//------------------------------//
// Maintenance Inspection. 
// Story: Aces High. 
// by Mandroid 
//------------------------------//

Music

The first thing you feel when you pry open your eyes is unimaginable pain behind them. You cough, sputter, and grown as you reach over your head to slam your pillow on top of it before pawing at your end table to turn off the damn alarm clock.
“Muuuhhhgg…”
How much did you drink last night? Why are your feet wet? Why does your entire body hurt? As more of your senses wake up, you hear the shower running.
Why was the shower fucking running?
“GUUUUUHHHHH…”
You push yourself off your bed and turn over, rubbing your head to get the cobwebs out.
“Please don’t tell me I left the fucking shower on last ni-“
Whatever else you were going to say doesn’t come out as you watch someone trot out of your bathroom. Someone you knew, too.
You find you can do nothing but sit and watch as Spitfire drags her hooves out of your bathroom and along the floor of your room. She slogs her way across the room and opens the door to your closet before stepping inside. A few silent moments pass as the two of you take stock of what just happened before Spitfire opens the door again.
”That…is not my closet.”
“Very astute, Spits…”
"…Spits?”
”Yeah Anny?”
“Why are you walking out of my shower and into my closet?”
Spitfire kicks at the carpet a bit. “Uhhh…thought it was my place…your bath is in the same place as mine from my bed.”
“Ah…”
That still didn’t explain why she-
”Anny, can I ask you a question to?”
“Huh? Sure Spits.”
”How come you’re naked?”
Indeed you look down on yourself past your bare upper torso and at the blanket you were half under, the soft silk rubbing up on your lower half far too softly for you to be wearing PJ’s.
“Gah! Shit.”
You instinctively pull the blanket up over your chest, getting a chuckle from Spitfire.
“Oh, that’s funny huh? Your teammate getting so embarrassed?”
She chuckles once or twice more. “Hehe…yeah?”
You roll your eyes and look around your bedroom. Your clothes from last night were, luckily, still here, just spread all over. Some were on the floor, others over chairs, your pants were hanging from the ceiling fan and your socks seemed to be stuffed in your change jar.
“How in-“
”No idea…” Spitfire says as the two of you look at the fan.
“Well there’s certainly one possibility…but…”
You look around the room again.
Spread amongst your clothes and things in various states of knocked over were more than a few liquor bottles. Celtic Kicks, Stalliongrad Reds, Blitz Blasters.
“Oooohhh boy…”
You risk a peek under your covers again to che-yep, no boxers.
Spitfire giggles while you pokerface. “I think he’s getting it.”
“Last night.”
”Ahuh.”
“You and me.”
”No one else here.”
“Did we…?”
Spitfire nods and smiles her weary smile. “Kiiiinda looks that way, huh. Got any feather in your mouth?”
You absentmindedly pick at your teeth for any feathers before you catch yourself.
Dude, you fucked your boss.
“Oooooohhhh…”
You remain pokerfaced for a few moments as your process the information. You’d fucked your team captain.
”Yello? Earth to Anny? You okay in there?”
You shake your head back to reality. “Uh…yeah, sorry.”
Spitfire laughs. “Thought I lost you for a minute there. I figured I was good but not literally mind-blowing.”
“Oh haaaaar har. Cut the cheese out.”
”If that’s cheese, I don’t want to live in a world that aint” she defends.
You strike back. “That line was so cheesy that I could take it to Prance, slap it on a silver platter, and get applauded by the King for my culinary expertise.”
”Oooohhh.” Spitfire says wincing. “Harsh burn.”
“Call a medic.”
Spitfire chuckles again. “Still…wasn’t expecting this! Don’t even remember how I got here which is saying something with how much I drink.”
“Alchy.”
”Damn straight.” she says with a grin.
You laugh once and rub the back of your head, going into thought.
Spitfire senses your concern and comes around to your side of the bed. “Anny? S’up?”
“Huh? Oh just…wondering if this was allowed.”
Spitfire hops up onto the bed and sits down. “Whatcha mean?”
“I mean are there like…rules against fraternization among teammates?”
You and Spitfire quiet down as you both mentally recite the Wonderbolts handbook looking for the appropriate passage.
Getting into the Wonderbolts were a lot like getting your license back home. You studied hard and became an undisputed –master- for the entrance exam...buuuut there was a knowledge dropoff once you didn’t need to know it anymore.
”I don’t…think there’s a rule that says we can’t…” Spitfire says.
“How comforting to know that I might not get kicked off the team.” You chide.
”He who dares”, Anny.”
Cheeky shit.

“So…what exactly do we do not?”
”Well normally this is where you make me breakfast…”
“You know what I mean.”
Spitfire sighs and shrugs. “I dunno man…this hasn’t really happened before.”
A group of specimens at the height of their physical prowess stretching back generations that were forced together to forge the bonds of friendship and sportsman comradery never resulted in any of them bumping uglies?
Yeah, you believe that.
“…Hey, I got a question?” you say.
”I got an answer.”
You’d laugh, but-
“Why me?”
”Huh?” Spitfire asks, eyebrow arched.
“You heard me, why me? I mean, it’s not like the numbers of beautiful people is particularly lacking in our social circle.”
”Is this one of those “I’m a weird alien” things?”
Words used aside, you see some truth in them. “Mmmmmaybe? I mean, I’ve been around the block a few times here but I’ve found ponies are a bit turned off by…”
”What, the hands? The weird head? The silly ears?” Spitfire teases.
You toss a wet sock at her. 
“I was going to say feet, jackass.”
”Seriously? They’re weirded by feet?”
“No hooves is weird, apparently.”
Spitfire rolls her eyes. “Friggen racists…”
She shuffles a bit. “You asked why? I ask “Why not?”. You’re my friend, you’re my teammate, and hell, right now you’re my partner. “ Spitfire turns to you. “Plus you scratch my head so good.”
Ponies may be weirded by feet, but hands speak for themselves.
Spitfire shrugs again, this time more relaxed. “So why not? You’re a part of my life, you make me feel good, and you were right there. Them’s all the checked boxes I need.”
“Huh…so circumstance is enough, eh?”
”Only live once, Anon.”
She’s right about that…Fuck it.
“Do this again sometime?”
Spitfire turns around and arches her eyebrow. “Did you just ask to fuck me?”
“Nooo, I asked if you wanted to let circumstance steer us again in the future.” You say with a smirk.
Spitfire catches your meaning and smirks back. “We’ll see if you get lucky, cowboy.”
You chuckle and rub your head.
“I’m terrible at making breakfast but did you wanna head out? Fit in some practice drills and then maybe grab some lunch?”
”Uhg! Some guys! Throw ‘em a pity fuck and then they think they can ask you out! I’d love to, where’s my goggles?”
You reach behind your alarm clock and toss Spitfire her goggles as you swing your legs out of your bed.
“Get my pants?”
You catch your pants being thrown at you behind your head and slip them on.
The two of you help one another get changed and set up in record time before you step out onto your patio as it’s lit brightly by the noon sun.
”One hell of a thing to see with a hangover…” Spitfire says.
“Yeah…let’s get closer.”
You kick your engines and shoot into the sky, Spitfire right on your tail.