Author's Note

YUS! This is coming out of retirement.
I have made a commitment, and I am carrying it through.
I restarted work on this fic at the beginning of November, opening up the .doc for this chapter, and as of last night, I am half way through Chapter Twelve.

I have my goals now set, and one of them is to cease procrastinating on my stories.
Expect the next chapter next Tuesday.

Retirement Party

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER, PARTY CRASHERS! YAY!” was their cry. Even after receiving their cutie marks, they had decided that crusading would still be a part of their lives. It was their way of keeping their bonds of friendship tight, and it was fun. They also had come to the decision that they would use their newly found talents to help others find their own talents.

“Wait, how can we crash the party? It’s open to the public,” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Who cares, let’s just have fun,” a young colt replied to her query. Although Rumble had already received his mark, with help from crusading adventures aside, he still liked to have fun, and hanging out with the Crusaders was a surefire way for that to happen. Besides, this was also a chance for him to hang out with Apple Bloom, whom he had developed a crush on. Happily for him, she seemed to feel the same towards him. “Let’s go get a drink first, though,” he told them, though they knew what he really meant was to get Apple Bloom a drink. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo just snickered at one another behind their friend’s backs. Scootaloo would normally have put on her ‘gross’ face when such lovey-dovey stuff happened between the two of them, but lately, she herself had started to feel something for a certain young filly in her life.

Any chance for the four of them to head to the drinks table for sodas was placed on hold when the Wonderbolts strode the gates of the Canterlot Gardens to join in on the celebrations. Immediately, Rumble scampered towards the arriving ponies shouting in joyous glee, “Soarin! I missed you!” with Scootaloo hot on his hooves.

Rumble was scooped up into the forelegs of the Wonderbolt Lieutenant and given a tight hug. “How has my little brother been doin?” He asked. Although Soarin did not often get the chance to see his brothers, he still did what he could for the pair, and visited them whenever it was possible. Although he was the older of Rumble’s two brothers, when their parents had passed on, it had been agreed upon that Thunderlane was the brother that would be better suited to watch over the young colt. Raising a young colt was difficult enough when you’re single, but to do so while in the military would have just been too much, and would not have been good for Rumble either.

Soarin reached into his saddlebags and pulled out a package. Handing it to Rumble, he watched as the colt’s eyes lit up at what was inside. The jacket was made of Egretian cotton lined with Griffin head down. Covering the back of the jacket was an embroidered Wonderbolts emblem, along with the words “‘06 World Tour”, as well as all the cities which they performed. When Rumble’s friends let out collective oooohh’s of approval, Soarin simply reaches into his bags, and pulls out three more packages, only to be tackled by a group hug of affection and thanks from the three fillies and colt.

“Seems somepony is vying for the next Element of Generosity position,” he heard from above the pony pile on top of him. Looking up to the voice, he saw fellow Wonderbolt and husband of the guest of honor, Fire Streak. “Thank Celestia for your paygrade, otherwise, the rest of us would have to start a food collection for you, Soarin,” he said, chuckling. Though no longer a member of the flight team itself, Fire Streak chose to stay with the Wonderbolts as a member of the Trainee Instructors. His years of experience, both performing and carrying out missions for Equestria, had proven to be invaluable in training the next generation of Pegasi to wear the uniform.

“You wanna give me a hoof up?” Soarin asked him from under the quartette of young ponies.

Fire Streak lent him a hoof, and once out from the pile of teenaged insanity, Soarin asked him how he was handling Fleetfoot’s change of career.

“It’s a relief, honestly,” Fire Streak told him. “No more worrying about her going into dangerous situations while on a mission, wondering if she’ll be coming home for dinner, or coming home in a box under a flag. We’re not getting any younger, Soarin, and I want to spend my remaining years enjoying them with my wife.”

“Don’t blame you there, bro,” Soarin told him. That had been one of his biggest fears when him and Spitfire were married, and it still scared him to think that she could come home wounded or dead the next time they went out on one of their missions.

While it was not something that they heavily advertized, most knew that the Wonderbolts served as a Special Operations strike team as well as a demonstration flight team. It was a risky job they did, but everypony who joined the team came in understanding the risks. And sometimes, the risks caught up with a member, and they would lose a pony.

It had been during his and Spitfire’s second year with the Wonderbolts that they had gone on a strike mission against pirates out of Marelasia. The pirates had received word, and were ready. Half the team died in the first few minutes. What was a simple raid to capture a troublesome pirate leader had turned into a pitched battle against hundreds of pirates from multiple crews who fought together almost as skillfully as a well trained military unit. It was Spitfire who had taken charge of the surviving unit and got them out alive. Although they had failed to capture the pirate they were after, killing him had been an acceptable solution. After they had returned home, Princess Celestia made the decision to promote Spitfire to Captain, and made her the leader of the Wonderbolts. She was the youngest Commanding Officer the unit had ever had, and she had done well over the past eight years leading them.

“Let’s go get some pie,” Soarin said to his friend. I hear that the Apple family provided a ton of their pies for this shindig, and it would be a shame to let them go to waste.”

“You and your pies, Soarin,” was the only reply Fire Streak could give as the two headed towards the food tables.

“Maybe you should have decided to come along on this diplomatic trip, Lieutenant Spearhead. I think you would enjoy Griffinhelm. Even for the troops, this wouldn’t have to be a case of being on duty all the time,” Twilight told the Earth Pony officer. “Plus, being part of a diplomatic mission could help boost your career.”

“Thank you, Princess, but as much as I would be interested, I do have responsibilities here. I’m certain, though, that Staff Sergeant Hot Shot will do an excellent job providing security. He runs a tight squad, and he deserves a chance to prove himself.” As much as Dusty would have loved to go on this mission to the Griffin capital, his responsibilities as a Company Commander did come first. That, and having a Lieutenant, especially one who was due for promotion, leading a lone squad on a mission that should be a cakewalk seemed overkill. Maybe someday, he might get assigned embassy duty in Griffinhelm, but until then, he would go where Equestria needed him.

“A good leader always thinks about his troops, and knows when and where to assign his troops, both in the best interests of his nation, and the troops under his command,” Luna spoke, praising the Lieutenant’s choice. “And a good leader should be rewarded for his excellent choices. I shall have to put a good word in with my sister the next time an opening at the Griffinhelm Embassy opens.”

Wow! It’s like she can read my mind, Dusty thought to himself. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Don’t worry, Lieutenant. I’m certain we can bring you back some cool stuff if you like,” Spike mentioned to him.

“Fleetfoot, would you walk with me for a moment?” asked Princess Luna. As much as she enjoyed the conversation with her subjects, she did have another purpose for being here today, and this seemed the best opportunity to fulfill that goal.

“Most certainly, Your Highness,” Fleetfoot politely replied. Even though it had been phrased as a question, a wise pony would take it more as a directive and simply do as told. Fleetfoot followed a couple steps behind and to the right of the princess, as proper for somepony in the military walking with a superior. After a few moments, they came to a more secluded part of the gardens just inside the hedgerow maze.

Princess Luna did a quick check with her magic to make certain that they did have privacy, and then added a privacy spell around the two of them to further isolate themselves from any potential eavesdroppers. Though the chances were exceedingly small that somepony might attempt to spy on the conversation she planned, she wished not to take any chances.

“I have a boon to ask of you, Fleetfoot. Although you are no longer military, you do have certain skills which could prove to be helpful. Whereas you are a civilian now, I could only ask if you would be willing to do this task. Before you answer, I have to give warning that there is some risk involved in accepting the assignment I shall propose to you. It should not place you in any danger, having diplomatic status, but if caught, you would most certainly lose your status, and be sent home, no longer welcome in the Griffin Empire. Would you once again serve the Crown, Fleetfoot?”

Fleetfoot had a general idea just what it was the princess would be asking of her. The only thing that she could think of which would place her in the kind of risk that Princess Luna described would be that of serving as an operative, essentially spying on the Griffins. While having never received formal training as a foreign agent, she has had limited experience in the field during her time serving as a Wonderbolt. The risks did not concern her, and if Equestria was in need of her services once again, she would do so with pride. There really was only one answer that she could give. “All you have to do is ask, Your Highness. I am always happy to serve Equestria.”

“Thank you,” Luna simply said before continuing. “The service which you shall provide is classified as secret, as is this conversation. Twilight knows, as does Spike, but nopony else traveling with you and Princess Twilight knows about this,” she explained. “Do you know what a dead-drop is?”

Fleetfoot knew exactly what a dead-drop was. Twice in her career with the Wonderbolts she had to recover materials from one. Though espionnage is not something within the normal purview of a Wonderbolt, in rare instances, they may be required to fill in a role. What would happen is that an agent would place the desired information in a discrete location pre-selected. If all went well, the enemy would not catch the agent in the act, and the information could be retrieved with little risk. Upon arriving at the embassy, she would be briefed on the procedure she would follow, as well as where the information would be, and for whom it was. It all sounded exciting, but having done so twice, it turned out to be rather boring. “Yes, I do, Princess. I have had to retrieve data from them on two separate occasions. Am I to do so again, Your Highness?”

“Yes, that is what we require from you, Fleetfoot. Also, whereas you have training and skills relevant to the information you shall retrieve, Princess Twilight is authorized to temporarily increase your clearance level, if she deems it necessary. The knowledge is economic in nature, and we wish to discover just where the Griffin Empire stands financially. We suspect that the numbers which they have been giving us are falsified, and obtaining accurate data has proven… problematic.” She paused for a moment to let the knowledge sink in before she continued. “The Griffins seem to be up to something, and without accurate knowledge, we cannot ascertain their intentions, nor prepare for whatever they may have planned.” Luna paused as a couple of ponies wandered past them. The Princess and former Wonderbolt went unnoticed though, due to the privacy spell. “Can you do this, Fleetfoot?” she asked once the wandering ponies had passed.

Fleetfoot’s answer was in the affirmative. There was no other answer that her patriotic nature could allow.

The party was going very well. Music provided by Vinyl Scratch, combined with festivities planned out by Pinkie Pie, one of Equestria’s premier party planners, ensured that this retirement party would be one to remember. Tons of excellent food prepared by both the Apples and the Cakes added to the festive mood. It was around dusk when a cry for silence came from one of the tables. At the table, Fleetfoot’s two daughters, Flitter and Cloudchaser, as well as their shared coltfriend, Thunderlane stood up calling for a toast.

“Listen up, everypony!” Flitter called out. “I would like to raise a toast to the most incredible mom a pony could have. Even while serving as a Wonderbolt, Fleetfoot always found the time, or even made the time, to be with me and my sister. She taught us to always strive for our dreams, and to always strive to be the best that we can be. She was never demanding of us, but always encouraging. She has never let us down either. Let’s raise our glasses, everypony, to our mom, Fleetfoot. May her new career be just as rewarding and wonderful as her career as a Wonderbolt has, and may she always be the pony that everypony else can rely on to be there for them.” With that, the three raised their glasses before taking a sip. After everypony else followed suit, a call came forth from everypony asking for a speech.

As Fleetfoot stood to give the speech everypony asked for, Spitfire’s thoughts were on a different, yet very similar matter. As much as she loved the Wonderbolts, it was quickly reaching a point in her life where she felt that she needed to step down and move on. Between the stresses of commanding an elite team, and personal issues, she had started to feel her life was in a nosedive heading towards a very meaty splat.

Sitting across the table from her was Soarin. They had joined up with the Wonderbolts at around the same time, and had gone through training together. They were even fortunate enough to be assigned to the same flight within the company, and had quickly become best of friends. After that mission against the pirates and her promotion to Commanding the Wonderbolts, Spitfire decided she needed Soarin as her Executive Officer. It had been a good choice, and between the two of them, they had not only rebuilt the decimated unit, but had doubled it’s size over the years, adding a reserve company to the roster.

Somewhere along the way, the two of them had fallen in love, and had gotten married within six months. Who would have thought that it would not have lasted. Soon after the wedding of Captain Shining Armor to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the divorce papers were filed. She kept Soarin on as her second in command, though, because he remained the best choice for the job.

Spitfire took a swig of her cider as she pondered those thoughts, half listening to Fleetfoot’s speech. Where did I go wrong, she pondered to herself. What could she had done different that would have saved her marriage? Was cutting her ties here and starting new somewhere else the right choice of action? She was not sure what she would even do, or where she would go, if she hung up her hat and retired. All she knew was that she could feel her life crashing down around her ears. Yes, things appeared good as of right now, but how long would that last, before everything just fell apart around her?

“A bit for your thoughts?” inquired Soarin from across the table.

“I’m am recommending to the Princess that she designate you as the next Wonderbolt Captain,” she informed him. “I’ll be taking an early retirement. I need to move on with my life, Soarin.”

“What?” he asked, stunned. “You’re just gonna up and leave? Spits, the team needs you! Especially now that we have expanded. Nopony else has what it takes to run both companies. Especially with Fleetfoot having retired.”

“You have what it takes,” she told him, looking him in the eye.

“Why?” he asked. “What’s your reason for just running away?”

“I am NOT running away, Soarin!” she just about yelled as she slammed her hoof down on the table forcefully enough to nearly knock over her mug. “I just need to make changes in my life before it all crashes down on top of me,” she continued, more softly this time. “I can’t keep going on like this. Every day, I wake up, wondering what else is going to go wrong in my life. Where am I gonna fail next? But I can’t let the team down. I can’t let them see that I am slowly failing them. I need to get out now, before what we built here gets torn apart because I can no longer hold it all together.

“And then there is you. Every day, I ask myself what when wrong, but I find no answers. And then you keep trying to get back together with me, even while I am trying to put my life back together and move on?”

“So, it’s my fault, now?” Soarin asked, a look of hurt on his face.

“I’m not saying that, Soarin,” she replied, an equally hurt look on her own face.

“So, it’s all about you, then, Spits? The great Spitfire, greatest Pegasus since Commander Hurricane, himself. And once things get a little tough, you pack it in and leave us,” he said angrily. “The team needs you, and instead, you’re choosing to run away from it all.” Finishing his beer, he stood from his seat. “And it’s not just the team that needs you, Spits.” As he walked away, he said, “I need you as well,” leaving her alone as she struggled to not break down in tears.

The argument between the two of them had not gone unnoticed. A couple tables over, Silverwing sat next to Octavia as they talked about their past. Their talk was interrupted when they both heard the words exchanged between their daughter and Soarin. Seeing their former son-in-law leave Spitfire crying, the two of them got up from their own seats to go comfort their distraught filly, as the music cranked up once more, and the party continued around them.