//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: The Game Plan // Story: Fleeting Romance // by Sketchy Changeling //------------------------------// It had been a week since the newscast, and the hype around Canterlot was starting to dwindle in favor of the approaching competition. During that week, the Wonderbolts decided to lay low and not leave the hotel at all, hoping that the gossip seekers would give up. Despite that, though, Cory and Fleetfoot stayed in constant contact. They called each other every night during that week and kept each other company with their voices. One night, Fleetfoot had something to tell Cory, something important. “Hello?” Cory answered. “Hey, Cory,” said the mare on the other line. “Hey, Fleetfoot,” he said. “It’s good to hear your voice again,” she said. “How’s everything going?” “Things have been going well,” he said. “My bosses at the game company are thinking about paying me for my time there.” “Some extra cash is always good,” Fleetfoot said, “but anyway, I wanted to tell you something.” “What is it?” “We’re finally leaving the hotel tomorrow,” said the mare. “There’s less than three weeks left before the competition, so we’re going to spend that time training almost every day, especially since we lost a week of practice.” “That’s great!” Cory said excitedly. “You sure all the hype has died down yet?” “Not completely, but just enough so that we can go out without being harassed by every pony we pass by,” Fleetfoot said somewhat confidently. “I was wondering if you could meet us at the gym. It’d be nice to see you after all this time.” Cory felt uneasy at this. “Not that I don’t want to see you, but do you think that that’s a good idea, Fleetfoot?” “If we arrive there at different times, I don’t think that anypony will suspect anything. I talked it over with the team and they don’t have a problem with it,” she explained. “If you say so…” Cory said. “I’m looking forward to seeing you, sweetie,” she said happily. “Me too,” he said just as happily. The next day, Fleetfoot was getting the last of her things in her gym bag. “You almost ready, Spitfire?” she asked. “I’ve been ready,” Spitfire said. “I’m waiting on you.” Fleetfoot turned around to see that her captain was already at the door with her bag slung over her shoulder. “Is Cory still coming to see you?” she asked. “Yeah,” said Fleetfoot. “I can’t wait to see him!” “I know,” said Spitfire. “You’ve been mumbling his name in your sleep for days.” The smaller mare’s eyes widened in embarrassment. “I-I was!?” she said in a panic. “I’m fucking with you, Fleetie,” Spitfire said, sticking her tongue out. “That isn’t funny,” she said. “I’d beg to differ,” the captain retorted. “Well, that’s enough of that. Let’s get going.” “Right behind you.” The Wonderbolts arrived at the gym fifteen minutes later. After they all got changed, Fleetfoot kept her eye on the gym entrance, waiting for Cory to show up. It took about three minutes for him to arrive. When Cory got in, he waved to the Wonderbolts and walked up to them. “Hey, guys,” he said. “Good to see you after all this time.” “Same here,” said Soarin. “Well, now that Cory’s here, we can head to the exclusive training area that the gym set off for us,” said Spitfire. “How did you manage that?” asked Misty Fly. “What do you think I’ve been doing all week, kid? Kicking up dust?” the captain asked back as everyone followed her to the exclusive training area, which was towards the back of the gym. Everyone’s breath was taken away by the sight of the place. There was a competition-sized track complete with trick hoops, and there was top-grade training equipment, too. Not only that, but it was closed off from the rest of the gym, so there was zero chance of some nosy pony barging in. However, the sense of wonder was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Spitfire’s voice. “Alright, Wonderbolts!” she said loudly and sternly. “We got less than three weeks ‘til the national flying competition, and we just lost a week of practice! We need to get our shit together and train harder than ever if we wanna take home the trophy this year! We’re gonna be here six days a week from noon to five, and I expect you all to give a hundred and ten percent! No breaks, no 'but's, and no bitching! Is that understood!?” “YES CAPTAIN!” said the other Wonderbolts. Cory was surprised at this. This was the first time that he saw the Wonderbolts actually training for a competition, the first time that he’s seen them in a non-causal setting. It was really something to see how strong of a leader Spitfire was, and how loyal the others were to her. What surprised him the most, though, was Fleetfoot. He had never seen such an intense expression on her face before. She had always been a sweet, laid-back mare, and to see her with such a hardened expression was quite the sight. When the other Wonderbolts got to training, Fleetfoot stayed back and walked up to Cory. He opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by the mare’s lips pressing against his aggressively. “There,” she said as she broke the kiss. “That should keep me going for a while.” She then took off towards the track, leaving poor Cory flustered and confused. “That’s Fleetfoot for ya,” said somepony from behind him. “What do you mean, Spitfire?” he asked as he turned around. “Normally, she’s very calm and relaxed, but when it’s time to get serious, she gets more aggressive than me,” she explained. “Wow, I’ve never seen this side of her,” Cory said in awe. “Not even when you had sex with her?” Spitfire said, elbowing the boy in the side, causing him to panic and blush. “W-who told you that!?” he asked. “Fleetfoot finally told me two days ago,” she said. “She said you were better than any stallion she’s been with.” Cory’s face instantly went red, and he began to stammer, which made Spitfire laugh. “Dude, relax! I’m messing with you!” she said in-between fits of laughter. This put the human at ease and he took a deep sigh. “Oh, okay,” he said. “Don’t do that, though.” Spitfire laughed again as she flew off to train with her teammates. Cory found a nice bench to sit on while he watched the Wonderbolts practice for the big competition. Every twenty or so minutes, Fleetfoot would go up to him and kiss him fiercely before returning to whatever she was doing. “I need to refuel,” she’d say every time. “Is this the same mare that I’m dating?” Cory thought to himself. “She really does get aggressive when the time calls for it. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” Sometime later, Rapidfire started to approach Cory, who didn’t see him coming. Fleetfoot, however, did see the stallion approaching the human, and her protective instincts flared up. “What does he think he’s doing!?” she said to herself. She prepared to zoom towards Rapidfire and tackle him, but somepony held her back. “Ngh! Let me go, Blaze!” she said angrily. “Chill out, Fleetfoot,” the other mare said calmly. “Just watch.” Fleetfoot took a deep breath and did just that, but she was prepared to take action in the event that Rapidfire tried anything. “Hey, Cory,” said the stallion. Cory looked up and was surprised to see the grey stallion before him. “Oh… hey, Rapidfire,” he said with a hint of contempt. “Look, I know I’m not your favorite pony in the world right now…” the stallion said admittedly, “but I just wanted to apologize for selling you and Fleetfoot out and putting all those fears in your head. I know you probably don’t believe me, but I really do regret it, and I just want you to know that I’m sorry.” Cory didn’t say anything for a while. He thought and thought about what was just said to him. Rapidfire had just apologized for what he did, and Cory was wondering how sincere he was. It definitely sounded sincere, but he could only be doing this as part of his punishment. Then again, if that was the case, then the apology wouldn’t have sounded sincere at all, knowing Rapidfire’s attitude. Plus, something was telling Cory that he would’ve done the same thing if he were in Rapidfire’s position. “Alright, we’re cool,” Cory said as he offered his hand for a shake. Rapidfire smiled and shook Cory’s hand. “See?” said Blaze. “He was just going to apologize.” “Sorry,” said Fleetfoot. “I was just worried for Cory, is all.” Blaze smiled at her white-maned friend. “You really love that kid, don’t you?” “More than anything,” she said. “Have you guys decided on what you’re going to do about your relationship after the competition?” asked Blaze “We’ve talked about it over the past week, and we’re starting to come to a solution,” explained Fleetfoot. “Once it’s set in stone, we’ll tell you and the others while we’re on our way to the competition.” “Okay, then,” said Blaze, and she and Fleetfoot continued to practice. When the training session ended and the Wonderbolts had all taken showers, Fleetfoot caught up to Cory before he left. “Thanks for coming, Cory,” she said. “Same time tomorrow?” “Sorry, Fleetfoot,” he said. “I have classes tomorrow. I won’t be able to make it to every session, but I promise that I’ll come to see you here whenever I’m free. Deal?” The mare softly chuckled and said “Deal.” As Cory promised, he stopped by the gym whenever he could so that he and Fleetfoot could see each other. He still had to get used to Fleetfoot’s… “aggressive state,” as Spitfire called it, but that was a minor thing. Besides, there was a small part of Cory that liked it. This went on for almost three weeks, until the day came when they all had to take the train to Vanhoover for the competition. It was also the day that Fleetfoot and Cory would tell the other Wonderbolts what they had decided to do after the competition was over. “WHAT!?” they all said in shock. “We know it’s a risky decision, but we think that it’s for the best,” Fleetfoot explained. “Are you absolutely sure you want to do this, Fleetie?” Spitfire asked. “I am, Spitfire,” she replied. “Cory and I put a lot of thought into this, and we thought that this would be for the best.” “If you say so,” Misty said worriedly. When they all got to Vanhoover, it was late in the afternoon, so the Wonderbolts and Cory simply ordered takeout and ate in their hotel room. “Welcome to life on the road, Cory,” Soarin said with a chuckle. “Cramped rooms and takeout dinners.” “Don’t mind him,” Spitfire said to the human. “It’s only like this when we’re staying at competition venues. The hotels really like to screw the teams over when it comes to accommodations.” “Don’t forget that I’m a college student, you guys,” Cory reminded. “I’m used to this.” Everypony else got a good laugh at that statement. Just as everyone was about to turn in for the night, Cory approached Fleetfoot at her bed. “Big day tomorrow,” he said. “I know,” she said. “I always get a little nervous the night before a competition. It’s the good kind of nervous, though.” “Well, that’s good to know,” said Cory. “I know you’re gonna do great out there, and I’ll be right there cheering you on.” “Thanks, Cory,” Fleetfoot said as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “G’night.” “Good night,” he said back. “Hello, and welcome to the fifteenth annual National Flying Competition, where teams from all over Equestria come to battle over who deserves this year’s title of ‘Best Flying Team in Equestria’! I’m Instant Replay, from the Equestrian Sports Network, here to bring you coverage of all the goings on at this big event.” “Man, the reporters sure like to play this up,” said Cory. “Why not?” asked Blaze. “It’s their job.” Cory and the Wonderbolts were watching the TV coverage of the event from inside their prep room. Once Spitfire got herself ready, though, she switched it off and began to address her teammates. “Alright, Wonderbolts,” she said. “This is the day we’ve been training for. We’re all aware of which events we’re doing, right?” “YES MA’AM!!!” said the other Wonderbolts. “No surprise there,” Cory thought. “They were all practicing for their specific events. I’d be worried if they didn’t know which events they were doing. Misty and Blaze are doing acrobatics, Soarin and Rapidfire are doing endurance, Spitfire is doing the recovery event, and Fleetfoot’s are doing the obstacle course. After that is the team relay.” “Now we didn’t win last year, but this year, we’re gonna kill the competition!” said Spitfire. “We worked our flanks off these past three weeks, and now we’re gonna go kick some flank!” She then stretched her arm out and said “Everyone in!” The other Wonderbolts got up and put their hands in, with Cory looking at them from the side. Before Spitfire said anything, she looked at Cory and smiled. “Well, what’re you waiting for?” she asked. “When I said ‘everyone,’ I meant you, too.” “Me?” Cory asked in disbelief. “Why not?” Soarin asked. “You’ve been helping us out and supporting us all this time, Cory,” said Misty Fly. “As far as we’re concerned, you’re part of the team,” said Blaze. “Blaze is right,” said Rapidfire, which caught EVERYONE off guard. “Come on in.” Cory smiled and joined the Wonderbolts, standing next to Fleetfoot and putting his hand in. “Wonderbolts on three,” said Spitfire. “One… two… three!” Everyone raised their hands and shouted out loud: “WONDERBOLTS!!!”