Chapters Forward; Sailing into the Sunset (?)
========================================================================= 3rd Person Point of View
"It's beautiful, isn't it my love?" A yellow pegasus with a pink mane questioned to her lover.
As she questions him she looks onto the horizon, a horizon painted in a gold and orange light with a shimmering surface below them. The surface was a serene mirror of the infinite sky, an imperfect reflection. A soothing ocean sound absent of the seagulls that would normally fly by was all that was heard until a ripple sliced the eternal looking glass, a ripple caused by the boat that Fluttershy and her lover, Soarin, occupied. The ripples grew as they passed, adding hindrance to the shimmering ocean. Now only the sound of waves crashing unto the side of the boat of her long lost father can be heard. She looks unto him once again.
"Now that we're like this, I don't ever want this to change." Her lover receives her words as she nuzzles him gently with a longing passion. Caressing his mane with her fore-hoof, she gently glides it down to his facial features. His forehead, which has held her kisses at bay in an attempt to drive her into a lustful passion as she stared unto the green orbs that fueled her madness to the breaking point. She then raises her hoof to Soarin's mane and slides a lock of hair back in place.
"There. Now that's better. Haven't your mother always told you to keep your mane in a presentable fashion?" She states with a semi-maternal tone. She takes the opportunity to gaze into the emerald orbs that continued to look upon her graceful form. Her mane, well brushed. Her tail, luxurious in volume and appearance. Her eyes were a blue hue, blessed with the light of a jade stone. A rare treasure to behold. Even more rare to be held by her in her most intimate moments. Only the animals she took care of and treated knew of such bliss. Stallions could only wish to be in Soarin's current position. To be longed for by this mare.
To know her.
But this fortune had come with a price...
"Boop! Got your nose sweetie." She gestured as she tapped his nose with her fore-hoof. She then looked out ahead and saw that the sky was now changing. The sky was now orange with a curtain of red chasing after the retreating sun. She looks above her and she sees that the skies above her have now gave way to a prism of color. On one side, a red infatuation trying to obtain a romance that was never meant to be. A reddened sky that begs the plasma sphere to return unto it, calling to it with a dying sadness. And on the other side, a purple and pink presence ushers in a small white marble. She now looks behind her and see that the small white marble was a mere drum major of a even larger parade of marbles marching across the twilight.
"Isn't it beautiful? How the sky dances around us. How the ocean soothes us with it's ethereal chorus." She asks.
He remains silent.
Tracing her fore-hoof around his lips, she beckons him to come closer.
He obeys.
Finally she locks on to her lovers lips with a quiet embrace, lightly pressing their lips together. Her breaths become shallow and her mind is then filled with a longing that threatens to consume her. In that moment she retreats, only for her lips to regroup and assault his gates with a second wave that is less merciful than that of the first. Flashbacks occur. She is held in his fore-hooves. She then sees him on the rooftop that they usually share their luncheons. They're laughing at each other and talking about their daily lives. She then remembers every second she spent with him, how she once one hoped that he would take notice of her, when they went on their first date, how bad it was, her second date being much worse, her third (and the others to follow) resulted in him sweeping her off her hooves. She even remembers the times she thought about him in the bath, and how quickly her lustful urges consumed her shortly after.
The first series of flashbacks end and she grows slightly warmer. Her tongue now seeking his and she finds her mark. Fluttershy then expresses her glee by panting as she feels her neathers dampen. Her wings spreading out to a length unfamiliar to even her. In all these things, she attempts to once again regain self-control. A second series of flashbacks soon follow. But this time it is only brief pictures. She remembers him at his best and his not-so-best (she mentally erased any and all memory of the worst). Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Big Mac, the Grand Galloping Gala, Twilight Sparkle, Cherilee, Dashie... and Her. She could always find it in her heart to forgive her friends, but she... she could NOT forgive Her. She opens her eyes to look upon him in front of her. And it is in that moment when sadness strikes in her heart and she releases his lips from the fleshy encounter. She doesn't want to remember that. How bad it hurts. How it wasn't him during The Gala. The tears waste no time in gathering as she hiccuped at those thoughts. Silently she wept for a short while and gathered her thoughts. She looks at him once again and he looks at her. She lets go, of everything.
"You mean everything to me. You always have and you always will. I know that you and I have not always been this way. But if it means anything, I am sorry. I remember the day we first met. The train to Canterlot, do you remember that first day we met? Little did I know how our lives would change for the better that day. And we still have many, many more days ahead of us. Fate is what brought us together. And fate is what gave our relationship life. There aren't many things I would change but if there was one thing, it would be that I would've been with you sooner. I will never leave your side Soarin. Because I love you, until time ceases it ever-going march of existence."
She then holds him tightly whispering in his ears: "I love you, my Soarin" She looks further into his eyes.
...one that will never present itself...
========================================================================= Soarin's Point of VIew
darkness...
Author's Note
This is a look into the future of the story. The next chapter will be how it all began. To find out how it got to this point stay tuned.
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Breaking The Ice; A Wrap-Up to Remember Pt. 1 (?)
"You have met with a terrible fate, haven't you. Soarin Galeforce, before the judgement seat of Faust, it is you who shall confess the doings of your existence, good and bad."
The faceless Lights stood atop his mangled form in the seeming-less void. Lights so bright, no, so immaculate that the sun was but a mere shadow. The Void, itself, actually has a life-like functionality to it. It could actually breathe like a pony. With each inhale, spheres of luminescence would change their colors and become as white as the virgin snow. With every exhale, they grow a deep and rich crimson color, finally dissipating into the Void.
"Step forward."
As those words were broken, the presence around him sighed heavily. The glowing sprites then grew as if they had each become that of Princess Celestia's sun. The Void which had once seem so soothing had grown into a raging inferno, roaring all the while as it were a beast among it's prey. Soarin was paralyzed at that very instant. Finally their expansion halted, and the spheres became as they once were. And all became silent. The mangled sprite formerly known as Soarin, Lieutenant of the Wonderbolts, One of Equestria's best fliers, began to step forward, now remembering how to trot. He was burdened with fear, a fear so mighty that even Princess Celestia would tremble in it's wake. The Lights that were once so bright, that stood atop him, now stand before him. But they, in their dimming became three. They began to speak in a chorale-type unison.
"Offer the truth, and your punishment shall be lessened. But offer lies, and your soul shall know no rest."
Those very last words shook the endless Void into a violent quake, and the words themselves echoed louder than the last. Their volume swelled until the words began to become noise. The noise then swelled until it rang unto an absolute silence. A silence that was broken soon after with these very words:
"Dear Faust, show mercy for I have sinned!"
Several Months Earlier...
========================================================================
Soarin's Point of View I never actually been in Ponyville before. But now that I have, well... lets just say that the place isn't so attractive to the wandering eye. It's what some would call a dirt town, except with snow. Lots and lots of snow. There is not one sole corner in this establishment that isn't covered in the stuff. I mean it's everywhere! It even reaches up to my haunches in some places! If it had reached any higher, then I would need to ask Princess Celestia if she can send me to the sun just so I can defrost the boys down under. My wings ache from the chilly winds and I really can't afford to keep them packed in. I would spread 'em open (heh heh, spread 'em) just to get some blood goin' in these bad boys if it wasn't for the fact that I'm on the Northbound train. The only words that express my immediate thoughts right now are as followed: "Dammit. My wings are freezing." I don't know why, but they seem to put me in the one cart that has a busted window. A BUSTED WINDOW! I can't seem to catch a break today. If it wasn't for the fact tha-
"Umm... Excuse me sir. If you wouldn't mind me saying... umm... well... thank you! "
A yellow pegasus with a pink mane and a trio of butterflies as a cutie mark came to me to thank me... or at least I think it was a thank you. She whispered it so softly I could barely make it out. But that voice.
Dammit, why don't they make more of her? And before I could find the answer to that question-
"Eep!"
She was gone. Just like that. I blink. She's there. Again, I blink. Feathers and hair trail her like dust to a tornado.
"Hey wait up! I didn't..."
And I didn't even get her name. Faust dammit all. And as quick as she left me to wonder what her name was, I suddenly remember why I am in THIS cart. She was going to be in this cart because she arrived when the train was about to leave the station. She had managed to make the final boarding call and was assigned to this cart because the conductor told her something happened. I guess something about traffic. Before she started her slow trot to the back, I told the conductor that she could take my seat in the VIP cabin. She insisted that she didn't want me to be uncomfortable. ME. Of all the ponies in Equestria, she said me. I'm pretty sure just from her demeanor she would do that for anypony. But you know what they say: "An act of kindness is rewarded by an even greater kindness." I didn't think that pegasus could even smile as big as she did, and it was a beautiful smile. Not a plastic smile, or a prissy-possy smile, nor a 'I-want-you-to-mount-me-all-night-long-so-later-I-can-collect-the-foal-support-check' smile. It was a genuine smile, one of gratitude. I was slain at that very moment until...
"Hey, slow-poke! Hop to it will ya!?"
Until I heard the slightly-familiar raspy voice of a mare none other than Rainbow Dash. Man that mare is something else. Tomcolt of the year, winner of Equestria's Best Young Fliers Competition, student of the Wonderbolt Training Academy, and the mare who saved my ass on one occasion. I actually thought it was possible for me to get lucky with that mare. We went on a date, had a freakin' blast, showed some moves and then she asked me to fly her to her place. I was originally set on leaving, but then she had to ask me to stay over. I could have sworn, at that very moment that I lost enough blood to become lightheaded until I remembered where it all went to. So being the nice-guy that I am, I couldn't refuse. As soon as the door closed behind me, I was expecting her to rocket-throttle herself at me. And then...
My body wasn't ready.
Instead of knockin' hooves, we're 'pwning n00bz' as she would say.
"OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh! Did you see that!? A self-flashbang-360-drop-shot-no-scope! Oh. My. GOSH! You guiz got! SHIT ON! Watch this shit."
"Well done Soarin." I said to myself. "You've broken yet another academy record." Achievement Unlocked: Blues and Balls.
"Did you say something?" Rainbow asked me.
"Eeaugggh... No. I was just saying how awesome you were. I mean, who else could pull off a self-360-drop-scope-no-flashboom like you did?" I replied... What? You expect me to remember all of that shit with case of blue-balls?
"Nopony, that's who! You're not bad Soarin." Ok. That was almost like Spitfire was talking through Rainbow Dash. That was hot. Creepy... but hot. "It's not like many other ponies appreciate my talents. In fact, you're the first."
Please get closer. Please get closer. Please get closer.
She gets close to me, close enough for our tails to brush up against one another. That's what I wanted. That's right. Just like that. Kissing distance. And now she speaks in a voice so seductive... my excitement begins to precede me.
"So now that we're here..."
Yes?
"How about..."
Yes???
"We..."
Yes Yes YES???
"Get..."
OH FUCKING FAUST YES!!!
"Some breakfast?"
"MY BODY IS RE- wait wha?" I stood frozen in place.
"Yup! Pwn n00bz 1ill 1h3 br3ak 0f dawnz!" (Translation: Beat newbies until the crack of dawn, or 5:42 a.m. to be exact.)
Fuck. My. Life.
So after this little excursion, I decided that I was NOT going to deprive myself of sleep for the certain chance of me playing games with Rainbow Dash until the soy eggs and hay bacon strip comes marching in the morning. And to be honest, I think that she's a le-
"Hey, Lieutenant Soarin! How are you doing?"
Welp, time I'd stop living further in the past and bring myself to the present-past. Now where was I? Oh yeah.
"Lieutenant Soarin?" Rainbow questioned me.
"Oh, well hello. How are you?" I wanted to get this over with quickly.
"Awesome as usual. I see you haven't changed a bit."
It's been two months...
"Well I try to stay in top shape." Keep talking small Soarin. Knowing her, she'll get bored and leave quickly.
"Hey Rainbow!" An unfamiliar voice calls out. "Somepony gave up their seats in the VIP section. TO US!!!"
And then I remembered those seats were reserved for the other Wonderbolts officers. I'm dead.
"Ahh yeah! I'll see ya later Lieutenant! My friends and I got some pretty awesome seats." And Rainbow just breezed into the front of the train faster than you can say season tickets. As I start to make my way to the front, I am redirected by the conductor as he informs me that a certain incident with a certain mail-pony with a flank of solid steel (or from what my mind had concluded) bumped into the window and they would rather not use that cart unless there was an overfill of passengers, and there was a flood of passenger traffic today. So I asked him was there anything else we could do.
"Nothing left to do Soarin. Just expect to see me in my office later." As I turned around, my fears had been realized. Commander Spitfire and the other Wonderbolt members standing behind her. Oh joy. "I will speak with you later, as for your irresponsibility placed us in a compromise of our comfort."
Damn. I don't like being in these situations. If there's one thing that Spitfire is known for, it's that her size has nothing to do with her ability to make even the high ranking officers of the Equestria National Guard (the E.N.G. for short) crack under her hoof. And when I mean crack, I really meant render them BROKEN. And in all honesty, I've never seen a stallion so strong in their duties, cry actual tears begging to be sent to the brig instead of her office for evaluation. But then again, we are more than a stunt-troupe of pegasi. We are specialists, which means there is only two individuals of similar rank to Spitfire: General Ironclad of Coltlahoma City (Earth-Type Commander of the E.N.G.) and Sir... I'm sorry... PRINCE Shining Armor (Unicorn-Type Captain of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard, husband to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Prince of the Crystal Empire and one lucky son-of-a-bitch). That aside, she is efficient at what she does and now I will be the next to know how efficient she can be from first-hoof experience.
So we waded through the crowded station, carried on to the back, and now my wings are freezing in this cart. The yellow pegasus thanked me and now I remember why I, as well as the other members of the Wonderbolts, were back here in this cart with a broken window that a certain pegasus with a plot of steel bumped into.
And right now I could care less, with me seeing Her smile. Especially for what she did for me a while back. Oh Faust, please...
...give me her name...
========================================================================
Fluttershy's Point of View "Hey, Fluttershy! Ah reckon ya met sumpony with a heart of gold tah get us in this here cart. If ya meet up with them again, can ya tell 'em we're mighty grateful for their generosity?" Applejack yelled.
Oh my. I guess I should thank him. Nopony else would have done what he did, especially giving us such expensive seats. Everything is so wonderful, but the blue curtains going against the gold is really outdated as well as somewhat boring. The seats are missing some of the cross-threading, the red on the seats compliments the gold very well but it is out of place when it's combined with all the blue curtains and drapery, did I mention how the red and blue clash with each other? And the seats are made of a 3-star cotton which should be improved to maintain a 5-star rating, there's a place where the seat has endured some wear-and-tear, the foam is protruding said seat, the seat that Rainbow Dash was about to sit on has a stain that was there when we entered and the stain looks to be a liquid of some sort that settled in for some time without treatment. And judging from the stain, it was there for at least a week, and it's dry and crusted, which means it could be from... oh dear.
"Equestria to Flutters! Can you read me?!"
Eeep! Rainbow Dash, you startled me.
"Oh yes. I really should go thank him. He is a nice guy." I said to myself.
"Him? A GUY!?" The other five questioned in unison. I guess I forgot I was in a room with everypony. Fluttershy, you loudmouth.
"Oooh! What is he like?" Pinkie ask while bouncing up and down.
"Does he have a name?" Twilight asked while smiling.
"What does he do for a living to afford such accommodations darling?" Rarity asked with a collected tone.
"Is he a smooth-talker?" Applejack questioned with concern.
"Earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn?" Rainbow Dash asked. And everypony gave a displeased look at Rainbow Dash. "What? We all know what's up with stallions nowadays. Unicorns are rich, pegasi are athletic, and earth-ponies are packin'!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity exclaimed with suprise. "Meaning that one being a unicorn, does not accentuate the fact that one is comfortably well off."
"And meaning that you're a pegasus, doesn't always mean that you're in shape." Twilight added in. "In fact, Shining Armor told me that many of the pegasi who do plan to join the Royal Guard end up quitting because they weren't physically strong enough to endure the training. And the ones that do are often the ones that have been more prominent in sports and manual labor that requires a lot of strength."
"Okay I get it." Rainbow Dash admitted in defeat. "It's just with what most mares are saying nowadays are-"
"Stereotypes sugarcube. Mares who say those kinds of things really don't know what it's like ta fall in love with a REAL stallion." Applejack stated proudly.
"Now that aside, c'mon Fluttershy. Tell us what he was like." Twilight inquired.
At this point in time, I was really nervous. I know they're my friends, but still...
"He's a pegasus." I simply stated.
"Awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Name, darling, name." Rarity begged.
"Ooh,OOH!" Pinkie starts to guess. "Wait! Is his name Berry? Harry? Pokey? Or maybe eve-mmmph hmmphmmm!" And just as quickly as it started, Applejack brought a hoof to Pinkie's muzzle.
"What was his name sugarcube?" Applejack still holding a hoof to Pinkie's muzzle.
"I... well... um... didn't ask."
"WHAT?!" All the girls chorale in shock. And in Pinkie's case: "HMMMMMPH?!"
"I'm sorry girls, but I was about to until Dashie called me over an-" And I was cut off...
"RAINBOW DASH!" Somehow Pinkie eluded her captor and began to interrogate Rainbow Dash. "What did you do that for? She was just about to get the guys name and you ruined the moment."
"Well I didn't know!" Rainbow answered.
Well, girls I think I'm going to go apologize to him. Umm... If I may be excused" I stated while slowly walking backwards.
"Go on ahead. Be sure to bring us back a name." Twilight said while gesturing me to hurry onward.
I back out of the VIP cart and begin to make my way into the back. Oh dear. There are so many ponies on this train. I don't even think I'll be able to- NO! I have to do this. I have to show him that I am grateful for his kindness. All I need to do is walk forward.
...
"Excuse me sir." Onward through a sitting high school hoofball team.
"Pardon me miss." Past the group of cheerleaders.
"Oh. I'm terribly sorry." Past an elder pony.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry." Past the last couple in the second cart.
Finally making my way through the second cart, I found relief upon exiting the cart. But that relief was short-lived as I had entered the third cart which seemingly had some ponies who weren't exactly, how do I put it nicely? Umm... not-so... nice?
_____________
I finally reach the last cart in earnest hopes to thank him for his kindness.
"An act of kindness is rewarded by an ever greater kindness." Those are the words he spoke to me. I wish I knew his name. I see him sometimes when I'm in Cloudsdale. He was the one who would be in charge of the city's security at night. We've only truly met once before. It was the morning after I took care of Tank for Rainbow Dash because she said something about going somewhere with a stallion for the night. So after I dropped of Tank, I walked in and talked to Rainbow Dash about her date (although she would rather call it a hangout). She was in such high spirits afterwards and I don't think I've seen her so happy. I only wished they'd continued after that because she was so upset that he never wrote again. But that's another story. But shortly after my visit and as I was leaving the city, I saw him. And he looked so tired. He even fell asleep on one of the clouds. But a few hours after his nap I flew to him and gave him one of Applejack's famous apple pies.
"These here apple pies will turn a sour day into sumthin sweet, I tell ya what." That's what Applejack would say. And judging from his facial expression, his day became sweeter with each bite he took. He was so happy. "No matter who you are, we all deserve a little kindness." I said to him as I flew away. I didn't get his name, but from then on, seeing that expression on his face made me blush to this very day. I would sometimes visit Cloudsdale unannounced just to see him patrol. Pretty soon, I developed a crush on him and wanted to come up with a way to approach him. But I didn't want to seem like a total chatterbox. Oh my, and I get so, SO nervous every time I thought about speaking to him. I'd even hide when he would walk in my general direction. Oh dear, it's so cold back here. Oh I hope he's okay.
"Dammit. My wings are freezing." I hear the swears to my left. I look over to see who it was. I froze in place.
It was Him.
"Umm... Excuse me sir. If you wouldn't mind me saying... umm... well... thank you! " I said to him smiling. I don't know what causes me to smile every time I think about him but I wouldn't trade it all for the world. Maybe I should talk to him.
But, what if He doesn't like me back? What if he's already with somepony? What if he thinks I'm not good-looking? What if he thinks I'm boring? *gasp* What if I AM boring him? Oh no. He's looking at me. What if I said too much to him? Oh Fluttershy you motor-mouth you drove him away. Just leave before he gets offended. I take a step back and suddenly something touches my backside above my tail.
"Eep!" What do I do!? Run!? FLUTTERSHY RUN!!!
"Hey wait up! I didn't even-"
The door closes behind me. I'm breathing as if I've had to run for my life. But what was I running from? Something touched me and the only thing I remember was... Oh fudge.
I bumped into the desert cart.
____________________
I walk back into the VIP cart and my friends were eagerly awaiting me.
"So..." Pinkie sang-said.
"So?" I merely questioned.
"What was his name?" Twilight asked with pent-up enthusiasm.
"I... I... still didn't get his name." I said in a defeated tone.
"Augh!" The girls, once again, expressed their disappointment with me.
"But I can tell you what he looks like." Not wanting to leave them in total disappointment, I offered to give them a visual description.
"Well... Details, darling. Details!" Rarity demanded.
"Where do I start?" I ask before moving on. "He's nice, kind hearted, he's also..."
"Well?" Rarity urged me forward.
"...really cute" I finished.
The entire cart was fill with the sounds of excitement. Squees of glee and approval filled the air. So I carried on...
"He is a pegasus, as you all already know. Judging from his physique, he looks to be one who stays in shape."
I then notice that Dashie's face lights up, way more than usual. I continued my description...
"He is really toned, one could even say he is in th-"
"The military" Rainbow Dash concluded.
I stare in total shock as Dashie continues my description for me.
"Toned haunches, muscular but not too muscular, sky blue with a royal blue mane, cutie mark of a sword wrapped in wings on a plot to die for."
My mouth hangs in utter silence. Eventually I once again find the motivation to speak.
"How did you know?" I asked to Rainbow.
"The answer is: Lieutenant Soarin Galeforce. Second in command of the Equestrian Aerial Specialist Division. Second in command to Commander Spitfire, Commander of the Equestrian Aerial Specialist Division, and Captain of the Wonderbolts."
"So he is a-" Before I could finish, Rainbow Dash confirms to me.
"A Wonderbolt."
Silence...
"AHHHH!!!" And the girls get really loud. Especially Rarity. I think everypony in Equestria can hear our excitement. But Rainbow Dash was just unusually... well...
...quiet.
She is just sitting there. I would expect her to be so excited, knowing that a member of the Wonderbolts would even look in my general direction. But she's not exactly excited. She's just sitting there, staring into thin air. She doesn't look happy, nor does she look upset. She looks, oh I wanna say... in shock. Is that it? Surprised? Perplexed? Maybe.
"Rainbow Dash?" I tried to call for her attention but she doesn't respond. So I gently lay my hoof over hers. Needless to say that I managed to break her out of her daze. She blinks, shakes her head and looks at me.
"Wow Fluttershy, I didn't know your big crush was him." Rainbow said in a softened voice. I've never heard her speak like this. Usually her voice is so rough and kinda brash, that it would match her attitude, like how she always wins at her races and say 'I told you already, I'M the fastest in all of Equestria'. But this time, it sounded so feminine. Is this her real voice?
"You might actually have a chance with him. You should totally go for it." This time she tries to show some enthusiasm in her voice, but her body gestures begins to betray her intentions. She stops looking at me and looks to the side, not even towards the sky like she usually would, but to the ground. She kinda rubs her hooves together. And she winces at the slightest touch, the slightest sensation even. Rainbow Dash...
...what's wrong?
========================================================================
Rainbow Dash's Point of View Ugh. I hate lovey-dovey stuff. It just gets on my nerves. I really don't see why every time a mare gets with a stallion, she begins to act so different to life. I mean, IT'S JUST A STALLION! He has an outtie and mares have an innie. Insert Tab-A into Slot-B and you get Element-C. There is nothing so special about the pony anatomy to even consider a coltfriend, let alone a romantic interest, as something to be so drastically life-changing. It just doesn't make any sense. And if doesn't matter so much, like I told myself it doesn't, then why does it hurt?
Why am I in pain? Why does he not like me as much as Fluttershy? I hung out with him. We had a blast. We played games together. Everything about our time together was so awesome. I wanted to hang out again. Why? Because he was awesome. He has moves that I couldn't even dream of imitating. I even saved his flank back at the Best Young Fliers Competition. And after all of that... I'm not good enough. Maybe it's me? Was I too aggressive? Not aggressive enough? N-no way! I'm Rainbow Dash! I can get any colt licking my hooves in total admiration to my awesomeness. I bet there must be a line of stallions (and mares oddly enough) wanting to have a go at the Dash. They like me. And I'm super famous in Ponyville. I am an element bearer, The Element of Loyalty no less. Stallions are climbing mountains to get a shot at the amazing Rainbow Dash. And I'm more than willing to accept, if they were all like him.
"Soarin..." I whispered to myself. "Am I really that unattractive?"
I began to think back to the Wonderbolt Training Academy. I used to see Soarin a lot then. In fact, he was one of our drill instructors. When we were in our lines he would stare me up and down to make sure I was at attention. Of course there were others. Snowflake, Cloud Flitter, Jet Stream, Wildflower, Midnight Shadow, Thunderlane, Lightning Dust and I were in the same squad. And he was our squad commander. One time I even remember looking at him as he passed by. And of course, I got chewed out for it. He was screaming and yelling about how miserable of an excuse I was and how much my mom would be better-suited for Wonderbolt material. Needless to say, after that last comment about my mom, I stared him in the eyes with an intention to knock him off the runway.
"Are... are you eye-balling me Private?! You should be looking ahead. Eyes forward!!!"
I didn't look away. Instead, I looked further into them, into his soul. And the squad paid dearly for it.
"Since Private Dash seems to be a little confused as to what a proper 'attention' stance is, why don't you all give her a quick lesson. HALF-RUIIIIGHT FACE!"
By this point, everypony was complaining and whining to me and calling me an idiot.
"FRONT-LEANING REST POSITION! MOVE!!!"
A proper front-leaning rest position for pegasi requires our wings to remain perpendicular to the ground below. Our fore-hooves are not to touch the ground in our wings place. If you disobey, you would receive 'The Box' as punishment. 'The Box' is a punishment in which you gallop in place, drop to a proper front-leaning rest position (a push-up position if you will) and you will hit the ground until they tell you otherwise. Many times you will be ordered to do this in an environment of hostile weather conditions (simulated of course). Sometimes they have you do it as everypony else runs (or flies) by you. I'd know from personal experience, of course.
"PRIVATE DASH! What in Celestia's blue and white sky are you doing? Is that a proper front-leaning rest position? NO? THEN GET INTO ONE BEFORE I MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR MOM DID AS SHE WAS GIVING BIRTH TO THE SORRY PIECE-OF-HEIFER-BRED FERTILIZER YOU ARE!!!"
While holding my fore-hooves out to the ground in front of me. I did the best thing I could have ever done.
I did nothing.
____________________
"Think you're hot shit, huh?"
At this moment, I am in the middle of the camp. Drills are over and everypony else has retired to the barracks for the day. The sun has set hours ago. And right now, I am in the most unbearable pain. My hooves ache from all the galloping in place. My wings ache from all the push-ups I did. My wing-tips have blisters on them from having to drop from galloping to front-leaning rest. My chest is about to explode. I haven't had the luxury of going to the mess hall. Latrines are out of the question right now. I was what Applejack could describe as 'plum-tuckered out'.
"I bet your ass won't try that shit again."
He was right. Like Tartarus I was gonna do this all over again.
"I'm tired. Get the fuck up Private! NOW!!! Before I have a change in heart!"
I hurry up to get at attention. I can't believe it. I don't believe it. How am I even alive right now? Why am I not dead yet? How do I move without being in pain? How am I able to support my own weight right now? These few questions were of many that runs through my pulsing brain. And I suddenly realize...
He broke me...
"DAMMIT PRIVATE DASH! HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT SOMEPONY WHO IS IN AUTHORITY OVER YOU!"
I, Rainbow Dash...
"DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS ON A DAILY BASIS!?"
...the most awesome pony...
"DO I HAVE TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OUT OF YOU!?"
...in all of Equestria...
"I DON'T THINK YOU'VE HAD ENOUGH YET, PERSONALLY!"
...broken down...
"MAYBE WE NEED TO START ALL OVER COME TOMORROW MORNING!"
...into virtually...
"WOULDN'T YOU SAY SO PRIVATE DASH!?"
...nothing.
"..." I froze in place.
"DID YOU!" He yells. "FUCKIN' HEAR ME!?" Now taking a larger breath. "PRIIIIVATE?!?!! " Saliva flying from his mouth landed on my right cheek, below my eye and even on my muzzle.
"y-yes s-s-sir." I could barely even speak.
"I didn't hear you."
I breathe in, causing my chest to expand in pain. "Sir, yes sir."
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE CRICKETS PRIVATE!"
I take in a lung-full of air. "SIR, YES SIR!!!"
Now he walks towards me. He looks into my eyes, directly into my soul, my very esscence. I feel his breath as it rushes by my cheeks, past my muzzle, down my neck. Oh... Faust.
"Don't you dare..." He breathes again. It's so warm.
"eyeball me..." He breathes even harder. Even hotter.
"again..." He softens his draw. His muzzle misses mine by inches. His breathing has gotten soft but the temperature of his breath reaches a climax that rivals the sun. Slowly, it runs down my neck as if it was the very sweat that beads down my navel. Why am I so hot?
"...private." This time he whispers it into my ear. I can feel his presence even as he withdraws his very flesh. He begins to walks away briskly at first, but then stops suddenly and performs an about-face.
"Private, you are dismissed."
I was so relieved to hear those words, but at the same time, upset. I don't know why but he dominated me in every way, and I liked it. It was more apparent when I looked behind me and noticed that my tail was slightly lifted. My wings were in pain but yet they pulsed with a new life, a life of eager anticipation. It was like I wanted him to not just dominate me, I wanted him to violate me. Then and there. On the asphalt of the runway. To take me to the lowest depths of primal submission and shut me down completely. I didn't even wanna know there was light in those depths. I just wanted him to drown me. To tell me how I am nothing to him. To destroy my ego until it was beyond my repair. I wanted him to show me that I am a common mare. I want to beg. I want to sit. I... I-I... I wanted to be owned. Not even as a pet, but as mere property.
I damn near lost it at the thought of Soarin taking me. And to this very day, I still do.
Soarin...
My mind wanders back to the present.
"Rainbow Dash?" Asks Fluttershy who then touches my hoof. I loose all my lustful thoughts in the blink of an eye. Shaking my head in hopes that those thoughts are locked away, now that I know they will never become a beautiful reality.
"Wow Fluttershy, I didn't know your big crush was him. You might actually have a chance with him. You should totally go for it." I urged Fluttershy onward, knowing I could possibly lose him in the process. But I won't stop Fluttershy from being happy. I didn't like losing. It makes me feel not-as-awesome. What Soarin does to me is different. With him is a sense of being owned like a prized possession. Without, it's more of an unwanted antique at the flea market. He was the first to truly appreciate me for who I was, and the first to be able to break me down to make me realize that I am a mare with needs.
As I think about these things, I hear a high pitch screeching and a whistle in the distance.
"We have arrived in Canterlot ladies. Princess Celestia must be waiting for us." Twilight states.
I look up to see the ivory-and-gold trimmed towers that litter the streets of Canterlot outside my window.
"Yeah, you girls go on ahead. I gotta use the little fillies room." I hastily replied.
"Of course dear." Rarity responds while fastening her hat on her head.
Now that all the girls have left, there's nopony to judge me, right? I look to my left to see if anypony was around. My right, nothing. Behind me, nopony there either. Phew. A sense of relief overtakes me as I finally move from my seat. I can only pray that the worst didn't happen. I close my eyes and question myself repeatedly.
"Did I do it? Did I do it? Did I do it?"
I open my eyes and much to my disappointment... It happened. Again. I soaked the seat. And it's no better the fact that I sat on my tail this time to try and prevent it. Now I REALLY have to use the fillies room to freshen up. You know, sanitize and deodorize my tail, which is carrying a little more than just the daily air and the usual sweat. Dammit...
____________________
After I cleaned up the mess I made (or at least tried to), I caught up with the girls at the castle. The corridor floor was covered in a marble so shiny, you'd thought you would be walking on glass. I even took the time to look into it and check myself out.
"Who's awesome? You're awesome. Nopony could ever take your place, not eve-"
"RAINBOW DASH!"
The others yell out to me. I guess I got a little too invested in myself for a second there. I should get back on track. Now the floor doesn't exactly transitions into red carpet, instead it just says 'welcome to the noble life' as soon as you turn into the main hall. The carpet that covered the white marble was always clean, spotless, flawless even. So many ponies walk down these halls on a daily basis and yet there is no sign of usage except the hoofprints left behind me and the girls. Whoever does the cleaning around here must really be obsessively compulsive. I know OCD when I see it. Twilight kinda taught me what the disease is, what the symptoms look like and the side effects of the disease. She even told me that she once had it real bad (another reason why the princess sent her to Ponyville in the first place). She even went as far as to tell me the method she uses to keep it suppressed while she's out in public. But's still, even Twilight can't clean a floor to this degree.
We finally reached the end of the main hall leading into the throne room. The doors themselves were as tall as the hall itself. The doors are covered in a white marble-like surface, gold fixtures adorned with rubies and a handle affixed in such a way that only the guards and the princesses can use it (a door that only unicorns and alicorns can use, go figure). The twin guards (unicorns of course) light their horns (their auras are even the the same color as each other) and suddenly the fixtures begin to glow the same color as the auras. The door begins to open slowly, letting in a scent of honeydew and a white light begins to flood the area. I squint my eyes slightly to adjust until the light dies down and we see on the right side of the throne an ivory-colored unicorn with a black mane and glasses holding a lot of scrolls. And to her left, Princess Celestia herself.
"My little ponies." Why does Princess Celestia always have to call us that? "We've been expecting you for quite some time."
"Princess. We came as fast as we could. Is there something wrong?" Twilight asks.
The way she ask makes it seem as if there was another dragon taking a thousand-year nap just down the road from here. And given our track record (the Mare in the Moon incident, the napping dragon, Discord's reemergence, the Battle of Canterlot, the issues with King Sombre, and the taming of Discord), I can sympathize why Twilight seems so concerned.
"My assistant, Quill Ink, has informed me that you, Twilight, would be the head of upcoming event that is to soon befall on Ponyville. I am simply here to give to you a list of instructions that Mayor Mare has sent to me so that I may give it directly to you." Celestia states while telekinetically lifting the scroll with the mayor's sigil.
"Well that's weird. Why wouldn't she send it to me directly through the mail?" Twilight asks with a puzzled look.
...
Twilight, I know you're smarter than this. I mean it's so obvi-
"Because the local mail mare had a run-in with a train and apparently she is being treated for cuts and bruises." Celestia confirmed.
"Oh... But why not send it through Spike?" Twilight questions. I gotta admit, that was a question that rolled right off my tongue.
"Because the last urgent message was never seen, or so I've been told. I don't know how it got lost between you and Spike, but I was ensuring that you knew of a threat being called against Canterlot." Celestia quipped.
Oh yeah, I remember. We were in the Southern Badlands and group of dragons threw away a letter bearing Princess Celestia's sigil. It landed in lava shortly after one of the dragons said, and I quote: "Hey, check it out! Spike's friends with a namby-pamby-pony princess!" Oh boy did I wanna wring his scaly, red neck blue for that. But still, it wasn't really Spike's fault that happened.
"Oh." Twilight said in defeat, knowing as much as I do what happened.
"And not only that, I tend to give official documents first-hoof. It is to insure that the recipient did receive their paperwork." Celestia added.
"So what's the big event that you were talking about princess?" I asked of curiosity.
"Well, my dear, Mayor Mare has placed Twilight in charge of this year's Winter Wrap-Up." Responds the princess.
Oh crap. I forgot.
"Where do we begin, your highness?" The six of us asked.
"Well..."
Author's Note
This is more of a introductory chapter to give you a basis on the three characters involved. Their stories are all interwoven into each other to give each of the girls a legitimate reason to develop feelings for Soarin. As you may know, the end is inevitable, but what all happens to get to that end? Stay tuned for part 2...
P.S. Rainbow's time at the academy was meant to be an erotic teaser. And this is literally my first time writing something erotic. Opinions? What do I need to work on? Comments are appreciated.
P.P.S. Hooray for transition music.
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Breaking the Ice; A Wrap-Up to Remember pt. 3 (*)
Breaking the Ice; A Wrap-Up to Remember pt. 3 (*)
The sun has set.
Colors begin to blossom.
A silence is born.
The day has come.
Spring is coming...
========================================================================
Rainbow Dash/Fluttershy's POV (will interchange in certain parts)
Winter Wrap-Up is considered a staple in the Ponyville community. Especially with the earth ponies there. It's sort of a earth-pony-pride day. Pegasi can help however way they can, whether it was clearing the clouds, shoveling snow off the rooftops, retrieving the southern birds or my personal favorite, cloud busting. Nopony can bust clouds like I can. I would have the skies cleared in ten seconds flat, but Fluttershy would have to have me wait for her to wake up ALL the animals from hibernation. I know one thing that me and Applejack can both agree on: waking animals from hibernation takes way too long.
"Consarn it, Fluttershy. Can ya hurry it up over there? Ah got crops to grow and us waitin' for a few of those varmits could easily cause a town food shortage if things don't pan out."
Applejack is a little on edge today. She just nervous since she found out that her special somepony is leaving for the Equestria National Guard. He wanted to fight the war against the Changeling horde. I guess it doesn't need any explanation on what all has happened, right?
...
Fine. You win. I guess it isn't too boring of a story to tell.
Applejack special somepony, Swift Justice (go figure he wanted to join with a name like that), is an earth pony who is a mix between a pegasus and, you guessed it, a unicorn. Nah, just playing! He's a half pegasus and half earth pony. He's not too bright though. He gets into business arguments he knows he can't win. But what he lacks in the business management department, he makes up for in strength and athletic ability. I guess what I'm trying to say is that he's not the best quill in the cupboard, but when it comes to getting a job done, he can stretch out the midnight ink.
She started crushing on him since we were young fillies, started talking him shortly (and by shortly, I meant 5 months) after the death of her parents. He helps on the apple farm a lot, and he doesn't know when to quit. All I can say is if Applejack says "you're working too hard", then plain and simple: you're working WAY too hard. But he still keeps going, even after the sun sets sometimes. This has been going on for some time, I wanna say about 2 years.
Now personally, I don't have the time for something like that. It's way too slow, and WAY too boring. I was beginning to lose interest in the thing they called a 'friendship'. But little did we know (we as in Applejack and I), Swift started to develop a crush on a unicorn that recently moved into town. Yup, you guessed it. Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight just moved in from Canterlot and I can tell you that when Swift started to show his interest, Applejack started to show a bit of green. Envy, of course. So in the midst of the time between Twilight coming here and Discord's return, Applejack started showing her true colors around the other girls more often than hiding them. She may be a bearer of an Element of Harmony, but honesty is nowhere near as compassionate as kindness. Translation: AJ told off Swift and gave him STERN instruction to not get friendly with the other girls (that included me of course).
After that little event, he started to work less around her and more around Big Mac and Granny Smith. It goes without saying she was a little bit ABSOLUTELY LIVID. So she got angry with him and told him that she don't need his help and neither does he have to help on the farm. Granny Smith didn't see a valid point in AJ's argument. And Big Mac agreed with Granny Smith. So they both agreed to have him work on the farm (with bonus pay this time).
AJ was completely angry at everypony in the Apple Family, but thankfully she didn't stay that way. In fact, the day following the end of cider season, she assigned him the southern fields to have done by the end of the day, by himself. I was kinda wanting to give HER a helping hoof on the subject matter of attitude adjustment, but it turns out that I didn't need to. He kept working all day. He even skipped lunch and breaks in between. And he was working fast (where the hay was he during cider season anyways). By the sun's setting, he had completely finished the southern field.
You should have seen the look on AJ's face, it went a little something like this:
Soon after he walked in the door from all the work he did, he was saying how light-headed he felt. And before they made it to the dinner table, he passed out on the living room floor. And from what Applebloom was saying, he wasn't breathing too well either. He was running a high temperature and he had no energy left to breathe, let alone to move. AJ was beyond devastated. She was self-loathing.
One trip to the nurse later, Swift was diagnosed with dehydration, starvation, and a fever of 104.6ºF. He had also suffered some bruising along his hind legs and hooves. The nurse told Swift the same thing we all tried to tell him: he worked too hard.
"Mr. Swift, I'm afraid that you cannot, and allow me to stress the point, go to work while sick. You should give yourself some rest." Nurse Redheart informed.
"Yes ma'am. I'll try to keep that in mind." Swift replied.
So after that, the girls and I paid him a visit, gave him a few gifts, and left him and AJ alone. And by alone, I meant alone while I fly to the window and get a sneak peek at the drama that was to unfold. Heck, if Applejack was gonna get told off, I wanted to see it for myself (not that she deserved it or anything).
Five minutes went by and not a single word was said between them. I was getting bored fast. But thankfully she started to speak.
"You..." Applejack began. She was avoiding his eyes in hopes of not seeing the pain he went through.
"..." Swift remained silent. He was practically staring into her soul at this point, as he began to raise his left fore-hoof.
"...why did you do it? Ya didn't have to do what Ah told ya to."
Swift halted his hoof as AJ took hers to indicate that she didn't need to be disturbed. She wanted to get the truth out. And he deserved it.
"I was just so angry ya stop workin' with me. Then I saw that ya stopped talkin' ta me and Ah honestly thought ya just went ahead and forgot about me. Heh, Ah guess my jealousy got the be-"
"Jacqueline?" Swift interrupted.
"Nope. Ah'm not stoppin' till ya get the honest tru-" Applejack was interrupted again.
"Just shut the fuck up."
" *gasp* Why of all the-"
Words could not describe what just happened. I wanted drama, but I wasn't expecting this. Swift cut AJ's sentence short as he took his hoof and wrapped it around the back of her neck, dragging her lips into his. AJ's with her eyes still open in shock, drove her right fore-hoof into his chest in an attempt to free herself. She then started to punch him repeatedly in his chest, making contact with his sternum. She wiggled in place, trying to escape her locked-jaw captor.
He, however, began to push further into her. He squeezed harder for each time she punched him. His grip became vice-like as he began to compress himself into her. It was lethal in it's appearance. Applejack, the moth flying into an unknown territory, fell onto his web. Swift, then became a spider and clutched onto his newly acquired victim with the intent to make a meal of her. And as many moths do, she surrendered. She stopped beating on him as if she was losing precious breath.
She stopped resisting all together. In fact, she began to kiss back. Her eyes remained half-lidded, desire took over. He began to slide his tongue from the comfort of his mouth and slipped it past her lips. Her breathing became heavy and invasive, he could feel the frantic exhales from her whispers from his neck to his lap. She then began to welcome his tongue with an onslaught of her own, driving hers under his invading organ and pushing towards his throat.
He would not lose, however, as he began to curl inward his organ to meet hers. Seeing as she wished not to be outdone, she maneuvered her slippery obstacle into meeting his halfway. There, the battle of the pink warriors sent from their domains began to fence at each other, flicking and lapping at each other with a speed of a rushing tide. It was a carnage in which blood was merely replaced by saliva.
He then wrestled her down to the bed he was laying on. She was left facing the ceiling as he was left facing the bed. He took his right hoof and grabbed her hind legs and began to point them upward. While grabbing her hind legs, he furiously tossed them to the side. Applejack began to drive her muzzle to his in an attempt to meet him half way. He began to withdraw from her. She continued to advance. Again he withdrew, and again she advanced. Sweat and moisture began to fill the room, causing the window to fog slightly.
A new scent began to protrude the air. It was a scent of lust and passion, as well as the scent of her hidden depravity. He began to inhale the toxic aroma and soon felt his lust grow in throbbing anticipation. He then took a hoof to her hidden marehood and touched it slightly. Applejack contoured her body into an arch upon contact as her secretions began to trickle down her stained haunches, flowing unto the white sheets below.
Swift could no longer take it. His mind began to paint an abstract portrait of vivid colors, colors in particular of a mare he longed for. A brownish orange accompanied by what appeared as a trio of apples to adorn her flank. He has teased her long enough.
He locks his lips to hers once again. This time viciously looming over her, as his throbbing stallionhood began to prod the flank of his inebriated captor. Slowly and menacingly, he rocked back and forth. He knows what he wants, he knows she wants it, but he will not strike until she wills him to. The scene became of something so dark, so gritty, so impure that it was unknown if there was a repentance for such an act.
There were no words exchanged. The act in itself became the language in which they used to communicate. Little did they know, however, that their conversation was known to an eavesdropper. I lost any form of self-control I had and found one of my hooves immersed in the fluids of my soaked marehood. I was flying in midair longing to have a colt to catch me in the moment so that I could feel his girth inside me. I want it so bad. Upon looking around to see if anypony was around, I found that I was the only one in the area. I felt courage. And in this moment, I began to peek back into the window seeing AJ nodding. Swift looked downward and adjusted himself. I knew where this was going.
I was then sitting on a smooth branch of a nearby tree that had a direct view of the action. My clit grinding against the bark as my forehooves clinched around the branch. Keeping my eyes closed, I could still hear the moans of Applejack. Every now and then, I open my eyes to see what's going on. At this very moment, I see Swift holding Applejack's hind legs straight into the air and him mercilessly driving himself into AJ's soaked cunt. With each time he withdraws, she sees Applejack mouthing his name as if she was begging him to stay inside.
He pulls out. "Swift" She whispers. He pushes in. And he pulls out again. "Swift"
He pushes in. "Nnngt" I grunt to myself, trying to match his pace. My tongue hangs as I pant with each moment I grind myself forward. "Nnngt" I am beginning to feel a sweltering heat in my marehood. "Aagh" I close my eyes and begin to hear my heart beat. No. I can feel my heartbeat in my ears. My body begins to throb in pain. Not a pain of discomfort, but a pain of a dire need. I almost began to speed up until I hear a thud.
"Rainbow..." A weakened voice calls out my name. I feel myself reaching a new height that I could never get while flying. My eyes remain closed.
"Haa... Haa... Haa... Rai... Rainbow..." The voice begins to filter into my imagination. I begin to imagine myself riding a stallion. His length filling and emptying my wet slit. I begin to bounce up and down on the branch all the while grinding on it. I roll my eyes to the back of my head. A darkness begins to invade my sight. I have never felt this good in my entire life. It almost rivals when I first performed a Sonic Rainboom. Almost.
"Rainbow... Haa... haa... Ahaa... Dash... Ah'm..." Okay, that sounded a little too realistic. I open my eyes to check up on AJ.
I freeze in place. Applejack is now being fucked silly outside of the window and she's looking at me grind my marehood on a tree branch. I look behind her and see that Swift is mounting her. Driving his massive size into AJ while holding her Stetson in his teeth. Okay, if that isn't hot, then I don't know what is.
"Haa... cUm... hERe... raIN... Bow..." She commands to me while the stallion behind her drives himself to new depths. I am so close to cumming. Why did she... OH FUCK IT!
I barrel to her and I begin to bring my muzzle to hers and she drives her tongue deep into my throat and I begin to suck. She tastes of golden delicious with a hint of cinnamon. She then pushes me away sending me backwards. But she still has the agility to grab both my hind legs while I'm in mid-air. I begin to fall downward until Applejack begins to pull me upwards. She continues to pull me up when suddenly...
"WHaaa!!" Applejack completely surprises me as she begins to drive her tongue into my wet marehood, reawakening an orgasm that was long overdue.
"Jacqueline, I'm gonna..." Swift grunts to AJ.
"Woah there, partner. Get us inside first. She needs a little release too." AJ urges.
My hind legs begin to feel like wet noodles as Applejack picks me up and drags me from the outside window onto the bed. As I made my way in, I begin to grind my squelching marehood on my right fore-hoof. I'm so close. Please let me cum. I wanna cum. I need to cum so bad. I'll do anything, just please let me cum.
"I'm cumming!" Swift screams to AJ who lols open her mouth as she sits next to me. I do the same. I open my mouth in earnest hopes of tasting his cum. AJ then turns to me and kisses me as I violently rub my clit with my hoof.
"I'm cumming. I'm cumming." Erotic whispers of his yearning begin to fill my ears with his song.
And with a few strokes of his hoof against his shaft, his tip flares to a enormous size. Rope after rope of sticky, white fluid begins to erupt out of his massive stallionhood. The first rope of cum hits the window, a sad waste. The second rope, however covers AJ from her face to her chest. The third rope shoots onto her face covering her left eye and some of it hitting my right cheek. The fourth and final rope hits me in my face, my chest and some even lands in my mouth. He then drips the remaining load into my maw.
His orgasm subsides as he pants in total exhaustion. But in my case, my climax is only beginning.
"OHMYGOSH. OHMYGOSH. I'MCUMMING.I'MCUMMING.I'MCUMMAAAAAAHHHH!!! " My voice cracks into a raspy scream as I fall backwards, unable to stop my hoof from pulling at my slit. I begin to arch my back as I hump violently into the air, squirting my juices all over myself, Applejack and Swift. I begin to hump the air as I ride my climax out, squirting all the while. It take me 4 massive fountains before I'm just violently dry-humping the air. My body shudders in an afterglow of the moment.
"Моя киска чувствует себя так хорошо." I mumble an incoherent language.
"Are ya okay, partner?" Applejack asks.
"Я в порядке" I try to make out. But my body has the Equish speech function turned off at the moment.
"Just simply nodding will do. Okay?" Swift added.
"mmhmm" I nod to confirm.
A full year and seven months have gone by since that day, and Applejack (pfft. Jacqueline. hahaha) and Swift started dating. And little did she know why Swift was pushing himself so hard, until today that is. Applejack marches up to Swift as he sits on the table discussing the issues with the fruit bats that invaded the southern fields with me, Applebloom, Granny Smith and Big MacIntosh (...What? Their apple trees makes for some good napping spots after I finish clearing the sky).
"Are you serious? ARE YOU BUCKING SERIOUS!?" AJ screamed.
"What's wrong Appleja-" Swift's question was cut short with a strong hoof to the face. Granny Smith took Applebloom and ran out the room. She didn't need to see that. Big Mac then rushed behind his sister to subdue her and keep her supressed when we both noticed a letter falling to the floor. I quietly walked over to the crumpled letter bearing the Sigil of The Equestria National Guard Association, which now bearing blood splatter from Swift's encounter with AJ's hoof.
"Swift Justice," I began to read aloud. "We have reviewed your- blah, blah, blah. Physical performance evaluation. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Congratulations for your acceptance to the EQUESTRIAN NATIONAL GUARD."
I was speechless, but I continued to read most of it to myself only reading aloud these words:
"The train that will send you to Fort Bravery Basic Training Camp will depart in approximately 12 DAYS from the time of this letter's signing. We hope and pray for your future success of defending this great nation."
I look down at the signature and locate the date in which it was signed, subtracted the days it took to get here and came up with a finalized answer.
"Swift," I said in a saddened tone. "You have only 7 days left before you leave."
"CONSARNIT SWIFT! You said you'd never leave the farm. You promised me that!" Applejack yelled.
"Applejack..." Swift whimpered.
"And here ya are, LEAVING! Leaving me! Leaving this farm! Leaving my friends, my family, MY FEELINGS FOR YOU!" Applejack screams to Swift, trying to evade the grip of her older brother.
"...Jacqueline, I-"
"SHUT UP! I don't wanna hear a peep from you."
"And you expect me to sit around and wait for the next changeling invasion before I can do something to defend this farm?" Swift asked sternly, wearing a bitter scowl on is face. "I've had many a nights terror since the changelings came and invaded Canterlot, WHERE YOU WERE AT THE TIME BEING! Oh and don't forget that little fiasco up north in the Crystal Kingdom. I was constantly left to pick apples while YOU were risking life and limb. I'm not doing that anymore dammit! I love you too damn much, to lose you."
"But I do that because I... you... love me?" Applejack asked in surprise, feeling herself sink to the ground. Big Mac then let go of his sister.
"Yes. Beyond. I'd rather lose my life than to see you risk yours again. And I won't take no for an answer. You know why? Because I am going to fight these things on the front line. Right now, in case you forgotten, there is a war going on with the Changelings. If they even think of getting close to you again, I am going to beat their flanks and skulls inward until they concave. I swear it!"
"Just one more thing, ya hear?" Big Mac interrupts. "If ya ever come back, which I know ya will, you'll marry my sister."
Applejack looks to her big brother with widened eyes. She bears a smile of admiration towards him as he stares daggers into Swift.
"Just marriage?" Swift asks astonished. "Hell, I'd come from hell in a hand basket, I'd come marching back to this farm in uniform, buck the southern fields like I used to, marry that beautiful mare right there..." He points his hoof to AJ, to which she responds by blushing. "Rock the farm fields all night long and have about six or seven foals in the process. I wanna watch my kids grow with that mare. I wanna rest on a rocking chair on the porch with that mare until our manes turn grey. I wanna share my denchers in the same glass as her. I wanna be buried next to her when we pass on. That's what I'll do when I get back."
Applejack took her hat off and covered her face as he walked towards her. "I love you, Jacqueline Samantha Apple. And I will continue to bear the very thought of you until I get back." Swift whispers to her in her ear. The only sound that remains from the violent encounter is the sound of soft sobbing as Applejack sniffles inside of her Stetson.
"You promise?" She asks, her voice slightly muffled from her hiding herself.
"On my life." Swift responds.
"Then, *sniff* Ah want ya to have this." She takes the Stetson covering her face and places it on his head, partially covering his vision, giving it a slight tap.
"Aww, Jackie. You shouldn't ha-" He then sees the tears streaking her face. Her eyes begin to swell red.
"T'ain't nothin' cowboy." She uses both her fore-hooves to bring him in for a kiss on his muzzle, closing her eyes to savor the moment. Swift responds by kissing her forehead below her mane. As I see the farm-girl and her farm-hoof exchange romantic gestures, I see Big Mac in the corner. He is watching over the romantic act, replaying the words Swift spoke to him about his little sister. At that moment, he truly realized that his little sister had, indeed, grown into a full-fledged mare, bringing tears of joy into his eyes.
"Are you crying big brother?" A small voice asks. We all turn around to find that Applebloom and Granny Smith was sitting there the whole time. Granny Smith answers:
"Nope, youngin. Those there, aren't tears of sadness but tears of pride." She wipes away a small tear from her wrinked cheek. "Welcome to the family, there youngster." She states proudly.
...
That was at least nine months ago. And to this day, you can see AJ when she reaches for her Stetson as it is no longer there. She then realizes that she gave the hat to Swift, who is doing fine I should add. It turns out that he graduated the top of his company when he completed the basic training. His current rank is Private First Class, so he's called PFC. Swift Justice. He's constantly writing to AJ too. She gets so excited when a letter comes by. In fact, she gathers the girls and read them out loud to us. Then we'd watch her write one back as soon as she finished reading his. After she finished, she'd borrow some of Rarity's lipstick so she can sign the letter with a kiss. I can only imagine what it feels like to know a love like that.
...Wait a second. Am I talking about... love? Maybe I am. Maybe this love thing has kinda grown on me. Maybe I'm starting to become like a school mare and talk about how much I like this colt or that colt... Nah! No way.
"Well, are ya done wakin' up the little varmits? Crops need sunlight, now!" Applejack screamed in frustration. That very same statement brought me back to the present.
"No, not yet. But we're almost finished. We only need to wake up the bears." Fluttershy responded in a sing song whisper.
"AHHHHH!!! THE BEARS ARE AWAKE! THE BEARS ARE AWAKE!!!" Said a pony in a Wonderbolt uniform. "DAMMIT, DON'T JUST SIT THERE! HELP ME BEFORE I BECOME THEIR MORNING SNACK! AHHHHHHH!!!" He ran off to the hills, screaming to the top of his lungs. Needless to say there was a small contingent of brown bears chasing him down. Guess they must've thought he was some sort of over-sized tuna... Wait a second. He was in a WONDERBOLT uniform. Does that mean... Soarin?
"Oh goodness, oh dear. I didn't mean for him to awaken the bears. They're extremely short tempered and hungry when they wake up from hibernation." Fluttershy stated.
"Gee, don't you think you could've told him that before waking up the bears?" I deadpanned.
"I didn't know that he was going to wake up the bears. His assigned areas was actually the snakes cavern, the bat caves, and the skunk holes. Oh dear..."
" Well, don't just sit there like a knot on a log, sugarcube. He needs ya help!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Right! I'll do my best." Fluttershy said as she flew off. I guess she'll be getting a little talk time with Soarin after all. *bears growl in the distance* ...Or maybe not.
"Oh I can't believe that he went to wake up the bears. Oh goodness, I just hope they aren't angry with him." I frantically repeat to myself.
As I'm flying towards the group of angry brown bears, I can only think of a plan in which everyone can be happy with the results. Sadly though, it may not be so easy trying to convince an angry mob of brown bears to forgive a pony who is wearing a blue suit that looks awfully like a gigantic tuna fish. Although, I don't blame them on that issue. Why if the first thing I see is a gigantic blue blur that's squirming around nervously, I'd mistaken it for a early breakfast too. In speaking of early breakfast, I wonder if he had anything for them to eat. If not, then... oh my.
"HELP MEEEEE!!!"
A frantic cry is heard up close. I must be getting close. C'mon Fluttershy, tell them that it was a big understanding and that you only want to help. As I confirm to myself what the best choice of action would be, I took a deep breath and quietly trotted forward into a large dark cave. As I travel deeper inside, I can hear the pony in the distance squeaking out what sounds like plea bargains.
"N-n-nice... b-b-b-brown bears." The blue pegasus stallion stuttered out while shaking nervously in his suit. His hind legs vibrated in and out as he quaked in fear that the bears would bring harm, if not a serious mauling, to him. "I d-d-didn't mean no harm."
One of the bears slowly approached the scared pegasus and became close enough to give him direct eye-to-eye contact. Then the bear began to sniff the pegasus around his mane, neck, hooves, wings and tail. After confirming the fact that he was, indeed, not a gigantic, over-sized, delicious tuna, he appeared to take a deep breath in an attempt to roar at the pony. It was at this point in which I intervened.
"Just wait one minute mister!" I said to interject. I calmly trotted in between the bear and the pegasus.
"Meaning that he's big and blue doesn't mean that he's your breakfast. And also, it doesn't give you a right to scream at him. Just look at the poor thing." I pointed to the stallion in question as he was quietly quivering in the corner of the cavern.
"Plus I should always expect you to be on your best behavior whenever you deal with other ponies who mean no harm to you. So what do you have to say for yourself, Harry?" I questioned with a stern look on my face.
Now most often, ponies don't seem to understand what bears are saying, especially ponies who are scared of bears. But in my case, I've grown to communicate with the bears on a daily basis. So for the most part, I will be translating what Harry the Bear has to say.
Author: Hey wait a damn minute... PAUSE! Aren't you supposed to NOT tell us this tid-bit of information, directly to the readers no less?
Pinkie: Of course she can disclose that, silly. Otherwise, the readers wouldn't understand what's going on. And then the readers will be confused, and if the become confused, then they'll have a really bad headache. And if they have a really bad headache, then they'll need to take an aspirin. And if they have to take an aspirin, then they'll need some water to drink with it. And if they have to get a glass of water, then that means they'll have to leave their computer to get it. And if...
Author: Goddammit Pinkie! STOP BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL!
Pinkie: Oh, sorry. HI BRONIES!!!
Author: Ugh, need... Ibuprofen. Please disregard this message as you return to your regularly scheduled reading.
"But Fluttershy-" Harry gestures.
"But nothing, Harry. I am extremely disappointed in you. And not because you mistaken him for a tuna, but for the fact that you and your friends were going to take it out on him. You need to apologize." I corrected him.
"Aww geez. Well I guess I kinda overreacted a little..." Harry motioned. Harry (the Bear) then shuffled over to the stallion, who was mere inches from crawling up the wall. He extended his paw in a gesture of friendship.
"Go on, mister Soarin. He just wants to say he's sorry for all of this. Won't you find it in your heart to forgive him?" I questioned to the pegasus in the corner.
"I-I g-guess it's okay." Soarin stuttered out nervously as he extended his right fore-hoof to the Harry's paw. Harry then proceeded to scoop Soarin off his hooves and give him a loving and friendly bear hug. Soarin was so surprised by the gesture, he wouldn't move from that very same spot for a full five minutes.
A good five minutes later. Soarin and I walked out of the cave as we were discussing what all happened with the mix-up of his assignments and what-not. It turns out that another pony traded the shifts with him due to the fact that Soarin was really uncomfortable with the fact that he had to deal with snakes. So the other pony traded shifts with him without informing him about how to properly wake up a bear from hibernation. It goes without saying that this pony was indeed a mean old trickster. But I guess I kinda do have him to thank. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten this close to Soarin without running away.
"...and that's how I became a Wonderbolt." Soarin finished. But I could also tell that something was bothering him. I wonder what it could be.
"Hey, just outta curiosity. How did you know my name? I don't remember telling you and I don't even know yours." He inquired. Then again, I can understand where he's coming from. I mean, at first we didn't even know anything about each other aside from outward appearances.
"Oh, do you know Rainbow Dash?" I questioned him.
"Oh yeah, the recruit. Yeah I guess you can say we've gotten acquainted. Why do you ask?"
"Rainbow Dash is my best friend from flight school."
"Really!? No way! I wouldn't have even guessed that!"
"Yeah, she's really smart and brave. She's also super fast and she's a great flier. Since we were foals, she always said that she was going to be a Wonderbolt. And she never did stops talking about how much she wanted to be a Wonderbolt since she started seeing your shows."
"And here she is, trying out for a spot on the squad. She can say a lot more than most other pegasi can at this point."
"That's true. *giggles* And knowing Dashie, she will say a lot more than most other pegasi."
We both share a laugh as we walk down the snow-ridden roadway that leads to the center of town. I kinda catch a glimpse of him through my mane as it covered half of my face from his view. I finally got a chance to see the one thing that always drove me to my liking of him: his smile. It wasn't necessarily a special thing. I guess you can say I'm attracted to the smaller things in a pony. Eventually he stops laughing and looks over to my direction...
Oh my Faust! He's looking at me! What in Equestria do I do? What do I say? His smile...
"Oh um... *ahem* I guess that's how you knew my name. But if it's okay, what's your name?" He looks at me with a smile that only a mother could love. Of course, it was a smile I often blushed at.
"Umm... My name is Fluttershy..."
He begins to laugh. Did I say something funny? Or maybe I did something funny. Oh no! Maybe he's laughing AT me. Oh Fluttershy, you really messed up this time.
"Is there something... funny?" I asked.
"Hehehe No not really. It's just that you remind me of myself when I was a little colt." Was his response, to which drew my curiosity.
"Really? How so, that is, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I was very shy. I wasn't very social either. I mean, I wasn't the type to socialize with others that often. I often tried to avoid conversation. I even stayed indoors during PE (Physical Education) and FT (Flight Training)."
"My goodness. I wouldn't have known that, just from looking at you, that is."
"Yeah. I get that a lot. But in my class, there wasn't much to be valued on words alone. It was all about how well you could fly." Soarin states proudly while flexing his wings.
"Oh. I'm not that great of a flier. I barely even passed Flight School." I admitted while looking down at my hooves.
"Hey, to each their own. I can tell you're really good with animals."
"How did you know?" I asked in surprise.
"The bear thing kinda gave it away..." He deadpanned.
"Oh. I see..."
"...Can you promise me-" I knew what he was going to ask. So I interrupted him with my answer.
"Not a soul. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
"Thanks... You know... You're kinda cute." I heard him say.
He thinks I'm cute. OH GOODNESS! HE THINKS I'M CUTE! Ok Flutters. Calm down. Remain calm. You're a big filly. Stop blushing so much. What is your response to this? Wait... How do I respond?
"Umm... I think... you're... umm... ITHINKYOU'REREALLYCU-"
"Fluttershy ol pal! What took you so long?" A high-pitched raspy voice interrupts me while laying a cyan-colored hoof on my shoulder. Ultimately, I don't like surprises, so it goes without saying that I proceeded to seek shelter within the nearest snow-covered bush I could find.
After seeking asylum in a frozen mulberry bush by Town Hall, I pop my head out to see it was none other than Rainbow Dash. Soarin is probably questioning my statement that I made earlier about me not being a great flier, as I successfully broken the sound barrier on my way to this bush.
"Rainbow Dash? Oh thank goodness. You startled me." I began as I slowly came out of hiding.
"Seriously? Well that aside, how are the bears?" Rainbow asked.
"Oh they're doing wonderfully. They even apologized to mister Soarin." I answered proudly.
"Actually, you can call me Soarin." Soarin interjected.
"Well I'll be..." responds a mare's voice with a southern accent. "Don't ya'll two just look the cutest?"
Responses were mixed. I was blushing profusely while Soarin began to scratch the back of his mane. Rainbow Dash proceeded to roll her eyes.
"Well, puttin' the fun aside, Fluttershy, is everything a okay?" Applejack questioned.
"Yes! Rainbow Dash, your team is free to clear the skies now!" I answered with a sense of pride.
"FINALLY! Although it looks like we won't be able to get things cleared in enough time as it is. In fact, we need an extra pair of wings to pull this off and stay true to Twilight's schedule." Rainbow Dash stated with urgency. Before I could offer my assistance to her, she grabs a hold of Soarin's hoof and pulls him to her direction.
"We need to clear these skies pronto. And who better to help than our honorary guest from Cloudsdale, Lieutenant Soarin Galefore, member of the Wonderbolts!?" Rainbow declared as she gathered the weather team.
Cheers can be heard all across the skies of Ponyville that day. Every pegasi in the city limits were talking non-stop about how a member of the Wonderbolts would help them clear their sky with none other than Rainbow Dash, winner of the Equestria's Best Young Fliers Competition. It was unadulterated pandemonium at it's finest. When the cheers died down a little, Rainbow Dash began to give out the orders.
"C'mon tough guy! We've got a sky to clear. LET'S MOVE!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed while dragging Soarin to the clouds above. I guess I really can't blame her for being so excited. A Wonderbolt, one of her idols, have come to Ponyville on orders to assist with the effort of this year's Winter Wrap-Up. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so she should get to experience it.
But at the same time, I'm a little saddened because I don't get to spend anymore time with him. Nor would I even get another chance to. Let's be honest, he won't even give me the time of day compared to the other mares he has chasing him. I'd be lucky to even get a single date.
...I never even told him that I thought he was cute.
I can't believe it! I'm gonna clear the skies with a member of the Wonderbolts! Maybe if I showed him my skills as a weather pony, he'd recommend me for a spot on the squad for certain. And maybe, just maybe, he'd be interested in hanging out with me again. I can see it now, all the things we'll do together when we hang out this time. We'll do some stunts, see who can stay on the Dizzi-Tron the longest, pull pranks on Spitfire and the other Wonderbolt members, maybe even play video games again. Then we can eat breakfast and start all over again. Maybe this time, I'd have enough courage to...
Wait... Oh no. Oh nonononono. I can't. I wouldn't be able to. I'd get in so much trouble for that. Not only would it break the instructor/student protocol, but I don't know what he feels for me, at the very least I don't wanna get him in any trouble. From what I remember in the Cadet's Hoof Manual, instructor/student relationships are strictly forbidden. And if we get caught...
What if we don't get caught? How long can we make it last? Or better yet, if I became a Wonderbolt today, then would those same rules and regulations apply? Hmm... Only time can tell. But for now...
"Alpha squad! I need those clouds in the northern part of town cleared out!" I commanded.
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" A small group of pegasi, determined to make a good first-impression for Soarin, immediately flew to the north.
"Bravo! I need a cease production on all snowfall here in Ponyville and the surrounding area!"
"You got it, boss!" Another small group splits up to deactivate the snow clouds that's been pouring snow all winter.
"Delta! I need all southern birds to be here by 1300 hours!"
"On it, ma'am!" A slightly larger group of pegasi starts their journey to the south.
"Charlie! Foxtrot! I need a rooftop sweep! I don't wanna see a single snowflake on these roofs!
"Can do!" A large portion of the pegasi force departed to the town below, trying to clear the snow off the rooftops by any means deemed reasonable.
"The rest of you will be busting all ice clouds and providing the town with sunlight with me and Lieutenant Soarin. Alright, let's get to it!" I screamed aloud.
"RIGHT!" An enthusiastic crowd began to break apart any darkened clouds in the air.
"Hey Soarin, First to a hundred clouds wins." I scream out to Soarin who then notices that I barreled towards a group of clouds.
As I approach the small cloud system, I can feel a rush of energy coming from within. My adrenaline begins to pump to all parts of my body. The rush I'm feeling right now is so amazing that I close my wings to reduce air resistance and increase speed. My eyes soon follow suit as I embrace the feelings of pure adrenal bliss. My hooves are literally shaking from the excitement and my wings begin to compress even further inward. I can feel the wind that kisses my mane and tail. This is what Rainbow Dash lives for, the thrill of the chase.
In speaking of the chase, I look behind me to see where Soarin flew off to. And at the moment I don't see him at all. I'm growing with excitement as I look forward to... Where did those clouds go? No seriously, where the hay are they? I look to my left, my right. I find nothing. Confusion hits me harder than AJ tossing a bale of hay.
"Ten-zip!" I hear a voice above me. I look above me to find that Soarin is floating directly above me and at the moment. "You gotta be faster than that if you wanna be a Wonderbolt, cadet."
I'm speechless as he bolts off into another direction. I try to make out which direction he left to but I'm suddenly disturbed by a series of poofs around my vicinity. As I look around, I see that the clouds that I was once surrounded by have disappear without a trace.
"I expected better of you 'Dashie'! Thirty-five to your zero."
By this point, I start to show my frustration. My teeth begin to grind and grit against one another as my wings begin to flap furiously. I begin to groan at the thought of me losing. I never did like losing because it's just not me. I am the embodiment of awesome. For me to lose is for me to submit to fate itself. To just give up, like He did on his dreams...
"I will NOT fail." I began to chant to myself. I shot myself further into the air as I began to locate more clouds. I find a small grouping as I continued to fly higher and turned around to begin a nose dive into the grouping. A visible cone of air begins to envelop my form as I crash into the clouds below, zig-zagging my way through all six of the clouds. After busting the small formation, I set my sights on a large formation close to the library.
"I will NOT lose." I continued to chant. I pull a seventy-six degree turn as I began to lock on target. Once again, I charge into the formation headlong, bringing a powerful gust of wind behind me. As I drew closer, I began a miniature cyclone spin, turning inward to myself and circulating the air flow around me. I then unleash the built-up momentum in the direction of the clouds. The gust of wind that was behind me was taken in by the cyclone, creating a small scale tornado that crashed into the cloud formation. Fifteen clouds, though not a bad score, was nothing to celebrate at the current time.
"I will NOT, nor will I ever surrender." I chant even harder. I began to ascend past normal flying speeds and began to climb higher into the skies above. Ultimately I flew directly past the cloud layers, only to fly higher. I then began to curve inward and performed a barrel roll to jettison myself downward. I then gained momentum from the gravity as I began my approach to terminal velocity.
"I don't quit." I took mental note of those words. It was only one time I ever wanted to quit, but it was because I thought that recklessness was valued over responsibility and restraint. I flashed back to the Wonderbolt Training Camp. I remembered Lightning Dust, when she insisted we create a tornado to bust clouds (using two of the best fliers no less), when she endangered my friends. I also remember telling Commander Spitfire how I didn't quit days earlier, only to come back to her and give her a lecture on why I was quitting. But those thoughts began to dissipate due to knowledge that I had a good reason to.
"And I don't back down. Which is why I! DON'T! LOSE! " As I reached terminal velocity, the cone of air became that of a sharpened arrow. I then closed my wings and drove my fore-hooves forward. Could see the other clouds in the city, as well as Soarin clearing a few of them. A small spectrum of light climbed around the center of the cone, creating friction with the visible-light spectrum. I only knew what this meant at this point. I even assessed all the possible risks. But I calculated a proper descent angle and speed to avoid all negative consequences, so I'm all set. There's no turning back now.
Lightning began to surround me as I continued to strive forward, bolts were launching off to all directions and I took a deep breath as my hooves pierced the cone that was once in front of me. A rainbow began to immerse me in it's light as I appeared to temporarily pierce through time and space itself. I closed my eyes, feeling a warmth known only to me at one given moment. Exhaling my drawn breath, my sight locks directly in front of me. I can no longer see the cone in front of me. The sound of a thunderous eruption fills my ears in what feels like a micro-second. I've pulled it off once again.
A Sonic Rainboom.
The winds from the prismic blast began to delete all the clouds within the vicinity. As the spectral ripple continues to expand throughout the sky, more clouds are destroyed in the process. After about a five-second window, I stopped flying to observe my work. A total of thirty-nine clouds have been obliterated as the sunlight begins to filter down upon Ponyville.
"Oooh. Flashy! You haven't shown me that one yet, cadet." A voice calls out from below. Soarin was sitting atop a cloud, clopping his hooves together in delight.
"Buuuuuuut I do believe you missed one..." He continues as he removes himself off the cloud and giving it a simple kick. The cloud vanished shortly after.
"FINAL SCORE: Rainbow Dash- 57 clouds! Soarin- 176 clouds!" A mare with a high pitched voice calls out of nowhere. "SOARIN WINS!"
An eruption of cheers begin to fill the streets of Ponyville as I could only could gently flutter down to the ground in shock and awe. Then it finally hit me: not only did I lose, but he tripled my score and then some. I lost. ROYALLY LOST! I can't even begin to describe the embarrassment and shame that I feel right now. I only began to fall past my hooves, sink my face to the cobblestone road below me and begin to shed tears. I don't even...
"Rainbow Dash! Are you ok?" I hear as Fluttershy calls out to me.
"Yeah, *sniffle* I-I just got some bugs in my eye. No big deal." I lied.
This was a big deal. Not only am I not even on par to Wonderbolt levels, but I'm not even close. I can only keep facing the ground. Then suddenly, a hoof wrapped around my shoulders as I continued to cry. I can only imagine that it was Pinkie Pie to cheer me up with one of her jokes.
"Hey, look at me." A gentle voice of a stallion called out to me. I slowly began to look up to find a sky blue pegasus standing in front of me. To my surprise, it wasn't Pinkie at all. It was Soarin.
"Don't let this drag you down. We all lose sometimes in our lives. And you know what, that's okay." He begins to rubs my shoulders in an attempt to console me.
"Because the more you lose, the more you learn, that is if you choose to learn from your defeats. But when you do, you'll find that victories aren't that hard to find." He begins to nudge me upwards to a standing position.
"In fact, your biggest victory comes from you picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and trying again." Soarin then begins to lift my chin up and smile at me.
"So keep that chin up. The sky is up, not down." He says to me with a confident smile. I begin to blush slightly.
"Besides, you still beat me at videogames." He says while rubbing the back of his head in a chuckle.
I don't know what just happened, but something inside of me just exploded. I felt something when he just said that. No, not what he just said or how he said it, but the context to which it was brought up. He wasn't just awesome, he was amazing. I didn't know I could feel like this, but Faust dammit I didn't want whatever I was feeling to stop. For a split second, all thought processes within my brain had ceased to function. My eyes closed. I only acted on mere instinct. But at the same time, I felt like a mare. I felt weak and helpless, but at the same time uplifted and appreciated. For the first time in my life, I felt like these girly feels were making the right judgement.
"Oh... my..." I heard a faint voice in the far-off distance. Only it wasn't far-off at all. In fact, it was really close. No, it was right next to me. It was Fluttershy. She sounded really surprised. But at the same time I heard a hint of sadness in her voice. I open my eyes to see what was wrong with her. But instead of finding out what's wrong, I find out that I'm in the wrong. My vision trailed to a set of emerald eyes looking back at me in total shock. They were Soarin's eyes. I begin to trace my vision downward, to find the source of my wrong-doing. Our muzzles were touching. Our lips made contact. Mine firmly pressed against his. My mind finally registered what was really going on, and I didn't believe it.
I kissed Soarin...
Author's Note
Sorry about the wait and especially for a certain party pony for interrupting the story.
Pinkie: But you're the one who interrupted the story, silly filly.
...
Shut up Pinkie.
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Getting the V; Iron Will's Guide to Dating pt. 1
Three months ago...
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P.O.V.: Soarin
Okay, I know that that's a lot of money to part with, but I REALLY GOTTA GET THAT DAMN BOOK!!!
Present Day...
At this point, I really don't know why I had that flashback. The only thing that I can see as clear as day right now is that Rainbow Dash's muzzle is practically buried into mine. I gotta give it to her, for a mare with such a spunky personality and a sharp-ass tongue, her lips sure are soft.
"GAH!"
Immediately, I responded with a yelp of my own. "WAAH!"
In an instant, I pulled away from her as she jumped back a full five feet. Any more force in that jump and she might've been airborne. I try to reason with everypony in the vicinity.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!" I hollered out to the cloudless sky.
I turn my attention back to the cyan mare that kissed me, only to see her profusely apologizing to her timid friend.
"Fluttershy, I... it... it was an accident!"
"So... you like him too?"
Oh shit. So not only does the beautiful mare that ended up saving my ass from an army of hungry, brown grizzly bears likes me, but so does her friend, who just so happens to be a recruit.
What a lovely combination of a drama. The shit just can't write itself any better than this.
Rainbow Dash just stared at the ground as the beautiful Fluttershy managed quietly hide inside of her mane. I'm not gonna lie, but she looks too damn cute when she's hiding behind a curtain of pink, flowing hair. The yellow pegasus was the first to speak to her shameful friend.
"Rainbow Dash, I didn't know that you were interested in Mr. Soarin."
And now I suddenly feel twice as old.
"Fluttershy, I don't like him! NOT ONE BIT! I DON'T LIKE HIM AT ALL!" The blue pegasus shouted, almost loud enough for the world to hear it. If she was trying to sell her performance, the yellow mare was definitely buying.
"But you kissed him."
Rainbow was looking all over the sky for a reason to come crashing down in front of her as she stuttered. "I... erm... uh... lost a bet?"
Seems legit.
"Oh. Well I guess that's okay. But why a kiss?"
Yeah, that's what I would like to know. How the hell does a kiss come into our wager? I don't remember anything about that at all. But then again, why get into the technical when this is all just one gigantic fib? Oh well, time we find out.
"Well," Rainbow started. "I wanted to give myself some motivation on beating him. If I had beaten him, then I would have him do the rest of my weather-related duties for the next week."
Excuse me, but I'm not here for you to be slacking around. So you can... just an excuse Soarin. Nothing more.
"And if I had lost," The rainbow-maned pegasus continued. "then I would have to kiss him. I guess my personal desire to not kiss him was too little in comparison to his speed."
Okay, even I'm convinced.
"Oh... Well I suppose that it would be fair that you'd follow through on your word." Fluttershy answered quietly.
Honestly, I can't believe she just bought that. I would've been skeptical to the point where I'd pretty much automatically assume that she kissed me for the hell of it. Not saying she didn't, but it is what it is. Oh well, at least she covered for me and now I can still get a date with Fluttershy.
This is a pretty damn good win. Now all I need to do is report back to Canterlot with my punishment served and I can leave this boring old town.
"Yeah! Why would I even have an interest in somepony who's my superior? It's awkward when I have to salute him in public and be all mushy-mushy in private."
I wouldn't be surprised that she'd be the main one to have those kinds of feelings. The best thing for me to do is leave this place and not say a word on what's happened here. Now if only I can get my legs to work.
"Mister Soarin?"
And that damn voice is like butter to my ears as I become swept like a bee to the overbearing scent of a flower's nectar. "Yes?"
"I... well... how long would you be staying here in Ponyville?"
Okay, I'll bite. "Why do you ask?"
"Well... I... was kinda wanting to know... if... you... me... well... would... uh.... oh dear."
Why do I have a thing for shy mares?
"I think what she's trying to ask for," Rainbow steps in. "is for you to spend some time with her."
"Oh not just me! I would really like for him to spend time with all of us."
And a certain song comes to mind. If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends...
"All of us? Why all of us?"
"Well, I just want to be fair to you and the other girls. Plus, if I go out with all of you and him, I can see if you all would approve of him."
And now I get a little nervous. Luckily, my saving grace was with Rainbow Dash dragging her off further down the street. I can't complain. This is an exit out of an extremely awkward question. As I watch them leave, I couldn't help but to notice the swaying motions of the yellow mares tail.
In all honesty, I'm hoping she accidentally gets spooked by something so I can at least catch a glimpse of what I'm going for.
I'm so going to rut that six feet under.
P.O.V.: Rainbow Dash
I can't believe that Fluttershy just asked him to an outing after I kissed him. I can't believe I kissed Soarin! So I guess all that lip service he normally gives during the drills makes for some pretty soft cushion.
WAIT! WHAT AM I EVEN THINKING ABOUT!? Let's focus back to what's going on here.
"Um... Dashie?"
Need to get back on topic. "Why in the hay are you asking Soarin for a group date?"
Fluttershy blushes as she does her usual prodding of her hoof into the dirt whenever she gets nervous as she answers my question. "I just wanted to see if you girls would approve of him."
"You don't need our approval!" I scolded her. "If you want to be with Soarin, then that's your business. You don't always have to drag us along when things aren't exactly comfortable."
I may have been a little too harsh. Flutters is already starting to withdraw from me, and she hasn't even physically shown it yet. Despite her standing still, she's backpedaling even as we speak. I changed my approach to a more gentle one.
Gentle isn't exactly my style, but I managed to become tender when dealing with her, and Scoots too.
"Look, I'm not saying don't go on a date because we're not going. In fact, I want you to go on a date with him. I don't need to you to not go! Go with the guy!"
Fluttershy's starting to warm back up now. She asks me without a moment's hesitation. "But do you think it's for the best?"
"Fluttershy, I'm not going on a date anytime soon. Applejack's got a date on the front line, Twilight, Pinkie and Rarity will go with whoever they want to. What I would say you do is go with him first. Then when you decide you like him for yourself, then you can come to us about whether he's a good fit."
Applejack must be wearing off on me. I'm not usually good with giving good advice outside of flying. Oh well, I just hope what I said was good enough.
"...Thanks Rainbow Dash." She answered quietly, sucking me into her hooves for a hug. Admittedly, she was always good at hugs. Better than I could ever be. That's probably why she's got a better chance with him than I do.
FOCUS DASH! This is about her and not you.
"Anytime. Now go out there and ask him for your date."
"You're right!" Fluttershy responded, seeming even more confident than ever. Maybe I don't need to baby her into asking him after all. "I will ask him for a date. And I will be more than prepared to see through to spending some more time with him."
Fluttershy gallops off as I smile back to her, subconsciously thinking about her words 'spend some more time with him.' Honestly, I felt jealous of her. Here I was, the first one to go on a date with him and he doesn't even give me a second go, and with Fluttershy, he's practically head-over-hooves with her. Was it just me?
I didn't get a chance to answer that question as Fluttershy slowly flies back over to me with a timid smile on her face. "Um... Maybe it's best if you come with me to talk me into it?"
Oh for the love of-
P.O.V.: Soarin
Got my tickets, got my bags, got my uniform and my keys. Welp, the only thing I need to do is check if my balls haven't frozen off from the snow and I'm golden.
"Mister Soarin!"
Shit. Here we go again. Damn that siren-like soothing element to that filly's voice. "Nnnnyes?"
Wow, I sound like a total creeper.
"Flutters wanted to know if you would be interested in spending some time with her this weekend?" Dash asked, using a wing to scoot her silent friend closer to me. Though her haunches drag in the dirt for a short while, she giggles nervously as she looks at me.
"I would normally check on the squirrels that day since I don't really go out and do much. But if you're willing to stick around, then I would be more than happy to reschedule my time with them."
Squirrels? That's how you spend your Saturdays? Feeding some random squirrels some nuts? Boy, I gotta introduce you to the boys down below because your sex life must reall- HOOF IN IT, SOARIN! You can defile her innocence after we get off of first base.
"Sure! I'd be more than happy to stick around. What time do you want to meet up?"
Her motions are heart-attack-inducing at worst. Curling herself behind the feathery veil of her wings as she hides herself from me. Captain Obvious states that the nervous, shy mare is nervous and shy. But she's incredibly cute. I can't just simply have my way with her, I need to warm her up and then we can talk dirty after.
"Would 1 p.m. be good for you?"
Can't argue that. I'm not doing anything important. Our rehearsal for the next show is only at.... SHIT, IT'S AT ONE! "Um... can we shoot for later?"
"But I normally go to a picnic with Angel Bunny at 6. And after that, I don't usually feel comfortable leaving the house."
Okay. That's bullshit. "Howcome?"
"Because I live just a walk away from the Everfree Forest. My cottage is about twenty-five hooves away from the treeline."
Okay, scratch that. That's a perfectly logical reason on why she doesn't leave her home at sundown aside from when she's coming from somewhere else. So, maybe it's best to schedule a day earlier. "How about Friday? I don't have my rehearsals on that day." I may have to ask for a day's leave though.
"I'm sorry. Friday is my time with the girls. I have breakfast with Applejack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders at 7 a.m., a spa appointment with Rarity at around 10 a.m., a fun session with Pinkie at about 1 p.m., 2 to 4 is where I'd normally help Dashie with the clouds, and if I get out at about 5, I usually help Spike around the library with Twilight."
A locked up schedule. Great. That leave me to ask a last minute leave for tomorrow. Why tomorrow? Because I refuse to stay here until Sunday, not to mention I have to patrol Cloudsdale that day. I mean Fluttershy is cute and all, but this town has been nothing but bad luck for me.
"Okay, then how about tomorrow?"
"Oh... um... I usually feed all the animals tomorrow. I don't know if I can."
Well this is a thing. I guess I have no other choice but to take a leave on Sunday, when I'm supposed to be on patrol. My weekend is going to suck now that I'm gonna have to tell Spits that I'm taking my Sunday off. I'm not gonna hear the end of it, am I?
"Sunday?" I squeaked out slowly.
"Well... I don't think I have anything planned for that day." The yellow mare pondered her schedule as she brought her hoof to her chin.
While she's doing that, I'm sitting her pondering if I should write in my request or tell Spits personally. On second thought, writing it in would be worse. I guess 'in person' would be better. "So... Same time?"
"Yes!" She answered quickly, almost scaring me on how quickly she jumped out of her wings. "So I will be waiting for you here at the town square at about 1 in the afternoon on Sunday."
"Yeah, Sunday." I'm dead when I get back to Canterlot.
"See you then."
"Okay."
As I watch Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy leave down the street, I could see the yellow pegasus take to the air, flying around like she was a young foal who just got through seeing one of our Wonderbolts shows. Oddly enough, it felt like that all over again. The only difference is that I kinda feel the same way she does. But of course, I kinda have to keep my cool, so long as I'm in a public view. But now that everything on this end is done, I can head back to Canterlot.
And this time, I won't be in the busted train cart.
Finally making it back to Canterlot, I managed to hit the office with a new story to tell. I was still lit with excitement from the fact that the mare I kinda crushed on asked me out on a date, so it seemed like very little could affect my mood.
"So I'm running for my life while these big ass brown bears are chasing me across town, literally running my ass up and down the streets screaming for help."
And then the smart-ass decides to ask a question. "So why didn't you fly-"
"INTERRUPT MY STORY AGAIN, CUMULUS! SEE WHAT HAPPENS!" In hindsight, he was more than right. I've shoud've taken to the air rather than run on the ground, but I sure as hell wasn't going to prove him right. Luckily, my immediate stupidity landed me a date. So in that loss was an even bigger win.
"So after I was cornered in a cave, a yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane and tail walked in and literally talked with the bears. After about a minute or two, they took their leave and I was left alone with this amazing mare who just so happened to be good with animals. After a long walk back to the center of the town, we hit it off until she finally told me that I was cute and that she wanted to go on a date with me."
"Aww, that's sweet! Soarin finally gets a date that isn't a crazy fan or a mare who's only interested for the money."
I could feel my entire being lock on to Cumulus. For each story I managed to tell, he had a comment that managed to irk me. If this keeps up, I may actually kill this guy. With a flip of my wing, I left only one feather extended to him as I looked away from him. Of course my response would cause him to get a laugh out of it.
This is what I put up with on a daily basis. But shit, I've got a date.
"So when were you planning to have this 'date'?"
And suddenly, I am reminded of why I dreaded coming here in the first place. Spitfire managed to come from the back room, walking into the conversation as if she had been in it the entire time. Just my luck.
"Commander... um..." I might as well get this over with. "Ahem! Permission to speak with you in private, ma'am."
Spitfire just looked at me with a quirked eyebrow, letting her eyes glide up and down as she walked towards her office. I only stood silent until she turned back around to speak to me. "Permission granted. Now get in here."
I couldn't believe my luck. I get a date with the mare I like and now I was going to have to face my boss on taking a leave on a day I have patrol. All of that cheerful energy have seemed to evaporated into thin air as Spitfire sat at her desk. Folding her hooves as she gave me a stern look, I could feel those eyes piercing into my body like sewing needles against my skin. I had forgotten how scary she can be in a serious situation.
"So... speak your mind, Lieutenant."
I swallowed the growing boulder in my throat as I tried to word my request as pleasantly as I could. "Commander, I am requesting a leave of absence this weekend."
"A leave... on what day?"
"Um... Sunday ma'am."
I could've sworn I saw an entire volcano erupt in front of me at the rate Spitfire busted into flames. "SUNDAY?!?"
Sheepishly, I nodded. "Yes. I am requesting a leave on that day.... ma'am."
"You have patrol in Cloudsdale that day, no way in hell you're taking a leave."
I had to go on that date. I'm sorry, but my duties can hold off on one day. I at least earned it. "Please Spits?"
"No."
Okay, I'm on my knees at this point, praying to her as if she was some sort of deity. "I will do anything for a leave."
"Request for leave has been denied." And she shoots down my prayer like a sniper shooting at a can from point-blank range.
"Why?"
"Because a date is not an emergency."
She starts to make her way to the door, but in a last-ditch effort, I throw myself in front of the door, barricading myself against the wood. "But we've already scheduled!"
She tries to navigate her way around me, but with the added obstruction of my wings, she goes nowhere. "Furthermore, I don't think that a date is in your best interests right now. You don't need to go on a date."
Suddenly, it dawned on me what was really going on. The way she exploded at my request, the way she entered the room as soon as I mentioned that I was going on a date. The shoes were definitely fitting. "Oh, now I get it. You're jealous!"
I could see her jealousy creeping out of her eyes as she blinked, baffled that I'd call her out on what was really going on. "Excuse me?"
And now that I've had the high ground in this argument, it was time that I took advantage of it. "You're just jealous that I'm going on a date this weekend and you won't have one. So is that it?"
Flustered and pink on the cheeks, Spitfire bolted directly in front of me, merely inches away from my face. "How dare you! Making those kinds of excuses are out of order!"
"Yeah, but so is not letting me leave when I have at least fifteen days of leave left."
Spitfire stormed back to her desk as she pulled open a drawer. As she reached in, she pulled out a stress ball and started compressing it between her hooves as stared at me menacingly. "You're not leaving, and that is final."
"Argh! Why not, Spits?"
"Because I ordered it."
That's a stupid reason. That's like when my mom says I can't play with my toys because 'she says so'. I'm going to need a better argument than that. "What's the real reason?"
"I don't need to speak with you anymore Lieutenant. Now stop wasting my time and get back to your station."
As the ball compresses in Spitfire's grasp and returns to it's spherical shape, I feel my brain being treated the same way. My patience is being toyed with, and I was not going to leave this office until I got a legitimate reason on why I couldn't use one of my days of leave. Better yet, I want the real reason I can't go on my date. "I'm not leaving until you tell me why I can't leave. And I don't want to hear a damn thing about protocols."
Spitfire continues to squish the blue ball, now increasing her pace. "I just don't think it's a good idea for you to leave on your patrol day. What if Cloudsdale gets attacked?"
"The war is on the far outer reaches of the Equestrian border, way out of Cloudsdale's migratory patterns. I think that it would be fair if I can get a day off since I've earned it."
And then, the truth finally came out in the form of an implied statement. "So you'll take a day off for her? She must be some mare."
I won the argument. Everypony stop the presses. I won an argument with a mare. "See? You are jealous."
At this point, I feel so sorry for that tiny ball in her possession. Any more of this abuse and that thing would bust from the pressure of her hooves alone. Poor little fella. "Maybe I am. But that isn't weighing into my decision. Otherwise, my answer would still be no."
I try to argue with her for my leave now. At least I managed to make her admit to her being jealous. Sort of. "Please be reasonable."
"I am being reasonable. You come to me last minute, you request a leave on a day when you know you have a duty to perform, and you're doing it for something as mundane as a date. Not even a legitimate emergency."
Okay, those are some valid reasons. But I still earned my fifteen days of leave. There's only one way I can negotiate with her in this matter. "I'll make it up in rehearsal on Saturday."
Wonderbolt rehearsals. The one day where she really feels like a free spirit. I can't believe how amazing she is when she just lets everything that weighs her down drop to the dirt as she takes to the sky. She loved that part of the job, and she loved being able to tell me what to do even more. Aside from that, I think that I'm going to enjoy this. "...You'll be running double drills."
Or not. WHAT THE FUCK! "Double drill's? That shit's insane! I'll be up all night doing tha-" I'm met with a very dark stare, one that screams 'shut the hell up and take the offer or else'. She wins that one. "Okay. Double drills."
A smirk shows up on her face as she finally spared the stress ball of an untimely fate, dumping the poor little guy into her drawer. "Triple, I changed my mind."
I felt my jaw hit the ground, jump into a wormhole and out of a portal on top of my head. My jaw just breached the laws of physics. That's how far it fell. "That isn't fair, Spits."
"I've altered the deal, pray I don't alter it any further."
I can't believe that this is what my date has come down to. One single day for myself and I only have to go back into 'hell-day' mode when I was in basic training the day before. I know that she's my superior, but still... "Okay... triple." What a bitch.
"Request for leave, accepted."
I moaned in agony as I realized what I had managed to agree to. One drill was already tiresome on it's own. But to do three? That's damn near suicide. Well, you keep what you kill. "What is triple drills going to do to me anyways aside from wear me into paste?"
"That's pretty much it."
Her sarcasm knows no bounds. "Ha ha. Very funny."
"So, who's this mare you're going with?"
"She lives in Ponyville."
Reflexively, Spitfire just laughed at my answer. "A ground flier? And here I thought you had standards."
"She's good with animals and she managed to save my hide from a pack of hungry bears." I said, trying to defend her.
"So, it's a life debt?"
Yeah, let's go with that. "Yup! Caught me red-hoofed." I lied.
The yellow mare just rolled her eyes as she shook her head as she got back to her paperwork. "Okay Soarin."
"What's that all about?" I asked, wanting to understand why she seemed to be so condescending about my date.
"I'm just saying you could do better."
Bitter as all hell. "What's wrong with what I've got now?"
"Well for starters, you don't know what she's like."
Spiteful as fuck. "I could say the same thing to you."
"Okay, Soarin! Get out of my face!"
Green with envy. Strike three. I'm out of here. "Great. I guess I'll go on ahead and get back to my station."
"You do that."
I turn around to take my leave out of the door. As soon as my hoof reached the handle, I could hear Spitfire speak to me. "Oh... one more thing."
"What's up, Spits?"
"Quadruple. Drills."
Those words seemed to hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn't even know that quadruple drill even existed. But once more, Spitfire always finds a way to bend me over and take me for a ride. "Fuck me."
She playfully snaps back. "I offered that a long time ago. Your loss."
Sometimes, I hate my job.
Author's Note
Wow, an update? I guess it's about that time to put on the tinfoil hat. Sorry if this chapter seems a bit off. I had to get myself back into writing this one. But in all, I guess I have some work to do in order to get this ball rolling again. Just kinda keep your eyes peeled for any updates, I have a myriad of other stories I'm writing and I don't know if I can catch up with them all.
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Breaking the Ice; A Wrap-Up to Remember pt. 2 (?)
"Dear Faust, show mercy for I have sinned!"
========================================================================
Soarin's Point of View
As I walk down the gold-embroidered halls of flawless ivory, I soon find myself in the Northern Tower of the Canterlot Royal Palace. I can only imagine what work it must have took in order to construct a marvel such as this. How many ponies might have worked themselves to the bone to make this happen. How many years it took to erect this wonder. How many ponies were hurt in the construction... How many have died in doing so.
I'll never know those things. Not because no one will tell me, but rather it isn't my place to know. I look around the corridor one last time before moving on, facing the stairs that lead further upward. 'Soarin, don't do this.' My mind echoes a tiny thought. It's funny. I could have sworn that my instincts were telling me not to walk up these stairs. But then again, this place is one of the most secure locations of all of Equestria. No harm can come to me, right?
Nope. Can't even see something that's so life threatening as to dismantle the guard to a spiral of chaos. It will take Queen Chrysalis herself to throw me off track of my duties. I took a quick breath, inhaling the vanilla scented air around me. It brought a blush to my face, it was so sweet. My cheeks began to glow red and my mouth was on the verge of watering. Unfortunately, all things, such as pleasant sensations, must come to an end. I exhaled a soft and collected sigh, bidding farewell to the aroma that was to grace my nostrils. I cleared my throat, took a step forward, and began my ascension.
'Soarin, don't do this.' And yet again the little voice inside was whispering those same words into the inner-workings of my brain. And once again, I chose to ignore it. Walking up the stairs isn't nearly as dangerous as falling down them. I would know, I broke my left wing and had to get a rod installed. I was decommissioned for a full six months before I could fly again. But that was in Manehattan, for one. Two: I was drunk after an awesome show, which also turned out to be my first. Yeah. I got fuckin' plastered all over the pavement that night. Three: I tried to climb up the stairs with a sexy mare in my hooves. And I was going to lay all the pipe in the city into dat ass. Four: I broke curfew, which was a BIG no-no. And five: With Spitfire being a jealous type, she told the mare to go home, we got into an argument, and she was going to tell the commander. I tried to stop her and instead got pushed down 14 flights of stairs... Owie.
Spitfire and I shortly forgave each other after that. She even stopped being so jealous afterward. I know. I know what you're thinking: What in the eternal tartarus was I even thinking of to pass up a smokin' hot flank like hers? The answer may actually surprise you. She was actually what you would call the 'ugly duckling' of the group at the time. Can you say teleprompter??? I swear she had one built into those Jurassic-sized glasses. She had braces that resembled a barbed wire fence on a war-torn Neighmandy Beach during Equiis War II. Her fashion sense was non existent. I know blind ponies who could match and color-code their outfits better than she could. But I can sum up her appearance during that time frame in a letter and two words: A. HOT. MESS.
Then sometime after that, she found a romantic interest. She was so happy that she couldn't stop talking about him. Hard mode: She kept bragging to me about how he could actually appreciate her 'natural beauty'. At breakfast, it was about how he woke her up in the morning and how he hugged her. At lunch, it was about how strong minded he was and how he was soooo caring *gag*. And at dinner, it was about how he would tell her how special she was to him. This carried on for about a full month before it all stopped. And by stopped, I meant CRASH LANDING.
He broke up with her soon after. This wasn't even the worst part. She kept telling us how they were 'taking some time off to refresh the interest'. And THAT wasn't even the worst of it. It turned out that Spits got knocked up by the guy, and that was when he had to play break-the-cutie by breaking up with her in front of everypony. And THAT wasn't even the worst of it. She had a miscarriage sometime during the third month after she found out about him going out with another mare. And HERE'S THE WORST OF IT. He took away her innocence, played her for a fool, embarrassed her in public, left her with a foal, dated another mare, did not check in on her after the doctors told her AND HIM about the miscarriage and then sold the pictures he took of her most intimate moments to playcolt magazine to pay off a bet on hoofball game. I called that little act 'The Aristocrats'. Yeah. FUCK! HIM!!!
I was absolutely livid with him. Just... thinking about it causes me to crack one of the stairs I was walking on. But Spits... she lost it. Everything. Her virginity, her first kiss, her first coltfriend, her first date, her dignity, her image, her light, her happiness... her sanity. I've never seen a mare so broken. Fractured bone is but a small price to pay versus a fractured mind so lost in subconsciousness that the body ceases to function. After we all saw the amateurs' section in the Playcolt Magazine issue for that month, we all stood in shock. This issue was the one she found due to the careless neglect of a horny doctor (probably an intern). She was looking through the magazine, telling herself that she had to look like one of them, the ones in the centerfolds. But as soon as she turned a few more pages, everything in her world came crashing down. A crash landing, to a nightmare-of-a-flight.
I stop walking up the stairs, now thinking about how she was so distraught. She dropped the magazine and she only stared into the air in front of her haunches covered in the white linen. You could literally hear the gears in her mind come to a grinding halt it was so quiet. We all saw the picture for ourselves. Needless to say, it was the most shameful boner I ever had in my lifetime.
It took her three days to come back to Equestria, and her return brought so many tears, so much wailing, so much pain. She even tried to find ways to kill herself. But I stood there, wanting to be around her. It was in that moment that I became the very thing she once bragged about. Before breakfast, I told her how beautiful she was that morning. During lunch, I fed her and told her that she was so special to me (and I actually meant it). And before bed, I told her that I will always be there for when she wakes up. Once, I even told her that I loved her, to see what her reaction would be. It wasn't good.
"HOW DARE YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME! YOU WEREN'T THERE FOR ME SOARIN!!! I WAS WITH HIM, THINKING ABOUT YOU! WHILE HE TOOK MY VIRGINITY, I WAS PRETENDING IT WAS YOU! I-I..." Her voice breaks. "...I bragged about him... in hopes that you would show me that I was wrong. I- *sniff* wanted you to say that to me... *hic* for so long. But not now, n-not like this... Not like this..."
'Not like this'. Those words, she kept repeating in between each tear she let fall from her cheeks. I held her in my hooves that whole entire day. Never leaving her. Being the protector, that I should have been this entire time. But I was to blinded by her outward appearance to even notice what she was soon to become. And a year after that day, I ate my heart out. Spits, who was the ugly duckling became, well... A FAUST DAMN EAGLE.
One year after those events, she shaped up, ditched the glasses for contacts, had her braces removed and started to gain her confidence back. And I meant she was better than just like new. She was a worldwide exclusive. I meant, DAT... ASS... WAS... SO... VOLUPTUOUS. Left fore-hoof came down and BAM! Curves, curves everywhere, cur- to the East, -ves to the West. A sexy face to the North and by now I was begging to go down South. I wanted to mount her so bad that I wanted to make sure she couldn't fly straight for the next performance.
So I started talking to her via letter. She said she was better than okay and I perceived it as such. Things kinda went back to normal for a while, that is until when the next issue of Playcolt Magazine came in the mailbox, which Cloud Burst poked fun at me for. Shortly after my shift ended, I locked the door to my office, kicked my hooves back, picked up the magazine and began to read.
"Hmm... Our mystery girl has the body of a goddess. She is also the centerfold of this issue..."
Ah. The mysterious centerfold. A staple to the magazine. They give you a list of girls going from the ranks of sevens, which gradually increases to eights, then slowly transitions to nines. But the centerfold was always a solid eleven-out-of-ten. Now every stallion knows that to truly enjoy the centerfold, one must work his way towards it. So I did just that.
Page 2: Index (skip)
"Oh yeah, here we go."
My hoof begins to slowly glide across my upper-abdomen. I begin to relax myself a little more. Man, I know this issue is gonna be so aweso-
*knock knock knock*
And I stuff the evidence into my stash drawer. I panicked and started to hide the bottle of hoof lotion, the napkins were placed in the in the file cabinet and the porn went into the very back, on the bottom of the magazine section. Quickly removing all signs of debauchery, fixing my uniform and ensuring that my mane was straight, I yell aloud.
"Come in!"
The door opens to reveal the mare that I haven't seen in over a year. I'm pretty sure whatever the centerfold had in store, Spits could out-do it in a single pose.
"Hey Spits! How's it be-"
"Commander Spitfire, Lieutenant Soarin. I've come here to check for contraband." She stated. By this time, I think she's just playing with me.
"Aww c'mon Spits, what do I-"
"COMMANDER SPITFIRE! And you will address me as such." This time she shows me the medals and ribbons on her uniform.
"B-but... h-h-how did you... you... What the fuck?!?" If my jaw could drop any lower, it would reach the other side of the globe. I couldn't believe it. She was promoted to Commander.
"Long story, Lieutenant. One I will tell you later." She looks off to the side. Her features have softened over such a short period of time. I wanted to take a gamble and get closer. But before the thought had finished processing...
"But that's aside from why I am here Lieutenant. I have checked in with the mail ponies and they have verified a magazine that was NOT within the guidelines of the Code of Conduct."
Damn, she got me.
"I also checked on who the recipient might have been. And all signs point to you, Lieutenant."
She got me good.
"So where is it?" She was trying to be stern, and it wasn't exactly working. You know that feeling when you know someone personally for a while and you both get into a business setting? You tend to not take them as seriously because you actually know them. Well that's what happened. And boy was I wrong in thinking so.
About five minutes later, she ripped apart my desk and found my stash without so much as a minor struggle. She then pulls up the magazine and shakes it in front of me.
"What is this?" She was pissed.
"..." I couldn't even say anything.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS LIEUTENANT!?"
"...A magazine..." I answered in defeat.
"WHAT kind of magazine?"
"...A dirty magazine, Commander."
"Which in definition is considered as..."
"...contraband."
"Right. So what the fuck is this doing here?"
I'm now struggling to find some words to place in my defense. "W-well... you see..."
"Is this what you want Soarin?"
"..." I am now frozen in place.
"Is this what you think of every time you say you love a mare?"
My defense starts to build. "N-no. I don't think of these thi-"
"Wow. And here I came to think you would've truly matured past this from a year ago. I was wrong, as usual." She begins to crumple up the magazine in her hooves. At this point, I began to think back to that day we found her pictures in the infamous issue of Playcolt.
"I guess all stallions do think alike. Sex. Is that all you want?"
"N-No Spits. I-I didn't mean to-" And I'm cut off again.
"So you want a mare who can look like the mares in these magazines? Ok, well let me tell you something..."
She begins to tear away the cover page. The shards of paper begin to fly.
"Fuck..." The ads are nothing more than confetti for the floor below.
"...your..." She rips apart every mare picture, starting from the sevens in the lingerie section. And now the eights in the soft-core section. I almost begin to shed tears when she starts on the nines. The nines were the hardcore mares that led up to the big climatic centerfold.
"...SHIT!" She rips out the centerfold. My mind is in total chaos as I watched the massacre take place. All the hottest mares, now nothing more than a pile of art supplies for a foal's first collage. I almost panic as she tears away the seals to the centerfold. One by one, the paper seals that held the fold closed were broken in a series of pops and crackles. Soon, she finished tearing away at all the seals and the paper began to unfold itself as she held on to it in midair. I saw the page as it unfolded before me, or rather the text of the page, as it was introducing the mare of the month.
The paper slowly unfolded and continued as Spits seethed in anger behind it. Her breathing became heavy, and her eyes began to water. I've seen that exact same face a year ago and I didn't like it too much even now.
"This is what you want to see?" She said as her voice began to break. She looked up and down the model on the page she was looking at. "This is what you imagine me as?" Her tears began to flow freely from the corner of her eyes. "So all I ever was, to you, was an object for you to have your way with. I'm just a release for you? Aren't I?"
"I never said that, Spits. But over the past year, I've been looking forward to seeing you again. I wanted to spend time with you. I wanted to-"
"YOU'RE TOO, FUCKING LATE SOARIN! I wanted you from the start. But ever since you saw me in that FUCKING magazine, suddenly you love me? Well tell me this. Why wasn't you the one to take my first kiss, my FUCKING virginity? I was saving it for you... and only you. HE had to force me to give it up. Why did it have to be his child I miscarriaged? You weren't there, Soarin, YOU WEREN'T FUCKING TH-"
"LIKE HELL I WASN'T THERE! I was the one who held you. EVERY. FUCKING. NIGHT! You were trying to kill yourself. And I was there to tell you that you meant so much to me!" Tears flowed freely from my eyes without restraint. "How DARE you accuse me of not being in your corner. When the fight got tough and you wanted to throw in the towel, I was there. When he broke up with you, I was there. When you were pregnant, I was there. When you had the miscarriage, I. WAS. THERE! When you saw those pictures, I held on to you, to ensure that you could get back up from the fall. I'm sure that HE wasn't there to see you through this shit, NOW WAS H- " I was interrupted by a hoof to the jaw.
I tumbled to the ground due to the immense force that her hoof had drove into my chin. I was so angry that I opted to hit her back. But when I turned to raise my hoof, I saw her. She was... crying, in full force might I add.
"You. Son of a BITCH! I FUCKING HATE YOU!!! GO JUMP OFF A CLIFF AND JUST... JUST... "
"Just what, Spits. JUST! FUCKING! WHAAAAAAAAAT! "
"...just... go die... like He did." Spitfire whispered in a broken tone. She only began to sob profusely. I could not say anything anymore. I didn't know... I-I just...
"Spits... H-hey, look-look at me Spits... I'm sorry. I... I-I didn't mean to-" I tried to think of what to say next. But instead, she just ran at a full gallop out of the office. I could only hear her screams, which were more-or-less directed at me down the hallway. I just stood there. I didn't even know what all had just transpired. Just silence. Now my office was a mess, my relationship with Spits was a mess, and I couldn't find the broom. The only thing I could remotely find that was still in one piece was the centerfold from the Playcolt magazine. It was lying text-side-up. I went to pick it up and throw it away, being a start to clean up this mess. But what I saw had me at a loss of words.
The centerfold had a picture of a yellow mare in black, lacy lingerie with a riding crop in her mouth. The bottom of the lingerie was partially see-through. Adorning her flank was a white and silver flame that seemed to engulf everything it touches. A mane of yellow, orange and red highlights. No question about it.
It was Spitfire...
It all seems so fresh now. I can't ever stop thinking how our friendship ended that day. I feel so stupid for saying some of the things I've said. Now I want to do everything in my power to make it up to her. Even though my chances of a relationship with her is practically non-existent, I still want her to be my friend. We can't exactly start over either. We've trained together, we graduated from the academy together, we fought together, performed together, even cried together. After all of that, I can't just erase years of history by just saying 'Hey. I'm sorry about everything. Can we start from square 1 again?' I want to, Faust knows I do, But I just can't.
But I can't let our friendship stay on the ropes like this. And I certainly won't get anywhere with it if I just stand here on these stairs. Now let us continue, shall we?
'Soarin, don't do this.'
... I take a deep breath. Inhaling guilt and uncertainty, and exhaling confidence and determination.
I WILL do this. For my friendship. For Spits. And more importantly, for me. One by one, stair by stair, I climb to the highest level. Taking a step at a time, I walk until I reach a door with the Wonderbolt crest set upon the door frame. I can only imagine my punishment for my little blunder this afternoon. As I reach a hoof from the ground to knock on the door, the door begins to open. I'm somewhat startled by the timing but Cumulus Flash was walking out of the office.
"Yes ma'am. I'll have it done the end of this weekend." Cumulus declares with a sense of urgency. "Oh, hey Soarin! Did you write your last will and testament?"
"Ha ha." I deadpanned. "I almost forgot to laugh."
"LIEUTENANT! IN MY OFFICE! NOW!" I gulp when I hear those words. Cumulus, however, chuckles to himself. We would normally share a laugh but I was withholding my enthusiasm at the moment. I only complied at the order. Shush Soarin, no tears... Only dreams now.
I enter the office to find the Commander at her desk, facing the window. She appears to be looking through the half-closed blinds, into the sky.
"Close the door Lieutenant." I close the door without a word. A click sounds the completion of the mundane task.
"..." She says nothing. I only move to the position of attention. And I stand there for what seems like ages. The only sound that is heard is the sound of soft, reserved inhales, the humming of the lights above, and the quiet exhales made shortly after. I open my mouth to say something, but she begins to speak.
"What does it mean to fly, Soarin?" It was a rhetorical question. So I didn't answer. "What does it feel like to ignore the weight of the world below you?" She pauses. A silence soon follows as we answer the question for ourselves. "Now what would happen if that birthright was taken away from you in the blink of an eye? What happens when the wings you so cherished, were then separated from you? What if in the end you were left with only one wing? What would you do? How would you feel? What would be your new goals in life?"
All of these questions pierces into my very soul. How would I react? Flying is all I ever wanted to do in life. If that was taken away from me, then I would have nothing to truly live for. I can only stand in silence.
"What if I told you that there was a pegasus who didn't follow orders? That went ahead without a care in the world, wanting to play hero? And that hero, who saved an entire platoon from an untimely fate, placed him or herself in a predicament in which he or she could easily die? What if then, his or her commander flew in to save them? Sure the hero could have a few scars and bruises, but what about the Commander who saved the hero passes out from blood loss? Blood loss that was the result of a severed wing."
I can only wince at the thought. I can't even begin to imagine if it happened to me. I look towards the ground in a moment of reflection. Commander Spitfire still looking through the glass.
"You're supposed to be at the position of attention, Lieutenant." I snap back into attention. Head straight, eyes forward and wings snapped in the folded-rest position parallel to the ground. "I told you this because I was the one to play the hero. And as a result, my commander got the worst of it. Because a commander protects his own from harm. Now I know what you did on the train was very charitable. But those seats were paid for by the Equestrian Special Forces Division, the military's money. So you'll be working that off."
Wait. That's it? That's my big punishment? Hell, I'd be able to reimburse that in cash by the end of the business day.
"Now I know what you're thinking about Soarin. But that isn't how it's going to be." She adds.
Dammit.
"If you were going to be punished like that, then you'll never learn that way." She does have a point. "So I'm going to have you on clean-up detail."
"Permission to speak freely, Commander?" I ask.
"...Permission granted."
Here it goes. 'Soarin, don't do this.' No. I'm doing this. Shut up brain. Lobs of jelly fat populated with billions of nerve endings are not going to determine what I feel in my heart, let alone close them out.
"Spi- *ahem* ma'am. No. Spitfire, can I ask you a personal question."
"This isn't protocol, Soarin."
"Damn the protocol, hear me out. Not as one who ranks below you, but one who seeks answers."
"..." I think I just heard the foundations of the planet snap in two. "...I'm listening." Or maybe not.
"Spitfire, I just... ya know... wanna... see if we could... start ove-"
"No." Welp. That was it. I got my answer. Now let pack up and go home... If only it were that easy.
"Please Spitfire, I don't want us to be like this. I don't want us to lose out on the history we have."
"And I don't want to re-live that history Soarin."
"And why not? Am I so bad that you'd purposely write me out of your life?"
"...Soarin."
"Tell me Spits."
"Please Soarin..."
"The truth. That's all I want."
"No, just... no."
"If you tell me the truth right here and now, I will walk out that door, and forget anything past the punishment being issued. We'll never speak of it again. If fact if you want, it will be as if it never even happened."
"Shut up Soarin. You're being a total idiot."
"Please."
"...I-I... don't want to re-live the past. It's not because of you. It's because of me. It's because I'm scared..."
"Scared of what, Spits?"
"That's it. Right there. Every time you call me Spits, something inside of me screams your name. Soarin, Soarin, Soarin. That was all I heard in my heart the year I went into rehab. It was all I wanted. Since the day we met, all I've ever wanted was you. But after all that's happened with me, I'm scared. It's not you I'm scared of, it's you and me."
"...I don't follow."
"Soarin. I can't let us become something. I want us to exist. I need us to become something. But my one fear is falling in love with you all over again. I'll stare down griffons, manticores, and dragons, but I am scared of loving you. I don't wanna even think of the day that I start to love you so much, that I'll blindly follow you to the ends of Equestria. I don't want to re-live the days that I'd want you to be mine and mine only..."
She runs to me, nuzzling me below my chin, panting quickened breaths, breaths that in a rhythm begin to whisper my name. I can smell the cinnamon in her mane. I can taste the very air she exhales. It tastes of an undying lust. She halts her desperate movements, raising her head to look upon me. Now we are staring directly into each other's eyes. A golden ring of fire longing to engulf my gaze, begins to probe into my very thoughts. I close the space between us as our muzzles begin to touch. And for a blessed eternity, our breaths became one. Our cheeks blushed a deepening crimson. Our blood began to boil in a cauldron of untamed desires, broken hearts, and kindled revivals. A potion of unbridled longing began to drive us to the point of no return.
Slowly the distance between our lips began to close. Inches no longer, they became centimeters. Centimeters then became millimeters. And for a millisecond, our very flesh united for the first time, not on purpose, but by mere chance. I was lost. I desired more. And yet, of my own misfortune, she turns away as the tears began to stream down her rose-colored cheeks.
"... but I can't. I can't Soarin. If I do, I'll end up hurting you. I'll end up being so angrily in love with you, that I will come close to ending your life. I've already broken your wing."
"But it's healed now, Spits. I don't wan't that to come between our friendship." At that very word, she found a bittersweet optimism.
"So we're friends?" She asked.
"Yes. I've always seen you as such. I'm sorry that-"
"I won't start over. I especially can't fall in love with you. But being friends is fine." Why did she say that last part as if we had broken up just now?
"You got a deal. Friends?" I ask her while extending my hooves in an expectation to hug her.
"Yeah, friends. But I can't hug you right now Lieutenant." She begins to rub her fore-hooves together, looking to the side blushing.
"Aww, why not?" I asked while slowly dropping my hooves back unto the ground in disappointment.
"Because if I hugged you now, then I'd be bent over that desk pretty soon."
ffffffffffff FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...
"...Oh...dammit."
"Did you say something, Lieutenant?" Soarin teased.
"N-nothing at all Commander." I. Am. PISSED. "Hug offer still stands though."
"Hmm... I'll tell you what. Whenever I have a rough day and I'm pretty exhausted, I'll take you up on that offer. Deal?"
Defeat, thy name is Soarin. "Deal. So where is this 'clean-up' that I'm assigned to?"
"Oh yeah. You'll be assisting with the Winter Wrap-Up in Ponyville." She declares.
"...Ponyville?" Ponyville, where the snow caresses my haunches in all of it's frostbite glory.
fffffffffff fffffffFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...
"Payback's a bitch, eh Soarin?" Spitfire mumbles.
...To be continued...
Author's Note
Decided to do this chapter in 3 parts instead of the the 2 parters I originally had planned. Criticism and comments are greatly appreciated. Trolls should bite the pillow. I'm going in dry.
