Those That Bond Together, Stay Together

Please do not post my work on other sites. Plagiarizing is wrong.

Do not own any rights to any characters. Ever. Damn.

Chapter 5

Spitfire and Soarin' stiffened in surprised when they felt the wave of rage coming from the bond they shared with their youngest life mate. Rainbow Dash lunged at a startled Spitfire and was quickly held back by Soarin'. The stallion was having difficulties holding the squirming young mare as Spitfire quickly scrambled off of the couch. The two Wonderbolts' eyes widened even further at Rainbow Dash's screamed words.

"How dare you?" the rainbow-maned filly shrieked, "Soarin' is the best stallion in the world! He is caring, sweet, kind, gentle, and wonderful! You should have been happy and instead you got angry and made him sad! You…you hit him! Bad, Spitfire!"

"Baby, calm down," Soarin' ordered firmly as he and Spitfire shared looks of amusement, "I appreciate that you want to protect me, but this all happened in the past and you know that Spitfire and I did eventually complete our bond."

"Rainbow Dash has every right to be angry at me. I acted atrocious and I had no right to hit you," Spitfire admitted as the young mare settled down enough to throw protective forelegs around Soarin' and glare angrily at the golden Pegasus, "By Commander Hurricane's Rage, I do not have to worry about you being able to defend yourself, Little One. You look as scary as Soarin' can look when he is protecting the two of us."

"Soarin' is the best," Rainbow Dash pouted feeling slightly mollified over Spitfire's words.

"Yes, he is," Spitfire agreed as she smiled gently at her youngest life mate while a bemused Soarin' remained trapped in the filly's embrace.

"You shouldn't have yelled at him or hit him," Rainbow Dash added starting to calm down.

"You are right," Spitfire affirmed settling back down on the couch, "But there is a little more to this story that you need to know. I was terrified of the thought of this 'bonding.'"

"You were scared?" Rainbow Dash asked startled before wincing in pain due to her earlier movements.

"Baby?" Soarin' began instantly worried as Rainbow Dash held her chest in a grimace of pain, "Did you pull more muscles? I told you no physical activity. Let me look."

Soarin' eased Rainbow Dash into a concerned Spitfire's embrace before undoing the bandages around the rainbow-maned filly's chest and wing. Seeing that the injury was no worse than before, Soarin' rewrapped the bandages and got a hot water bottle to place on the injured muscles. Soon the warmth eased Rainbow Dash's pain and she relaxed into Spitfire's firm hold.

"No more sudden movements," Spitfire ordered in her "captain" voice as Soarin' tucked Rainbow Dash back into her blanket and sat on the couch beside his two life mates.

"Yes, Ma'am," Rainbow Dash said feeling sheepish and regretful "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"Our bond came over you. A bonded mare can be just as protective as a bonded stallion," Spitfire explained as Rainbow Dash lowered her gaze, "The three of us will always be protective over one another. You were defending Soarin' in your own way and…Rainbow Dash…Little One, are you crying?"

"Baby? Baby, wants wrong?" Soarin' asked urgently as Spitfire hugged the little filly closer, "Are you in more pain? Do you need to see a doctor?"

"No!" Rainbow Dash wailed as she hugged one of Spitfire's forelegs possessively while Soarin' wrapped his forelegs around both of his life mates, "I…I didn't mean to yell at you, Spitfire. I love you. I don't think you're a bad pony. I'm so sorry!"

"I know, Love. It's okay," Spitfire soothed as she and Soarin' rocked Rainbow Dash gently, "I'm not upset. Calm down. Shh."

It took Soarin' and Spitfire a bit of time to calm their distraught life mate. Rainbow Dash hardly ever let tears fall so turning on Spitfire really must have upset the young mare. By the time Rainbow Dash had cried herself out, the Triad was completely wrapped around one another.

"I'm sorry," Rainbow Dash whispered snuggled up to her life mates, "I love you two so much."

"We love you too, Baby. No worries," Soarin' said in full seriousness as Spitfire rained kisses all over the rainbow-maned mare's face, "Let's finish this story later, shall we? I don't like that it is upsetting you so much."

"No," Rainbow Dash begged, "I want to know what happened next. Please? I promise to sit still and behave. I won't let my emotions get the best of me again. I swear. I want to know why Spitfire was scared. She never gets scared."

"Not true," Spitfire denied as the Triad settled back on the couch to continue the tale, "I've been scared many times before. It is a foolhardy pony that tries to say that they have never been afraid. Remember that I said that you scared me when I felt that you were hurt earlier?"

"You scared both of us," Soarin' unhappily added as Rainbow Dash nodded to Spitfire's question.

"I was scared of the 'bond' because to me a relationship with a stallion meant losing who I was," Spitfire explained as she resettled the hot water bottle on Rainbow Dash's chest, "My mother had badgered me my whole filly-hood about being a proper young mare so as to attract a 'good' stallion. I don't blame my mother because that is how my grandmother raised her, but to me that meant being untrue to myself for the sake of a stallion."

"But you and Soarin' are wonderful together," Rainbow Dash said clearly confused.

"That took time," Soarin' broke in, "Spitfire and I had to learn how to understand one another. To me a bond meant happiness and I had not understood that a bond might mean something else to Spitfire."

"So what happened?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

"I watched her from afar," Soarin' began as he and Spitfire locked eyes with one another as they remembered.

Flashback

Nearly a month passed and Soarin' kept his vow to stay away from Spitfire. He spoke with her only if needed during practice or shows. Spitfire herself seemed appreciative of the space he gave her and she kept her distance. Seeing her relief appeased the bonded stallion within Soarin' and he protected the mare and did little things for her in secret. He was trying to watch over his soul mate as best as Spitfire would allow him.

"Maybe being close enough on the same team will be enough to keep the bond happy for the time being?" the stallion thought to himself each day as he felt the unending yearning for the golden Pegasus pull at his very soul.

Soarin' watched Spitfire during one particular late practice. She had been assisting Captain Thundercloud with determining what exactly was going wrong with the finale of the new show The Wonderbolts were going to be presenting at a special showing at Galloping Beach Bay. He strained to hear her voice. That lovely, lovely voice that made him go weak in the knees.

"Equestria to Soarin, come in, Soarin," an annoying voice whispered in his ear.

"Cut that out!" Soarin' snapped as he swiped at a quickly dodging Rapidfire, "Leave me alone."

"Chill, Soarin'," Lightning Streak soothed as Ice Wind began to lecture Rapidfire on being insensitive, "Dude, What's up?"

Soarin' contemplated what to say to one of his best friends. He hadn't told anybody about what happened between him and Spitfire. The bonded stallion in him cried out to complete his bonding with his life mate, but he refused to hurt or frighten Spitfire again. He hadn't been sleeping well, he had to force himself to eat so he didn't lose strength to perform with The Wonderbolts, and he felt a constant ache deep down inside of himself. He had been able to successfully hide this from The Wonderbolts, but he had started losing weight due to the stress of the incomplete bond. How much longer could he keep this up?

"I'm fine," Soarin' finally said, "I'm just worried about getting the finale right for tomorrow."

"Spitfire will fix it like she always does," Lightning Streak calmly stated as he turned to leave, "No need to worry."

"Yeah…no need to worry," Soarin' echoed dully as his eyes turned back towards Spitfire.

"If you have feelings for her, then tell her," Ice Wind urged as she cantered up beside Soarin' making him jump in surprise.

"It's complicated, Ice Wind," Soarin' sighed, "Leave it alone."

"You already told her," Ice Wind guessed accurately, "You two are not getting along with one another anymore. Did Spitfire reject you?"

"Something like that," Soarin' breathed out as he turned and begged his friend, "Please keep this to yourself?"

"My lips are sealed," the mare promised, "Give her more time. It takes Spitfire a bit of time to reach her own conclusions. I don't think she has ever been in a relationship before since she has always worked so hard to improve her flying skills. Maybe Spitfire may just need to get used to the idea of having a stallion-friend?"

"Really?" Soarin' asked as hope rose in his heart.

"Really," Ice Wind confirmed, "She'd be a lucky mare to have you as a stallion-friend. If I wasn't already in a steady relationship, I might be tempted to snatch you off the market."

"Thanks, Ice Wind," Soarin' acknowledged with a half smile, "I feel better now."

Meanwhile, Spitfire had not missed Soarin's attentions over the last few weeks. She knew that he was obeying her wishes to be left alone and she suspected that the water bottles, towels, and her favorite snacks appearing when she needed them was the stallion's doing. She also noticed that from time to time she seemed to have a vague sense of how the stallion was feeling and judging by what she felt now, Soarin' was thinking of her again. This was all so confusing to the golden Pegasus mare.

"Why is he doing this? Shouldn't he be angry at me for rejecting him?" Spitfire asked herself in bewilderment.

Yet Soarin' never showed anger towards her and remained his usual self, he just seemed a lot more subdued. Spitfire had not missed that the stallion was losing weight. To her astonishment, he had not touched a pie in quite some time. She was beginning to get concerned despite her fears of him trying to trap her in a bond. When she noticed Ice Wind talking to Soarin' at practice, the golden Pegasus moved a bit closer to eavesdrop. Spitfire only heard the last comment about taking Soarin' "off the market" and the stallion's "thanks." To her surprise, the golden Pegasus felt a stab of jealousy.

"Why would I be jealous?" Spitfire pondered to herself, "I don't want to have a relationship with him, why can't he have a relationship with a mare that will love him back? It's only fair."

Satisfied with her reasoning, Spitfire tuned out thoughts of Soarin' and assisted her captain on fixing the finale. She couldn't wait until the show tomorrow. It was going to be the biggest showing yet of her career and a lot of her own choreography was in this performance. The only trick that was eluding the team was Captain Thundercloud's latest showstopper.

"Captain," Spitfire called out as the rest of The Wonderbolts listened in, "I think the trouble is that Streaking Star and I are not well matched. The best pony to lead in the other squadron opposite my squadron would be Soarin'. He and I have the same approach."

Soarin' blinked in surprise and felt warm at Spitfire's comparison. He then worried that Streaking Star would be offended, but she quickly agreed and switched positions with Soarin'. After a couple of tries the finale was perfected and the team dismissed. Soarin' was one of the last to head wearily towards the locker room. He was surprised to turn and see Spitfire beside him.

"Hi," Spitfire quietly greeted reminding the stallion of the beautiful night that the two bonded.

"Um…hi," Soarin echoed in confusion.

"You okay?" Spitfire asked studying the stallion.

"Fine," Soarin strained out with a hitch in his voice, "Why do you ask?"

"I…I just feel like you seem a bit…off," Spitfire stammered out, "Just because I don't want to do this 'bonding' thing doesn't mean that I don't care about your welfare. I don't hate you."

"I'm fine, really," Soarin' said filling again with warm feelings despite the feelings of rejection that nipped at his heart, "Thanks for checking up on me. Well…um…good night."

Soarin' quickly cantered away since it hurt to be so close to the golden Pegasus of his dreams. Spitfire registered his words, but something still didn't feel right.

"Why do I feel like he is not telling me the truth?" Spitfire thought to herself as she watched Soarin' disappear into the locker room.

To be continued.