Spitfire had often prided herself on the many talents she possessed. Her flight. Her speed. The way she was able to command both authority and respect from those around her. But there was always one thing that she considered a failing. Despite her best efforts, she always felt as though she could never read people all that well, not even those closest to her. Such was the situation she found herself in today. Standing in her office at the Wonderbolts Academy, she peered out of the window, looking out upon the training grounds before her. On one of the Academy's many racing areas, there was a solitary pegasus stallion, flying around it faster than even some of their nation's most experienced fliers. Soarin, her subordinate and fellow member of the Wonderbolts.
On any other day, this stallion would be as approachable and friendly as anypony could ever be, and yet, Spitfire had noted something off about him in recent days. He was not himself, that much was certain, though what, Spitfire could not say. She let out a sigh as she dwelt on this, but it was only a few moments afterwards that her attention was drawn to the door of her office, which she heard opening. Turning, she looked upon yet another member of her squad, a mare this time. Possessed of a light blue coat and bright white mane, this was Fleetfoot. While not as renowned or well-known as herself, this mare had nevertheless proven herself a formidable flier. Closing the door behind her, the mare approached Spitfire's desk before giving a standard salute to her commanding officer.
"Ma’am! You wished to see me?"
Spitfire nodded at that before turning to face her completely.
"I did. At ease, Fleetfoot."
Her fellow Wonderbolt put down her hoof after hearing that before assuming a more relaxed stance. This was also reflected in her tone of voice as she spoke.
"So what's up, Fire? Somethin bugging you?"
Had this been any other member of the squad, Spitfire might have been angered by the way she had just been spoken to, with no hint of the usual tone or behaviour that subordinate squad-members so often displayed. However, she'd long ago dispensed such ways of thinking with Fleetfoot. As the Wonderbolt Captain sighed yet again, she turned to look out of her window once more.
"It's Soarin. I'm worried about him."
Although she could not see her, Spitfire knew that Fleetfoot was nodding at that.
"Me too. He's barely said a word in the last few days. You'd think he'd be pumped, what with us qualifying for the Games and all."
Spitfire exhaled deeply. Maybe Fleetfoot had a point. Perhaps it was the stress of knowing that they'd be playing in the upcoming Equestria Games that was putting him off. It was understandable, given that thousands of ponies would be watching them. But Spitfire didn't completely believe that. After all, both he and they had performed in front of crowds many times in the past, and not once had he ever shown worry over it. No, something else was eating away at him. She felt that she'd be remiss if she didn't at least try and find out what was going on with him, so, facing Fleetfoot once more, she gave her companion a short nod before starting to make her way out of her office. She knew this Academy like the back of her hoof, so it didn’t take long before she managed to find herself on the racing area.
She waited by the side, counting the moments since he'd last passed this point. Eventually, she saw a familiar light-blue blur pass her by at incredible speed. But it was after it had passed her that she was able to focus, for Soarin had slowed himself down considerably after realising that she had been there waiting for him. There was a moment of silence between the two as Soarin turned to look at her. Spitfire tried to hide it, but it was obvious that he had noticed the brief look of concern she must have had on her face. Seeing him let out a sigh, Spitfire too realised that he must have figured out why she was out here. Nevertheless, Soarin seemed to play along with things for now, wearing an utterly serious look on his face as he faced her and gave a salute.
"You want to speak to me, Captain?"
Now Spitfire knew something was up with him. Soarin never called her by her rank. The two had been friends for a long time and this was the first instance that he'd behaved as if rank actually mattered between them. In her gut, Spitfire felt that whatever was bothering him, it wasn't something she was going to enjoy hearing. Clearing her throat, she stood firm and spoke up to him.
"Soarin...is there something bothering you?"
The stallion shook his head before replying.
"No, Ma’am. I'm fine."
He wasn't going to budge at this rate, Spitfire knew that, so she felt it was time to try and do things a bit less formally.
"Look, Soarin, I know something's up with you. Please, whatever it is, you can tell me."
There was yet another silence between the two, as Spitfire kept her eyes on him, waiting for him to do or say something that would let her know what was wrong. Eventually, she got her reaction, though it was far from a happy one. Soarin turned his head, looking her dead in the eye, and his expression became far more stern than she was used to seeing on him.
"You actually need to ask? After everything that happened back at Rainbow Falls, you actually wonder what's wrong with me?"
In this one moment, it was as if a lightbulb had gone off in Spitfire's mind. Rainbow Falls, she said to herself. So that's what it was. Her mind, once clouded on this matter, was now as clear as day. She knew exactly what Soarin was upset over. During the qualifying process of the Equestria Games, had had been put out of commission briefly, leaving her and Fleetfoot without a third member to help them qualify. Because of that, they had gone to Rainbow Dash, an acquaintance of theirs who had proved quite adept at flying in the past. She'd joined them briefly, but ultimately re-joined her own friends in the Ponyville team. Knowing that this was what was on Soarin's mind, she let out a sigh before speaking.
"Soarin, I know I should have said this before, but I'm sorry about what happened. Trying to replace you with Rainbow was wrong and..."
She didn't get the chance to finish, as Soarin approached her with a look of great anger upon his face. Spitfire, who had to resist the urge to step backwards, watched as he spoke aloud to her.
"You're right! It was wrong! But what was worse is that you lied to me! If you'd said to me you wanted to improve our team's chances by having Rainbow take my place, I'd have understood. I'd be upset, but I'd have understood."
He then narrowed his eyes at her before continuing.
"But that's not what you did. You lied to keep me out of the race, just as you lied to Rainbow! You..."
The stallion began to choke slightly before carrying on, his voice and expression now saddened.
"...you didn't trust me."
To say that Spitfire was feeling bad about herself right now would have been a great understatement. Granted, she could have said that the decision to lie and replace him was Fleetfoot's idea, and she would have been telling the truth, but the fact of the matter was that she had gone with her plan, and that made her just as culpable. Hanging her head slightly, Spitfire began to respond to his accusations.
"You're right. I didn't do right by you, Soarin. I should have let you know what we were planning. It was wrong to lie to you and it was wrong to even think of treating you like something we can just replace when it suits us."
Looking up, her expression took on a slightly stern tone to it.
"But you have to understand something. I am the Captain of this squad. My responsibility is to make sure we do our best. If that means occasionally sending one of our members out and bringing in someone else to improve our chances, to make us stronger as a group, I have a responsibility to do that. It doesn't excuse what I did...but I just wanted you to know that, sometimes...my position means I can't be the good guy."
There was silence between them as they considered each others words. Soarin looked deep in thought, perhaps considering that he had not thought of Spitfire's position in all this. The mare knew he was, at the end of the day, a reasonable stallion. She'd explained herself well and felt deep down that he would understand. He would still be angry at this act she had committed, what she now knew he felt as a betrayal, but even so, there was no doubt in her mind that he may eventually forgive her over this. After a long wait, Soarin let out a sigh as his expression softened.
"I understand, and if I were in your place...I might have done the same."
Spitfire afforded herself a brief moment of relief at hearing that, though it was soon taken from her as Soarin spoke up again.
"Though I'd have thought that, regardless of what you felt you needed to do, you'd have told me. I thought we were..."
He opened his mouth to say something, though Spitfire could see that he struggled with saying it. Eventually though, he finished speaking anyway.
"...I thought we were...friends."
There was something in the way he'd said that which took Spitfire aback. Her mind began to immediately conjure up what he might have been thinking during those words. He couldn’t possibly think that, could he? she thought to herself. The two of them had been close for a long time, this was true, but not once had she considered that they would be anything more than friends. Could it perhaps be that Soarin had thought, perhaps even hoped, that the two of them would be far more to each other than that. If that was the case, then in his mind it would have made her and Fleetfoot's actions towards him all the worse. Spitfire's expression saddened at that prospect as she spoke.
"We are, Soarin. And I'm sorry for doing what we did. I just...I hope you can forgive me."
Another extended moment of silence passed between the two. Soarin stared at his Captain, his friend, before exhaling deeply.
"I already forgave you, Spitfire. I just...needed to say what was on my mind."
He gave her a smile, though Spitfire could tell that he was forcing it, or at the very least not putting as much effort into it as a genuine smile would have. She wanted to say something to try and make the two of them feel better about all this, but something deep inside her mind warned that it would, perhaps, be better if they just left things as they were. Soarin seemed to think the same as he gave her a short and silent nod before raising his hoof in a salute for a second time. Knowing that this was as good as things were going to be for the time being, Spitfire also put on a small smile before giving a salute of her own in response. Soarin turned from her and took up yet another stance for racing, before flapping his wings hard and shooting himself forward.
Spitfire watched as he carried on with his training, and she wondered for the first time if he was doing all this practice, not to simply work off some frustrations, but to try and make himself less likely to be replaced in future. Needless to say, it was a thought that gave Spitfire yet another pang of guilt, leading her to letting out another loud sigh. The sound of approaching hooftseps caught her attention as she noticed that Fleetfoot had just arrived behind her. Spitfire said nothing, merely watching as her fellow Wonderbolt looked over to where Soarin had raced off to, before speaking to her.
"So...is he okay?"
Spitfire nodded before replying in a hushed tone.
"I think...he will be."
