"Spitfire!" Rainbow chased her commander through the base, gaining ground, though Spitfire wasn't doing much to evade her. She's gotta be joking, right? Please tell me she was joking.
Eventually, Spitfire stopped, perched on a bench, where she took out a notepad. Rainbow landed beside her, though she didn't bother to look up. "Problem, rookie?"
"You know there's a problem!" Rainbow yelled, "You could have put Zephyr on any other team, yet you chose mine! You know we're gonna clash and that's only gonna work to the team's detriment! If you were thinking of the Wonderbolts you'd keep him far away from me, and let him work with someone else! I barely even wanted him here!"
The whole time, Spitfire had been scribbling in her notepad. When Rainbow finished talking, standing with a slight pant, she finally looked up. "You done?"
"Yeah," Rainbow answered bluntly.
"Then let me fill you in," Spitfire said matter of factly, "The Wonderbolts are bigger than just you, Rainbow, and if you expect us to function properly when one of our team leaders can't collaborate with our affiliates, you're delusional. We need the team to be flexible, and that means you too. If they tell me Zephyr's hot stuff, what am I gonna do, refuse him? Plus, you've already vouched for him, you wanna take that back now?"
"W-Well, no, I don't wanna screw up his job, but--"
"When I said total synergy, what do you think I meant?"
Rainbow shot a look at Spitfire, she wasn't an idiot. "That you want us to all be able to work together to produce better results than we could on our own."
"I wasn't just talking about the Wonderbolts. I'd rather have you two bicker and argue now than during a live show, none of us can afford that. There's another reason too. If you really have known him so long, I'd like you to keep an eye on him, see if he's as serious about this job as his company suggests. Surely you'd be better suited for that role than anyone else?"
Rainbow wasn't sure what to say, she hadn't considered it from that angle. "I suppose, ma'am, it's just gonna be difficult working with him."
"Since when do you shy away from a challenge?" Spitfire grinned, and Rainbow's face warmed.
"No, I suppose I don't, ma'am!" she smiled, relieved. Even if Spitfire wasn't her biggest fan right now, she still liked her, and that put Rainbow in high spirits.
"You know you don't. Besides," Spitfire's grin grew wider, "Pissing you off was just a bonus. Now, we're not gonna have this conversation again, are we, champ?"
Rainbow's wings buzzed; she was still in Spitfire's good books. She adopted her best military stance and locked eyes with Spitfire. "No, ma'am, I'll deal with it."
Spitfire's face grew just as serious. "While you're at it, deal with the blatant casualness. If you wanna give me a nickname, fine, but try not to use it in front of the other 'bolts too much, especially when you're late in. Also, if you ever imply that I'm not thinking of my team's best interests again, I'll dock your pay for a lot longer than a day, understood? I'm not so petty as to screw up future shows just to get back at a late recruit, I just got lucky this time."
Crap, I did say that, didn't I? Rainbow almost flinched at the threat, but remained composed. "No, ma'am, sorry, ma'am. It won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't. Now, your team should be expecting you in ten minutes, get a move on."
"Yes, ma'am, thank you, ma'am." Rainbow made to take off, but was halted by Spitfire's raised hoof.
"Hold on!" Spitfire tore the most recent page from her notepad. "Take this, a little gift from me to you."
Curious, Rainbow stepped over and took the offered page from Spitfire's hoof. There, sketched out on the lined paper, was a picture of a very wet, monochromatic Rainbow Dash being rained on by a large, shaded cloud.
Rainbow wasn't sure whether to be surprised, irritated, or impressed. The quality of the sketch was brilliant for how little time she had spent on it, but it depicted her in an embarrassing situation. Of course, it was strange seeing herself with little to no colour, but she barely noticed that. Rainbow realised she had been inspecting the drawing for a great deal of time, and needed to make some form of response.
What do I even say about this? I think I like it, but she's just making fun of me again.
Spitfire wasn't as impatient as she expected. In fact, she seemed to be leaning forwards in anticipation, hoping for some form of feedback.
Rainbow decided a compliment would work best. "This is great work, Spits, I didn't know you could draw like that."
Spitfire's eyes lit up. "You really think so?"
"Of course! You drew that in like a minute? That's really impressive."
"I've been focusing more on my art lately," Spitfire admitted, "It's been a hobby for a while, I just don't really talk about it with the other 'bolts." Spitfire seemed to consider something for a few seconds, then she spoke more. "Work is one thing, you know, but I can't spend my entire life thinking about the 'bolts. Way I see it, there's a whole world out there, and while flying is one amazing thing, there's so many others just waiting to be found. How 'bout you, Rainbow? You got a hobby?"
This perplexed Rainbow Dash. Do I have a hobby? I suppose training for the Wonderbolts used to be my thing, even when I was on the reserves, but now that I'm in, does that even count? Rainbow thought it over then thought some more, but in the end decided to go with what she had. "I've got a pet tortoise?"
Spitfire looked at her sternly. "First off, I already knew that. Second, having a pet isn't a hobby, try again."
"Um, I hang out with my friends? We do stuff together?"
"I meant outside of your friendships. Anything you do during your downtime, at all?"
"Uhh, I fly really fast? And do tricks sometimes too? Oh yeah! I help out the weather team sometimes, when they need it." Rainbow was clutching at straws here, and beginning to feel a little odd. Do I have a boring life, or something? How could I? I'm a freakin' Wonderbolt, what could ever be boring about that?
"Aren't those just the things you have to do for this job, combined with the things you did for your last job?" Spitfire was looking at her with what appeared to be concern now, one eyebrow slanted and a slight frown on her muzzle.
"When you put it that way, it sounds a bit cruddy, huh?" Rainbow tapped at the ground with her forehoof as she spoke, averting her eyes.
"Not at all," Spitfire assured, "I used to be the same, work obsessed. You've gotta learn to distance yourself every now and then though, you get days off and leave for a reason," Spitfire smiled compassionately at her recruit, "Forget our professional relationship for a moment, Rainbow, I just wanna make sure you're doing alright."
"You didn't seem too bothered earlier," Rainbow murmured.
"I can't let you disrespect my authority in front of half the team, you know that. This isn't any special treatment from me, I'm just trying to look out for you," Spitfire glanced at her pocket watch and started scribbling again, before stuffing another paper into Rainbow's hand.
Rainbow glanced at the hastily scrawled message. "What's this?"
"Your pardon for arriving late, hand it to Zephyr when you get there."
"Excuse me? Why would I need to give him a pardon? I thought I was team leader?"
"He's coordinating you, so naturally he's taking roll call."
Great, as if this day could get any worse. "Yes, ma'am," Rainbow sighed, "I'll head there now."
"Good. Come see me again soon, I wanna know how you two get on."
Rainbow nodded and took flight, stuffing the papers into the driest part of her flight suit as she went, her destination in sight. Okay, let's evaluate: I'm still late, I'm still wet, Tank's with the only filly in Ponyville that's nearly as reckless as me, and to top it all off I've got Zephyr Breeze of all ponies helping me to manage this team. On the other hand, Spitfire's being nice to me again, although she might just pity me, Wave Chill got the piss ripped out of him, and Surprise seemed to find her voice for once.
Another thought, and a smile crossed Rainbow's lips. At least they shouldn't call me 'crash' anymore.
***
Right, here we go. Just land, walk over to him, hand him the note and start directing the team. Don't pay any attention to his crap, don't let him get under your skin, try to make this work. As Rainbow landed, she spotted Zephyr, expecting him to have a rose in his mouth, or some cliche'd crap like that, scruffy as always.
Instead, he actually looked presentable. Not brilliant, but definitely better than usual. Apparently, a white collared shirt and a pair of circular shades made all the difference. Of course, his mane was still done up in a messy bun, and as Rainbow focused, she noticed the familiar stubble, a little longer than usual, but by no means a full beard.
Apparently, those glasses didn't give him the best peripheral vision. He was stood at an angle to her, speaking with Surprise as he fiddled with a clipboard, holding a pen with his wing feathers. Rainbow kind of wished he had just noticed her when she landed, it'd take the damn suspense away.
As Rainbow approached, she heard Surprise giggling, smile clad, as Zephyr talked her ear off about something Rainbow didn't care enough to pick up on. She neared the pair, hard faced, ready to deal with anything he could throw at her.
Rainbow walked right up to him, the smell of cologne assaulting her senses. Grimacing, she tapped his side, causing him to turn, alarmed.
A short, dramatic gasp, and here it comes. "We-hell, if it isn't the most colourful darn pony I ever did see! How you been, Rainbow?"
Rainbow opened her mouth to retort, then stopped dead. Wait, that's it? Nothing about the suit? No lewd comments?
"Oh yeah, by the way..." he started, a smirk appearing on his muzzle.
Here we go... What's it gonna be this time? Come on, Zeph, take your shot, first one's free. Rainbow felt her teeth push together as he trailed off, eyeing her up and down like the pervert she knew he was. She felt his eyes trace her head to hoof, but it seemed pretty brief in comparison to what she was used to from him.
"...We need to get you in a new uniform, that one's soaked," He stated.
Rainbow's teeth grit further, she opened her mouth, ready to chastise him, before realising he hadn't really done anything. Hold on, that's it? 'We need to get you in a new uniform?' Come on, that's pretty weak, even I could do better than that! How about: 'Let's get you out of that uniform', huh? Surely that'd be a bit better.
"~Luckily~," he sing-songed, apparently oblivious to her annoyance, or lack thereof, "I already took the liberty of preparing spares! I figured the team should be ready for anything, after all."
Rainbow's tail flicked; she stared at Zephyr vacantly. What the hell is going on? Like sure, that's a smart decision, making sure to prepare spare uniforms and stuff, but a decision that Zephyr made himself? Someone must have told him to do it.
"Anyways, how's my flutter butter doing? I haven't seen her in months now! What with the demands of work and paying off my student loans, I've not had any time to relax in a while, but I'm not too fussed about all that! Would be nice to drop in and say 'hi' sometime though, you know what I'm saying?"
Rainbow Dash was meant to answer that. In fact, Rainbow was pretty sure that she was meant to answer the last three things Zephyr has said, instead of idly staring at him as he rambled on. "Y-Yeah, she's good, uh, she's been doing some stuff with the animals lately, and, erm, what else? Let's see, she--" Rainbow was cut off before she had to imitate thinking.
"But, oh my gosh, look at you! You're tired, you're stressed, you're uncomfortable in your uniform, I know all the signs, trust me. You don't want to listen to me of all ponies natter on! I'll tell you what: The uniforms are in a storage container over there," he pointed with his hoof, Rainbow's eyes followed, "You go and get changed, take a few minutes to unwind, and then I'll hang back and let you do your thing, I don't wanna take over."
Now that sounds like the old Zephyr, Rainbow found her voice, happy for an excuse to finally confront the friendly menace. "Just gonna hang back, huh? What'll you be doing, then?" Classic entrapment. I knew he hadn't changed that much!
"Oh, nothing much," Zephyr waved his free hoof, before bringing the clipboard up for Rainbow to see, "Just teamwork appraisal, crowd reaction adaptation, possible reworks on colour schemes, set visualisation, promotional designs, et cetera," With each few words, Zephyr flipped a page on the clipboard, revealing tables, graphs, sketches, detailed notes, the works, "But of course, let me know if you need any assistance, and I'll be glad to lend a hand!"
Rainbow caught herself, she had almost smiled at the end of his speech, surprised by the amount of work he had to do, and how graciously he was apparently doing it. This just doesn't seem right. It's gotta be an act, I know it, and I'm gonna expose it. Rainbow cast a determined gaze at nowhere in particular, before jolting her head up. Oh yeah, the note!
Rainbow fumbled in her flight suit, removing a small piece of paper from it and holding her hoof out. "I need to show you this by the way."
"Oh, what's this?" Zephyr took the paper and unfolded it, peering with interest. After a brief flash of amusement, a cordial smile appeared on his face. "This is great, Rainbow, I didn't know you could draw. It looks just like you, too."
"Wait... What?" Rainbow snapped, before realising her error. Why hadn't it occured to her to check which piece of paper she was handing him? Realising what Zephyr was holding, Rainbow's face instantly changed colour and she forcefully snatched it away from him. "Not that!" she half-shouted, fumbling in her suit, unzipping it more than she meant to --from her neck to her chest-- and producing a similarly folded sheet. "I meant to give you this one! That was, uh, something else."
"Well, I could see that," Zephyr nodded, quickly scanning the other piece of paper, "But still, it's good work, you should keep at it," Zephyr glanced at the wet fur on Rainbow's exposed neck, then motioned toward the container once more, "Anyways, I can see you just wanna get changed, so I'll let you get to it, see you in ten."
Rainbow didn't move an inch, she was still trying to recover from the embarrassment of showing Zephyr that photo. First the wet suit, then showing up late, then the photo, she was sure that she looked like an idiot right then. Then again, he didn't really seem that bothered about the photo, maybe he just thought it was good art? I mean, I did too, but I'm not hot for me. Well, I don't think I am, at least. Well, at least I can go get changed now, cause apparently Zephyr wants me out of the see-through uniform? Ugh, I don't even know anymore.
As Rainbow turned to leave, her ears picked up something. At first, it appeared innocuous, but after it had turned in her head a few times, she realised just what he had said, or the gist of it, at least. Turning around and zooming over to him, pressing her hoof into his chest, she began her long awaited outburst. "Ah-ha! I heard you just then! You were checking me out! You said something! I win!" Rainbow was already prepared for her victory strut when Surprise cut her off.
"Uhh, actually, Rainbow," she began.
Seriously, Surprise, stop getting so assertive, I'm trying to enjoy how right I am! I mean, it's great that you've been speaking up more recently, and stuff, but victory!
` "Zephyr was talking to me," she finished, her tone meek.
Rainbow hung with her mouth open, looking frantically between the two, nodded vehemently, and sped off to find a uniform, or whatever the hell she was doing.
Inside, Rainbow was a spinning maelstrom of questions. Huh-what-how-why-huh?! Zephyr and Surprise?! But, no, that can't be right! Zephyr's been trying to get with me for years! A small voice in her mind reminded her that she'd also been rejecting him for years. Still, what the hell? And to do that in front of me, too, so cold! Wait, how is that cold? Ugh, it doesn't matter! This makes absolutely no sense, what would Surprise even see in him?
Rainbow realised she was about to run right past the uniform container and stopped dead. Okay, chill. Deep breaths.
Yeah, sure, Zeph's making moves on your workmate, but that doesn't mean he's actually gonna get anywhere. And besides,
even if he does, who cares? It's not like it's gonna bother you or anything, why would it? Anyway, you said you wouldn't let anything Zephyr did annoy you, so why should this? Just act natural, get on with your day and process whatever the heck this is later.
Rainbow nodded, briefly unaware that her mind didn't need a visual confirmation, and then looked out, spotting Surprise and Zephyr, still having a lively, animated conversation. Rainbow watched when she should have been getting changed, admiring the ridiculousness of the whole scene, before deciding she really couldn't afford to waste any more time, mid freak out or not, and turning to leave.
When she flew away, she couldn't make any sense of why the word 'bitch' was floating around in her head.