//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Only One // Story: Cough Syrup // by Closer-To-The-Sun //------------------------------// The next evening, Fleetfoot was in the Loose Harness, seated up at the bar where all the Wonderbolts had gathered the night before to celebrate Soarin’s good news. Happily humming to herself, she drank a mug of cider. The door of the bar opened up, in which a fiery maned pegasus entered in, still wearing her Wonderbolt uniform. “Barkeep, one wheat beer please. Celestia knows I need it,” she instructed as she trotted up to where the blue pegasus was seated. With a cough, she sat down next to her. “Goodness, Captain, you look worse than before,” Fleetfoot welcomed her superior. The orange mare didn’t reply. Instead, she just struggled to get on the barstool and keep her balance. She finally managed to after hanging on to the bar itself. “You look awful, ma’am,” Fleetfoot tried again to start a conversation. “Well, I feel awful. Couldn’t you tell during practice?” Spitfire coughed to the side after she firmly spoke. “Sorry.” Spitfire sighed, “Ah, don’t be. I’m not mad at you or anything. Right now, I’m annoyed at myself. A self-induced hangover and my persistent cough.” A small smile appeared on the blue mare’s face, “Don’t worry about it, ma’am. Have you taken something for that cough by chance?” With a nod, the captain was about to reply. However, her beverage arrived at the same time, to which she took a sip before she began, “Yeah, I took some cough syrup earlier. Still waiting for it to kick in.” “I don’t think more alcohol is going to help with it though after last night,” Fleetfoot warned, as she took a drink of her beverage. “Hey, you’re still drinking after last night. That doesn’t look like your normal cocktail, for that matter,” Spitfire pointed out with her hoof. Fleetfoot sheepishly smiled, “Well, I’m trying something new since my special somepony works on an apple farm and all. They even brew their own special brand of cider in Ponyville. It’s really popular there. I’m trying to get more used to the taste, I guess.” “Again with this somepony of yours. You’re such a helpless romantic, Fleetfoot,” the orange mare went to take a large drink of her wheat beer. “What about you, captain? Have you done anything about Soarin?” the pegasus urged on, hoping she would talk about her romantic life. This surprised the orange pony, “What? It’s been literally one day. What could I have done?” “Well, you could have told him how you feel about him.” Spitfire raised a hoof up to her face, “I don’t think you really understand this relationship I have with Soarin, alright? We aren’t here to discuss my personal life. We are here to have a drink, got it?” “Y-Yes, captain!” Fleetfoot saluted out of fear. The two pegasus mares sad in silence as they continued to drink. The only interruption between them was an occasional cough from Spitfire and the sound of the glasses hitting the surface of the bar. Elsewhere in the bar, the jukebox came to life, starting to play a song. The simplistic riff caught both of the Wonderbolts off guard. The band’s loud and rough sounding music did manage to perk Spitfire’s interest. “Fleetfoot, do you happen to know this song?” “I think its Surfer Buck. I’ve heard it a number of times,” the blue pegasus thought, “I remember a few of my friends told me about them some time ago.” “Huh,” was Spitfire could say. She continued to listen to the song. One lyric from the song, however, struck her as she listened in. The jukebox played on: “If you're gonna do it then do it,/Otherwise you just might lose your nerve./ I swear that ocean it swallowed me fully,/And it might have to follow you home.” Those lines struck a chord for the orange mare. Looking down at her half-empty glass of wheat beer, she began to speak again, this time in a meek tone, “You really want to know?” “Huh?” Fleetfoot turned her attention back to Spitfire. She repeated, still staring at her beverage, “You want to know why I haven’t done anything about Soarin?” The blue mare was a bit hesitant in replying, “S-Sure….” “I’m scared,” Spitfire admitted, “I’m scared of losing him as a friend. We’ve been friends since grade school. He’s the greatest pony in my life and I can’t risk messing up what we have.” “And yet, you want to let him know how you feel about him,” Fleetfoot interjected. “It’s not that simple!” Spitfire bit back harshly, “I can’t just trot on up to him and say ‘oh, hey there Soarin. Guess what? I’ve been head over hooves for you since our first year in high school and I hid it from you ever since!’ It just feels wrong on a number of levels to me.” The blue pony took a sip of her cider, “Because of the history you have?” Spitfire nodded with a cough, “Yeah. We have such a history together. In middle school, we would go to downtown Cloudsdale after classes and just hang out. We’d go to a secret place outside the cloud factory, watching the newly formed clouds and watch them fly by, saying what they look like. I mean, we were just friends. And then puberty came in like a hurricane and messed things up for me.” “I see. It really must stink having that happen to you,” Fleetfoot commented “That’s an understatement. I just….I just want to tell him how I feel without having to worry about messing things up. I’ve been his superior since I became captain of the flight team in high school. I don’t want to make things weird.” “Then why don’t you? He is leaving tomorrow for Las Pegasus. You won’t be technically over him as captain then,” the blue pony suggested. Spitfire opened up her mouth, about to object but stopped herself, “That’s….not a bad idea….” “Then I’ll take credit for it!” Fleetfoot giggled slightly as she took another drink of her cider. “But….what am I going to say?” Spitfire rested her head on her hooves that were propped up by the bar. “How about you practice on me?” “Huh?” the orange pegasus turned to look at Fleetfoot. “Just practice what you want to say to him on me. Again, for practice so you don’t have to think on the spot,” Fleetfoot gave a comforting smile. “I guess that could also work. Alright, let’s try it,” Spitfire turned her head forward again and closed her eyes. She then began speaking again in a very hushed tone, “Soarin….I….I know this sounds weird coming from me and all but….well….we’ve been friends for like, ever….and I….I love you, Soarin. You’re the only one that I can honestly say this to….I never really had the guts to say this until now….but I do love you and….and I always have….” Fleetfoot began to clap her hooves together, “That was really beautiful, captain.” Spitfire opened her eyes with a small smile, “Heh, thanks Fleetfoot.” A single tear rolled down her cheek. “Are you crying?” Fleetfoot leaned in to look. “N-No….it’s just a side effect of my stupid cough….” Spitfire quickly wiped the tear away from her face. Fleetfoot giggled, “Aww, Captain Spitfire is showing emotion! Quick, somepony get a camera!” Spitfire blushed slightly, “Oh, shut your hay hole.”