//------------------------------// // Tempting Offer // Story: Washout For Your Feelings // by Beakwood //------------------------------// "Can't we just get something on the way? I don't see the point of using saddlebags just to carry food." "Are you willing to risk getting nauseous during flight? I rather not show up at McFly's house looking sick." "Yeah, well. It's not like my fur isn't slightly green already." "Just... please? We have to make sure this goes perfectly." "I still don't think we getting anything out of this." Thunderlane sighed heavily. It has been quite a pain to convince Lightning that they should carry supplies for the flight to Cloudsdale. The stallion was well aware that this particular event was going to be extremely time consuming and he had no reason to believe they would be back to Ponyville on the same day. It just so happens that Cloudsdale wasn't exactly a stationary location and the usual route cycle had it placed on a very lengthy distance. Thunderlane tried to reason that they could just rent a place for the night without needing to buy food. He's well aware of how pricey the stuff on Cloudsdale usually is. Not to mention that he didn't really want to visit McFly with an empty stomach. The only problem was trying to argue that point with a pony that has an income six times higher than his. Lightning was understandably upset. She insisted on paying for everything, but be dammed if Thunderlane's pride would allow it. He knew she could afford it but he wouldn't be able to bear the guilt of not helping somewhat with the finances. He felt he had enough charity for this life. The mare glanced at him worriedly. Lightning, despite not being on the best of spirits due the unexpected encounter with Rainbow Dash last night, took notice of how small Thunderlane's room was if compared with any other place of the house. Also the fact that his room has nothing but a bed and a couple of shelves surprised her immensely. What exactly Thunderlane managed to earn during all this time he's been in the Wonderbolts? She wanted to ask him about his income more thoroughly, but whenever they talked about anything regarding bits it always ended up on an argument somehow. "What's eating ya up?" Asked the very familiar voice of a pony that Lightning grew wary of. The mare frowned in return. Her attention focusing on the bowl of cereal that Rainbow Dash was eating rather viciously. "Why are ya still here? I thought Thunder had it clear that ya should leave by morning." Dust asked, confused and annoyed by Rainbow's erratic behavior. "Also, ain't ya a bit old for cereal?" Rainbow paused the spoon that was making its way toward her muzzle, her eyes widened in surprise at the words Lightning uttered. "What?! Since when? Cereals are a must for my diet!" "Diet? What diet? You get any thinner ya might just disappear into thin air. I guess that's why you're so fast, no mass to generate any air resistance to drag ya." Lightning joked. Rainbow scoffed. "Yeah, whatever. You probably would be even faster if you didn't keep adding so much muscle." Rainbow indicated with a wingtip at the clear muscular lines all over Lightning's body. "For real?!" Lightning laughed, feeling a bit exasperated by Rainbow's dullness. "Does the word 'endurance' means anything to ya?" "Sure it does. I just don't need it cause I get to where I want to be before I get tired." Lightning felt her jaw tightening after hearing such ridiculous response. "Fucking whatever Dash. Also, that's Rumble cereal. I don't think he will be happy if you're eating his breakfast." "I'm sure Rumble won't mind it." Rainbow replied confidently. Lightning raised an eyebrow. "It's not Rumble that I would be wor- "WHAT THE FUCK RAINBOW!! GET YOUR OWN FUCKING FOOD! DON'T TOUCH RUMBLE'S STUFF!" Rainbow jumped off her seat as she was shouted at by a very infuriated stallion. He made his way to the table while glaring menacingly towards the frightened mare. "I-I-I was just..." "I did not invite you for breakfast! Why are you even eating cereal?! That's kid's cereal! It's not meant for you!" Thunderlane admonished her as he took the box away from the mare's grasp. "And you wonder why other ponies think you're an oversize filly!" Lightning bursted out laughing as Rainbow became increasingly red from both shame and indignation. The stallion huffed as he placed the cereal box back on the shell it belonged. His mood, which was already bad thanks to Rainbow, didn't improve at the sudden kicks the front door received. All ponies in the kitchen paused, sharing confused glances at whoever could be bothering to visit Thunderlane this early in the morning. "Great, more unexpected visits, as if last night wasn't enough." Thunderlane muttered under his breath. "I'll be right back." "Sure thing. Want me to get Rumble up? He's probably still passed out in his room." Lightning offered. Thunderlane paused, turning back at her with a look of complete surprise. "Huh, yeah. That would be nice, thanks Lightning." A smile tugged at the corners of his muzzle, a sudden look of profound appreciation that had the turquoise mare blushing. Rainbow glanced at them, confused and uncertain of how to react to the way these two interacted. It is a mystery for her as to why Thunderlane, from the dozens of mares out there, chose Lightning Dust to be his special somepony. Both mares watched as the stallion trotted away towards the main door, Rainbow did notice that Lightning's eyes were particularly fixated on the stallion's muscular backside. Dash felt a small pang of jealousy that Lightning got such a wholesome stallion to herself, and she regretted for not giving Thunderlane a single chance in that particular kind of relationship. "Hey, Dust." Rainbow found herself asking all of sudden."You and Thunder are actually going long in this relationship stuff?" Lightning glanced back at the other mare with a confident grin. "Of course. Why wouldn't we? We already declared to each other anyways." Rainbow stared agape. "You actually said the 'L' word?!" Dust laughed at how foalish her question sounded. "For real? Come on Dash, surely the idea of dating and feeling that way about somepony else shouldn't scare ya off." "It didn't scare you?" Rainbow said with clear disbelief. Lightning frowned before replying slowly. "Well, at first... I wasn't sure it was what I wanted. Damn, I wasn't even sure if I was into stallions. Yeah, laugh it up." Dust added at Rainbow's audible snort. "Bet there's a lot of ponies out there betting in the first mare you're getting hooked up with." Much to Lightning's surprise Rainbow's face became a deep shade of purple. She stared in bewilderment at the reveal. "Wait! Really?! I mean... wow, I'm not really one to judge. If ya can find somepony that makes ya happy it shouldn't matter what they look like. Still unexpected though, I was just talking out of my ass there." Lightning admitted as she glanced around awkwardly. "So, huh.... who's the lucky mare?" Rainbow Dash grumbled at first, looking very uncomfortable and hesitant. She let out a sigh of resignation, aware that there was no point avoiding this conversation. "Yeah, well. She ain't exactly a pony..." "Oh... oh! You mean... so, who is it?" Lightning asked, looking genuinely curious. She could understand Rainbow's hesitation on that regard. Sure, dating the same gender could be a bit awkward to talk about, but also outside of species? That was the kind of relationship that would attract some unwanted attention. Rainbow frowned, looking upset and disgruntled all of sudden. "It's Gilda. I mean, yeah. She did some big screw ups in the past, but... so did I. We've been in touch since Flight Camp. She... well, we grew a bit distant once I got a job on Ponyville. We saw each other occasionally. Griffinstone is pretty far and quite exhausting to make that kind of travel every week." Lightning nodded quietly, realizing now why Rainbow got so worked up about Thunderlane kissing the griffon. "Gilda is... how do I explain? I mean... awesome as a flyer? Hell yeah! But as a griffon? Don't get me wrong, she looks badass and all, is just... her attitude got so bad from the time we meet during our first years, I didn't know why. We ended up fighting during one of her visits. Which explains how she end up meeting Thunderlane." The mare said with clear distaste. Lightning raised an eyebrow at her tone. "Hey, chill Dash. Thunder wasn't really trying anything but help her out. Don't hate on him for being caring of somepo- err... griffon in distress. Also, judging from what I heard, you weren't exactly the most fair pony to her in that particular occasion." Rainbow huffed angrily. Throwing her hooves up in the air with indignation. "Why everypony keeps reminding me of that?! As if it wasn't bad enough hearing it from Twilight several times after that week! Some bullshit friendship lesson that one was. I lost my best friend, maybe more, and she just came to understand that when it was too late! I was feeling like trash for weeks!" "Soooo... have you two made up?" "I didn't even tell her how I feel yet!" Lightning chuckled. "I said 'made up' not 'make up'." "Oh... huh, yeah. We did get our relationship amended after a couple of years." Dash replied, feeling embarrassed by the slip. "Well, that's g- years?!" Dust stared in disbelief at the other mare. "You spent years without talking with her?!" Rainbow Dash felt her face going hotter as she tried to explain herself on the matter. "It's just that I, with this whole Bearer of Element stuff and, ya know, the Wonderbolts, The Equestrian Games and so on. I kinda ended up forgetting about her." Rainbow Dash felt herself lowering into the seat as she felt Lightning's eyes pierce at her soul. "Holy shit Dash. I can understand you and me not seeing eye to eye for a really long time, but Gilda? How can you claim you love somep- griffon, whatever! How can you say such and admit you forgot their existence? Rainbow, that's.... messed up is putting it lightly." "I... didn't think I really liked her that way. Not until very recently." Rainbow replied meekly. Lightning regarded her with confusion. "So... was there something else that gave you that idea?" Rainbow Dash was visibly biting the inside of her cheek. Her body expression was one of complete tension, the movements extremely hesitant in all aspects. Her eyes looking at anywhere or anything but Lightning. "I... did have feelings.... for a stallion... few years back." Lightning had a strange feeling that she wasn't going to like talking about it any further. "Was it- "Dash, Dust! Go get your uniforms! We need to head to HQ right now!" Thunderlane warned urgently and he stopped by the kitchen door. "Say what?! Why?" Rainbow questioned, a wave of relief washed over her, but also the feeling that all her plans for the day were going down the drain. Thunderlane only frowned at her. "Orders, Dash. Get moving! Fleetfoot is waiting for us at the door. Dust, can yo- "No." Thunderlane paused, blinking at her abrupt reply, his mind trying to understand her behavior. "Huh, why not?" The stallion asked, torn between being upset or passive. Lightning glanced at him, her face betrayed no emotion, quite a feat for a pony. "Because I do not take orders from Wonderbolts. Whatever is happening is none of my business. Have fun." Thunderlane was really tempted to scream at her, but all those years taking care of foal taught him better. "Lightning, this is very important. Fleetfoot came all the way from HQ to pick us up. Us. Not just me or Dash. You too." The mare frowned, confused by the strange abnormal event. "Just me? What about Rolling Thunder and- "No, just the three of us. Actually you are being called by McFly more specifically. " Thunderlane added, a hint of nervousness in his voice that Dust didn't miss. "I can only imagine why the general is at HQ today, his visits are very.... unique." Dust perked an eyebrow, suddenly intrigued by whatever reason a Wonderbolt veteran would be looking after her. "Well, I guess I can make an exception. We would be looking after him anyways. Just don't get annoyed if I get in trouble with Spitfire." "Sure, don't get me involved and you can do whatever you want." The stallion replied with a smile. Lightning chuckled at his response. "Damn coward. Fiiiine, I will get my uniform. What about Rumble? Ya leaving him by himself?" "Nah, Cloud Chaser is coming by to look after him. She is like a second uncle to him. Or third, if you count Cloud Kicker, I don't really know." Thunderlane shrugged. "Depends on if you count all the mares that offered to look after him." Lightning stared at him with a smirk on her face that intrigued the stallion. "What?" He asked, curious about what she was humored about. "Oh, I'm sure a bunch of mares offering to look after the little brother of such an striking stallion is nothing to be suspicious about." Lightning said with a tone of sarcasm. Thunderlane laughed at her insinuation. "Really?! Come on Dust. It's not always like that." "Chaser offered to foalsit Rumble mostly cause she had a crush on ya actually. " Dash said, surprising the other two. "Wha... I mean, I guess she might have." Thunderlane replied unsure. The cyan daredevil snorted at him. "Ya joking? She only had eyes for your sorry ass. I'm surprised she never made a move on.... oh." Dash stopped, realizing the reason why Chaser never advanced on the stallion. "I guess she kinda gave up once the rumors started to spread that.... hum... yeah, I better go get my uniform." "Yeah, you better." Thunderlane added dryly. Rainbow glided past them, avoiding eye contact with the stallion. Lightning was struggling to not laugh at the awkwardness. "Something funny Dust?" "H-Hey! Don't be mad at me! It's not my fault. No reason to be mad though, that helped us getting together, didn't it?" Thunderlane couldn't argue with that, not that he would even. Lightning was only giving him reasons for him to believe how truthful she was to their relationship. "I love you, you know that." He said, which earned him a profuse blush from the mare. "Gosh, you're so fucking sappy at times. But... yeah, I know it. I love ya too. Now get your ass dressed before Fleetfoot comes after it. I can only guess how antsy she's getting out t- "DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M IN THE MOOD FOR CHATTING?! GO GET YOUR DAMN UNIFORM RAINBOW DASH!" "Hum.... I take that was her screaming from the outside?" Lightning guessed with an awkward smile. Thunderlane was visibly tense after hearing the shout. "Whatever it is, to get Fleetfoot this worked up, it gotta be very serious. You coming, right?" "Hey, if it's dangerous stuff I ain't leaving ya with these idiots. Of course I'm coming with ya." 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 "Why the fuck did I come? This gotta be the most stupid overreact bullcrap ever." "Lightning..." "What? Look at this, they all bunched up like scared foals. It's just McFly sitting in the office reading a bunch of paper! Where's the emergency that I've been yelled at by fucking Fleetfoot?" "Just behave. Everypony is already giving us looks since you're the Washout's captain. We don't need to get on anypony's bad side, especially the general." Lightning merely huffed, incapable of finding an argument on her favor. Thunderlane sighed, feeling the weight of anxiety building up as they all waited for McFly to call them for whatever reason he requested their presence. Most senior officers were present, a mix of fear and concern spread among the group. Nopony was able to tell what was happening, but whatever it was it could only mean great changes were soon to take place in the corporation. Though the ones that saw Lightning did a double take. Some couldn't mask the absolute looks of astonishment at her arrival and stared at Thunderlane for the longest time. Spitfire was at the office alongside Fleetfoot, Rapidfire and Soarin. The captain of the Wonderbolts remained stoic as she waited for McFly to inspect her work. The general wasn't alone, alongside him were other old veterans, ranking from commander to major. The most notable one was no other than Stormy Flare herself, Spitfire's mother. McFly, ever since his arrival at the office uttered no words. His eyes, filled with the weight of years of hardship and experience, roamed freely across vast amounts of documents and reports. What he was looking for, nopony knows. Whatever trance the atmosphere in the office set upon everypony was broken once Fleetfoot announced her arrival. McFly thanked her, but did not order or requested for Lightning to show up after few minutes of continuous search. The long wait was driving Lightning impatient and the other pegasus even more anxious. "I think... " McFly spoke, his voice smooth but firm. "... I have seen all I needed. If so kindly captain Lightning Dust would join us for this reunion." Whatever stoic expression Spitfire had on her face instantly shattered once McFly mentioned that specific name outloud. The absolute look of incredulity on her face as Lightning Dust entered the office alongside Thunderlane was nothing short of impressive. The general seized up the newcomers, his eyes detaining a bit longer on the dark coated stallion, a expression of recognition on his face before he spoke to the duo. "Forgive me the sudden call. There were matters that needed to be addressed rather thoroughly and this is a very fitting occasion for such. If you two wouldn't mind to take a seat." He offered. Lightning shrugged. "Nah, I'm fine here. The air doesn't feel so heated." Dust replied, glancing quickly at Spitfire. The Wonderbolt captain was clearly fuming as she glared at the turquoise mare. "Suit yourself." McFly replied with a frown. "Thunderlane, isn't it?" He asked as he shifted his attention to the stallion. "Storm was your father, wasn't he? Yeah, I remember.... good friend of mine. Ain't one day gone by that I don't miss him. I knew your mother too, of course. Quite something they were. I'm glad to see their son is doing fine." Thunderlane was at loss of what to say. It caught him so off guard and he struggled to keep composed. "I-... T-thank you, sir." Lightning grasped a wing over his shoulder, hoping it would offer him some distraction from such thoughts. A gesture that didn't go unnoticed. "I imagine you two have some sort of relationship?" The general inquired, suddenly intrigued. "He is my special somepony." Lightning replied, not caring about the looks of incredulity being sent her way. "So what?" McFly chuckled at her defiant tone. Noticing that Spitfire was about to reprimand Lightning for the attitude the general quickly replied. "So nothing. I just find it curious that a Wonderbolt and a Washout would be getting along so particularly well, especially considering I've been getting reports that suggested the complete opposite." At this the general shifted his attention to Spitfire. The golden mare flinched under his scrutinizing gaze. "Speaking of it, if anything I've been getting during these years of retirement is nothing but reports. I may say that I find these reports to be rather... insufficient." The general shifted the stack of papers. His eyes laying on a pile of reports from several previous batches of recruits that went through trials. "Now this specific amount of paperwork has some interesting information. Especially because it includes personal staff reports that you, for whatever reason, considered unnecessary to be analyzed. Yet, I had the time to read through every single one of them." McFly's soothing and leveled voice changed swiftly. A tone of anger clouded his words, his eyes hardening as steel as his attention went towards all the senior Wonderbolts. "The amount of discrepancies I found from certain events regarding a particular mare in this office only solidified my suspicions. I remembered reading the report at that time, Lightning Dust was a pegasus we have been keeping track for years, especially considering who her grandfather was. I remember wondering after the incident; how could such incredibly amount of talent be wasted by the Wonderbolts?" "Sir, she violated sev- "I did not grant you permission to speak captain!" McFly immediately shut Spitfire, looking at her with severity. "In all those years, this institution was a major part of your life, daresay your second home, I would've expected for you to understand better than anypony here what it means to be a Wonderbolt!" His words cut through Spitfire like glass, the mare winced as she understood what was about to come. "But alas, what did I find? Outdated flying protocols, relaxed discipline, lack of proper equipment and a shortage of training sessions. Like it or not, our recruitment staff protocols are absolute trash. No memos, no scouts, no nothing. Do you think talent is simply gonna drop into your comfy cloud? I went through the lists of approvals for inscriptions you had for the last four years. All these batches were extremely reduced from what my own personal managed to gather. Several dozens of great flyers would never have their chance to blossom their talents, and do you know why captain?" At this point McFly was looking extremely infuriated. Even Stormy Flare was looking at him with worry, but she dared not to intervene in aid of her daughter. "For whatever reason, that it was never discussed with any of your superiors officers, you decided that one drill instructor was enough to take care of the income of pegasus per season. Normally I would say it's quite a task you carry upon yourself due the sheer amount it involves on its own. Yet, under no circumstance you should be doing this on your own. I knew it was only a matter of time until mistakes started happening. You overloaded yourself with too much and it's burning away the very important part of any flyer; their heart." The puzzled look on Spitfire's face was clear just as of everypony else. Lightning Dust, who seemed that she couldn't care less, was more than eager to explain on her own crude manner. "Basically you spent so long stuffing your face doing boring paper management, staff management and yelling at others and some other shit that it turned you into a cold, insensitive bitch." Fleetfoot faked a cough to mask the bolt of laughter that nearly escaped from her. Soarin exchanged a glance with some of his colleagues, seemingly unsure of how to react. McFly raised an eyebrow towards the Washout captain. "That's a bit too straight to the point. I was hoping for a more eloquent manner to say it, but... I think that is the best we will get." He admitted with a sigh. His look now weary as he returned his attention towards the livid Wonderbolt captain. "I've been mostly interested in knowing why we lost so many potential flyers, not to mention that some of those flyers went out and made a team that's surpassing the very same Wonderbolts." McFly said, a mix of disdain and admiration as he looked back at Lightning Dust. "I'm not happy to see the Wonderbolts losing on something they are supposed to be the best at. Although I'm glad to see another team rising the bar after so many years of dominance we had on the skies. It was about time for the Wonderbolts to have a challenge." McFly sighed deeply, crossing hooves over his chest as he looked back at Lightning with the utmost seriousness. "That being said, I want to make a proposal to you." Lightning's perked with curiosity, same could be said for everypony else in the room. They awaited as McFly calmly glanced around the room, as if he was trying to guess their reactions. "Considering everything that happened in this Academy the last few years, I think it's about time we made some changes on how we do things. That being said, there were things that were done that do not represented or portray what Wonderbolts truly are. As of today, I'm assuming command of HQ until I see fit to leave to a designated amount of selected senior officers. Fire Streak is to be reinstated in the corporation as a instructor, even if he's still fit be flying. Some policies will change regarding retirement, and also our recruitment process will have to be renewed to accommodate other flying species. I'm aware that we are having financial issues, but I think that's easy to fix. It will all depend on you." Lightning stared, disbelief written all over her face as McFly pointed a hoof her way. "Me? What do I have to do with this?" She retorted, a chuckle following her words as she glanced back in confusion. McFly shrugged. "Nothing, if you don't want to. Yet, the Wonderbolts might not be for long. Unless you're okay with Thunderlane losing his job." He added with a smirk. Lightning glared, unimpressed with his comment. "Cheap shot old feather, you still didn't explain how do you expect me to help, nor if I will want to." "That's simple." McFly replied, a smile on his muzzle as he scattered more reports across the desk, his hooves landing on a particular file that had the photo of a very familiar mare. Lightning watched, unsure of where he was going with this. She recognized the file as the one she had written on about herself. It contained all the information of her bio, even such things as blood type. A file Lightning wished she could erase forever. "This particular file of yours has, aside the basic requirements, also memos and reports regarding your behavior and performance. It was, heh, dusting in the archive." Lightning rolled her eyes while Thunderlane snorted. "Last I checked, Spitfire made very sure to imprint on your file that you were 'relieved' from service. Now, as far as I'm concerned..." McFly tore one page off, the one containing the expelled print, and tore it into pieces with his wings. "Now would you look at that." He said with a mischievous glee. "It seems your file looks absolutely normal, which makes me question one thing..." Lightning stared, not daring to believe on what was happening. Spitfire's face was drained from all color, she seemed to have witnessed a brutal murder. "So, Lightning Dust.... would you like to join the Wonderbolts?"