What Might Have Been

What Might Have Been

Chapter 3: Change

By: SleeplessScribe

That summer was almost impossible to wait through. Somehow, we managed to make it, and we couldn’t wait to start our new lives at the academy. To be honest, it was a lot like Junior Speedsters, except much more challenging. We flew through the first two years, and while we made new friends there, the two of us were still inseparable. In fact, we had grown a lot closer, to the point that others started asking questions.

Fifteen Years Old

The first two years on campus were a bit restrictive, but once I entered my third year, I was allowed to leave the campus whenever I wanted. Winter in Cloudsdale was rarely fun, so my new little group of friends flew down to Baltimare for winter break where it was a bit warmer. Of course Nova was with us, but there was also his friend Soarin, and my two friends Gale and Overcast.

Believe it or not, Baltimare’s beaches were pretty warm, even in the middle of December. We got rooms at a hotel not too far from it and proceeded to enjoy. The boardwalk was full of shops too, so us three mares decided to treat ourselves to smoothies while Nova and Soarin checked out the sports place nearby. We sat at one of the tables outside and stared out at the water. I should have known better than to leave myself alone with two female friends. Granted, Gale and Overcast weren’t big on gossip, but they were teenage mares.

Overcast had a straw in her mouth, but I was sure she wanted to ask the same thing Gale did. “Soooo, Spitfire, you have any Hearth’s Warming plans this year? I hear your parents went on a trip.”

I just rolled my eyes. I didn’t really mind that they left without me. They deserved a break, and I really didn’t want them to wait on me. “No clue. I’ll figure something out, don’t worry. Besides, I think this is the first time in years my parents are actually getting the week off. I don’t mind not seeing them since they work so hard.”

Overcast released the straw and yawned. “Yeah, but at least yours are still alive. I get to go to a grave. Though, I think I have an idea for this year.”

My ears twitched as I turned to her. “What’s that?”

“Well, I missed my chance last Hearts and Hooves Day, so I think I’m going to finally confess to Soarin. I really like him.”

Gale started giggling as she winked at the now blushing mare. “That’s sweet. Good luck, girl.” Her gaze slowly shifted to me as she tapped her chin. “You know, Spitfire, Nova’s parents are away, too. Maybe you two could spend the holiday together. I mean, you’re practically dating already, so why not?”

I don’t think my face had ever been so hot. “E-excuse me? We are not dating! We’re just friends. Really good friends.”

Both of them blew raspberries, but Overcast returned to her smoothie. “Girl, are you dense? I’ve seen the way he looks at you sometimes. Spitfire, come on. You two are perfect for each other! Unless I’m really stupid, you always seem to have fun around him, and the both of you play off of each other more than ‘really good friends’ normally do. Besides, doesn’t he have a sister? That ought to make things a little less awkward.”

I leaned back in my chair. “Mm, you have a point, but I can’t remember the last time he saw Rainbow. She just dropped out of Junior Speedsters all of a sudden, and he never told me why.”

Overcast finished her large sip and poked herself in the conversation again. “What’s the harm in asking, though? If you’re too embarrassed to tell us you like him, you don’t have to tell us. Regardless of how you feel, the worst that could happen is him having to turn you down, and if he says yes, it’s a positive whether you like him as just a friend or more. Either way, you should think about it; Hearth’s Warming is only two days away.”

My eyes widened a bit as I smiled. “Wow, this is a lot better than the conversation I had a few years ago. Two of my school friends were pestering me about Nova, but you two are actually making sense. You’re right, there’s no harm in just asking.”

Just as I finished speaking, Nova flew over our heads, followed by a large ball. He turned around, caught it, and kicked it in our direction. Unfortunately, Soarin missed the catch and it bounced off of his foreleg and into Overcast’s smoothie, spilling the rest of it all over her and the ground. All heads turned to him as he froze.

The silence lasted for at least a minute before he grabbed a bunch of napkins and tried to help her. “Ah geeze, I am so sorry Overcast. I’ll, uh, buy you another. I’m really, really sorry.”

She blushed a little as she was helped onto her hooves. “O-okay. Thanks, Soarin.” The two of them walked through the door into the little parlor, prompting Gale to smirk and wink at me.

Nova touched down and started rubbing the back of his head. “Eh, I should probably apologize too. We shouldn’t have been messing around so close to you girls. You two alright?”

I just froze. I opened my mouth slightly, but when nothing came out, I turned to Gale. All she did was nudge her head towards him with raised brows. After gulping down a lump in my throat, I managed to find my voice again. “Hey, Nova, do you mind if I ask you something?”

“No, I did not use my textbook as a sand sled.”

He chuckled as I rolled my eyes. “No, I was just wondering if… do you think we could do something together for Hearth’s Warming? Seeing as how we couldn’t go on vacation with our parents, I figured we could just spend it together.”

A small smile crossed his muzzle. “Sure, that sounds cool. My parents are actually on vacation right now.”

My blush went away almost immediately and my eyes lit up. “Really? Thanks, I was worried I’d have to spend another holiday alone.”

“Pfft! You really think I’d let that happen to you if I could help it?”

“I guess not.” I couldn’t help but let out a nervous chuckle. As I turned to Gale, she winked at me again.

“You two have anywhere you want to go?  I hear you have a sister, Nova. Maybe you could go see her?”

He just shrugged. “Eh, Rainbow’s not too keen on seeing family right now. Something about not wanting her ‘training’ interrupted. She’ll grow out of it, but it’s best not to make her mad right now.”

I was reminded of how much I hated that stupid habit as my tail started swishing. “My place is already decorated and stuff. If you want, you could come over and we can hang out.”

Nova chuckled and sat down beside me. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

My tail started swishing again as I scooted my chair a bit closer to him. Gale looked over to a nearby clock and raised her brow. “Geeze, how long does it take to buy a smoothie?”

After a few more minutes, Overcast and Soarin finally came out, but neither of them had a new drink. “What took you two so long?”

They both just looked away and scratched their heads. “Well… we were talking, and then Overcast’s stomach growled. It’s almost lunch time anyway, so why don’t we all get some food?”

Everyone but Overcast started walking with Soaring towards the pizza place across the street, but I stayed with her. “A pony doesn’t get that flustered over a stomach growl. What actually happened?”

She started tapping her front hooves together. “Well, I told him how I felt. He feels the same way, and we… we ended up making out in a booth.”

I blinked a few times. “Well that escalated quickly.”

The rest of the day—and the two days after—played out as a normal college vacation would, save for me trying to get away from Nova, Soarin, and Overcast so I could find a gift for Nova. At the end of the third day, we all said our goodbyes and split up. As we watched the new couple fly off, I felt a nudge on my shoulder.

“Can you believe it? I thought Soarin would never say something.”

I shook my head quickly. “Wait, you mean Soarin was struggling to confess to Overcast too?”

“Yeah, he was really upset that he squandered a good chance on Hearts and Hooves Day. Anyway, I have something I need to take care of quickly. Head on home, I’ll see you there. That alright with you?”

I nodded and slowly took off. I couldn’t help but chuckle a little at my clever plan to have Gale drop off my gift for Nova at my house on the way to see her family. My speed made the trip to Cloudsdale a breeze, and I tucked the wrapped up box at my doorstep under my wing and brought it inside. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a decent place to hide it; Nova walked in just moments after I finished tidying a few things.

“Honey, I’m home!” My friend starting laughing right after he said that. It was already dark outside, so I started turning on the lightning clouds in our windows.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Nova! It feels weird to say it for the first time today. Today’s almost over.”

His ears twitched as he followed me to the couch. “Speaking of… ” he turned around and set a small box down in front of me. “I got this for you. Apparently wings make really good hiding spots, seeing as how you didn’t even say anything to me about it.”

I looked from him to the box a few times before my tail began swishing. “I actually got you something too.” It took me a few minutes to remember where I put it, but once I did, I fluttered off to get it. Oddly enough, the two boxes were the same size.

We traded looks quickly and unwrapped our gifts at the same time. When we opened the boxes, I think we silently initiated a game of “First to Laugh Loses”. Inside of both boxes was a blue scarf with a yellow lightning bolt stretching from end to end.

Finally, we both cracked and spoke at the same time. “A Wonderbolts scarf! I’ve always wanted one of these!” Both of us began to laugh, but Nova calmed down before I did and helped me put it on.

“It looks really good on you.”

I felt my face heat up as my stupid tail started swishing again. After a few moments, I bashfully tried to help him get his on as well. “I could say the same for you.”

He chuckled and pulled me into a hug after we were both wearing our gifts. “You know, the lady at the shop told me that it didn’t matter what my gift was as long as I was giving from the heart. After giving that some thought, I came up with something else I wanted to give you.”

My ears twitched as I looked up at him. “What’s that?”

I think his next words temporarily paralyzed me. “Me. I’ve done a lot of thinking since we first started attending the academy. Spitfire, we’ve been through a lot, and you’re the only mare I could say I ‘want’. Spitfire… I love you.”

A small part of me wished I hadn’t, but the rest of me didn’t want to delay it. As Nova leaned forward a little, I closed the gap and softly pressed my lips against his. My eyes slowly closed, and my tail nearly fell off because of how quickly it was moving side to side. I felt his forelegs and wings wrap themselves around me, and I found myself doing the same as we lost ourselves in the warmth of the kiss.

After a while, we finally broke the kiss and stared at each other with bright red faces. I cleared my throat and leaned against his chest. “I guess I understand how Soarin and Overcast went from confession to make-out session so fast.”

He smiled and gently caressed my cheek. “I love you, Spitfire.”

As Nova leaned back, I rested myself on his chest and sighed. “I love you too, Nova.”