Seven Days with Spitfire

by TN-Scotsman

Day 1 – Shattered Dreams

The bright yellow pegasus with the fiery colored mane flew as fast as she could. In her years with the Wonderbolts, she had never pushed herself like this. Her wings felt like they were on fire, but she pushed her muscles even further. Her goal was coming into view. She just hoped the help she needed would be available.

Rainbow Dash rolled over and rubbed her eyes. Yawning, she grumbled about having to even get out of bed. She was so comfortable. If the sun were just not as bright, she could go right back to sleep. Still, today was a big day for work. She knew she had to get up and get moving. Rolling out of bed and thumping heavily on the floor, she blinked her eyes and smacked her tongue in her mouth trying to figure out the taste the morning brought. Walking toward her bathroom, she placed her hoof gently on the one poster on her wall. “Morning, Spitfire.”

After taking her shower and brushing her teeth, Rainbow felt much better. Still grumpy, but at least the mystery taste was gone. She made her way to her kitchen for a light breakfast and some juice. Rainbow had her head stuck deep in her refrigerator looking for the juice when there was a loud and rapid knocking at her door.

“OUCH!” Rainbow yelled as she banged her head in the fridge, jumping from the startle the knocking at the door gave her. As she was rubbing the bump on her head, there was even more frantic knocking on her front door.

“All right, all right, I’m coming!” Dash called out. Walking over to the door, her head still stinging, she yanked the door open yelling “Who is it and what do you wan…HAY!” She never finished her question. Instead she was knocked to the floor by whomever or whatever was behind the door. Picking herself up from the floor to she started looking for the culprit. “Alright, you jerk. You’ve got Ten seconds to explain or else I’m going to kick your ...” For the second time in less than Five minutes, the brash Rainbow Dash found herself unable to finish a sentence. This time, however, she was just sitting there with her mouth open staring at the intruder in her home.

“Rainbow Dash…I’m really…really…sorry…but I didn’t…know where else…to go.” The breathless intruder panted out.

“Sp-Sp-Sp-Spitfire?!”

“Shh…please be quiet. They could be right outside.”

“Spitfire? In my house!” Dash exclaimed, completely starstruck.

“I said quiet. Please!”

At that moment, another knock at the door sent the fiery pegasus into a panic, running across the room and hiding in Rainbow Dash’s kitchen.

“Whoever it is, I AM NOT HERE. Please. I AM NOT HERE.”

Rainbow Dash was dumbfounded. ‘Is she afraid? I think she is. What in Equestria could she be afraid of?’

Rainbow Dash slowly opened the door, just enough to squeeze through and greet whomever it was on her stoop.

“Hello Miss Dash. Do you remember us?”

“Fleetfoot? Rapidfire?”

“Oh, good, you do remember us.” Fleetfoot exclaimed.

“Well yeah, of course I do. I love you guys. I’m your number one fan, but why are thre…er...um..I mean two members of the Wonderbolts doing at my house?” Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe how she had nearly screwed up there. ‘Keep it together, Rainbow. You are not some starstruck filly. You are Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, and there is a friend inside that needs you. Keep it together.’

“Well Miss Dash, we sort of need your help. We were wondering if you have seen our friend Spitfire? She left the Wonderbolts compound a few days ago and hasn’t reported back. We just want to make sure she’s OK and get her back to the compound.”

“Spitfire, hmm, Spitfire, she’s the yellow one right?” Dash joked, punching Rapidfire on the shoulder.

“Yes. The yellow one,” Rapidfire replied flatly.

“Heh heh. Sorry.”

“Have you seen her?”

“Oh, yeah, right. No I haven’t. You two are the first Wonderbolts I’ve seen today,” Dash lied.

“Well, if you do see her, let her know we’re looking for her. Who knows, maybe if you help us find her we might be able to find a spot for you on the team.”

“REALLY?” Rainbow’s eyes widened. Her dream was in her reach, but it would mean ratting out Spitfire. She looked so frightened earlier. “Well, I will definitely keep both my eyes out for her.”

“Thank you, Miss Dash.” And with that, the two Wonderbolts flew off.

“Fleetfoot, you know that filly knows where she is right? She’s probably inside her house right now.”

“Yeah, I know. Let’s go back and tell Soarin. Maybe we’ll come back later tonight and see if we can catch her then.”

Rainbow Dash watched as two of her idols flew off. Nearly forgetting about the idol that was hiding in her kitchen, she quickly turned and ran back into her house.

“They’re gone. Now, you want to tell me what the hay this is all about?”

“I do, and I will, but right now I’m exhausted and sweaty. Can I use your shower to get cleaned up a little first?”

“What?” Rainbow Dash replied, cocking her head sideways in confusion.

“Your shower. I’d like to use it. I stink and would like to freshen up, but I don’t know where it is.”

“Ah, sure, it’s upstairs and to the right,” Rainbow nodded in the direction and noticed the clock on the wall.

“Is that the time? Oh, I going to be in so much trouble. Look, will you be OK for a little while on your own? I’ve kind of got a work thing I need to take care of.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, as long as you don’t mind a stranger in your house,” Spitfire joked. “Just be sure to lock up like you would on a normal day, and please remember, I am not here. I’ll explain everything when you get back, I promise.”

As Rainbow left, Spitfire stayed a little tense until she heard the door lock. Once alone, she let out a sigh of relief, and allowed herself to relax a little for the first time in days. Looking around Rainbow Dash’s home, Spitfire was surprised by the amount of room and how few decorations there were. There was just a simple functional kitchen, and a couch and coffee table in the living room. There were no pictures on the wall, no fake plastic plants, not even curtains.

She made her way up the stairs to the bathroom. “Oh thank sweet Celestia! This is what I really need!” In the middle of the room was a large, beautiful bathtub. “A nice long soak in some bubbles with a little lavender bath salts, oh, this will be great.” Spitfire started filling the tub, getting the water to the right temperature, and then she started looking around for the bubbles and bath salts. “Oh, great. You mean to tell me she doesn’t have anything here but soap and shampoo? I knew she was a tomboy, but not even the basic necessities?”

Spitfire, now grumpy, tired, smelly, and sweaty, decided to just grab the shampoo bottle and use it for bubble bath. “Better than nothing, I guess.” She then lowered herself into the tub and allowed the hot water to relax her tired muscles.

Draining the tub and drying herself off, Spitfire decided to explore a little more and try to find someplace to take a nap. Conveniently, the bedroom was right across the hall. Again, she noticed that it was roomy, but hardly decorated. The bed wasn’t even made. She did notice one small picture on the night stand. Picking it up, she saw it was group shot of Rainbow and all her friends. Smiling, laughing, they looked very happy. Spitfire placed it back on the nightstand and then noticed the large poster on the wall. It caused some tears to swell into her eyes. She turned from the poster and walked toward the bed. “No more.” She wanted to rip the poster from the wall, but she was just too tired. All she could do was collapse on the bed and go to sleep.

Spitfire awoke with a start. It took her a panicked few seconds to remember just where she was and what was going on. She heard the front door close and hoof steps coming her way. The sun was setting, so she was hoping it was Rainbow Dash, but she still hid behind the bed, just in case.

“Spitfire, are you still here?”

“Oh, Rainbow. Thank goodness it’s you.”

“You okay? You seem a little edgy,” she said, noticing that Spitfire was still hiding behind the bed.

Blushing, Spitfire came out from her hiding spot. “Yeah, sorry. I guess I am edgy and I think I owe you an explanation. What say I tell you over dinner? I’m starving.”

“Well we could go out.”

“NO! We can’t go out. Don’t you have anything here? Can we order in?”

“Yeah, I guess I could run out and get something. Pizza okay?”

“Throw some beer in there and I’m in. Here, let me give you some money for everything and I’ll wait for you here.”

Once again, confused and starstruck, the rainbow colored pegasus left her home with her idol staying behind. “I wonder what’s going on here. Why are the others looking for her? Why is she hiding? Why is she so frightened? Why the hay did she come to me?” Rainbow was so distracted by her inner monologue she actually walked past the pizza place.

Returning with the pizza and beer, Rainbow found Spitfire sitting on her living room couch with plates and napkins set up on her coffee table.

“You don’t have a dining room table, so I guessed you just use this.”

“Yeah, I don’t really have a lot in the way of furniture I suppose.”

“Even less in decorations. Do you really spend so little time here that you don’t mind it? I mean this is a great place. It has so much room and potential.”

“Really?” Rainbow Dash asked turning her head sideways with a confused look on her face, “You’re the last pony I ever thought would try to give me home decorating advice. I mean you’re Spitfire, one of the fastest and toughest of the Wonderbolts. Why would you ever care about decorating or anything like that?”

“Well I may be one of the Wonderbolts, but I’m still a mare that enjoys some of the finer things in life. You know, like a pillow or a dining room table or, oh yeah, bubble bath and bath salts.”

“Wow.” Rainbow Dash was speechless, standing there with pizza and beer getting lectured about bath salts and pillows by her idol.

“Well, come on. Let’s eat before the pizza gets cold and the beer gets warm.”

The two sat, ate and drank quietly for a while. Rainbow tried to get used to the idea of Spitfire being right beside her. Years of worship and adoration and she was right there. Eating pizza. Drinking beer. This was almost more than she could handle. Yet, at the same time Dash noticed that there was something more there, something fragile and scared, something very non-hero-like.

“Well, I guess I owe you an explanation. I’m trying to leave the Wonderbolts and I need your help. You’re really the only pony that I know outside the Wonderbolts, even though I don’t know you that well. I know you and your friends are the Elements of Harmony, you’re the Element of Loyalty, and you saved my life once. I just need you to do it again.”

Rainbow Dash nearly spit the mouthful of beer all over the room, just barely gulping it down.

“You’re leaving the Wonderbolts?! Why in Celestia’s name would you ever want to leave the Wonderbolts? I’ve been trying for years to get in and you want to leave? What’s wrong with you? Have you hit your head? Are you insane?”

“Rainbow, please settle down. I know how important the Wonderbolts are to you, and I knew this would be a shock, but you’ve got to understand, once you’re in the Wonderbolts, it’s not all fame, glory, and fans.”

“Okay then, why don’t you tell me what it’s really like and why you’re leaving? Wait. You said you were trying to leave, didn’t you.”

“Yes, I did. You see, once you’re in the Wonderbolts, you can only get out one of three ways. One, you get too injured to ever perform again. Two, your teammates vote you out. Three, you die performing.”

“Whoa...I had no idea.”

Spitfire hung her head. She was revealing a secret world. She knew the cost if any of this ever got out.

“When we’re not at fan events, races, shows, or galas we’re practicing, working out, trying to get better. You always have to get better. If someone sees you’re weak or scared during a trick, they’ll exploit that to try and move higher in the team. If you get hurt, you do get great doctors and treatment, but when you get back, you’re so far behind, you usually end up on the practice squad or a support group. No one has ever been voted out of the Wonderbolts. That’s what keeps it looking like a big happy family. You do get voted into lower positions with lower pay. In some cases, these are very dangerous positions, like for some of the set up crew. Who do you think handles all our pyrotechnic equipment? They’re former Wonderbolts that couldn’t hack it anymore.”

Tears were welling in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. One of her greatest heroes is sitting across from her telling her that her dream life is in fact a living nightmare.

“Why are you telling me all this?” Rainbow sobbed. “You’re destroying the Wonderbolts for me. Why? I’ve idolized and worshiped the Wonderbolts, you, for so many years. Now you’re telling me the Wonderbolts are awful? WHY?”

“You wanted the truth, and I thought you deserved the full truth. If you’re up for it, there is more you need to hear.”

“More? How much worse can it get?”

“Well you know we all train and live at the Wonderbolts compound. Bet you didn’t know, none of us are allowed to have a place of our own outside the compound. No other homes. No relationships. No distractions. Once you sign that contract to be a Wonderbolt that is your entire life. A life filled with cheers and adoring fans. A life filled with pain and exhaustion. A life filled looking over your shoulder, watching your back, waiting for the knife to come stab you. Sometimes, when it’s really bad, it is a life hoping for death, just so you don’t have to do it anymore. The freedom you think you see in being a Wonderbolt; that’s all part of the act. We’re slaves to the franchise. High end show ponies until we die.”

Spitfire was crying now, holding her head in her hooves. She had just revealed the darkest secrets of her family. She had just shattered the dreams of the one pony she thought she could call “friend”.

As Spitfire continued her tale of the horrors of the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash hung her head lower and lower, tears streaming down her face, and her heart breaking with every story.
Eventually, her sadness gave way to a wave of anger and frustration.

“STOP IT! I’ve heard enough. So the life of a Wonderbolt is hard work, competition and danger and you just can’t hack it anymore. Is that what I’m hearing you say? You’re nothing more than a quitter. You’ve gotten soft and scared. You’re a coward.”

These words hit Spitfire like a knife to her heart. She knew Rainbow Dash was a huge fan, but she never expected this kind of reaction. She fell silent except for her sobs. She tried to look at Rainbow Dash, but the anger in Dash’s eyes was too intense. Still, she was Spitfire. She had been a Wonderbolt. She reached as deep as she could and pull up the last bit of courage to counter her friend.

“Well, if you want to be mean about it, yeah. I can’t hack. I want to quit. I don’t want die in an accident. I want my own life again. If that makes me a quitter and a coward, then that is what I am now. I never knew the Wonderbolts would be like this until after I joined. If I had known, I never would have signed that contract. Rainbow, please, you have to understand. I told you things that no one else knows. No one can ever know. I just sold out my family’s darkest secrets to you, because I want out. I want to be able to fly again, for me. Not for a show or to keep my place in the group, but for the freedom of flying. I want what you have.”

“And I’ve always wanted what you have,” Rainbow interrupted. Her anger at Spitfire still strong. Staring straight into Spitfire’s eyes, she continued, “ You know, if I turn you in, they promised me a spot on the team. All my hopes and dreams could come true, and all I have to do is turn you over to them.”

“Rainbow! Please, no. You wouldn’t. Not after what all I just told you?” Spitfire was terrified. She knew what being a Wonderbolt meant to Rainbow Dash. She started to look around the room for a way out. She could run again if she had to.

Rainbow Dash dropped her head once again, letting out a heavy sigh. The fear and panic she witnessed again in Spitfire told her that every story was true. Spitfire was trapped in a dangerous world and she was the only pony that Spitfire felt she could come to for help.

“I wouldn’t turn you in even before what all you just told me. You came to me for help. I can’t use you to help myself...no matter how bad part of me wants to do just that.”

Rainbow’s eyes were stinging from the tears. Spitfire was sobbing harder. Rainbow wanted to try and comfort her new friend, but this friend just broke her heart and shattered her life’s dream. Still, she was a pony that needed her help.

“All right, you said you were trying to get out. You haven’t told me about the trying bit yet. Let me have it. What do we need to do to get you out?” The words stung at Rainbow Dash’s very soul. She just asked what she could to get her hero out of the life she always dreamed of.

“You mean it? You’ll help me? Help me get out? Help me get free?” Spitfire was hard to understand through the sobs and tears, but she choked it all back to reveal the last truth.

“It’s my contract. It’s up for renewal. I have to sign it before it expires in seven more days. If it expires, then and only then am I out of the Wonderbolts.”

“Wait a minute. You said there were only three ways out and now there’s a fourth with this contract? Just don’t sign the stupid thing. Why ruin everything for me?”

“It’s not that easy. You don’t sign the contract with quill and ink. You sign it by entering the Wonderbolts compound. Since no one ever leaves the compound except for events; once your contract comes up, it is automatically signed by your presence in the compound. That’s why they want me back. Once I go through the doors, either on my own or being dragged in, I belong to them all over again.”

“That place really is a trap?”

“Yeah. I’ve been on the run since I found out my contract was coming up. They’ve been chasing me for three days now. I only have seven more to wait and then my contract has expired.”

“You only have six days left.”

“No, seven.”

“When you got here and started telling me this, you said seven. Look out the window. You’re down to six.”

Spitfire looked up, her eyes swollen and sore for the tears, and she saw Celestia’s sun rising over the horizon. They had talked all night. It felt like maybe an hour, but there was the sun right in front of her.

“You’re right. Six days now.” Spitfire allowed herself to smile just a little as she realized one more day had passed.

“You said they’ve been chasing you for three days. It’s a good bet they know you’re here. I almost spilled it yesterday talking to them. We need to leave. Now. We’ll have to keep moving for the next six days. One night at one place and then move on.” Rainbow’s tone was very matter-of-fact. She was almost cold toward Spitfire. She knew what needed to be done, and she just wanted to get it over with.

“Sounds like you’ve got a good plan worked out for us already.”

“Come on. We’ve got to go. We’ll leave through my bedroom window. I think I’ve got a hoodie you can wear to help disguise you a little.”

The two pegasi mares ascended the stairs. Spitfire put on Rainbow Dash’s black hoodie and secured it tightly. Then following Rainbow’s lead, she leaped from the window and headed off toward the Everfree Forest.

Comments

[BlackWidower]

Chapter 1: So far so jolly, though I think the first half, with Spitfire trying to put off and put off the explanation felt a bit awkward. It felt more like the set up for some big twist that never came. Not that I mind so much, it just feels awkward.

Then there's the part where Spitfire and Rainbow are yelling at eachother. It didn't feel like they were. Not quite sure how to explain it. I guess if it was written a bit more like it should have sounded, it would have worked better.

But otherwise, it's really good.

[themanesix]

thats.....a dark concept....great imagination although it makes me think a dark tag...maybe? eh we'll see intriguing start though