Mane and tail highlights?
Check.
New cutie mark?
Check.
Mission complete?
Far from it.
After long, tedious hours of getting hair dye and pushing her cutie mark painting skills to the limit, Blaze was finally ready for the last phase of her mission: to pretend to be Spitfire and wreck havoc around the compound.
Okay, maybe not 'wreck havoc around the compound', but close enough. After all, you could never tell with Blaze. Overconfident, mischievous, and vulgar-mouthed, she had been known for causing trouble around the compound, especially when it came to setting things on fire. Of course, although this mission probably didn't involve as much fire as she would've liked, it still meant trouble for the rest of the Wonderbolts who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the presence of the treacherous prankster.
And that was exactly what she thought as she stood in front of the body-length mirror in her room with a malicious smirk planted on her face. Her mane and tail was now two-toned with a lighter shade of orange-yellow to contrast her original fiery orange hue. Her cutie mark had also been changed so that it matched her half-sister's, and her usually messy hairstyle had been tamed to make her look more serious and professional.
All of this, however, did nothing to cover the fact that she would always be Blaze, the mischievous prankster, and never her half-sister.
Sneering as she imagined all the fun her pranks would bring, she crept out towards the door and placed her ear against it. No hoofsteps. Good. Then, she slowly opened the door and peeked outside.
The coast was clear. Mission good so far.
"Now here comes the fun part," she snickered to herself. She continued on her journey down to the first floor, where most of the 'Bolts were probably gathered. Her trip was uneventful so far, only a few Wonderbolts pausing to acknowledge their 'captain' as she passed by, her true identity unknown. She merely responded to them with a nod.
The façade was working perfectly so far.
As soon as Blaze entered the main floor, the population instantly increased. She wove her way through the small groups, occasionally answering to greetings from various Wonderbolts. It wasn't long before she heard a VERY familiar voice.
"HEYA SPITTY!"
Fleetfoot. That insufferable bitch. Blaze gritted her teeth angrily, trying her best to play it cool as her rival came bounding over.
"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere! So where have ya been?" Fleetfoot pressed against her side and giggled. "How's it going with Chiller?"
If this is what sis has to put up with every day, I actually feel sorry for her, Blaze thought to herself. Although, she had to admit that she, like Fleetfoot, also tended to annoy Spitfire in similar ways. As much as she would like to join in on the teasing, she had to keep up the act, or she would blow her cover. She took a deep breath and tried not to unleash any swear words, whether it was by accident or on purpose.
"Fleet, you're not ever going to drop that, aren't you?" she groaned, recalling how Spitfire sometimes acted around Fleetfoot. "Wave Chill and I just friends, nothing more."
"Suuuuuuurrrrrrrre," Fleetfoot answered with a reasonable amount of sarcasm. Then, she blinked and stared at something past Blaze's shoulder. Not something, somepony.
Wave was there alright. But he wasn't alone. In fact, he was conversing deeply with his - and Blaze's - captain, Silver Lining, while High Winds was starting to nod off at the side. By the looks of it, it must be something serious and urgent.
Suddenly, Silver turned and trotted towards her, giving her a respective salute at the same time. Silver saluting Blaze. . . oh, right, she was supposed to be Spitfire, not Blaze. Trying her best to look professional, she nodded. "Yeah, Silver?"
Silver looked a little baffled at her casual tone, but gave his report nonetheless"Captain Spitfire, we bring urgent news that your sister, Blaze, is nowhere to be found. She was supposed to arrive here at least five minutes ago for practice. Have you seen her anywhere?"
Blaze almost burst out laughing on the spot. Oh, if only he knew! She wanted to throw off her disguise right at the moment and laugh her head off at how gullible they all were, but she still had more important stuff to do. Yeah, like really important.
"No, but have you tried checking the mare's locker room, yet? I think I saw her going there a few moments ago," she answered, hoping it would convince them. And it did.
She smirked as they made their way to the locker rooms, grumbling. Silver was definitely in the mood to whip her ass - well, if he could find her anyway. Wave...being the usual, stiff soldier he always was. Unless he's with sis, Blaze added mentally. And then, there was High Winds, who had just gotten snapped at by Silver for nearly falling asleep AGAIN. Seeing Windy made Blaze really wish that she could just go over and talk to her. But nah, she still had a mission to complete. Besides, Windy will be more proud of me after she's seen how I've totally fooled the shit out of them.
"Hellooooo there? Equestria to Spitty! Anypony home?"
Blaze recoiled from the turquoise hoof dangling right in front of her eyes. "WHAT THE F - Okay, okay, what is it?"
"Gee, what happened to you today?" Fleetfoot zipped back into sight. Then, she grabbed Blaze by the shoulders and emitted a fake gasp. "Were you looking at Chiller? Were you? Answer me!"
"None of your fucking business!" Blaze finally snapped, unable to handle Fleetfoot anymore. Seriously, how does Spitfire even put up with this shit?
Several Wonderbolts stopped what they were doing to turn and stare at Blaze's rather heated response. Fleetfoot's jaw dropped open and she immediately let go of Blaze. "Spitfire, why are you acting like this? You were just fine this morning! What? Was it something I said?"
Oh damn. She didn't find out, didn't she? Blaze tried to cook up a reasonable excuse, hoping that Fleetfoot would buy it. "Erm, I'm sorry, it's just that there's been a lot on my mind lately. I didn't mean to snap at you, really."
And so, she was caught in a torturous hug from Fleetfoot. "I forgive you, Spitfire, I should've known earlier. After all, that's what friends are for!"
After the hug was over, Blaze gasped for air, ever so thankful for oxygen. That was when she noticed the rest of the Wonderbolts still staring at their little exchange. Groaning inwardly, she put on her best commanding voice. "What are you all staring at? Go back to what you were doing, there's nothing good to see here!" To her relief, they blinked, then quickly looked away and continued on their ways.
So now, Blaze was stuck with a bubbly, turquoise and white furball, also known as Fleetfoot, and she had no avenue of escape whatsoever.
Perfect for her next prank.
"He WHAT?!?"
"He wants to ask you out."
"B-But he's an idiot!"
"Well, that doesn't change the fact that I overheard him 'talking' to the other stallions about his plans for the two of you in the future."
Fleetfoot deadpanned. "Haha, very funny, Spit. If Air Mach wants to ask me out, he'd better be prepared. There is no way I'm ever going out with that idiot."
Blaze shrugged and put the weights back on the rack with a clang. "I thought I'd just warn you ahead of time so you'd be prepared. Ya know, just trying to help."
"Right, thanks," Fleetfoot answered half-heartedly. Her attention, however, was on the figures on the other side of the gym.
Air Mach was attempting and failing to show off his 'skills' to Soarin, who was trying to lift weights without distraction. Suddenly, Air Mach tripped over a dumbbell and planted face-down on the ground, then jumped back up and declared himself 'a true stallion'. And then he immediately fell down again.
"See what I mean?" Fleetfoot turned back to Blaze. "He's an idiot."
"Yep, I agree," Blaze nodded. Then, she stood up. "I'm going to go and make sure he doesn't get too many injuries. You stay here, alright?"
Fleetfoot shrugged and grabbed another weight off the rack. "I wouldn't want to go near that idiot, anyway."
"Suit yourself." Blaze turned and trotted towards Air Mach with that signature sneer of hers. Step one, success. Now all I need to do is to convince him. Shouldn't be too hard. She stopped where Air Mach was attempting to lift two hundred pounds and only succeeding in crushing his hooves. "Hey Mach! Stop fooling around and actually start doing something useful, will ya?"
"The great Animak. . . shall NOT lose. . . to a measly two hundred pounds!" Air Mach panted between words as the weight continued to drag him down.
Blaze gave him the most unamused expression she could muster. "No, seriously, Mach, just get a lighter weight and lift it. It's not like hell, ya know." Then, she got an idea. "Actually, do you think you could drag that thing over to that side of the gym?" She pointed to a corner far away where neither Fleetfoot, nor Soarin, could hear them.
"Ha! One does not simply outweigh the Animak in strength! Consider it done!" And so, Air Mach huffed and puffed and tried to drag the large weight over to the corner Blaze had indicated. After what seemed like an hour, he finally dropped and face-planted into the floor, completely out of breath. Blaze snickered silently as he tried to praise himself for a 'job well done', but only succeeded in a few wheezes. Feeling only a little sorry for him, she decided to wait another minute before making her announcement.
"Sooo. . . I heard that Fleetfoot really likes you," she said, catching his attention immediately. "And she's thinking of inviting you to a nice lunch with only the two of you. Whad'ya say?"
"The great Animak. . . shall make this. . . the best lunch. . . she'll ever have!" he puffed, then collapsed. Blaze gave him a prod on the back, only to receive a grunt in reply. Then, she shrugged and glided back over to where Fleetfoot was waiting.
"So what happened?" Fleetfoot asked curiously. "Did you kick his ass?"
Blaze tried to turn her smirk into an innocent smile. "You could say that."
Blaze sat in the mess hall, watching Air Mach chase Fleetfoot all over the place. Prank Two had been a success. Now all she needed to do was wait for another opportunity to present itself to the devious prankster.
"You really are evil sometimes, did you know that?"
Blaze flinched in surprise and whipped her head around to see Soarin, who had just set his tray down next to hers. She was about to retort, when she realized that he was just joking.
"Fleetfoot sometimes does need to get a taste of her own medicine," she reasoned convincingly, poking at her food, which secretly had a bunch of jalapenos hidden inside.
"Yeah, true," Soarin agreed, before digging into his food. Just then, a turquoise and white blur whizzed past them, followed by a red, white, and blue one.
"FOR THE LAST TIME, I'M NOT INTERESTED IN YOU!!"
"YOU CAN'T DENY YOUR LOVE FOR THE GREAT AND MIGHTY ANIMAK!!"
"DID YOU EVEN HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID?!?!?"
"A TRUE STALLION DOESN'T NEED TO HEAR! HE KNOWS HIS LINES BY HEART!"
Blaze just stared after them with a 'wtf' look on her face, not quite sure what Squad One was up to. Of course, this was partially her fault. But again, it was Spitfire who selected Air Mach to be on the lead squad.
Her eyes trailed down to her sandwich, which held the gateway to 'hell in your mouth'. At the same time, another idea crossed her mind. A very 'spicy' one, to be exact.
"Hey, Soarin."
"Mm-hm?"
"Fleetfoot recommended that you try these sandwiches. She said that they were some of the best she had ever tasted."
"Okay."
"So. . . I'll just go and make sure Mach doesn't end up getting killed, or something."
"Mm-hm."
"Okay, uh, enjoy your sandwich! From Fleet, of course!"
"Okay."
Well damn, as if that wasn't awkward enough. I think all that acting as Spitfire must be getting to me. Can't wait till I'm back to my own self. She stood up from her seat and stepped away from Soarin, who was still too busy eating like a snob that he didn't quite hear her. Cautiously, she quickly shoved the jalapeno-filled sandwich onto his plate and zipped away to get another sandwich.
After a few minutes. . .
"BLARGH! What the hell did they put in here?"
Blaze tried to conceal her snickers as Soarin flipped open the sandwich and winced in disgust at the mound of jalapenos buried deep inside. His expression changed to one of suspicion as he scanned the entire mess hall for the culprit who would dare prank a superior officer.
"Commander Soarin? Is everything alright, sir?
Wave Chill had apparently found Soarin's 'suspicious' expression suspicious, and had decided to inquire his superior's well-being like he always did. Soarin then tried to assure him that everything was fine. Blaze narrowed her eyes as Wave resisted, and kept on insisting that he could do whatever he could to help.
Slowly, a sly smirk crept across her face. Squad Two had been her first victims, Fleetfoot was her second, Soarin had just become third, and now her eyes sought out a new victim: Wave Chill. Silently, she crept after him as he finally left Soarin and continued back towards his own table.
"Hey, Chiller."
Wave Chill jumped and turned around. "Spitfire? Uh, I mean, ma'am?"
Blaze sidled up to him with half-lidded eyes. "How would you like to meet at my room tonight?" she whispered in his ear.
Wave found himself turning just a shade redder than he would have liked. "Erm, is there anything wrong, ma'am?"
"Nope! I just have a little surprise for you tonight," she giggled. "So, whadya say?"
"Uh. . . ," Wave had run out of things to say at this point.
"Well, see ya there!" And with that, she turned and walked away, but not before whisking her tail under his chin, leaving poor Wave Chill flustered, confused, and at least four shades of red brighter.
Meanwhile, far away from the knowledge of either of them, Soarin had watched the whole little exchange with interest. There was no doubt about it now. Spitfire was definitely acting out-of-character today. Sooner or later, he'd have his answer. But first, he was going to finish a nice, decent lunch before he did anything else.
'Cause if there was one thing Soarin learned that day, it was to always inspect his food before he ate it.
". . . and we are still unable to find her, ma'am!"
Blaze pretended to look like as though she were in deep thought. Once again, Silver had reported that they were unable to find the last member of Squad Two. Blaze knew that she was going to be in BIG trouble if she dared blow her cover at that moment. So, she continued with the thoughtful façade.
"Are you sure you've checked everywhere?" she asked, receiving nods in return. She went back to thinking, this time pondering what prank she could pull on them next. "I have an idea. Why don't you three split up, so that it would be harder for her to avoid you?"
Silver nodded dutifully. "Will do, ma'am." Then he turned to his squad. "You heard the captain! Wave, you patrol the third floor. Winds, you check the second floor. And I will patrol this floor. Meet back here to report, once you're certain that you haven't seen her anywhere." Then, he lowered his voice and turned to High Winds. "And Winds, don't start rubbing yourself all over her. You can save that for later."
Blaze snorted once they were out of earshot. It was entertaining to see her squad interacting with each other, while she stood a few ranks above them, her true identity unknown. But again, it was quite sad that she was so close to Windy, yet unable to talk to her like she always did. . .
"So, Lady-Captain," Air Mach announced with a very strange amount of seriousness, while Fleetfoot continued to glare at him from behind. "The Animak is ready for routine practice with his glorious new group."
"The day you stop speaking in third pony. . . ," Fleetfoot muttered from the side.
Blaze's eyes widened for a second. Oh damn, I forgot they had to practice a routine! Shit, shit, shit, what do I do now? She was now thinking so hard that she thought her brain was probably going to get fried. Honestly, she was never really the intelligent type, and seeing all the pairs of eyes on her in a situation where she wasn't showing off was not helping.
"I don't think we're going to be practicing routines, today," she answered in an uncharacteristically small voice.
Fleetfoot and Air Mach's eyes widened, while Soarin narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Why not?" Fleetfoot asked, bewildered. "You spent all of yesterday nagging us about how we needed to step up our game."
"Well, the thing is. . . ," Blaze started, dreading what she was about to say. ". . . my half-sister has gone missing again."
Fleetfoot let out an overly dramatic gasp that soon turned into a not overly dramatic gasp as she realized what her 'captain' had just said. "I knew it! That's why I haven't seen her all day! Ha, I knew somepony was missing!"
DAMMIT, why couldn't I have chosen something better to say?!, Blaze thought to herself. Great, now I just landed myself in hell.
"Does Squad Two know of this?" Soarin asked, although he probably already knew the answer.
Blaze nodded. "Yeah, it was Silver who reported it to me in first place. And just now, he and his squad had decided to split up and search the compound. With only a patrol of three, versus the entire compound, I don't think they're going have much luck find her."
Air Mach was on his hooves before Blaze even finished her sentence. "You want us to help them search the compound? Well, you've come to the right ponies! The great Animak never fails to impress his fellow teammates with his magnificent, magnified searching skills!"
Fleetfoot groaned, apparently still not over with the little incident from lunch. "So basically, you're saying that you want us to use our practice time to help Squad Two search for Blaze?"
Blaze, still under the disguise as Spitfire, had to stop herself from making her grinding teeth too noticeable. If Fleetfoot wasn't going to cooperate, oh she was going to be so angry. "Well, yeah, a missing Wonderbolt is a huge matter. So yes, we are going to help them search for Blaze," she answered much more confidently, ready for their reactions.
"AW YEAH! THE ANIMAK IS ALWAYS UP TO THE TA - "
Soarin yanked him down and gave him to Fleetfoot, who put him in a headlock. "Very well. So where do we start?"
"I. Am. So. Going. To. Kill her!"
"No kidding, Fleet," Blaze answered with a convincing eye roll. "I know you're tired of her shit, but you have to find her first if you want to kill her."
"But we spent hours looking for her!" Fleetfoot whined. She had a very good reason to do so. "I don't see how she could possibly avoid us all this time! I mean, it's not like she'd disappear without any good reason, right?"
Blaze fought back a laugh. "Yeah, like since when was she ever 'reasonable'?"
Fleetfoot slumped down, defeated. "Huh, point taken."
"The Animak. . . approves of her great hiding skills," Air Mach muttered with a considerable amount of disapproval. Even he was irritated to the point where he was starting to lose some of his usual gusto.
"I agree with both Fleet and Mach," Soarin chimed in, his voice brimming with annoyance. "If Blaze wants to hide from us for any good reason, then let her be. She's bound to turn up soon and face the consequences."
Consequences. . .
Blaze mentally cursed herself a million times as the word rang in her head. Consequences. . . I really wasn't thinking ahead, wasn't I? She now regretted even thinking of this prank in first place. Sure, she had faced plenty of consequences before. But this. . . this was something she had brought upon herself, and it was only fair that she faced the consequences.
But again, I can't possibly ruin it now. Blaze thought it over several times in her head. Reveal herself now and maybe suffer less consequences, or wait till the end of the day to see the full effect of her 'prank'?
Ha! I don't simply back down 'cause of some shitty old rules! she reminded herself. If she wanted to fulfill her prank, then she would get what she wanted. After all, she was Blaze, and she had a big, bad reputation to keep up.
"Okay, squad," she turned to address her squadmates, who looked no more enthusiastic than herself. "I'm going to agree with Soarin. We can't waste any more than we already have, searching for that prankster. I know she'll show up eventually and laugh her ass off, but I'll be the one to make sure she faces her consequences. Alright?"
"Yaaaayyyy. . . ," Fleetfoot moped. Blaze shot her a glare, much like Spitfire would have.
"Good plan," Soarin agreed. "We really need to start working on that routine anyway."
Blaze suppressed a gulp. Now there was no way to weasel out of this. She had watched Spitfire practice the routine with her squad several times, but she hadn't memorized it move by move. If she agreed to practice the routine, her cover would immediately be blown as soon as she took into the air. She tried to think of another excuse while mentally muttering obscenities. . .
. . . when a miracle happened.
"Captain! The gym has been set on fire!" Fire Streak appeared on her right, spluttering. "Captain Silver requests your presence as soon as possible!"
"The gym has been set on FIRE!?" Blaze repeated in shock. "What the hell happened?!"
"We think that Blaze might be he one behind all of this," he answered.
"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, hold it right there! You think I might be the one behind all of this?" she accused him harshly, throwing away her disguise. "I'm right here, ya know!"
Fire Streak raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Captain, we think that Blaze might be the one behind this, not you. You might be confusing yourself with your half-sister."
Oh. . . OH FUCK, WHAT'VE I DONE. Her eye's widened as the realization of what she had just said sunk in. I totally screwed up just now, so what am I gonna say? The answer was obvious. She sighed in defeat and got ready to come clean, and to confess her mistake all along. . .
"You're right. I have been confusing myself with my half-sister. Sorry 'bout that."
Fire nodded sympathetically as he headed off to the gym. "It's alright, captain. Everypony gets confused once in a while. But we must not tarry, for we have no time to waste!"
"Right again!" Blaze agreed as she took charge. "Lead Squad! Follow!"
Soarin and Fleetfoot followed right behind her, while Air Mach leapt onto his hind legs and pounded his chest. "THE ANIMAK AND HIS GLORIOUS SQUAD. . . TO THE RESCUE!" he yelled as he flew after them.
As they continued to the gym, Blaze felt an air of responsibility, which she had rarely ever felt before. Is this always what it was like to be Spitfire? To lead your teammates into danger, knowing that their lives depended upon your command? Whatever she felt, it was giving her a type of confidence she never knew she possessed. It wasn't the confidence that drove her to disobey rules and shout crude nicknames in Silver's face. No, it was the confidence of leadership. The one of the many things that set her apart from Spitfire. And one of the many things she was about to close the gap for.
But unfortunately, leadership also came with a price. One move gone wrong and the all the blame crashes down on you like tons of bricks. It was just like a stunt show - one stunt gone wrong, and who knows what could happen to you, your team, the audience, and maybe even the world. Leadership wasn't something to take lightly. It held lives in it's power, and it could, indeed, snap you under it's unbearable pressure if you weren't prepared for it.
All the more for Blaze to feel unnerved about.
"We're here!" Fire Streak announced. Blaze and her temporary teammates peeked in. . . and gasped.
The whole gym was on fire. Flames aligned the walls, climbing so high that they licked the ceiling. The heat radiated from the fiery mass of orange and yellow, blasting any ponies that hovered nearby. The fire was wild, untamed, and constantly spreading, threatening to overtake any obstacles that stood in the way. Some of the once-blue walls, had been scrapped off and burned to black crisps. Even the equipment didn't stand a chance as it withered in the heat.
Ponies were flying back and forth, pouring large amounts of water onto the fire, but to no avail. Squad Two could be seen hovering closest to the fire. Wave Chill was trying to counter the fire with his water-wielding skills, Silver Lining was trying to absorb the fire into clouds, then releasing them as lightning, and High Winds was creating blasts of wind to hold back the fire and buy them more time. A bit further from them was Squad Three, who were working as a group to try to hold back the fire, although their methods were bit less effective than that of Squad Two's.
"Spits! Aren't we going to help them or something?" Fleetfoot half-yelled over the commotion. "I don't like the idea of getting baked alive in a gym-sized oven!"
"Ah. . . I. . . oh fuck. . . ," Blaze trailed off, unable to comprehend what was happening. Why?
'Cause this was her fault. All her fault.
Her mind wandered back to a few days ago, where she had planned to do an experiment with a dangerous type of fire. She had kept it preserved in a corner of the gym, where nopony else could touch it. Ever since, the fire had been slowly growing more and more deadly. Her plan was to discover the results today and conclude the experiment. But she had been so occupied with the 'prank', that she had completely forgotten about her experiment. And the results of her experiment?
She was staring at them right now. The gym burning to the point where nopony could stop it. Nopony, but her. But the problem was, should she act now and save the day? It would ruin all the pranks she had planned later. After all, everpony could tell the difference between the Wonderbolt's best fire handler and anypony else, when it came to handling fire. If she acted now, it would so blow her cover.
ARGH. . . DAMMIT! This this a fucking emergency! Why the hell am I even worrying about a stupid prank?! Blaze mentally slapped herself, before readying to give the next order. Screw the prank. Just screw it all. My team and my friends are MUCH more important to me! And I WILL help them at any cost!
"Okay, listen up, lead squad!" Blaze yelled over the noise of the commotion. "It's up to us to stop this fire from destroying the compound! Soarin, Fleetfoot, and Air Mach, I want you to bring squads two and three together and assist them in holding back the fire in one place, while I gather the flames around me. Then, once I have them in place, you're going to put it all out with water. Got it?"
Her teammates' eyes widened once they heard the task Blaze had set on herself. "Are you serious, Spitfire?" Soarin yelled at her in alarm. "I know you want to keep the team out of danger by putting yourself in it, but this is too much! Only Blaze can handle a fire this dangerous, and Celestia knows where she's gone!"
Okay. This is it. No more pranks. It's time to come clean.
"Exactly. Maybe Spitfire can't handle it, but I can, and I will." And with that, ignoring the calls of confusion and alarm that rang out behind her, Blaze took off into the deadly torrents of fire.
As soon as she entered the flames the first thing she thought of was "who the fuck even authorized this shit in first place?". Then, she remembered that it was herself, alone, who took the blame for everything. Everything, including the smoke that choked her, and the smothering heat that threatened to melt her. Never had she felt this intimidated by fire before. Not even the times her mane had felt it's wrath.
Ha! As if it could beat me that easily! It's gonna take a lot more than a giant flame-powered oven to take me down, so bring it on!She spread her arms out wide, catching the flames as she whizzed by. Flapping her wings harder, she started to fly in a circle among the flames, creating one giant tornado of fire. Bit by bit, the untamed flames started to fall into place. Soon, the giant overload of flames had diminished into a tight ball of fire, powered by Blaze alone.
A safe distance away, Silver was watching the ball of fire with great interest. The way 'Spitfire' handled it. . . it reminded him of somepony else. A certain fire handler of his own squad, to be precise. As soon as the flames were gathered safe within a certain circumference, he raised his head and called. "Wave Chill! Get your ass over here and dunk this fireball already!"
"Yes, sir!" Wave saluted and directed his own torrent of water over to the fireball. High Winds and the members of squad two and three proceeded to join him in putting out the fireball. Soon, the fireball started to get smaller and smaller until the silouette of a pony could be seen spinning in circles within. With one last blast of water, Wave Chill vanquished the fire entirely.
Blaze lowered herself to the floor, sopping wet and panting heavily. She couldn't believe it. Actually, on second thought, she could believe it. She hadn't really tried that fireball trick before, but of course, everything requires a first time. After all, there was no fire handler greater than her, so what reason did she have to doubt herself?
The three elite squads crowded around her as she tried to catch her breath. The figures swam before her vision, making her regret that she didn't bring a pair of goggles with her. She could just barely see their mouths moving - by the looks of it, they were both complimenting her and asking if she was okay at the same time.
Just then, Soarin noticed that something was off. For instance, her mane seemed to lack it's second color, and her cutie mark. . . He gasped. It was no longer Spitfire's usual cutie mark. Instead, the cutie mark that now stood in its place looked like it belonged to -
"BLAZE!?" He stared at her, wide eyed. "Blaze, is that you?"
Great, now my cover is fully blown. Curse you, water. No offense, Wave. She groaned in both defeat and pain, doing her best to keep herself from collapsing in front of everypony.
Her worst fears were confirmed when Surprise grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her up and down comically. "Oh my gosh, Blaze, it really is you! We've been looking everywhere for you and wondering why you didn't show up today! Who knew you were pretending to be Captain Blaze? You know what this calls for? A par - "
Silver shoved a hoof in her mouth. "No time for a party." He walked up to Blaze and grabbed her roughly by the neck, cutting off a bit more of her already suffering airstream. "As for you, missy, you've got some explaining to do."
It was right at that moment when Blaze finally decided to pass out.
"So, Spitty, how was your day off?"
"Fleet, I wouldn't call it a day off. I was just using this time to catch up on some paperwork. I swear, if that stack gets any bigger, I am going to request my sister to take my spot for a day."
"Actually, speaking of Blaze, we did run into some interesting stuff today."
"How did she do?"
"Eh, it's a long story. But no worries! All will be explained. . . soon. But still, I can't believe you actually let her be captain for a day! Was it intentional, or what?"
"Well, it's kinda hard to miss when she's carrying a pack of hair dye back to her room. When I figured out that she was going to dress-up as me for the day, I did consider stopping her right on the spot. But then, I realized that maybe I could use that to my advantage, since I had a lot of paperwork to do anyway. So, I locked myself up in my office and prayed that Blaze wouldn't blow up the compound."
"Huh. Wise choice. But weren't you at least a teeny-tiny bit worried?"
"Worried? Of course I was! This my half-sister we're talking about. I'm actually very proud of her, seeing that she didn't manage to blow up the compound."
"Yeah. . . about that. . ."
"What did you say, Fleet?"
"Nope! Nothing at all! Everything's good! So. . . you still let her take over the compound, even though you were worried?"
"Hey, everything's worth a first time. I have wanted to teach Blaze the basics of responsibility and leadership for a long time, and this chance just comes along perfectly. Of course I had to make her learn the hard way. . . even though I knew I was risking the safety of the compound."
"Wow, you really are evil, Spits!"
"You've said that before, Fleet. And you still haven't answered my question yet."
"Oh, about how she did?"
"You said it will be explained soon."
"Okay, you want the long version, or the short version?"
"Ugh, whichever one makes sense."
"Well then, we are here!"
Spitfire stopped abruptly, nearly bumping into Fleetfoot. She glanced at the door that stood several meters ahead, then back at Fleetfoot. "The gym? How's that supposed to explain anything?"
Fleetfoot rubbed the back of her head. "You said you want the one that makes sense, so here you are! The proof that Blaze managed to put out a fire that she started a few days ago! Go on, take a look," she added when Spitfire stopped hesitantly a few feet from the door, eyes narrowing suspiciously.
Taking a deep breath, Spitfire crossed the last few feet and peeked through the door.
"WHAT THE -
~ THE END ~