Chapter 15 - Trial by (Spit) fire

Today's the day. Today I get the chance to become a fully fledged member of the Fugien Mones. How do I feel? Happy, worried, sarcastic, and generally in a no bullshit kinda mood. I woke up, full of energy and ready to kick some ass. I trotted out of my room and into the main hall, and found that nearly noone was there. Only Blaze and Spitfire were standing in the middle of the room talking. "Hey Blaze, where is everybody?" I asked.

They turned to faced me. "Oh, hey Hornet! Soarin left with Ni and Shadow a few minutes ago. They didn't say where they were going."

Spitfire spoke up."Boys, so secretive. Anyway, are you ready for your initiation today?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." I said somewhat nervously

"Well you shouldn't have to worry, the worst that'll probably happen to you is you get a few bruises. Now come on, let's get going." I nodded and followed her and Blaze through to the arena. The sun was high in the sky, and there was barely a cloud in the sky (Although it was everywhere else). As we stepped into the arena, Blaze took a seat above.

Something then clicked in my mind. "Hang on, if the initiation is to fight the newest member, then why isn't Rainbow or Shadow here?"

Spitfire smiled. "And there's the surprise. Instead of fighting one of those two, you'll be fighting ME instead. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."

I was somewhat gobsmacked. "That's not fair! is there at least a handicap or an increased reward? Cause if there isn't I'm not fighting you."

"Now that you mentioned it, there is. You remember about me saying that you'd get to meet the new medic captain? Well, I decided that it's going to be you. I know you're only a newer member of the recon squad, but right now we don't have anypony else to take the spot. And as you heard in the briefing yesterday we'll need a medic captain to go undercover with Night Wing. We don't have a lot of time with this, so we may have to cut corners with some things, but I believe that you are the best we have to fill this roll."

I just stood there, jaw dropped. After a few seconds of summing up what she just said, I finally snapped into gear. "You really mean it?" I asked

"Hey, I'm being as serious as anypony else would be. Now stop yapping, and get your flank in gear. You've got a fight to win" She said as she smiled "Begin!"

Immediately after saying that, she charged straight at me, forehooves extended. I rolled to the side easily dodging her attack. But that was what she planned I was going to do, and quickly snapped around and flew right back at me, knocking me off my footing. I quickly scrambled back up, and did something that she did not expect. I stood up on my backlegs, put my forelegs into a karate stance, and signaled a 'come at me bro'. She then proceeded to do a flying kick, which I then countered by grabbing it and swung her around and threw her at the nearby wall. She used her wings so stop herself before she hit the wall, and then shot at me like a barrel from a gun, whacking me in the groin. I clutched the affected area, and dropped to the ground. Spitfire then trotted up to me and let out a sigh of disappointment. I then let out a somewhat menacing laugh, and as she turned around, I did a sweep kick and knocked her to the ground. Using this to my advantage, i got back up and back into a karate stance. Spitfire looked at me, wondering how I recovered so easily from a hit like that. "I learned a trick or two from watching that match with Blaze and Shadow. I put some light steel plating in between me and my privates, cause I knew you'd try something like that. Girls, so predictable." She laughed.

"Not bad, Hornet, not bad at all." She said before attempting to attack me again. After trying to kick me, we somehow developed a constant flow of counter hits from one another, creating something that looked like it came out of an action movie. However, this moment was not to last, as Spitfire stopped trying to counter me, stepped back, and tackled me. Seeing this, I used the momentum of the tackle and kicked her outwards with my back legs, causing her to fly forward. using the same momentum, I pushed myself in the same direction, flipping over her and landing right in front of her. I then pulled out a knife I had hidden in my Wonderbolt suit (Which I still rarely wear) and put it to her throat. "You cheated." She said panting from exhaustion.

"Don't expect the enemy to follow the rules, as they will almost definitely break them." I said. She smiled at me, and then pulled my head towards hers for a long and romantic kiss.

"You did well Hornet, and for that you have earned your place in the Mones." She said pulling out a vial from Blaze's bag. "Which is why I am giving you this. You've already completed stage three training, so you can take the second one as well. Although that may be risky, like I said earlier we don't have much time." She handed me the vial. "This is mixed with both the first an second potion, I know that it's risky but I believe that your will to live can rival anypony's in Equestria. Are you ready?"

I look at the vial, holding it with care. "For you, I'll do anything." I said popping the cork off and swigging the lot. Shit, Shadow was right, this stuff DOES taste good. That feeling however faded seconds later as I started coughing up blood, and fell to the ground unconscious. A few bruises she said, yeah right.

I woke up hours later in my bed, with Spitfire and Blaze standing next to me. I sat up, and once I decided I was well enough, I decided to speak. "I have never drunken anything that strong in either of my lives."

Spitfire giggled at me. "At least your sense of humor is still intact. You feeling okay?"

I rolled my head. "A little sore, but otherwise in top condition. What happened to me?"

"You drank the mixed potion, spat out some blood, and went unconscious. We were worried about you."

"Well you don't have to worry about little old me, I'll be fine. So am I really a fully fledged member of the Mones now?"

"Yes you are. And to celebrate, I got you a little something." She pulled out a box and gave it to me. I opened it, and found a shoulder badge of the United States Air Force. "This is from when you first arrived in Las Pegas. Blaze, if you don't mind, I'd like to have a moment alone with him." Blaze nodded and left the room. "look, I want to say something important to you." She paused for a few seconds to collect herself. "I was the one who took you in when you first arrived. I had just finished a round at the tables and was heading outside to grab a bit of fresh air when you fell from the sky. You landed in an alley behind the casino, so luckily noone else saw you go down. I went up to you, and for some reason I instantly fell in love with you. It sounds cheesy I know, but it's true. The only things you had with you was that badge, and a picture of me. I took them both figuring somepony might link you to me, and took you up to my suite. I left my winnings and a false note in the safe there, and left. I had you watched anonymously by Fleetfoot, and when I learned you had joined the equestrian Guard, I thought I could take you in. After a few weeks of scheduling I organised a 'surprise recruitment', and picked you. The rest is history. I'm sorry I never told you earlier but I felt that you would fall in love with me if I didn't tell you, and well obviously it worked. I'm truly sorry if I seemed selfish for doing it, but I couldn't help it. I love you, and nothing will change that."

I sat there, taking in every bit of information she just said. After about a minute of silence, I spoke up. "It's okay Spitz, I forgive you. Knowing what you did for me, it really lets me feel like I can truly trust you. And to be honest, I think that what you did benefited all of us, not just you. And Spitfire..." She looked at me hopefully. "I love you." I said and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. She then climbed into my bed and well, I'm sure you can figure out the rest.