Tales of Apple Scratch: The Lieutenant Cloud Kicker

by Mariacheat-Brony

Departures from Las Pegasus

Cloud had walked in her team’s dorm as Silent was doing a last minute check on her luggages with the help of Blossomforth. Gale had apparently gone on a morning practice, if the empty spot on the group’s weapon rack where she usually rested her long axe was of any indication. Blossomforth draw her attention on who had just come in, before she tapped on Silent’s shoulder to get her to look away from her stuff.

“Good morning, Sergeant,” they both said in an even tone as they saluted.

Cloud blinked a couple of times and glanced around to see if Sergeant Pagétonas was behind her before she remembered they were saluting another sergeant than the one they had seen everyday for two years.

“Riiight… At ease,” Cloud half-heartedly ordered before rubbing her temple softly. “...Do we have something for headaches? Something that lasts longer than aspirin?”

“....Hangover?” Blossomforth asked after she closed the distance separating her from Cloud.

“Yep,” Cloud nodded before sitting on her bunk as Blossomforth prepared a long glass of water for her.

“You need to drink a lot of water,” Blossomforth stated after giving Cloud her glass and leaving the pitcher on the blonde’s nightstand.

“Thanks,” Cloud muttered softly, bringing the glass to her lips.

“Want me to get you one of your aftermath potions?” Blossomforth asked as the fresh water cleared Cloud’s dry throat and fogged mind a little bit.

“If you don’t mind,” Cloud said softly before Blossomforth went to the bathroom and came back with a red vial in her hand. “Thanks, Blossom.”

“You’re welcome,” Blossomforth said calmly while Cloud popped the vial’s tap open. “I hope you know that I won’t do that every time you come to work hungover, Sergeant,”

“I hope so too,” Cloud assured after emptying the vial in one gulp. “Matter of fact, my first order as your sergeant would be to bash my head with your spear any time you spot me getting more than tipsy.”

“I can do that,” Blossomforth snorted with a smile. “I really thought your first order would be for all female guards to wear mini-skirts.”

“....That’s not a bad idea,” Cloud mused playfully. “You’re going to go far with ideas like this one, Private Shields! I might even name you my second in command one day!”

“Such an honor,” Blossomforth sarcastically retorted with a roll of her eyes. “You should probably take a shower… You don’t smell so good,” she added, wrinkling her nose in discomfort.

“Always a pleasure to hear that,” Cloud frowned a bit before standing up and leaning her face close to her armpit. “Even if that’s the truth!” Her frown turned into a wince of disgust at her own smell. “I’ll see you two in a bit.”

And with that, Cloud went inside the dorm’s bathroom, oblivious that Silent and Blossomforth were both staring at her with a puzzled frown. Quickly enough the sound of the showerhead running and the blonde’s casual humming tone came from the bathroom, and it was at that moment that Silent and Blossomforth turned away from the door beyond which the sounds came from to look at each other.

“Did Cloud just go in the shower without suggesting one of us should go have one with her?” Silent asked with shock.

“She did,” Blossomforth replied, worry very much present in her voice. “You think she’s sick?”

“I don’t know… She didn’t look feverish or anything, did she?”

“She looked like she had too many drinks last night,” Blossomforth answered softly. “Other than that nothing!”

“.... Maybe she just decided to act more like an officer with us,” Silent suggested after shaking her head to answer Blossomforth’s question. “...It would be hard to obey the orders of someone who’s constantly flirting with his subordinates.”

“I guess,” Blossomforth let out slowly. “Though, I never thought it would change her behavior so fast… Yesterday, she completely ignored Waitress cleavage…”

“Well, she was talking to Lieutenant Maverick and her beau,” Silent reminded slowly. “They probably had more interesting things to talk about…”

“I don’t know...I think there’s something wrong…”

“Something wrong about?” Gale asked as she walked inside the dorm, her large axe resting on her shoulder.

“Cloud went to take a shower and didn’t ask Blossomforth or I to come inside with her!” Silent explained quickly, earning a blank stare from the redhead.

“.... Cloud did that?” Gale asked, turning to Blossomforth who nodded slowly. “The same Cloud that ignored the waitress with the Great Rift trapped under her apron when she bent over two feet from her yesterday?”

“Yes!” Blossomforth nodded.

“Is she sick?” Gale asked with worry.

“We don’t think…”

A loud noise of something falling on the ground came from the bathroom and interrupted Silent’s answer. All three women looked at each other before they made their way to the bathroom, fearing that Cloud had had a feeling of faintness and collapsed in the stall. With a great strike of shoulder, Gale busted the door open and rushed inside with Blossomforth and Silent in tow.

“Well,” Cloud’s head peeked out of the shower curtains. “The screws of the towel rack finally gave in,” she said at the sight of the mess of iron bars and towels on the ground just next to the shower. “One of us will have to go to the hardware store, otherwise Pagétonas would not leave us in peace until it’s fixed.” Cloud then turned to see her three teammates looking at her and then to see the door’s state. “.... Not that I particularly care, but why did you break the door down? And why are you all looking at me funny like that?”

**********************************************************************************************************

A few hours later,

After the incident in the bathroom, Gale volunteered to go to the hardware store to buy what was needed to fix the door and the towel rack. Cloud and Blossomforth had told her that it could wait for later, but the redhead had insisted on going right away. They knew it was just an excuse to be away from Silent and the fact she was leaving them. Gale had accepted Silent’s reasons for their break-up, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t hurting her. Blossomforth and Cloud knew Gale had realized that it was hurting Silent too, but she still had prefered to stay away from her.

While Gale was away to the hardware store, the rest of the team accompanied Silent to the train station along with Ford and a great deal of their fellow trainees who were leaving today for their new assigned stations as well. They arrived on the platform a good five minutes before the train would begin his entry into the station, and were bombarding Silent with last minutes recommendations.

“Don’t become a stranger and write to us, okay?” Cloud asked as she hugged the dark-skinned scout softly. “Ponyville is on the quiet side of life so we’ll need some entertainment from the capital!” she jested playfully.

“The closest town to the Everfree forest in all of Equestria on the quiet side of life?” Silent asked with a doubtful, raise of eyebrow. “Hard to believe…”

“The monsters of the Everfree stopped liking the scent of apples a few years ago,” Cloud explained with a shrug. “They’ve come to associate it with danger…”

“......What?” Blossomforth asked, her own eyebrow raised higher than Silent.

“I’ll explain it to you once we get here.” Cloud waved off casually.

“Riiight,” Blossomforth let out slowly before she went to hug Silent as well. “Anyway, should you need anything, it’s like the sergeant just said. Write to us and we’ll help you in any way we can!”

“Thanks!” Silent returned the hug strongly before letting of the watermelon-haired woman. “It’s going to be weird without you girls….” she admitted in a slightly pained whisper as her eyes glanced around the platform with sadness.

“You’re sure you didn’t want us to bring her here, Silent?” Cloud asked gently as the grey-haired scout sighed deeply.

“It’s okay,” Silent replied with a shake of her head. “We’ve told each other everything last night.” Her cheeks rosied a little at the mention of last night.

“You sure you found the time to say everything?” Cloud asked with a knowing grin.

“...We managed to find some time for that,” Silent admitted sheepishly, her tanned cheeks taking a bright shade of crimson. “You’ll look after her, won’t you?”

“Sure thing, Silent!” Blossomforth and Cloud assured with vigorous nod.

At that moment, the train engaged itself on the platform before coming to a full stop a few seconds later. After a sharp whistle, a large amount of people stepped down of the train with enthusiasm, probably tourists waiting to spend their bits at the casino, thus forcing the group of guards to back away from the train to let them pass. It took a few minutes before the way was clear again. With a final wave to her teammates, Silent passed the bag that kept her crossbow on her shoulder and picked up the travel bag.

“WAIT!”

A sudden shout stopped Silent from stepping inside the train before a sharp, whistling sound came closer to her. A loud thud and a soft breeze on her back made Silent know that someone had landed just behind her. She slowly started to turn around, but before she could finish her move, two pale and muscular arms were wrapped around her. Her travel bag landed half in the train, half on the platform as Silent recognized instantly the arms around her lithe frame. How couldn’t she have recognized them when she had felt their embrace at least once a day, everyday for two years.

“...I’m sorry… I’m sorry for avoiding you this morning,” Gale whispered in her ear, her voice shaking in a sincere apologetic tone. “... I’m sorry for not helping you with your bags… I’m sorry for not accompanying to the station … I’m sorry for nearly missing your departure because I love you too much to see you go… I know we agreed on this break-up and I won’t try to convince you out of joining the Lunar Guard… I thought I could be strong enough to handle it but I’m too weak for that apparently…”

Silent blinked a couple of times as she could see the tears filling the redhead’s crystal blue eyes.

“...What did you just say?” Silent asked, her voice barely above a whisper and shaking like a leaf in a storm. “Could you repeat it, please…”

“..I’m too weak…”

“No! Before!”

“...Sorry for avoiding you…”

“No! After that!”

“..Won’t try to convince..”

“Just after Because! What did you say after because?!”

The redhead gulped nervously before answering. “I love you too much to see you go,” Gale let out softly, locking her eyes on Silent’s golden ones.

“....... I knew you’d make this hard, Gale,” Silent blurted with a warm chuckle, earning an hurt glare from the redhead.

“Glad to hear that makes you laummmhghghgh!”

Gale’s frowny retort melted away as Silent pushed her tongue deep past the redhead’s unexpecting lips. The lithe scout brought her hands up to tangle her fingers in the shoulder long crimson hair, while Gale’s tongue duelled fiercely against Silent’s. The redhead’s strong arms strengthened their embrace on the future Lunar Guard, lifting her off the ground a little bit. Cloud and Blossomforth stared blankly at the two women lost in their kiss while some nearby parents chased their children away from the scene before Ford and Ace, who were taking that train with Silent joined the observing pair.

“Didn’t they decide to break up before Silent’s departure?” Ford asked in a low whisper.

“That’s what they decided, yes,” Cloud replied with a nod as Silent boldly wrapped her legs around Gale’s waist.

“I didn’t know that is how breakups usually happened,” Ace commented before turning to Blossomforth. “Hey, Blossom! Wanna break up with me?” he asked in a low purr, wiggling his eyebrows at the spearwoman.

“Piss off, Ace!” Blossomforth snapped with rosy cheeks.

“Well, I suppose that the Sergeant will break up with Mustang then?” Ace asked playfully before noticing that Ford had pulled his sketchbook and a pencil out.

“Can’t do!” Ford stated as his lead danced on the paper with swift and precise moves of his hand. “I’m capturing the moment!” he explained with a sharp nod at the kissing pair.

“Should I be offended by this?” Cloud asked curiously.

“I don’t know,” Blossomforth shrugged as Ace laughed at her for being embarrassed so fast. “I’m still trying to figure how relationships work for you…”

“...You and me both, Blossom,” Cloud chuckled softly as a sharp whistle rang through the platform.

“AALLLL ABOARD!!!!”

“I guess that’s our cue!” Ace stated as many passengers rushed inside the train, grumbling at Silent and Gale still making out and blocking one of the train doors. “Blossomforth, Sergeant Kicker, it’s has been an honor!” Ace assured with a warm smile at the two women with a brief, playful salute.

Rolling her eyes, Blossomforth extended her fist to the blond soldier, who bumped his into it instantly while Cloud saluted him with two fingers before shaking hands with him. The blonde then turned to the artist who had put his pencil away once the whistle rang, satisfied with his first sketch, on which he’d work during the ride.

“I guess this is it,” Ford let out calmly. “You remember our first train ride?”

“How could I forget?” Cloud chuckled softly. “You had quite the wandering eyes back then!”

“You had quite the revealing pants and habits back then,” Ford retorted with a knowing smile. “Well, to be honest, you still have both,” he reminded playfully.

“Same for your eyes, Mustang!” Cloud smirked, poking at Ford’s sketchbook a few times. “And the same could be told about your mind, if your drawings of me are of any indications,”

“I’ve never asked you to pose in the nude whenever you accepted modelling for me.”

“You’ve never asked me to put my clothes back on though… I’m not sure I would have listened but you could have tried if it made you feel uncomfortable...” She reminded with a triumphing smirk as Ford’s cheek reddened as the many drawings of Cloud popped in his minds.

“...I wouldn’t say uncomfortable is the right word, but let’s go with that for the sake of the discussion,” Ford laughed sheepishly before extending his hand to Cloud. “Anyway, it’s a goodbye I presume…”

Cloud shook her head and ignored his extended hand to give him a strong hug that he returned after a few seconds long shock. As she broke their embrace, Cloud gave him a gentle peck on the cheek.

“I prefer a ‘’See you around!’’,” Cloud retorted warmly before pushing Ford in the direction of his train. “Have fun finding a new sexy model for your fantasies in Baltimare!”

“Well, Mermaids have been sighted in Horseshoe Bay, so don’t worry about me or my fantasies!” Ford claimed playfully as he walked away.

“And how would you score with a mermaid, Ford?”

“I’d just do what I’ve learned from the best!” Ford assured with a small wink that made Cloud giggle softly before he stepped inside the train sideway to not interrupt Gale and Silent’s passionate kiss.

Ace followed Ford inside the train, but, unlike his partner, he gave a small tap on the redhead’s shoulder before pulling Silent’s travelbag completely inside the wagon. The small hit on her shoulder reminded Gale that Silent’s train was about to leave. With great efforts from her part, Gale slowly pulled her lips away from Silent’s, a strand of saliva connecting their mouth together briefly before it was swept broken by a small breeze. Her chest heaving as her panting gasps became less frequent, Silent unhooked her legs from around Gale’s waist before the redhead put her down inside the wagon.

“I love you too, Gale,” Silent whispered tenderly, her forehead touching Gale’s for a brief instant. “I love you, but I can’t stay with you… I’m sorry!”

“I know,” Gale whispered softly. “Focus on your dream, Silent. I’ll just try to wait for you,”

“I’m not asking you to do that!” Silent chastised in a shaken voice.

“It won’t stop me from trying,” Gale admitted with assurance. “Goodbye.”

“...Goodbye.”

They shared one last, brief, and much more chaste kiss before Gale let go of the grey-haired scout. Silent secured her shoulder bag in her grip as she took a few steps inside the train, her free hand rubbing her tear-filled eyes softly, while Gale stepped back from the train, much to a railway-attendant’s pleasure, who could finally close the door and whistle for the driver to go.

Said driver made use of his locomotive’s whistle before the wagons jerked forward a bit and then slowly slided along the rails. Gale and Silent maintained eye-contact as long as possible before the train left the station. The redhead kept standing there as the steam-powered vehicle became a smaller figure on the horizon with Cloud and Blossomforth quietly watching over her. Once the train was out of sight, Cloud went to her friend’s side and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Come on,” Cloud gently said in a murmur. “We’ve still got some stuff to buy at the hardware store.”

“Okay,” Gale whispered in a sad voice. “...How do you know I didn’t go there already?”

“You’re not as stealthy as you think you are, Gale,” Cloud assured softly. “I’ve noticed you following us the moment we left our dorms. I was just waiting when you’d finally come around and talk to her before she leaves.”

Gale didn’t say anything in response to that, and Cloud left it at that. After a small, friendly tap on her back from Blossomforth, Gale and her two teammates conjured their wings and took off to go get the materials and tools needed to fix their dorms’ bathroom.

**********************************************************************************************************

The next day,

The three girls had made a final check to see if nothing had been forgotten, and so far it didn’t seem like it. Their wall of fame had been cleared of all its articles, pictures and trophies; their bathroom had been fixed the afternoon before, though Blossomforth had accidentally hammered Gale’s thumb during the repairs; and their closets had been emptied of their possessions.

“You have all of your stuff ready?” Blossomforth asked as she tightened the straps of backpack. “Our train leaves in two hours, so we need to be there quickly.”

“Blossom, relax!” Cloud recommended softly as she pulled the zipper of her travel bag close. “It’s an hour and half long walk to the station at worse. Forty minutes by carriage, or fifteen by flight. We’re not gonna miss our train.”

“Still, I’d prefer if we arrive at the station early!” Blossomforth argued before glancing at Gale’s bunk. “Gale, get up!”

Gale folded the photograph she had been looking at for the past ten minutes and put it in one of her inner pockets before leaving her bed with a small groan.

“Fine! Fine! I’m up!” Gale stated as she passed the strap of her bag on her shoulder before picking up her Diamond Dog Axe to rest it on her other shoulder. “And ready to go!”

“.....You’re gonna walk around with that uncovered?” Blossomforth asked with a frown. “People will be bothered by this!”

Gale simply pointed at one of the many Royal Guard Insignias on her jacket in response. Blossomforth glared at her for a few seconds before glancing at Cloud for support, causing her to sigh with a brief chuckle.

“Swiftwing, just wrap the head of your weapon with some cloth at least,” Cloud stated in a serious, commanding tone. “We don’t want to make a scene at the train station.”

“All right, Sergeant” Gale shrugged before taking a random piece of clothing from her bag, a bright teal top, and put it on the bladed head of her weapon. “Done!”

“.... Fancy,” Blossomforth admitted before all three chuckled softly at the bone-made weapon wrapped in teal fabric. “Can we go now?”

“You’ve got a date with that ticket guy from yesterday that you’re in a hurry to go the station?” Cloud asked playfully before picking her travel bag and backpack.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Blossomforth rolled her eyes, her cheeks rosing at the mention of a possible date for her as usual. “He barely said three words to me!”

“He was kinda cute, and from what I saw you were his type,” Cloud remarked casually. “You totally could have gotten a date yesterday instead of checking your luggages for the nth time!”

“You, maybe. Me, absolutely not!” Blossomforth stated before grabbing the straps of her travel bag and going to the door. “And now, we’re going!” she ordered sternly while picking her cloth-covered spear that rested against the door.

“Remember that you’re her superior now, Cloud,” Gale reminded as she and Cloud went out of the dorms after Blossomforth. “You can order her around and not the opposite.”

“Don’t remind me too much of that, for I can order you around too.“

“I’ll just shut up then,” Gale quickly stated in response, earning a playful roll of eyes from the young sergeant.

“Sergeant Kicker!”

Cloud stopped right in her tracks when she recognized the voice of Sergeant Pagétonas calling her in her stern, commanding voice, the only tone the girls had ever heard from the silver-haired sergeant.

“Sergeant Pagétonas,” Cloud replied in a formal tone while straightening her stance, quickly imitated by her two partners.

“Ready to go I see,” Crystal commented, her eyes glancing at the luggages carried by the three Royal Guards who nodded in response. “There’s someone who wants to see you. I’ve told him you were about to leave, but he insists that it’s important and urgent.”

“Ha,” Cloud let out in confusion. “Well, I suppose I have a few minutes. Who’s it?”

“Trend,” Crystal replied with a shrug before inviting Cloud to follow her with a jerk of her head.

“Trend?!” Cloud asked back in surprise. “Why does he want to see me?”

“I didn’t ask!” Crystal apathetically replied.

With Blossomforth and Gale as surprised and confused as her, Cloud followed Crystal to main building of the compound. In front of said building, Trend was sitting on a bench, his feet batting a fast paced rhythm he was the only one to hear. Cloud could tell he had been sweating like crazy, and while it was a rather hot day, she had realized it wasn’t just the warm weather that was the cause of his sweating. He was clearly nervous about something.

“There she is,” Crystal announced casually, causing Trend to look up in their direction, his face lighting up immediately.

“Hey, Trend! You wanted to see meeeeghghuuuuuuuUMMMMHHHHHGG!”

Before anyone could react, Trend had run the distance separating him from Cloud to press his lips against hers with great passion. His passion encountered nothing but shock from the four Royal Guards: If Cloud wasn't having her lips trapped by Trend’s, she would probably gap like an idiot at him. When she felt his tongue push inside her mouth, Cloud groaned in displeasure and tried to push him off of her. His enthusiasm made it difficult for her to do so until Crystal, who had spotted Cloud’s resistance to the kiss, intervened and separated them.

“OFF, NOW!” Crystal barked before unceremoniously shoving both blonds apart from one another.

“WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!” Cloud shouted in total disbelief after Gale caught her to prevent her from falling on the ground like Trend.

“I’m sorry, I should have waited when we would have privacy,” Trend stated amorously as he sat up on the dirt. “But I couldn’t stop myself when I saw you, my love!”

“WHAT?!” Cloud shouted back, barely hearing Blossomforth and Gale repeated her question. “What Love?! What are you talking about?!....WHAT??!!!”

“Since that night we spent together, I can’t stop thinking about you,” Trend declared with tenderness, oblivious to Cloud’s shock and distress.

“Cloud, how could you?!” Blossomforth shouted with shock. “He’s engaged to someone!”

“.I-I.. I was drunk and…”

“That’s your excuse?” Crystal asked with a cocked eyebrow. “Because that’s not a good one!”

“He was drunk too, and Spitfire was with us the whole time!” Cloud added angrily.

“.......Nice,” Gale let out more to herself than to anyone else.

“It was not nice, Gale!” Cloud snapped at the redhead before Trend intervened.

“It was more than that!” Trend mused with stars in his eyes. “It was better than anything I’ve ever done with Spitfire… We had something more. A much deeper connection! I know it’s destiny that brought you to me so that we can be forever together! That’s why I broke my engagement with Spitfire and came here to ask for your hand!”

A deep silence was the sole response to his declaration as four pair of wide, shocked eyes turned to look at him, expressions of horrors on all four women’s face.

“...Ask for my hand?” Cloud asked with her mouth agape.

“I can’t fight against what my heart commands,” Trend explained pulling a small box from his pocket.

“Oh, Gods,” Cloud whispered while bringing her hands over her mouth. Don’t open that box! Don’t open that box!

Trend did open that box, revealing a golden band with a gemstone embedded on it inside it. Crystal’s shocked frown turned into a deep scowl when she saw it. She had seen the ring not long before, though it was around Spitfire’s ringfinger, not in a box.

“..... Huuh,” Blossomforth let out, casting a worried glance at Cloud who had frozen at the sight at the ring.

“.... Cloud?” Gale asked fearfully as the blonde’s hands moved away from her mouth.

“........You’re so dead, Trend,” Cloud whispered quietly.

“Oh,” Trend’s cheeks reddened, remembering another circumstance when Cloud had said those words. “That can wait for later right???”

“No, it can’t,” Cloud calmly explained, a nimbo-gladius forming in her hand. “I’m gonna bury that blade deep into that stupid, commanding heart of yours until it stops beating RIGHT NOW!!!!”

Cloud took one step forward, her sword ready to be thrusted forward, her fury clear on her face, before Blossomforth and Gale passed their arms around hers and her torso.

“No, Cloud! Don’t do that!” Blossomforth ordered as she struggled to keep her grip on the raging blonde.

“LET ME GO! I’LL KILL THAT MORON WHERE HE STANDS!! LET ME GO!!!”

“Yeah, not really!” Gale let out as she pulled Cloud away from a shocked, and confused Trend.

“AS YOUR SUPERIOR, I’M ORDERING YOU TO LET ME GO AND TO HELP ME GETTING RID OF THAT DUMBASS!!”

“Tempting, but we’re gonna have to disobey those orders, Sergeant,” Blossomforth commented with a sheepish chuckle as Gale and she had put enough distance between Cloud and Trend.

Though, holding back Cloud wasn’t enough to prevent any harm to Trend, as Crystal finally stepped between the two blonds and punched the male one so strong he went back on the ground instantly. Seeing that caused Cloud and her two partners to freeze right in their tracks. Crystal then picked the ring box up the ground and closed it.

“Up,” Crystal said to a trembling and bruised-face Trend. “UP!” Gulping nervously, Trend stood up as Crystal faced Cloud, her expression stern and commanding. “Sergeant, let go of your weapon. No one is killing anyone around here without me giving the order!”

“ I...” Cloud started slowly.

“Sergeant Kicker, let go of your weapon, or I’ll make you let go of it myself!” Crystal warned in a cold, angered tone. “Good,” she added when the nimbo-gladius vanished from the blonde’s hand. “Now, Trend, be a good little man, and get the hell out of my compound.”

“No, I’m ready to fight for my Lov…”

“Please, finish that sentence, Trend!” Crystal stated in a hopeful tone. "I've been waiting to kick your ass ever since you claimed that Snowdrop was simply a myth and piece of folklore all those years ago... and now? Now you messed with Spitfire. Played with her feelings, and made a mess in my compound. So please... Please give me just one more reason to put you in the hospital right now!"

Trend locked eyes with the silver-haired sergeant for brief instant before he picked himself off the ground and puffed his chest and take one step toward the sergeant. Crystal stood her ground before her right hand tightened in a fist. Feeling the sudden cold that follow turned out to be too much for Trend’s resolution, and he quickly turned heels and walked away from the four female guards without a word.

“I’ll send you letters, my love!” he shouted loudly in Cloud’s direction, causing many nearby recruits and older trainees to look at their general direction. “HIAAAAARGH!” he shrieked a second later when an ice-made shard flew just under the crotch of his pants.

“He can’t take a hint,” Crystal muttered dryly as Trend now ran away from her.

“Cloud, are you okay?” Blossomforth asked with worry as Cloud grabbed the base of her hair angrily.

“No! I’m not okay!” Cloud snapped loudly. “That ...That idiot broke up with Spitfire because of me! How can I be okay with that?!” Her angry face turned into one of great remorse. “....He had proposed to her and I ruined that!!”

“Hey! HE ruined that, Cloud!” Gale reminded with force. “Not you!”

“I..I..I gotta talk to Spitfire… I’ve got to explain…”

“You will do no such thing!” Crystal stated firmly. “You girls are to report to Ponyville Guard post tomorrow afternoon. You can’t and will not miss that train!”

“B-but…”

“Duty calls before anything else, Sergeant! Remember that!” Crystal barked with authority.

“Screw the call of duty, Sergeant!” Cloud snapped angrily, butting her forehead against Crystal. “I’ve made a mess, and I’ll clean it! I REFUSE to leave Las Pegasus before talking to the Lieutenant Maverick! Do I make myself clear?!”

“You’ve got a lot of guts, Kicker, I’ll give you that,” Crystal admitted slowly. “But you’re way ahead of yourself on this!”

Slowly, Crystal raised the bottom of her shirt a bit, showing a round mark, similar to a fist impact, of burned flesh a little bit to the right of her belly button. Cloud blinked at the sight of the mark while she heard Blossomforth gasp quietly behind her. Crystal Pagétonas was the Winterjet, the Human Wendigo, some even called her the New Snowdrop. Her having been burned by something was so surreal for the three younger Royal Guards.

“I got this the one time Spitfire and me pissed each other off, and I mean really off!” Crystal explained slowly. "We fought for over two hours, and her fire-fist burned through my frost shapes and left me with this. Likewise she ended up with a frostbite scar on her back. Spitfire's not someone you are able to take care of right now, Kicker,” she stated more gently before she kept going. “Her fiancé, that moron, probably broke her heart in pieces because of his non-sensible affection for you. You're going to take that train let me deal with her right now, because I'd rather you don't become a pile of ashes.”

“She’d attack her?” Gale asked with shock.

“Maybe… Maybe not… It’s a risk I’m not willing to take,” Crystal stated matter-of-factly. “Now, go get your train.” When Cloud didn’t move, Crystal flicked her nose. “That’s an order, Sergeant!”

“......Okay,” Cloud let out softly before all three younger guards left Crystal to her thoughts.

Now, I’ve got to look for a large, unauthorized bonfire… Oh, joy! Crystal sighed before conjuring her wings and readied herself to take off.

**********************************************************************************************************

The next day, Spitfire’s country residence,

“Took me a while to figure out where you were!” A familiar voice brought Spitfire out of her reverie.

“....Hi, Crystal,” the captain of the Wonderbolts replied apathetically as the sergeant stood to her left.

Immediately after, Spitfire grabbed a pair of men's pants from the pile of clothes and other trinkets, at the right of where she was sitting, and threw it in the massive fire before her. The silver-haired woman looked at the flames consuming the piece of clothing in silence until Spitfire grabbed a pair of green and orange checkered socks.

“Can I help you with that?” Crystal asked slowly as Trend’s socks joined his pants in the raging inferno before them. “It looks fun.”

“.... I don’t mind,” Spitfire shrugged before Crystal went to sit on the other side of the pile.

“So, where’s Thaddeus?” Crystal asked with curiosity while throwing one of Trend’s books into the fire. “I didn’t spot him on my flight here.”

“I was supposed to be away a while longer so Soarin’s keeping an eye on him,” Spitfire explained casually, casting a photo of herself hugging Trend with tenderness. “He likes Soarin a lot, though that might have do with Soar’ giving him some pie every now and then,” she added with a brief chuckle.

“Soarin has always been a big softie when it comes to animals,” Crystal commented casually before she went to her pocket. “Trend went to the compound yesterday,” she said, throwing a dark, velvet box she had pulled out of her pocket in front of Spitfire.

Spitfire stared at the box in silence for a few moments. “What for?” she asked as she opened the box to see her former engagement ring.

“He wanted to propose to Kicker with that ring,” Crystal explained before the fire instantly grew more intense. “She threatened to dice him up with her cloud-sword or whatever she calls that shape of hers,” the sergeant added slowly.

“Uh-uh.”

“She’s probably beating herself up over that,” Crystal stated, turning to look at Spitfire.

“Good for her! She’ll learn that there are consequences to her actions,” Spitfire muttered angrily.

“I doubt that she put the idea of breaking your engagement in Trend’s mind,” Crystal mused slowly. “He had a weird thought process and you know it.”

“She confessed that whatever happened that night was probably her fault! That she had started it!” Spitfire yelled furiously. “You know me! You know I don’t do that sort of stuff!”

“...You said ‘whatever happened that night was probably her fault’... That means you’re not sure yourself,” Crystal pointed out with narrowed eyes. “I get the feeling she wasn’t the only one drunk that night!”

“SO?! You’re going to defend her instead of me?!” Spitfire asked furiously. “That ...That SLUT took my fiancé away from me!”

“She didn’t steal anyone, Spitfire,” Crystal claimed calmly. “Trend left you on his ow...”

“SHUT UP!”

Spitfire had yelled all her anger out in one instant, interrupting Crystal as the bonfire turned into a scorching column of flames that reached for the sky. The sergeant had to cover her eyes to protect them from the light before the fire died down. When she heard soft, pained whimpers, Crystal quickly stood up and went to Spitfire, who had brought her knees to her chest and laid her face on top of them.

“...Why… why did he do that?” Spitfire asked between heartbroken sobs. “... What does that girl have that made him so easy to leave me after one drunken night with her?” Her lips trembled as Crystal soothingly passed her fingers through her hair. “We’ve been dating for two years… he proposed to me barely three weeks ago… And he threw me away like I was an old pair of worn-out shoes after one night…” Spitfire’s sobs grew louder and more pained. “He didn’t even wait a day to let me know that he had doubts… He just came to me the afternoon after and told me that he had fallen in love with the kid. That they had deeper connection, even if he had just felt it once… That she was better suited for him than me…”

“That man is a moron, Spitfire,” Crystal stated softly. “And believe me, as soon as you’re better, we’ll go on a manhunt… It’ll give Thaddeus some exercise!”

Spitfire choked a small bout of laughter amongst her sobs.

“Manhunts are illegal, you know,” Spitfire reminded slowly, looking up from her knees before Crystal hugged her head softly.

“Oh, right,” she let out in disappointment. “Probably for the best: Thaddeus would have caught who knows what after gobbling Trend up.”

“I’d rather not have my dog getting sick,” Spitfire stated slowly.

Crystal nodded while gently rocking Spitfire back and forth, her eyes falling on the still large pile of Trend’s stuff. She then softly went to pick the ring box from Spitfire’s hand, meeting no resistance, and put it on top of the pile. Under Spitfire’s teary and questioning look, the sergeant nodded at the pile a couple of times until the captain of the Wonderbolts understood what she wanted. Soon after, all of belongings that Trend had left in her home, or anything that reminded her of him were the prey of Spitfire’s fiery shape.

“Like a band-aid, it’s best to take it off in one swift move,” Crystal stated slowly as both her and Spitfire turned to watch the fire consume all the pile of clothes and trinkets along with Spitfire’s engagement ring.

“Mhm-mhm,” Spitfire nodded slowly.

“What are you going to do about Kicker?” Crystal asked after a while. “She’s really upset about this all situation.”

“And I’m not?”

“I’m not saying you’re not, Spit’, but she wants to make it up to you.”

“She can by staying away from me,” Spitfire claimed bitterly.

“Spitfire…”

“Let it be, Crystal,” Spitfire shook her head with a long sigh. “I don’t want to see her ever again!”

“Bullshit!”

“Excuse me?”

“I said ‘Bullshit!’!” Crystal repeated slowly. “You will maybe be able to fool others, but not me! I know you care about that girl, Mama bear Spitfire! You’ve been training her for three years, that’s longer than you ever knew Trend.”

“It doesn’t matter, I..I don’t want ...I..I can’t see her again, Crystal,” Spitfire let out with sadness. “I just can’t. I know that every time I’ll look at her, I’ll just see him leaving me for her…”

“Oh,” Crystal let out uneasily. “So what now?”

“Now, I’m gonna do what every woman with an ounce dramatic sense would do in my situation,” Spitfire said as she stood up from the ground. “Lying on a couch and eat nothing but family-sized tubs of ice cream for the rest of the day. Wanna join? I could use some company”

“Eating nothing but ice cream is not very healthy, Spitfire...”

“I’ve got two tubs of strawberry ice cream in the freezer.”

“I’ll gladly stay with you for a few hours!”

Crystal then followed Spitfire inside her house. After they had entered through the veranda, the sergeant saw the lieutenant stop in front of a picture on one of the furnitures close to the kitchen. Spitfire stared at it for a few seconds before slowly flip it on the oaken surface so that she couldn’t see it anymore, though not before Crystal could see who was on the picture and letting out a saddened sigh. It was a picture of Spitfire gently holding one of Cloud’s shoulder while both stood before the head of a napping Thaddeus, a happy smile on both their face.

Author's Note:

The epilogue is but a few minutes away ^^

Comments

[Hot Charge]

I feel sad now.

[ZoraHusk]

This truly made me feel so happy and sad both at the same time... Saying goodbye is always painful but I believe Gale and Silent will be back together in the future -yes, after seeing the relationship between this girls I can't say I would be glad if Silent ends with Spring Canvas, just no.- And just like in the old times... it was great to see that Cloud didn't forget how she met Ford.

At first I didn't care about Trenderhoof at all, I knew he would be a mess in this story and everything, but after really reading what happened I'm glad that he left like that and gave the Wonderbolts something fun to do, like put him in his place after creating such chaos and hurting their friend.

[Kenshinryuu]

I hope and pray that someday Trend causes trouble in Ponyville so Cloud, her family, and all her friends can make him suffer for breaking Spitfire's heart. I hope that eventually Cloud can talk with Spitfire again, they had a great relationship and I"m very sad to see it broken. Thaddeus needs to vanish for a few weeks and show up to give his owner a very recognizable piece of clothing indicating he got some revenge for her, especially if Soarin hands over pictures of him doing it.

[RoyalRainbow]

This chapter is truly touching in a lot of ways: both good and bad.

First of all, Silent and Gale's final goodbyes. I love on how intially Gale didn't want to see Silent off because it would bring too much heartache for her. But in the end, Gale couldn't do that to herself or Silent as they finally share one last heartbreaking goodbye. And I am truly thankfully that Gale was willing to wait for as long as she can until Silent can see her again sometime in the future. But out of curiosity, why couldn't they see each other during their vacation times or even write letters to one another? To sum up my inner feelings, this is my reaction:

Silent and Gale forever!

As for Ford Mustang, I am thoroughly impressed on how you handled my OC in this story. I not only like how you made him and Cloud Kicker remind each other on how they met on a train like the one that he departing back to Baltimare, but I also like how they share some last playful banter as well as ending it with simple, suitable affection and witty dialogue. I'm quite surprised that CK wasn't already having fantasies of her own with the mention of mermaids. Again, I commend you on what you have done with Ford in this entire story! You're truly the best!

As for the confrontation with Trend, that was well written too. I think a lot of reader can sympathize with Cloud and Crystal's anger against the injustice that Trend pulled off in this chapter. I'm also glad that CK wasn't the only one in the room considering that she would f-ing murder him right on the spot as well as gaining witnesses to Trend's idiocy.

Lastly, the bittersweet ending was also great when Crystal met up with Spitfire. The bonfire was just fitting for the last setting as Spitfire burns all of Trend's leftover possessions as well as how it intensifies when her anger rises. Crystal definitely had a big role in this chapter: preventing CK from committing murder, punching Trend in the face, advising CK to not see Spitfire just yet, and comforting her fiery-haired friend when she hit her lowest point in life. Everything that was written in the end was nicely done. And FYI, it made me think about Avatar the Last Airbender's "The Beach." Don't deny it, you were thinking the same thing!

I only have one question: who is Thaddeus again? Is that the Canis Minor that followed Spitfire as its owner? Just wanted to make sure about that one!

[Nightshade_Sonata]

Allow me to just say, *ahem* TREND IS A BITCH.
That is all.

[CrowMagnon]

Trend here reminds me of a line from when I saw Ron White's stand-up act earlier this year. He made a joke about how his previous marriages had failed because at the time, he hadn't gotten it that monogamy is a choice, and always figured that if he was really in love, he wouldn't want to sleep with other women. And how that turned out not to be the case.

[HeartfireFirebrand]

“The monsters of the Everfree stopped liking the scent of apples a few years ago,” Cloud explained with a shrug. “They’ve come to associate it with danger…”

“......What?” Blossomforth asked, her own eyebrow raised higher than Silent.

“I’ll explain it to you once we get here.” Cloud waved off casually.

We all know don't we alos .

Also Trend is a dick.