//------------------------------// // Team Fillyfoolers United // Story: Translucent Heart: Tales of a half breed // by Harmony Split //------------------------------// Chapter ten: Team Fillyfoolers United         Something tickled my side and disturbed my dreams. I tried to push it away and continue to sleep, but to no avail. Drowsily, I opened my eyes and blinked, trying to discern the source of the tickling. I found it immediately. Lavender was curled up against my back, her wings wrapped tight around me. My mind went into panic mode before I could stop it.         Calm down.         W-what?         I said calm down. I have a deal for you that is mutually advantageous.         So, you know?         Yes, now calm down. You don't want her to wake, do you? Now, to my deal. I have a few things that need to be taken care of, and I want you to do it. If you do what I say, I will 'ignore' your little relationship, and even allow you to create a family. And yes, I can see it clearly in both your minds. I won't even tell Lavender Skies that I know it, I’ll leave her in peace. Is that a deal?         I quickly thought it over. If I rejected the deal, it would be the end of everything Lavender and I had planned. Of course, it seemed rushed, but my heart told me that it was fine. I had no choice but to obey, but somehow I was okay with it.         I accept. For Lavender, I'll do anything.         Great. Now, you should try to get ready. Your first shift starts in around one hour, and you still have to sign all the papers.         Why are you so friendly now? It surprises me.         You two are some of the last of my hive. While you all think I'm cruel, I also care deeply for every member. Seeing a new family form inside the hive is something to my liking.         I never thought that you would be able to feel that way.         I'm full of surprises, just like you.         Shifting slowly, I got a good look at Lavender, curled up against me with a deep smile on her muzzle. Last night was a bit crazy, but I really loved it. Slowly, so as not to wake her, I shuffled out of her wings and stood. Lavender stirred a bit before folding her wings around my pillow and hugging it to her chest.         She's so sweet.         I giggled silently and made my way down to the kitchen. There was a stack of papers waiting for me on the table, which I quickly sat next to and began reading through, signing the important points. Some parts were marked for my attention and I read them carefully, trying to remember the content. When that was done, I quickly made a sandwich for myself and gulped it down. It was time to go all too soon.         Can you tell her that I left for work? And please try to take it easy on her. She will be freaking out a bit this morning.         Don't worry. You’d better focus on your work for now. You have fifteen minutes to get to work.         Oh crap, I’d better hurry up! I don't even know where I’m supposed to go.         Fly south from the house, you can't miss the building.         I picked up my saddlebags from the corner and stuffed the papers into them as quietly as I could manage before heading to the front door. The door squeaked a bit as I opened it, but then I was outside in the fresh morning air. Spreading my wings, I took off and headed south, already seeing a certain white building in distance.         During the flight, a few things came into my mind. Some about last night and what I had planned with Lavender. We planned to have a family in the future. Something in my head said it was just a rush and that it wouldn't be worth anything that way, but my heart quickly destroyed that thought. What I had was worth everything, and for Lavender I would do everything.         Smiling, I landed in front of the building just to be greeted by Captain Lightning Bolt, “Good morning, Morning Dew. I hope you’re ready?”         I nodded eagerly, “Yes, ma'am. Ready for everything!”         She laughed, “Judging by that smile, I can only imagine. Do you have the papers?”         “Of course, ma'am,” I replied as I took the papers out of my saddlebags, reaching them over to her.         “Good. While the rest of the team got their schedules today, we will head to some side clouds to train. Follow me.”         I followed Lightning Bolt into the air, keeping a short distance behind her. We headed east a bit until we were out of the town, then stopped in front of some smaller clouds.         “Alright, I would like to see your skills in the air with clouds. Please try to move these clouds into the forms I tell you. Ready? Circle!”         I had no time to breathe before I could react, quickly bolting towards the clouds and pushing them around. To my surprise, it was really easy. A small push was all they needed, and I quickly got them arranged.         I told you that you’d be good at this.         Smiling, I went to the next form, and the next. It wasn't just easy, it was really fun. Lightning Bolt seemed satisfied and stopped after the eighth form, raising an eyebrow.         “Are you sure that you’ve never done this professionally, Morning Dew?” As I shook my head she giggled, “Damn, you're a natural.”         “Thank you, ma'am,” I said.         “Oh please, ma'am makes me sound so old. Call me Lightning,” she said as she reached out a hoof for me to shake, “I expect much from you during the following week. Make me proud and you will be rewarded.”         “What’s next? This barely took one hour,” I asked and Lightning chuckled.         “Well, you were pretty fast. Let’s take a look and see what the team is up to,” she replied before she took off, and I followed close behind her.         That reminds me… Where does Lavender work?         She works in a sweet shop in the inner city.         Mmm...sweets...         I’m not going to comment...         Soon after we left, we could see some pegasi working around a few clouds in midair, and we headed straight for them. Lightning shot forwards and gestured for them to stop for a moment.         “Alright. We got a new one for our team. Everypony, please welcome Morning Dew to our team,” Lightning said as they all smiled towards me. Then, Lightning pointed at each one, calling their name, “This here is April Showers, my co-worker. Then we have Blueberry Cloud, Cloud Break, Cinnamon Swirl, and Deep Blue,” She pointed from the left to the right, first to a teal mare, a light blue mare, a gray stallion, a red mare, and at last a light blue mare that was hopping on the spot.          “Yay, another one for our team! And she’s a mare! Sorry, Cloud Break, you’re still outnumbered,” Deep Blue snickered, patting the gray stallion on his back.         “Maybe she’s at least free?” Cloud Break replied, causing me to raise an eyebrow.         “Sorry, taken. And besides, I only like mares,” I said, causing all the mares to burst into laughter.         “Great. We can call this team Fillyfoolers United now,” Cloud Break muttered before hovering back to work.         You are so cruel.         Is Lavender already awake?         She’s already at work. And don’t worry, I haven’t mentioned anything. But I might add that her head is filled with your flank, no matter how hard she tries to bury it down.         Mhm, I can’t forget her flank either.         You two are like school fillies that just found their first crush.         I blushed a bit, but quickly took hold of my expression. The mares around me were still laughing, even Lightning.         “Yep, poor Cloudy!” Lightning laughed out.         “Fillyfoolers United? That stallion has no imagination,” I blurted out. They all looked at me with wide eyes for a few moments before erupting into laughter again.         “I think we will come along quite nicely with you, Morning Dew,” April Showers managed to get out between her laughter.         “Every mare on this team is a fillyfooler?” I asked in surprise, to which they all nodded.         “Kinda. Our captain doesn’t care if she bucks a mare or a stallion,” Cinnamon Swirl spoke before biting on her hoof with a blush.         “Cinn!” Lightning shouted, her own cheeks becoming furiously reddish.         “Maybe we should get matching shirts!” Deep Blue said, “Team Fillyfoolers!”          “United!” April Showers added with a smirk.         “Enough, everypony back to work unless you want to come in during the weekend too,” Lightning said with a serious expression on her muzzle.         “Mmm, you should stop inviting us to your home for the weekends, Lightning,” Blueberry Cloud said, snickering before evading Lightning’s hind leg.         “Shut up, Berry! Now, back to work!”         Berry… My mind froze at that name again. Thankfully, the thoughts of Lavender quickly broke through my melancholy.         “Wait! I do remember last weekend, Lightning!” Berry stuck her tongue out.         “Only because you kept asking,” Lightning blew her a raspberry before facing me again, “We’re a funny little team, as you should know for yourself by now. I think you will fit in quite nicely.”         I smiled at their antics. It was nice to see a group of ponies having a good life, being friends, and even poking fun at each other as if there was nothing wrong in the world. As if everything was… normal. Well, for them life is normal.  Ahh, are you feeling sentimental? Normal is relative, you know.         I would love to have a normal life and a family with Lavender.         And I told you that you can have it. A deal is a deal.         Trust and her were two words that just did not belong in the same sentence together without a negative before one or the other. However, there was really no choice. Thinking about it, my epic plan backfired in the worst way imaginable. I wanted to be with Lavender simply to have some hope, some joy in my life that she couldn’t get in the way of, and now… now Lavender was a tool she could use to hurt me with.         Still, I wouldn’t take it back for anything in the world, “What do you want me to do, ma’am?” I asked Lightning.         “Well, stop calling me ma’am for starters,” Lightning said with a smile, “You’re a quick learner, Morning Dew, so let’s get you some on-the-job training. April Showers!” she shouted out the name of the teal mare currently chatting away with Deep Blue. “What do you need, Lightning?”         “Why don’t you take Morning Dew out and hit the west skies? Today's forecast calls for nothing more than a little overcast. Show her the ropes, but let her do most of the work.”         “So… fillysit?” Deep Blue said with an ‘are you serious’ expression on her muzzle.         “If you don’t want to do that, you can start gathering rain clouds for next week's thunderstorm. I do believe Cloudsdale is somewhere over Fillydelphia right now, should be a fun flight, don’t you think so?”         “Besides, I don’t need a fillysitter,” I chimed in and glared at Deep Blue, “I rather think that I could beat your flank.”         “Why is everypony obsessed with my flank?” Deep Blue pouted while April Showers snickered.         She sighed with reluctant acceptance, “C’mon, greeny, let’s get started.”         “First time I’ve seen you back down from a challenge, Deep Blue,” April Showers stated.         “Her marefriend might get mad at me If I beat her flank on her first day at work,” Deep Blue smirked at me and I blushed         “Who said that I won’t beat yours?” I asked and she blew me a raspberry.         “Because April Showers will help me!”         “Leave me out of this,” April Showers snorted.         “But honey?!”         “Don’t mind them. I figure they’re also arguing in the bedroom,” Lightning whispered, giggling into my ear.         It took another two minutes, but eventually I watched April fly off after leaving Deep Blue a small peck on the lips. I smiled and frowned in equal measure at that.         Too bad I couldn’t get a job with Lavender.         I doubt that confectioner would be the right job for you.         Yeah, you’re probably right.         “Let’s go, greeny. The skies aren’t going to clear themselves!” Deep Blue shouted as she started flying off to our portion of the sky.         “How long are you going to call me greeny anyway?” I asked as we flew west.         “Until you managed to survive our little ritual once your practice week is over,” she replied with a wink.         Grunting, I simply kept quiet and stayed behind her. Using this little time to myself, I started to look down at the town below us. There were quite the number of large buildings and thousand of ponies going to and fro, simply living their normal lives.         I was looking for the impossible, I was looking for the one pony down there that I wanted to see; Lavender. I knew she worked downtown, I knew she worked in a sweet shop, I just had no idea which one.         That thought bothered me, I wanted to know more. I wanted to know everything I could about her, and that included where she works. I want to be able to visit her for lunch. To share a cupcake with her and talk about our days.                  You know, you could’ve just asked. She works at Superior Sweets in the middle of the city. It’s a small, blue building next to the main street you took towards work this morning.         I still don’t trust you, but… thanks.         As I told you, a new family forming in the hive is something even I want to cherish.         “Hey, Deep Blue. When’s lunch anyway?” I asked.         I watched her check the watch on her hoof, “About an hour away. Why, hungry?”         “A little,” I smiled.         “Well, we get these skies done and we can take a slightly longer lunch for our efforts. Of course, that’s asking a lot from a greeny, since I’m just supposed to watch,” she said with a smile.         I know it’s just a dumb test on her part, but still, the reward is simply too tempting to pass up, “I think I can do it in thirty minutes,” I said with a smile.         “Ha, never!”         “If l do it in thirty minutes, it’s your treat, plus we have to go to lunch where I want to,” I smirked.         “Hmm, so you clear out ninety percent of the clouds over the western skies in thirty minutes and I have to buy you lunch at a place of your choosing, otherwise we go to where I want us to go to and you pay? Deal.”         “Alright, so what am I doing?”         “This!” she gestured to the sky before us. I almost fell out of the sky looking at it. The sky was full to the brim with clouds, no doubt from a recent rainstorm or a strong wind the night before. A large part of me knew that I just bit off way more than I could chew; however, whenever I was about to give in, I pictured her, and the surprise on her face of me showing up to her work.         “This it? I won’t even need thirty minutes.”         “Clock starts now, greeny,” Deep Blue said as she pressed the timer on her watch. With a cry of joy, I burst straight to the first bunch of clouds. I remind myself to be careful, that this was an endurance test, not a quick sprint to the finish. My mind instantly laid out a map of the sky in my head as I flew to the next group of clouds. What would trip me up the most is having to spend too much time going from group to group. I can’t miss any if I want to win. The clouds themselves are easy to disperse, a quick kick, a quick fly through and they burst into condensation. I proceeded in a diagonal pattern, making sure that each group of clouds lead to the next until it was time to head back. My plan worked, somewhat, “Hey greeny, A LITTLE OVERCAST, not clear skies!” Buck me.         Not interested.         I ignored her for now, that buck-up set me back. With a sigh I left my current trajectory and started moving a few clouds back to the portions I just cleared. They’re easy enough to move, but each one costs me time, time I just do not have right now. I fixed my mistake and double-timed it back to where I left off. At a cursory glance, I saw that I was about halfway done with no idea just how much time I had on the clock. Not that it mattered, every second mattered too much to look. My body started working on it’s own volition. Even with the water in the air, I felt myself sweating as the exertion on my muscles started to take its toll. In my mind I kept a picture of Lavender directly in front of me, always just at the next set of clouds, always moving slightly beyond my reach. Almost like she was teasing me. The little minx. I was careful this time though, I left every fifth group alone. After all, the weather did call for a little overcast.           Before I even realized it, there was only one more group of clouds to go. I saw them, about four-hundred hooves away. My face contorts, my wings beat faster and faster, my breathing was already labored, but now my lungs feel like their burning from lack of oxygen. I didn’t care, I pushed on, I pushed right to my limit and beyond. My word became the moment, the objective right in front of me.         It is said that clouds look different to each pony, that everypony that looks at them sees something different. To me, these clouds look like Lavender, like she’s holding her hooves open for me to fly right into them.         They burst apart in an explosion of water vapor as soon as I hit them. I forced my flight to come to a stop, panting and exhausting, but it was done.         “Time!” Deep Blue shouted.         “How… Did… I… Do?”         “You did it, greeny. Or should I call you, Morning Dew,” Deep Blue said with a smile as she flew over to me, “I do believe I owe you a lunch.”         I smiled as she embraced me in a hug. My muscles were killing me, but I couldn’t stop smiling.         Thirty one minutes, five seconds.         Really?         Just thought you’d like to know.         Again I ignored her, although, I won’t lie. I did want to know. Somehow, knowing that I came that close all by myself, and through my actions I did impress my teammate even though I technically failed, it made me feel better about myself.         “So, where do you want to head for lunch?” Deep Blue asked after breaking the embrace.         “Superior Sweets,” I replied, smiling deeply.         I can’t wait to see Lavender’s expression once I enter. Want me to tell her you’re coming? No, I want to surprise her. Okay, I’ll just make sure she doesn’t leave then. Don’t worry, I’ll be nice. Thanks. You know, maybe I can start to trust you at some point.         Deep Blue raised an eyebrow, but then nodded and took off, me shortly behind her. The smile stubbornly refused to leave my muzzle the entire time.