Sky Stinger landed on the front door of the Captain's home, dropping Viral off his back gently and knocking. In a few seconds Spitfire answered with her son not far behind and ushered the stallion and his niece in. Viral got comfortable with the colt while Captain and Recruit got to catching up.
"You're getting better every day Sky, you're on your way to becoming a top reserve flyer. Keep this form and you may find yourself a promotion. Don't get too ahead of yourself though, a lot of talented flyers come through my offices every day,"
"Right, just keep working..."
Their chat was cut by another knock on the door.
"That's her, I hope."
Spitfire once again opened her door, finding a cyan pegasus mare with a prismatic mane.
"Dash."
the rookie saluted. "Ma'am."
"At ease Dash, this is my house not a barracks. I'm your friend here not your superior. Come in."
Rainbow followed Spitfire into the room to rejoin with Sky.
"But didn't you say it was urgent?"
"I just wanted to make sure you got here before the filly got anxious."
On cue as always, the crimson pegasus scurried out into the room with the colt in tow. With beaming eyes, she jump into the cyan pegasus' chest and nested her muzzle into her idol. Dash was just dumbstruck as her companions began to chuckle, but always a crowd pleaser she wrapped a hoof around the filly and chuckled.
"Gee kid, your passion rivals a certain squirt I know. Good to see you again."
With that, Viral detached herself from the mare and started to compose herself.
"She's been wanting to learn some tricks from you ever since she saw the show." Sky explained.
"And likewise, you can't seem to keep your mind off of her when your training. So, we decided to get it out of the way. With how well she keeps up with my own I figured it would be perfect for her to learn from one of my best flyers at such a young age."
"Well I'd be honored. Hop on champ."
Rainbow had taken the crimson filly to a clear patch of clouds to get her started. She wasn't familiar with Viral's baseline, so after making sure they stretch to make sure the filly didn't hurt herself she got started with something simple. At Rainbow's word the filly took to a hover, and after staying in place for a few seconds without falling from the sky Rainbow let her touch down once again.
"You didn't hear this from me, but that's the farthest any filly I've taught has gotten."
"Really?!" Viral squeaked at the honor.
"Yeah, sure. Like I said don't make a fool of yourself gloating kid there's a long way to go." Rainbow then turned to the north side of the cloud they stood on and got in stance. "I'm not gonna let you out of my sight, but do your best to keep up. I want to see how your speed is. Once we get that down I can start narrowing down what you're capable of."
"Ok...you won't leave me behind?" Viral was hesitant to continue.
"Kid, loyalty is in my heart...literally. Look I'll make sure you're safe but if I don't push you I won't know what you can achieve."
With her worries subsided, the filly got into position next to the prismatic pegasus. After Rainbow adjusted Viral's stance for optimal takeoff, she took to the skies at a brisk pace whilst keeping an eye behind her for her apprentice. Much to her gleeful surprise, Viral did initially keep up with the speed Rainbow had. Though as Rainbow began to speed up the filly fell further behind her, until she could only barely see her over her shoulder.
Having covered enough ground, Rainbow halted and began to hover in place as she waited for Viral to catch up to her. Once she did, the filly showed signs of severe exhaustion. She started to grow tired, and as Rainbow began to ponder what to do next the filly slipped out of focus and began to lose altitude. Panic set in, but Rainbow was ever quick and snapped her up before too long.
"Right, I think we've done enough today kid. I like what you've got, but you need rest. You've overachieved for a filly your age."
"th...thanks." Viral managed to sputter through her deep breaths.
Rainbow hoisted the filly onto her own shoulders, making her way back to the residents of her Captain in record time. She let herself in, trotting into the main room where Spitfire stood waiting. Her Captain took one glance at the filly who was now only half awake on her shoulders.
"Woah Dash, I did tell you to be careful with her didn't I?"
"I was, though I may have gotten carried away..."
"she's a filly, she's not going to be like you right away."
"I know that." Dash replied haste fully. "I wanted to try to find what she could handle, I've never mentored a filly that could manage more than a brief period of hovering."
"Dash, you should know better about putting ponies at risk. May I remind you of what happened at the academy..."
"With all do respect ma'am, don't bring that up to me ever unless you have reason." Rainbow retorted, Spitfire having brought up her wing pony. The Captain respected that wish.
"Fair enough, but do be careful with her next time. You're responsible for her when she's around and likewise if something happens to her you're the one I'm going to look at punishing first."
"And if it's something that's not my fault?"
"Then you better have a good explanation, you're dismissed. If you wish to stay you are welcome to, but Viral is going to rest. Still, thank you for volunteering for this."
Viral didn't know how long she rested for, but she awoke it was because of a familiar voice accompanied by a gentle rubbing of her mane. As she came to, her eyes found Lightning Dust. Her mother had come to pick her up after the brief stay at Spitfire's, and it was time to get going. Once she found her balance, the pair went to the Captain to say goodbye.
"Hey, thanks for all this. It's been a big help that you're doing this for her."
"Don't mention it Dust, but don't think this is going to stay between us forever. As much as you may not like it Dash might find out some day and it won't be pretty. Have a good night you two, and here." She gave Lightning two tickets. "On me, next show is in a couple weeks time."
"I... Spit I can't..."
"I want to see you there Lightning, for the sake of her." She pointed to Viral. "You're Sky's family so that's what we're going with, but for you two to have a good mother and daughter bond you're going to have to experience things together."
"Thanks..." Lightning managed, seemingly taken aback by Spitfire's genuine care for the secret they kept.
"Trust me, I'm doing this for Dash too. She needs to get used to seeing you around Sky, as you both are family. Eventually, if we can get to a point where she is comfortable seeing you around Viral then we can let this all go. For now, I'll let you both go home and get some rest. Enjoy the next couple of weeks to yourselves."
For the first time in some years, Lightning was eager for something related to the Wonderbolts. She figured Spitfire knew what was best, and so when she returned home with her daughter she rested soundly knowing full well things were under control...for now.