Confidence and Cannons: A Cloud-Haired Misadventure
Maybe Too Much Confidence...
Rolling Thunder rocketed through the air into a corkscrew, the wind flowing through her curly mane. The purple mare dived down, only for her wingmare to send a blast of air toward her, redirecting her into a spring platform placed on the side of a cloud. She bounced off it and flew through a set of rings, then arced up and landed with a simple flutter.
She bowed and her wingmare, a white mare with wispy blue and yellow hair, clapped her hooves together as she landed next to her.
“Great job! I think just one more run through and we’ll be done with morning practice,” said Vapor Trail.
“You were fantastic too,” responded Rolling Thunder, who then gave the other mare a wink. Vapor giggled, then flew to the cloud platform.
Pushing the spring back down, Vapor gave Rolling Thunder a smirk. “You know, I noticed you haven’t been winking at any cute mares at the Washouts shows anymore.”
“That right? Well I can’t help it if none are as cute as you.”
Vapor couldn’t help but blush a bit. “Well, be that as it may, it is part of your stage persona, and you gotta keep the mares wishing.”
“Heck, I was just being myself, but I guess you’re right. Don’t know what I’d do without you, love.”
Vapor flapped away from the launcher. “By the way, you’re absolutely sure the other Washouts are OK with us holding our own stunt event?”
“It’s like I told you last time. Lightning Dust is all about freedom, so she told me she’s fine with Washouts having side gigs as long as it doesn’t interfere with Washouts events. She totally gets we’re going for a different kind of stunt show than the main group.”
The possibility of a flight suit free stunt show based on a partner providing boosts with powerful wing flaps drew Rolling to Vapor in the first place, after seeing her skills once she became an official Wonderbolt. After their initial talks, her enthusiasm for the idea only grew. Then their talks grew into something more, and here they were. Rolling always did love a mare with strong wings.
Vapor frowned. “Well that’s good, but I don’t know, she comes off as pretty intense. I feel like she’ll be pretty, well, peeved when our show gets popular enough to draw attention away from the Washouts.”
Rolling Thunder laughed. “Oh yeah, she’ll be right peeved if we’re more popular than her, but that’s a good problem, I say.”
Vapor smiled and pumped her front legs. “There’s no if about it, Fluffyhead. I’m one hundred percent sure we’ll be huge.”
It was Rolling’s turn to blush now. A while back, when Vapor broached the subject of nicknames, Rolling suggested she call her Thunderhead—her dream Wonderbolts call sign. Instead, Vapor giggled and rustled her hair, saying it was more like a fluffy cumulus. Thus, Fluffyhead, and Rolling would never stop being a bit embarrassed by it.
Vapor continued. “In fact, I’m so confident I made sure I could focus all my time on future shows. We won’t have any issues with scheduling anymore.”
Rolling raised an eyebrow. “Well that’s good. Surprised Spitfire didn’t throw a fit.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about her. I quit the Wonderbolts last week.”
“Ah, alright, then—”
Rolling did a double take. “Wait, you did what?!”
Vapor reeled back at the outburst and raised her eyebrow. “I quit the Wonderbolts. Is that, uh, a problem?”
Rolling hovered in the air for several seconds then tapped her cheek. “Let me get this clear, you quit from what’s currently your only source of income?”
Vapor shrugged. “Well, yeah, but I know for sure our show’s going to succeed, so I’ll be getting an income again soon.”
Rolling found herself sweating a bit, but then took a breath and regained her cool composure. “You know I’m all for taking risks, but starting a show without a side gig is a lot even for me. You have more guts than I realized.”
Vapor suddenly seemed less sure. “Come to think of it, even if this show’s a big hit, it’ll be a big drop in my paycheck compared to the Wonderbolts. Wait, hold on, what if one of us gets injured? It’s just the two of us, so we can’t just continue the show then.” She smiled nervously and bunched her front legs against her chest. “I guess I could join the Washouts, maybe?” She started breathing quickly.
Rolling shook her head. “Nah, you only get in the Washouts if you fit the attitude, or out of petty revenge against Rainbow Dash. Let’s be honest, dear, there’s a reason why I call you my slice of pavlova.”
Vapor grimaced and squeezed out between breaths, “I still don’t know what that is.”
The Washout raised her scarred eyebrow. “If you’re having second thoughts, then—”
Vapor put her front hooves to the side of her head and yelled, “I really messed up!”
Rolling fell to the ground in surprise. She got up and shook herself up, then saw her marefriend sobbing in the air. Sighing, flew up to lift her head, and looked into Vapor’s teary eyes.
“Chin up, possum. I know exactly what to do.”
Rolling Thunder and Vapor Trail peeked out from a patch of trees on the Wonderbolts Plateau, observing ponies walking in and out of the barracks.
Vapor looked at Rolling with knitted brows. “So is there any more to this plan, or is it really just…”
“Nope, just go in there and act like you never quit. Meanwhile, I’ll sneak off into Spitfire’s office and get you back on the payroll so no one’ll ever be the wiser.”
Vapor frowned. “I’m pretty sure they’ll remember I quit. I wasn’t exactly subtle about it.”
“Darling, this is one place where your talent in blending in can come in handy. And if they bring it up, just play it off as a joke.” She waved her hoof. “And if they still push, tell them to go feather a kite!”
Vapor looked away. “I mean, that’s kind of why I’m in this situation.”
Rolling touched her cheek and turned her to look into her eyes. “Hey, hey. Look at me. The key to this working is confidence. Don’t think with your brain. It all comes from here,” she said, touching Vapor’s chest. “Keep your heart beating, your lungs breathing.” She then touched her belly. “Core, tight! Now go in there like you belong, because you do!”
After a moment, Vapor smiled and nodded. “Got it, Fluffyhead.” After a quick peck on the cheek and seeing that the coast was clear, she hovered away.
From a distance, Rolling heard Vapor say, “Core, tight,” then take in a deep breath, holding it.
“Remember to breathe, love,” the Washout called to her. She thought for a moment but then shrugged and said to herself, “Eh, she’ll be fine.”
Vapor Trail stood in front of the Wonderbolts barracks and released her breath. “Alright. Confidence. And a tight core.”
She stepped inside without any issue, and thankfully, nopony spared a glance as she walked to the locker room. Vapor peeked warily at the row of lockers then stepped forward. The other Wonderbolts were one thing, but Sky Stinger would definitely notice she was there. It was probably best to avoid Spitfire too for now.
She paused in front of her old locker as her eyes widened. Wait, was she going to avoid Sky and Spitfire for the rest of her time in the Wonderbolts? Was that the plan here? She tried to think through Rolling’s reasoning. Maybe the idea was to just hang out with the other Wonderbolts, then show up in the corners of their eyes so they don’t consciously realize she was there, then eventually when they do notice her, they’ll only think it’s natural she’s there. Yes, that made sense.
Vapor swung her locker swung open and her uniform was still inside. A good sign. The former Wonderbolt, and potentially still one now, smiled and put it on. It was even cleaned!
A clank came from another room followed by a stallion calling out, “Soup’s up!”
Great! She was just in time for Thunderlane’s cooking. She should have never doubted Rolling.
She strolled into the mess hall, where Wonderbolts queued for soup. Checking that Sky and Spitfire weren’t around, she joined the line and felt her stomach rumbling.
“Here you go, High Winds,” said Thunderlane as he poured soup into her bowl. The blue-haired mare nodded and stepped away.
“And for you, Vapor Trail,” he continued.
“Thanks, Thunder,” Vapor replied with a warm smile, taking the bowl with a wing and walking away.
Thunderlane nodded and moved on to the next pony. “Hope you like it, Misty Fly—hey, wait a second.” He searched the crowd of Wonderbolts around him, his eyes skimming past Vapor’s naturally cloud-like appearance. He shrugged and returned to serving food.
Standing inside a cloud cover, Rolling Thunder examined the outside of Spitfire’s office and pressed the wall. It resisted heavily, but still compressed. As she suspected, it was made of condensed clouds. A cloud’s a cloud, and that means with the right speed and angle, she could blast inside without leaving a trace. Looking inside the window, she saw the filing cabinet that held Vapor’s pay information—probably. To the right of that was her old instructor, Spitfire, sitting at her desk.
“Boot me for reckless and dangerous stunts, will ya?” Rolling said to herself. “Look at her, signing papers. Why are you still wearing your sunglasses, you twit? Look at her, getting up and stretching. Look at her, walking out the door and locking up—oh, right.”
Rolling watched Spitfire step outside and walk toward the mess hall, talking with some blue pegasus stallion. Now it was time to put her plan into action.
Whatever that was.
The Wonderbolts gathered on the training grounds. Vapor Trail looked around nervously. Neither Sky nor Spitfire were here, which was good.
Fleetfoot stepped in front of them and blew a whistle. “Alright, everypony, until the captain gets here, get your warm-ups done. Pair up!” She then flew off with the closest pegasus and the others quickly followed suit.
The last one left was Soarin’, who turned to Vapor and said, “Alright, Vapor, you can hold my leg while I stretch.” Vapor nodded and obliged, holding his back leg as he pulled forward. After a moment, he squinted his eyes and looked back. “Wait a minute, didn’t you—”
Vapor laughed before he finished and waved a hoof. “Quit? What, you really thought I was serious? Soarin’, uh, Soar Boar, I was just joking!” She lightly hit his side with her hoof. “Come on, you know I’m like that.”
He raised an eyebrow in confusion. “No, I’m pretty sure you actually quit. Wait, did you always call me Soar Boar?”
Vapor laughed more. “Maybe you need to pay more attention, uh, big guy. I joke like this all the time!”
Soarin’ frowned. “Spitfire definitely didn’t treat it as a joke.” He turned forward and searched. “We should find her and clear this up.” The grip on his leg released and he stumbled forward. After recovering, he twisted his head around, only to find no sign of the other pegasus.
From somewhere among the clouds, the white mare yelled, “Go feather a kite, you brumby!”
The stallion’s head sank. “I don’t know what that means, but that’s uncalled for.”
With one last heave, Rolling rolled a cannon close to the office. After a quick breath, she put on a stolen helmet and lowered the cannon to fire straight ahead. By her estimate, this would produce just enough force to send her through the wall, but not out the other. Then she can block up the hole to prevent it from reforming and adjust the files at her leisure while Spitfire and the Wonderbolts train outside.
If she thought of this beforehand, she would have brought her flight suit for extra safety, but otherwise, she was confident this would go perfectly.
Rolling pressed a button to fire after a thirty-second delay and quickly got inside, adjusting her position to minimize recoil on her body. She had to say, Wonderbolts cannons were pretty cozy. Maybe she could look into the type they use.
“Uhhh…”
Rolling turned to see a pegasus mare in a support uniform staring at her, mouth agape. She dropped a clipboard.
The Washout realized she blithely felt less concerned about this than she perhaps should have. She considered if she should be more worried. Instead, remembering what Vapor told her earlier, Rolling made sure to wink at the cute mare before the cannon fired.
Rolling blasted forward head-first into the wall.
Gritting her teeth, she felt herself breaking through as the condensed clouds contorted around her. Clouds parted and after a second, she could see the interior floor. However, her momentum ultimately gave out and Rolling found herself suspended inside the clouds. She blinked. Half a second later, the wall bounced her into the sky at rocket speed.
Ever the professional, Rolling didn’t panic. “Should’ve figured the Wonderbolts would have weaker cannons than the Washouts,” she huffed to herself. “I also angled the cannon too low, it looks like.”
She put her front legs behind her head and crossed her back legs with an easy smile. “Well, this is still a pretty good escape speed now that I’ve been caught. I’ll just coast on out of here and try again when the heat dies down.”
Rolling’s perception slowed down as something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Black thunderclouds were being gathered into a few square meters by some support workers, likely for Wonderbolts practice. She felt an itch in her wings and, almost automatically, angled herself toward it. “Might as well have a little fun while I’m here.”
With a loud cheer, Rolling Thunder lived up to her namesake and barrel-rolled into the thundercloud as the workers dived out of the way. Only a moment before entering did she remember she wasn’t wearing a flight suit. She mentally shrugged. Things would be fine. Probably.
She was inside for less than a second, but she felt the full force of the cloud’s electricity run through her, and it was fantastic. It wasn’t exactly fantastic for her muscles, however. Her limbs flailed wildly and her teeth chattered, and she was sure ponies watching could see her skeleton. Her mane smoking, she spiraled toward the asphalt landing strip below her.
For the first time that day, Rolling Thunder started to really worry. Just a bit.
She struggled to regain control. Ironically, a higher fall would have allowed more time to recover, but the ground was coming up fast. Her wings spread out and she was able to keep them in that position, slowing her descent, but it would still be a nasty landing.
Suddenly, a powerful updraft hit her wings and her descent came to a near halt. She touched down with ease. Panting, now that she regained control of her lungs, she swirled her head around and saw Vapor on the grass nearby, with several other Wonderbolts behind her. Her marefriend waved with a nervous grin. Rolling turned to her and playfully bowed.
She was then tackled by five security ponies.
Vapor Trail grimaced as the ponies piled on top of her marefriend, then had to squeeze her eyes shut when Bulk Biceps jumped in with a, “YEEAAH!” and Rolling’s lungs emptied.
She heard flapping wings and opened her eyes to see Spitfire hovering at her side. She took off her sunglasses and cleaned them with a cloth. “Well well well, if it isn’t a Washout.” She landed next to Rolling and pressed her eyes close to hers. “You’re lucky you got saved by a Wonderbolt, or else you’d have been in a full body—”
Spitfire turned to Rolling’s rescuer and did a double-take. “Wait, Vapor Trail?” She flew to Vapor and poked her chest. “What the hay do you think you’re doing in a Wonderbolts uniform?”
Vapor laughed nervously. “What do you mean, captain? Why wouldn’t I be here?”
“Well for one thing you called me a flame headed blowhard that was just holding you back and then threw your Wonderbolts badge off the cliff.”
Vapor forced a smile. “Oh that? Come on, I was just kidding!”
Spitfire scoffed. “Should’ve let Sky Stinger know before he went through all the effort of convincing me to give you a second chance. Even kept your uniform clean.”
Vapor backed up a step. “Oh.”
Of course Sky would want to help her, but she hadn’t given him any thought with her focus on the upcoming stunt show, and hadn’t been at her house much so he wouldn’t have been able to find her. She felt like an idiot. “So do I still have that second chance?”
Spitfire pushed closer into Vapor. “Well sorry to tell you, but sneaking around and bringing your marefriend to cannon herself into a wall for the heck of it shows you were right to quit! You aren’t Wonderbolt material at all, so get out of here! Bulk!”
The large white stallion got off the pile and rumbled over to the two of them. He grabbed Vapor with one hoof and, with one fluid motion, pulled off her Wonderbolts flight suit with the other, making her face scrunch up. He spun around with the mare, yelled, “YEEAAH!” and then sent Vapor flying off the plateau as she screamed.
“Hey, you can’t do that to such a cute mare!” called out Rolling Thunder from under the pile of security ponies.
Spitfire flew up to Rolling’s face with an enraged frown. “Well news flash, Washout, your marefriend isn’t special. We’re all cute!” She stamped her hoof and backed away. With that, Bulk pulled Rolling out from under the pile. Rolling couldn’t help but scrunch her face too as she was thrown in the same direction as Vapor.
“Well, that was a bust,” said Rolling Thunder with a shrug, after she and Vapor regrouped at their practice course.
Vapor Trail pouted and pushed her hooves down in the air. “Rolling! You said this would work! You were so confident!”
Rolling blushed and rubbed the back of her head. “Well, yeah. I admit I was more confident about this idea than I probably should have been, but you know, that’s just how I am. Go for the first wild idea I get, then think on my wings.”
Vapor crossed her front legs. “Usually I like that about you, but if we just thought for a second, I could have had my job back!”
“Well it’s not like I asked you to quit in the first place!”
Vapor looked away and hovered in silence.
After a few moments, Rolling took a breath and said, “Look, I completely understand if you want to call it quit between us now. I messed things up, and I’ll probably mess things up again in the future.”
Vapor sighed. “No, Fluffyhead. I was the one who went along with it without thinking it through. I just have to not mindlessly follow your lead. And really, not being a Wonderbolt isn’t a big deal. I still think our show will be big, and I don’t think it would have worked out being a Wonderbolt at the same time. If worst comes to worst, I can always work in the Statusburg weather team as a side job. Equestria isn’t exactly a hard place to get a job in.”
Rolling felt relief flow through her. “That’s true, ain’t it.” She wasn’t entirely happy that not listening to her was the lesson that came out of this, but this would do.
Vapor smiled. “Or! My parents gave me piano lessons as a filly, so I could always brush up on that.” She mimed pressing piano keys.
Rolling smiled back. “You play? I’d love to see that later.”
After a second, she frowned again. “Still, Vapor, you don’t have to keep supporting me if you don’t want to. You need to think about yourself.”
Vapor flew up to Rolling and touched her cheek. “Don’t worry. I’m right where I want to be.”
Author's Note
In the search for rare pairs for the May 2020 Pairing Contest, this started life as Vapor Trail and Coloratura. The idea was that Rara would talk about how she went solo and Vapor would take the advice too far. However, I couldn't get the premise to work in my mind, so I thought through changing one of the characters. I thought of Rolling Thunder and this is the result.
I may end up doing more stories about The Washouts + Vapor Trail, but that's just a vague idea at this point.
