Oxygenby Ironfire SkiesChaptersJust Another DayFinding ideasPlanning the Surprise At The Pool (1/2)Just Another Day JUST ANOTHER DAY CH. 1 It was a late afternoon, today’s team practice had ended at 4:30PM. Spitfire and the rest of the Bolts headed to the locker rooms to refresh after four hours of practice. Practice today had started at 1:30pm, within those three hours consisting of intricate routines for their next show in Vanhoover. Everypony had already opened their assigned lockers to gather their shower items. The orange fiery maned captain could clearly hear the tired groans of Crash and the others. Spitfire herself turned from her opened locker, and smiled adorably at the others. ‘I can literally hear their tired groans. I can comprehend as to why I had to make our practice four hours today ‘. She turned away from looking at the others. Focused on grabbing her shower essentials: two yellow towels, one favorite scented shampoo and conditioner. Spit closed her locker and began to gather her things. After she was done, she began her path to the mares’ wash room. Along the way, she runs into Crash who was already in the hall five minutes prior. Dash earlier had ran down the halls towards the mares’ washroom before anypony else. “Hey Rainbow, what’s up?” Spitfire asked. “Hey Spit, I was wondering if we can talk before we head into the showers?” RD said. “Sure, what is it?” “I know this sounds cheesy, but have you ever been with somepony before? Did you ever do anything special for them?” Dash slowly blushed at the question. Spitfire widened her eyes at Dash’s sentimental question. “I-I-I had before I became a Bolt. I’d been with a few colts and mares before….but it’s a long story. I was only in high school the last time I started dating”. The two mares continued chatting as they walked down the large hall. Rainbow Dash became shocked.“You’re bisexual? I didn’t know that about you”. Spitfire turned her face away in embarrassment as they continued walking. “I always kept my sexual orientation a secret. I never told Soarin, Fleetfoot, or the others. You’re the first pony to know”. Rainbow lowered her voice to a whisper. “Spit, your secret is safe with me”. Spit whispered back. “Thanks..” “Anyways, what are your suggestions for me? I’m scared to confess my feelings for Soar, we only been going out for a week, going on two.” “Well….lemme think about it.” Time passed, they nearly chatted for fifteen minutes. As they were walking about, they slowly passed the mares' washroom. Spitfire was the one to turn her head left first. "Rainbow Dash, we passed the washroom". Dash facehoofed. "G-r-reat! Let's shower already". Both mares looked at each other in agreement, nodded, and made their way into the washroom. MEANWHILE IN THE COLTS' WASHROOM Soarin let the shower water run down his entire body. By doing so, he closed his eyes and tilted his head upward to let the water briefly run down his face. 'Refreshing'. He thought. Wave Chill, his older brother, who was showering next to him gave an eye roll. "Little bro, you always do that after practice. Every time after every practice. Why again?" Soar turned from his position with a smirk. "Come on, you do the same Wave. Don't deny it". "Whatever", he said, while turning away to resume showering. Both brothers continue to let the water run for a little bit, before shutting off the faucet to shampoo. Once they were done, they rinsed off and moved on to their bodies. After about ten minutes, they rinse again before turning off the water to dry off. Soarin finishes first and steps out. "You showered fast Soar", Wave said as he got out after him. He prepared to dry off as Soarin did the same. "Well, it's because I am dying to hit the hay already". Soarin made a small yawn. Wave raised an eyebrow. "Hit the hay?! We're having early dinner in the mess hall today. You forgot?". Soarin sighed. "I guess I did". The other members look at Wave Chill in confusion as they finished. "What did we forget?" "We'll discuss it in the mess hall every pony", Wave said as walked away after closing his locker. ' I wonder why we have early dinner today?' Everypony wondered, included Soar. All the male members eventually all out of uniform, take their time to proceed out of their designated area to head to the mess hall for chow. Everypony arrives to the mess hall before 5:45PM, they've showered and felt ready to eat. But what was on the menu tonight? It read: veggie fondue as entree, apple pastries for dessert, and assorted beverages. All members looked at the menu in awe as their mouths almost watered. Everything on the menu looked so delectable. "Who made the menu today?" Soarin asked Spitfire. "Your aunt, Soar. She asked the mess hall staff to prepare something special today, that's why she unknowingly gave the memo to Wave to tell you and the others before he showered". 'That's what took Wave so long? No wonder he was the last one out of the shower'. The pale blue stallion thought to himself as he smiled. His aunt outdone herself again s always. General Thundershine was already the first pegasus sitting down with her meal on the table. She was wearing her occasional navy blue uniform with four stars and achieved badges. Her food still lay untouched, she was still waiting for every pony else to get their food. Everypony got a tray and put whatever food they pleased on their plates. They kept sliding their trays to then get dessert and drinks. Once everybody was done, they proceeded to seat themselves one by one at Thundershine's table. As they began to eat, Thunder opened her mouth to speak. "I'm pretty sure all of you know why you're here at dinner early..." Spitfire, RD, and the others shrugged. "..Well, I have some awesome news. Your next show is going to be hosted at one of the stadiums in Vanhoover. It was very challenging to book due to there being so many other applicants. But bear with me, you will enjoy what this location has to offer.Further details will be provided eventually". Everypony else smiled, while Dash mouthed an 'aw yeah!'. "You may eat", the General said. While the other members chatted away about their day, Spitfire focused her conversation more with RD. Dash was drinking some cider. While Spitfire watched the rainbow maned mare chunk it messily as it dripped down her face. Spit couldn't help but laugh. "What's so funny?" Rainbow asked as she then drank from her fondue. Spit had to cover her laugh with her hoof. "Nothing!" Dash looked at her captain skeptically. "You are definitely hiding something. Are you gonna spill the beans?" "Nope". "O-o-ok, I'll let it go this one time Spit. But ur gonna have to tell me eventually." Spitfire and Dash continued chatting and eating. Once they finished, they get up from their seats to get dessert. Dash went ahead to choose an apple pie slice, while Spit chose a practical apple fritter. MEANWHILE Soarin can be seen sitting next to mainly his brother, Surprise, and her cousin High Winds. Soarin had a plate of his usual apple pie; Wave Chill had their Aunt’s homemade pumpkin muffin; Surprise and High Winds both went for the same dessert as Wave. As they enjoyed taking time to taste their pastries, this time Wave decided to start their conversation. “Has anyone noticed that Cap has been acting weird since practice was over?” Wave Chill whispered, as he consumed the last dessert on his plate. Surprise looked at Wave with skepticism, one brow raised slightly. “It’s just another day Wave, how could Spitty be acting weird after practice?” Soarin was still staring into space as he consumed the last morsel of his pie. Not even listening into their conversation. His teammates paused their chat briefly and looked at the pale blue stallion, chuckling. Their chuckling snapped Soar out of his thoughts. “What’s so funny guys?” Soar asked questioning them. “You were staring into space, idiot”, Surprise said to him, as she stuck her tongue out slightly. “First of all, I’m not an idiot. Only my brother gets to call me that Surprise”. Soar taunted. Surprise rolled her eyes at her friend, while Wave mouthed a ‘thanks bro’. They continued their conversation as the other members gathered their trays of dishes to be washed. Thundershine and Spiffire were among those other ponies to finish this early. After Spit unknowingly left the mess hall early, Thundershine was the only one left to put her finished tray on the counter. As she was about to proceed to leave for the day, her ears suddenly perked at their conversation. She recognized that voice, it was her older nephew Wave Chill. She immediately walked towards their group with eagerness. “Am I missing out?” she asked, eyebrow raised. “Auntie, you’re just in time actually”, Wave Chill said to his Aunt nervously. “We just mentioned in our chat earlier that Spiffire unknowingly left early. We thought it seemed unlike her to leave the mess hall so early. She’s usually the last pony to eat and leave afterwards”. Thundershine chuckled at Wave. “I know it’s unlike her to leave chow so early today. But I know she has her intentions, dear nephew”. Soarin butted in. “I agree with my brother here. Why is that? “ Thunder eyes widened at her other nephew suddenly butting in to the chat. “Well, she might be working on something special for all of you. I know that for sure. But it’s going to be a surprise”. The general then looked at her watch, it was almost 30 mins to 7. Had they really been chatting for more than two hours? “Guys, it’s 30 minutes to seven. All of you fellas been chatting up a storm and didn’t realize time had flown by?” “Sorry”, they all said in unison. Everypony did as they were told and gathered their trays to the counter. They all headed out of the mess hall one by one, once they were done. As Thunder watched them leave back to their designated dorms. She peered out the window for a brief moment. “Just another day”, she said to herself. She then left with content that tomorrow would be different. To be continued Author's Note When I was writing the dialogue mentioning Spitfire was bisexual, I was at the same time thinking about my sexuality and my personal experiences with this. I came out as bi very suddenly at work one time, and at once, I was ashamed. Like, in Spitfire's case, coming out to Dash as a bisexual mare. If you have any questions about the dialogue or something in this chapter, fill free to PM me. I'll respond when I have time. Finding ideasAuthor's Note Surprise! Ch. 2 is told from Spit's perspective. I didn't want to write from a first person's point of view, but I ended up going with it anyways. Hope you like this chapter being told from her point of view. I hesitated for a bit, sorry. And yes, a new pool had been installed at the Wonderbolts HQ. In secret. I will continue the part where they find ideas for the song in chapter 3. TBD Finding ideas FINDING IDEAS CHAPTER 2 Spitfire's POV I woke up the next morning feeling well rested. As I rose from my bed in the unisex dorms for the team, I noticed as I was looking around the room, that I was the only pony awake. Strange, normally every pony awakes one by one during our off days. We normally decide what activities we do together, right after we get up. Does this seem strange to you? Nope, not to me. Since we exhausted ourselves from yesterday's four hour practice in the afternoon. Soarin's still snoring loudly, like he always does every night. Fleetfoot's still moving around in her bed, eyes closed, moving back and forth possibly from Soar's obnoxious snoring. See Dash, she sleeps like a baby (Don't mind her). I don't know about the rest of my fellow members, they're still sound asleep. Shhh! After sitting in my bed for five minutes, observing everypony's sleep phases, I slowly make my way out of bed to the mare's washroom - down the hall from our big shared bedded dorm. I whispered to myself. "It's a relief Dash doesn't know that I plan on writing a song for her and Soarin". I continued my way down the hall to the mare's room to wash up. -MARE'S WASHROOM- I arrived at our designated washroom and immediately ran to the nearest sink I could find. I turn on the faucet for cold water and begin to splash my face with it. I always splashed my face with it ever since I was a filly, my mother always told me to make it a routine for myself - since cold water was meant to wake you up - after about four or five splashes. Once I was done, I grabbed my yellow towel that I put on the rack earlier - to pat the water on my face dry. I made sure to not have the water running fast, otherwise it would wake the others up. Now that my face is washed, I went ahead to have my teeth brushed and rinsed. Yes! I'm ready to eat breakfast. I exited the washroom, leaving everything in its place. Mess hall, here we come! MESS HALL I arrived at the mess hall five minutes later. My eyes widened as I look around for the second time. 'Sweet Celestia! Am I the only one that came to the Mess hall early?! I thought. 'Where is every pony? I at least thought someone would be awake already. It's been almost an hour since I got here.' I stopped observing the chow hall's surroundings and turned my head to see two female pegasai. I was not expecting them today. 'You wanted this day to yourself Spitfire, but oh well', a voice in my head said. I peer straight and noticed General Thunder and her now young adult cousin sitting down, socializing away. I waved. "Hey Auntie, and Blazer. What are you both doing here at such a random time?" General's younger cousin chuckled. "I'm here to help you out with the surprised you planned, silly". I knew what Ironfire meant...the 'surprise'. "Oh yeah, the 'surprise'", I said sheepishly. "It's a song. The others don't know about it just yet. When they saw me leaving the mess hall early yesterday, after our early evening dinner, majority of the others gave me puzzled looks. Wondering what I was up to". Thundershine chuckled as well. "Well, luckily, they didn't know what you were planning..." She looked around a bit to make sure no pony else was around. After she nodded to herself that it was clear, she continued her sentence. "...yet". All three of us giggled softly. Luckily, everypony else was still in the dorms doing whatever. "Before we discuss what song we're gonna write for Soarin and his mare, let's eat. I'm starving", I said, as I rubbed my rumbling stomach. "Agreed", the two cousins said in unison. Thundershine already had a table of food laid out. She cooked oatmeal and three fruit bowls with yogurt and granola toppings. Enough for all us to share. I looked at the food in awe. "Auntie how long did it take you to make all this?" The general laughed. "It only took me fifteen minutes to cook breakfast for all of us, my dear". I was speechless, I always knew she was such a talented chef. If Thunder wasn't General of the Bolts, she would've made a living as chef instead. "Let's dig in, the oatmeals gonna get cold", Blazer said. We all laughed and began to eat a deliciously homemade breakfast made by yours truly. When were done, all we had left was the half eaten fruit bowls. "Shine, the fruit bowls with granola you whipped up was delightful", Blaze told her older cousin. "Thank you, Blazer. Anything for my favorite ponies". "Now that we only have these half eaten fruit bowls, let's save it for later", we said at the same time. We eventually walked out of the mess hall with full stomachs. Now it was time to find a place to sit down and let our ideas flow. As the three of us were walking down the hall, we began discussing where we should meet up privately. "Should we meet up in the dorms?" I asked them. "Spit, if we met up in the dorms. We'd still get no privacy, it'll spoil the surprise we were planning for the new lovely couple", Blazer said to me quietly. I smirked. "Okay, I agree. Your cuz got any other ideas?" "I have another surprise not just for you, my dear Spit. But eventually for the entire team". Thundershine winked at her cousin, then at me. I was bewildered. "What do you have in mind?" "Come with me on a little flight, then I'll give you the inside scoop of what I've been working on", the General said. Blazer and I nodded in agreement. We eventually made it to the exit from the hallway we walked on. As we opened the doors to the exit, we looked up at the third window of the shared dorms, the sleeping quarters. Everypony was starting to wake up from their beds. Whew! They didn’t know what we were up to. We unfolded our wings and took off into the sky. As we were flying, I decided to chat and catch up with two of my favorite ponies. “So, what’s the inside scoop Auntie?” I asked. “I actually was working on the finishing touches of the new swimming pool for the team, earlier this morning. I had it installed in a more secluded cloud area”, the General said. “We’re almost there, it’s just past your guys’ dorms, behind the training course covered with stratus clouds”. My mouth gaped open. “A swimming pool?!” “Yes, my dear Spit. With the latest lounge chairs purchased in Ponyville. They were not cheap”. I was still surprised. “How did you manage to pull off a project like that?” “Six months after your guys’ show in Ponyville, I started sketching the design for the pool on a blueprint. Then, I had my younger brother, Night Shade do the construction work on it. Which took 11 months to install. Then I told him to order the decor for it in advance. I wasn’t able to pull it off by myself”. “Night Shade, as in the Royal guard, Night Shade. I didn’t know he did construction work on the side. You never mentioned it”, I said to my favorite Aunt. “You were too busy with your job, Spit. So I never had a chance to tell you”. Our conversation continued and within a few minutes, we’re flying just above the swimming pool from a birds-eye view. We stopped our chat and the three of us looked down at the sight, wings flapping. We were in awe. “I knew it would look spectacular”, Blaze said to me excitedly as she faced me. “It’s the perfect place to find ideas for the song we’re gonna work on”. “Girls, did you remember to bring your goggles?” Thundershine said to Blaze and I. We realized we forgot goggles, right when we just arrived above the new pool. ‘Oops’ we both thought as our eyes widened. Thunder just laughed at our shocked faces. “Come on, fly down to the pool already. We gotta get swimming and fish for ideas.” We flew down to the pool area and smoothed our landing on the concrete. We walked around to admire the area, it looked luxurious, better looking than an inn pool area. Thunder had decorated the sides with potted bushes, buttercups, lilies and artificial grass. There were enough beach chairs for everyone. It was a pleasant site to see, I can’t wait to surprise the other members. But for now, let’s find ideas for this song. To be continued. Planning the Surprise At The Pool (1/2)Planning the Surprise At The Pool By: Sango - Blazer Skies After admiring the site for the new pool Thunder installed, Spit trots to the storage located on the southeast side of the area. She trots southeast, as directed by the signs spray painted on the ground. Eventually she arrives at the shed with a few seconds to spare. She opens the door to see items any pony would need: goggles, beach balls, a net for pool maintenance, extra bottles of sunscreen with 50 spf and plenty of beach bags. The Wonderbolt Captain gasps at the amount of supplies the shed held. "Unbelievable!" Spitfire said loudly. Meanwhile, General Thundershine and her younger cousin Blaze are setting up three lounge chairs located by the pool. They assemble customized towels with one of the Wonderbolt's various symbols; a yellow lightning bolt with white feathered wings. Blazer turns to see Spit in the distance, with her head peering inside the shed. She immediately lets out her most brash laugh ever, after hearing Spitfire mutter out loud. "Ha-ha-ha!! " Blazer laughs, as she loses her grip of the other towels. Spitfire takes her head away from the shed and turns to see Blazer laughing at her. Her brow furls back as she turns into a slight tomato. "You heard that, didn't you Blazer?" Spit then closes the door. Blazer nods as she takes a breath to stop her laughter. "Well of course, no pony else did. It was hilarious hearing you say your thoughts out loud". Thundershine wasn't paying attention to the chatter between Blazer and Spit. She was still focused on setting up the rest of every pony else's pools essentials. She can be seen setting more towels of the same design on every lounge chair - first the ones by the pool - then on the ones to the back of the swim area. After she was done setting the left side of lounge chairs, she trots from there to the finish setting the right side. She grabs the rest of the towels with her right hoof and marches on to finish her task. As Thunder continues to set the additional towels onto the chairs, she eventually looks up from what she’s doing. "You gals doing okay?" "We're fine!", both mares said in unison. "Alright then". Thunder goes back to what she's doing. Twenty minutes go by and she is eventually done setting up every lounge chair with towels. "Done, finally", she announces. "I'm hungry, let's get some snacks. Luckily I already installed a snack bar, with a little help from one of my brothers. Come on girls!" Thunder beckons them to walk with her. "Coming!" Blazer and Spit shout, as they go up ahead to walk with her. The snack bar is perpendicular to the pool. At least it’s a very brief walk from where the three mares are walking. After walking from the left lounge area, they arrive at the recently installed snack bar in seconds. All three mares glance at the snack bar; there was a hot water kettle for tea, a coffee machine, a fridge with assorted foods, granola bars, fruit snacks, and regular fruits. "Are all these snacks enough to feed the whole team?" Spitfire asks Thundershine. "Of course, everything is fully stocked. I arrange for a delivery to come three days a week", she replies. Blazer looks at everything. She almost feels her mouth watering, as everything appears to look so tasty. Spitfire and Thunder look at her and giggle. "Someone's hungry!" both mares say in unison. At that, all she could do is eye roll. "Very funny, you two", Blazer sarcastically responds. Eventually, Spitfire and Thundershine stop their giggle fit and keep their composure. "Your cousin and I have to admit, you are the most hilarious of the Skies family", Spitfire declares, as she ponders around the snack bar options. As Thundershine does the same, pondering the snack bar options. Blazer couldn't help but notice how rustic the design the snack bar is. The outer rectangular wall of the bottom structure was designed with bricks, to keep the structure from being knocked over. Painted, secondly coated, in mahogany. The counter above it was colored in white, and within the white background was a yellow lightning bolt - with wings - that was recently coated on. "I love the design of the counter, who implanted this on here?" Blazer eagerly asks her older cousin. "Blue Streak did. He does Print & Press as a side job", Thunder replies "aside from being a weather pony, that is". "He did this?!" Blazer is still shocked. All Thunder could do is laugh in response to that statement. Meanwhile. Spitfire enters the side gate door, that leads behind the bar counter to search for something to snack on. 'Since Blazer and General Thundershine are distracted by their own conversation, I'm gonna sneak in here quietly and grab a snack or two'. She then crouches on all four hooves and crawls quietly, trying her best not to stir. Spitfire crawls about two more inches until she reaches the fridge door. "Let's see what kind of assorted foods is behind this fridge door". Spit whispers to herself. Blazer raises a brow. "Where's Spitfire?" "Oh, she's sneaking around somewhere". Thundershine smirks. "I use to babysit her when she was a filly. You know what she did, she used to sneak around her mother's kitchen for snacks. I'm pretty sure she's doing that right now." She points to the bar counter. "Below the bar counter". "What, are you for real?" Blaze felt incredulous. Thundershine smirks again. "Oh believe me, I'm for real cuz. You weren't even born yet." Thundershine and Blazer halt their chat and slowly walk together to the side gate door of the bar, also doing their best not to stir. Thundershine creepily opens it. "YOU!!" Thundershine shouts. "AH! Aunty, geez. You creeped me out!" Spitfire exclaims, as she already opened the fridge door. Thundershine looks at her bemused. "At least let me know before you take anything from here, drivel". "Seriously, Aunty. Again with that cringey nickname!". Spitfire groans. "You do realize that you were the one that called me 'drivel novel' when I flunked on my first day. Same with your nephew." "I know, I was still Second - in - command when you first joined seven years ago, my dear Spit. I use to scare the living feathers out of you when I was your drill instructor for everything. But I taught you well", she said. "Wait, Thun. You started that nickname tradition?" Blazer said. She can be seen standing next to Thundershine. "Of course, it was me", her older cousin admits. "It was to help push my cadets in the right direction. Not make 'em drivel". "Gosh, there you go again!" This made Spitfire face hoof. At that, Blazer couldn't contain herself and slumps onto the ground in a fit of laughter. "Ya. Can't. Blame. My Cousin", Blazer said between her fits of laughter. "She's. Good at Puns". "Yeah, I know", Spitfire replies, as she gets up from the floor. "Now that I had my fun with you, go ahead and grab whatever food we need for the team. Make it quick though, everyone's getting up soon", Thundershine implies. "Alright then". Spit says in response. She pulls out a bottom drawer - facing on the left - containing assorted fruits like: apples, pears, oranges, blueberries and strawberries. Spitfire grabs her favorite fruits; which are apples, strawberries, and pears. "Drivel Novel, are you done?!" Thundershine mockingly shouts. At the sound of that, Spitfire winces and quickly shuts the fridge door, without shutting it completely. 'Oops, the food inside is gonna spoil if I don't close it all the way', went Spitfire's conscious. Blazer walks from where she was, next to her cousin, and walks behind the counter of the snack bar. Licking her muzzle slightly, she decides to open the fridge too. "Cuz, ya gonna grab something too?" Thundershine asks Blazer. "Of course I'm gonna. I need brain fuel, and something healthy should do the trick", she declares. Blazer peers her head into the fridge to look for some snacks. She first opens the left bottom drawer containing fruit, but denies. Then she peers to the second bottom shelf with the following: bottled water, large pitchers of apple juice and grape juice, milk, boxes of premade individually packed salads and plastic containers of other fruits. Blazer looks through the rest of the shelves. Those other shelves contained yogurt, an already baked apple pie, apple upside down cake, apple fritters and so much other kinds of food. "Cuz, why are there so much options in this fridge?" Blazer asks, as she takes her head out of the fridge and closes the door firmly. "I can't even decide what to munch on". "Well, everypony needs options. Ironfire", Thundershine replies. Blazer trots away from behind the counter and exits without making a choice. Spitfire and Thunder follow after her. With Spitfire being the only one who got herself food, they walk back to the lounge chairs to set down the assorted goodies onto a table. Thundershine looks at the food Spit gathers. "Is that for yourself or for everyone on the team?" "For me. Is there a problem with that?" Spitfire tells her General, with a slight sass in her voice. On the side, Blazer observes the confrontation between them. "Captain, you do not use that tone with me?! I am your appointing Officer, are we clear on that?!" Thundershine tells Spitfire strictly, as she puts her muzzle directly towards Spit's face. Spitfire's nervously shakes, before giving Thunder a wing salute; while maintaining eye contact. "Y-y-es, Ma'am!" "Wonderful!!" Thundershine smiles, and distances her face away from Spit. "Cuz, you sure have your way with her", Blazer says. "Always!" Thunder proudly declares, as she openly spreads her wings out for a brief moment. Before folding them back into their original position. "Thundershine was my drill instructor during my time as a trainee in the academy". Spitfire recalls. Blazer gawks in surprise. "If I know my older cousin, she is a tough nut to crack. Especially when it comes to teaching trainees drills". "She is. General Thundershine is an enigma sometimes". Spitfire nods her head, indicating she agrees with Blazer's point. Spitfire, Blazer, and General Thundershine decide to sit down on the lounge chairs. The three mares felt their hooves were getting too sore from standing on all fours. Each of them choose chairs completely next to one another. Once the three mares have their backs onto the arch support, they take the time to get comfy. "Ahhh!" all three of them say, with a sigh. "Where were we?" Spitfire asks, after feeling slightly more relaxed. "Uh, you were discussing your time as a trainee", Blazer mentions. She positions herself more comfortably in her chair, with the towel underneath her. "Right. Where was I? Oh yeah. As I was saying, when Thunder was my drill instructor, she scared my feathers off. If I flunked one drill exercise, she used to go directly close to my face, and tell me I should stop fearing failure and suck it up. Out of all the trainees, she was the harsh on me most often. It was because she saw potential in me, and throughout my two weeks in the academy, I learned a lot from her". Spitfire reminisced. Blazer touches her chest, feeling moved by Spitfire's memory of her Wonderbolt Academy days. Spitfire then points to Blazer. "What about you, Blazer? What were your academy moments like?" "Well, when I attended Wonderbolt Academy. There was a moment during training where I flunked the dizzatron. I understand that the key to succeeding this drill, was to overcome dizziness in a flight in under ten seconds. But I ended up overcoming it in twenty seconds instead. After my drill instructor at the time found out, he punished me with cleaning duties in the mess hall and the sleeping quarters for two weeks", Blazer recalls. “Really, cleaning duty?!” Spitfire gasps. “Yes!” says Blazer, as she laughs at Spit’s reaction. “All because I was dizzy in the air for half of those twenty seconds”. “True”. Spitfire laughs. As the three mares continue their conversation about memories of their training days at the Wonderbolt Academy, they look from their lounge chairs, into the very far distance for a second. Before deciding to turn their heads back on each other. "Now that we had a jovial discussion about this, let’s get straight to the point on why we’re here”, Spitfire tells Blazer and Thunder. ’The song’, both cousins thought. As the two of them made eye contact with each other and giggle. “The song, we know Spit”, Blazer replies. “You got any ideas for the first verse?” Spitfire raises herself slightly from her chair, as she puts a hoof to her chin. Her brow curls to the side as she is in thought. “I feel like the first verse has to express a lover’s question for their partner’s affection. So it should feel like one is asking if their affection is valid.” “I see your point”, Thundershine implies. “Baby, tell me is this good for you”. Blazer sings softly, hoping the other girls wouldn’t hear her. The words come to her unexpectedly, heaven - sent. Thundershine’s ears move slightly to hear her cousin softly singing to herself. “Cuz, I never knew you could sing. You have a melodic voice”. “I never sing in front of any pony”, Blazer says. “I use to have stage fright back in elementary school. My school had to perform a play regarding the founding of Cloudsdale. When I had to play the part of one of the founders, I remember shaking in fright on stage when I had to perform in front of my parents". “What?!” says Spitfire, with shock. "How come you kept this from your cousin and I?" "Because, I feared failure and being laughed at on stage. I assumed you and Thunder would think my singing voice sounded like a rabid coyote". Blazer's face reddens. "You sing wonderfully, remember that. Do not ever think of your voice any other way", Thundershine assures. She then smiles. "Your voice is a gift, and will forever be one". Thundershine gets up from her chair to give her younger cousin a gentle hug. Spitfire gets up to do the same gesture. Afterwards, both mares let go from their embraces, as Blazer sheds a small tear. 'My mother was the first pony to ever tell me that my singing voice was a gift. It's been nine years since her death from lung cancer in 2015. But I know that her spirit to share my voice with others at the right moment'. Blazer thinks to herself. Spitfire wipes a tear that Blazer sheds with her hoof. "Lil sis, you really gotta stop crying sometimes. I know it's your way of letting go of the grief you felt after Melody's death, but now is not the time to think and feel sadness. We have a song to write". Blazer wipes her tears and confidently nods. While Blazer takes the time to wipe her eyes dry of her tears, Thundershine gets up from her designated lounge chair and walks towards the snack bar. She comes back about five minutes later with a bag of assorted apple slices, carrot slices, various nuts, and some newly made yogurt bowls (with granola, honey, banana, and plain low fat yogurt). Thundershine is seen carrying everything, using a uniquely designed saddle bag with two pockets inside. "Some snacks to help fuel our brains for our songwriting session", Thunder declares gleefully. She puts down her saddle bag to the chair's side. The abyss blue maned mare next rummages thorough her bag, taking out each snack one by one. "Healthy!" Both Spit and Blazer declare at the same time. Thundershine laughs at their reaction. "It's better if healthy foods, like apple and carrot slices, fuel our brain. Nuts are an option too. Girls, take your pick". Blazer picks apple slices as her mind snack; Thunder chooses a yogurt bowl, alongside various nuts; while Spitfire decides only on the yogurt bowl, her favorite. As the three mares consume their tasty snacks, Thunder settles her saddle bag onto her lap and opens one side to rummage through. Turns out she's looking for some pen and paper she stashed earlier. It would help with their songwriting session by the pool. “Aunty, what are you looking for?” Spitfire asks, as she sits herself back down. “Looking for some pencils and paper”, the General said. Thunder continues to rummage through her saddle bag, not even bothering to glance above to see the inside. She is still feeling around until she finally touches a soft, flexible flap inside the bag. With her hoof touching the flap, she puts her hoof inside and touches something smooth and slightly pokey. She finally found several pieces of paper and pencils laying around in her bag, and takes out the items two at a time. Thundershine takes out three pieces of papers and three pencils from her bag, using her mouth instead of her hooves. She then hands Blazer and Spitfire these items, dividing the items equally. "Now that we have the materials we need, let's get to songwriting", Spitfire declares. Author's Note Here it is, dear readers. Chapter 3 of Oxygen, it took me a little over a week to finish it. I have decided to split - the events of the songwriting process the characters will involve themselves in - into two parts. Since it would take me longer to write one chapter sometimes. I was too busy with work, my other stories, a side project (another story), and online school.
Just Another Day JUST ANOTHER DAY CH. 1 It was a late afternoon, today’s team practice had ended at 4:30PM. Spitfire and the rest of the Bolts headed to the locker rooms to refresh after four hours of practice. Practice today had started at 1:30pm, within those three hours consisting of intricate routines for their next show in Vanhoover. Everypony had already opened their assigned lockers to gather their shower items. The orange fiery maned captain could clearly hear the tired groans of Crash and the others. Spitfire herself turned from her opened locker, and smiled adorably at the others. ‘I can literally hear their tired groans. I can comprehend as to why I had to make our practice four hours today ‘. She turned away from looking at the others. Focused on grabbing her shower essentials: two yellow towels, one favorite scented shampoo and conditioner. Spit closed her locker and began to gather her things. After she was done, she began her path to the mares’ wash room. Along the way, she runs into Crash who was already in the hall five minutes prior. Dash earlier had ran down the halls towards the mares’ washroom before anypony else. “Hey Rainbow, what’s up?” Spitfire asked. “Hey Spit, I was wondering if we can talk before we head into the showers?” RD said. “Sure, what is it?” “I know this sounds cheesy, but have you ever been with somepony before? Did you ever do anything special for them?” Dash slowly blushed at the question. Spitfire widened her eyes at Dash’s sentimental question. “I-I-I had before I became a Bolt. I’d been with a few colts and mares before….but it’s a long story. I was only in high school the last time I started dating”. The two mares continued chatting as they walked down the large hall. Rainbow Dash became shocked.“You’re bisexual? I didn’t know that about you”. Spitfire turned her face away in embarrassment as they continued walking. “I always kept my sexual orientation a secret. I never told Soarin, Fleetfoot, or the others. You’re the first pony to know”. Rainbow lowered her voice to a whisper. “Spit, your secret is safe with me”. Spit whispered back. “Thanks..” “Anyways, what are your suggestions for me? I’m scared to confess my feelings for Soar, we only been going out for a week, going on two.” “Well….lemme think about it.” Time passed, they nearly chatted for fifteen minutes. As they were walking about, they slowly passed the mares' washroom. Spitfire was the one to turn her head left first. "Rainbow Dash, we passed the washroom". Dash facehoofed. "G-r-reat! Let's shower already". Both mares looked at each other in agreement, nodded, and made their way into the washroom. MEANWHILE IN THE COLTS' WASHROOM Soarin let the shower water run down his entire body. By doing so, he closed his eyes and tilted his head upward to let the water briefly run down his face. 'Refreshing'. He thought. Wave Chill, his older brother, who was showering next to him gave an eye roll. "Little bro, you always do that after practice. Every time after every practice. Why again?" Soar turned from his position with a smirk. "Come on, you do the same Wave. Don't deny it". "Whatever", he said, while turning away to resume showering. Both brothers continue to let the water run for a little bit, before shutting off the faucet to shampoo. Once they were done, they rinsed off and moved on to their bodies. After about ten minutes, they rinse again before turning off the water to dry off. Soarin finishes first and steps out. "You showered fast Soar", Wave said as he got out after him. He prepared to dry off as Soarin did the same. "Well, it's because I am dying to hit the hay already". Soarin made a small yawn. Wave raised an eyebrow. "Hit the hay?! We're having early dinner in the mess hall today. You forgot?". Soarin sighed. "I guess I did". The other members look at Wave Chill in confusion as they finished. "What did we forget?" "We'll discuss it in the mess hall every pony", Wave said as walked away after closing his locker. ' I wonder why we have early dinner today?' Everypony wondered, included Soar. All the male members eventually all out of uniform, take their time to proceed out of their designated area to head to the mess hall for chow. Everypony arrives to the mess hall before 5:45PM, they've showered and felt ready to eat. But what was on the menu tonight? It read: veggie fondue as entree, apple pastries for dessert, and assorted beverages. All members looked at the menu in awe as their mouths almost watered. Everything on the menu looked so delectable. "Who made the menu today?" Soarin asked Spitfire. "Your aunt, Soar. She asked the mess hall staff to prepare something special today, that's why she unknowingly gave the memo to Wave to tell you and the others before he showered". 'That's what took Wave so long? No wonder he was the last one out of the shower'. The pale blue stallion thought to himself as he smiled. His aunt outdone herself again s always. General Thundershine was already the first pegasus sitting down with her meal on the table. She was wearing her occasional navy blue uniform with four stars and achieved badges. Her food still lay untouched, she was still waiting for every pony else to get their food. Everypony got a tray and put whatever food they pleased on their plates. They kept sliding their trays to then get dessert and drinks. Once everybody was done, they proceeded to seat themselves one by one at Thundershine's table. As they began to eat, Thunder opened her mouth to speak. "I'm pretty sure all of you know why you're here at dinner early..." Spitfire, RD, and the others shrugged. "..Well, I have some awesome news. Your next show is going to be hosted at one of the stadiums in Vanhoover. It was very challenging to book due to there being so many other applicants. But bear with me, you will enjoy what this location has to offer.Further details will be provided eventually". Everypony else smiled, while Dash mouthed an 'aw yeah!'. "You may eat", the General said. While the other members chatted away about their day, Spitfire focused her conversation more with RD. Dash was drinking some cider. While Spitfire watched the rainbow maned mare chunk it messily as it dripped down her face. Spit couldn't help but laugh. "What's so funny?" Rainbow asked as she then drank from her fondue. Spit had to cover her laugh with her hoof. "Nothing!" Dash looked at her captain skeptically. "You are definitely hiding something. Are you gonna spill the beans?" "Nope". "O-o-ok, I'll let it go this one time Spit. But ur gonna have to tell me eventually." Spitfire and Dash continued chatting and eating. Once they finished, they get up from their seats to get dessert. Dash went ahead to choose an apple pie slice, while Spit chose a practical apple fritter. MEANWHILE Soarin can be seen sitting next to mainly his brother, Surprise, and her cousin High Winds. Soarin had a plate of his usual apple pie; Wave Chill had their Aunt’s homemade pumpkin muffin; Surprise and High Winds both went for the same dessert as Wave. As they enjoyed taking time to taste their pastries, this time Wave decided to start their conversation. “Has anyone noticed that Cap has been acting weird since practice was over?” Wave Chill whispered, as he consumed the last dessert on his plate. Surprise looked at Wave with skepticism, one brow raised slightly. “It’s just another day Wave, how could Spitty be acting weird after practice?” Soarin was still staring into space as he consumed the last morsel of his pie. Not even listening into their conversation. His teammates paused their chat briefly and looked at the pale blue stallion, chuckling. Their chuckling snapped Soar out of his thoughts. “What’s so funny guys?” Soar asked questioning them. “You were staring into space, idiot”, Surprise said to him, as she stuck her tongue out slightly. “First of all, I’m not an idiot. Only my brother gets to call me that Surprise”. Soar taunted. Surprise rolled her eyes at her friend, while Wave mouthed a ‘thanks bro’. They continued their conversation as the other members gathered their trays of dishes to be washed. Thundershine and Spiffire were among those other ponies to finish this early. After Spit unknowingly left the mess hall early, Thundershine was the only one left to put her finished tray on the counter. As she was about to proceed to leave for the day, her ears suddenly perked at their conversation. She recognized that voice, it was her older nephew Wave Chill. She immediately walked towards their group with eagerness. “Am I missing out?” she asked, eyebrow raised. “Auntie, you’re just in time actually”, Wave Chill said to his Aunt nervously. “We just mentioned in our chat earlier that Spiffire unknowingly left early. We thought it seemed unlike her to leave the mess hall so early. She’s usually the last pony to eat and leave afterwards”. Thundershine chuckled at Wave. “I know it’s unlike her to leave chow so early today. But I know she has her intentions, dear nephew”. Soarin butted in. “I agree with my brother here. Why is that? “ Thunder eyes widened at her other nephew suddenly butting in to the chat. “Well, she might be working on something special for all of you. I know that for sure. But it’s going to be a surprise”. The general then looked at her watch, it was almost 30 mins to 7. Had they really been chatting for more than two hours? “Guys, it’s 30 minutes to seven. All of you fellas been chatting up a storm and didn’t realize time had flown by?” “Sorry”, they all said in unison. Everypony did as they were told and gathered their trays to the counter. They all headed out of the mess hall one by one, once they were done. As Thunder watched them leave back to their designated dorms. She peered out the window for a brief moment. “Just another day”, she said to herself. She then left with content that tomorrow would be different. To be continued Author's Note When I was writing the dialogue mentioning Spitfire was bisexual, I was at the same time thinking about my sexuality and my personal experiences with this. I came out as bi very suddenly at work one time, and at once, I was ashamed. Like, in Spitfire's case, coming out to Dash as a bisexual mare. If you have any questions about the dialogue or something in this chapter, fill free to PM me. I'll respond when I have time.
Finding ideasAuthor's Note Surprise! Ch. 2 is told from Spit's perspective. I didn't want to write from a first person's point of view, but I ended up going with it anyways. Hope you like this chapter being told from her point of view. I hesitated for a bit, sorry. And yes, a new pool had been installed at the Wonderbolts HQ. In secret. I will continue the part where they find ideas for the song in chapter 3. TBD Finding ideas FINDING IDEAS CHAPTER 2 Spitfire's POV I woke up the next morning feeling well rested. As I rose from my bed in the unisex dorms for the team, I noticed as I was looking around the room, that I was the only pony awake. Strange, normally every pony awakes one by one during our off days. We normally decide what activities we do together, right after we get up. Does this seem strange to you? Nope, not to me. Since we exhausted ourselves from yesterday's four hour practice in the afternoon. Soarin's still snoring loudly, like he always does every night. Fleetfoot's still moving around in her bed, eyes closed, moving back and forth possibly from Soar's obnoxious snoring. See Dash, she sleeps like a baby (Don't mind her). I don't know about the rest of my fellow members, they're still sound asleep. Shhh! After sitting in my bed for five minutes, observing everypony's sleep phases, I slowly make my way out of bed to the mare's washroom - down the hall from our big shared bedded dorm. I whispered to myself. "It's a relief Dash doesn't know that I plan on writing a song for her and Soarin". I continued my way down the hall to the mare's room to wash up. -MARE'S WASHROOM- I arrived at our designated washroom and immediately ran to the nearest sink I could find. I turn on the faucet for cold water and begin to splash my face with it. I always splashed my face with it ever since I was a filly, my mother always told me to make it a routine for myself - since cold water was meant to wake you up - after about four or five splashes. Once I was done, I grabbed my yellow towel that I put on the rack earlier - to pat the water on my face dry. I made sure to not have the water running fast, otherwise it would wake the others up. Now that my face is washed, I went ahead to have my teeth brushed and rinsed. Yes! I'm ready to eat breakfast. I exited the washroom, leaving everything in its place. Mess hall, here we come! MESS HALL I arrived at the mess hall five minutes later. My eyes widened as I look around for the second time. 'Sweet Celestia! Am I the only one that came to the Mess hall early?! I thought. 'Where is every pony? I at least thought someone would be awake already. It's been almost an hour since I got here.' I stopped observing the chow hall's surroundings and turned my head to see two female pegasai. I was not expecting them today. 'You wanted this day to yourself Spitfire, but oh well', a voice in my head said. I peer straight and noticed General Thunder and her now young adult cousin sitting down, socializing away. I waved. "Hey Auntie, and Blazer. What are you both doing here at such a random time?" General's younger cousin chuckled. "I'm here to help you out with the surprised you planned, silly". I knew what Ironfire meant...the 'surprise'. "Oh yeah, the 'surprise'", I said sheepishly. "It's a song. The others don't know about it just yet. When they saw me leaving the mess hall early yesterday, after our early evening dinner, majority of the others gave me puzzled looks. Wondering what I was up to". Thundershine chuckled as well. "Well, luckily, they didn't know what you were planning..." She looked around a bit to make sure no pony else was around. After she nodded to herself that it was clear, she continued her sentence. "...yet". All three of us giggled softly. Luckily, everypony else was still in the dorms doing whatever. "Before we discuss what song we're gonna write for Soarin and his mare, let's eat. I'm starving", I said, as I rubbed my rumbling stomach. "Agreed", the two cousins said in unison. Thundershine already had a table of food laid out. She cooked oatmeal and three fruit bowls with yogurt and granola toppings. Enough for all us to share. I looked at the food in awe. "Auntie how long did it take you to make all this?" The general laughed. "It only took me fifteen minutes to cook breakfast for all of us, my dear". I was speechless, I always knew she was such a talented chef. If Thunder wasn't General of the Bolts, she would've made a living as chef instead. "Let's dig in, the oatmeals gonna get cold", Blazer said. We all laughed and began to eat a deliciously homemade breakfast made by yours truly. When were done, all we had left was the half eaten fruit bowls. "Shine, the fruit bowls with granola you whipped up was delightful", Blaze told her older cousin. "Thank you, Blazer. Anything for my favorite ponies". "Now that we only have these half eaten fruit bowls, let's save it for later", we said at the same time. We eventually walked out of the mess hall with full stomachs. Now it was time to find a place to sit down and let our ideas flow. As the three of us were walking down the hall, we began discussing where we should meet up privately. "Should we meet up in the dorms?" I asked them. "Spit, if we met up in the dorms. We'd still get no privacy, it'll spoil the surprise we were planning for the new lovely couple", Blazer said to me quietly. I smirked. "Okay, I agree. Your cuz got any other ideas?" "I have another surprise not just for you, my dear Spit. But eventually for the entire team". Thundershine winked at her cousin, then at me. I was bewildered. "What do you have in mind?" "Come with me on a little flight, then I'll give you the inside scoop of what I've been working on", the General said. Blazer and I nodded in agreement. We eventually made it to the exit from the hallway we walked on. As we opened the doors to the exit, we looked up at the third window of the shared dorms, the sleeping quarters. Everypony was starting to wake up from their beds. Whew! They didn’t know what we were up to. We unfolded our wings and took off into the sky. As we were flying, I decided to chat and catch up with two of my favorite ponies. “So, what’s the inside scoop Auntie?” I asked. “I actually was working on the finishing touches of the new swimming pool for the team, earlier this morning. I had it installed in a more secluded cloud area”, the General said. “We’re almost there, it’s just past your guys’ dorms, behind the training course covered with stratus clouds”. My mouth gaped open. “A swimming pool?!” “Yes, my dear Spit. With the latest lounge chairs purchased in Ponyville. They were not cheap”. I was still surprised. “How did you manage to pull off a project like that?” “Six months after your guys’ show in Ponyville, I started sketching the design for the pool on a blueprint. Then, I had my younger brother, Night Shade do the construction work on it. Which took 11 months to install. Then I told him to order the decor for it in advance. I wasn’t able to pull it off by myself”. “Night Shade, as in the Royal guard, Night Shade. I didn’t know he did construction work on the side. You never mentioned it”, I said to my favorite Aunt. “You were too busy with your job, Spit. So I never had a chance to tell you”. Our conversation continued and within a few minutes, we’re flying just above the swimming pool from a birds-eye view. We stopped our chat and the three of us looked down at the sight, wings flapping. We were in awe. “I knew it would look spectacular”, Blaze said to me excitedly as she faced me. “It’s the perfect place to find ideas for the song we’re gonna work on”. “Girls, did you remember to bring your goggles?” Thundershine said to Blaze and I. We realized we forgot goggles, right when we just arrived above the new pool. ‘Oops’ we both thought as our eyes widened. Thunder just laughed at our shocked faces. “Come on, fly down to the pool already. We gotta get swimming and fish for ideas.” We flew down to the pool area and smoothed our landing on the concrete. We walked around to admire the area, it looked luxurious, better looking than an inn pool area. Thunder had decorated the sides with potted bushes, buttercups, lilies and artificial grass. There were enough beach chairs for everyone. It was a pleasant site to see, I can’t wait to surprise the other members. But for now, let’s find ideas for this song. To be continued.
Planning the Surprise At The Pool (1/2)Planning the Surprise At The Pool By: Sango - Blazer Skies After admiring the site for the new pool Thunder installed, Spit trots to the storage located on the southeast side of the area. She trots southeast, as directed by the signs spray painted on the ground. Eventually she arrives at the shed with a few seconds to spare. She opens the door to see items any pony would need: goggles, beach balls, a net for pool maintenance, extra bottles of sunscreen with 50 spf and plenty of beach bags. The Wonderbolt Captain gasps at the amount of supplies the shed held. "Unbelievable!" Spitfire said loudly. Meanwhile, General Thundershine and her younger cousin Blaze are setting up three lounge chairs located by the pool. They assemble customized towels with one of the Wonderbolt's various symbols; a yellow lightning bolt with white feathered wings. Blazer turns to see Spit in the distance, with her head peering inside the shed. She immediately lets out her most brash laugh ever, after hearing Spitfire mutter out loud. "Ha-ha-ha!! " Blazer laughs, as she loses her grip of the other towels. Spitfire takes her head away from the shed and turns to see Blazer laughing at her. Her brow furls back as she turns into a slight tomato. "You heard that, didn't you Blazer?" Spit then closes the door. Blazer nods as she takes a breath to stop her laughter. "Well of course, no pony else did. It was hilarious hearing you say your thoughts out loud". Thundershine wasn't paying attention to the chatter between Blazer and Spit. She was still focused on setting up the rest of every pony else's pools essentials. She can be seen setting more towels of the same design on every lounge chair - first the ones by the pool - then on the ones to the back of the swim area. After she was done setting the left side of lounge chairs, she trots from there to the finish setting the right side. She grabs the rest of the towels with her right hoof and marches on to finish her task. As Thunder continues to set the additional towels onto the chairs, she eventually looks up from what she’s doing. "You gals doing okay?" "We're fine!", both mares said in unison. "Alright then". Thunder goes back to what she's doing. Twenty minutes go by and she is eventually done setting up every lounge chair with towels. "Done, finally", she announces. "I'm hungry, let's get some snacks. Luckily I already installed a snack bar, with a little help from one of my brothers. Come on girls!" Thunder beckons them to walk with her. "Coming!" Blazer and Spit shout, as they go up ahead to walk with her. The snack bar is perpendicular to the pool. At least it’s a very brief walk from where the three mares are walking. After walking from the left lounge area, they arrive at the recently installed snack bar in seconds. All three mares glance at the snack bar; there was a hot water kettle for tea, a coffee machine, a fridge with assorted foods, granola bars, fruit snacks, and regular fruits. "Are all these snacks enough to feed the whole team?" Spitfire asks Thundershine. "Of course, everything is fully stocked. I arrange for a delivery to come three days a week", she replies. Blazer looks at everything. She almost feels her mouth watering, as everything appears to look so tasty. Spitfire and Thunder look at her and giggle. "Someone's hungry!" both mares say in unison. At that, all she could do is eye roll. "Very funny, you two", Blazer sarcastically responds. Eventually, Spitfire and Thundershine stop their giggle fit and keep their composure. "Your cousin and I have to admit, you are the most hilarious of the Skies family", Spitfire declares, as she ponders around the snack bar options. As Thundershine does the same, pondering the snack bar options. Blazer couldn't help but notice how rustic the design the snack bar is. The outer rectangular wall of the bottom structure was designed with bricks, to keep the structure from being knocked over. Painted, secondly coated, in mahogany. The counter above it was colored in white, and within the white background was a yellow lightning bolt - with wings - that was recently coated on. "I love the design of the counter, who implanted this on here?" Blazer eagerly asks her older cousin. "Blue Streak did. He does Print & Press as a side job", Thunder replies "aside from being a weather pony, that is". "He did this?!" Blazer is still shocked. All Thunder could do is laugh in response to that statement. Meanwhile. Spitfire enters the side gate door, that leads behind the bar counter to search for something to snack on. 'Since Blazer and General Thundershine are distracted by their own conversation, I'm gonna sneak in here quietly and grab a snack or two'. She then crouches on all four hooves and crawls quietly, trying her best not to stir. Spitfire crawls about two more inches until she reaches the fridge door. "Let's see what kind of assorted foods is behind this fridge door". Spit whispers to herself. Blazer raises a brow. "Where's Spitfire?" "Oh, she's sneaking around somewhere". Thundershine smirks. "I use to babysit her when she was a filly. You know what she did, she used to sneak around her mother's kitchen for snacks. I'm pretty sure she's doing that right now." She points to the bar counter. "Below the bar counter". "What, are you for real?" Blaze felt incredulous. Thundershine smirks again. "Oh believe me, I'm for real cuz. You weren't even born yet." Thundershine and Blazer halt their chat and slowly walk together to the side gate door of the bar, also doing their best not to stir. Thundershine creepily opens it. "YOU!!" Thundershine shouts. "AH! Aunty, geez. You creeped me out!" Spitfire exclaims, as she already opened the fridge door. Thundershine looks at her bemused. "At least let me know before you take anything from here, drivel". "Seriously, Aunty. Again with that cringey nickname!". Spitfire groans. "You do realize that you were the one that called me 'drivel novel' when I flunked on my first day. Same with your nephew." "I know, I was still Second - in - command when you first joined seven years ago, my dear Spit. I use to scare the living feathers out of you when I was your drill instructor for everything. But I taught you well", she said. "Wait, Thun. You started that nickname tradition?" Blazer said. She can be seen standing next to Thundershine. "Of course, it was me", her older cousin admits. "It was to help push my cadets in the right direction. Not make 'em drivel". "Gosh, there you go again!" This made Spitfire face hoof. At that, Blazer couldn't contain herself and slumps onto the ground in a fit of laughter. "Ya. Can't. Blame. My Cousin", Blazer said between her fits of laughter. "She's. Good at Puns". "Yeah, I know", Spitfire replies, as she gets up from the floor. "Now that I had my fun with you, go ahead and grab whatever food we need for the team. Make it quick though, everyone's getting up soon", Thundershine implies. "Alright then". Spit says in response. She pulls out a bottom drawer - facing on the left - containing assorted fruits like: apples, pears, oranges, blueberries and strawberries. Spitfire grabs her favorite fruits; which are apples, strawberries, and pears. "Drivel Novel, are you done?!" Thundershine mockingly shouts. At the sound of that, Spitfire winces and quickly shuts the fridge door, without shutting it completely. 'Oops, the food inside is gonna spoil if I don't close it all the way', went Spitfire's conscious. Blazer walks from where she was, next to her cousin, and walks behind the counter of the snack bar. Licking her muzzle slightly, she decides to open the fridge too. "Cuz, ya gonna grab something too?" Thundershine asks Blazer. "Of course I'm gonna. I need brain fuel, and something healthy should do the trick", she declares. Blazer peers her head into the fridge to look for some snacks. She first opens the left bottom drawer containing fruit, but denies. Then she peers to the second bottom shelf with the following: bottled water, large pitchers of apple juice and grape juice, milk, boxes of premade individually packed salads and plastic containers of other fruits. Blazer looks through the rest of the shelves. Those other shelves contained yogurt, an already baked apple pie, apple upside down cake, apple fritters and so much other kinds of food. "Cuz, why are there so much options in this fridge?" Blazer asks, as she takes her head out of the fridge and closes the door firmly. "I can't even decide what to munch on". "Well, everypony needs options. Ironfire", Thundershine replies. Blazer trots away from behind the counter and exits without making a choice. Spitfire and Thunder follow after her. With Spitfire being the only one who got herself food, they walk back to the lounge chairs to set down the assorted goodies onto a table. Thundershine looks at the food Spit gathers. "Is that for yourself or for everyone on the team?" "For me. Is there a problem with that?" Spitfire tells her General, with a slight sass in her voice. On the side, Blazer observes the confrontation between them. "Captain, you do not use that tone with me?! I am your appointing Officer, are we clear on that?!" Thundershine tells Spitfire strictly, as she puts her muzzle directly towards Spit's face. Spitfire's nervously shakes, before giving Thunder a wing salute; while maintaining eye contact. "Y-y-es, Ma'am!" "Wonderful!!" Thundershine smiles, and distances her face away from Spit. "Cuz, you sure have your way with her", Blazer says. "Always!" Thunder proudly declares, as she openly spreads her wings out for a brief moment. Before folding them back into their original position. "Thundershine was my drill instructor during my time as a trainee in the academy". Spitfire recalls. Blazer gawks in surprise. "If I know my older cousin, she is a tough nut to crack. Especially when it comes to teaching trainees drills". "She is. General Thundershine is an enigma sometimes". Spitfire nods her head, indicating she agrees with Blazer's point. Spitfire, Blazer, and General Thundershine decide to sit down on the lounge chairs. The three mares felt their hooves were getting too sore from standing on all fours. Each of them choose chairs completely next to one another. Once the three mares have their backs onto the arch support, they take the time to get comfy. "Ahhh!" all three of them say, with a sigh. "Where were we?" Spitfire asks, after feeling slightly more relaxed. "Uh, you were discussing your time as a trainee", Blazer mentions. She positions herself more comfortably in her chair, with the towel underneath her. "Right. Where was I? Oh yeah. As I was saying, when Thunder was my drill instructor, she scared my feathers off. If I flunked one drill exercise, she used to go directly close to my face, and tell me I should stop fearing failure and suck it up. Out of all the trainees, she was the harsh on me most often. It was because she saw potential in me, and throughout my two weeks in the academy, I learned a lot from her". Spitfire reminisced. Blazer touches her chest, feeling moved by Spitfire's memory of her Wonderbolt Academy days. Spitfire then points to Blazer. "What about you, Blazer? What were your academy moments like?" "Well, when I attended Wonderbolt Academy. There was a moment during training where I flunked the dizzatron. I understand that the key to succeeding this drill, was to overcome dizziness in a flight in under ten seconds. But I ended up overcoming it in twenty seconds instead. After my drill instructor at the time found out, he punished me with cleaning duties in the mess hall and the sleeping quarters for two weeks", Blazer recalls. “Really, cleaning duty?!” Spitfire gasps. “Yes!” says Blazer, as she laughs at Spit’s reaction. “All because I was dizzy in the air for half of those twenty seconds”. “True”. Spitfire laughs. As the three mares continue their conversation about memories of their training days at the Wonderbolt Academy, they look from their lounge chairs, into the very far distance for a second. Before deciding to turn their heads back on each other. "Now that we had a jovial discussion about this, let’s get straight to the point on why we’re here”, Spitfire tells Blazer and Thunder. ’The song’, both cousins thought. As the two of them made eye contact with each other and giggle. “The song, we know Spit”, Blazer replies. “You got any ideas for the first verse?” Spitfire raises herself slightly from her chair, as she puts a hoof to her chin. Her brow curls to the side as she is in thought. “I feel like the first verse has to express a lover’s question for their partner’s affection. So it should feel like one is asking if their affection is valid.” “I see your point”, Thundershine implies. “Baby, tell me is this good for you”. Blazer sings softly, hoping the other girls wouldn’t hear her. The words come to her unexpectedly, heaven - sent. Thundershine’s ears move slightly to hear her cousin softly singing to herself. “Cuz, I never knew you could sing. You have a melodic voice”. “I never sing in front of any pony”, Blazer says. “I use to have stage fright back in elementary school. My school had to perform a play regarding the founding of Cloudsdale. When I had to play the part of one of the founders, I remember shaking in fright on stage when I had to perform in front of my parents". “What?!” says Spitfire, with shock. "How come you kept this from your cousin and I?" "Because, I feared failure and being laughed at on stage. I assumed you and Thunder would think my singing voice sounded like a rabid coyote". Blazer's face reddens. "You sing wonderfully, remember that. Do not ever think of your voice any other way", Thundershine assures. She then smiles. "Your voice is a gift, and will forever be one". Thundershine gets up from her chair to give her younger cousin a gentle hug. Spitfire gets up to do the same gesture. Afterwards, both mares let go from their embraces, as Blazer sheds a small tear. 'My mother was the first pony to ever tell me that my singing voice was a gift. It's been nine years since her death from lung cancer in 2015. But I know that her spirit to share my voice with others at the right moment'. Blazer thinks to herself. Spitfire wipes a tear that Blazer sheds with her hoof. "Lil sis, you really gotta stop crying sometimes. I know it's your way of letting go of the grief you felt after Melody's death, but now is not the time to think and feel sadness. We have a song to write". Blazer wipes her tears and confidently nods. While Blazer takes the time to wipe her eyes dry of her tears, Thundershine gets up from her designated lounge chair and walks towards the snack bar. She comes back about five minutes later with a bag of assorted apple slices, carrot slices, various nuts, and some newly made yogurt bowls (with granola, honey, banana, and plain low fat yogurt). Thundershine is seen carrying everything, using a uniquely designed saddle bag with two pockets inside. "Some snacks to help fuel our brains for our songwriting session", Thunder declares gleefully. She puts down her saddle bag to the chair's side. The abyss blue maned mare next rummages thorough her bag, taking out each snack one by one. "Healthy!" Both Spit and Blazer declare at the same time. Thundershine laughs at their reaction. "It's better if healthy foods, like apple and carrot slices, fuel our brain. Nuts are an option too. Girls, take your pick". Blazer picks apple slices as her mind snack; Thunder chooses a yogurt bowl, alongside various nuts; while Spitfire decides only on the yogurt bowl, her favorite. As the three mares consume their tasty snacks, Thunder settles her saddle bag onto her lap and opens one side to rummage through. Turns out she's looking for some pen and paper she stashed earlier. It would help with their songwriting session by the pool. “Aunty, what are you looking for?” Spitfire asks, as she sits herself back down. “Looking for some pencils and paper”, the General said. Thunder continues to rummage through her saddle bag, not even bothering to glance above to see the inside. She is still feeling around until she finally touches a soft, flexible flap inside the bag. With her hoof touching the flap, she puts her hoof inside and touches something smooth and slightly pokey. She finally found several pieces of paper and pencils laying around in her bag, and takes out the items two at a time. Thundershine takes out three pieces of papers and three pencils from her bag, using her mouth instead of her hooves. She then hands Blazer and Spitfire these items, dividing the items equally. "Now that we have the materials we need, let's get to songwriting", Spitfire declares. Author's Note Here it is, dear readers. Chapter 3 of Oxygen, it took me a little over a week to finish it. I have decided to split - the events of the songwriting process the characters will involve themselves in - into two parts. Since it would take me longer to write one chapter sometimes. I was too busy with work, my other stories, a side project (another story), and online school.
