//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Underneath The Tree // Story: The Bonds of Love and Fire // by Whooves235 //------------------------------// Wonderbolt's Base As Media Day went underway, Spitfire could feel her entire body tense up. So far things had been going smoothly for her, but she couldn't get the idea that something bad would happen out of her head. She would look to Yellowjacket, who was in the middle of talking to some reporters at the beginning of the line. It was usual for the Air Councilpony to be interviewed during this time, however it seemed like every time Yellowjacket was in front of a camera or a reporter it was where she felt him the most. He could say anything to them and by the time she found out it would have already been too late "You alright boss?" Fleetfoot asked. "Uh...yeah sorry, just a bit tense that's all" Spitfire said "How many more ponies do we have left?" "Twelve, then after that we have a break" Rainbow said "After that? We should be free to leave, unless Yellowjacket calls a meeting..." "Prey to Celestia he doesn't...those things always end up pissing everypony off" Fleetfoot said. "And if he does call it, we will deal with it...whether we like it or not..." Spitfire said "Besides, it looks like we are having better luck than the boys are" Spitfire smirked as she looked to the table next to them, a rather irritated-looking Soarin was in the middle of listening to Thunderlane ramble on about something. Rapid meanwhile had a smirk on his face as he enjoyed the humor that Spitfire wishes she could be listening to. "Heh yeah, they look like they're having a lot of fun" Rainbow said smirking as she too watched the boys. Suddenly from the corner of Rainbow's eye, Yellowjacket was approaching. "Guy's we have company" Yellowjacket would walk over in between the tables, looking to both groups before speaking up “Everypony take a break, get something to eat, and cool down a bit. Captain, Lieutenant.” He turned to Spitfire and Soarin, “I'd like a word with you both" “Yes sir,” both ponies answered simultaneously, the rest of the group leaving the tents soon after. Soarin' shot Spitfire a particularly apologetic glare as he looked to her. Once it was just the two of them, Yellowjacket motioned for the both of them to have a seat. Spitfire suppressed a nervous gulp and took her seat. Yellowjacket would sit down on one of the empty tables, holding some paperwork “So far it seems like this year's Media Day has gone well” he commented softly, his hooves sorting the paperwork in front of him. “I would say the same sir.” Spitfire said Yellowjacket would quirk an eyebrow. “I have been told by the two stallions I put in charge of watching the bolts that you finished your Time Trials?” "Yes Sir" Soarin said as he got up and grabbed a piece of paper from the other end of his table "All the Wonderbolt's tests are accounted for." "Excellent, with these I'm sure the Bolt's will be much better motivated" Yellowjacket said, as he put the papers into a small bag he had brought with him. "Now then, onto the business at hand, I have been going over the numbers and I believe that it would be beneficial for the bolts to begin preparation for a mutch earlier seasonal performance schedule." "You want us to start performing earlier?" Spitfire asked, sounding almost taken aback. "Yes, my ideal goal is for the first show to be in the second weak of next month" Yellowjacket said "Sir with all due respect, today is the last day of work we have before the holidays. If you make us go back to work near immediately after, we won't have enough energy to put forward on our shows" Soarin said “Well how are the bolts holding up now?” he asked. "They're tired and exhausted from all the training you had us do for the time trials" Spitfire said with a slight annoyance in her tone. "They need this break badly". "And I need The Bolts to number one when it comes to ticket sales and revenue, the sooner the shows the more money we get" Yellowjacket said, the stallion leaning into his chair slightly. Soarin looked to Spitfire in a frustrated tone, they both knew what they wanted to say. But if they did they would most likely get punished for it, and that was something the bolts didn't need at this moment "Very well Yellowjacket...we will inform the bolts about the new schedule" Spitfire said, all be it reluctantly. "Excellent!" Yellowjacket said, hopping out of his seat and approaching Spitfire "I knew you would see it my way Captian...we wouldn't want to come at crossroads now would we" He smirked at her and gave her a pat on the shoulder before walking to the two ponies in suits that had been watching the bolts, per Yellowjackets previous agreement. "I suppose that's all then sir?" Soarin asked. "For you yes Soarin, as for you Spitfire I had my bodyguards put some paperwork in your office for you to fill out before the end of the day today, it shouldn't take you too long." Yellowjacket said, walking off. "Yes sir...I understand" Spitfire said, gritting her teeth as she tried not to give off an 'I want to strangle you' vibe. Soarin would look to Spitfire and pat her on the shoulders. "Hay relax...it will only be a couple more hours, I'll stay here and wait for you to leave" Soarin said. "Didn't you have plans with the others?" Spitfire asked, eyes looking slightly sad. "I'm sure they will understand" Soarin said. Spitfire would sigh and begin to walk to her office "Alright, I'll see you after I'm done" "Don't worry Spit, you can pay me back by introducing me to your coltfriend" Soarin said, with a quite large smirk on his face. "He's not my coltfriend!" She firmly said as she walked back to her office now with a flush on her face. About two hours later and It didn't take Spitfire any more than forty-five seconds to exit her office along with his saddlebags, she would also wear her Wonderbolt-issue lined leather jacket, Without speaking another word, she met Soarin and threw the door of the barracks open, revealing a blizzard raging around the Wonderbolts’ base. “It’s been snowing outside?” Spitfire asked incredulously, tilting her head sideways. “It started snowing shortly after you went back inside” Soarin tutted. “Why do you keep your blinds closed? Do you like feeling like your office is a prison cell?” “With the amount of paperwork Yellowjacket gave me? It might as well be" She would groan. "Was the paperwork that bad?" "He had me fill out confirmation that our shows would be starting earlier" Spitfire said with an aggravating groan "The egotistical dick had that paperwork filled out and put on my desk before he even asked if I was ok with it." "We really need to figure out a way to get rid of him" Soarin said huffing in annoyance "You have to have something you can at least report to the proper ponies right?" "Soarin even if I did, he somehow always finds a way to get out of it" Spitfire said "The stallion has nine lives, and we have barely killed off two." "Well what can we do then?" "Well...Orion actually said he would look into something for me. I was actually really surprised he offered to even help." "Do you think he will get anything?" Soarin asked "I don't really know, I guess I just have to wish for the best" Spitfire said "Oh and...don't tell Rapid, he isn't exactly thrilled with the idea he is living with me, and I don't want him throwing a cow if he finds out Orion is getting involved in bolt business" "My lips are sealed" Soarin said as he led the way out the front door and onto the nearby cloud path, and Spitfire followed. “So, we’ll head to your house, and then I can meet this elusive Orion." Spitfire blushed slightly "He isn't elusive" she huffing in annoyance. Soarin trotted alongside her “c’mon, don't be so grumpy! The snow makes everything better! Oh, the weather outside is frightful!” Spitfire kept her gaze pointed at the sky, snowflakes coming to rest and melting on her face. “Please, no.” “But the fire is so delightful!” "Can't we just get through this in one piece, Soarin.” “And since we’ve no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! And it doesn’t show signs of stopping, and I’ve got me some corn for popping-” “I’ve never liked popcorn,” Spitfire muttered disdainfully, although her friend’s silly behavior was causing a slight grin to play at her lips. “The lights are turned way down loooooow~” Soarin crooned into her ear. Spitfire let out a giggle that she couldn’t suppress and would begin to sing along with Soarin “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!” they sang together before leaping off the edge of the cloud and into the night sky. Spitfire's House Orion sighed in deep relief as he slumped down on the couch, after leaving the night court he had been on duty for another two hours. The entire time he couldn't help but think about the information he had gotten about Yellowjacket, but what did it all mean? Why would he buy out journalist companies, news outlets, as well as reporters? It was all rather odd, but he hoped with this information Spitfire could at the very least get closer to getting rid of him. Leaning his head back on the couch, he would lightly bump against the wall, he blew a raspberry and kicked at the couch with a hoof. “Think” he mumbled, thumping his head against the wall several times, “think, think, think, think, Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiink.” Orion groaned to himself as he began to slide down the cushions of the couch until he was flat on his back with his legs in the air. “How in Celestia's do the Equestrian Private Investigators do this sort of stuff all day? Why couldn’t they teach us this in basic?” After a few moments of laying on the floor, Orion would get himself back to his original sitting position. He tapped his hoof against the side of the couch and after about thirty seconds when he got bored of that, he closed his eyes and hummed softly. The door would then open to the house as Spitfire walked in, looking across to the couch to see Orion. "Hey, what you up to?" Spitfire asked, smirking a bit. "Waiting for you to get back, I have news" Orion said. "Really?" Spitfire asked, perking up slightly as she raised her eyebrows. "Yea, I was able to get some rather odd information on Yellow-" Orion was about to finish the sentence when he saw Soarin walk in, quickly trying to correct himself "Yellow There Soarin!" Orion said "Nice to finally meet ya" "Smooth..." Spitfire said chuckling, looking to Soarin who had gotten his attention grabbed by the rather strange greeting. "You must be Orion, pleasure to meet you" Soarin said walking up to the stallion "Spitfire's told me a lot about you" "R-really?" Orion asked, slightly looking to Spitfire for confirmation. "Oh yah, she told me everything about her new Royal Guard roommate, bet you two have a lot of fun don't you~" Soarin teesed as he looked to Orion, who had a slight flush on his face trying to avoid eye contact. "Soarin stop teasing him" Spitfire said "Sorry Orion, he's a softie but he's a major pain in the flank sometimes" She said. "Dang Spit, I thought we had something" Soarin said, pretending to look hurt as he even put a hoof to his chest. "Nah it's uh...It's fine I'm used to it" Orion said, clearing his throat softly "Anyways uh, what's up with the guest? Something going on?" "Well seeing as there's a snowstorm out, and it's close to Harthswarming, I was thinking you two could help with the decorations. Usually I'd have Rapid help but he's occupied at the moment." Spitfire said "That and Soarin tends to invite himself over, so might as well put him to work" She said smirking, followed by a slight groan from Soarin. "Sounds like a plan to me" Orion said "I'll even cook tonight." "You don't have to do that Orion, I can cook" The mare said. "No no I insist, I am your guest here and you will be helping with decorations as well, so I don't want you to overwork yourself" Orion said "Besides, I make good food." "You sure?" Spitfire asked. "Absolutely, now you and Soarin go get the decorations, and I will grab everything from the kitchen to prepare for dinner, once I do that I'll join you in the decorations" "Alright then, sounds good" She said, smiling as she nudged Soarin "Come on you big marshmallow, we have stuff to do" "Im not a marshmallow" Soarin said, grumbling a bit as he followed Spitfire up the stairs to the second floor. An hour later, Spitfire and Soarin had come back down the stairs with the final box full of decorations, To the side near the window stood a larger box with a fake tree within it, waiting to be opened and decorated. “Spit, you really ought to consider cleaning your attic. It’s a miracle I even found the decorations with the mess you have in there!” Soarin said walking down the stairs with a couple more smaller boxes. "I don't get a lot of time to organize up there" Spitfire said, looking to the stallion as he walked down the stairs "When I re-pack the decorations I'll put more thought into it" Soarin would place one of the boxes he had next to the tree's box and sat down, he turned to the large box and opened it up, a cloud of dust poofing into existence. “Let’s start with the Tree, so we can get these lights and ornaments up." He said as he looked to the kitchen "Orion can I have some help in here?" "Coming!" Orion said, trotting into the room "Yea I can help, just finished setting out the food for dinner" "Awesome, just need a bit of help setting up this tree" Soarin said "After that you and Spit can handle the lights, then me and Spit will do the ornaments." "Sounds good to me!" He said, walking over to the large box, as he and Soarin worked on grabbing the parts of the tree, most of the parts being quite large. "Don't pull anything you two, I don't want my best flier and my best friend being couch written for a week." "You think so little of us?" Soarin said, smirking as he put down the first part to the tree, followed by the second part as Orion snapped it into place. Soarin would then grab the third part of the tree as he flew into the air a bit, snapping it into the second part. Which was finally followed by Orion snapping the final part of the tree into position, the stallion wiping his brow a bit "That should do it" Orion said, looking to the large fake tree "Geeze Spit you really had to buy the biggest tree?" He said, looking to Spitfire, who had been unpacking some of the other decorations like stockings and wreaths. "What can I say? I like to go big" She said smirking, she then walked over to the box next to the newly built tree, she turned to the box and opened it up “Now let’s start with the lights shall we?” While Orion would busy himself with untangling the long line of multicolored lights, briefly wondering how they had even gotten so tangled in the first place, Spitfire got to work with some of the other boxes. As they worked, the three ponies engaged in idle small talk: what were their plans for the holiday, how were the bolts going, the royal guard, all that. Eventually, the room and the tree got decorated with various ornaments, tinsel, and a hoofful of streamers dangling from the ceiling. Spitfire exhaled, took a step back, and proudly looked around the room, seeing everything in its place "Whew. I think that's everything." She sat down and looked at Orion, who had also slumped onto the couch next to Spitfire. "I can't believe that a year has already passed, It seems that everything went by so fast." "Yah you're telling me..." Orion said, musing on the year he had gone through. "Hay you were going to tell me something earlier before Soarin walked in, what was it?" "I think it can wait until after dinner" Orion said smiling "I don't wanna sour the mood." "You sure? It sounded important." "Well...yah it is but...I just really don't wanna make things sour" Orion said looking sideways a bit, twiddling his hoofs slightly. Spitfire looked at him letting out a small chuckle. "I keep forgetting how much of a big softie you are." She said "I'm not a softie...I just don't like to ruin nice moments" He said, giving a slightly pouty face. "Uh-huh...sure" She said, smirking. "And I am The Mysterious Mare-Do Well" Spitfire said chuckling. "Oh Rainbow told you that story too?" Soarin said, the stallion currently in the air adjusting some of the ceiling lights and streamers. "Yes Soarin she did" The mare said rolling her eyes "I swear, if she wasn't already married you would have gone for her Soarin" "Would not have!" "Oh yeah my mistake, you have your eyes set on Thunderlane~" She said teasing, bringing a slight flush to the blue pegasus, Orion chuckled a bit at that, as he looked to Spitfire, the stallion smiling as he watched the two ponies in front of him have a good time. "I swear one day I will get you back for the teasing" Soarin said, continuing to adjust the lights above them. Orion would chuckle "Jeeze no wonder ponies think you two are a thing, you two bicker like a married couple." "Oh please it's more teasing than anything" Spitfire said waving a hoof "Me and Soarin have been through a lot together, we are practically like siblings." "Ya but you guys still tease eachother like kids" Orion said, "It's adorable" "I wouldn't call it adorable" Soarin said, earning a small smirk from Orion. "Yah well you act like a kid yourself" Spitfire said, making Orion smerk. "Besides, I've seen you flirt with me before." "Flirt?!" Soarin exclaimed, "I'm not flirting with you!" "Jeeze, are you two absolutely sure your not a married couple" Orion asked, chuckling. "Nah doesn't flirt with me. Im not a tall, black Pegasus with a blue mane~" Spitfire said, laughing a bit. "Hay! Thunderlane wishes he could flirt as good as me!" Soarin began, blushing slightly Spitfire would snort shaking her head "Anyways, I was never really into Soarin to begin with Orion, he's more like a brother to me then anything." "Aww...So that means Thunderlane still does have a chance~." Orion said, looking to Soarin, who was now redder then ever. "No way! You know I only like girls! There's no chance in hell Thunderlane is interested in me!" Soarin said, puffing out his chest, causing Orion to burst out in laughter as Spitfire rolled her eyes. After a while, Orion and Spitfire excused themselves to go get changed, leaving Soarin alone with the tree. He would think back to Spitfire and how she acted with Orion. With everything going on in the bolts he was rather surprised to see how calm and relaxed she looked, Orion really did make her feel good. He wondered if perhaps there really was more to Spitfire's feelings to the Pegasus. Looking to the tree and then back at the decorations he smirked, getting an idea. He walked over to the tree and began to untangle the strings that were wrapped around it. He noticed Spitfire's bag on the floor by the table "Hey Spitfire, where'd you put those pins?" She turned and looked at him "Oh, I dropped them in here." She said, pointing towards a bag on the floor. Soarin opened it up and pulled out a few of the blue gems. "Thanks" Soarin said, placing them into a pocket of his coat. He continued to unpack the rest of the decorations and place them in different areas of the room. After a while, he finally finished decorating the tree. He would then go to the box in the corner and grab a small mistletoe he would then fly up near the tree and placed it near one of the branches, hanging it on a thin string attached to it. "Orion! Spitfire needs you for something!" He shouted to the top of the stairs, before quickly going to Spitfire in the kitchen "Hay Spit, could you check the tree one more time? Just wanted to make sure I didn't forget anything" He heard a small laugh and then a "Right away!" coming from the kitchen. Soarin smiled and went to the couch in the living room. He sat down and began to watch some TV when he saw Orion coming down the stairs, and Spitfire coming out of the kitchen. "Oh hey" Orion said, walking to stand next to Soarin on the couch. "What's up?" "Soarin said he wanted me to check the tree" Spitfire said "I just went to go grab it-" "Ah alright-" Orion said as he suddenly stopped mid-step and then noticed the mistletoe, he then realized both him and Spitfire were standing under it. "Oh uh yeah..." He said, stepping back blushing slightly. "What's wrong? you look flustered" Spitfire asked. "Nothing its nothing" Orion stammered, trying not to look too embarrassed. "But your face is bright red" She said, smiling a bit and then noticing the mistletoe. "You're not gonna kiss me are you?" She said joking "Well- No I didn't mean-" Orion said, stumbling over his words. "Oh come on, this is the most fun part of Harthswarming" Spitfire said, leaning forward "Besides we can't ruin tradition can we?" As she said that, Orion slowly moved closer to her, hesitating for a moment. He was flushing alot now, but he couldn't help himself. His heart was beating loudly in his ears as he closed the distance between them. Spitfire slightly flushed too, as the mare was only joking around with him. As they came close, Soarin would slightly smirk to himself. "Is this really a good-..." Orion started to say, but was cut off by Spitfire quickly giving him a peck on the lips. The two of them then looked to each other in silence for a few seconds. "Wow, I never thought I'd actually do that" Spitfire said, giggling and looking to Orion, trying to break the rather awkward silence "I guess I'm not such a prude after all" "Y-yeah" Orion said, trying to process what just happened. "Um...Soarin" Spitfire said, turning to look at the stallion on the couch "Could you grab a drink from the fridge, I figured we could just relax for the rest of the night." She said, as she walked over to the chair and sat down. Orion still slightly flustered would go to sit on the couch. He then walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of hard cider from the fridge. "I didn't know you drank" Soarin said, sitting down next to Spitfire. "Eh, tis the season" Spitfire replied. The three of them sat in silence as they watched some TV. It wasn't long before Orion had fallen asleep on the couch, falling onto his side, snoring slightly. "Sooo....you and Orion huh?~" Soarin said quietly, teasing the yellow pegasus. Spitfire blushed and rolled her eyes "Yeah yeah whatever, I know you put that mistletoe there to get back at me." "Hey! I didn't do it to get you to kiss him!" Soarin said, defending himself. "Whatever" Spitfire said, turning to look at the sleeping Pegasus, slightly blushing. "So, do you like him?" Soarin asked again. "No" Spitfire said quickly "We're friends. Besides, I couldn't do that. Im the Captian of the Bolts, and he's the Captian of the Royal Guard" Spitfire said, sighing. "If your worried about formalities, I'm sure you can handle that stuff" Soarin said "Spit I've known you for a long time, and I have only seen you and Orion around each other for no less than a day. I can tell your different around him." "Im not" Spitfire said in a flat tone "I just think we should keep things professional when we're at work. If I start dating someone, I wouldn't want my relationship to get in the way of their job." "That might be true, but you're the kind of person who doesn't let something like that stop you" Soarin said, taking a sip of his soda. "And this whole thing about letting him live with you until he gets his stuff with the bank solved? I cant help but feel this is you trying to get closer to him" "Look Im not saying I wouldn't date him" She said "But currently with both our jobs we just cant, and I don't see why letting him live with me means I have some secret crush on him." Spitfire said, a bit frustrated. "What if you guys started dating? Would you try to keep it secret?" Soarin asked, curious. "Of course" Spitfire said, instantly. "Or maybe you don't want to" Soarin said, smirking. "Look, I appreciate the concern, but I think I can handle myself fine" Spitfire said, getting up and walking over to Soarin. "I think im going to turn in for the night. Can you take Orion to his room?" She asked. "Sure" Soarin said, standing up and helping Orion off the couch. Both of them walked out of the living room, and Soarin would take the slumbering pegasus to his room, putting him into the bed. After walking out the room he looked to Spitfire. "I'll be over tomorrow morning early, so expect me to come pick you up around 10am. Let me know what you think" Soarin said. "Alright" Spitfire said. "I'll see you tomorrow Soarin" She said, watching him leave. As she did she looked back to the tree and at the mistletoe, softly she touched her lips, thinking about that kiss underneath the tree, then she would think of Soarins words, blushing slightly she sighed and went to go to bed.