• Published 19th Aug 2019
  • 10,353 Views, 462 Comments

Spits Fire - CommanderApplejack



Ever wonder how Spitfire got her name and what secrets she hides?

  • ...
20
 462
 10,353

Secrets

Spitfire was not having a good day.

The Wonderbolts’ captain had woken up with the worst case of the feather flu she'd had in years and would now be grounded for something like a week. But that wasn't the reason why Spitfire had locked herself into her Canterlot apartment and barricaded the door. No, the reason for that was a secret she intended to keep from everyone she knew, for who would want to be associated with a freak like her if they knew?

Just like he did when he found out…

She'd managed to hide it from the doctor who'd given her the medicine she required, but only barely. Keeping herself from sneezing had been absolute torture but she'd somehow managed to do it.

Ahh… CHOO!

A bright orange flame shot forth from her muzzle and briefly lit up the room, small wisps of smoke rising to the ceiling and adding themselves to the layer of smoke already present there.

Hiding her fangs had been relatively easy throughout her life. They never had grown out to any severe length, and her cravings could be satisfied by eating fish. Canterlot and Cloudsdale both had a few shops that sold various forms of sea creatures. The second way she'd been able to get meat was whenever the 'Bolts were invited to some noble's party, they always seemed to have an assortment of meats.

The rest of the 'Bolts always questioned how in the world she could stomach the amount of food she always ate at those parties, something that earned her the nickname 'Carnivore' amongst others.

If only they knew how close to the truth they are.

Ahh… CHOO!

"Dammit mom, why did you have to have such weird tastes in boyfriends," Spitfire complained, but in her heart, she loved both her parents. How could they have known that having unprotected sex would end in a pregnancy. It was quite literally a biological impossibility according to every bit of science known to ponies.

Spitfire sighed as she wrapped herself in the blanket she'd gotten from her bed, careful not to put it in the way of her muzzle since it wasn't exactly fireproof.

Knock knock knock!

Spitfire's heart skipped a beat as she heard three hard knocks on her hard wooden door. This was not a time at which she wanted to have any visitors. If anyone found out about her secret, it would soon be spread all around Equestria. Spitfire could already see the headlines: "Wonderbolts lead by freak?" or ”Captain unfit for duty. When will she be relieved?”

"Hey, Captain! Everything alright in there?"

Rainbow Dash?! What's the rookie doing here? No matter. Better to pretend to not be here in the first place.

"Captain, can you hear me?! There's smoke coming from your apartment!" Dash shouted as she continued banging on the door. Spitfire cursed quietly as she hadn't taken into account that the smoke could escape through small cracks in the building. Now there was no way for her to stay silent.

"I'm all right, Dash. Just a little accident in the kitchen!" she shouted back at the door with her raspy voice, hoping the rainbow maned mare would leave again.

"Wow, you sound terrible," Dash commented as she heard the raspy voice. "Anyway, Soarin sent me to come check up on you. He wanted me to help you out so that you could get plenty of bed rest."

Of all the times that massive goofball had to send help, this was the one time I'd have appreciated if he hadn't done so.

"I'm alright, private! You can return to HQ and tell the lieutenant that I'm good and that I'll be back in about a week!" Spitfire shouted back at her, but she had the creeping feeling that it wouldn't be enough to dissuade the Element of Loyalty, a creeping feeling that turned out to be quite accurate.

"Sorry ma'am, Lieutenant Soarin was quite adamant that I'd stay here to help. He even went so far as to say that I should kick down your door if you refused to let me in," Dash called back. Spitfire cursed under her breath as she was pretty much out of options other than letting Dash enter. Her mind quickly went over a couple of other alternatives, but running wasn't one in her current condition…

"Captain, please open up. I'm prepared to follow through with Soarin's orders if you don't open the door!" Dash shouted as a last warning. Spitfire, not wanting to have to replace her door, removed the plank that was keeping her door closed shut and undid the locks before opening it. A cloud of smoke came out of the apartment and hit Rainbow squarely in the face, causing her to cough violently. "Sweet Celestia, Spitfire, how can you even breathe in there!"

I could breathe inside a volcanic ash cloud if I wanted to.

"It's not that bad…" the captain meekly defended, but it didn't matter as Dash pushed past her into the apartment.

"Not bad my plot! Seriously Captain, what were you thinking?!" Dash exclaimed as she started opening every window she could, allowing the smoke to escape from the room. Spitfire coughed a couple of times which caused more smoke to escape from her muzzle.

NO! I can't be spitting fire when she's around!

Rainbow turned around to see the Captain cough up smoke and gasped, "Ma'am you're coughing up smoke! This is far from alright! I want you to go lay in bed while I get you something hot."

Spitfire wanted to object but was simply feeling too weak to do so. She looked at Dash's swinging flank as the other athletic mare walked to her small kitchen.

She does have a nice flank, and I know she's a trustworthy… NO! Stop it, Spitfire. Don't let those feelings rule you! It'll only hurt you if she finds out what you really are and rejects you!

Ahh… CHOO!

Another bright flame lit the room along with the formation of an appropriate amount of smoke. Not wanting to be caught flat hoofed in the hallway, Spitfire shot into her bedroom with her blanket and lay down on the soft mattress. She briefly closed her eyes as she waited for Dash to finish making whatever she was making.

"Hey, Captain, I know the others call you the carnivore, but is it really necessary to have a small supply of fish in your fridge?" Spitfire's eyes shot wide open as she heard Dash call out the question. She hadn't even thought about the fact that Dash would be rummaging through her provisions, but right now that didn't matter as she needed to quickly think up an excuse for having it in her fridge.

"It's uhm… an acquired taste!" she said back to the confused mare in her kitchen who remained silent, a cold sweat formed on Spitfire's coat as she waited for the response.

"…Alright, that's cool I guess," Dash said, her tone indicating that she was unsure if she was okay with it. Spitfire on the other hoof felt as if she'd just dodged a lightning bolt.

For the next few minutes, Spitfire waited in anxious anticipation as she listened to Rainbow working in the kitchen. The captain slowly hid further under her bed sheets as time sluggishly ticked on and more paranoid thoughts entered her mind.

"I'm glad you had honey stored away, Captain. It would have probably tasted much worse if you hadn't," Dash said as she came walking into the bedroom with a tray that held a plate with a sandwich and a cup of tea. That tea presumably had the honey in it that Rainbow had mentioned.

Though before Rainbow set down the tray she looked at Spitfire who almost seemed terrified of the other mare in the room. This was the point Dash really started to get concerned about the Wonderbolts’ captain. The pony she knew was confident and wouldn't let herself be pushed around, while the pony in front of her looked like a scared little filly.

Carefully putting the tray on the bed, Dash took a step back and allowed Spitfire to grab the items there. The angsty pegasus gently picked up the cup of tea and let the steaming hot beverage flow down her throat, the honey soothing her soreness.

"Captain, be careful with that! I just boiled that water!" Dash said in a slightly panicked voice as Spitfire downed the scathing hot water without any problems. Spitfire immediately stopped drinking as she realized that she'd made a pretty critical mistake and shrunk into the blanket wrapped around her. Rainbow only got more confused as she saw this move, it just went against everything she knew about the mare in front of her.

"I'm sorry about that. I'm used to drinking and eating things when they're still pretty hot," Spitfire excused as she fearfully looked at Dash.

While Dash started at Spitfire and tried thinking of something to say, the fiery haired mare felt her nose begin to itch.

N-nononono, NOT NOW! I can't sneeze with her in the room.

Ahh…

"Dash, can you get me some tissues?" Spitfire meekly asked as she tried stopping the sneeze. To the captain's horror Dash rummaged through the saddlebag that hung around her hip and pulled a small packet of tissues from it, placing it on the bed.

Ahh…

Spitfire couldn't keep her sneeze contained any longer. She already felt the fire forming in her throat, and it was clear she couldn't get Dash out of the room.

CHOO!

A massive jet of flames was released from Spitfire's maw along with the sneeze. Rainbow yelped and jumped back, away from the blazing inferno in front of her.

Spitfire's pupils shrunk, and she immediately jumped off the bed, backing herself into a corner. There was no way to keep her secret now, so the orange pegasus bared her teeth, putting the small but very sharp canines clearly on display, and let out a low growl.

Dash looked at the display in fear but then did something Spitfire hadn't anticipated happening. She'd hoped that her aggressive stance would have scared off the rookie but that's not what it had done. Dash was slowly and as non-threatening as possible trying to approach her. Spitfire hissed and lowered herself into a fighting stance. She knew that she was in no shape to fight, and if Dash decided to attack, she'd go down for sure. The flu was sapping too much of her body's strength.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Spitfire. I just want to help," Dash said as she got within half a pony length away from the other mare. Spitfire was completely backed against the wall and couldn’t move any further away from the mare in front of her. She really didn't want to hurt Dash, but her instincts were starting to take over and telling her to attack the potential threat in front of her.

Spitfire's entire body tensed up as she felt Dash suddenly wrap around her.

As the captain looked down she couldn't believe her eyes. The sky blue pegasus that was attached to her didn't have any malicious intentions at all. She was just giving a hug.

Seeing this brought tears to Spitfire's eyes and her lips started quivering. All the times in her youth when she'd been shunned for her special condition had lead her to isolate herself as best as she could, yet here was another pegasus who had seen exactly what she was and still wanted to put in the effort to be her friend.

It was simply too much for Spitfire as she broke down sobbing. Rainbow wrapped the distraught pegasus in her wings as she softly hummed a tune that allowed Spitfire to slowly drift away into a peaceful sleep.

Spitfire let out a wide yawn as she woke up from her deep slumber. Rays of light passing through the window fell on her face and made sleeping in any longer an impossibility. After slowly rubbing her eyes Spitfire sat up in bed. Her entire body ached, and her throat was still sore due to the flu.

SNORE!

Spitfire’s head swung around to where the sound had come from, finding a certain rainbow maned pegasus curled up on a chair next to the bed. All the events of the previous day returned in force as she was reminded of the fact that Rainbow knew her secret.

Why hasn’t she run off to the Guard? Or the other ‘Bolts for that matter?

Spitfire was still paranoid of what the pony beside her had done while she was asleep, but curiosity was quickly winning ground on that paranoia. Why had Rainbow acted the way she did? Was she not scared of her? Did she not think of her as an abomination?

Dozens of questions went through Spitfire’s mind as she stared at Dash’s stirring form. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t even notice Rainbow opening her eyes.

“Good morning. Sleep well?” Dash asked as she popped her spine. Spitfire let out a high pitched yelp and jumped into a ready stance as her attention was pulled back to reality. “Whoa there! Calm down.”

Spitfire slowly relaxed her body and slowly settled back down onto the bed, but she never took her eyes off of Dash as she followed every single move the cyan pegasus made.

Dash awkwardly sat on the chair, not knowing if Spitfire would jump her if she made a wrong move. They sat there for another few silent minutes until a low rumbling came from Spitfire’s stomach. “Uhm, should I go make some food?”

Spitfire slowly nodded and allowed Dash to leave the room. Over the next ten minutes she listened to the pegasus rummaging through her kitchen again and start cooking something on her stove. Eventually the smell of whatever Dash was making reached her nose…

Fish?! She’s cooking fish?!

The captain simply couldn’t wrap her head around what was happening. Dash seemingly wasn’t scared of her, and now she was cooking fish for her. Everything the other mare was doing was going against every preconceived notion she had of other ponies.

Not long after, Dash came walking back into the bedroom with a tray that held two plates of food. Both held a sandwich, but only one was made with the cooked fish that Spitfire smelled. Spitfire looked down at the plate as if it was the most precious thing she’d ever seen while Dash chomped down on her own breakfast.

“You’re allowed to eat it, you know?” Dash commented as she noticed the other pegasus staring at her own food. Spitfire slowly started taking little bites from the fish sandwich, which turned into larger bites, and by the end she was wolfing down the entire thing as quickly as she could.

This is so good! How in Equestria does she know how to make something like this?!

“Why are you doing this? Aren’t you scared of me?” Spitfire asked as she saw Rainbow looking at her with amusement.

“Why wouldn’t I do it for you? Leaving your friends hanging is so not cool,” Rainbow simply answered. “And as for why I’m not scared, I know you. Why should I be afraid of a pony I trust and respect pretty much with my life?”

“That’s not me. That’s just the Captain,” Spitfire said dejectedly, but Dash didn’t seem to care.

“Then tell me, who is Spitfire the pony?” This was a question that caught the fiery maned pegasus off guard as she herself wasn’t sure what the answer to that question was.

“I-I don’t know. I’ve been hiding it for so long I really haven’t thought about it,” she admitted.

“Well, we’d better change that, shouldn’t we?” Dash said, making herself comfortable at the foot of the bed. “I ask you one question and then you ask me one. So, what’s your favorite color?”

“Orange?” Spitfire said, unsure if she was going to enjoy the game.

“Ok, cool. Your turn,” Dash said as she waited for Spitfire to ask her question.

“Where did you learn to make fish like this?” She asked without hesitation while pointing at her empty plate. “It’s not really normal for a pony to know how to do such a thing.”

Dash chuckled. “I had a relationship with a griffin for a while. I taught myself how to cook some dishes she liked. In the end it didn’t work out between the two of us. We had a bit of a falling out a while back, but we made up again, so we’re still friends.”

Spitfire stared blankly at her fellow 'Bolt. “Wow…”

“Yup! It’s my turn now by the way. To keep on topic, what’s your favourite food?” Dash asked merrily.

“Whatever you just made is probably the best thing I’ve ever had,” Spitfire said while a slight blush formed on her face.

“Really?! You’re not saying that to flatter me, are you?”

“NO! I mean, most shops sell this terrible fried fish and the noble’s parties have these small one bite snacks that are usually way to bitter or salty. The fish you made was absolutely perfect!” Spitfire exclaimed, her cheeks burning even redder as she realized that she’d just admitted liking meat.

“Got to admit that wasn’t what I expected. Your turn,” Dash calmly answered as if she wasn’t even phased.

Spitfire thought for a moment about her next question. “Wait, you said she when you mentioned the griffin. Do you like mares?”

“Honestly doesn’t really matter to me. I’m fine with either mares or stallions,” Rainbow shrugged.

So she wouldn’t mind going out with me?

“My turn. How is it that you can breathe fire?” Dash continued.

“My father’s a dragon,” Spitfire answered only to quickly cover her mouth with her hooves. That was something she did not want to let slip. She looked at Dash to see what her reaction was, finding that Rainbow was staring at her slack jawed.

“That’s…”

Here we go, wait for the condemnation…

“…Awesome!”

WHAT?!

“It also explains the fangs and how you were able to drink the tea while it was still practically boiling,” Dash reasoned while Spitfire bit her lip as she fought back tears. Every time a pony figured out that she was a half breed before they’d shunned her, but here was Rainbow accepting her just like she was. It wasn’t something she’d experienced outside of her parents before. Spitfire tried to reply but the only thing that came out of her mouth was a choked sob as she broke down crying.

Dash grimaced as she hoped that she hadn’t pushed the captain too far. “Hey Spitfire? Are you okay?” Dash climbed onto the large bed and approached the crying pegasus, putting a hoof on her shoulder.

What happened next happened simply too fast for Dash to respond to as one moment she was sitting over the other pegasus, and the next she was on her back while Spitfire was standing over and kissing her.

At first Rainbow’s eyes were wide open from shock, but as the kiss went on she slowly closed them and leaned in to it. It felt like an eternity before Spitfire finally released the kiss, both mares panting slightly.

It didn’t take long for Spitfire’s pupils to shrink to pinpricks as she realized what she’d just done. “I-I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have done that. I…”

Dash pulled the other pegasus in for another kiss, this one much shorter than the previous one. “I’m pretty sure that I’m going to come down with the feather flu in the next few days as well now,” she chuckled.

“You’re not angry?”

“Nah. Though I’ve never had something like this happen to me. It’s usually me who goes after the tail,” Dash answered as she allowed Spitfire to lay down on her chest. “Though I have to ask you, why me?”

“I’ve never met anyone who simply didn’t care about the fact that I’m half dragon. They always got scared and either ran or attacked,” Spitfire said as she snuggled into Dash’s chest fluff.

“Wow you must have some terrible luck then. I know that most inhabitants of Ponyville would just write it off as another Tuesday, and a whole bunch of my friends in Cloudsdale wouldn’t care either,” Dash said as she stroked Spitfire’s hair gently.

“Guess I’ve been running with the wrong- Ahh…” Spitfire quickly turned her head away from Dash. CHOO!

A bright flame once again lit up the room along with the sneeze.

“Uhm, I think it’s best if we postpone the snuggling until there’s no accidental chance of you burning me,” Rainbow said meekly as she separated herself from the other pegasus.

“Yes, that might be a good idea,” Spitfire meekly admitted and allowed Dash to get off the bed.

“Well, I should get back to HQ. I was supposed to report back yesterday, but you really didn’t want to let go of me after you fell asleep. By the time I managed to pry myself loose it was already pretty late, so I chose to stay,” Dash said with a smirk, a massive blush forming on Spitfire’s face.

“Hey Dash, you’re not going to tell the others about my… condition, are you?” Spitfire asked, looking really scared of the prospect of more ponies knowing about her secret.

“I won’t, but it might be best if you tell them at some point,” Dash said as she opened the apartment’s door. “I’ll be coming back after I’ve reported to Soarin. You should really get some rest now if you want to get better.”

“Hey, Dash?” Spitfire asked, giving the other 'Bolt an appreciative smile.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you…”

“Think nothing of it. See you in a bit.” With that, Dash walked off into the hallway and disappeared from view.

I’ve got no clue how this is going to turn out, but I really hope this’ll go somewhere.

Author's Note:

Hope you enjoyed this little thing! :twilightsmile: It's a nice break from writing Mass Effect: Element of Kindness.

I'm intending to write a bit of a prologue too, maybe even a couple of chapters if it's received well.

edited by gerandakis, lordelliot, and Keystroke Cascade

Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.