mane that had light-blue streaks in it, sits next to you, "Hi Ducky."
"Hello Echo."
Echo was a 19 year old, extremely smart pegasus with a knack for flying. Before she became a Wonderbolt, Echo attended a high-end biologist college in Cloudsdale. She was training to be an Aero-biologist, specializing in anything that had wings or flew. She was discovered by Spitfire about 2 years ago when she was playing Stormball with a few of her friends. Spitfire saw Echo carrying the ball at extremely high speeds with an unreal amount of precision and agility. Needless to say, she was recruited in a heart beat. Echo took it as an opportunity to make some money to start her own Aero-biologist group, and with her making 7 digits a year... lets just say her dream is more than a fantasy.
"Is that all you have to say to one of your friends."
You shrug, "Not much else to say." You then notice that she is carrying something under her wing, "What is that?"
"Oh this," She opens her wing and grabs the object with her hoof, "Its a book on pegasi anatomy. I'm studding for a final at CSU."
"CSU?"
"Canterlot Scientific University."
"Interesting. Learn anything new?" Not a good question to ask a science-loving pony.
"Oh where to I begin. But here, take the book and read it if you'd like, I'm done with it anyway."
(Be warned, very scientific discussion about Pegasi Anatomy incoming)
You deicide to look through the book to burn some time. You flip through the pages and stop at a chapter that explained basic facts about the pegasi body. You knew a little about pegasi, but what you read really helped you understand them more.
Pegasi, on average, can grow to be about 4'6'' to 5' and have a wing span that can range from 6 to 7 feet. Their bones are fairly hollow, which makes them weigh about 50 lbs for mares, and around 70 lbs for stallions. A normal, full grown pegasi can carry 5x their weight, making them stronger than any average human. Even with the bones being hollow, they are extremely durable. The bones can survive high impact crashes, and any broken bones can be easily repaired with the right care and attention. The wings though, were a completely different story. Pegasi have a abnormally high number of nerves and a very sensitive tendon in their wings. The book explained that the wings and feathers were durable, but the nerves can be easily damaged. A large enough impact to the wings, could result in an instant K.O. for the unlucky pegasus. The book also explained something about the wings flaring out and becoming stiff in certain situations... whatever that meant.
You close the book and hand it back to Echo, "Thanks, I wish you luck on your test."
"Oh your to kind to me."
"You were-"
"Alright everypony sit down and shut up!" The entire room went silent as Mrs. Wonderbolt entered. She stopped in front of the screen and looked out across the room. "Where the buck is Rainbow Dash and Spitfire!?"
You were about to stand up and tell her about the missing Wonderbolts, but they soon barged into the room, "Sorry we're late!"
"Your going to need a better excuse than that! But I'm feeling more gracious than usual because I'm in a good mood."
You can hear Soarin' mutter from behind you, "This is her good mood?"
"Take your seat you two and shut up."
They both said at the same time, "Yes ma'am."
Dash and Spitfire took their seats and Mrs. Wonderbolt took over, "Start the projector." The screen behind your boss was now occupied by a picture of a single Shadowbolt that was found near the HQ. "I need to inform you all that we are being watched. We spotted this Shadowbolt and other ones near the campus of the HQ, and we believe that they are looking for one of you." Chatter could be heard throughout the room on the subject at hoof.
"Excuse me ma'am." Everypony looked at Soarin' in the front row, "Why are they, 'looking for us'?"
"They are probably not very happy with the fact that we just stole their show in Las Pegasus, and when I say us, I mean one of you..."
The room was filled with more chatter before Soarin' spoke again, "Who is it?"
Mrs. Wonderbolt looks at you, "It's you, Mr. D." Everypony then looked directly at you.
You groaned, "Oh crap."
Spitfire spoke out, "W-why would they be out for Ducky!"
The boss scowled at Spitfire, "Lower your voice Captain! Ducky was the one who obtained the show for us in the first place, and Mr. Horse doesn't like to keep his big mouth shut. I believe that you can figure out the rest on your own." The boss looks at you again, "You are to stay in this building at all times, and we have already moved your possessions to Spitfire's room."
"W-WHAT!?" You stand up, "You can't be serious!?"
"Oh I'm very serious about protecting my team."
"I'm not a Wonderbolt boss!"
"You are more than a Wonderbolt Mr. D, you are our one of our greatest assets and I will personally see to it that you are protected at all times. And to do that, you can't be left alone for too long, so you will be bunking with the captain."
Spitfire chimes in, "Is it really necessary to do that ma'am? Why is his room too dangerous to sleep in?"
"The Shadowbolts specialize in stealth and anything that deals with the dark. They could come in through his window and snatch him easily without alerting anyone."
"But ma'am-"
"End of discussion Captain!"
"... yes ma'am."
"All of you are dismissed."
(Well your certainly in a pickle now. I wanted to make this chapter longer, but time was short and I still have a lot of other things to do. The next chapters will be very interesting with a mixture of romance and danger. Tell me if I screwed up somewhere and I will try to fix it. Also take into account that I am from a different country and show some mercy in some situations, but still tell me where I screwed up. Up next, we go to Las Pegasus!)