//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: The Sting of a Jacket // Story: The Bonds of Love and Fire // by Whooves235 //------------------------------// Five minutes was all he could've asked for, really. Five more peaceful minutes of sleep and relaxation, that's all Orion wanted One tap. "Just five more... five more minutes..." Two consecutive taps. "Alright, alright, I'm waking up" declared the tired pegasus, springing up from his bed with a stretch of his wings and hooves and a languid yawn fleeing from his mouth. He dozily glanced around the bedroom, lips forming a meek smile once she saw the bright-faced pony in front of him. "You're up early today, Spit." Orion said, the yellow pegasus then gave a quick, excited nod, wings flapping fervently in place. "What can I say, I'm looking forward to the day" She said, flicking her tail at him as she trotted to the doorway "Now get your lazy flank out of bed and come downstairs I made breakfast. The white pony gave a simple, fitting nod prancing out of his room, following the savory smell of an omelette and the sound of it sizzling in a frying pan. Already, his mouth was starting to water, though he chuckled at the sight of the cook, hesitantly dashing a pinch of salt across and just staring at it for a few seconds before resuming flipping the omelet with a wooden spoon clenched in between her teeth. "I had no idea I was living with both a wonderbolt captain and a five-star cook" Orion jokingly said taking a seat at the table as he looked at the mare. It wasn't long before she shifted the omelet from pan to platter, dicing it up evenly and serving it for the both of them to relish. The first mouth already was ecstasy for Orion, who could only hum in delight. "Damn, you really are a good cook.." He said. "My mom always liked to teach me some cooking while she had the chance to. When I wasn't doing stuff with her that is" Spitfire said, taking the omelet slice and eating it herself. "Besides...you have been cooking enough for me...I wanna return the favor." "Hay hay, I was doing it because you offered me to live with you, I wanna repay that kindness" He said. "Yeah well I'm a mare who wants to repay debts" She said, the mare making sure her standards were set. "And you my friend, are not going to cook a meal for me without me cooking for you" "Fine fine fine, but don't expect me to not cook you a meal in return for this meal" He said, smirking slightly at the mare, who now had an equal smirk at him. "Alright you cheeky stallion, enough teesing. We have a party to go set up for" Spitfire said, sitting up as she swallowed the last of her food. "Right! So let's go over the plan again" Orion said, getting up and beginning to pace "The party is going to be at the Wonderbolt HQ like we had all talked about" He said "And then?" "Then, I will have one of the bolts 'accidentally' run into Yellowjacket, have him get suspicious enough to follow them back to the base where he will bust us for having a secret party" "Then, you will ask to speak to Yellowjacket in your office, where we have planted recording devices in. Get him to confess to the Blackmail letter, and then turn in the evidence to the Princess" Orion said smirking. "It's fullproof" "Right...I wouldn't say fullproof, but I am confident in it" Spitfire said tapping her chin "I am a bit concerned about trying to hide the tapes from Yellowjacket, or what he will do when he is exposed" "Don't worry, I promise you that if anything does end up happening, I'll be there for all of you" Orion said "Nothing is going to get past me" "Oh yes, Captian of the Royal Guard" Spitfire smerked "I have no doubt in your abilities Orion, but you are just too sweet to do anything harmful to anypony" "Hay now, I'm a tough guy. I have been through plenty of things you wouldn't even believe" Orion said "So have I Orion, trust me when I tell you that" She said smirking, then sighing softly "If...you don't mind me asking a question?" "Yea sure what's up?" He asked, tilting his head. "How did you get your scar?" She asked, motioning to his eye. Orion looked at her for a few moments, blinking before sighing "The Canterlot Invasion" He said "I was on duty during the wedding, and I had to fight off a lot of Changelings." He said "I came face to face with a Changeling Guard and I fought him, the bug got lucky and sliced at my eye." He said, motioning to the scar "I was lucky not to lose my eye, but the scar is a reminder of my duties" Spitfire listened, showing a lot of attention and making sure Orion knew she was taking in all the information, she did feel bad for him. That day wasn't easy for anypony, a lot of families were hurt and separated during the wedding, and a lot of Guards had lost their lives as well "I'm sorry...that sounds very painful." She said. "It's no big deal, really it isn't" Orion said, waving it off "At the end of the day what mattered was the fact lives were saved." "Yeah but...your life is important too Orion. You went above and beyond to help ponies that day" She said walking close to him, as she gently took his hoof holding it. The white stallion blushed slightly. "That's something I really respect." Orion just kinda looked at Spitfire for a few moments. He never noticed how orange her eyes were...they were like a flame, a lit flame of beautiful fire. Dangerous yet full of Life. "T-thank you...that...means a lot..." He said, softly huffing as the two of them kinda just stared at each other for a few more moments. Spitfire now supports a blush of her own before clearing her throat. "W-we should uh...head to the base to set up" Spitfire said. "Y-yea right right" Orion said, snapping out of his trance as he made his way to the door. "Let's get a move on then shall we?" Wonderbolt HQ "Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" The ponies in blue chanted loudly, surrounding the single pegasus who had his lips wrapped around the neck of a large bottle of eggnog. Rapidfire guzzled the drink down, the creamy liquid that he failed to swallow drizzling down his chin and onto the floor. Finally, he finished off the drink. Grinning, he stood up straight, spreading his wings wide. He opened his mouth, but instead of letting out the victorious taunt that he'd been planning to make, he belched loudly. The other Wonderbolts laughed and cheered. Sitting at the other end of the room, Soarin snorted to himself, shaking her head. "Dude, that's your twelfth bottle," he called. "You sure you don't want to call it quits? You know what that stuff does to you." "No way!" Rapidfire retorted, swaying slightly as he tossed the bottle aside. "I feel fiddle as a fine...I mean...no worries, I can last as long as I need to..." his retort was interrupted when he belched again, lurching forward a little. Knowing what was going to happen, the other Wonderbolts cleared a pathway, allowing the pegasus a direct pathway to the bathroom, which he flew into at top speed, slamming the door shut behind him. A moment later, the sound of retching could be heard from the other side of the door. Standing next to Soarin', Thunderlane clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Not even close to his record from last year." "Bet those gingerbread cookies threw him off," Soarin' commented, sipping at his mulled cider. Hearth's Warming music played from the speakers, which sat in the corner underneath a set of wreaths with blinking lights. The decorations were relatively sparse, but even with the time they had and the amount of money all of them could use, Soarin always believed that it wasn't the decorations that made the party. It was the ponies, no matter how ridiculous they were. "Yea well, you're only faster than us when there's food involved, especially pie" Thunderlane snarked, drawing closer to Soarin. The heat from his body being felt by him. Soarin rubbed the back of his mane with a hoof, chuckling softly. "Yea well, I also remember you always trying to steal my slice when my back was turned," he added. "Hey, I always worked hard! I deserved that extra slice!" Thunderlane protested. "You hog it all the time" Soarin laughed. "Says the pony who always tried to skip leg day!" Thunderlane laughed as well, a bit more nervously. After a moment, he admitted, "You know, if you hadn't pushed me so hard, I might not be here. You were the one who made sure I never gave up," he said. Soarin let out a single chuckle. "Heh, yup. Silly old Soarin, always hard with the newbies." The conversation faded into silence. The two top Wonderbolts avoided each other's gaze "You know, I, um..." Thunderlane finally said. "I know we argue and bicker alot...and so, you know, I only do it because I care about ya..." Soarin chuckled again "I know that you big fuckin goon" he said "Otherwise I wouldn't be speaking to ya right now would I?" "Yea...I guess your right Mellow" He said smirking. Soarin blushed softly "You and your fuckin nicknames I swear" "Its not my fault you look cute when you blush" Thunderlane casually said, smirking as he took a sip of his own drink. Soarin; was about to say something, but when he looked up, the thought was driven from his head. Thunderlane wasn't looking at him: he was looking at something above them with a wide-eyed, slack-jawed expression, and blushing furiously. Soarin' looked up as well. Fleetfoot was hovering above them, wearing a mischievous grin that would make Discord jealous. And she was dangling a mistletoe over their heads. "Fleetfoot!" Soarin' sputtered in shock, his cheeks turning red. Fleetfoot laughed in reply. "C'mon, you know the rules! You gotta kiss now!" "You are so fucking childish!" He said, swatting at the mistletoe, which only made Fleetfoot laugh more. "Sheesh, any longer and we'd have to get you two a room," Fleetfoot sniggered, dropping the mistletoe onto the floor. "C'mon, stop being so serious! Enjoy the party!" She turned and began to fly back towards the group of ponies talking amongst each other. Soarin' remained where he was, his eyes on Thunderlane. His smile had grown wider and his blush had deepened, and he was slowly shifting his weight from hoof to hoof. "Do you think we should tell them that we've been going out for a month now?" Thunderlane said, with a huge smirk on his face "We have been lying to the others for a while now, Spitfire even called you out on it" Soarin' snorted with laughter. "Do you know what they would do to us if we told?" "They're gonna find out sooner or later," Thunderlane pointed out, pausing briefly. Soarin' frowned in thought. "You're right," he admitted. "We'll tell them at some point. But not today, all right?" "Okay," Thunderlane agreed "I love you, Soar." "Love you too, you big dork," Soarin replied. The doors to the lunchroom area then opened and Orion and Spitfire entered the room. Spitfire smiled as she saw everypony was having fun. "Did you guys start the party without us already?" She said "Nah, we were just downing all the booze so you wouldn't get drunk off your ass" Fleetfoot shouted. "Wow Spit, didn't take you for an alcoholic" Orion commented, smirking devilishly at Spitfire who punched him in the midsection. "Shut up you dork!" She said laughing. "Hay now you two, don't get into a fight just yet. We haven't even started with the games!" Orion and Spitfire walked to the rest of the group, Rapidfire then entered the room from the bathroom "Oh hay Sis" He said. "Oh godess did you actually already puke?" She asked, trying to hold back a cackle. "Hay, you are the one who decided to show up late" He said, rubbing his head. Orion chuckled "You two are hilarious" He said, walking over to the other bolts to mingle. Spitfire rolled her eyes, looking to Soarin and Thunderlane walking over "So, you two get some quality time then?" "Like Id spend that kind of time with Mellow" Thunderlane said. "Shut up" Soarin said, punching Thunderlane in the midsection, then looking to Spitfire "So...what about the plan. Who's the one who's gonna lead Yellowjacket here?" "I asked Wave Chill" Spitfire said "Don't worry Soarin' I trust that your brother knows what he is doing." "Wave always did want to be a spy when he was a kid" Soarin' said, rolling his eyes. "Right, well how long before Yellowjacket even gets here?" Rapidfire asked. "That's all up to fate unfortunately...so while we are waiting let's just relax and have some fun yeah?" Spitfire said smiling. "Now that's what I'm talking about" Soarin' said "Come on, let's get to it!" Downtown Cloudsdale It was a lovely Saturday evening in Cloudsdale. Luna’s glorious moon shone brightly down upon the many ponies that called the city home Granted, not many ponies were night ponies like Yellowjacket was, but it was a lovely morning nonetheless. Yellowjacket leafed through the pages of his pocket-sized notebook, every so often he glanced up from the page he was reading to make sure he wasn’t going to bump into anypony. Years of practice had made him very capable of navigating while jotting notes or looking over his schedule. The reason for this particular walk was primarily business. “Let’s see,” he muttered to himself as he found the page containing the list of things he needed, he hummed softly, flipping to the next page. “Ah here we are.” He smiled. “Meet with Zipper Flash, nine-thirty, Morning Brew’s Coffee House.” He paused at the street corner long enough to get his bearings. Yellowjacket found himself at the corner of Downer and Mane Street. Morning Brew’s Coffee House was a fair distance down Mane Street, another forty-minute walk if he made good time. Yellowjacket took a moment to stretch before he began his flight. It wasn’t often that he missed the days of being a beat reporter for another pony’s newspaper. It was a lot of hard work for lousy pay and few benefits, not something he could raise his life on. That said, years of sitting behind a desk coordinating ponies, meeting with advertising interests, and planning stories had left him with a handsome amount of business opportunities. Becoming an entrepreneur and establishing his own paper had nearly ended in failure. Few ponies were willing to buy an unknown publication without some sort of word-of-mouth and those that did weren’t going to leave their subscriptions to the big name papers like the Manehattan Times or the Post. Yellowjacket couldn’t fault them for that; he probably wouldn’t have changed his subscription either. His paper had muddled through six months before Yellow hit on an idea. He had noticed how much ponies enjoyed gossiping and speculating about the private lives of others. Even his editorial staff, meager as it was, enjoyed putting together their own mock paper in their free time that was a fun little romp into the fantastical. With what money he had left, as well as his newly gained skills in politics, he scrounged together a successful underground blackmail business full of nothing but the juiciest gossip he could get his hooves on. He and a few editors on his payroll in different news companies then began writing outlandish headlines and borderline farcical articles about anything they could think of. To his great surprise they had all been successful, and the money he got was more then enough to testify for that. There wasn’t really any turning back from that moment. Yellowjacket met with his entire team, informed them of the change in strategy, and did what he could to get rid of the ponies who didn’t want any part of his new venture. That same month his old paper closed and his new business began its run. It was a success like Yellowjacket had never imagined. Profits were great, the money was high and it was fun to write for himself and his employees. He also received his first hate letter that same month. He still had that letter framed on his office wall. He couldn’t explain exactly why he had felt compelled to frame the letter. Most ponies had been mildly horrified at the very idea of it. Yellowjacket found it absolutely fascinating that his work had inspired a pony to actually take the time to sit down and write, not to mention spend the postage. Yellowjacket chuckled to himself as he trotted down Mane Street. He had a feeling today was going to be a great day, and he planned on making the most of it. First, though, there was a little bit of business to take care of. After nearly forty minutes of flying he arrived at Morning Brew’s Coffee House. The modest establishment, a small, two-story cloud brick and mortar building, sat blending in quite well the surrounding buildings. Only a forest-green awning that shaded a cluster of sidewalk tables and a small sign on the window informed potential customers that the place was, in fact, a functioning coffee shop. Yellowjacket scanned the tables out front of the shop. There were only three ponies sitting outside at this early hour. At the nearest table was a red pegasus mare with an orange mane, holding a thick stack of papers in her hooves. Across the table from her was an off-white pegasus stallion, his brown mane partially hidden by a black fedora. The two seemed to be bickering over something related to the papers in the mare’s hooves. Yellowjacket chuckled; he knew that feeling all too well from at least one meeting a month. At a different table was the pony he was looking for, Zipper Flash. A waitress was trotting over to him, a drink carefully held in her magic. The stallion’s back was facing Yellowjacket and he seemed to be distracting himself by tinkering with a camera that was held carefully in his hooves. Yellowjacket smiled as he trotted over. “Here’s your tea, sir,” the waitress chirped as she carefully set the cup on the table. “Thanks very much.” Zipper smiled up to her. The mare smiled back at him before she trotted off. Zipper carefully grasped the cup with his forelegs, lifting it to his lips where he took in a deep breath of the steam. He could just barely smell the sweet aroma of honey over the delicate tea. He took a tentative sip of the drink, wincing as the hot liquid threatened to burn his tongue. Zipper set the cup back on the table and let out a bored sigh. He wasn’t the type of pony who often bought things out when he could avoid it. His frugality was borne of necessity more than anything else. The possibility of additional work was what had brought him to Morning Brew’s Coffee House in the first place. Specifically a tip from new boss who had suggested that he could get some more money if he met a certain pony. Zipper rolled his eyes, he knew he had better things to do, but he needed the money. He took another sip of his tea before a familiar voice behind him nearly scared his feathers off. “Zipper” Yellowjacket began with a broad grin, “How’s it going?” “Councilpony Yellowjacket,” Zipper started after a light cough, “Its going well.” Yellowjacket quirked an eyebrow as he took a seat across from the pegasus "Thank you again for meeting me here." "Yes, the pleasure is all mine. Not every day you do business with a Council Pony after all" Zipper said "So...what business do we need to discuss...I have already given you everything I have on Spitfire..." "Yes...the information you have given me is very valuable, however it seems it has not hit a nerve just yet.." Yellow said, putting his hoofs together "She hasn't written back, or asked to speak with me..." "Really now?" Zipper said with a surprising tone "She is usually not the type to be quiet after a threat..." "Which is why I asked to meet you. She is obviously still hiding something, and I want you to look into it for me" "Mn...it will be difficult to do that given how much she hates me.." Zipper said "I will try my best...but It may take some time" "As long as it gives me what I need to have that mare wrapped around my hoof, I do not care how you do it" Yellow said in an annoyed tone, clearly wanting to get this entire ordeal done and over with "That mare has been a foil in my plans for too long now" "Yeah yeah whatever...I'll get you your info as long as you uphold your end of the bargain" "As I told you before...the money will be transferred to you the moment I get what I want" Yellowjacket said firmly, pointing a hoof at the Pegasus "Don't forget, I also have info on you as well. Don't test me." He said, threateningly Yellowjacket then flipped through his notebook until he found the page he was looking for. With a meager effort he tore it free and set it in front of Zipper. “There’s the address of Spitfire's new home.” he said pointing to the innocuous parchment. “I want you to stake it out and see if you can figure out what she is up too. I’ll pull some strings on my end and see if I can find out that way. Once we’ve got that settled, I just need a few good photos of whatever she is doing. Nothing intrusive, you don’t need to get in their faces or anything like that, just a decent set of photos.” "Mn, you know this is highly risky" Zipper said, looking to the paper and stashing it on his person. “Then consider it a favor to me,” Yellowjacket suggested, his forelegs folding on the table. “Favor for what?” Zipper balked in confusion. “For not informing anypony that you and Spitfire use to be dating all those moons ago.” Yellowjacket said, his voice low. Zipper couldn’t stop the scoff that escaped his lips. “It must be nice to be rich,” he noted out loud. “It’s got some perks,” Yellowjacket agreed, “like the payment I will provide you for every photo and information you get.” Zipper sighed and ran his hoof through his mane. He needed the extra income, of that there was no doubt, and with this money he could probably use it to get out of Cloudsdale and away from anypony who could come after him. “How much?” Yellowjacket sighed. He wasn’t surprised, but he had hoped it wouldn’t come up. “Fifty bits for every shot I can use. One hundred if you can get details.” “Alright” Zipper said, there was no way he could refuse that kind of money, given his circumstances. “I’ll get you some pictures.” He said, sitting up "Just give me time" He then trotted along the way, taking flight to go tend to other things. Yellowjacket huffed in annoyance, he really needed this shit done soon, he needs the votes for re-election. He tapped his hoof on the table, thinking about what to do. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw a familiar stallion. Wave Chill, and he was carrying bags with him. Strange considering he should be training at base currently with the others like Spitfire had said she was doing. He smirked slightly. "Looks like today won't be a bust after all" He said, grinning wickedly.