“Gah!” An exclamation of startled bewilderment. The rustling of cloth on cloth. “How do you do that?!”
“It’s a talent.” A singsong tone.
“I’m impressed.” Another voice pops in.
“I’m almost terrified.” The first voice groans. “Seriously though, how do you do that?”
“Well if you had bothered to not live under a rock you would know.” A smugness is evident in Fleetfoot’s voice. I groan again and something rattles. “That is still as impressive as it was the first time I saw it.”
“It’s a talent~” My turn to use the singsong tone. “Hey uh, what exactly are we playing? There’s cards and dice. Monopony?”
“It’s Wizard School, did you not listen when I told you earlier?” Spitfire speaks up again.
“Can we just focus on playing the game? I don’t particularly care for this game.” Fleetfoot grumbles again. So we do. It’s great fun. Even if Fleetfoot is a bit of a spoilsport. A few hours later we head back to the dormitory and earn some confused looks as me and Fleetfoot carry a sleepy Spitfire. I leave Fleetfoot to dump Spitfire in a bed somewhere as I quickly hop in one for myself. No sleeping on the floor for this pony tonight. Nuh-uh.
“Learned you’re lesson then?” Spitfire laughs sleepily.
“Why’d we carry you again?” I yawn at her.
“Because I asked nice?” She grins and I shrug before tossing the blanket over my head. “Night pony.”
I close my eyes and am almost asleep when I feel a pony tug the blanket back to crawl in. Too sleepy to protest I just ignore it and resolve to deal with it in the morning. Soon I dream of mint and a sad smile works its way onto my muzzle.
Almost too soon I wake up to hear a calm voice laugh in bemusement. “When did you get in here? I certainly didn’t order a cute pegasus last night.”
“Snrrk. I was in the bed first. You just kinda crawled in when I was about asleep. Silly pony.” I flare my wings and catch a gust of wind that pushes me off the bed. “Not my fault.” I grin at him and wander to the mess for breakfast.
He stammers and trots along quickly. “What’s your name? I’m Swiftwing.”
“I’m Wind. Pony extraordinaire.” I tilt my head at him before trotting swiftly ahead with a bounce to my step and a slight sway to my tail. I glance back to see him beet red and stammering. Oh dear, I may have been a bit too flirtatious. I make tracks out of that hallway quickly and end up in the mess like I had planned. The cook looks downright surprised I'm here.
“It’s five in the morning. On a flight day. Usually the only one here so early is Swiftwing or Fleetfoot.” While she was talking she ladles food onto my tray at a rapid pace. Stopping for a moment she examines me closely before setting that ladle down and trots off to another plate to grab a few rolls before tossing them onto my tray from here. I clap gently and move to an empty table to enjoy my heap of food.
It all looks delicious and I eat a bit before I catch a flash of mint green out of the corner of my eye. When I jerk my head over to look all it is is a banner. I sigh before poking at my food a bit more.
The cook comes over and sets another tray down. “You look like someone stole your favourite toy. You wanna talk about it?” She takes a bite of food off her fork but maintains eye contact with me.
“Old memories. Nothing I can do about them. I’m fine though” I start eating quickly to avoid anymore conversation on this topic. She gives me a level stare before shrugging and eats too.
When I reach for the bottle of hot sauce she bats my hoof back down and glares at me for an instant. “No. It’s bad enough Spitfire goes through it so quick. Do you ponies even taste it before you drown it?”
“Sometimes? I just really like the burn.” I decide not to anger her and go back to eating the food. For awhile the only sounds are of the forks clinking on the plates as we eat quietly. After a bit the rest of the Wonderbolts slowly start to filter in.
“Looks like break is over. Maybe I’ll see you later?” She smiles at me and trots back to the food line to help the other lunch mare out. I flick an ear in response and keep eating. Pretty soon I see Fleetfoot and Spitfire trot in to look lazily around. I wave a hoof to catch their attention and finish eating. They manage to catch me before I trot out of the lunch room.
“You already ate? When did you get up?” Spitfire yawns at me and Fleetfoot smiles tiredly as she trots to the breakfast line. “So you ready for the show Windy? I mean it’s ok if you’re nervous.”
I keep following them as they get coffee and sit down. “I’m kind of nervous I guess. But I can deal with it. What about you? Do you get nervous before a show?” I drink some coffee and grimace, it’s really bitter. I manage to keep my face straight as I look at them.
“I do get a bit of nerves right before a show. But when you’re a performer that kind of thing never really goes away.” Fleetfoot speaks slowly with deliberation. Then she shrugs and drinks her coffee. I sit back down at the table and drink the coffee quietly. I really don’t like the taste of it. With a frown I set it on the table and push it away. Spitfire moves with a startling suddenness and swipes the coffee.
“Don’t care. Mine now.” She downs the rest of the coffee in a single gulp before looking at Fleetfoot’s cup with a predatory gaze.
“Don’t do it Spitfire… I'm warning you.” Suddenly there’s a flurry of motion and wing bopping. When it’s done Spitfire is sulking at me while Fleetfoot grins smugly at us both. I roll my eyes and go to get another cup of coffee for Spitfire.
“Here ya go.” I yawn at her and sit back down. “So when exactly is the show? Seems like it would be pretty soon.”
“It’s in an hour. After I’m done with my food we’ll go get ready. That alright Spitfire?”
Spitfire is muzzle deep into the coffee but grunts an affirmative. So I wait. Soon they’re both done with breakfast and we trot off for some shenanigans. Then we actually do the smart thing and get ready for the show.
As we’re leaving to head to the stadium we pass by Swiftwing. “Hey Swiftwing, sleep well?” I nudge him with my wing as we pass by and he nods enthusiastically.
“You know it Wind. After the show do you wanna hang out or something?” He scratches the back of his head trying to look nonchalant.
“I gotta go after the show. But I’d be glad to hang out some other time.” I smile at him and keep trotting.
“Oh, ok. Some other day.”He falls in line behind me and looks disappointed for an instant.
“Hiya Swifty. Interested in Wind?” Spitfire teases him before we arrive at the stadium. It’s huge. Almost imposing in it’s size. He stammers and goes quiet but I pay him no mind as I trot forward staring at the arena. Just looking at it brings memories of Roam. Of days spent in the sun basking in the cheers of the spectators.
I gulp nervously and rustle my wings quietly. “Rursus...” I pass into the shadow of the stadium and through the door.