"Lazuli! Hold it right there! I know you can hear me." You can indeed hear the voice coming from behind but pretend not to. You take the next turn around a corner and begin running. The only place you want to be, is away from that voice.

The corridor is bare, the only things present are lockers on either wall and a recognizable cyan mare who's busy taking somethings out of her own locker further down. You run straight towards her. "Lightning Dust! you've got to hide me. Right now! PLEASE!" You plead.

She looks at you confused, deciding exactly what to do. You both hear hoof steps coming from around the corner you just passed. Lightning Dust immediately pushes you into her locker and slams the door. You're not sure how you fit inside a locker, but what you are sure of is that Lightning Dust slammed her locked closed, on your tail causing you to yelp out in pain.

Right then Spitfire appears around the corner only seconds later. She canters down the corridor right up to Lightning Dust. She looks passed her only to be greeted by an empty hallway. She sighs in disappointment. "Lightning Dust, the new guy, Lazuli... Ermm... Remember, I told you about him yesterday, he's the gryphon, the blue gryphon. He just came this way and I swear I could have heard him just now."

"Urmm... He... Ermmm... Ran passed me, yeah... He said something about being late."

"Late? Damn it, I've been looking for him all morning. If you see him, tell him I'm looking for him." Spitfire leaves Lightning Dust and continues galloping down the empty corridor in search of you.

Lightning Dust waits for Spitfire to disappear from her sight before looking at you through the small gaps in the top of her locker. Her stare contained both suspicion and concern. You whisper through the gaps. "Is she gone?"

Without saying a word she opens the locker door forcing you to stumble out and onto the floor with a thud. "Are you going to explain what just happened?"

You compose yourself. The feathers on your neck suddenly feel itchy and you can't help but rub them. You say nothing. "Come on, you owe me. The very least you can do is explain why I sent Spitfire away."

Lightning Dust sounds convincing enough, you decide to trust her with the explanation she wants. "Okay okay, just don't tell anypony aright?" She nods hesitantly. "Remember the party last night?"

"Wait! Don't tell me. I know this. You were both drunk right?"

"Well... Yes.. No... Wait let me explain. I brought my friend home after she drank too much, I let her have my bed. And when I woke up this morning, Spitfire was sharing my room too. She was kind of drunk last night and I wasn't much better. I can't remember how she got there. And now-"

"And now your hiding from her?" You nod, completely aware of how bad this could be.

"I might be able to help you. For a price."

"How?" You ask.

"How about I talk with her? Maybe figure out what she wants, or if anything happened between you two love birds. All I ask is an I.O.U in return." Are I.O.U's used currency or something?

"Fine, just get as much information as you can. And be quick I can't keep hiding forever." She rolls her eyes and puts her hoof out waiting for you to honour your side of the bargain. You spread your left wing and with the use of your claws, pluck a single feather out.

You hand her the large blue feather "Please bring back some good news."

"I'll bring back the truth. I'll be in my room in two hours. Meet me there."

"Two hours!? Why's it gonna take so long?" You ask out of interest and concern. How can you stay hidden from Spitfire for two whole hours?

"Well, I've got class for an hour, and then I have to find her, and then I have to ask her questions."

"Class on the weekend?"

"It's not exactly voluntarily."

"I won't ask, anyways, I'll just try to keep hiding."

"Good luck."

"I'll need It, oh and thanks, you really saved me back then."

"No sweat. Now if you don't mind, I've got class. My room, two hours."

"Got it." She heads off in Spitfire's direction while you think about where you can hide for two hours.

You're sitting under a table in the mess hall with only a thin tablecloth keeping you hidden. Spitfire is talking to some young looking students, probably asking If they'd seen you. They have. You lift the tablecloth slightly, just enough to look out. Thankfully Spitfire's back is towards you, on the other hoof, the students could see you just fine.

Before any of them could point you out, you give them a menacing look of despair while shaking you head and mouthing the words. "Don't you dare." You must look scary as both students can't talk and instead shake their heads enthusiastically at Spitfire, who just drops her own head slightly with disappointment. She leaves giving you enough time to finish eating your meal.

You exit your current hiding place and sit at the table instead of under it. Soarin and Firestreak are sitting beside you. "Why are you hiding from Spitfire?" Asks Firestreak.

"I found Spitfire in my room this morning, I have no recollection how she got there."

"I bet you both got drunk at that party." Soarin replies with minimal pie projectiles.

"Well, yeah... But I left Spitfire at the party. I'm not sure how she ended up beside me."

"YOU and SPITFIRE did the nasty in the pasty?!" Firestreak shouts, causing a table of nearby ponies to giggle.

You can't help but snicker too. "Nooo... No... No... No... No... No... No... Yes? I don't know, but I'm avoiding her until I know for sure. I wasn't THAT drunk. I was sober enough to bring my other friend home safely. Firestreak's jaw drops leaving his mouth wide open in shock. You stick some of your salad in.

"Sorry guys, I need to meet Lightning Dust in five minutes, I've got to go. Thanks for the hiding place." They both look at each other shocked, you pat them once each and leave.

You find your way into Lightning Dust's room a few minutes early and decide to go inside and wait. Lightning Dust's room is smaller than yours, much smaller, but she still managed to get a big bed, a table with chairs and a wardrobe in. The colours are the same as your room, dark green with a turquoise floor.

You casually jump onto her bed and lay on your back waiting patiently.

It feels like hours have passed. You're bored, tired and anxious. Why would a beautiful drunk mare end up in your room late at night? Besides the obvious reason. You swallow some air.

The door opens, Lightning Dust comes in and quickly closes it. "Good news, and bad news. What do you want to hear first?"

"Good news." Is all you say.

"You didn't sleep with Spitfire."

"Pewth." Is all you manage to say before a sigh of relief occupies all the space in your lungs. "Good news, AND bad news? W...What's the bad news then?"

"You didn't sleep with Spitfire."

"I asked for the bad news, not the good news again. Or is this some kind of joke?"

"You dun goofed Lazi. You missed out on a great opportunity, Spitfire is know for many things besides being the captain of the Wonderbolts. All I know is she's fast, flexible, got lots of energy and any stallion would be crazy to say no to that. If you know what I mean..." She nudges your side with her hoof. "Heck even I'd Lik-"

You quickly interrupt her. "I don't know about you pony folks, but us gryphons tend to mate for life. Basing that on a single drunken night would be insane. Besides it'd be selfish taking advantage of an intoxicated mare." You had an invaluable point and the moral high ground, and Lightning Dust knew it. Nobody can beat the moral high ground.

She rolls her eyes before shouting. "Traditions be dammed!" She's looking up at the ceiling with a hoof raised. You don't quite get the reference but laugh anyways.

"Anyways you should talk to Spitfire about what really happened. It'll be best if you hear it from her and not me, she'll want to thank you."

"Thank me? Why- Oh right, I'll go find her then. Thanks for everything though."

"I wouldn't thank me, I've got my own agenda. Remember..." She waves your own blue feather at you. "...I'm going to have SO much fun with this."

"Sure." You smile worryingly. She better not make you do anything too stupid or embarrassing.

While walking around the academy premises doing as Lightning Dust suggested; looking for Spitfire, a sudden hoof touch to the shoulder startles you. Turning around reveals it to be exactly who you were previously running from. "Uh hey Spitfire. What's... What's up?" Her somehow sneaking up on you catches you off guard and you trying to sound nonchalant fails miserably.

"Damn it Lazuli, I've been looking ALL over the academy for you, thought you might have flow away or been kidnapped. Come to my office now, I've got something for you."

Spitfire doesn't say another word until you both arrive outside her office. You just go straight in, embracing the incoming warmth. This time, her desk's tidy appearance had been ruined by sheets of scattered paper. "I don't know why you've be hiding from me all day, but I've needed to talk with you about tomorrows routine. It is technically your first day on the job after all."

OH! That's what she wants to talk about? That's much better than the alternative. "Right. What exactly do you want to talk about Spitfire Ma'am?"

A sudden seductive voice changes the mood. "Well~ Since I've got you all alone now~" Hey tone normalizes before finishing the sentence. "I want to talk about why you've been avoiding me all day?"

How exactly do you explain that you thought maybe you had slept with her while she was drunk last night? You Lie! Obviously. "I've not been avoiding you... I've just been... Busy!"

"Busy with what exactly?" You can feel her stare melting your willpower into some sort of mental soup.

"I was... Ermm... Busy with... Something." You can't concentrate due her interrogating attitude, but just as you're about to break Spitfire bursts into sudden but inevitable laughter.

"Oh Lazuli, you're hilarious. The truth is you thought we got all hot and steamy together last night." She grins. "When I got back, apparently I went looking for your room, waking quite a few ponies up in the process. When I got to you room I started flirting with you. Crazy right? Anyways, you offered to let me stay in your room so nopony could take advantage of drunk me, then you went and said you were going to sleep outside for the night which caused me to shout something about needing senpai to notice me. I have no clue what that means."

You look at her stunned. Sounds like one hell of a night. "How do you know this is all true? Do you have cameras or something?"

"This was all explained to me by Apricot. Your next-door roomy, who I woke up trying to find your room. I trust her, she's seen drunk me a few times before." You're not sure what to say, but before you can think of anything she continues. "Anyways you helped drunk me, I appreciate that. Now you can stop hiding from me and talk about tomorrow." She puts her hoof on the papers present on her table. "These are the timetables of each Wonderbolt, you need to get yourself familiar with these."

You take a look at the papers, you couldn't understand them since they're upside down so you turn a few around. They have the names of the Wonderbolts, days, times, places and what they should be doing.

Monday- Soarin- 10:00am Racetrack- Exercising.

Monday- Fleetfoot- 3:00pm Class 4- Wing anatomy.

Wednesday- Soarin- 8:00am N/A- Break.

Friday- Spitfire- 10:00pm Conference room 1- Weekly recap

There are plenty of names, days, times and activities, this will be some hard revision.

She puts a small bag of gems, a blue vest with the word "security" in white writing, a blue helmet with a tinted visor, a single dark gold key and an ankle belt with an attached baton onto her desk. You look at each item and can't help but feel it's all a bit unnecessary. "Do I really need these?"

"Security for the Security. You don't have to use anything, but I think you'll look cute in all that gear." She gives you a wink before continuing. "The gems are pacifying gems, you just throw them into the ground hard and they stun nearby critters, whether rats or ponies. Don't try to use them on clouds though."

"And the key? Wait, is this a skeleton key that unlocks any door?!" You can't help sound hopeful.

"Kinda, it's enchanted to work on any door in the academy. I use it to get around quickly, but you should have it. Just don't use it too irresponsibly."

"Obviously" You say simply.

"Besides, they're making me a replacement key."

You gather the equipment and begin wearing it before Spitfire could think about changing her mind. You click the ankle belt onto your left front leg and stick the baton into it's holder and the golden key into a small pocket. The helmet makes you look tenacious but you can't help feel ridiculous wearing it, there are holes in the top for your ears to stick out of. The vest fits snugly with gaps for your wings but is padded thickly, wearing this all day will overheat you easily. (Maybe even melt you)

You pull the visor down on the helmet and pull out your baton. "So, how do I look?" You want to check a mirror but there's none here. You instead twirl and wait for Spitfires comment. "Not bad. You'd look better with a sword, but I can't give you one, so that'll have to do." She actually sounds sincere.

You feel well protected and look rather forceful wearing this equipment. You want to go and abuse your newly acquired position and scare some recruits, Lightning Dust will appreciate a prank right? "Are there any secret places I should or shouldn't know about?"

"The third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everypony who does not wish to die a most painful death"

"What?!"

"I'm just kidding, wow. You should've seen the look on your face." She laughs at you yet again.

"Anyways, that's all I wanted to say, I was gonna give you these timetables earlier so you could start memorizing them." You gather all the papers and fold them enough to fit into your ankle belt.

"Oh I want you to check on each Wonderbolt tomorrow so take this map, it'll help you find your way around until you figure this place out." You grab the map and give it a quick once over. It looks complicated with multiple levels and buildings separated on the thin paper. Everything is labelled correctly though, helping you figure out exactly what your looking at.

"You can go now officer, you've got everything you need, unless you want to stay and watch me doing crappy paper work."

"I'll pass, thanks for everything, you've been really nice to me these past few days."

"Just helping a friend. Oh, and before i forget. Please don't call me Ma'am, i get that plenty with the recruits. It makes me feel old."

A smile forms on your face. "Yes Miss" You laugh and flee, hearing a faint "OI" in the distance. After calming down it dawns on you how hot her office really is. Being out here, makes you feel cold in comparison.

With hours left in the day, a universal key, and a new uniform, you can't help feel adventuress. With one last thought you go exploring. "How old is Spitfire exactly?"

It's late afternoon before long, the sun is beginning to set as a blanket of darkness wraps the academy in a tight embrace. You're sitting in Lightning Dusts room still wearing your new uniform, there has been no reason to take it off, besides, you liked it.

You've spent a few hours getting to know your neighbour in room 16, talking about anything and everything ranging from the Wonderbolts themselves to favourite cake flavours. Lightning Dust is nice, she has a bit of an ego but nothing you can't handle. She's been a rather helpful friend so far. A long conversation later you're tired and almost falling asleep in her room. You know you've got to patrol tomorrow and since it'll be the first day you need to be fully alert and looking professional.

"Aright Lightning Dust, I'm going to bed now, I've got to be up early in the morning for my patrols. You doing anything special tomorrow?" You had to ask, maybe you could spot her during your patrols.

"Seriously boring stuff. I've mostly got classes indoors but later I've got some wing training with Soarin so, I'll be outside at the racetrack with a group of lame recruits."

"Aright." You yawn before continuing. "I'll see you later, maybe I'll be allowed to get some practice in too, I doubt it though, first day after all."

"We'll see, it's been nice chatting." She replies about to yawn in response to your own yawning.

You sleepily open your own door and after closing it you hear a voice coming from your bed. No matter who's invaded your privacy, you feel far too tired to care and instead want to sleep. "Security officer Lazuli, just who I've been waiting for."

You take off your vest, helmet and ankle belt, placing each of them onto your couch. Then talk. "Don't call me that Spitfire, Lazuli works just fine thanks. Unless you want me calling you Ma'am? Now unless you want to join me in bed, I suggest you leave while I rest. Big day tomorrow after all."

"As much as I'd love to spend another amazing night with you, I'm here because I forgot to mention how you should wander the academy tomorrow, there are specific routes you should take when-" Ever word she says simply goes in one ear and out the other, you're too tired to understand anything right now.

You always had a bad habit for not caring about anything or anyone while tired. Once you managed to steal a commanding officers bed because it was nicer to sleep in. You were allowed, it became common knowledge to avoid a tired you. Your birdie brain never liked to work late.

You walk over to your bed ignoring everything else including Spitfire and the papers laying across said bed. You fall ceremonially face first onto your bed causing some papers to fly out in random directions and others to crumple underneath you. You talk into the bed. "Goodnight Spitfire."

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere until I've explained what-"

"Stay if you like, I'm sleeping."

"No you're not-" You ignore her. "Hey, listen to me. I need to explain what you'll be looking out for, are you even paying attention?"

You respond without looking, swinging a claw up and letting gravity decide where it lands. "You should really listen, this is important-ish."

You groan, and again move your arm like a wet pool noodle and accidentally pat her butt this time. Soft. You don't care what you just did, you want rid of her so you can sleep in private. "Fine. You win this time, but expect me to wake you up in the morning. It won't be pretty either."

You hear her hooves on the floor then your door opening followed by it closing. You know your alone now and can finally get some rest.

Snoring is never a problem.

The next morning you wake up early, real early. You've got two hours before you even need to get up, three hours before having to do anything. You get up quickly, grab the timetables from your ankle belt currently on your couch, then lay back down. You begin to read over each days events. Monday isn't busy, so today shouldn't be too hard.

Soarin's busy today, Firestreak too, Spitfire not so much, Fleetfoot has the day off apparently, Sugar Dust and Orange Sundae too. You keep reading the names and assignments of each Wonderbolt.

A very quiet knock at your door distracts you. You quickly toss the papers to the side and pretend to be asleep. Keeping an eye open slightly just to get a peek at who's coming into your room so early in the morning. The door creeps open and an orange main pokes through. Spitfire? Just now you remember she said something about going to wake you up early as punishment for last night. She thinks you're asleep though. A silly idea pops into your mind, you do like your pranks and Spitfire seemed fun, not to mention you've still got your I.O.U if anything goes sour.

She watches your breathing making sure your asleep for a few seconds, she starts sneaking over towards the couch where your uniform resides. You hear her mess with something before you slip out of your bed while she's distracted. It looks like she's trying to steal your uniform even though she told you it wasn't necessary to wear. You wonder what exactly she's up too, you want to stay hidden and find out, but right now you had a better plan.

You fill your lungs with air and shout. "STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM!" Before you even finish you sentence you jump at her, tackling her down onto the turquoise floor. You pin her down easily with your weight and surprise. All you could do now is grin. "Got ya." Is all you say. You look her over, examining your prisoner. "So what do you think you're doing in my room this early? And why were you messing with my new stuff?"

Whether you winded her, shock of what just happened, or she didn't want to answer, she didn't or couldn't speak. You take a moment to realize the dominant position you're in and glance lower down on your new victim instantly causing your wings to spring outwards. Rather than risking your own ego you quickly jump off Spitfire and start dusting your wings, acting as if you meant to flare them. Spitfire herself is blushing and looking rather embarrassed.

"Wing cramp. Got to really flex my wings when I wake up. Heheh." You try to sound sincere.

Spitfire just lays on her back looking innocent and being silent, you're not sure if you might have harmed her. You offer a claw to help the pegasus off her back. "Sorry, I didn't hurt you did I? I keep forgetting you pegasi aren't as tough as my old military friends... Sorry." You look deep into her amber eyes.

Moments pass before Spitfire lunges forward, hungrily pressing her lips against your beak. Her quick kiss startles you and it takes more than a mere moment for you to realize what just happened.

"So THAT'S what it's like kissing a gryphon. Not bad." Spitfire says before licking her lips.

You blink a few times, unsure what just happened.

"Got you." She says suggestively with a wink.

Author's Note

I add far too many references.