Chapter III: A Day in The Life
Laying back on a windowside cushion, Spitfire took another bite out of the apple she held in her hoof, staring lazily at the aerial vista of Dream Valley as a few beads of the apple’s juices dribbled down her chin. It was another one of those “do-nothing days” at the Wonderbolts Mansion when the team didn’t have practice runs, air shows, meetings or races to keep them busy, which allowed the the yellow-coated mare to sit on the “bed” by one of the building’s five two-story plate-glass windows and veg out. On days like these, much of the team usually were out running errands or going window-shopping in Canterlot, leaving Spitfire and Soarin’ behind to finish paperwork or enjoy a favorite hobby. It there wasn’t one thing to do, it was another - If the paperwork’s done, watch TV. If nothing good was on or the antenna was on the fritz, there was reading. If Soarin’ was reading the latest issue of Equestria After Dark in the bathroom for a solid half-hour, then fly around outside. If the weather was crappy, then you could try watching TV and so on and so forth. There were plenty of things to do around the mansion, thanks to the team’s income, but sometimes all the pool tables and dartboards in the world couldn’t stop such numbing boredom.
This time around, Spitfire spent her time looking out the window at Ponyville, daydreaming as she tried to see if she could see anything happening down below with her binoculars. It was an strangely comforting past-time for her, being able to look down at the little figures in the streets go about their business. It was like admiring a miniature model of town, seeing all the ordinary and out of the ordinary things happening around Ponyville with such a god-like perspective, all played out by those ant-like Equestrians. She often kept a journal with her to catalogue the occasional scene that was either beyond the realm of possibility or just simply made her chuckle. There was one really memorable moment where she saw a strong-looking red Stallion leaping around like Pinkie Pie, tied to a house he was gleefully dragging behind! That really made her day.
Briefly reminiscing about that scene, Spitfire gently placed her half-eaten apple on a nearby plate and pressed her eyes into the small end of a pair of sturdy black binoculars, taking a look at what was going around town this time. There were the usual things you’d see around Ponyville and Ponyville during mating season in this case, but there were a couple of things she found fairly interesting. Holding the binocs in her left hoof and a pencil in the other, Spitfire got out her “Observation Journal” and wrote down what she found.
May 22nd, 1003 AN, 11:34 AM. Sunny, partly cloudy. 21% humidity. 8% chance of rain. High: 89 F. Low: 71 F.
Mating Season has begun for this year in Equestria. Typical lovey-dovey stuff going on in Ponyville and Cloudsdale. Nothing really out of the ordinary.
Spotted three little fillies attempting to hang-glide at the Northwest edge of town. Looks like Cheerilee and a couple of other ponies are yelling at them. This is just too rich! Speaking of names, I don’t quite remember who those girls are, save for the orange one. What was her name again? Scout? Scooter? Agh, it’s on the tip of my tongue...
Checked out the Amusement Park in Canterlot. Couples having fun as usual. I see that one Stallion, Doctor...Damn, I forgot his name, too! Why does your memory have to be so crappy, Spitfire?! Oh well, that’s life. Looks like he’s going into this little blue booth. Never saw that when I was there. Must be an outhouse. There’s a really bright flash coming from it all of a sudden and-- It’s gone! I’ve never heard of a teleporting outhouse before! This is all too weird...
I should really check out Ponyville more often. Especially since it’s the only town around here with a really good bakery. Man, their eclairs are to die for! And it’s a place I should really head to first whenever Soarin’ has one of his occasional “eating-while-sleepwalking” episodes. Lovable weirdo...
Speaking of weird, it looks like another Changeling got caught - He’s fleeing from a mob of Ponies. That’s the third time today and it’s still morning! They must be getting desperate after the Royal Wedding last year. That was really something else.
Well, it looks like that’s about it for this morning. I guess I’ll take a break-- Hello, what’s this? Looks like Rainbow Dash is out flying again. It looks like she’s worried about something. Did something bad happen? I hope not. I would absolutely hate for something awful to happen to that sweet mare. Especially since the party’s going on tonight in Canterlot. It’s not like her to look so...anxious like that. Dad always told me it was very rude to butt into other ponies’ business, but my gut feeling tells me something’s a bit off. Oh well.
Spitfire closed the book and put down her binoculars. She always prided herself on her ability to write with good penmanship and watch something at the same time - strong hoof-eye coordination is vital for any self-respecting Wonderbolt. She contemplated the upcoming party for a couple seconds before noticing Soarin’ walk into the living room with a slice of buttered toast firmly gripped in his teeth before eating it one bite.
“Hey, Soarin’?”
“Yeah? What’s going on, Spitfire?”
Spitfire leapt down from her cushion and trotted up to her teammate. “Is the party set up yet over in Canterlot?” “Eeyup! Just about!” Soarin’ happily replied. “It’s in Ballroom C, West Wing on the fourth floor, right next door to the coat check that’s next door to Security Room 3E.” He grinned sunnily. “See, I remembered this time!”
“Heh, glad you did!” Chuckled Spitfire. Soarin’ was known for his excellent flying abilities, but not for his not-so-excellent attention span, which was shorter than his wingspan. It’s unfair and untrue to call Soarin’ stupid, since even though he was easily distracted when not in flight, he was remarkably smart, graduating from Las Pegasus University with a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautics. That, and he was a pretty sensitive guy; every now and then he’d sleep with Spitfire in the middle of the night due to anxiety-induced insomnia. Tabloids can do that to a celebrity like Soarin’. Spitfire never complained about it much, since she was a very open-minded mare. Plus it also helped her to know if he started sleepwalking or not.
“But there’s something I need to talk to you about, Soarin’...” Spitfire added.
“Oh really?” Said Soarin’. “Is there a problem or something?”
“Well, no...at least not any that I know of.” She replied, rubbing her arm with her left hoof, eyes drifting away from Soarin’. “But I am kind of worried about Rainbow Dash...”
“Really? Why is that?” Soarin’ cocked his head in confusion.
“Well...When I was looking out the window, I noticed Rainbow Dash flying off somewhere with a look of what appeared to be severe anxiety on her face. I’ve never seen her so stressed out before; it’s as if she was fearing for her very life. Now I may be overreacting a little bit and even though it was just a brief glimpse, but there was something about her expression that gave me a gut feeling that something was wrong.
“Maybe she’s nervous about the party.” Soarin’ suggested. “You know how our fans can be.”
“She can’t possibly be that nervous!” Said Spitfire. “She’s met us more than a few times before, so why would she even freak out about this?”
“Do you think there was something bad happened to her in the past that?” Asked Soarin’.
“Hmm...” Spitfire placed the tip of her hoof on her chin, trying to think. “I remember Twilight Sparkle once told me during the reception party after the wedding that Rainbow Dash has gone through a lot of bullying during her school days, leaving her with quite a few nasty memories. One particularly awful moment in her life, she said, was on the last day of High School. Apparently, a couple of bullies found her diary after school and forced her to listen to them read it out loud in front of everypony, all of them laughing at the poor filly. I asked Twilight if she knew what kind of things they said about her, but she didn’t know either. And that it was really none of my business.”
“Poor mare.” Said Soarin’, looking down, pawing at the floor with one hoof. “Nopony deserves to go through any of that...”
“I know. If that’s the case, I really wish I could help... Maybe I should go pay her a visit.” Spitfire rubbed her haunches together. “No offense, Spitfire, but I really think you should stay out of Rainbow Dash’s business...” Said Soarin’, scratching the back of his head. “You have kind of...sort of a tendency to be a bit nosy sometimes...”
Spitfire shot him an icy glare, causing the Space Wolf Grey-coated stallion to freeze up.
“And just what is wrong with feeling concern for a new recruit, exactly, Soarin’? Snapped the mare, her face turning a light shade of carmine.
“Oh! Uhh...*sniff* Nothing! Nothing at all!” Soarin’ the stallion stammered. “It’s just that...she may need to have a bit of personal space, since she may be in hea-” Soarin’s words stopped dead in their tracks as his eyes flung wide open in realization.
“What is it?” Spitfire asked.
“You don’t...” Soarin’ said, starting to sweat.
“I don’t what?”
“You don’t think Rainbow Dash being so anxious may have something to do with it being the start of mating season, do you?”
Spitfire’s mood began to change from irritable to surprised. “Soarin’, are you saying that...Rainbow Dash has a crush on me?” She said, blushing brighter.
“Well...she did save our lives...” Said Soarin’. “...and the life of my pie. Plus, she always to be especially interested in you.”
“Just because I’m her hero and her idol doesn’t mean she’s...my crush- Err, I mean...that I am her crush...” Sputtered Spitfire, looking a bit flustered. “I don’t even know if she’s even interested in mares!”
“You’ll never know...” Soarin’ shrugged, saying those words with a snarky tone of voice.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?!” Said Spitfire in a raised voice.
“Oh nothing!” Soarin’ quipped smugly, walking down towards the nearest hallway. “I’m just saying that her feeling towards you may be...mutual...” The stallion sniggered before bolting down the corridor gleefully like a mischievous colt that just ended somepony’s window pane with a well-aimed slingshot.
“Grrr, you get back here!!” Snarled Spitfire, leering at the hallway Soarin’ ran down like an angry guard dog. Abandoning her aggressive posture, the mare let out a heavy, exhausted sigh before sauntering off to her bedroom door at the opposite end of the hall.
“Maybe she does have a crush on me...” She said to herself before slipping past the wooden door to her cozy bedroom. “Phew...Why is it so hot in here?”