No More Secrets
Rainbow rubbed her cheek at the point where Spitfire's hoof connected. That mare had a powerful left hook and she wasn't afraid to use it.
"You could have just said no," Rainbow whined. Spitfire kissed Rainbow's cheek.
"That was more fun."
"Maybe for you. Well, at any rate, we're not far from my parents’ place. They'll be happy to meet you."
"What are they like?" Spitfire asked.
"Well, they're kind of like me."
Spitfire stopped in her tracks. She loved Rainbow with all her heart, but putting her in a room with two ponies who are similar to her? That could be bad. Rainbow laughed.
"Don't worry, we'll try to tone down the "Dash" a little for you," Rainbow said with a snicker.
"Thanks, Rainbow. I appreciate that," Spitfire said and kissed her marefriend. She allowed a smug grin to pass her features. "Are your parents as cocky as you are?"
"Cocky? I don't have a penis!" Rainbow pretended to be confused by her marefriend's inquiry. Spitfire facehoofed.
"Of all the mares I could have fallen for, it had to be you," Spitfire groaned..
"Hay yeah! Think about that while we're inside."
Spitfire looked up. A modest cloud home sat in front of them. The words "Dash Family" were imprinted on the mailbox just under the address.
"How did we get here so fast?" Spitfire asked. It seemed like they had just left her own family's home.
"My parents never had much money, so they always lived out here. It looks like we grew up just one district away from each other," Rainbow explained. "It's weird. We grew up so close to each other, and at the same time too, yet we still only met a couple of months ago."
"We probably went to school together," Spitfire said absentmindedly. Her eyes shot open. "Oh my gosh! We DID go to school together! I remember hearing about you once or twice from the teachers of classes two grades below me!"
"And I remember you were on the race team with Soarin'!" Rainbow squealed with delight. "I never thought about it before now, but that's so awesome!"
"I can't believe we never met before a few months ago." Spitfire was absolutely shocked. Then again, it was a huge school. Almost four thousand ponies attended it. Then another thought hit her. "Rainbow, were you ever on the race team? We might have flown together before!"
Rainbow sighed. "Nah, I never got the chance. The school wouldn't let me on because of my grades... among other things."
"What other-oh, right, the stuff the teachers always talked about."
"What did they say about me?" asked Rainbow.
"Usually that you were the biggest pain in the ass they had ever encountered," snarked Spitfire.
Rainbow snickered. "Yep, sounds right."
"Are you two going to sit out here and talk about your school lives all night or are you going to come inside before it gets cold?"
Spitfire and Rainbow jumped at the sudden intrusion of Rainbow's mother. Spitfire took the older mare in very quickly. She was roughly the same height as Rainbow. She had a sky blue coat similar to Rainbow's, but with a golden mane and red tail. Spitfire was surprised by the mane and tail colors. It wasn't uncommon to have a mane and tail sporting different colors, but it certainly wasn't average.
"Sheesh Ma, what did I tell you about sneaking up on me?" Rainbow grunted.
"And what did I tell you about dropping by you little brat?" her mother snapped back.
Rainbow lowered her head. "To do it more often..."
"That's right, Rainbow. Now you lovebirds get your sorry flanks inside before I have to drag them in."
Rainbow and Spitfire looked up. "How did you-"
"I'm a mom. It's my job to know these things."
"Ahh."
"Rainbow?"
Rainbow looked up in the direction of her father's voice. She smiled warmly as he got up and made his way over to her. He wrapped his legs around her and gave her a gentle nuzzle. Rainbow returned the gesture. Spitfire looked up at the stallion that had embraced her marefriend.
He was easily three hooves taller than his daughter, and his coat was a deep violet. His scarlet mane and tail complimented his coat perfectly. Rarity would have a hayday with it. Spitfire felt her heart melt... for a moment, anyway.
"About time your lazy ass found its way back home." Rainbow's father began.
"Not my buckin' fault I gotta work. I'm the captain of the weather team in Ponyville," Rainbow said with a smirk. "It's more than you ever did with your life." Rainbow pulled away from the hug with a cocky grin.
"I had sex with your mother. After an experience like that a stallion doesn't need to do anything more with his life."
Rainbow and her father let out a hearty laugh at that comment. Rainbow's mother dealt her husband a powerful strike to the top of his head.
"Owwww! What was that for, Skye?"
"You know EXACTLY what that was about, Flurry," Skye snapped back.
"Dad, why don't you see that coming? You're a career soldier. Didn’t your training detail situational awareness?" Rainbow asked as she held in a snicker.
"Yeah, being a part of the Royal Guard does require situational awareness. I was never trained to look out for a pissed off wife!"
"Then you married the wrong mare," Skye stated flatly.
"Believe me Skye, I figured that out years ago."
Spitfire continued to watch the conversation between Rainbow and her parents. She wasn't sure what it was, but she found it rather heartwarming. Although it did explain a thing or two about Rainbow's quirks.
Now I see why she's as mature as a thirteen year old filly, Spitfire thought.
"Oh my, where are our manners?" Skye started. "Rainbow, introduce your fillyfriend!"
Rainbow's eyes went wide. She had been so caught up with her parents that she had completely forgotten about Spitfire.
"Oh my gosh, Spitfire! I'm so sorry, Spitfire, I completely-"
"Wait, the Wonderbolt?!" Skye and Flurry exclaimed in unison. Spitfire sighed and nodded.
"Yep... Spitfire the Wonderbolt... the one and only." Spitfire's displeasure was evident in her voice... to Rainbow anyway.
"Wow! My daughter is dating a Wonderbolt! Give me some hoof, Rainbow!" Flurry was overjoyed with his daughter as he raised a hoof. He paused when he noticed she wasn't returning the gesture like he expected. After a moment he understood.
"Oh... right... Well, that complicates things," muttered Flurry.
"What complicates things?" Skye asked.
"Skye, you're married to a career soldier and you can't figure out what's going on?" Flurry spoke in a very condescending tone.
Rainbow perked up.
"Wait, why do you understand, Dad? Just because our relationship isn't accepted by the guard doesn't mean it shouldn't be accepted by the public."
Flurry and Spitfire shared a bitter laugh.
"Rainbow, I never told you how I got to be a Wonderbolt, did I?" Spitfire asked. Rainbow shook her head.
"Well Rainbow, it's the same reason you never got to be one," Spitfire began.
"The Wonderbolts are hoofpicked from the Royal Guard as an advertisement campaign. The only way to have a shot at joining is to enlist with the guard," Flurry explained.
"Soarin' and I joined the guard together. We were selected three days before we were supposed to be shipped out for the first time. The recruiter came to us and made it sound like the most glamorous and honorable thing we could do with our lives. We were given the choice between riches and fame or be grunts in the guard. Not exactly a hard one to make," Spitfire explained.
Rainbow sighed. If her hopes of ever joining the flight group weren't dashed already, they were right there. She perked up again. "How come I've never seen any propaganda posters about that at Wonderbolts shows before? I go to every one!"
Spitfire laughed.
"You've seen the recruiting booths at every show, right?"
"Well, yeah, but-"
"Then you didn't look very hard. You can always see a picture of me doing a less than appropriate pose with some form of military equipment and cheesy slogans on the posters at the booths. I hate that part of my job..." Spitfire sighed.
"Ugh. Why does every awesome part of being a pegasus have to involve the military?" Rainbow asked with a grunt.
"We're the descendants of a warrior society, Rainbow. Are you really surprised?" Spitfire asked.
"No, I guess not. By the way, I think it's really hot that you were a guard... and I want to see those posters," Rainbow said with a sly grin. Spitfire facehoofed.
"Of all the mares I could have fallen for..."
"You know you love it," Rainbow replied with a cocky grin.
"I know I do, I just can't figure out why."
Skye watched the playful exchange with a smile on her face. She looked over at her husband and noticed his face bore a more grim expression. She pulled him aside.
"Flurry, what's wrong? Aren't you happy for her?"
"Any chance you could get Rainbow out of the room? I'd like to have a private conversation with Spitfire."
"Honey, please. She's too old for us to be scaring away her dates."
"I have no intention of scaring her off. I just want to clear something up with her. It's about her role with the Wonderbolts."
Skye nodded.
"Rainbow? What do you say we cook dinner together? It's been so long since we've done anything as mother and daughter," Skye suggested.
Rainbow looked at her mother, and then shot a glare at her father.
"Dad, if this is-"
"I'm not trying to scare her off. What would give you that idea?"
"Mom just asked ME to help her cook dinner."
Flurry shot a glance at his wife. She shrugged and gave him an apologetic smile.
"Is it so strange that she wants to do something alone with her daughter after she was away for so long?" Flurry asked.
Rainbow continued to glare daggers at her father. Eventually she sighed.
"Fine. But nothing girly like cookies or cupcakes. That's Pinkie Pie's job."
Rainbow and Skye made their way to the kitchen. As per the norm, the two shared playful insults the whole way. Spitfire watched Rainbow leave and then turned to look at Flurry. To her surprise, he was already standing next to her.
"What rank are you? Rainbow mentioned you're a career soldier," Spitfire asked.
"I'm a Staff Sergeant. Now, I'm just curious as to how you got the time off to make this trip, Lieutenant Commander," Flurry inquired forcefully. Spitfire shied away.
"Being the captain of the Wonderbolts has its perks... one of which being a lot of time off when I need it."
"It appears to me that my daughter has no idea that you're a reserve soldier. Why haven't you told her?"
"Another perk of being a Wonderbolt is that I can resign from service whenever I want. If we decide to settle down, I can always just quit," Spitfire explained. "I figure if she doesn't need to know, why tell her?"
"Because you can be called away to service whenever the Princess sees fit."
"You say that as if there's even a remote chance that such a thing will ever happen," Spitfire replied condescendingly. "We're more figureheads than anything else. I haven't had any combat training since I was in boot."
"Why do you feel the need to lie to my daughter about this?" Flurry asked.
"I'm not lying to her, I'm just... not telling her." Spitfire looked to the floor. An old adage from her training came back to mind. One that Flurry took the time to repeat.
"Withholding information is as harmful to your squad as a direct attack. Or in this case, it's as harmful to your marefriend as hitting her in the face would be. Now I'm going to ask you again, Lieutenant Commander. Why do you feel the need to hide who you are from my daughter?"
Spitfire looked to the floor again. She couldn't say what drove her to hide that part of her from Rainbow. Rainbow had opened up completely about her past to Spitfire. Why couldn't she return the favor?
"I... don't know. I guess being a Wonderbolt never felt like military life to me. I was always Spitfire, not Lieutenant Commander. I haven't even looked at my dress uniform in years. My coach has always been my coach, not my superior officer. Quite frankly, I'm more of a civilian than a soldier. I guess I just never saw the need to tell her."
"I think it's about time you change that outlook. If you don't mind me saying, ma'am." He felt the need to make sure that Spitfire knew she was his superior officer. Spitfire hated it.
"Relax, we're not soldiers right now. I'll tell her tonight, I promise."
"A wise decision, ma'am."
"For a career soldier, you're a real smartass," Spitfire grunted.
"Mom? Can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course, Rainbow. What's on your mind?"
Rainbow looked down and pawed at the floor. The kind of conversation she was about to have was an embarrassing one, even with their healthy adult relationship.
"How did you know when you were ready to marry Dad?"
When Skye heard that sentence she almost dropped the pan she had just picked up. She quickly set it down and looked at her daughter with an ear to ear grin.
"Is my little filly engaged?!" Skye made no attempt to contain her excitement at the prospect. Rainbow facehoofed.
"No, I just... look, this sappy emotional crap confuses me. As weird as it is to say, I'm in love with Spitfire. And, I don't know, I think I'm kinda okay with the idea of settling down with her... and stuff... and I was wondering what's the best way to, you know... ask her if she wants to do that."
Skye gave Rainbow a warm smile and a hug.
"Rainbow, I think you're talking to the wrong pony about that. Your father asked me to marry him. If you want my advice, I'd tell you to ask your father. But I can tell you that you need to be very sure of that decision when you ask that question. How long have you and Spitfire been together?"
Rainbow began to blush as she drew a circle in the floor with her hoof.
"A little over three months."
Skye raised an eyebrow at her daughter.
"Rainbow, I know you've always had your troubles with relationships, but are you sure you're not rushing into this? Three months is a little early to be asking somepony to marry you."
"Ugh, I know that mom. It's just that for the first time in my life, I'm actually sure about somepony. I'm not afraid of being... you know... with her. It just feels right... She feels right."
Skye gave Rainbow another warm smile.
"I'm not going to get in the way of you making that decision. If you think you're ready then go for it. She's a great match for you, Rainbow. I can't tell you how happy I am that you found her."
Rainbow's blush intensified. She smiled, but it quickly faded. When she looked up, a distraught expression adorned her features.
"What if she says no? What if she's unwilling to let go of her career for me? What if-"
Rainbow's worries were silenced by a potato that was forced into her mouth. Her expression quickly changed from distraught to irritated. She spit the potato out of her mouth and glared at her giggling mother.
"What was that about?"
"I had to do something to get you to shut your mouth. Nothing is more irritating than when a pony spews nonsense," Skye replied, though her giggles persisted. "Sweet Celestia, you looked funny with a potato in your mouth!"
Rainbow was appalled. Her mother had just chalked her deep concerns up to nonsense!
"Mom, I'm really nervous! I-" This time her speech was stopped by a cucumber. Rainbow shrugged and bit off the half that was in her mouth and happily ate it before glaring daggers at her mother.
"Rainbow, that mare LOVES you. She would gladly give up the world to be with you. Stop worrying before I have to go find a pineapple." Skye somehow managed to speak comprehensibly through her desire to giggle. She even managed to keep a straight face... mostly. "Rainbow, you've got some cucumber on your cheek."
Rainbow facehoofed. As much as she loved her mother, the elder mare's antics just got old after a while.
"Mom, you're not very good at this."
Skye sighed.
"You're no fun, Rainbow. Look, all I'm trying to say is that whatever you decide to do, your father and I will be here to support you. And I can already tell that Spitfire will never leave your side. So relax, will you? And finish that cucumber."
Rainbow smiled and hugged her mother. "Thanks, Mom. I needed to hear that."
Skye smiled and returned the gesture. "I'm just happy I could help."
After dinner, Skye and Flurry shooed Rainbow and Spitfire out onto the back porch for some alone time. Spitfire had agreed to tell Rainbow the whole story of her life, and Flurry wasn't going to let it wait even a minute longer.
"It's beautiful out here, isn't it Rainbow?" Spitfire asked absentmindedly.
"Yeah... it really is..." Rainbow didn't notice the slip from her tomboyish facade. Until she heard Spitfire giggle.
"What?" Rainbow asked.
"Never thought you'd reach that level of emotional release without trying to act tough," Spitfire responded through her giggling.
"Just because I'm awesome doesn't mean I'm not a mare! I have my moments."
"Yeah, I know." Spitfire sighed. "Rainbow, there's something I need to tell you..."
"What's that, Spitfire?"
Spitfire sighed. She wasn't sure how to tell Rainbow. She felt Rainbow's wing drape around her back.
"Come on, Spitfire. You know you can tell me anything."
Spitfire sighed and leaned into Rainbow.
"I'm sorry," she started. Rainbow was confused.
"Sorry for what?" asked Rainbow.
Spitfire looked at the deck. "I've been hiding a part of me from you. Kind of a big part of me. Rainbow, I'm a soldier. All of the Wonderbolts are. As the team captain, I have the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the REA."
Rainbow's eyes were as wide as saucers. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.
"You're... a Lieutenant Commander... in the REA?"
Spitfire sighed again. She noticed that she had been doing a lot of that since the conversation with Flurry.
"I'm a reserve officer. Even the title of 'reserve officer' is a joke. I'm only military because I'm a Wonderbolt. It doesn't mean anything really. I'm basically a civilian that the Princess can call into combat if a war breaks out that we're doomed to lose. It's funny. I'm given the rank of an officer meant to lead troops into battle, but all I'm fit to lead is a stunt team. Rainbow, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you this sooner, please don't be mad at me!" Spitfire leaned into Rainbow's shoulder and felt tears coming. She found it pathetic that she was a soldier and she was crying on her marefriend's shoulder. Rainbow pulled Spitfire closer to her.
"Spitfire, I'm not mad. I don't get why that was some big secret, but it doesn't matter to me. Spitfire, I love you. Nothing's gonna change that, even if I have to act my gender from time to time to show you that," Rainbow said softly.
Spitfire looked up at Rainbow and was quickly greeted with a passionate kiss. Spitfire melted into the gesture. She pulled away for a fresh breath and smiled.
"Thanks, Rainbow. I know I'm not going to be shipped out to anywhere anytime soon, but I should have told you sooner. Even though my military role is kinda pathetic..."
"But you're still a soldier. I can't tell you how HOT that is!" Rainbow exclaimed before licking her lips.
Spitfire facehoofed.
"Of all the mares..."