Why the Streak Siblings can't have Nice Thingsby Witching HourChaptersPart the First - In Which Spitfire has NO sympathyPart the Second - In Which Squad 3 gets a visitorPart the Third - In Which Glimmer IS the Alpha MarePart the Fourth - In Which Aurora gets burned and passes the feeling alongPart the Fifth - In Which what HAPPENS in Los Pegasus does not STAY in Los PegasusPart the First - In Which Spitfire has NO sympathy“Mail’s here!” Dusk Glimmer calls out as she returns to Recruit Squad Alpha’s barracks, a thick stack of letters under her wing. “Nimbus, Blitz… Aurie…” The two stallions and the mare she’d called all converge on her, having the beds closest to hers near the door. She parses out the letters, keeping a thick folder of paperwork for herself as well as a letter from her family back in Seaddle. The last letter makes her sigh, and bracing herself, she ventures towards the back of the room. Spying the last bed unoccupied, Glimmer makes a small grumble. “Nimbus?! Is Zealous Leaf in the bathroom?” she asks, glaring towards the stallions’ shower and bathroom. The youngest member of Alpha Squad shakes his head, tossing his silver-white mane. “Negative,” Nimbus replies, shrugging, “I haven’t seen him since breakfast…” Glimmer sighs and presses a hoof to her face before irritably tossing the letter on Zealous Leaf’s bed. “Fine… Guys? Find that-” She stops herself mid-sentence, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. “Find Zee and go practice the parts of our routine you don’t need me for… I have some paperwork, but I’ll be there as quick as I can…” Shrugging, Nimbus and Blitz both head out, fine with following the order. Aurora Streak lingers behind a little longer though, using the excuse of rebinding the blue locks of her mane into a short tail at the top of her head, leaving the close cut gold parts clearly visible. “Glimmer?” she prompts, concern contorting her pale pink face. The captain flashes a brief smile at her unofficial second. “It’s fine Aurie… Go work with Nimbus and Blitz… If there’s any kindness in the world, they’ll find him and manage to drag him to the auxiliary gym before I have to hunt him down myself… And no one will enjoy that…” Aurora smiles and leaves the barracks, and Glimmer camps herself at her desk to comb over the latest itinerary. The schedule for the month had been set for a while, but with recent events causing all sorts of havoc with the Lead Squad, schedule changes had become a frequent occurrence. Most of the alterations didn’t have any effect on her squad, since Alpha was rarely scheduled with a Command squad, but now… “Oh… No…” she mutters, dark eyes wide at the sight of Squad Alpha being scheduled with Squad Three for a Los Pegasus show in the coming week. “Of all bucking cities…” she curses, banging her head against her desk. Not only would she have an explosion, it would be in full view of all the media that would surely be following the upscale and star-studded event. With one final groan, Glimmer pulls herself back up, grabs the new schedule, and tears out of the barracks, not bothering to stop and apologize to any pony as she half-runs, half flies to the second floor offices, and straight for Spitfire’s office. Taking a breath to calm herself down some, Glimmer knocks on the door and tries very hard to keep her expression neutral. She quickly finds herself wishing she’d waited a moment longer to knock, because Spitfire calls, “Come in,” far too soon for Glimmer’s liking. Inhaling quickly, she pushes the office door open, enters, and closes the door before offering a quick salute to the Lead Captain. “Ma’am! There’s an issue with the most recent show schedule update,” Glimmer explains quickly, remaining at attention. Spitfire looks up from a stack of papers, a skeptical eyebrow raised at Glimmer. “Oh? And what would that be, Dusk Glimmer?” she asks, somewhat annoyed since she’d only finally sorted out the scheduling mess that had been caused by Soarin’s abduction and Rapidfire’s defection. “Ma’am, Squad Alpha’s next show in Los Pegasus… It’s been rescheduled with Squad Three… This… It’s a terrible idea… It’s practically guaranteed to drain both Squads’ budgets to cover the damages…” Glimmer elaborates, a desperate edge to her voice. “What happened to it being with Squad Nine?” Spitfire sighs, clearly exasperated. “One, your squad and Squad Nine have similar routines and we have enough problems with the shows right now without adding repetition to it. Two, I needed Squad Nine to go with Squad Seventeen to the Fillydelphia show, and your show needs at least one high tier Squad or it’s a wasted trip. Three, with the Lead Squad down a member until Try-Outs, we’re lucky we aren’t having to cancel shows… Four, if you can’t control your squad, then you have more serious issues than your budget. It’s that clear, Recruit?” Glimmer gulps nervously, nodding quickly and giving Spitfire a shaky salute, sure that if she tried to say anything else, Spitfire would tear her a new one. “Dismissed,” Spitfire says and returns to her paperwork. Glimmer practically runs from the office, closing the door quickly behind her. Stopping in the corner of the stairwell to the first floor, Glimmer presses her back against the wall and slides down to sit there, staring blankly outward. “Horse apples…” she curses before standing and heading downstairs. If she couldn’t change the schedule, she’d try getting part of the equation away from her Happy Fun Ball squadmate. Author's Note Welcome to the start of the insanity! New characters abound! Dusk Glimmer = Captain of Recruit Squad Alpha, age 26 Aurora Streak = unofficial second-in-command of Recruit Squad Alpha, younger sister to Fire and Lightning Streak of Squad 3, age 23 Flash Blitz = member of Recruit Squad Alpha, age 22 Nimbus Prism = member of Recruit Squad Alpha, age 20 Zealous Leaf = member of Recruit Squad Alpha, age 25 Also, for those of you too young to know the reference, this is Happy Fun Ball: Yes... Dusk Glimmer compared Aurora Streak to that... Part the Second - In Which Squad 3 gets a visitorGlimmer paces anxiously back and forth outside the classroom where Squad 3 is in the midst of a meeting, working up the nerve to knock. “Alright Dusky… No need to panic… You’ve talked to Captain Fire Streak tons of times about Aurie… Not any different… Except that whole, telling him that he and his brother should stay away from their sister… thing… while we’re stuck together on a train for nearly a full day each way… To say nothing of the hotel stay… No different at -ACK!” Her outer monologue cuts off mid-thought as the door suddenly opens and swings into her face. “Oops! Sorry Glimmer!” Surprise says, poking her head around the door to see the Recruit Captain sitting on the floor with a scrunched up face as she rubs her at her nose. “Recruit Captain Glimmer,” Fire Streak greets in surprise as he joins his squadmate in the hall, quickly followed by Commander Misty Fly and Lightning Streak. “Is something wrong?” Glimmer knows the hidden meaning of Fire’s question; he’s asking about Aurora. “No, Third Captain… Nothing wrong to report. I only wanted to speak with you about our show in Los Pegasus next week…” Her violet eyes flick to the other elite Wonderbolts nervously as she clears her throat. “I would appreciate speaking to you in private, sir…” “Anything you gotta say to my bro, you can say to all of us, right, bro?” Lightning Streak says, draping an arm around Fire’s shoulders and shaking him slightly. Misty looks between the Streaks and Glimmer in apparent confusion, and Surprise quickly uses some signs to describe the situation. With a nod, Misty simply smiles, waves with her wing and starts trotting down the hall, quickly followed by Surprise. “Third Commander, I mean no disrespect but this is a matter between Captains…” Glimmer attempts diplomacy, doing her best to keep a calm countenance. “Baby, if you let me, I’d be the Captain of your ship,” Lightning replies, even as Fire rolls his eyes and Glimmer to recoil away from him slightly in disgust. “Uhhhh -” Glimmer hesitates, uncertain of how to handle the situation without destroying the rapport she’d established with Fire Streak. Thankfully, Fire is more capable of responding. “Brother… Go to the lockers and shower… You smell like you’ve been at sea…” Fire states, an irritable twitch forming at his right eye as he shoves Lightning off of him. “This way, Captain Glimmer?” he adds, gesturing back into the classroom. Lightning looks like he’s about to protest, but before he can, Surprise appears out of the blue with a clothespin on her nose, putting him in a headlock. “C’mon Lightning… Captains wanna talk, you reek, and Witchy’s getting crabby at you…” Surprise… Really? Don’t you do this enough to Calm? “Sorry Witchy!” Surprise adds, not sounding apologetic at all. “Who are you talking to, babe?” Lightning asks, baffled. “How’d you talk to the Chief???” “Wrong Witchy… Doesn’t matter anyway… C’mon…” Surprise replies and starts dragging him away. Fire simply shakes his head, holding the classroom door open and gesturing for Glimmer to precede him into the room. Uncertain of what she’d just witnessed, Glimmer shakes herself out of her thoughts and enters the room. Fire quickly follows her inside and closes the door behind him. “I haven’t checked the latest itinerary yet… What’s this about a show in Los Pegasus?” Fire queries, heading to the front of the room and taking a seat in front the room. Glimmer sighs and takes another seat facing him. “I just looked at it myself, sir… It’s our respective squads with Squads Twenty and Charlie…” She pauses briefly, flinching as she recalls the dressing down she’d received. “Captain Spitfire reassigned Squad Nine to Fillydelphia, citing a similarity in our routines… I assume that’s where you thought you were going next week?” “It is… Or apparently was…” Fire sighs, rubbing his face with his hooves. “Does -” “I haven’t told Aurie yet…” Glimmer answers, anticipating his question before he can finish it. “To be honest, I’m planning on grabbing somepony from Medical to have on hoof for a couple of reasons, this being one of them…” “I presume you were going to suggest some course of action?” Fire prompts. Glimmer flinches again. “I don’t think you’ll like it much…” she responds. Fire merely raises an eyebrow at her, and Glimmer heaves another sigh, knowing she wouldn’t be able to dodge the question. “Minimal contact, orders only… And no contact with-” “My brother? That would be the safest course…” Fire grouses, no small amount of bitterness in his voice. Glimmer offers him a slight smile meant to be encouraging, but it comes across as more of a grimace of shared annoyance. “I’m sorry, sir… I don’t like this situation any more than you do… Frankly, this go-between crap got old about six months in. It died of old age about four years ago, and been a rotting elephant corpse in the room since then. But every time the subject of you two comes up, she explodes like Commander Blaze combined with Commander Fleetfoot’s creativity.” She sighs, running a hoof down her face and sagging in her seat. “My idea’s the best we have right now… I’ll be informing my squad as soon as I get to practice and I’ll let you know if we can change it… Okay?” Fire sighs again, his shoulders slumping slightly. “Thank you, Glimmer… You don’t know how much I appreciate you keeping me informed of my sister’s progress.” Glimmer can’t help but chuckle as she stands. “You only tell me that you do twice each time I tell you how she’s been doing… And hey… At least now you can see for yourself?” Fire’s responding smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes, and seems a little forced on the edges. “True enough… Thank you again. You should get to your practice though. Dismissed, Alpha Captain.” Glimmer salutes Fire quickly and exits, leaving the Third Captain alone in the classroom. She pauses only once when she hears a loud clatter come from the room, looking over her shoulder briefly before sighing sadly, wishing that Aurora would realize that at least Fire just wanted to protect her… As for Lightning… Well… Glimmer had given up any thought of Aurora reconciling with him shortly after meeting him. Author's Note Oh poor Glimmer... She tries so hard to keep that family somewhat functional... Part the Third - In Which Glimmer IS the Alpha Mare“Thanks again, Doc… Just wait here a moment… You’ll know if you’re needed,” Glimmer says to the gray unicorn as they enter the auxiliary gym. The Alpha recruits are easy to spot, especially since their current routine involved Aurora and Blitz playing with fire. Nimbus hovers near-by with a thin layer of cloud, and Zealous Leaf sits off to the side, watching the rest with bored disinterest. “Sure thing, Glimmer,” Witching Hour responds, smiling slightly as they approach the darkened corner of the gym. The dimmed lighting was necessary for the effects, since they used the fire along with mists to create dazzling light displays. Witch peels off to the side a little ways from the group, settling down near the wall, while Glimmer joins her squad. “Hey Nimbus! Put it out! Squad talk!” Glimmer calls up, getting a nod from the pale orange stallion. It looks like he taps the mist but it zooms downwards to collide with the streams of blue and gold flames between Blitz and Aurora, sending a burst of steam upwards, and Aurora pouts as her blue fire goes out. “Hey Cap,” Blitz greets her with a smile as he takes off his flint pads. Nimbus joins them on the floor soon after, and Aurora follows after. “Paperwork dealt with?” Blitz asks. “As much as it can be…” Glimmer temporizes, dodging the topic slightly. “I see you two found Zee… Thanks for that…” She casts a glance over at the skulking member of the squad. “OY! Zee! Get your plot over here! I’ve got enough headaches without your attitude.” Snorting and muttering, Zealous Leaf joins the loose circle, obviously as happy about being with them as they are to have him. Glimmer sighs, recalling fondly their first year together, when Zealous Leaf really was zealous about working with the newly formed recruit squad under the new leadership of the Ace Squad… She still couldn’t figure out what had changed, but each year since, their relationship with him had only gotten worse. Admittedly, their initial optimism had faded since then, especially after Starbolt managed to jump up to Squad Nine after three years, and Nimbus Prism replaced her… Yet they were still Wonderbolts. Recruit or Elite didn’t matter… Did it? Glimmer shakes her head, dispelling her thoughts. “Alright folks… Squad Nine’s been rescheduled to the Fillydelphia show. I know we were hoping to have some time with Starbolt, but Spitfire thinks our routines are too similar.” Zealous Leaf gives another derisive snort, but Blitz, Aurora and Glimmer ignore him. “So which High Tier are we going with? Twenty, us and Charlie aren’t enough for a Los Pegasus show,” Nimbus asks, cutting to the heart of the problem. “Squad Two isn’t scheduled that I’m aware of…” Aurora offers, sounding excited. Glimmer can’t help but snicker at the thought of several days with Aurora and Blaze in close proximity, but her laughter has a nervous edge to it. “Well… It is a Command Squad…” Glimmer starts, and even the detached Zealous Leaf flinches. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that with the Lead Squad out of the question, and without a direct confirmation of Aurora’s theory… “WHAT?!” Nimbus scrambles to a near-by bucket of water as the flint pads on Aurora’s hooves spark with blue flames that quickly catch on the mats. Nimbus tosses the water over the small blaze… and Aurora, leaving her sputtering and spitting. Still seething, she turns on Nimbus and gathers herself to leap at him, but Glimmer acts faster, tackling her to the soggy mats. “LET ME GO!!!” Aurora yells, struggling against Glimmer’s hold. “No!” Glimmer responds sharply as she pins Aurora to the ground, a hoof on her squad mate’s head, pressing Aurora’s cheek into the mat while straddling the younger mare. “And you are going to listen to me, Aurora Streak… You don’t have to like it, but we are doing this show with Squad Three, and you are not going to cause any problems. If I have to get my ass chewed out by Spitfire because of something you do on this trip, I promise… Your plot will be next… Do I make myself perfectly clear, Recruit?” Art courtesy of PenumbraGlow0290 Though she stops struggling, Aurora keeps cursing. Glimmer lets up on Aurora’s head briefly, only to slam it back down to the mats. “That wasn’t an answer, so I ask again - do I make myself clear?!” Growling, Aurora winces. “Yes Captain…” she grumbles. Glimmer sighs and gets up, using the time it takes for Aurora to get up to steady her breathing. One problem down… “Zealous Leaf… Where the hell were you this morning?” Off to the side, Witch watches in bemusement as Blitz and Nimbus both try to get their wings to fold back after the scene of their captain straddling their squad mate while said captain turned her temper on another. If things continue as they have, Witch might not- Witch ducks quickly as the orange-maned stallion comes flailing towards the wall, having been punched by his irate captain. Quickly amending her thoughts, she reaches into her medkit to grab an ice pack. Author's Note We all know Witching Hour... but here's some more info on her. Witching Hour = age 25, doctor by profession, Chief Petty Officer of the Wonderbolts Auxiliaries in Medical and Research & Development (Sound Lab) Starbolt = age 24, Squad 9 Lieutenant, formerly of Recruit Squad Alpha Nimbus Prism = age 20, youngest member of Recruit Squad Alpha, joined them 2 years prior, when Starbolt moved up to Squad 9 Part the Fourth - In Which Aurora gets burned and passes the feeling alongGlimmer’s heart races with adrenaline from the exhilarating combination of performing and handling elements at high speeds. Taking a quick breath at the top of her arcing flight, she looks down to make sure Nimbus had the clouds in place for her run through the double-helix trail of Aurora and Blitz’s blue and gold fire. One less knowledgeable of Squad Alpha’s abilities might accuse Glimmer of using her captaincy to show off, but none of her other squadmates could handle lightning capably. She catches Zee’s eyes and he and Nimbus dive, pulling the fine mist of clouds along with them. Glimmer dives after them, riding their wake. Zee and Nimbus fly with their backs nearly touching, almost swimming in horizontal spirals through the light display playing out as the vapor from the clouds refract the firelight into brilliant points of colored light. It never fails to please Glimmer to see that, despite his stand-off attitude towards Nimbus, Zee could still synchronize his flying with their youngest member. Glimmer grins almost manically as the fire creates lightning in the clouds trailing behind the two stallions. With her close position behind them, she catches all of it and she has to focus her mind on controlling the element gathering around her, leaving a sparkling and dangerous trail behind her. Nimbus and Zee peel away, going in separate directions to meet up with Blitz and Aurora respectively. She flies forward further, getting almost to the edge of the stadium before she turns sharply up and backwards, barrel rolling by herself while her squadmates do so in pairs, trailing streams of vapor and fire and arcing like a deadly rainbow. Glimmer already feels the rush of completion as they begin their downward arc, unable to stop herself from laughing in sheer euphoria for a finished routine. Her jubilation is cut short when a sudden clap of thunder and concussive blast of heat sends her reeling to the left. She catches herself in the air quickly enough, but Nimbus and Blitz have already lost their trails, having nearly crashed into the stands. Her thrill turns to mortification as she quickly looks to her right; Zee had caught himself as well, but is obviously stunned. Further down, and heading for a painful crash, Aurora struggles to stay aloft with a singed wing. “AURIE!” Glimmer shrieks in panic, immediately turning to dive after her. Some rational part of her mind knows that her angle is too shallow to build up enough speed to catch her in time, but the rest of her screams that part into silence with its insistence to try, straining and reaching with outstretched hooves for her friend. A white blur from below blitzes in from another direction, catching Aurora a scant twenty-five feet from the ground. Glimmer pulls up hard, wings spread wide to brake. A collective sigh of relief echoes throughout the arena at Aurora’s rescue, but it’s not one that Glimmer can partake in, since she can easily see that while Aurora isn’t fighting her rescuer, she’s certainly ranting at him as he carries her over to the exit, thankfully not far from the pair as it had been the designated end-point of their performance. She turns quickly to gesture to the three stallions to form up, and then pumps her wings hard to catch up with her irate second. Fire doesn’t let Aurora down until they’re at the backstage entrance to the field with the rest of Squad Alpha. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Glimmer hears him ask and the expression of sheer frustration on Aurora’s face tells the captain that her brother’s question had been a frequent one, undoubtedly asked non-stop since he caught her. “I’m fine. Let me go!” Aurora snaps, pushing him away. She clearly isn’t though, with the burned wing half-extended despite her obvious desire to make her words true by folding it back neatly. Sighing, Fire glances out to the cheering stadium and steps to the side as the recruit squad takes a quick bow. “I’ll be right back!” Fire says, obviously reluctant to leave even as he lifts off into a low hover. However, as the highest ranking Wonderbolt, it fell to him to do the announcing, and he definitely had some work cut out for him with the accident cutting off the last few moments of the routine. “Don’t worry, Third Captain… I’ve got this,” Glimmer responds quickly, and hurriedly herds Aurora into the backstage area, trusting the rest of her squad to follow at her pace. Just inside the tunnel to the locker room, Squad Charlie looks on with wide eyes. Their captain, a yellow mare with purple and blue dreadlocks, approaches Glimmer and Aurora cautiously. “You all in the clear? That sounded nasty from in here…” Prismatic Spray comments, casting an anxious glance at Aurora’s injured wing. Before Aurora can reply, Glimmer puts her squadmate in a headlock with a hoof over her mouth. “It was… We’re dealing with it, Prisma…” she replies, almost brusque in her rush to silence Aurora. Glimmer offers a shaky smile to her fellow captain, hoping to convey with her expression that she’d hear more about it later. “All good, Glimmer. Hope it isn’t too serious…” Prisma shrugs and returns to her squad. “Charlie, move out!” Glimmer finally hauls Aurora into the locker room, with the rest of her squad following, just as Fire returns. He zips past them, his anxiousness clearly visible. “I’ll go get a trainer!” he calls over his shoulder before he vanishes down the hall. Aurora growls impotently, lips curled into a snarl. “I oughta -” “Nope!” Glimmer counters quickly, hoisting the irate mare over her shoulder and carrying her into the lockers and towards the showers, the stallions peeling off to stay clear of further explosions. “You’re not doing anything to anyone before you get that wing looked at, and you’ve calmed down.” “Calm down?! LIKE HELL I’LL CALM DOWN!” Aurora yells, and Glimmer’s ears lay flat against her head against the deafening volume. Casting her eyes around, she spots Black Bird, the Ensign on Squad Twenty, and Third Commander Surprise standing like sentinels at an open shower stall with water already pouring down from the showerhead. Almost smiling at the helpfulness from the two elite Wonderbolts, Glimmer heads straight for them and easily tosses Aurora into the stall, dousing her with cold water. Aurora shrieks in surprise and curses at Glimmer even though her captain remains unfazed by the profanity spilling from her mouth. She moves to pull herself out of the icy spray, but Glimmer knocks her back down the moment she gets to her hooves. “Stay down, or I’ll give you a limp to go with the burned wing,” Glimmer snarls quietly, ignoring Surprise and Black Bird snickering behind her. “And when the Third Captain gets back, you’re going to thank him-” “WHAT?!” Aurora shrieks, springing back up in her indignation. Glimmer rears back and punches Aurora, sending the younger mare reeling backwards. “You heard me! Thank him for saving your sorry ass!” Glimmer shouts back, years of frustration feeding into her adrenaline-fueled anger. “If it weren’t for him, you’d have more than some singed feathers!” “This way, Chief Hour.” Fire’s professional voice comes from the entrance to the shower area, quickly followed by him and Witching Hour, wearing a medical saddle bag. “She should be right in here, hopefully it only looks bad and isn’t actually serious.” “We’ll know soon enough, Third Captain,” Witch agrees. “Lighting burns often don’t reveal the true extent of their damage until later.” “I have every confidence in your abilities, Chief,” Fire replies softly as he comes into view, a worried frown on his face. “I’m sure…” “She should have stuck to her fire handling; it’s what she is good at.” Lightning’s voice cuts through the already tense air much like the thunder had the stadium earlier. “You might be shocked how dangerous that can be…” he adds with a laugh that practically drops the IQ of anyone listening to it. Aurora growls loudly, first when she hears Fire, and then even more so when she hears what Lightning says. She rises, but is beat by Glimmer turning around and stomping out of the shower with a furious look in her eyes. “And what exactly do you mean by that?!” Glimmer belts as she storms over to Lightning, ears folded back and the feathers on her wings puffed out. “I’ve heard a lot of things come out of your worthless, pathetic excuse for a mouth, and I’ve heard you farting on Taco Tuesday! I’ve always assumed you were just stupid, that Fire got all his charm and grace because one of you had to get it.” She presses a hoof into Lightning’s chest as he backs up into a wall. “But this, this takes the whole cake and then some. I swear, I have half a mind to beat you senseless, rank or not! The other half?” She presses her hoof hard into his chest, pounding it with each word as she belts into his face. “The other part of me wants to SHOVE MY HOOF SO FAR UP YOUR WORTHLESS ASS, IT’LL TAKE A DIVINE MIRACLE TO GET IT OUT!” “Recruit Captain Glimmer,” Fire starts from behind Glimmer, who instantly rounds on him. “With all due respect, Third Captain,” Glimmer cuts him off in a dangerously low voice. “I thought we agreed that you would keep this worthless sack of mareizing garbage away from your sister.” She advances towards him, eyes narrowed. “You saved one of my squad, and I thank you for that. But frankly,” she points to Lightning and gets right in Fire’s face and growls, “get him out of here before I make you and Aurie the only members of the Streak family in the Wonderbolts.” “Are you giving me an order, Recruit Captain?” Fire questions, his professional tone cracking. “Promising,” Glimmer corrects sharply, almost hissing. “Promising that if you don’t remove that Shit Streak from my sight, I’m going to make him a stain on the carpet worthy of that name.” Looking to his brother, then back and Glimmer, Fire sighs and moves around the enraged mare. “Come along, brother. We’d best allow Captain Glimmer to attend to her injured squadmate.” He pauses next to Glimmer and looks at her from the corner of one eye. “Take care of her,” he whispers softly, before walking to his brother, and dragging the still stunned Lightning out the door. Watching the Streak twins depart with a loud snort, Glimmer turns around and heads to the vacant stall next to the one Aurora and Witch are currently occupying. She pauses as she opens the door and says to nopony in particular, “Not a word.” She then enters the stall, closing the door behind her and turning on the cold water. She sits under the stream of water, head hanging, as she slowly strips off her uniform and allows the cold water to temper the red hot fury still seething through her veins. As her blood finally cools and reality starts to sink in, a sense of looming dread replaces it, wringing a groan from her. She really does have bigger problems than her squad budget to worry about… And the trip was only barely half-over… Author's Note Massive kudos to Sylvian for hand-holding me through Glimmer's explosion... Glimmer... You poor fool... What have you done?! Part the Fifth - In Which what HAPPENS in Los Pegasus does not STAY in Los PegasusGlimmer shifts awkwardly from one hoof to another as she tries and then forgets to keep her weight off her bruised left foreleg, the Lead Captain’s silence starting turn her anxiety into full-blown terror. There were few times where she’d actually feared for her life, and the only circumstance in recent memory comparable was when Aurora had screamed at Silver Lining about lumping her in with her older brother… Aurora huffs a sigh and her right wing twitches involuntarily. According to Chief Hour, it was a completely normal symptom after an electrical burn, but that hadn’t stopped Fire Streak from worrying the whole ride back to Canterlot about it, or Lightning Streak from making crass comments about how Aurora should try handling something safer, like lollipops. Needless to say, the ensuing brawl had trashed the sleeping compartment Aurora had initially been forced into by Chief Hour, and the fight had even moved into the next car, demolishing a couple of the benches and breaking at least one window… That, plus their bruises obviously caused by each other, is what brought all four of them to Spitfire’s office. When Spitfire finally looks up from the paperwork spread across her desk and silently looks the bruised group over, Glimmer winces, having put pressure on her left foreleg again in an effort to stand at proper attention. Lightning grunts from Fire’s left side, and he shifts quickly to attention as well, prompted by Fire’s elbowing him. Without looking, Glimmer flicks her right wing out to nudge Aurora, eliciting a quiet grumble, even as she straightens up. The noise, soft as it was, draws Spitfire’s eyes to Aurora, who swallows nervously. Glimmer can almost feel her squadmate trembling beside her. With a deceptively simple scowl, Spitfire reaches over to pick up a paper, only taking her eyes off the youngest Wonderbolt present to read it aloud. “Four counts of rank insubordination,” she pauses, her brown eyes flicking over to Aurora and Glimmer, “two counts gross provocation,” she adds with a scowl in Lightning’s direction, “four counts destruction of public property, and eight counts assault of a fellow Wonderbolt…” “Ei-OOF!” Glimmer jabs her wing at Aurora, silencing the younger mare’s outburst. While eight was a surprising number, Glimmer could also understand it. Each of them had wound up throwing punches or kicks at two others present. Spitfire glowers at the youngest Streak, then sets the paper to the side with a sigh before resting her chin on her hooves as she leans against her desk, glaring at all of them. “I would ask what happened, but the reports from Charlie and Twenty explain it well enough…” Spitfire gestures irritably towards a stack of papers. “To say nothing of the bill from the train company… So I have just one… One burning question…” She slams her hoof on the desk, rattling it and making Aurora jump. “WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!” Glimmer hears Lightning start to say something, but Fire shifts sharply beside her, and Lightning tries to muffle a whimper, but even that further irritates the Lead Captain. “I can only imagine this is what Dusk Glimmer meant when she told me it was a bad idea to put the lot of you on a train together.” Spitfire’s glare fixes on the twins. “Foolishly, I thought that, even if her squad caused a problem, a Command Squad would be above retaliating!” Spitfire’s stern expression flickers for a moment as she presses a hoof to her temple, trying vainly to dispel the building headache. Again, Lightning makes a noise, but another sharp motion from Fire cuts it off. “Captain Spitfire, Auro-” Fire starts. “I’m aware of Recruit Streak’s injury, Third Captain… I’ve read Doctor Hour’s incident report,” Spitfire cuts Fire off sharply. “And from what I’m able to gather, that is what caused this mess! Recruit Captain Dusk Glimmer has two counts insubordination at Commander Lightning’s provocation just in the immediate aftermath! And then… As if well enough just could not be left alone, you,” she snaps, pointing at Lightning, “decided to provoke both Recruit Captain Glimmer and Recruit Streak again on the train back to Canterlot! Resulting in a sprawling hoof-fight that demolished four benches, three doors, two windows, and a sleeping compartment!” “And a partridge in a pear tree…” Aurora mutters under her breath and barely moving her lips at all, almost quiet enough for even Glimmer next to her to not hear. Hear it, Glimmer did, though, and she turns her head to look at Aurora while delivering a swift jab with her wing again. “DID I SAY AT EASE, RECRUIT?!” Spitfire demands, abruptly in Glimmer’s face. Glimmer squeaks and almost takes a step backwards before she catches herself, barely in time. “No, ma’am!” Glimmer quickly answers, before wincing as she returns to her at attention stance. Unobtrusively, she shifts most of her weight off her injured foreleg while keeping both legs straight, making her lean just slightly to the right. “THIS IS MY OFFICE, RECRUIT! I WILL HANDLE ALL DISCIPLINE IN THIS ROOM!” Spitfire yells, almost blowing Glimmer back with the force of her voice alone. “And as for you,” she continues, turning her sights on Aurora. “Think something about this situation is funny, Recruit Streak?!” she booms, making the younger mare flinch. “N-no, ma’am!” Aurora replies, attempting to imitate Glimmer’s reply but not able to suppress the slight stammer. Snorting in irritation, Spitfire backs up a step to pace in between her desk and the four pegasi. Stopping in front of Lightning and Fire, Spitfire looks at the twins. “Anything you two have to say for yourselves?” Again, despite Lightning’s obvious willingness to open his mouth, Fire quickly silences him. “No, Lead Captain, ma’am,” Fire responds, his voice steady and calm. “Good,” Spitfire snaps, resuming her pacing. “All four of you will spend every evening, starting after dinner tonight, in the equipment cage, doing the laundry for the Compound… Together.” With Spitfire’s rebuke still ringing in her ears, Glimmer forces down her instinctive reaction to gag Aurora, and simply attempts to lean away from her squadmate while not bumping into Fire or putting weight on her bad fetlock joint. “Together?! But… er…” Aurora’s protest dies as Spitfire almost teleports in front of the recruit. “If you’d rather be discharged, then by all means continue to protest, Recruit Streak!” Spitfire snarls, before casting a baleful glower down the line of her subordinates. “Yes. Together. Until the lot of you stop reporting to the Trainers for any more altercations you might get into… And if any of you think I won’t know, you have lost your Celestia-loving minds. Do I make myself perfectly clear?!” “Yes, ma’am,” the four reply, not quite in unison but close enough that Spitfire lets it go. “Dismissed.” Aurora is the first out the door, with Lightning not far behind her. Fire waits until after Glimmer hobbles out into the hall to allow the door to close and start towards the stairs. Hesitating after only a few steps, Fire turns to see Glimmer attempting to use her left wing in place of her foreleg, the sight making him sigh and backtrack. “Captain Glimmer, please allow me to assist you to the Trainer Room,” Fire offers as he stands on her left. Glimmer looks up at him skeptically before sighing herself. “I suppose I can’t be angry at you for being as protective of Aurie as I was being…” she replies with a weak half-smile. “It would be rather hypocritical of you, yes,” Fire agrees, one corner of his mouth tugging upwards. “Here…” he suggests, stooping slightly. Glimmer sighs again and gingerly moves to drape the injured limb across his shoulders. “My turn to start thanking you?” she comments dryly as they start carefully down the stairs to the main floor. “I think I prefered to be the grateful one… It seems seeing for myself how my sister is doing is a bit hazardous for everyone’s health, not just my own.” Author's Note FWHEW! That... was not an easy one to write... Thanks go to Calm Wind in particular for making sure I wasn't completely botching Spitfire's ranting. But as always, I wouldn't be writing nearly as quickly as I am without Sylvian's constant assistance. Hope you all enjoyed! That's all for Recruit Squad Alpha until the sequel Chase the Wind & Touch the Sky comes out!
Part the First - In Which Spitfire has NO sympathy“Mail’s here!” Dusk Glimmer calls out as she returns to Recruit Squad Alpha’s barracks, a thick stack of letters under her wing. “Nimbus, Blitz… Aurie…” The two stallions and the mare she’d called all converge on her, having the beds closest to hers near the door. She parses out the letters, keeping a thick folder of paperwork for herself as well as a letter from her family back in Seaddle. The last letter makes her sigh, and bracing herself, she ventures towards the back of the room. Spying the last bed unoccupied, Glimmer makes a small grumble. “Nimbus?! Is Zealous Leaf in the bathroom?” she asks, glaring towards the stallions’ shower and bathroom. The youngest member of Alpha Squad shakes his head, tossing his silver-white mane. “Negative,” Nimbus replies, shrugging, “I haven’t seen him since breakfast…” Glimmer sighs and presses a hoof to her face before irritably tossing the letter on Zealous Leaf’s bed. “Fine… Guys? Find that-” She stops herself mid-sentence, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. “Find Zee and go practice the parts of our routine you don’t need me for… I have some paperwork, but I’ll be there as quick as I can…” Shrugging, Nimbus and Blitz both head out, fine with following the order. Aurora Streak lingers behind a little longer though, using the excuse of rebinding the blue locks of her mane into a short tail at the top of her head, leaving the close cut gold parts clearly visible. “Glimmer?” she prompts, concern contorting her pale pink face. The captain flashes a brief smile at her unofficial second. “It’s fine Aurie… Go work with Nimbus and Blitz… If there’s any kindness in the world, they’ll find him and manage to drag him to the auxiliary gym before I have to hunt him down myself… And no one will enjoy that…” Aurora smiles and leaves the barracks, and Glimmer camps herself at her desk to comb over the latest itinerary. The schedule for the month had been set for a while, but with recent events causing all sorts of havoc with the Lead Squad, schedule changes had become a frequent occurrence. Most of the alterations didn’t have any effect on her squad, since Alpha was rarely scheduled with a Command squad, but now… “Oh… No…” she mutters, dark eyes wide at the sight of Squad Alpha being scheduled with Squad Three for a Los Pegasus show in the coming week. “Of all bucking cities…” she curses, banging her head against her desk. Not only would she have an explosion, it would be in full view of all the media that would surely be following the upscale and star-studded event. With one final groan, Glimmer pulls herself back up, grabs the new schedule, and tears out of the barracks, not bothering to stop and apologize to any pony as she half-runs, half flies to the second floor offices, and straight for Spitfire’s office. Taking a breath to calm herself down some, Glimmer knocks on the door and tries very hard to keep her expression neutral. She quickly finds herself wishing she’d waited a moment longer to knock, because Spitfire calls, “Come in,” far too soon for Glimmer’s liking. Inhaling quickly, she pushes the office door open, enters, and closes the door before offering a quick salute to the Lead Captain. “Ma’am! There’s an issue with the most recent show schedule update,” Glimmer explains quickly, remaining at attention. Spitfire looks up from a stack of papers, a skeptical eyebrow raised at Glimmer. “Oh? And what would that be, Dusk Glimmer?” she asks, somewhat annoyed since she’d only finally sorted out the scheduling mess that had been caused by Soarin’s abduction and Rapidfire’s defection. “Ma’am, Squad Alpha’s next show in Los Pegasus… It’s been rescheduled with Squad Three… This… It’s a terrible idea… It’s practically guaranteed to drain both Squads’ budgets to cover the damages…” Glimmer elaborates, a desperate edge to her voice. “What happened to it being with Squad Nine?” Spitfire sighs, clearly exasperated. “One, your squad and Squad Nine have similar routines and we have enough problems with the shows right now without adding repetition to it. Two, I needed Squad Nine to go with Squad Seventeen to the Fillydelphia show, and your show needs at least one high tier Squad or it’s a wasted trip. Three, with the Lead Squad down a member until Try-Outs, we’re lucky we aren’t having to cancel shows… Four, if you can’t control your squad, then you have more serious issues than your budget. It’s that clear, Recruit?” Glimmer gulps nervously, nodding quickly and giving Spitfire a shaky salute, sure that if she tried to say anything else, Spitfire would tear her a new one. “Dismissed,” Spitfire says and returns to her paperwork. Glimmer practically runs from the office, closing the door quickly behind her. Stopping in the corner of the stairwell to the first floor, Glimmer presses her back against the wall and slides down to sit there, staring blankly outward. “Horse apples…” she curses before standing and heading downstairs. If she couldn’t change the schedule, she’d try getting part of the equation away from her Happy Fun Ball squadmate. Author's Note Welcome to the start of the insanity! New characters abound! Dusk Glimmer = Captain of Recruit Squad Alpha, age 26 Aurora Streak = unofficial second-in-command of Recruit Squad Alpha, younger sister to Fire and Lightning Streak of Squad 3, age 23 Flash Blitz = member of Recruit Squad Alpha, age 22 Nimbus Prism = member of Recruit Squad Alpha, age 20 Zealous Leaf = member of Recruit Squad Alpha, age 25 Also, for those of you too young to know the reference, this is Happy Fun Ball: Yes... Dusk Glimmer compared Aurora Streak to that...
Part the Second - In Which Squad 3 gets a visitorGlimmer paces anxiously back and forth outside the classroom where Squad 3 is in the midst of a meeting, working up the nerve to knock. “Alright Dusky… No need to panic… You’ve talked to Captain Fire Streak tons of times about Aurie… Not any different… Except that whole, telling him that he and his brother should stay away from their sister… thing… while we’re stuck together on a train for nearly a full day each way… To say nothing of the hotel stay… No different at -ACK!” Her outer monologue cuts off mid-thought as the door suddenly opens and swings into her face. “Oops! Sorry Glimmer!” Surprise says, poking her head around the door to see the Recruit Captain sitting on the floor with a scrunched up face as she rubs her at her nose. “Recruit Captain Glimmer,” Fire Streak greets in surprise as he joins his squadmate in the hall, quickly followed by Commander Misty Fly and Lightning Streak. “Is something wrong?” Glimmer knows the hidden meaning of Fire’s question; he’s asking about Aurora. “No, Third Captain… Nothing wrong to report. I only wanted to speak with you about our show in Los Pegasus next week…” Her violet eyes flick to the other elite Wonderbolts nervously as she clears her throat. “I would appreciate speaking to you in private, sir…” “Anything you gotta say to my bro, you can say to all of us, right, bro?” Lightning Streak says, draping an arm around Fire’s shoulders and shaking him slightly. Misty looks between the Streaks and Glimmer in apparent confusion, and Surprise quickly uses some signs to describe the situation. With a nod, Misty simply smiles, waves with her wing and starts trotting down the hall, quickly followed by Surprise. “Third Commander, I mean no disrespect but this is a matter between Captains…” Glimmer attempts diplomacy, doing her best to keep a calm countenance. “Baby, if you let me, I’d be the Captain of your ship,” Lightning replies, even as Fire rolls his eyes and Glimmer to recoil away from him slightly in disgust. “Uhhhh -” Glimmer hesitates, uncertain of how to handle the situation without destroying the rapport she’d established with Fire Streak. Thankfully, Fire is more capable of responding. “Brother… Go to the lockers and shower… You smell like you’ve been at sea…” Fire states, an irritable twitch forming at his right eye as he shoves Lightning off of him. “This way, Captain Glimmer?” he adds, gesturing back into the classroom. Lightning looks like he’s about to protest, but before he can, Surprise appears out of the blue with a clothespin on her nose, putting him in a headlock. “C’mon Lightning… Captains wanna talk, you reek, and Witchy’s getting crabby at you…” Surprise… Really? Don’t you do this enough to Calm? “Sorry Witchy!” Surprise adds, not sounding apologetic at all. “Who are you talking to, babe?” Lightning asks, baffled. “How’d you talk to the Chief???” “Wrong Witchy… Doesn’t matter anyway… C’mon…” Surprise replies and starts dragging him away. Fire simply shakes his head, holding the classroom door open and gesturing for Glimmer to precede him into the room. Uncertain of what she’d just witnessed, Glimmer shakes herself out of her thoughts and enters the room. Fire quickly follows her inside and closes the door behind him. “I haven’t checked the latest itinerary yet… What’s this about a show in Los Pegasus?” Fire queries, heading to the front of the room and taking a seat in front the room. Glimmer sighs and takes another seat facing him. “I just looked at it myself, sir… It’s our respective squads with Squads Twenty and Charlie…” She pauses briefly, flinching as she recalls the dressing down she’d received. “Captain Spitfire reassigned Squad Nine to Fillydelphia, citing a similarity in our routines… I assume that’s where you thought you were going next week?” “It is… Or apparently was…” Fire sighs, rubbing his face with his hooves. “Does -” “I haven’t told Aurie yet…” Glimmer answers, anticipating his question before he can finish it. “To be honest, I’m planning on grabbing somepony from Medical to have on hoof for a couple of reasons, this being one of them…” “I presume you were going to suggest some course of action?” Fire prompts. Glimmer flinches again. “I don’t think you’ll like it much…” she responds. Fire merely raises an eyebrow at her, and Glimmer heaves another sigh, knowing she wouldn’t be able to dodge the question. “Minimal contact, orders only… And no contact with-” “My brother? That would be the safest course…” Fire grouses, no small amount of bitterness in his voice. Glimmer offers him a slight smile meant to be encouraging, but it comes across as more of a grimace of shared annoyance. “I’m sorry, sir… I don’t like this situation any more than you do… Frankly, this go-between crap got old about six months in. It died of old age about four years ago, and been a rotting elephant corpse in the room since then. But every time the subject of you two comes up, she explodes like Commander Blaze combined with Commander Fleetfoot’s creativity.” She sighs, running a hoof down her face and sagging in her seat. “My idea’s the best we have right now… I’ll be informing my squad as soon as I get to practice and I’ll let you know if we can change it… Okay?” Fire sighs again, his shoulders slumping slightly. “Thank you, Glimmer… You don’t know how much I appreciate you keeping me informed of my sister’s progress.” Glimmer can’t help but chuckle as she stands. “You only tell me that you do twice each time I tell you how she’s been doing… And hey… At least now you can see for yourself?” Fire’s responding smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes, and seems a little forced on the edges. “True enough… Thank you again. You should get to your practice though. Dismissed, Alpha Captain.” Glimmer salutes Fire quickly and exits, leaving the Third Captain alone in the classroom. She pauses only once when she hears a loud clatter come from the room, looking over her shoulder briefly before sighing sadly, wishing that Aurora would realize that at least Fire just wanted to protect her… As for Lightning… Well… Glimmer had given up any thought of Aurora reconciling with him shortly after meeting him. Author's Note Oh poor Glimmer... She tries so hard to keep that family somewhat functional...
Part the Third - In Which Glimmer IS the Alpha Mare“Thanks again, Doc… Just wait here a moment… You’ll know if you’re needed,” Glimmer says to the gray unicorn as they enter the auxiliary gym. The Alpha recruits are easy to spot, especially since their current routine involved Aurora and Blitz playing with fire. Nimbus hovers near-by with a thin layer of cloud, and Zealous Leaf sits off to the side, watching the rest with bored disinterest. “Sure thing, Glimmer,” Witching Hour responds, smiling slightly as they approach the darkened corner of the gym. The dimmed lighting was necessary for the effects, since they used the fire along with mists to create dazzling light displays. Witch peels off to the side a little ways from the group, settling down near the wall, while Glimmer joins her squad. “Hey Nimbus! Put it out! Squad talk!” Glimmer calls up, getting a nod from the pale orange stallion. It looks like he taps the mist but it zooms downwards to collide with the streams of blue and gold flames between Blitz and Aurora, sending a burst of steam upwards, and Aurora pouts as her blue fire goes out. “Hey Cap,” Blitz greets her with a smile as he takes off his flint pads. Nimbus joins them on the floor soon after, and Aurora follows after. “Paperwork dealt with?” Blitz asks. “As much as it can be…” Glimmer temporizes, dodging the topic slightly. “I see you two found Zee… Thanks for that…” She casts a glance over at the skulking member of the squad. “OY! Zee! Get your plot over here! I’ve got enough headaches without your attitude.” Snorting and muttering, Zealous Leaf joins the loose circle, obviously as happy about being with them as they are to have him. Glimmer sighs, recalling fondly their first year together, when Zealous Leaf really was zealous about working with the newly formed recruit squad under the new leadership of the Ace Squad… She still couldn’t figure out what had changed, but each year since, their relationship with him had only gotten worse. Admittedly, their initial optimism had faded since then, especially after Starbolt managed to jump up to Squad Nine after three years, and Nimbus Prism replaced her… Yet they were still Wonderbolts. Recruit or Elite didn’t matter… Did it? Glimmer shakes her head, dispelling her thoughts. “Alright folks… Squad Nine’s been rescheduled to the Fillydelphia show. I know we were hoping to have some time with Starbolt, but Spitfire thinks our routines are too similar.” Zealous Leaf gives another derisive snort, but Blitz, Aurora and Glimmer ignore him. “So which High Tier are we going with? Twenty, us and Charlie aren’t enough for a Los Pegasus show,” Nimbus asks, cutting to the heart of the problem. “Squad Two isn’t scheduled that I’m aware of…” Aurora offers, sounding excited. Glimmer can’t help but snicker at the thought of several days with Aurora and Blaze in close proximity, but her laughter has a nervous edge to it. “Well… It is a Command Squad…” Glimmer starts, and even the detached Zealous Leaf flinches. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that with the Lead Squad out of the question, and without a direct confirmation of Aurora’s theory… “WHAT?!” Nimbus scrambles to a near-by bucket of water as the flint pads on Aurora’s hooves spark with blue flames that quickly catch on the mats. Nimbus tosses the water over the small blaze… and Aurora, leaving her sputtering and spitting. Still seething, she turns on Nimbus and gathers herself to leap at him, but Glimmer acts faster, tackling her to the soggy mats. “LET ME GO!!!” Aurora yells, struggling against Glimmer’s hold. “No!” Glimmer responds sharply as she pins Aurora to the ground, a hoof on her squad mate’s head, pressing Aurora’s cheek into the mat while straddling the younger mare. “And you are going to listen to me, Aurora Streak… You don’t have to like it, but we are doing this show with Squad Three, and you are not going to cause any problems. If I have to get my ass chewed out by Spitfire because of something you do on this trip, I promise… Your plot will be next… Do I make myself perfectly clear, Recruit?” Art courtesy of PenumbraGlow0290 Though she stops struggling, Aurora keeps cursing. Glimmer lets up on Aurora’s head briefly, only to slam it back down to the mats. “That wasn’t an answer, so I ask again - do I make myself clear?!” Growling, Aurora winces. “Yes Captain…” she grumbles. Glimmer sighs and gets up, using the time it takes for Aurora to get up to steady her breathing. One problem down… “Zealous Leaf… Where the hell were you this morning?” Off to the side, Witch watches in bemusement as Blitz and Nimbus both try to get their wings to fold back after the scene of their captain straddling their squad mate while said captain turned her temper on another. If things continue as they have, Witch might not- Witch ducks quickly as the orange-maned stallion comes flailing towards the wall, having been punched by his irate captain. Quickly amending her thoughts, she reaches into her medkit to grab an ice pack. Author's Note We all know Witching Hour... but here's some more info on her. Witching Hour = age 25, doctor by profession, Chief Petty Officer of the Wonderbolts Auxiliaries in Medical and Research & Development (Sound Lab) Starbolt = age 24, Squad 9 Lieutenant, formerly of Recruit Squad Alpha Nimbus Prism = age 20, youngest member of Recruit Squad Alpha, joined them 2 years prior, when Starbolt moved up to Squad 9
Part the Fourth - In Which Aurora gets burned and passes the feeling alongGlimmer’s heart races with adrenaline from the exhilarating combination of performing and handling elements at high speeds. Taking a quick breath at the top of her arcing flight, she looks down to make sure Nimbus had the clouds in place for her run through the double-helix trail of Aurora and Blitz’s blue and gold fire. One less knowledgeable of Squad Alpha’s abilities might accuse Glimmer of using her captaincy to show off, but none of her other squadmates could handle lightning capably. She catches Zee’s eyes and he and Nimbus dive, pulling the fine mist of clouds along with them. Glimmer dives after them, riding their wake. Zee and Nimbus fly with their backs nearly touching, almost swimming in horizontal spirals through the light display playing out as the vapor from the clouds refract the firelight into brilliant points of colored light. It never fails to please Glimmer to see that, despite his stand-off attitude towards Nimbus, Zee could still synchronize his flying with their youngest member. Glimmer grins almost manically as the fire creates lightning in the clouds trailing behind the two stallions. With her close position behind them, she catches all of it and she has to focus her mind on controlling the element gathering around her, leaving a sparkling and dangerous trail behind her. Nimbus and Zee peel away, going in separate directions to meet up with Blitz and Aurora respectively. She flies forward further, getting almost to the edge of the stadium before she turns sharply up and backwards, barrel rolling by herself while her squadmates do so in pairs, trailing streams of vapor and fire and arcing like a deadly rainbow. Glimmer already feels the rush of completion as they begin their downward arc, unable to stop herself from laughing in sheer euphoria for a finished routine. Her jubilation is cut short when a sudden clap of thunder and concussive blast of heat sends her reeling to the left. She catches herself in the air quickly enough, but Nimbus and Blitz have already lost their trails, having nearly crashed into the stands. Her thrill turns to mortification as she quickly looks to her right; Zee had caught himself as well, but is obviously stunned. Further down, and heading for a painful crash, Aurora struggles to stay aloft with a singed wing. “AURIE!” Glimmer shrieks in panic, immediately turning to dive after her. Some rational part of her mind knows that her angle is too shallow to build up enough speed to catch her in time, but the rest of her screams that part into silence with its insistence to try, straining and reaching with outstretched hooves for her friend. A white blur from below blitzes in from another direction, catching Aurora a scant twenty-five feet from the ground. Glimmer pulls up hard, wings spread wide to brake. A collective sigh of relief echoes throughout the arena at Aurora’s rescue, but it’s not one that Glimmer can partake in, since she can easily see that while Aurora isn’t fighting her rescuer, she’s certainly ranting at him as he carries her over to the exit, thankfully not far from the pair as it had been the designated end-point of their performance. She turns quickly to gesture to the three stallions to form up, and then pumps her wings hard to catch up with her irate second. Fire doesn’t let Aurora down until they’re at the backstage entrance to the field with the rest of Squad Alpha. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Glimmer hears him ask and the expression of sheer frustration on Aurora’s face tells the captain that her brother’s question had been a frequent one, undoubtedly asked non-stop since he caught her. “I’m fine. Let me go!” Aurora snaps, pushing him away. She clearly isn’t though, with the burned wing half-extended despite her obvious desire to make her words true by folding it back neatly. Sighing, Fire glances out to the cheering stadium and steps to the side as the recruit squad takes a quick bow. “I’ll be right back!” Fire says, obviously reluctant to leave even as he lifts off into a low hover. However, as the highest ranking Wonderbolt, it fell to him to do the announcing, and he definitely had some work cut out for him with the accident cutting off the last few moments of the routine. “Don’t worry, Third Captain… I’ve got this,” Glimmer responds quickly, and hurriedly herds Aurora into the backstage area, trusting the rest of her squad to follow at her pace. Just inside the tunnel to the locker room, Squad Charlie looks on with wide eyes. Their captain, a yellow mare with purple and blue dreadlocks, approaches Glimmer and Aurora cautiously. “You all in the clear? That sounded nasty from in here…” Prismatic Spray comments, casting an anxious glance at Aurora’s injured wing. Before Aurora can reply, Glimmer puts her squadmate in a headlock with a hoof over her mouth. “It was… We’re dealing with it, Prisma…” she replies, almost brusque in her rush to silence Aurora. Glimmer offers a shaky smile to her fellow captain, hoping to convey with her expression that she’d hear more about it later. “All good, Glimmer. Hope it isn’t too serious…” Prisma shrugs and returns to her squad. “Charlie, move out!” Glimmer finally hauls Aurora into the locker room, with the rest of her squad following, just as Fire returns. He zips past them, his anxiousness clearly visible. “I’ll go get a trainer!” he calls over his shoulder before he vanishes down the hall. Aurora growls impotently, lips curled into a snarl. “I oughta -” “Nope!” Glimmer counters quickly, hoisting the irate mare over her shoulder and carrying her into the lockers and towards the showers, the stallions peeling off to stay clear of further explosions. “You’re not doing anything to anyone before you get that wing looked at, and you’ve calmed down.” “Calm down?! LIKE HELL I’LL CALM DOWN!” Aurora yells, and Glimmer’s ears lay flat against her head against the deafening volume. Casting her eyes around, she spots Black Bird, the Ensign on Squad Twenty, and Third Commander Surprise standing like sentinels at an open shower stall with water already pouring down from the showerhead. Almost smiling at the helpfulness from the two elite Wonderbolts, Glimmer heads straight for them and easily tosses Aurora into the stall, dousing her with cold water. Aurora shrieks in surprise and curses at Glimmer even though her captain remains unfazed by the profanity spilling from her mouth. She moves to pull herself out of the icy spray, but Glimmer knocks her back down the moment she gets to her hooves. “Stay down, or I’ll give you a limp to go with the burned wing,” Glimmer snarls quietly, ignoring Surprise and Black Bird snickering behind her. “And when the Third Captain gets back, you’re going to thank him-” “WHAT?!” Aurora shrieks, springing back up in her indignation. Glimmer rears back and punches Aurora, sending the younger mare reeling backwards. “You heard me! Thank him for saving your sorry ass!” Glimmer shouts back, years of frustration feeding into her adrenaline-fueled anger. “If it weren’t for him, you’d have more than some singed feathers!” “This way, Chief Hour.” Fire’s professional voice comes from the entrance to the shower area, quickly followed by him and Witching Hour, wearing a medical saddle bag. “She should be right in here, hopefully it only looks bad and isn’t actually serious.” “We’ll know soon enough, Third Captain,” Witch agrees. “Lighting burns often don’t reveal the true extent of their damage until later.” “I have every confidence in your abilities, Chief,” Fire replies softly as he comes into view, a worried frown on his face. “I’m sure…” “She should have stuck to her fire handling; it’s what she is good at.” Lightning’s voice cuts through the already tense air much like the thunder had the stadium earlier. “You might be shocked how dangerous that can be…” he adds with a laugh that practically drops the IQ of anyone listening to it. Aurora growls loudly, first when she hears Fire, and then even more so when she hears what Lightning says. She rises, but is beat by Glimmer turning around and stomping out of the shower with a furious look in her eyes. “And what exactly do you mean by that?!” Glimmer belts as she storms over to Lightning, ears folded back and the feathers on her wings puffed out. “I’ve heard a lot of things come out of your worthless, pathetic excuse for a mouth, and I’ve heard you farting on Taco Tuesday! I’ve always assumed you were just stupid, that Fire got all his charm and grace because one of you had to get it.” She presses a hoof into Lightning’s chest as he backs up into a wall. “But this, this takes the whole cake and then some. I swear, I have half a mind to beat you senseless, rank or not! The other half?” She presses her hoof hard into his chest, pounding it with each word as she belts into his face. “The other part of me wants to SHOVE MY HOOF SO FAR UP YOUR WORTHLESS ASS, IT’LL TAKE A DIVINE MIRACLE TO GET IT OUT!” “Recruit Captain Glimmer,” Fire starts from behind Glimmer, who instantly rounds on him. “With all due respect, Third Captain,” Glimmer cuts him off in a dangerously low voice. “I thought we agreed that you would keep this worthless sack of mareizing garbage away from your sister.” She advances towards him, eyes narrowed. “You saved one of my squad, and I thank you for that. But frankly,” she points to Lightning and gets right in Fire’s face and growls, “get him out of here before I make you and Aurie the only members of the Streak family in the Wonderbolts.” “Are you giving me an order, Recruit Captain?” Fire questions, his professional tone cracking. “Promising,” Glimmer corrects sharply, almost hissing. “Promising that if you don’t remove that Shit Streak from my sight, I’m going to make him a stain on the carpet worthy of that name.” Looking to his brother, then back and Glimmer, Fire sighs and moves around the enraged mare. “Come along, brother. We’d best allow Captain Glimmer to attend to her injured squadmate.” He pauses next to Glimmer and looks at her from the corner of one eye. “Take care of her,” he whispers softly, before walking to his brother, and dragging the still stunned Lightning out the door. Watching the Streak twins depart with a loud snort, Glimmer turns around and heads to the vacant stall next to the one Aurora and Witch are currently occupying. She pauses as she opens the door and says to nopony in particular, “Not a word.” She then enters the stall, closing the door behind her and turning on the cold water. She sits under the stream of water, head hanging, as she slowly strips off her uniform and allows the cold water to temper the red hot fury still seething through her veins. As her blood finally cools and reality starts to sink in, a sense of looming dread replaces it, wringing a groan from her. She really does have bigger problems than her squad budget to worry about… And the trip was only barely half-over… Author's Note Massive kudos to Sylvian for hand-holding me through Glimmer's explosion... Glimmer... You poor fool... What have you done?!
Part the Fifth - In Which what HAPPENS in Los Pegasus does not STAY in Los PegasusGlimmer shifts awkwardly from one hoof to another as she tries and then forgets to keep her weight off her bruised left foreleg, the Lead Captain’s silence starting turn her anxiety into full-blown terror. There were few times where she’d actually feared for her life, and the only circumstance in recent memory comparable was when Aurora had screamed at Silver Lining about lumping her in with her older brother… Aurora huffs a sigh and her right wing twitches involuntarily. According to Chief Hour, it was a completely normal symptom after an electrical burn, but that hadn’t stopped Fire Streak from worrying the whole ride back to Canterlot about it, or Lightning Streak from making crass comments about how Aurora should try handling something safer, like lollipops. Needless to say, the ensuing brawl had trashed the sleeping compartment Aurora had initially been forced into by Chief Hour, and the fight had even moved into the next car, demolishing a couple of the benches and breaking at least one window… That, plus their bruises obviously caused by each other, is what brought all four of them to Spitfire’s office. When Spitfire finally looks up from the paperwork spread across her desk and silently looks the bruised group over, Glimmer winces, having put pressure on her left foreleg again in an effort to stand at proper attention. Lightning grunts from Fire’s left side, and he shifts quickly to attention as well, prompted by Fire’s elbowing him. Without looking, Glimmer flicks her right wing out to nudge Aurora, eliciting a quiet grumble, even as she straightens up. The noise, soft as it was, draws Spitfire’s eyes to Aurora, who swallows nervously. Glimmer can almost feel her squadmate trembling beside her. With a deceptively simple scowl, Spitfire reaches over to pick up a paper, only taking her eyes off the youngest Wonderbolt present to read it aloud. “Four counts of rank insubordination,” she pauses, her brown eyes flicking over to Aurora and Glimmer, “two counts gross provocation,” she adds with a scowl in Lightning’s direction, “four counts destruction of public property, and eight counts assault of a fellow Wonderbolt…” “Ei-OOF!” Glimmer jabs her wing at Aurora, silencing the younger mare’s outburst. While eight was a surprising number, Glimmer could also understand it. Each of them had wound up throwing punches or kicks at two others present. Spitfire glowers at the youngest Streak, then sets the paper to the side with a sigh before resting her chin on her hooves as she leans against her desk, glaring at all of them. “I would ask what happened, but the reports from Charlie and Twenty explain it well enough…” Spitfire gestures irritably towards a stack of papers. “To say nothing of the bill from the train company… So I have just one… One burning question…” She slams her hoof on the desk, rattling it and making Aurora jump. “WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!” Glimmer hears Lightning start to say something, but Fire shifts sharply beside her, and Lightning tries to muffle a whimper, but even that further irritates the Lead Captain. “I can only imagine this is what Dusk Glimmer meant when she told me it was a bad idea to put the lot of you on a train together.” Spitfire’s glare fixes on the twins. “Foolishly, I thought that, even if her squad caused a problem, a Command Squad would be above retaliating!” Spitfire’s stern expression flickers for a moment as she presses a hoof to her temple, trying vainly to dispel the building headache. Again, Lightning makes a noise, but another sharp motion from Fire cuts it off. “Captain Spitfire, Auro-” Fire starts. “I’m aware of Recruit Streak’s injury, Third Captain… I’ve read Doctor Hour’s incident report,” Spitfire cuts Fire off sharply. “And from what I’m able to gather, that is what caused this mess! Recruit Captain Dusk Glimmer has two counts insubordination at Commander Lightning’s provocation just in the immediate aftermath! And then… As if well enough just could not be left alone, you,” she snaps, pointing at Lightning, “decided to provoke both Recruit Captain Glimmer and Recruit Streak again on the train back to Canterlot! Resulting in a sprawling hoof-fight that demolished four benches, three doors, two windows, and a sleeping compartment!” “And a partridge in a pear tree…” Aurora mutters under her breath and barely moving her lips at all, almost quiet enough for even Glimmer next to her to not hear. Hear it, Glimmer did, though, and she turns her head to look at Aurora while delivering a swift jab with her wing again. “DID I SAY AT EASE, RECRUIT?!” Spitfire demands, abruptly in Glimmer’s face. Glimmer squeaks and almost takes a step backwards before she catches herself, barely in time. “No, ma’am!” Glimmer quickly answers, before wincing as she returns to her at attention stance. Unobtrusively, she shifts most of her weight off her injured foreleg while keeping both legs straight, making her lean just slightly to the right. “THIS IS MY OFFICE, RECRUIT! I WILL HANDLE ALL DISCIPLINE IN THIS ROOM!” Spitfire yells, almost blowing Glimmer back with the force of her voice alone. “And as for you,” she continues, turning her sights on Aurora. “Think something about this situation is funny, Recruit Streak?!” she booms, making the younger mare flinch. “N-no, ma’am!” Aurora replies, attempting to imitate Glimmer’s reply but not able to suppress the slight stammer. Snorting in irritation, Spitfire backs up a step to pace in between her desk and the four pegasi. Stopping in front of Lightning and Fire, Spitfire looks at the twins. “Anything you two have to say for yourselves?” Again, despite Lightning’s obvious willingness to open his mouth, Fire quickly silences him. “No, Lead Captain, ma’am,” Fire responds, his voice steady and calm. “Good,” Spitfire snaps, resuming her pacing. “All four of you will spend every evening, starting after dinner tonight, in the equipment cage, doing the laundry for the Compound… Together.” With Spitfire’s rebuke still ringing in her ears, Glimmer forces down her instinctive reaction to gag Aurora, and simply attempts to lean away from her squadmate while not bumping into Fire or putting weight on her bad fetlock joint. “Together?! But… er…” Aurora’s protest dies as Spitfire almost teleports in front of the recruit. “If you’d rather be discharged, then by all means continue to protest, Recruit Streak!” Spitfire snarls, before casting a baleful glower down the line of her subordinates. “Yes. Together. Until the lot of you stop reporting to the Trainers for any more altercations you might get into… And if any of you think I won’t know, you have lost your Celestia-loving minds. Do I make myself perfectly clear?!” “Yes, ma’am,” the four reply, not quite in unison but close enough that Spitfire lets it go. “Dismissed.” Aurora is the first out the door, with Lightning not far behind her. Fire waits until after Glimmer hobbles out into the hall to allow the door to close and start towards the stairs. Hesitating after only a few steps, Fire turns to see Glimmer attempting to use her left wing in place of her foreleg, the sight making him sigh and backtrack. “Captain Glimmer, please allow me to assist you to the Trainer Room,” Fire offers as he stands on her left. Glimmer looks up at him skeptically before sighing herself. “I suppose I can’t be angry at you for being as protective of Aurie as I was being…” she replies with a weak half-smile. “It would be rather hypocritical of you, yes,” Fire agrees, one corner of his mouth tugging upwards. “Here…” he suggests, stooping slightly. Glimmer sighs again and gingerly moves to drape the injured limb across his shoulders. “My turn to start thanking you?” she comments dryly as they start carefully down the stairs to the main floor. “I think I prefered to be the grateful one… It seems seeing for myself how my sister is doing is a bit hazardous for everyone’s health, not just my own.” Author's Note FWHEW! That... was not an easy one to write... Thanks go to Calm Wind in particular for making sure I wasn't completely botching Spitfire's ranting. But as always, I wouldn't be writing nearly as quickly as I am without Sylvian's constant assistance. Hope you all enjoyed! That's all for Recruit Squad Alpha until the sequel Chase the Wind & Touch the Sky comes out!
