It was a nice sunny day and Twilight was on a picnic with her five closest friends. Rainbow had just returned from her trip to The Wonderbolts headquarters and was busy boasting about all the awesome things she had done and The Wonderbolts she had met there. It seemed that only good things happened to her there but she knew that wasn’t true. It simply did not make sense. When you were new somewhere you were never immediately liked. She was hiding something and Twilight knew it. She didn’t blame her for it though because Rainbow cared about her reputation. She was just like that and they were still close friends.
One thing was bothering her about this whole situation with their friendship. She overheard Cloudchaser telling Fliter how Rainbow’s Ego problems had gotten worse. Apparently while they were on weather duty the other day Rainbow told the other pegasai that now that she was in the Bolts it was much harder to get in because she was all that they needed. She also said that only somepony as awesome as her could cover multiple positions. If that was true their relationship will take a serious hit. Twilight disliked boasters and egoistic ponies above everypony else. She just couldn’t stand ponies who cared more about their own fame than other ponies.
Twilight was now angry and worried. She had to get her mind of all this so she looked up into the endless skies above her. She loved them and wished that she could experience flight through them. Sailing throughout them was her ultimate wish but for that she needed something she did not have and that was her very own pair of wings.
Since she saw a pegasus fly as a foal she felt that her place was amongst the winged ponies. When she asked her mother if she could fly like the ponies she saw she was told that she was a unicorn from a noble family and noble unicorns did not wish to fly or work the farm like the earth pony peasants and uneducated pegasus hotheads. She was even threatened that she would be grounded if she ever asked a question like that again.
It took her until she entered Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns to figure out what was wrong with her. While researching ponies who were born with a mutation or a disorder she stumbled upon a chapter about transracial ponies. Transracial ponies were ponies who believed that they should have been born as a different of the three pony races. To be born like that was rare extremely rare but not unheard off.
That’s when she knew that she truly belonged in the skies. Excited about her discovery she looked for a part about possible treatments or surgeries. She was relieved to find out that magical race reassignment surgeries indeed exist but her heart sank when she read the next line. It said that they were very expensive. She shouldn’t be worried about the cost as she came from a rich family. The problem was that her parents would never fund her surgery because of their dated beliefs. Princess Celestia was out of the question. The nobility woud be in an uproar if she got involved into sensative topics like this one.
She decided that in order to accomplish her dream she was going to have to perform the surgery herself. The idea was dangerous, a lot could go wrong and her very life was at risk but she was willing to sacrifice everything in order to accomplish her dream. In order to even have a remote chance at success she will have to become an extremely skilled mage. That will consume all the time she will have in her teenage years but it was worth it.
The lavender mare was woken from her thoughts by Rainbow Dash. “So that’s everything that happened there girls,” she said, “What do you girls think about me being accepted in the wonderbolts?”
“I am happy for you Rainbow,” said Fluttershy with a small smile.
Rarity nodded and said, “Yes I am happy for you too my dear. Achieving one’s dreams is a moment we should all be happy about.”
“Oh Oh we should totally have a ‘dreams came true’ party!” Said Pinkie excitedly.
“You know you already threw me a ‘Dashie is a Wonderbolt’ party right Pinkie?” Asked Rainbow
“Well what is wrong with more parties?” The girls knew that there was no stopping Pinkie when it came to parties so they all just agreed with her.
Twilight was just thinking about what Rarity said, that they should all be happy when a ponies dream comes true. Would they support her if she told them what her dream was? Would they be happy for her if she achieved it? She was not sure if they would and she did not want to lose her friendship with all of them. She just hoped that they won’t have anything against her.
“Oh shoot I’m late for a meeting at the Rainbow Factory. Sorry girls gotta go!” she said before flying off.
“Well I need to get going too. I have some things to do back at the farm,” said Applejack.
They all said their goodbyes and when to their homes. While walking back Twilight was thinking about her progress on the spell that would give her wings. She was so very close to be able to perform it, she could do it by the end of the week but there were problems. One of them was telling her friends and family who she truly was and what she was going to do to herself. The other one was the fact that she had to fill out some paperwork back in Canterlot so that she wouldn’t be forced to do things like go to unicorn exclusive meetings and gatherings and could go to pegasus ones. High ranking ponies had access to those files and if they didn’t like transracial ponies they could stop her from getting a job or even attempt to frame her for something just to hurt or get rid of her.
The good thing was that the race ponies would switch to usually really liked the pony who switched. It was taken as a sign of superiority to the politicians and nobles as a consequence one could live as a pegasus for example just as a pony who was a born pegasus if not slightly better.
***
Back at the Wonderbolt Headquarters Spitfire was getting ready for a trip to Ponyville. They had a show there in a couple of days and as captain her duty was to make sure everything was safe and ready for the show. Sure, somepony else could do it but she didn’t trust them so much to do a good job. A good part of the wonderbolts were boasters or cared more for their own fame than other, more important things like show safety.
She had hoped that Rainbow would be different but she wasn’t. She kept saying that she was the best flyer in all of Equestira and bragging about her talent. Sure she was one of the most talented ponies they ever had on their team but that did not mean anything by itself. A good wonderbolt had skill, grace and above else respect for other flyers and Rainbow definitely lacked some respect for the more experienced. Hopefully she would learn to respect others more as time goes on. If she didn’t she will have problems.
Spitfire knew it was up to Rainbow Dash to change her attitude. When it came to personal views and opinions only person that could help us fix them was ourselves. She took a quick look in her suitcase. Everything what she needed for the trip was there so she closed the suitcase, picked it up with her mouth and left for Ponyville.
***
Back in her library Twilight was busy dreaming about what she could do as a pegasus. The possibilities were endless. She could be a messenger, a mailmare, a weatherpony, a stunt flyer, an aerial acrobat and so much more. She could even apply for The Wonderbolts Academy. She was sure she would be a great and talented flyer. Speaking of talents she wondered what would happen with her cutie mark if she actually did go through with the race change? Would it stay the same even though she couldn’t use magic any more? Would the mark take on another meaning or would the unlikely thing happen, would she be reduced to a blank flank again and left to rediscover her talent?
There is much to discuss on this topic. It was certainly a bit weird to consider the last possibility. Why would her cutie mark change? It made no sense what so ever. What did a cutie mark have to do with a pony’s race? Nopony could answer that question because cutie marks were usually not related with a pony’s race. Sure, it was odd to see a unicorn or pegasus farmer but it wasn’t unheard off. Twilight’s case was different because her talent was what made unicorns different from pegasai or earth ponies and that was magic. Magic was something special and unique only unicorns could do and being talented in what made your race different was certainly important and often caused jealousy among others.
So if she was talented in the unicorn speciality, would she be talented in the pegasus speciality, flying if she was a pegasus? Twilight certainly taught she would be. It made perfect sense if cutie marks worked that way.
She was awoken from her trail of thoughts by somepony opening the front door.
“Hey Twi you got a sec?” Asked the voice. Twilight identified the pony as Rainbow Dash. She wondered what she wanted.
“Sure Rainbow what is it?” responded Twilight from her room upstairs while she was leaving it.
“Well somepony from the Wonderbolts is coming to check the town for anything that could interfere with the show that is coming up in a couple of days and I was wondering if you could help organize it and some other things,” replied Rainbow.
‘Help The Wonderbolts?’ thought Twilight. This is a chance to learn more about how they do things and how pegasai act and think in general without it being weird. After all, unicorns weren’t usually interested in pegasai behaviour and culture.
“Sure Rainbow, I would love to help,” said Twilight with a lovely smile.
“Great! I’ll be here around here in the evening. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes it’s perfectly fine.”
“Okay. Wait I have a favour to ask. Could whoever comes stay here while The Wonderbolts have a show here? It would be a huge help. All the inn’s and hotels are already full with ponies coming to see the show and the other Wonderbolts will be staying at a hotel when they get here. The problem is that the those rooms are still not ready for new guests.”
A Wonderbolt in her home? That would provide even more opportunities to learn about them. “No problem, I would love to have somepony new to talk to.”
“Thanks Twi you saved me a lot of trouble right now. See you in the evening!”
“Bye Rainbow,” said Twilight and waved her goodbye.
Chapter 2: Spitfire Arrives (Rewritten)
The Ponyville train station was full with many ponies getting of the train that has just arrived. Excitement could be seen everywhere on the ponies going on and of the platform, hurrying to secure whichever free room was still available. One of the ponies on that platform was Rainbow Dash. She was waiting for The Wonderbolts representative that was sent to make sure everything was ready for the upcoming performance. Rainbow was tasked with guiding the representative through the town until the show was over, as well as supplying them with necessary information.
She spotted the representative and was surprised to find out that Captain Spitfire herself came over. Spitfire approached and greeted her. “Rainbow Dash,” she said.
“Ma’am,” responded Rainbow Dash with a salute.
“I trust everything is all right?” Asked the captain.
“It is,” answered Rainbow, ”there was a slight issue with your accommodation but I took care of that.”
Spitfire raised an eyebrow curiously. “What was the problem?” She asked.
“Well apparently the room you were supposed to stay in got demolished by the last guests and the other room haven’t been cleared out yet,” said Rainbow.
“So where will I be staying then?”
“Well, It was impossible to find another room with all of these ponies coming and going every day so I asked a friend of mine if you could stay with her and she said it was OK.”
“Well, you better show me the way before it gets completely dark.”
“Okay follow me,” said Rainbow before she stepped of the platform and took off into the skies with her captain right behind her.
When she caught up, Spitfire decided to ask who her host was going to be. “So who will I be staying with?” She asked.
“Her name is Twilight Sparkle, she is a unicorn,” answered Rainbow.
“Isn’t she the Princess’s student and the bearer of the element of magic?”
“That’s her,” said Rainbow with a smile.
“Well it will be great to meet her. It is incredible how much she has achieved.”
“Well she is great at magic and an amazing friend.”
“I am looking forward to meeting her then,” said Spitfire with a small smile appearing on her face.
When Twilight’s library was visible Rainbow pointed to it. “She lives in that tree over there.”
“She lives in a tree?” Asked Spitfire.
“It is a library actually,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Well that seems convenient for her. Quick access to books.”
Rainbow just nodded and landed in front of the library and her captain soon followed.
“Here we are,” said Rainbow before she knocked on the door. They waited there for a couple of seconds before hearing somepony walking down the stairs.
“I’m coming!” They heard Twilight say.
Twilight opened the door and greeted her guests. “Hello Rainbow,” she said. When she noticed who was going to be staying with her she was more than a little surprised. “Wait aren’t you Spitfire, the Captain of The Wonderbolts?” she asked
“Yes, I am. And you must be Twilight Sparkle. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Thank you, it’s nice to meet you too. Now let me show you where you’ll be staying.”
“I’ll come around nine to show you around is that OK?”
“Sure, see you at nine Rainbow,”
“OK, goodnight captain,” said Rainbow
“Goodnight,” answered Spitfire
After Rainbow flew off Twilight and Spitfire went inside the library. “Are you hungry captain? Dinner is almost ready,” asked Twilight.
“I could definitely eat. I haven’t eaten since noon,” she said with a smile, “and there is no need to call me ‘captain’ Twilight. I am not on duty. Besides, we are friends aren’t we?”
Twilight was shocked to say the least. Not in her wildest dreams did she hope to be a friend of, in her opinion, one of the greatest pegasai in Equestria. “S-sure we are. I can’t see a reason why couldn’t be,” said Twilight nervously.
Spitfire noticed that Twilight was nervous but she couldn’t figure out why. It is probably because she wants for everything to go smoothly, she thought. “No need to be nervous Twilight, I don’t bite,” she said.
Spitfire of course, was wrong. Twilight was indeed worried about her guest but she was worried for an entirely different reason. She hoped that an influential pegasus like the captain of The Wonderbolts could help her when she came out and hopefully became a pegasus. That idea depended on Spitfire, or anypony else except rich ponies, actually caring about her. She was scared and confident at the same time. Scared of failing, but confident that somepony would help her. If nopony did help her she would simply have to do everything herself.
“I am not nervous, it’s just the fact that I haven’t been expecting somepony important like you to be my guest,” she smiled nervously.
Spitfire blushed at Twilight’s compliment. “Well, there are plenty of more important ponies in Equestria than I am,” she chuckled confidently. In truth though, she was really confused why Twilight’s compliment made her blush. As the Captain of The Wonderbolts she was used to compliments from all sorts of ponies. It is probably because it was unexpected.
Suddenly, a loud growl was heard from Spitfire’s stomach. “So is that dinner you promised me coming or not?” The fiery mare smiled.
“Oh it should be ready, hold on,” Twilight turned around, “Spike! Is the dinner ready?”
“I’m bringing it right know,” Spike came into the room carrying a large silver plater with various foods on it.
Twilight took a look at the dinner. “Wow Spike that looks amazing”
“I agree, can we start eating? I think I’m about to collapse,” Spitfire’s mouth was watering in anticipation of the meal.
In response, Twilight approached the table. “Well we better get started then,” she said.
Soon enough, both ponies were eating the freshly cooked dinner. Barely a word was said because both of the mare were busy filling their empty stomachs.
“I have to say Twilight, that little dragon of yours is an amazing cook,” said Spitfire after emptying her plate.
Twilight looked at her own empty plate. “Yes Spike sure is a great cook.”
“Where did you get him anyway?” Asked Spitfire curiously.
“I hatched him when I was just a little filly, he is like a baby brother to me” Twilight smiled at all the wonderful memories of her fillyhood she spent with Spike.
“Wow, that’s amazing! I didn’t even know that was possible. That must have required a great amount of magic,” Spitfire looked absolutely amazed at the amount of magic and skill Twilight had.
“It did. My magic got out off control and I managed to hatch him.”
“That’s still very impressive Twilight, don’t underestimate yourself,” reassured Spitfire
“Thank you Captain.”
“Hey, call me Spitfire. We are friends after all,” Spitfire smiled and Twilight returned her the smile.
“All right Spitfire.”
Spitfire yawned. “I am really tired. Could you show me where the bathroom is so I can take a bath before we go to sleep?”
Twilight got up. “Sure follow me,” she trotted up the stairs with her guest behind her. “We will be sleeping in the same room,” Twilight pointed towards the bedroom, “and on the left is the bathroom.”
“OK, I’ll be done quickly,” Spitfire went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
About 10 minutes later
Spitfire was taking a nice hot bath when she realised that she needed some help from her hostess with washing some hard-to-reach spots. Damn, this is going to be a little awkward, she thought.
“Hey Twilight! Could you help me a little over here?” She called.
“Sure, I’ll be right there!” She answered.
“What do you need help with?” Asked Twilight while opening the door. When she saw the wet mare in the shower she blushed.
“Well I can’t reach a spot on my back,” said Spitfire, with a blush of her own
Twilight just nodded. “OK, no problem. Somepony has to do it right?” she approached the shower and grabbed some shampoo. She squeezed some on Spitfire’s back and rubbed it in.
Spitfire shivered a little. “You are really good with hooves Twi, I feel like somepony is giving me a massage.
Twilight just blushed some more. She really didn’t think that she was that good. “OK I’m done. I’ll leave you to wash yourself.”
“OK, thanks a lot for helping me. I don’t usually ask my hosts for help, but I had none of the others with me,”
Twilight understood that she was not the only one who was a bit uncomfortable there. “Hey we’re friends right?” she said with a smile.
“Yes we are, see you in bed,” she winked.
“Twilight blushed again and left her bathroom. Oh Celestia, what is with me today? Ever since Spitfire came I have been blushing like crazy.
***
A couple of minutes later Twilight heard the bathroom door closing and her bedroom door opening. Spitfire came into the room and you could really see that she was more relaxed after that shower, not to mention cleaner. She looked around the room and a puzzled look appeared on her face. “Um Twilight, where will I be sleeping? There is only one large bed in here.”
“Oh, sorry about that,” she apologized, “I tried to get the spare bed in here but one of it’s legs was broken.”
“So we’ll have to share your bed?” Asked Spitfire.
“Unless you are uncomfortable with it,” Twilight got up and went towards her closet, “I think I can prepare the couch for you...”
“There’s no need for that Twi, I’ve shared beds with other bolts before. Comes with the job.
“Well OK then, hop in.” Twilight smiled and Spitfire got into the bed. Soon enough they were both in the land of dreams.
***
The sun has just risen and Rainbow Dash was already flying towards her friend’s house. It was time to show her captain around the town. If she got lucky she would get to know her better. She landed directly in front of Twilight’s library and knocked on the door. “Hey Twilight, you awake?”
Hoofsteps were heard and the door opened. “Oh, hello Rainbow. You are a bit early,” said Twilight.
Rainbow smiled with pride. “Well, you can never be to early for duty Twilight!”
Twilight seemed to approve of Rainbow’s thinking. “Well I agree with you on that one Rainbow.”
“I thought you would,” said Rainbow, “so can I come in?”
“Sure, your Captain has just finished finished her breakfast. I presume you are looking for her?”
Rainbow smiled again. “Yes I am. It’s time to show her around town.”
Captain Spitfire came to them and joined in the conversation. “Actually, Twilight told me about everything important while we were eating so you don’t need to do that.”
Rainbow seemed disappointed at the response she got. “Oh, all right.”
“But you can go and help with the preparations for the show. The sooner we finish there, the sooner the show starts,” said Spitfire.
That seemed to cheer Dash up. “OK, I’ll go and help out right know, see ya there,” she said and flew off.
Twilight closed the door. “So, what are you going to do now?,” she asked, “you’ll have a lot of free time.”
Spitfire thought about that for a moment for responding. “Well I think I am going to check on the preparations.”
“That seems like a good idea. As the Captain of The Wonderbolts you do have a lot of responsibility on your hooves,” responded Twilight.
Spitfire nodded. “Yes, if anything goes wrong I have to deal with it.
“So, do you need some company? I don’t really have much to do today,” asked Twilight. She was hoping that she could befriend Spitfire. Aside from the chance to gain information about her ideas of transracial ponies, she seemed like a really nice pony. There was also something else driving her to get to know her but Twilight didn’t know what it was.
“Sure, it’s a great opportunity for me to learn something about my host,” responded Spitfire.
Twilight smiled and opened the door. “Great, let’s go then!” she said.
After a quick walk they reached the construction site. “Here we are Captain. In a couple of days you and the others will be performing here,” she said.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to that,” she said, “listen, I am going to have a quick chat with the supervisor. Could you wait a second Twi?”
Twilight smiled slightly at her nickname. “Sure, no problem.”
“Great, see you in a minute then.”
Twilight observed Spitfire walking over to the pegasus in charge and started a conversation. The pony nodded and pointed to various places on the construction site and Captain Spitfire seemed to be pleased. Suddenly Spitfire smiled widely, thanked the pony and trotted back to Twilight.
“So how are things going?” asked Twilight.
“Oh everything is just fine but that stallion gave me some really good news,” said Spitfire.
“That’s great! What happened?” asked Twilight
“You will see in a second, here she comes right know,” Spitfire pointed at a pegasus mare flying towards them.
“Morning Fleet!” said Spitfire happily.
“Morning dear,” said Fleetfoot before kissing Spitfire passionately. Twilight was slightly shocked at that. She wasn’t expecting that the Captain of The Wonderbolts would be so open about her relationship but she wasn’t confused or disappointed, she was happy. That happiness lasted for less than a second before she felt pain in her chest.
