Sweet N' Spicy

by Shahrazad


Sweet N' Spicy Redux chapter 7

Written by: Shahrazad
Edited by: Conantheimp

Sweet N’ Spicy Redux: Chapter 7

~~~~~

“Wait, she knew?  Why didn’t you tell me?”  Dash’s lips formed the cutest pout.  He couldn’t help but try to kiss them again.  She stopped him with a hoof and pushed him roughly away.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”  She repeated.

“I didn’t get the chance.  After the exercise your friends hogged all of your time.  Then you were in Spitfire’s office and I figured she would spell it out for you.  I guess she didn’t want to overload you.  Then you got your promotion to lead pony and you had to spend the rest of the day with the other cadets and your friends.  When should I have interrupted?  When your friends were hugging you or while the other cadets were giving you hoof bumps?”

Dash looked sheepish, “Now that you mention it, Spitfire did say something about cleaning up my mess.  I wasn’t a-hundred percent sure she knew about us and I didn’t want to confirm anything.  Plus I had a few other things on my mind.”

Soarin chuckled, “I can imagine.”

“So...you’re supposed to help me?”  Dash squirmed a bit more, the cloud underneath her subtly shifting.  “I have to come up with a training plan for the other cadets.  How much time do you have today to help me?”  She wore a warm smile and her eyes slowly were growing wider.

“All day today.  Spitfire set up the schedule at the last minute so I get today off.  How much time did she give you?”

“Just one day.  I figured I would run through the exercises myself to make sure they’re ok.  If it’s my training plan I’ll have to demonstrate it first.  I want to make sure it’s something I can do perfectly.  And the opinion of another Wonderbolt is going to help.”  A sultry look crept into her face.

Soarin’s heart rate started to rise but he looked pained.  “Only one day?  That’s not much time and here I thought she had given both of us a day off to work things out.”  Soarin looked pensive for a moment.  “I think I know what she’s doing.  She wants me to help you make a training plan.  She wants to see if we can work together without our feelings getting in the way of actual work.”  He looked at her again with a tired smile, “This isn’t going to be easy.  I might have a hard time giving you an honest critique.”

Dash looked at him with a mischievous grin.  “Then I guess we’d better get started...NOW!”  She had slowly slipped her wings into the cloud like a pair of knife blades.  With a single powerful beat she pulled them apart and tore a hole in the cloud.  Soarin wasn’t ready for it and before he knew it, air was tearing at his face and blowing his mane and wings back.  He fumbled with his goggles while his wings flailed about uselessly.

She was more than ready for the sudden drop.  She was airborne and circled above him.  She hovered with a hoof on each hip waiting for him to recover.  Just as he got his goggles strapped over his eyes and his wings made the first useful flap she called to him.  “Not much of a recovery for a Wonderbolt.  I’ll bet you can’t even catch a cadet in the middle of her flight.”  She still had that mischievous grin and she took off towards a group of clouds leaving a rainbow streak behind her.

He laughed, “I’ll get you.  I’m a Wonderbolt, you’re not getting away from me.”  He had to slow his descent and by the time he did she had a healthy lead.  He’d won races before.  He pushed himself to fly as fast as he could when he trained and even faster during a derby.  It was a shame Spitfire wasn’t there to witness his speed today.  His form was a bit sloppy but his speed was superb.  Dash darted behind the first cloud and he followed the vanishing rainbow trail as quickly as he could.

She spun four clouds before shooting off towards a mountain range.  He followed her trail, making the clouds whirl into sculpted forms as he spun them himself.  She glanced back and grit her teeth, you’re not going to outshine me!  She shot past a snowcapped mountain, blowing snow off of the top like dandelion seeds.  He followed through the dusting of snowflakes blown off the mountaintop in Rainbow’s turbulent wake.  She flew high while her head weaved this way and that looking for something.  He was gaining on her.  Just as he caught the first whiff of something spicy she changed direction too quickly.  He couldn’t match it with his speed and he darted past her trail.  He huffed and with a powerful beat surged towards her while she put more distance between them.

She dove into a chasm, weaving through the tight turns.  A blue river rushed below them but he kept his eyes on the prize.  The canyon narrowed but he was getting closer.  She kept weaving left and right following the canyon, he lost sight of her several times for a few moments, but each time she came back into view she was closer: she was losing speed.  He was close to her as she rounded a corner, he could almost reach out and grab hold of her hind hooves.  His eyes were focused on her flank when she banked to the left in a hairpin turn.  He took the turn with plenty of speed.  “I’ve got you-,” he slapped into the canyon wall.  His vision went blurry and he tumbled down the wall bruising himself several times.  He recovered quickly this time, a good thing since he had to dodge a few rocks that had shaken loose from his impact.

She was far above him laughing, “Don’t watch my flank too much, flyboy.”  She took off again.  He chased her again into the wild blue yonder.  She dove into a massive white cloud.  He circled around above it looking for her.  She had to exit at some point.

There she is.  He spotted her as she popped out of the far side.  She dove at a dark cloud and picked up speed.  A shock front began to form in front of her.  Soarin was too far behind her to stay in her draft.  He tried to keep up but she was pouring on the speed.  The dark cloud was rapidly approaching.  She hit it at just the right time.

BOOM

Thunder, lightning, and color exploded out of the black mass.  Soarin couldn’t see past the chaotic display, it was like looking into the a setting sun reflecting off of the ocean.  He closed his eyes and pressed on.  All around him was nothing but sound and light.  He pressed his ears against his head.  Where did she go?  He was flying so fast and he was getting tired.  He gasped for air.  He smiled.

Rainbow Dash looked around.  Far behind her the remains of the thundercloud drifted away.  She slowed down.  A sonic rainboom always took it out of her.  Did I over do it?  She was flying slowly looking for Soarin.  He wasn’t below or behind her.  He wasn’t to the left or right.  She had only the tiniest warning before Soarin dropped out of the sky.  “Hey-!”

He tackled her with both forehooves.  They wrapped around her barrel and pinned both of her wings as they tumbled down.  He guided their decent to a small fluffy white cloud.  She squirmed as they fell.  They both hit the cloud with a soft whump.  She landed on her back, the two of them face to face.  He almost shouted with triumph, “Now I’ve got you right-”

“-Where I want you.”  She pressed her lips to his.  It happened so fast.  Maybe it was the confusion of the last few minutes, or maybe it was because he was tired.  But in a flash he found it was he on his back while she ran hooves through his mane.  His forelegs found her cutie marks again and this time she didn’t push him away.  A minute passed.  Then another.  She finally backed away from him just enough to break the kiss.  He arched his head forward for more but she stopped him with a hoof.

“I still have to actually write that training plan.”  She said with a sultry look.  He looked at her and smiled.

“Right I almost forgot.”  He glanced at the sun, it was sinking towards the horizon much too fast.  It wasn’t fair, the day was coming to an end instead of freezing for the two of them.

She giggled at him.  “Oh?  Why would that be?”

He snorted but still grinned, “This dumb cadet is distracting me.  Making me chase her.  Wait a minute.  Wasn’t I the one chasing you a minute ago?”

She barked out a short laugh, “Oh Soarin you have so much to learn about mares.”

He snorted again, “I’m older than you.”

She traced little circles into his chest with a hoof and sighed.  “Yeah but that’s stallion years.  That’s like, half when it comes to mare years.  So really, I’m older than you.”  He sniffed a few times inching closer to her mane when she spoke again, “How did you find me?  I thought I had lost you after that sonic rainboom.”

He blushed, “I just followed my nose.”

She sniffed her own hoof and heat flowed into her ears.  She decided to change topics, “Were you really going to give up the Wonderbolts?  Just for me?”

“In a heartbeat.”

Her lower lip began to quiver and her face scrunched up.  Little tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes as she sniffed back even more.  She arched her back away from him and wiped the tears away.  He smiled when she opened her eyes again.  “Well that deserves a very special reward.”  The look she gave him sent a little shudder down his spine.  She pressed her nose to his and shifted her wings again.  They dipped into the cloud.  A nervous flash raced across Soarin’s face but instead of dropping into the sky they were slowly enveloped by fluffy whiteness.

He was surrounded by white.  He could trace her outline with a hoof.  He had her voice, her look, her size, her shape, all committed to memory.  And he could smell something like cinnamon with a hint of sugar.  For some reason, it wasn’t until now that the smell etched itself into his memory.  I finally know it all.  He thought to himself.  He found himself a little disappointed.  It wasn’t until this moment that he realized a bit of mystery was important.  She ran a hoof down his flank.  He shuddered and realized there was so much more to her than what he had committed to memory.  I have so much more to discover.  His smile grew wide as his limbs set out to do just that.

~~~~~

The next morning...

Thunk...thunk...thunk

Spitfire was trying to relax with a cup of coffee.  She was displeased with the cadet’s results.  Except for Rainbow Dash, each and every one of them had a long way to go before they could be Wonderbolts.  And she expected Dash to do more than just make the cut.  She glanced over her aviator glasses to check how far Soarin had gone.  He was nearing the end of her nearly inexhaustible supply of paperwork.  She could have done some of it herself but she needed to review the cadets progress reports and Dash’s new training regimen.  Where is she?  I’m too busy to wait around for a cadet to get off of her lazy flank and...

Knock knock knock

“Enter and state your business.”  The door opened and Dash stood in the doorway already decked out in her cadet uniform ready for the day.

“I have something to say to you ma’am.”  She spoke with a crisp professional tone.  She took two steps into the office and stood there with a tiny smile as she looked at Soarin.  His ears had flicked forward and he leaned back to look at her.

“Close the door or leave.”

“Uh, yes ma’am.”  Dash gently bucked the door closed with one hind hoof.  Once it clicked shut the two started to smile at each other, they couldn’t help it.  Soarin just looked at her without moving, the quill hovering over a blank form.

“I don’t hear the scratching of a quill or the thump of a stamp hitting paper.  So my paperwork must be finished.”  Spitfire said without looking up from the report in front of her.  Soarin’s smile vanished as he fumbled for the stamp.

Thunk-thunk-thunk

“That’s what I thought.”  Spitfire sighed.  These two are just too easily distracted with each other, she thought.  Fear crept up her spine.  I’ve already lost Lightning Dust.  If I lose Soarin it will damage the Wonderbolts today.  If I lose Dash it will damage the Wonderbolts tomorrow.  She set down her coffee but couldn’t retrieve her hoof.  It was suddenly pulled straight with little kisses being placed on it.  She looked up to find Dash had grabbed her hoof with her head bowed.  Dash was kissing her hoof as if she were wearing a royal horseshoe.  She jerked her hoof back, “Compose yourself.  Honestly...”  Spitfire rolled her eyes.

“Thank you...so much ma’am.  I won’t let you down ever.  I’ll show you just how loyal I can be.  I’ll meet your every expectation, I promise.”  Dash wasn’t crying yet but Spitfire could see just how close she was to starting the waterworks.

“What I expect of a leader is to stay cool and composed even when things get tense.”  Spitfire fixed Dash a look from behind her lenses, her face a perfectly composed mask.

Dash sniffed once and swallowed with her eyes closed.  She straightened up and opened her eyes with a salute.  “Yes ma’am.  I will stay composed ma’am.”  Dash’s expression reflected Spitfire’s and for once she felt confident.

“I take it lover boy over there explained everything to you yesterday.”  Spitfire pointed with a hoof at Soarin who didn’t look up but continued to work through the pile of papers.  He was smiling but didn’t dare stop working.

“Yes ma’am.  I understand everything ma’am.  I know I’m on thin ice and can’t make any mistakes.  I won’t let you down.”  Dash kept her cool and her eyes forward as Spitfire stood and paced around her watching for any reaction.

“Oh I don’t think you know everything.  Because of some meddling pony and a slow news cycle, even more is riding on you.”  Spitfire tapped a hoof on a letter sitting face down on her desk.  Dash blinked and reached for it.  “Not so fast cadet.”  Spitfire held out a hoof.  “I want to see your report.”

“Yes ma’am, right away ma’am.”  Dash hoofed over her new training plan.  She and Soarin had worked on it late into the night.  His input had been invaluable.  Spitfire took it and sat again with her coffee while she began to read.  Dash took the letter off of the desk.  The two stole a glance at each other but she sat down with the letter and began to read it.  For the next few minutes the only sounds in the office were those coming from the hoof stamp as he worked through the stack.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes scanned the letter.  She and Spitfire finished at roughly the same time.  Each looked up at the other.  Spitfire seemed content but Dash’s brow furrowed and her mouth was slightly open.  “Um, I’m not sure what to make of this ma’am.  Congratulations I guess.  You’re speaking with the Diarchs about the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.  What does that have to do with me?”

Spitfire’s smile grew wolfish.  “Oh you didn’t know?  There’s this new cadet at the Wonderbolts academy that’s a filly fooler.”  Dash’s eyes began to grow wide.  “So in additional to all of your other responsibilities if any journalist asks you will neither confirm nor deny that you are a filly fooler.”

Dash sputtered, “But...If I say that everypony in Equestria will just assume I am a filly fooler.”

Spitfire chuckled, “I know.  That’s the beauty of it.”

Dash gulped as a cold pit formed in her stomach.  She spoke quietly, “Yes ma’am I’ll do as you ask.  But...why?”

“Two reasons: The first reason is obvious.  If everypony thinks you’re a filly fooler it will throw off any suspicion between you and flyboy over there.  Second: somepony has been trying to manipulate things so that you get into the Wonderbolts.  Either I accept you as a filly fooler or else I’m going to be seen as a bigot.  I will not allow the reputation of the Wonderbolts to be sullied under any circumstances.”

Soarin looked up and spoke for the first time.  “Fleur.”

Spitfire stopped and turned her head slowly in his direction.  “What. Did. You. Say?”

“Fleur, she’s the one who’s trying to manipulate you, boss.  I don’t have any proof but...I don’t know who else would do it.”  Soarin gulped as he watched Spitfire grind her teeth.  She drained the rest of her black coffee in one gulp and set down the empty mug with a sigh.

“I’ll let you two deal with that as well.  Keep your ex-marefriend out of our business.”  Spitfire grumbled.  She pushed the aviator glasses up her nose.  “Cadet, repeat after me: ‘I will neither confirm nor deny that I am a filly fooler.’”

Dash paused while Spitfire looked at her expectantly.  She sighed as her eyes and wings drooped.  “I will neither confirm nor deny that I am a filly fooler.”

“Good.  You keep doing what you’re doing.  And you keep your mouth shut and your head down.  We just might get out of this little mess without anypony the wiser.  If you make the cut everything will be alright.  You’ll still have to keep your relationship secret.  And don’t play up the filly fooler angle.  That sort of thing can be a black mark on your career.  I’m hoping it will all blow over after the next news cycle anyway.  Since you know what I plan to do and how far you are likely to rise in the Wonderbolts, I’m going to push you even harder.  And I don’t want to get any lip.  Got me?”

Dash flared her wings and stood at her full height.  She spoke with confidence, “Yes ma’am.  You can count on me.”  She felt alive but at the same time she felt the full weight of the responsibilities on her back.  There was so much more than just her dream on the line.

Spitfire trotted towards the door and opened it.  “Well?  Aren’t you coming?  Don’t you want to see just how badly a fresh recruit can screw up your training plan?  It might surprise you just how inventive they can get.”

“So...It’s a good plan?”  Dash had a rapidly growing smile.

“Don’t get smug cadet.  The real test is when it’s put into practice.”  Spitfire trotted out of the room leaving the office door open.

Dash leaned in over the desk instead of following Spitfire.  She whispered, “As your future commanding mare, I have an order for you.”

Soarin looked up with a twinge of irritation.  He whispered back, “Now is not the time to get over-confident!  One slip and were both done.  And don’t presume to order me around I’m-”

She cut him off, “I order you to get your hot flank to the fourth floor broom closet at 2145 for clean up.  That’s an order.”  She had a wild grin on her face as she spoke and gave him a sultry wink before she trotted out the office and closed the door.

It was hours before he finished Spitfire’s paperwork.  His smile still hadn’t faded.

~~~~~

“And that’s why I need your help.  I don’t think I can pull this off on my own.”

Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash with an open mouth.  “Is this some kind of joke?  You want us to say you’re a filly fooler?”

They were all safely ensconced in the library after hours.  All of her friends felt like they owed Dash something after saving their lives at the academy.  When she had returned from the academy she had called them all into the library to tell them her story.  She left out the parts they already knew and some of the details concerning her private time with Soarin.  Rarity kept pestering her for the sordid details but Dash felt it would be disloyal to Soarin to speak about such things.  So Rarity continued to pout on her red divan while the others sat enraptured by Dash’s tale.  Retelling the story caused Dash’s mind to drift to another sort of tail, one she was more than enraptured by.  She noticed her friends watching her, waiting for a reply.  She shook herself out of her reverie.

“Not exactly, just don’t deny it if anypony asks.  Just repeat the stuff you said to me the night before I left for the academy.  None of it is a lie.  Just let everypony draw their own conclusions.  It worked on the five of you didn’t it?”  All of the mares except for Applejack nodded.  Dash looked at her, “Com’on AJ, don’t leave me hanging.”

Applejack pulled her cowpony hat down so the brim covered her eyes.  “Ah ain’t gonna lie for ya.”

“But it isn’t lying.”

“Taint bein honest neither.  If ah thought you were really a filly fooler ah’d be ok sayin all that junk cause ah thought it were true.”

“But you do think it’s true!”  Dash was getting exasperated.  It wouldn’t do to get so far only to have everything fall apart because of Applejack.

“No, ah thought it were true at the time.  But after hearin yer story ah don’t think that no more.”  Applejack reset her hat and fixed Dash with a sheepish smile.  “Sorry Dash, I truly believe ya now.”

Rainbow Dash facehoofed, she just couldn’t win with this pony.  “Okay okay, how about you just say you know I have a special somepony but you cannot say who it is.  That’s both true and if anypony draws the wrong conclusions from that it’s their own fault.”

The hat came off while Applejack scratched the back of her head in thought.  She replaced the hat, “Ah suppose that’s true, but it still seems like lyin if’n ah know they suspect yer a filly fooler.”

“Please AJ?  Cut me a little slack here.  If they draw the wrong conclusions, it won’t be your fault.  It will be my fault.  You can’t tell me you have to be both honest and some kind of fact checker.  I’m just asking you to keep a secret of mine.  Friends do that for each other right?  This isn’t any other pony’s business anyway.  If they were polite they wouldn’t ask you in the first place.”

“Alright Dash, ah’ll keep yer secret.  Ah won’t lie for ya but I’ll keep ma mouth shut and let the chips fall where they may.  And if somepony makes a mistake bout you, well, ah won’t straighten em’ out.”

“Thanks AJ, that’s all I’m asking.”

Twilight was furiously writing in her notebook.  She had many notes to add after Dash’s story.  She started to giggle when she started to put it all together.

“What’s so funny egghead?”

“Did you find the secret to everlasting love?  Is it cupcakes?  I’ll bet it’s cupcakes.  Or banjos.  No wait, is it quesadillas?  Cherries?  Chimichangas?  Cherry-chimichangas?”  Pinkie Pie produced all of these objects from the potted plant in the corner of the room, from a seemingly empty teapot, and her own fluffy tail.  “Or is it rainbows?  Is that how Rainbow Dash found a special somepony?”

Twilight closed her notebook and held a content smile.  “No it’s not cupcakes or rainbows.”  Pinkie shrugged and stuffed the cupcake and chimichanga in her mouth in one bite.  She began to chew noisily as Twilight continued, “I thought it would be something special, something different.  Something I would never have expected.  It turns out the same things that make for a solid friendship make for a solid romance as well.”

The other five ponies looked at her with wide eyes.  Dash pursed her lips, “How do you figure that?”

“Easy.  At some point in your story somepony showed the other an element of harmony.”

“It was very generous of Soarin to give up the Wonderbolts just for you,” Rarity interjected.  “I know he didn’t have to in the end but he was willing to.  And mark my words, I’m still going to get the details of what happened between the two of you,” she said with a grin.

“No you won’t,” Dash spoke with a certain smile.  At this point it was a game between the two.  Rarity badly wanted to know and Dash was too competitive to let her have it.

“Plus you spent that day together trying to form a training plan.  You were letting him chase you weren’t you?  Why did you do that?”  Pinkie bounced in place on four hooves with a toothy smile and bright eyes.

“I...wanted him to be happy.”  Dash never expected to find wisdom in the form of Pinkie Pie, but there it was.

“It was very kind of you to help Soarin at that party.  You didn’t expect anything in return did you?”  Fluttershy looked away after she spoke, embarrassed to have eyes on her.

“No I just...wanted to help him.  I knew he was feeling blue for some reason and I just wanted him to feel better.  I didn’t expect-”  Dash silenced herself when she noticed Rarity leaning in closer with an expectant look on her face and both ears flicked forward.  “For stuff to happen.”  She finished.  Rarity flashed a disappointed frown.

“Ya showed each other honesty when ya’ll were in the hotel room arguin’ bout that strange mare smoochin’ ya.  If ya weren’t honest with each other ya never woulda built trust.”

“Yeah I guess you’re right.”  Dash nodded.

Twilight finished, “And you both showed incredible loyalty when you didn’t take advantage of each other.  You had lots of chances to do so.  You could have stomped on his heart or let him take the fall for you.  He could have told Spitfire to reject your application.  Or he could have just broken up with you to further his own career.  Instead you stayed loyal not only to him but to the Wonderbolts too.  And us, by the way. Thanks for trusting us to keep your secret.”

“Well I knew I couldn’t pull this off without you guys.  It never occurred to me you might run off to a tabloid and spill the beans.  My friends would never do that.  And I would never let Soarin or any of the Wonderbolts take the fall for me.  It’s just not right.”

“And that’s why you’re the element of loyalty and my friend,” Twilight said with pride.  Four mares vocalized, “Awwww” before crushing Twilight and Dash in group hug.

“Wait a minute.”  Dash had a pensive expression.  “What about magic?  How does that even fit in?  C’mon egghead, you’re supposed to be the expert on that.”

Twilight blushed, “Well it’s hard to explain. Even with the other five elements there’s just something special between the two of you.  Some spark that brings you together.”

“Like what?”

“It’s like...a smell I guess.  Sometimes you just like a pony even before you set eyes on them.”

Dash’s ears fell, she had left that little detail out of her story.  It felt too personal and it was a bit embarrassing.  And yet...right now she could smell something.  It was something slightly sweet mixed with clouds.  It was difficult to put into words, yet she understood it perfectly.  “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”  She closed her eyes and held her friends close.  Tucked into her saddlebag was a letter.  Although it was a small thing, she could detect the scent from the paper even through the layers of envelope, her uniform, and the cloth of the saddlebag itself.

The embrace ended.  They had lunch and welcomed Dash back to Ponyville.  Twilight was going on and on about the new letter she would get to write to Celestia.  Pinkie Pie ate at least a dozen cupcakes after lunch.  Rarity continued to needle Dash for the details of her encounters and got nothing but evasive answers.  Fluttershy said little as usual but did give Dash a jar of blueberries.  “For Tank,” she said without further explanation.   Dash didn’t remember much more about lunch.  When she got home, she greeted Tank and opened the letter.  It was like opening a bottle of perfume and it made her content.  It’s true, I’d never be sad if I could just bottle that.