Canterlot - Hospital
Soarin' sighed, his blank gaze fixated on an old newspaper held loosely in his hooves. He had picked it up seemingly hours earlier, only to never read past the front page, he did not need to. The image of Yellowjacket being taken out of his own home with a beaten-up face was enough to tell him what happened. He looked to his side to see Spitfire asleep in the chair next to him, while another pony sat across from them, apparently it was one of Orion's Friends from the Guard. Rust Rider. All of them had come to the hospital to check on Orion after he was taken in for the stab wound.
Slipping off the chair, Soarin' grunted as he stretched the stiff muscles in his wings and back. He held the stretch for several long moments before he relaxed with a satisfied sigh. With nothing else to do, Soarin' began to pace around, mindful to keep his steps quiet for Spitfire.
A worried frown pulled at his lips as he turned his attention to her. Even while asleep, he could see the pain etched across her face. He could only imagine how bad it must have hurt for her to see somepony she cared about getting hurt like that.
Soarin’s wings fidgeted against his sides, his feathers quivering with barely restrained energy. He trotted back to his chair and forced himself to sit back down. He ruffled his mane with a hoof and took a series of deep breaths to calm down.
“How the hay am I gonna deal with this” he pondered aloud.
"You and I both" Rust spoke up, looking to Soarin "Orion told me a bit about you two, especially her" He said motioning to Spitfire with his head.
"Yea...Orions a nice guy, he and Spitfire really have been hitting it off" Soarin said.
Rust smiled at that "Yeah...when he told me he was living with her it took me by surprise, but I have to say. He has been in a really good mood for the time he has spent with her. I haven't seen him this happy before."
"I'm uh...sorry that you are having to go through with this. I realize his position in the guard is special, and it can't be easy having him absent" Soarin said, scratching the back of his head.
Rust waved Soarin' off with a hoof "Nah it not that big of a deal work-wise, Guards are injured all the time, and we have ponies who fill in the positions until they can return to active duty" Rust said "If anything I'm just worried about him in general. I didn't expect him to take the full force of a knife."
"Yea...when Spit told me what he did that took me off guard" He said "He doesn't seem like the type of pony to take risks like that."
"Oh trust me, Orion is like that" Rust said chuckling "You should have seen him in his early days, felt like he was always in the medical wing for getting injured because of some fight he got into with a perp."
"You sure we are talking about the same pony? The Stallion doesn't look like he could hurt a fly."
"Orion may be a softie when it comes to being around others, but he didn't become Captain from being soft. He has had his fair share of moments where he risked himself to protect others." Rust said "He is a very respectable stallion, and I'm glad to be his right hoof"
There was a pair of hoofsteps, which startled the two from their conversation, as well as waking up Spitfire who yawned as she looked over the corner. A small unicorn trotted through the threshold, her light coat mostly hidden under her teal surgical scrubs. Her mane having colors of Orange and Cyan on them, with duel-colored eyes to match.
“Good afternoon, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting so long. I’m Nurce. Twolace, a pleasure to meet you both,” she introduced himself, a kind smile on her lips.
“Soarin,” Rapid said, offering the mare his hoof, which the doctor quickly shook. “Nice to meet you.”
“Heya, nurce,” Spitfire said, "how's it hanging?"
Twolace smirked from the relaxed comment, she was used to more... uncooperative patients. “Well enough, I suppose. So here's the deal. Your friend isn't in too bad of a shape, the blade luckily didn't hit any major arteries or organs." She said, looking to her clipboard "However he will still need to stay here for a good few days, just in case there are any issues after the minor surgery. So are there any other questions?"
Spitfire, Soarin, and Rust all exchanged a quick glance before shaking their heads in tandem.
“Alright then, the nurses will be by in a few minutes to take you up to his room.” She said, smiling as she turned to go and attend to a different pony.
Spitfire sighed, her head resting against the chair and a resigned look settling over her face. When she spoke her tone was quiet, though nopony could miss the sadness in her words. “Hey, Soarin?”
“Yeah?”
“I need you to do me a favor while I’m here with Orion.”
“Name it.”
“You have Wonderbolts letterhead at your place, right?” she asked looking him in the eye.
“Yeah...” he answered, not liking where this conversation was heading.
“If you could bring me some, I’d appreciate it.” Spitfire said quietly.
“What for?” he asked, dread building in his chest.
"Knowing Yellowjacket, once he gets the chance to post bail, he will unleash all the info he has on every pony he has ever blackmailed. I'm not gonna let him one-up me again." She said "I'm going to make a formal announcement telling everypony I'm dating Orion."
“What?!” Soarin' balked "Spitfire you realize the moment this gets public you and Orion's life with both change? You two will literally be stalked by media 24/7, you will never get a break."
"I have to agree with Soarin' on this ma'am...as much as that action is thoughtful and no doubt comes from a place of love. It will change both your lives forever...once you make it public there's no going back." Rust said.
"I'm aware...and honestly I think Orion is too." Spitfire said "I won't fill out anything unless he agrees but either way I'm doing something."
Exhaling a deep breath, Soarin' nodded and sat back in the chair closing his eyes and allowing himself a moment of relaxation. “Somedays I wonder why I didn’t retire,” he mumbled to the ceiling tiles.
"You and me both" Spitfire said, smirking slightly, only causing Soarin' to smirk back.
"So uh...pardon me for asking Miss. Spitfire but...what exactly happened at Yellowjacket's Mansion?" Rust asked. "The papers haven't really gone into much detail."
Spitfire scoffed in irritation, sighing softly "We had gone to Yellowjacket to force him to quit his Blackmail Business, we told him about the tape we had of him and that we would turn him into the princess's, next thing we know he locks us in the room and has us at knife point" she said.
Both stallions looked at her with slight awe. Hearing how quickly things had turned was something unexpected. "Damn Spit...that's...a lot to take in" Soarin' said, pushing a hoof through his mane. "So...I assume Yellowjacket is done this time?" He asked.
"I wish it were that simple" Rust said crossing his hoofs "He can 100% be charged for the attempted murder, but he has a lot of resources. He will try his damn best to get out of the Blackmail charges, and if what you're saying it true? He may try to get you and Orion charged with the same thing."
"What?!" Spitfire yelled "That's bullshit! We didn't blackmail him!"
"That's true yes...but by all technicality it does look like it from an outside point of view; You went to his house, showed him something that could ruin his life, and also forced him to do something due to having said something."
"So what, you're telling me Spitfire and Orion could get charged with that?" Soarin' asked.
"Potentially, but we have no idea until the court date happens" Rust said. "Until then we don't have too mutch to worry about."
"Right...what could possibly go wrong..." Spitfire mumbled softly.
Spitfire’s comments were cut off as a pair of earth pony nurses trotted into the room. The first mare wore a set of light blue scrubs with a cheerful floral pattern, the second wore plain scrubs dyed a maroon color and trimmed with a deep blue. Both smiled cheerfully to the ponies.
“Are we all set?” the floral mare asked. "We have made sure your friend is in good condition and aware of you all being here."
"Yes, we are ready" Rust said, looking to the two Wonderbolts. hoping that this will be something that could be avoided in the future. The last thing he wanted was for Orion to suffer more, and for the Wonderbolts to go through more struggle as well.
Spitfire was vaguely aware of passing by other ponies in the halls and being ushered through the hallways just off of the surgical suites. Like almost every hospital, the walls had been painted a neutral tan color. The floor was assembled from large white tiling set into charcoal-colored grout. Soon the ponies would be lead to Orion's Room. Walking into it, they would see a pair of hibiscus plants that were placed in the corners of the room both bearing blooming red flowers. The plants flanked a couch long enough to seat four ponies. Its soft green cushions offered a fair level of comfort for the countless ponies that were forced to wait in the room for news of their loved ones.
Orion's ears twitched as he turned to face the door, smiling as he saw the ponies walk in "Hay guys, nice to see all of you" He said.
Soarin would go to sit on the corner of the couch, his eyes fixed on the cold tile floor. The wall clock ticked the seconds away like a metronome, though Soarins barely noticed. His mind replayed Spitfire’s request over and over again. He couldn’t believe things had come to this, all because of one mistake.
“So are you supposed to be up and about already?” Spitfire asked, his eyes taking in the stallion before her. “If so that is an awful outfit.”
Orion chuckled softly, smerking. “I’m supposed to walk around as much as I can; they don’t want me to get a clot which apparently could happen. As to the jacket, it is standard issue for the hospital” Orion replied.
“So why aren’t you plugged back into the baggy?” Rust asked "Here I thought I'd be able to make jokes about you being a robot" He said, smirking.
"Hahaha very funny" Orion said sarcastically "You and I both know I don't need a baggy, that's for serious surgeries."
"So then, everything is ok?" Spitfire asked, walking up to him.
"Yeah don't worry Spits. Im going to be ok" Orion said, blushing slightly.
"So this is what you deal with regularly then?" Rust mumbled to Soarin, who had snapped out of his trance a few seconds ago.
"Ohhh yeah" He said smirking.
"So uh...Orion do you mind if we talk about something?" Spitfire asked.
"Yeah sure... what's up?"
"Look...its no shock that when Yellowjacket posts bail, he will out what happened, and more importantly the stuff he has on me and you" She said, Orion nodding slowly as his ears pinned down
"Yeah I know...but I'm prepared to deal with it."
"Good, because I want to make an official statement" Spitfire said. "Orion...would you be my Coltfriend?" She asked, blushing softly. Which only caused the white pegasus to go fully red.
"I-I...y-you mean it?" Orion asked, in shock from the sudden question. He could feel his heart rate speeding up slightly, even the beeping machine could tell him that.
"Yes I do...I want to make it official" She said "Sooner we do? The less Yellowjacket can throw on us. So...what do you say?"
Orion just stared at her for a moment "Just shut up and kiss me Spit" He said, which immediately was followed by the mare wrapping her hoofs around him and pulling him into a kiss, which caused Rust and Soarin to blush slightly and awkwardly overt their gaze to the two. Soon the kiss would stop and the two of them smiled at each other.
Canterlot Castle
Celestia and Luna were sharing their evening tea together, going over which petitioners had been delayed, so Luna would need to see them first, during her night court.
A 24-hour court wasn’t easy to manage, but they’d had millennia of practice before Luna’s little ‘Nightmare Moon’ incident.
A green flame wisped in through the window, coalescing into a scroll in front of Celestia. “It is a bit late for a report, dost thou not think, ‘Tia?” Luna asked, looking in confusion at the scroll.
Celestia nodded before reading its contents, and carefully settling the scroll down like it was a venomous snake.
“Luna dear, you recall the Council Pony Yellowjacket correct?" Celestia asked carefully; Luna furrowed her brows, curious, at the change in topic that must have been prompted by whatever was written.
"We do yes...we recall him being a pony who was rather full of himself at times, however he did show us we could put faith in him as the Council Pony of Air."
"Yes...well it seems he has just been arrested for the attempted murder of the Wonderbolt Captian as well as the Captian of My Guard."
"Sir Orion?!" Luna shouted, pushing herself out of her seat. "This can't be! Why would he do something like this?!"
"I am not certain Luna..." She said softly.
"I think we should go to see your captain. Get his statement and get to the bottom of this" Luna said.
"I agree...this matter should be fully looked into."
Canterlot - Hospital
If there was one thing Orion hated it was the feeling of being useless. Perhaps that was why, he mused, the fates had cursed him to lay in an uncomfortable hospital bed, with nothing to do, and even less to distract him. It was enough to drive a pony to madness, even with the long naps he generally took when he got pain medicine.
Still, perhaps the only silver lining to her situation was the time it allowed him to spend with Spitfire. He smiled softly as he watched her look out of the window. The mare in question then looked back at him. “What?” she asked, a knowing grin on her lips.
"Nothing...just...admiring you" He said.
"Oh my Celestia you are so corny it's adorable" She said chuckling.
"Oh come on, I can't be all corny and sweet with you?" He asked.
"Never said you couldn't you dork" She said, walking up to him and giving him a slight nuzzle. "Still... you're corny as hell..."
"I...read way too many romance novels" He said, blushing as he scratched the back of his head softly.
"And this, is why I find you adorable" She said, smirking as she booped his snoot. Causing the stallion to only blush more.
“I love you,” Orion whispered, his exhausted body dragging his mind.
Spitfire blushed softly, the mare having not heard those words in so long...and hearing it from Orion was almost like a dream come true. “I love you too.” She said, smiling softly. she then shot a mischievous look at the pegasus and sucked in a quick breath before blowing a very loud raspberry on Orion’s cheek.
“Ahh!” Orion squealed as he flailed against Spitfire’s iron grip, “No-noooo-nooooo! Ahahaha! Stop-stop-stop, staaahahahahaaap!”
Spitfire did not stop, at least not until she laughed so hard she snorted. Orion seized on the opportunity, slipping free of Spitfire’s grasp and got off the bed. Spitfire sat up, still giggling and wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. The moment she lowered her hoof, a fluffy green pillow hit her right in the face with a loud 'fwomp'.
Spitfire yelped, her limbs flailing wildly as she fell over from the dastardly sneak attack. The sound of Orion's boisterous laughter filled Spitfire’s ears. Pulling the pillow off her face, Spitfire glared at Orion. The weather manager stuck her tongue out “That's cheating!” Spitfire said with mock disdain, her lips spread into a bright smile.
“All’s fair in love and war!” Orion shot back, laughing as he walked back to the bed to look to Spitfire "You know...I never imagined that I'd be able to spend time with you like this ever again." He said "Up until we reunited at the cafe I didn't even think id talk with you until a class reunion or something"
"Well...I'm glad I was there that day. Because I wouldn't miss seeing your face for the world." She said softly, before there was a knock at the door, Orion stepping away from the mare for a moment to look at who was coming in. Seeing that it was Rust he relaxed slightly.
"Hay what's up?" He asked, noticing the papers in Rust's hand.
"Hay...so uh.." the stallion spoke, his tone that of sorrow and worry. "I was collecting your mail and I saw you got a letter from the bank about your parent's house" He said.
Orion gulped slightly, ears pinning back behind him "...its bad isn't it"
Rust sighed softly "They said you can buy it out from the bank...but the money they are asking for...Orion if you did this you'd basically be short of being in debt. You might get the house but you would lose it in a matter of months"
"Mother Plucker..." Orion said softly, looking down to the floor. Suddenly he heard movement, and a hoof reaching out to him.
"I'll help pay for it." Spitfire said.
Both stallions looked to her in shock. "W-wh- no Spitfire you cant, I don't want-"
"Shut up and listen. I've seen how much you care for ponies, you risk your own life for others, risk your personal life to be with a mare whom you haven't even seen for 22 years, as well as help out the Wonderbolts who you don't even know all too well." She said. "It's about time somepony return that favor...and as your Marefriend I'm giving you that favor now. I will help to buy the house, and we can move into it. Together"
"Y-your serious? You want to move in with me?" He asked.
"Yea I'm sure, plus I can just give my house to Rapid. He lives in my folk's house right now and he could use a place to himself." She said smiling.
"Spitfire...I-...I don't know what to say" Orion said, tears forming in his eyes.
"For starters how about you stop being a big ol crybaby and hug me" She said, sighing softly as she opened her arms and wings to take in Orion, who immediately went in for the hug.
Rust rolled his eyes as he smiled "Alright you two lovebirds, while I love seeing the two of you being happy, there is another reason I'm here." He said "The Princess's contacted the HQ...there coming here"
"Sorry what-" Orion immediately snapped his head looking to Rust.
"The Princess's are coming to visit you Orion. They want to ask questions regarding Yellowjacket."
Spitfire looked between the two, she knew that this was official guard business so she decided to stand up and head to the door. "I'm...just going to let you two do your thing. I'm hungry anyway and I need lunch. I'll come back in a bit ok?"
"Alright..." Orion said, nodding softly at Spitfire as she left the room.
With a heavy sigh, Spitfire's stomach growled, momentarily distracting Spitfire from her thoughts. Twisting her head, she got a look at the clock hanging on the wall. To her surprise, it was already well past noon. She really should eat lunch...A quick ride downstairs and the Wonderbolt makes the short trek to the hospital cafeteria. There were few ponies in the line at the time, and she was grateful none of them paid her more than a passing glance. Ordering a hayburger, fries, and a large soda, Spitfire paid and took her receipt in her teeth to find a table.
Grey industrial carpet covered the floor of the dining room, which had seats for roughly seventy-five ponies. Fake trees and ferns were placed in various places to lend a more natural setting and put patients and their families at ease; Spitfire thought they looked tacky. She would quietly eat her lunch as she then caught the sight of a familiar-looking pony.
"Spitfire" The pony said, walking up to her. He was a dark blue pony with a white mane and tail, he was covered in scars.
"Thunder Colt...I-...wow I didn't expect to see you here"
"Yeah well...I'm here on official duties" He said, flashing a police badge to her "Canterlot Police Department. Been working in it for a good few years now"
"That's...really good to hear man" She said "Im...honestly surprised, I didn't expect to see you ever again or even see you of all ponies as a police officer"
"Yeah...funny how things change huh?" He said chuckling. "I actually am glad I ran into you...after all these years thinking back to the academy, I was a real asshole to you and Prysm." He said, Spitfire raising a brow as he spoke "It was unfair to you two for how I acted, and more importantly how I was targeting you two. I hope you can forgive me."
"Hay, its no problem Thunder...that was the past and things change you know?" She said smiling. "Honestly I'm more happy to see that you turned your life around and that your doing something your clearly good at"
Thunder smiled softly "Anyway, I didn’t want to interrupt you eating...I do hope you have a good day" He said, tipping his hat to her.
"You as well Thunder" Spitfire nodded.
After lunch, Spitfire took the elevator back up to Orion’s floor, with her belly full she felt much better. A smile grew over her face the closer she got to Orion’s room. Knocking on the door, Spitfire waited a moment before Rust pulled it open. His cautious look quickly replaced with a kind smile.
“Ahh, Spitfire, come in!” He motioned her through with a hoof.
“Thanks,” she said as she passed, “how is... oh...”
Her words died on her lips as she registered the two alicorns in the room. Celestia regarded her with a polite nod and a kind smile, while Luna eyed her with a calculating gaze. Orion twisted his head to see who had come in, a tired smile pulling at his lips when he saw Spitfire.
“Hey, Spitfire.”
“H-hey, Orion,” she mumbled, her brain stalling for a minute before remembering it was considered rude not to bow before the princesses.
“Good afternoon, Captain,” Celestia greeted Spitfire. "How are you holding up?"
“Good, your majesty.”
“That’s good to hear” Celestia said.
“Sh-should I come back later?” Spitfire asked, her eyes flicking nervously from Celestia to Luna.
“It is quite alright,” Celestia said as she gave Orion her familiar kind smile. “We were just speaking to Orion, and since you were apparently with him, we may as well take your words in as well.”
"As you wish ma'am" She said, walking over to the bed to be aside Orion.
"So Captian...we were hoping to ask you what happened at Yellowjacket's mansion, and why he apparently tried to kill you and Spitfire." Luna spoke up.
"Right.." Orion said, ears pinning back. Celestia and Luna waited patiently for Orion to elaborate. Taking a steadying breath, he laid his head back before speaking.
"It came to my attention that The Wonderbolts had been mistreated by Yellowjacket after Spitfire confided in me some of the things he was saying and doing, and after some research that I did, as well as other events happening in a case I was working with Rust. We found out Yellowjacket was running an Underground Blackmail business. Which he was using to control ponies and make them do what he wanted, as well as rig the elections for Council Pony so he could stay in charge." Orion lightly thumped his head against the pillow. "Me and Spitfire had gathered audio of him doing this to Spitfire and we confronted him with the evidence, to which he then saw us as a liability. So he tried to remove us from the equation."
Spitfire nodded softly "It's true...we had gone there to make sure he would stop his business...he had effectively run the bolts morel to an all-time low, and sent Rainbow Dash into a depressive spiral when he had an article published on her and her wife.
Celestia took in the words, she looked to Luna who all but had a scowel on her face “I thank you for your honesty, Captain Snow yours as well Captian Spitfire.”
The tired guard managed a nod. “What happens now?”
Luna’s face contorted in anger, her left eye twitching noticeably. “That insolent—”
Celestia quickly lifted her right hoof up in front of Luna to silence the younger mare’s anger, Not that she could blame her sister for the outburst. She too felt anger and betrayal after hearing of this news. Repressing another sigh, she slowly shook her head. It seemed as though she wasn’t quite the actress she fancied herself to be anymore, as even she was having a hard time controlling her emotions.
"We will set a trial for Yellowjacket so he may face his crimes." Celestia said "We will obviously need all your notes and anything you have on this...underground blackmail business."
"Of course ma'am" Orion said.
“What do you mean, Tia?” Luna asked, her brows furrowing together in anger and confusion. "We have all but a confession from Sir Orion. Why do we waste our time with a trivial matter such as a trial?"
"Because Sister...guilty or not, he still has the right to a fair trial." Celestia explained. "I understand your anger, but you need to calm down."
“I am quite calm!” Luna insisted. “I simply need to know why thoust—”
“Language, Luna.”
Luna groaned. “Why you are taking such measures?”
Celestia took a deep breath, a faint sadness passing over her face. “As silly as this might sound, Luna, I just don’t want to show the citizens of Equestria that we can do whatever we want. We have our laws and rules for a reason, and while we have our rights as rulers to occasionally bypass them. This is a matter that could affect the entire country."
Luna sighed, rubbing at her eyes with a hoof. "Very well Tia...I understand."
"Is there anything else you need from us?" Spitfire asked.
"I believe that is all we need...but should we require anything else we will send for you two" Celestia said, smiling "And we will also make sure that you two get some alone time as well" The Alicorn said with a wink, sending both Pegasi into a blush.
Celestia gave the couple a kind smile. "We shall speak soon."
With a brilliant flash of golden light, Celestia and Luna vanished from the room. Only dust-like embers of her magic remained, fading like embers from a fire. Orion sighed, his head resting on the pillows.
"I cannot wait to get out of this damn room" Orion said mumbling.
"Hay don't worry, I'm not going to be leaving your side" Spitfire said, nuzzling him softly.
Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Orion nuzzled against Spitfire. “I love you.”
Spitfire smiled. “I love you too.”