Authors Note: THIS CHAPTER IS RATED T! For reasons why check the endnote of the last chapter. Sorry if you're not good around dark stuff, I promise I won't go into too much detail with the strong rated stuff, but this is an important chapter.

And ya know another thing I've just noticed? This story has surpassed 200,000 words! Wow, if my elementary school teacher could see this- bad at grammar indeed.

Also, my excuse for why this took so long to post comes with the length of this thing, and the fact that I had some computer problems that slowed me down! Also, I'm sorry if you're put off by the length (which I feel slightly proud to say is the length of a long chapter from Fallout: Equestria); I would have split it into two parts but this is something that wouldn't work unless it was all in one chapter. Sorry for the long wait.

Also, 50+ favorites! Thanks Silica Clair! :D

Captain Alaska- Imagine what you will but I don't think they… ya know. And I do imagine that to be Fleet's personality; don't worry she returns in a couple chapters time with some smart-ass comments. And a 40 foot pole sounds painful- why did I say that, now that's what I'm imagining. *cringe*

SummerGrace190- I'm treading on ground that hasn't been trod on before… at least not in this way. And giddy l'il Spitty is so fun to write! It's like I'm putting away the ferocious tiger and bringing out the playful kitty cat- CUTE! Here's a weird little fact- I like to compare Spitfire to curry; she's awesome, but you'll always get burned in the end! And nice job referencing Feeling Pinkie Keen; I love that episode so much. Silly Pinkie. And Soarin and Dashie's date will be awesome, I promise- and just wait until you see the others preparing them for the date. And here's a little spoiler- Soarin's taste in clothing is absolutely ridiculous! And Amending Fences was my favourite season 5 episode, too. Read the full review below if you have time… I don't understand how I get so carried away with those. And as for your second review; of course Spring Song's coming back (in the next chapter) since it wouldn't be much of a story if she didn't. Also, there's gonna be a lot more horseshoe stuff in the chapters after this. There's gonna be a full blown investigation! Glad ya like my story so much, and thanks for reading.

Dj Storm- Yeah, the Daleks are great… and I do a good impression of them, but that's just random info. Though a little secret of mine is that I once had a nightmare about the weeping angels… heh…

MidnightBlaze16- YAY! You got both references. I'm pleased that you caught the Dragons reference (honestly, I would be disappointed if nobody did) and I think the moral of the entire story is that I should stop watching Wreck-it Ralph so much. And I listened to the song and was amazed at how well it fit- in fact I might use it as a title for a future chapter. Thanks, man. ;)

RosaSilvermist- Wowzers, I think I've found someone who loves those two as much as I do. And don't worry if you don't find the hints, they were subtle ones. Okay, here's a hint: Check chapters' 18, 24, and 34.

Luna'snight625- Yay, someone else caught the reference. I love putting nods towards movies in my stories and seeing how many people recognise them. Fun fact, I almost didn't put that quote in, but I had been watching How To Train Your Dragon 2 the morning I wrote the last part of the chapter and it worked so well that I'd have felt crappy I'd left it out.

Litestardt: Whoa, Lightning, you don't know who could be listening… nope, never mind, my earth pony tracker is blank. And YAY you got the clues; for a moment I thought I left them in there for nothing, but you proved me wrong! I've never been more thankful for that!

Sparkling-nexis137- Glad you enjoyed all the cute stuff! Oh, and I completely forgot about that detail with High Winds and Blaze, so I went back and edited chapter 23. It now says that she simply didn't know they were dating.

Amellia Rose- I almost choked on all the fluff, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. And let's see if you're right down below!

Dshk- It's one hell of a surprise (literally if you count Surprise) and I suddenly want to be called Sassy more often. It has a nice ring to it and it's short for my real name anyway. And it didn't get posted on FimFiction; I'm far too terrified to put it on there. My story just inspired a writer who is on Fim. That's all. ^^

Guest- The video game company. Yes.

Crickett5- Aw, I'm sure Cinder would be so happy to hear you say that; I honestly can't blame you for liking her so much. She's so frickin' adorable! And it's funny you bring this SoarinDash story subject up because I was reflecting on it just the other day. I notice those kinds of stories floating around all over the damn place, and I just don't understand why people keep writing them! Not only is it a subject that's written about over and over and over again, but it just doesn't make any sense. You're totally right that Spitz and Soarin's personalities don't match. We've got a serious badass and a fun-loving goofball; a terrible combination if ever there was one- opposites DO NOT attract. Unfortunately, people love the opposites attract notion when it comes to fiction, but truthfully they find that ideological opposites often have a very difficult time maintaining a relationship. Disagreeing all the time about the core things you deem good and bad is hard on a couple, so after the first few months when the glitter washes out of the eyes, things start to fall apart. Yes, that was indeed the psychologist in me speaking there. And ship SpitBurn as hard as you want, my friend, because it is something that deserves to be shipped! And thanks for the favourite and follow, too; we're at fifty, and then we'll be halfway to a hundred, and I've gone too far now, haven't I? Anyway, let's see if your guess on this mysterious Typhoon is correct. You're awesome! ;D

YoungBlood23- WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! *puts helmet on* Don't hurt me dude, I have the Avengers on speed-dial!

And it's that time again, folks.

MY REVIEW FOR AMENDING FENCES!

(SPOILERS AHEAD- YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)

Welcome to Sassymouse's reviews, everyone, so grab a chair, stool, couch, sofa, maybe you're reading this in bed, or maybe you've just stopped caring and sat down on the floor wherever you are. But no matter where you're reading this, just sit back and try to enjoy this wacky, random ride.

So, Amending Fences has become my favourite episode of this season, for several different reasons. But as usual, I should start from the beginning. So the episode starts off with Spike reminding Twilight of her friends in Canterlot; which was funny enough in itself- I mean, I guess it was a little mean of Twilight, but at least most of her old friends didn't take it to heart. And Spike's wearing an apron again! :D

And then we go back to where the series first began: Twilight's weird, dome-house-thingy. Seriously, does this thing have a name, 'cause I need to know before it starts bugging me. Anyway, it was cool to see Twilight's weird dome- okay, let's just call it Twilight's 'house'- after so long, though it was kind of sad to see it so neglected… but there was one hell of a trip down memory lane to be had there.

Then we meet Twilight's old friends: Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts. That was my first disappointment. For the past two years I've been calling Minuette 'Colgate', so it'll take a while for me to adjust to that- it's a good thing I haven't written about Minuette in the past. I was also a little bummed out that we wouldn't see Lyra talking again, but that was made up for when we see Lyra in cameos (one when she was a FILLY!). They forgive her darn near immediately, and the way they laughed at Twilight when she apologized actually made me feel relieved. I was afraid they'd make poor Twily upset for a moment. The scene where they go to the science lab was one of my favorites; seeing Twilight as a filly again was a real treat, and the face Lemon Hearts made when she got her head stuck in a beaker wins my award for 'Best Face in the Episode'. And then for the first time we meet the pony who has been faceless since season one. Moondancer (I don't know if it's Moondancer or Moon Dancer, but the folks on Equestria Daily have been calling her the former, so I will, too) has fast become one of my favourite ponies. Moondancer is an embodiment of what Twilight would have been if she had never discovered the magic of friendship, and if she had never gone to Ponyville I would bet that Twily would have wound up in the same isolated state as Moondancer. The writers even go as far as to use the same model of Twilight to make that point clear; nice move on their behalf.

But the thing I found intriguing was that the entire conflict of the episode was based on a scene right at the very start of the show! There was no way that the writers had planned this far ahead back when they were writing that episode, but it was still so great how they managed to pull it off as if they did. I don't think I'll ever be able to watch the first episode again without thinking about how somewhere in Canterlot a unicorn's life is being plunged into loneliness.

But now we move onto Moondancer herself. Apparently her design and name is inspired by a pony from the first generation of MLP; now I'm not so familiar with the earlier generations, but a call-back to the 80's series was nice of the writers to throw in. We learn that she went to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns with Twilight and her other friends, and that they were both antisocial bookworms-

INTERRUPTION! I also have a theory that the characters that the mane six reconcile with (Gilda and Moondancer so far) will be important in the finale. Keep an eye out for episodes with foalhood flashbacks, people!

Back! We also learn that the party Moondancer was throwing in the first episode was an attempt to put herself out there- only when Twilight didn't show up due to 'other obligations' she became depressed and gave up on friendship completely. I think that it was an overreaction, but there is a theory I have that goes with it so hold onto your hats if you're wearing one. If not hold onto your hair; and if you don't have hair just pretend that you do. Quite a lot of people wouldn't understand why Moondancer reacted the way she did after Twilight didn't come to her party, but this is actually pretty similar to problems a lot of people in real life have/had. When someone who is shy or antisocial attempts to break out of their shell, they really can shut themselves off from the world if this is met with a less than expected outcome. This can in fact lead to people spending all their time reading/studying, sitting at home watching TV, lounging around playing video games, or sitting in front of a computer writing fanfics…

*Ahem* Well, I guess this is the right time to say that Moondancer is one of those characters a lot of people can relate to in some way; myself included. I'm a pretty antisocial writer, and in truth I would die if any of my friends saw my stories. I'd find it embarrassing, and if they criticized me for what I do then… well, I'd probably stop for good. See, this is what I mean. In some way I think all of us have an inner Moondancer.

And now we move onto my favourite part! I loved the scene at the library; there were so many funny moments there, ranging from Twilight appearing inside a book (damn I wish I could cast that spell) to Moondancer and Twily getting shushed a lot. I could re-watch that part over and over again!

But back to the review- skipping all the unimportant parts to the scene near the end, where Twilight, Pinkie and the others throw a party to try and reconcile with Moondancer. Moonie (new nickname) makes it clear to Twilight that she can't fix the mess she's made and then proceeds to deliver one of the most intense monologues of the entire series! Twilight then tries to reintroduce Moondancer to friendship again and it was so heartbreaking when she says that it's the worst she's ever felt. But that's understandable, I mean the Princess of Friendship made somepony give up friendship- ouch.

But that's all resolved and at the end of the episode Spike gives Moondancer a gift that not only bring the whole episode in a loop, but the entire series! And then it ends epically!

HOLY HORSESHOES THIS EPISODE WAS AWESOME! It has a realistic plot line and is definitely the strongest in the season, if not the entire series!

And, who else noticed a certain villainous mare make a cameo in the restaurant? Hm?

If you haven't watched this episode, DO IT NOW! As said before, it's the best of the season to me.

(SPOILERS END HERE)

Sort of… I would also like to say that I have got to stop writing so much! I can barely believe it myself but I started writing another pony story! Don't worry, Dashing and Soaring is still my main focus, but if you're interested it's based on Amending Fences and takes place during the episode and after. I've calculated that it's a fairly long story, too (20 chapters, give or take) so I'll probably write it and then post it after this is finished. And I have one more thing to say; I want to say it out loud and clear for all to hear (rhymed) 'cause I don't care what you think! But after watching Amending Fences I can say that I am a proud TwiDancer shipper! DEAL WITH IT! I mean just check out the face Twilight was making at Moondancer in the library, and the butt touch in Twilight's 'house'!

Okay, prepare for a lot of adorableness in the chapter, then some fluff, tears, more tears, and maybe some reassurance at the end. I have a box of tissues (14 to be precise) just in case, and I'm hugging the Spitfire plushie I got for Christmas. Just remember, this is the darkest this story will ever get.

Now let's get this chapter started with some itty bitty Spitty!

---

Spitfire was a happy little filly. When she was little ponies were always saying how adorable she was, and how lucky her mother was. She had super soft, fuzzy golden fur and a dark and light orange tail and mane that fell past her shoulders. Whenever she came into a room it would light up, and she would always cheer anypony up with a single giggle or smile. Her mother said that her orange eyes were like blazing fire, which gave her inspiration for her name.

Her family was pretty well-off, too; enough so that they were able to live in the upper middle class part of Cloudsdale. Her father, Jetstream, was a doctor who worked with the Wonderbolts, and therefore he got paid a tonne of bits- thousands each year. He also knew a lot about constellations, and he would often talk about the stars, sometimes completely out of the blue. He had blue fur and a mane the color of the midnight sky.

Her mother, Honey Glaze, was one of the kindest ponies you could ever wish to meet; she was a lemon yellow pegasus with a wavy amber mane and the gentlest green eyes. Her cutie mark was a honey spoon with some of the gooey golden stuff dripping off the end to represent just how sweet she was.

But Spitfire's favourite pony in the whole entire world was her older sister, Typhoon. Typhoon had blue fur just like her fathers, and wore her dark and light blue mane in spikes just like a lot of her idols, the Wonderbolts, did. Every time her dad went to work she would plead to go with him, and she was the one who listened closest when Jetstream spoke of how he had fixed up a lot of the 'Bolts when they were injured. Typhoon saw the good in everything, and everyone, and was both Spitfire's big sister and best friend rolled into one.

Spitfire's favourite memory of her early fillyhood was when she had gone stargazing with her sister and father…

---

Five years old

"Ugh, this is sooooo boooooring," Typhoon groaned as she flopped backwards over her father's back. Jetstream chuckled at his daughter's silliness and reached his head over his shoulder to nuzzle her belly, making the little blue filly spasm with giggles. "Stop it!" she shoved his head away.

"Ooh, ooh, my turn!" Spitfire piped up as she stopped chasing a butterfly and lay down on her back with all four legs spread out wide. Jetstream and Typhoon shared an identical evil look before Typhoon bounded over and started snuffling her little sister's tummy. A few moments later, Jetstream joined in, and Spitfire regretted ever asking. She was laughing her head off but she could barely breathe. "That's… enough!" she sputtered out helplessly between bursts of laughter. Jetstream backed off but Typhoon kept on going. Finally, Spitfire launched herself up and knocked her sister to the floor, giving her a taste of her own medicine by snuffling her neck. Jetstream sat back and watched as his daughters wrestled on the clouds, and when he decided that they were getting a little too rough he moved over to separate them.

"Okay, tickle time's up," he ruffled both their mane's in turn and they both let out a melancholy 'aw man.'

"So… can we leave now?" Typhoon clambered onto Jetstream's back and then onto his head, one of her front hooves accidentally poking him in the eye. Jetstream sighed and slanted his eyes up so he could see the blue filly on his head.

"You're so impatient ya know?" he teased her, and Typhoon sheepishly grinned. "Give it rest, won't ya?"

"Aw, but I'm so good at being impatient!" she stuck her bottom lip out and pouted. Suddenly her face lit up like a candle. "Maybe that's my special talent: being impatient!" she hopped down to the ground and stood on her hind legs. "I wanna go home NOW!" she yelled to the skies above with her hooves raised up high before examining her flank. "Anything there, Spit?" she asked her little yellow sister.

"Nope," Spitfire shook her head, and Typhoon put her pouty face back on.

"Aw, horseapples," she folded her arms. Jetstream cleared his throat to get their attention.

"The stars are out now, you two," he called over to them. Spitfire sprung onto Jetstream's back for a better view and Typhoon sat beside him.

"About time," she huffed. "Celestia is so slow tonight!"

"Stop complaining, Typhoon," Spitfire whipped her sisters head softly with her tail, and in response the blue filly gave it a tug, almost making the little golden pegasus fall off her father's shoulders.

"Careful up there," Jetstream said to his youngest daughter, who sweetly nuzzled her father's right ear.

"Sorry daddy," she said. Typhoon pointed up at the sky with one hoof.

"Hey, check it out, that constellation looks like a pony!" she told Jetstream, who squinted up at the sky.

"Nice spot, Typhoon," he praised his eldest foal, who puffed up her chest with pride. Spitfire hopped up onto Jetstream's head.

"Hey, that constipation looks like a bunny!" she tipped forward and fell off her dad's head onto the clouds below. She sneezed as some of the fluffy stuff got in her nose. Typhoon snorted with laughter before falling to her back and rolling around in hysterics.

"It's 'constellation', not 'constipation', you doody-head," she cackled. Spitfire rolled her eyes.

"What are you, a dictionary?" she asked. Typhoon gasped and put her hooves on the sides of her face.

"Maybe that's my special talent. I know a lot of big words! Um…" she thought for a second. "Elephant! Giraffe! Whale!"

"'Whale' isn't a big word," Spitfire removed the last of the cloud from her snout. "And neither is 'giraffe', really."

Typhoon snickered a little. "Well they're all pretty big animals," she said, and Spitfire giggled again at her sister's joke. Typhoon looked back up at the stars and then wrapped a wing around Spitfire's waist. "When I'm a Wonderbolt I'll fly all the way up to the stars and bring one back for you," she told her little sister. "So which one do ya want?"

Spitfire's young little mind processed the question. Every single star looked the same to her, a little white glowing dot amidst an infinite mass of dark blue. But like most young foals, she wanted the best of the best, so she pointed at the brightest one in the sky.

"That one!" she decided. Typhoon groaned.

"Aw man, that's the one I wanted," she grumbled before brightening up a second later. "I guess we'll just have to share it then. From now on, that'll be Our Star," she concluded, and Spitfire nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Typhoon, I wanna tell you something," Jetstream motioned for the blue filly to sit beside him. Typhoon did as she was told and looked up at her father with her big orange eyes.

"What is it?" she asked curiously. Jetstream smirked down at her, as if he knew she would like what he was about to say.

"Apparently, every Wonderbolt who's ever worn the uniform eventually ends up in the sky on one of those stars when their time is up, so that they can watch over the ponies down below just like they did when they were alive," he told her. Typhoon sat up straighter.

"Whoa," she breathed. "Does that mean that General Firefly's up there somewhere?" she asked with awe before gasping. "Maybe Our Star is General Firefly's star?" she looked over at Spitfire, who shrugged. In truth this stuff didn't really interest her. Typhoon may have wanted to be a Wonderbolt, but Spitfire would have liked to be a doctor like her father, so that she could look out for Typhoon. It had been their foalsitter Silver Lining who had first got Typhoon interested in the Wonderbolts, and ever since she had been darn near obsessed with them; sometimes Spitfire thought that the only reason Silver Lining agreed to keep looking after them was so that he could talk about the Wonderbolts with Typhoon.

"Hey, check it out!" Typhoon gasped as a bright streak zoomed across the sky. "What was that, dad? Was it a spaceship?" she asked with excitement. Jetstream gave his daughter a small, playful shove and rolled his eyes.

"No, that was a shooting star, Typhoon," he corrected her. Typhoon gave a few slow nods before her ears pointed straight up.

"Oh! I've learnt about them in school; apparently if you wish on one then it's sure to come true," she recited, mimicking her teacher's voice. Spitfire snorted and blew a few errant locks of her mane out of her eyes.

"No way," she disagreed. "It's just a star, Typhoon."

Typhoon smacked her sister on the shoulder. "Watch it, you're talking about dead Wonderbolts, here!" she booped the yellow filly on the nose. Spitfire was actually a little freaked out by the thought of a bunch of dead ponies being angry at her. She'd definitely have to sleep with the lights on for a while.

"Go ahead then, Typhoon," her father batted the blue filly with a wing. Typhoon thought for a while before holding her breath, puffing out her cheeks, and scrunching her eyes shut. After a couple of seconds she exhaled and sat up straight.

"Did it!" she chirped. Spitfire wasn't sure if she believed in wishing on stars or not, but she wished on this one anyway; she could have wished for something that every little filly wanted like new toys, but instead she just wished that she'd always have her family, that they'd always be together, and always be happy.

---

Typhoon had been the one that made up the ritual she and her sister did every night before they went to sleep. The two of them would always look out the window at their star and wish on it; even though Spitfire was sure it was just Typhoon being her usual, silly, naïve self, she kept on wishing. The golden filly had often asked Typhoon what she wished for, but her sister had always said that it was a secret. Finally, after a while Typhoon finally revealed what it was she wished for.

"Every night I wish for the same thing," she told her little sister, draping a wing over her shoulders. "And every single time, I get it."

"Well, what is it?" Spitfire asked curiously. Typhoon had leaned down and nuzzled her forehead.

"Your happiness, Spit," she finished. "You're the most important thing to me, so if you're not happy then neither am I."

"You're a sap," Spitfire had teased her, though she was still touched at her sister's words. Typhoon scoffed and nuzzled her again.

"But you love me anyway," she prompted.

"Of course I do," said Spitfire.

So life was perfect.

At least it was until that terrible day; the day that the stars blinked out.

---

Seven years old

"Slow down!" Spitfire gasped out as Typhoon whizzed through the sky. The blue nine year old filly just scoffed at her little sister.

"Slow? There's no such word as slow to a Wonderbolt!" she bragged. Spitfire took a moment to facehoof before clinging onto her sister's neck fur again.

"Yes there is! It's a four letter, one syllable word that everypony knows!" she whimpered.

"Wow, someone's been paying attention in math," Typhoon teased the filly on her back. Spitfire gave her sister a sharp slap round one ear and to 'punish' her, Typhoon did a triple somersault.

"Ungh…" Spitfire began seeing triple… or was it quadruple? She couldn't really tell. "I think I'm gonna hurl," she groaned, putting one hoof to her mouth as she felt a horrible churning sensation in the pit of her stomach. Typhoon suddenly slowed down.

"Not on my head you're not," she warned. Spitfire gulped hard.

"It's okay, I think I swallowed it," she reassured Typhoon, who made a pretty disgusted gag face. Then all of a sudden-

"Whoa, look at those ponies!" Typhoon nodded in the direction of two white pegasi. But these weren't just ordinary pegasi, after all not many pegasus ponies wore golden armor like that.

"Are those the Princess's royal guards?" Spitfire asked with wide eyes. She had only seen pictures of them in school before, but they definitely seemed to match the ones that had been depicted in her Equestrian history lessons.

"They are," Typhoon sounded breathless. Since she was still young, Spitfire didn't fully understand how amazing it was to be in the presence of such important ponies, so she wasn't as excited as her sister. The guards looked a little nervous, and kept giving each other hasty glances, as if they were hesitant to do something.

"What're they doing?" Spitfire wondered, folding her hooves on Typhoon's head. She looked down and saw Typhoon's lips curl into a cunning smirk. Oh Celestia, this is the look she always got when she was coming up with a plan.

"Let's follow 'em," before Spitfire could get a word in edgeways, Typhoon plunged forward and flew after the guards, making sure that they didn't get too close for them to be suspicious of them, but not so far that they lost sight of them. By then Spitfire's curiosity was at its highest; this was clearly a big deal, and her thirst for knowledge only increased her lust to find out what was happening.

"Shouldn't we be going home?" Spitfire quipped innocently. That was the rule: Be home by 3:30 after school. Typhoon laughed as if she had just asked the most ridiculous question ever.

"And miss out on observing the royal guards in action? Have you got bees in your brain or something?" she chuckled. "Come on, we've got plenty of time."

"Okay…" Spitfire went along with it; after all, Typhoon was the smartest filly she knew. They had been following the guard for ten minutes (since they were flying pretty slowly) before they realized where they were.

"Whoa, why would the royal guards come to our street?" Typhoon muttered as she saw the two guards touch down a few houses away from theirs… and then moved down until they were right outside it. "And our house?" she swooped down and landed a few meters behind the guards, making sure that she didn't get their attention. Spitfire got down from her back, and saw Typhoon push a hoof to her mouth to shush her. Spitfire stayed silent as one of the guards knocked on their door. He looked back at his colleague, who shifted uncomfortably from hoof to hoof. Honey Glaze pushed the door open, looking a little surprised to see the guards outside her front door. The guard nearest the door cleared his throat and starts to speak, looking down at the floor the whole time. The two fillies just stood and looked on in silence as they kept talking, the second guard eventually having to finish saying what the first one couldn't. Honey Glaze snapped a hoof to her mouth and rapidly shook her head, looking pale. She seemed to be repeating the word 'no' over and over again. The first guard sat next to the yellow mare as she sunk to the ground, her amber mane covering her face as she suddenly burst into tears. Forgetting all about Typhoon's order, Spitfire rushed up to her mother, surprising the two guards.

"Mommy, mommy, what's wrong?" she shook her mother's shoulders, but Honey Glaze couldn't reply. She was too busy sobbing. Suddenly, Spitfire felt a hoof wrap around her middle, and the second guard lifted her up. "Hey, lemme go!" However, the guard just sat her beside Typhoon, who was still standing where she had been before Spitfire had run off.

"What's going on?" Typhoon sounded scared, and whenever Typhoon was scared, it just made Spitfire scared, too. She leaned against her sister, both of them looking up at the guard with their matching orange eyes. The pegasus in the armor rubbed one leg with his other and gulped.

"You're Jetstream's children, correct?" he asked, and Typhoon nodded for both of them. The guard put his face in his hoof and muttered something. Spitfire caught the words 'why' and 'kids'. Finally, he looked down at them seriously. "Well, um… you know that a lot of happy stuff happens to ponies, right?" he then visibly cringed. Typhoon just nodded along and held Spitfire close to her. "It's just… the thing is that today… something very sad has happened."

"I want mommy," Spitfire trembled in Typhoon's hold. The guard looked like he wanted to just walk away but was rooted to the spot.

"Mommy's just having some trouble right now," he tried to soothe the two fillies, but with Typhoon acting suspicious and Spitfire shaking this was proving to be easier said than done. "Let me explain; this morning the Wonderbolts got caught in a storm in Neighgeria, and one of them got trapped under a fallen tree."

Typhoon gasped. "Which Wonderbolt?" she asked worriedly.

"That's not important right now. It's just that… your daddy went out to help free him and heal his wing, and…" he was sweating by now. "…the storm was worse that the Wonderbolts had thought, and… your… your daddy isn't coming back."

Typhoon tightened her grip on Spitfire. "Ya mean he's…" she was trembling, too. The guard slowly nodded his head and Typhoon quaked for a little while before burying her face in Spitfire's mane and weeping. Spitfire herself was just confused; she was too young to understand.

"Where's daddy?" she looked up at the guard with big round eyes, all the while feeling confused and scared at the same time. Only a bad pony would make Typhoon cry. Finally, the guard who had been comforting Honey Glaze came over, looking down at Spitfire with a mix of concern and impatience.

"He's dead, kid."

---

Spitfire couldn't understand what was going on; her mother was sad for a long time after that, and even Typhoon, who was happy no matter what was going on, was down in the dumps. But Spitfire's still-developing mind couldn't get a hold on what was happening around her, especially why her father wouldn't be coming back. She had seen him that morning after all, and he'd told her that he'd be back in the evening. But now he never would be back, and Spitfire wasn't sure why; how could somepony be there one minute and then be gone the next? It just didn't make any sense. But then again, most seven year olds wouldn't understand.

After that, Spitfire and the remainder of her family fell to hard times. Now that they had no income due to her father's death they had to give up their home and move to a much smaller one, with only a living room, two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. They had to sell all the things that Spitfire had grown up with, and try as she might, she still couldn't understand. She was still too young.

So for three years they struggled to get by in their new home, living off welfare and down by one member of their family.

And then Honey Glaze met Scotch …

---

Ten years old

Spitfire stormed in through the front door in a huff, tossing her saddlebags aside and slinking over to the sofa. She clambered onto one of the seats and sat with her front hooves hanging over the side. She instantly blew some of her long mane out of her eyes, reflecting on her day.

"Stupid Sugarplum!" she cursed the name of her stupid classmate. She hated her! She hated this stupid school! And she hated her puny wings and blank flank! Yes, she had neither of the things any pegasus foal was praised for. She had no cutie mark to show off, and she couldn't freakin' fly! She was basically just a… just an earth pony on clouds! Pfft, what a ridiculous thought.

And the worst part was that Typhoon hadn't been there to fly her home after school! She had stood outside school for what felt like forever but her sister hadn't turned up! She'd better have a good explanation.

"Gotcha!"

"Whoa!" Spitfire was suddenly barrelled off the sofa and onto the floor. The wind was knocked out of her as she landed on her back and the room started spinning around. Just then she felt somepony blowing a raspberry on her tummy, and despite her bad mood she burst into a fit of laughter, repeating 'stop' between her giggles. She finally found herself looking into the orange eyes of her big sister.

"Heya, Spit!" she greeted chipperly. Typhoon had got over her father's death quicker than her mother had, and for a while she'd been the one looking after them. While their mother stayed in bed moping around she had made all their meals and cleaned the house; she'd had to grow up very fast. But thankfully, after Honey Glaze had finally got her act back together she had returned to her usual playful self. Spitfire punched her sister on the shoulder, and judging by Typhoon's cry of pain it had been harder than she had expected. "OWOWOW! What the hay was that for?" she asked, rubbing her shoulder.

"You didn't pick me up you featherbrain!" she scolded her blue sibling. "I'd had a bad enough day already."

"Lemme guess," Typhoon rolled her eyes. "Sugarplum?"

"Bingo," Spitfire slumped down to the floor and instantly had to brush her mane out of her eyes again. Typhoon sighed and sat down next to her sister.

"That purple pile o' poop doesn't know what she's talking about, ya know. You may not have a Cutie Mark-"

"Thanks, I feel so much better now," Spitfire rolled her eyes. Typhoon ruffled her mane, and Spitfire blew it out of her line of sight again.

"You didn't let me finish. If you'd have kept your hole shut you would know that I was going to say that she's just jealous of you 'cause you're the most awesome filly at your school," the blue filly finished. Spitfire flushed a light pink colour and gave her sister a hug.

"I wish you still came to school with me," she murmured, remembering the day Typhoon had left elementary school, leaving her all alone. Typhoon snorted and looked down at the floor.

"Wanna switch with me. It only gets harder, Spit," she sighed. Spitfire nuzzled her sister's cheek.

"But you go through with it 'cause you're tough," she praised her blue sister. Typhoon chuckled and hugged her sister to her chest.

"Yeah, I try my best," she agreed.

"Anyway, why didn't you show up?" Spitfire pulled back a little so she could look up at Typhoon.

"Oh, I was just hanging out with Silver Lining. He's signed up for the Wonderbolt cadets and he was showing me the guidebook."

"Of course," Spitfire rolled her eyes. Ever since Silver Lining came of age to train for the Wonderbolts Typhoon had been hanging around with him more and more. Heck, most of the times Spitfire hung out with Typhoon they would always wind up at Silver Lining's place, then he and Typhoon would talk about the Wonderbolts while Spitfire colored and then they'd go back home.

"When we're in the Wonderbolts he'll be my trainer and we'll become the most popular Wonderbolt duo ever. That's our plan," Typhoon's eyes were full of hope as she spoke; that was her best quality if you asked Spitfire, she was full of hope, and as long as she had it then she believed that they would be okay.

"Sounds a little far-fetched," Spitfire warned her sister, who just scoffed.

"Come on, you know what I always say," Typhoon cleared her throat and Spitfire found herself reciting the phrase.

"It's the smallest ponies who reach the biggest dreams."

"Hang on I thought your catchphrase was 'Courage!'" Spitfire felt confused. Typhoon held a hoof up.

"No, what we just said was my catchphrase; 'Courage!' is my motto."

"What's a motto?"

"Nothing, what's the motto with you?" Typhoon prodded Spitfire's chest before cackling with laughter and tumbling onto her back. Spitfire was about to pounce on her sister when the door opened.

"Hi girls," Honey Glaze smiled at them as she came in. Typhoon leapt up and rushed over to hug her mother, nuzzling her under her chin with a huge smile on her face.

"Hi mom, good to see you so happy," she chirped. Spitfire was about to join in the hug when she noticed that Honey Glaze wasn't alone. Standing just outside the door was a muscular teal pegasus stallion with a black and dark blue striped mane. His cutie mark seemed to be a hops plant, though at the time little Spitfire didn't know what that plant was for.

"Um… hello?" she greeted the stallion, who gave her a small smile.

"Hey, kid. Um… you're Spitfire right? The yellow one was Spitfire?" he asked her.

"Yeah," Spitfire couldn't help but feel like the situation was a little out of sorts. He reached out a hoof for her.

"Well hi there, I'm Scotch," he greeted her. Spitfire warily shook his hoof, still not fully trusting this guy… at all.

"Who's this dude?" Typhoon asked out loud and her mother gave her a sharp glare, as if she had said something a little too rude. Honey Glaze moved over to stand next to the stallion

"Well, you've already met little Spitfire, it seems. This is my older filly Typhoon," she gestured to the blue pegasus, who had scooted over to sit next to her sister. Typhoon was looking at him in a way that suggested that she didn't like the looks of him. "Typhoon, this is my friend Scotch."

"'Sup, Typhoon?" Scotch held out his hoof for her as well. Typhoon just maintained an uncharacteristically stern glare and stared at him, refusing to show she accepted him. Spitfire knew that Typhoon meant well, and she usually say a good quality in everyone, so if she was being hostile to this guy then something was definitely up.

"Typhoon…" Honey Glaze said through gritted teeth. Still, Typhoon refused to cooperate, so their mother just walked inside.

"She can be a little shy around new ponies," Honey Glaze lied, giving Typhoon another glare. "Come on inside."

So Honey Glaze and Scotch headed to the kitchen, while Typhoon and Spitfire hung around in the living room, Typhoon remaining silent while Spitfire uncomfortably walked around in circles. Honey Glaze emerged from the kitchen after a minute or two and headed over to them.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked Typhoon, who just shrugged.

"Nothin'," she said simply.

"You were just acting childish, so tell me why," Honey Glaze said, regaining her silky smooth voice. Typhoon sighed and let her wings fall to her side.

"Why is he here?" she asked. Honey Glaze looked in the direction of the kitchen.

"Oh, I… I met him a couple of weeks ago and I just invited him over for dinner."

"He's gonna eat with us, too?!" Typhoon sounded appalled. "Why can't it just be the three of us like always?"

Honey Glaze sighed and sat down. "Typhoon, I hate to make you upset but I've been feeling sad since your father died and, well… I really like this one. And I think he likes me, too."

"Is he… is he gonna be our new daddy?" Spitfire asked. Typhoon cuffed her sister over the ear.

"No!" she snapped.

"Typhoon…" Honey Glaze sounded forlorn. "You have to come to terms with the fact that he might."

Typhoon looked more furious that she'd ever been before. "I don't like him, mom!" she finally admitted. Honey Glaze ran a hoof through her amber mane and looked down at the floor.

"You haven't got to know him yet. Give it time and you'll like him. I promise."

And then she went back into the kitchen, leaving her two daughters alone. Typhoon huffed and got up on all fours. "Why should she be hanging around with this goober?" she muttered, hopping up onto the sofa and going into the position Spitfire had been in when she'd first come in from school. Spitfire hopped up next to her and rested her head on her back. "We've been fine without him, and I think it's better this way. Just me, you, and mom."

"You're right," Spitfire didn't like the looks of Scotch either; there was just something about him that brought bad things to mind. She didn't like the faint bitter smell that lingered around him, and he was a little scary-looking, especially to a small filly.

"All she needs is us…" Typhoon sulked, folding her hooves over her head and allowing her sister to curl up beside her. "Just us…" she repeated over and over again. "Just us…"

---

But wish as they might, Honey Glaze couldn't see what the sisters saw. Scotch was rough, rowdy, and he often smelt of that strange bitter stuff. Typhoon had told Spitfire that it was alcohol, which had just increased her worrying.

The teal stallion just came round more and more, sometimes he stayed overnight, sometimes they would go and stay with him for the weekend, not that the sisters wanted to. One thing was for certain; Honey Glaze wasn't going to let him go so easily. Once she had even voiced out loud that she wouldn't mind starting anew with him as her new husband. Of course Typhoon had 'overreacted'.

"WHAT?! No, you can't be serious!" she'd yelled, stomping her hooves in a rage. Spitfire stood on the sidelines; she hated it when Typhoon got angry, which was almost never, praise Celestia.

"Typhoon, what do you hate about him so much?" Honey Glaze wasn't mad, just a little upset that her daughter wouldn't accept the so called 'stallion of her dreams'.

"He's a huge jerk! He might not act like it, but I know that there's something up with him!" she had then looked up at her mother with pleading eyes. "If you loved us you would dump his sorry ass!"

"Language!" Honey Glaze shushed her daughter. "I do love you, Typhoon. Both of you. But I love Scotch and he makes me happy… don't you want me to be happy?"

"Of course I do!" Typhoon snapped, her eyes beginning to water. "But we were happy before he turned up, right, and we'll still be happy after he's gone!"

Honey Glaze cast a sad glance to the side. "No… I wasn't happy. I need somepony to love."

Typhoon looked like she'd just been slapped round the face. "You… you love us right? Aren't we enough?" she'd pulled Spitfire in for a hug, the little golden filly remaining silent as the scene played out before her. Honey Glaze sighed and sniffled.

"They're two different kinds of love. You'll understand one day," she assured Typhoon. The blue filly rushed forward and hugged her mother.

"But what about dad?" she asked tearfully, nuzzling into her mother's chest fur. "Don't you still love him?"

Honey glaze stroked her daughter's spiked mane, nuzzling her ear in the hope that she would calm down. "Of course I do. But don't you think that he'd want me to be happy, too. Scotch makes me happy, girls, and you'll grow to like him."

"That's what you've been saying for months," Spitfire mumbled under her breath. After a few more minutes of hugging, Honey Glaze let Typhoon go and retreated to the kitchen to make dinner. Typhoon sat in the middle of the room, looking at the floor as if staring down her mortal enemy. Spitfire moved over to comfort her sister.

"Don't be mad," she begged, looking into Typhoon's eyes, which were a perfect reflection of hers even when she was in a rage. The blue filly wrapped her tail around her sister and sighed.

"I wish dad was still here. Then we wouldn't be stuck with dumb old Crapnugget," she complained. Spitfire let out a giggle at her sister's bizarre nickname for Scotch. She put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder.

"I bet that mom won't marry Scotch," she tried to sound optimistic. "She loves us too much to do that."

Typhoon smiled softly at her sister before rolling her eyes.

"You just had to say it," she groaned.

---

"I just had to say it!" Spitfire exclaimed as her mother and Scotch finished their announcement.

"ENGAGED?!" Typhoon was outraged, and wasn't afraid of showing it. Honey Glaze was wearing an obviously forced smile and Scotch looked awkwardly off to the side, his wing still wrapped around his new fiancée.

"Y-yes," Honey Glaze stammered nervously. Typhoon was shaking now, not with fear, but with anger.

"But- he- you said- I don't- UGH!" she then turned tail and stormed off. Spitfire was about to follow after her but Honey Glaze stopped her.

"Just let her go. She'll come to her senses," the amber maned mare was surprised to see her youngest daughter sniveling. "Oh, Spit, not you, too," Honey Glaze sighed with exasperation.

"Don't call me that!" Spitfire snapped all of a sudden, and her mother backed off in surprise. The golden filly had never shouted at her like that before… actually when had she ever shouted at anyone at all?

"Spitfire…" Scotch moved forward and put an arm around the filly, who immediately stiffened. "I know that I'm not like Jetstream, but I promise that I'll be a good dad."

The yellow filly wrinkled her nose and blew her mane out of her eyes. Now that he was really close the bitter smell he bore stung her nostrils and made her eyes water. It was surrounding her like a suffocating fog and choking her. How could her mother stand this? She pushed him away.

"You will never… ever… be my dad," she hissed, her voice like poison. Honey Glaze didn't even attempt to stop her as she strode out the room and up to hers and Typhoon's bedroom. As she entered she didn't hear her sister pacing or muttering; she couldn't even hear her breathing. Probably because she wasn't in here. Not really seeing any reason to stay awake, Spitfire crawled into her bed and fell into an uneasy sleep.

"Spit?" she was roused from her dreamless slumber all of a sudden. Brushing some strands of her fiery mane out of her eyes she rolled over and squinted to see the face of her alarm clock.

2:25.

"Ty," Spitfire sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking at her sister at the side of the bed. "What is it? When did you get in?"

"About two minutes ago," Typhoon admitted, "I just went to Silver Lining's for a little while to clear my head…" she hesitated. "Didn't work."

"This stinks," Spitfire mumbled, rubbing her bloodshot eyes with her hooves.

"Sorry…" Typhoon blushed, looking down at the floor.

"Not you, Ty-ew," Spitfire quickly plugged her nose and her older sister snickered. She then sat on the edge of the bed.

"So why didn't you follow me?" she asked. Spitfire raised a brow. "When I left I thought you'd come with me."

"Mom stopped me, and then I was just too mad to leave the house," the younger filly admitted. They sat in silence for a little while before Typhoon cleared her throat.

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?" she asked, looking a little ashamed of herself. Spitfire could understand her sister's pain, though. She was obviously too distressed to sleep by herself, heck so was she. She scooted to the side and allowed Typhoon to clamber onto the bed. Once she was atop the mattress, the blue filly wrapped her arms around her sister and began stroking her mane, something that their mother did to them when they were upset.

"I wish the world was just you and me," Spitfire sighed, leaning into Typhoon's embrace. Her sister chuckled and nuzzled her forehead.

"Then it is," she decided. Spitfire wished it was true; as far as she was concerned their mother didn't love them enough to listen to them… or were they the ones being unfair? Ugh, she wished that she was old enough to fully understand.

"I'm afraid," the younger sister admitted, looking away from Typhoon. "I yelled at her, Ty. I yelled at mom! What if she's mad? What if she disowns me? What if-"

"Calm down, won't ya!" Typhoon slapped a hoof over her sisters mouth. "She's not gonna disown you… if anything she'd disown me for embarrassing her; but she does love us… even if she's too blind to see that Scotch is a good for nothing-"

Typhoon said a word that probably doesn't belong here.

"- but she'll get over this is a little while. She always does. Besides, if she doesn't…" Typhoon planted a soft kiss on Spitfire's forehead. "We've still got each other."

"Yeah," Spitfire sighed contently, smiling for the first time in quite a while. "As long as I have you I'll be alright. I'll always have something lighting my way." She added, surprised to find that her sentence had some meaning to it.

"Right back at ya," Typhoon hugged her sister tighter, nuzzling her again. "Courage." She said her catchphrase.

"Courage," Spitfire echoed.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

And it wasn't until the next morning that they realized that during the night Typhoon's Cutie Mark had finally appeared.

A big glowing candle with a smaller one resting beside it.

---

Sure enough, Honey Glaze and Scotch married in the spring. Even though the sisters still weren't fond of Scotch, things weren't all that bad. Scotch moved them all out of that tiny house and into a bigger one. It wasn't nearly as big as the house they'd had when Jetstream was alive, but it was a step up, nonetheless. Typhoon and Spitfire still didn't like that their mother was married to another stallion, but she was happier now, which made them happy.

And Typhoon's Cutie Mark was a reason to celebrate, too. Their mother had been thrilled when her daughter had rushed down the stairs in the morning as if she were on a sugar high and showed off her flanks, their fight the previous night forgotten in the happiness of the moment.

But still, there were still other problems for little Spitfire, the main one being the fact that she was now the only blank flank in her family, and she feared that she would someday be the only one in her own school. And to add to her embarrassment, she still couldn't fly! She often wondered who'd want to be friends with a flightless blank flank.

One day she would find out, and when she did she was in for a big surprise…

---

Eleven years old

"Hey there, *badword*fire!" a filly jeered as Spitfire closed her locker at the end of the school day. She had originally been searching it for some wet wipes due to somepony writing the word 'Loser' in big red letters on the door, but now she just groaned and leaned her head against it. Why…?

"Go away, Sugarplum," she sighed, but of course her purple rival just sauntered up to her.

"Wow, not very nice are you?" Sugarplum asked rhetorically. The yellow filly tried her best not to turn on her and wring her neck.

"What do you want?" she asked sternly. Sugarplum leaned against the wall of lockers, standing out of the way as a few other foals walked past and out the door, waving goodbye to their teacher as they left.

"I just wanted to let you know that there's gonna be a race in ten minutes and there's plenty of room for competitors," she informed. Oh Celestia, Spitfire knew what was coming next. "Oh, that's right; I totally forgot that you were an earth pony," the purple bully giggled. Spitfire ran a hoof through her long orange mane, feeling her anger beginning to boil.

"Sugarplum, go shove your head in a drain," she turned her back on the other filly. Glancing to her other side, she saw a white filly watching them; however she looked away as soon as she saw that Spitfire had noticed her. She knew this filly- she was the one that sat at the desk behind her. Surprise was her name. She had a poofy mane that she had clearly tried to put in spikes but failed miserably, and her cutie mark was three purple balloons. She was also a little… okay, a lot… on the chubby side. But she seemed nice, and she had even attempted to make friends with Spitfire a couple of times, though she just rebuffed her advances every time since she didn't really trust ponies her age.

"Well see ya later then, earth pony. Try not to fall off the clouds, 'cause nopony will catch you," Sugarplum took her leave, and Spitfire watched her until her dark lavender tail disappeared through the door. Why was her luck so bad? No Cutie Mark. Useless wings. What next? Was she going to go bald?!

The last of her good mood having been completely abolished, Spitfire stormed out of the schoolhouse and looked around for Typhoon. But amongst the small crowd of foals greeting their family members and telling them about their day she couldn't see hide or hair of her sister.

"Not again…" she muttered through gritted teeth, seeing her sister's absence being the cherry on the icing on the cake of her bad day. Well, looks like she was walking home today. So, she set off for home, curious to hear what Typhoon's excuse would be this time.

"SURPRISE~!" something white popped up in front of her.

"Holy Celestia!" Spitfire felt back onto her haunches, probably on the verge of a heart attack. She saw that it was only Surprise, wearing a huge grin.

"Hi!" she chirped. Spitfire got her heartbeat under 356 beats per minute and stared her down.

"What the hay is wrong with you? Were you trying to kill me or something?"

"Heh… oops," Surprise chuckled nervously. Deciding that she didn't have time for this, Spitfire pushed past her, only to have the tubby filly catch up with her a few seconds later.

"Wait for me," she started trotting at Spitfire's pace. The golden filly dipped her head down so that her face flopped over the left side of face so it was shielded from Surprise's view.

"I've told you before Surprise, I prefer to be alone," she mumbled. Surprise gasped and jumped few feet in the air, flapping her wings in excitement. Great, even the fat filly was a good flier.

"Me too!" she exclaimed. She then put her arm around Spitfire's shoulders. "Let's do it together!"

Great, another pony that made no sense. Spitfire pulled herself away from Surprise and trotted on, hoping that the white filly would just take a hint and leave her alone. Of course, she didn't, reappearing at her side in a matter of moments.

"You shouldn't let Sugarplum get you down," she said optimistically, and Spitfire noticed that despite her bulging belly, Surprise still had a spring in her step. "She does it to me all the time."

That stopped Spitfire in her tracks. She finally locked gazes with this filly. "Why?" she asked. Why would then be teasing Surprise? She could fly and had her cutie mark. What else was there to tease?

"Because I'm fat," Surprise admitted, sitting on her rump and jiggling her belly around as an example. She even had a small frown on her face, which made Spitfire feel a tad guilty. "And I can't get enough of candy, and I'm a little too perky. Oh, and I can get super duper hyper!" she finished listing. "So there are a lot of reasons why."

Spitfire suddenly started worrying even more. This filly was teased even though she had her Cutie Mark and an ability to fly. Wow, was it weird that she suddenly felt really sorry for Surprise. And what if she was still teased when she'd gotten her Cutie Mark? Would it ever end? All of this was pretty nerve-wracking. But much to her surprise (which as she would come to learn, would be a regular occurrence whenever she was around this filly) she saw that despite her little lament, Surprise still had a smile on her face.

"Doesn't it bother you at all?" she asked. Surprise just shrugged and shook her head, never losing that Celestiadamn smile.

"Nope-a-rooni. Bullying's just a natural part of pony nature… or any nature come to think of it. Sometimes I think that when you're richer and stupider bullying is just programmed into you." She explained. Okay, it felt good to call Sugarplum stupid. "Um… can I ask you something?"

"Why not?" Spitfire shrugged, knowing that there was no chance of getting rid of this filly now.

"Is the blue pegasus with the candle Cutie Mark really your sister?"

Spitfire stopped in her tracks again. This was weird since most of the time nopony believed that they were sisters. She sometimes bragged about it at school, but since they didn't look alike it was darn near impossible to convince them that she was telling the truth.

"Uh… yeah," the yellow filly replied. Surprise started frantically hopping up and down.

"Awesome!" She squealed. "I've seen you hanging around with her-"

Spitfire raised a brow at her.

"-I'm not stalking you!" Surprise rushed, looking a little flustered at the thought. "I've seen her flying around doing all of these cool tricks. She should totally be a Wonderbolt someday."

"Well Typhoon would be pleased to hear you say that, 'cause that's all she wants to do with her life," Spitfire responded. Surprise started hopping in circles around her.

"That's great! I have a feeling that she's gonna be one of the most increditastic Wonderbolts ever!" the white pegasus gushed. Spitfire let out a soft chuckle.

"Seems like she already has a number one fan… besides me!" Spitfire stood up to her full height, though even this wasn't enough to make her the same height as Surprise. Suddenly without warning, Surprise grabbed Spitfire and hugged her tightly, rubbing her cheek against the other filly's.

"I just can't believe I'm friends with Typhoon's sister!"

WHAT?!

"Whoa, whoa, hold the phone, Surprise," Spitfire shoved the white filly away, making her frown a little.

"What phone? I don't have a phone," she looked confused. Spitfire promptly face-hoofed.

"It's just an expression!" She ran her hoof down her face, beginning to get a little frustrated. She just wanted to get home.

"Whoops," Surprise looked down at the ground before straightening up again a moment later. "But could I still meet her? I've always wanted to talk to her and ask what she calls that triple loop with the roll and the little twist at the end and the-"

Spitfire slapped a hoof over her mouth. "If I say yes will you stop talking?" she asked. Surprise made a hum of affirmation and Spitfire moved her hoof away, feeling relieved. "Okay, let's go."

Spitfire reluctantly led her new acquaintance to her house and held the door open while she walked in. She suddenly found herself growing worried that Surprise would make fun of her for the house, but the pegasus simply said 'Nice pad' and hopped onto the sofa, swinging her front legs over the side and stating that it was 'super soft'.

"I guess she's not here right now," Spitfire muttered, closing the door behind her and putting her hooves on the windowsill, looking left and right for any sign of her sister's return. She then felt something tugging her right wing and looked back to see Surprise pulling it with her teeth. "What the hay are you doing?" Spitfire snatched her wing back, opening it in case she had to deliver a blow to the filly's head. Surprise just took a step back.

"Sorry. I was just wondering why you couldn't fly," she revealed. Oh Celestia, not this topic. "I mean you're wings aren't underdeveloped, and most pegasi can fly when they're eight."

"Wow, thank you Surprise, I feel so much better," Spitfire scoffed sarcastically, blowing her mane out of her eyes again. Surprise gave her new 'friend' an apologetic glance and looked her wing over once again.

"Hey, hasn't Typhoon ever tried to teach you?" she asked. Spitfire felt a strong surge of pride flow through her.

"I don't need her help. She's offered but I refuse! This is something I need to learn by myself."

"You can't just suddenly know how to fly. Most pegasi are taught by an older pony, ya know. I was, and surely Typhoon was." Surprise seemed to be pretty good when it came to pony nature, it seemed.

"Yeah, she was…" Spitfire felt her voice get caught in her throat.

"Your mom taught her, right?" Surprise asked.

"No, my dad," the golden filly replied quietly. Surprise looked over at the fireplace and squinted at a photo of Honey Glaze and Scotch hugging resting on top of it.

"Is that your dad? He's hot!" she commented. Spitfire felt a fire rage in her belly.

"Most certainly not!" she raised her voice. Surprise turned to look at her in bewilderment. "He will never be my dad!"

"Oh… so your dad's…"

"Shut up," Spitfire turned away, struggling to hold back her tears. She didn't want to remember that her dad was gone forever and had been replaced by this sleazy tailhole, Scotch.

"Sorry…" Surprise clearly thought that the situation had turned awkward now. And then-

"Oh, so who's this?"

"Typhoon!" Spitfire jumped up and hugged her sister as she came in through the door. Suddenly she remembered her sister's absence and dropped down before slapping her roughly on her left foreleg a few times. "Where. The. Heck. Were. You?!" she punctuated each sentence with a punch.

"Ow…" Typhoon rubbed her sore leg and gave her sister a grimace. "I was-"

"Silver Lining?" Spitfire took a wild guess.

"Yep," Typhoon replied.

"I knew it!"

"Then why did you ask where I'd been?"

"What else was I supposed to say?"

"Typhoon, I love you and you're the most incredible mare in Cloudsdale?"

"Typhoon, I love you and you're the most incredible mare in Cloudsdale!" Surprise popped up between the two sisters, gushing like a huge fangirl. Typhoon looked the filly over.

"Hey there," she greeted, looking a little weirded out. Spit, you never told me who your new friend is."

"She's not my-"

"I'm Surprise!" the white pegasus cut her off. "I'm your biggest fan." She proceeded to hop from hoof to hoof with excitement. Typhoon looked pleasantly surprised (another of the many ironies that came with this filly).

"I have a fan? Awesome!" the blue filly smiled wildly. She went on to shake Surprise's hoof, still looking awkward that she was meeting her first fan.

"Yep-a-rooni! I sometimes watch you fly and I had no idea that Spitfire was telling the truth when she said you were her sister, and she wants you to help her fly but she's too embarrassed to admit it-"

"Don't listen to her. She's insane!" Spitfire clamped a hood over Surprise's mouth… again. Typhoon looked at her sister with concern.

"Spit, if you want me to help you fly you can just ask," she offered.

"I don't need help!" Spitfire protested.

"But don't you wanna stop getting bullied for it?" Surprise asked.

"SURPRISE!" Spitfire looked horrified since she had been keeping that a secret from her family.

"Bullied?!" Typhoon's expression mirrored Spitfire's. She'd known about Spitfire's trouble at school because of her blank flank, but not about her inability to fly. "Spit, why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because-"

"I could have taught you myself."

"That's why!" Spitfire snapped. Typhoon put a wing around her sister.

"Why wouldn't you want my help?" she asked softly.

"Because…" she sighed and looked sullenly down at the floor. She hadn't wanted to tell her sister this, but it looked like there was no escape from it now. "I really wanted to learn by myself… I wanted to impress you…" She admitted. Typhoon looked a little touched, but at the same time a little irritated.

"You do know that I'm proud of you already?" she asked.

"Why?" the golden filly looked up at her big sister. "I haven't done anything to deserve it."

Typhoon chuckled quietly. "After all we've been through, with Scotch and dad, I'm proud of you for pulling through. A normal filly your age would have, I don't know, run away or something," she explained. "You're the bravest pony I know, and that alone is a reason to be proud."

Spitfire felt herself blush brightly at her sisters little speech, but she was too strong to show that she appreciated it. "When was the last time I called you a sap?" she asked, smirking a little.

"Oh, har de har har," Typhoon laughed sarcastically. "Now will you please let me help you out?"

"I still wanna do this on my own," Spitfire disagreed. Typhoon took a deep breath and dramatically looked off into the distance.

"Fine… then you leave me no choice," she closed her eyes and said in a low voice. Then she suddenly flopped down on her tummy, made puppy dog eyes and made a prayer sign with her hooves.

"PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE-"

"ALRIGHT!" Spitfire finally gave in, jamming her hooves over her ears. "If I let you will you please never do that again?"

"YAY!" Typhoon picked her sister up and hugged her, giving her a noogie for extra effect.

"Every moment I live is agony…" Spitfire mumbled to Surprise, who was rolling on the floor with laughter after Typhoon's plea.

"Well your agony amuses me." She said.

Ten minutes later, Typhoon, Spitfire and Surprise were down by the school at the playground, which is where Typhoon was allowed to practice after she had asked (begged) her old teacher to let her.

"Okay," Typhoon was wearing fake glasses that she had found lying around in their room somewhere and was walking around her little sister. "Test subject, please spread your wings," she demanded, pushing the specs up her snout. Spitfire played along with her sister's spaz lesson and did as she was told, Surprise egging them on from a nearby bench. Typhoon squinted closely at her sister's wings and made some humming noises. Finally, she pulled back. "Okay, according to my hypothesis… well I don't exactly have one right now so could you just try to fly for me?"

Spitfire held her breath and tried to focus on nothing but her wings. Flapping them as hard as she could, she leaped into the air. She felt her wings push down on the air and she could feel herself rising higher and higher…

…before she tumbled unceremoniously down to the ground.

"I give it a 3," Surprise held up a chalkboard with a wonky number three etched onto it. Spitfire curled up in a ball on the clouds and tried to hide her face behind her mane. Why her?

"Okay, I have come up with a solution to my diagnosis… no that's something doctors do… I mean I need you to listen carefully because I'm about to lay down a very practical scientific proposal," Typhoon used her best 'smart voice' as she sat beside her fallen sister.

"There's no hope and I really am an earth pony?" Spitfire suggested, staring straight ahead and wishing she would disappear. Typhoon booped her on the nose.

"Have you ever heard the phrase 'the fake scientist is always right'?" she asked.

"No."

"Well now you have, so listen up. You can't fly because you're doing it wrong," Typhoon revealed.

Spitfire slanted her eyes up to look at her sister. "What?"

"You need to open your wings more. How can you expect to fly with your feathers all bunched up like that?" Typhoon spread one of her own wings to demonstrate how it should look. Determined to get it right this time, Spitfire stretched out her wings as far as she could and looked up at her blue sister.

"How's this?" asked the filly.

"Perfect." Typhoon praised her. "Now spread out your feathers."

Spitfire clenched her eyes closed and grunted as she strained to get her feathers to move. Just as it seemed like she was about to burst a blood vessel or something she swore she could feel movement. "Did it work?" she gasped out. Typhoon shook her head.

"They're still too bunched up." She responded. Feeling suddenly discourage, Spitfire just let her wings fall to her side. Her sister removed her mane from her eyes for her. "Listen, you're so tense when you try to spread your wings; ya need to stay calm and relaxed."

"I'm never relaxed Ty, you know that," Spitfire deadpanned. Her sister slowly nodded in agreement.

"Well give it a try at least?" she fluttered her eyelashes and smiled widely.

"Fine…" Spitfire knew that there was no point in arguing. Once Typhoon had her mind set on something then there was no way of getting the idea out of her head. They could literally be stuck in that playground for months if necessary. So she tried relaxing all her muscles, but hard as she tried Sugarplum's taunts along with all her others classmates' kept ringing in her ears.

"Still not working, Spit." Typhoon snapped her from her attempt. Letting out a loud groan, Spitfire looked back at her wings.

"Useless things," she hissed.

"Wow you really are bad at relaxing," Surprise commented from the bench, and Typhoon was quick to agree.

"Yeah… hey, ya know, dad always used to rub my back when this happened to me," Typhoon said to her sister, who looked bewildered.

"That actually worked?" she asked.

"It sure did. It works miracles," Typhoon confirmed. Spitfire just scoffed and blew her mane of her line of vision again.

"Yes right, there's no way-"

She suddenly felt a hoof rub her back and her mind went numb.

"Oh, that feels good…" she said before rolling her eyes up and falling on her front. Typhoon and Surprise started giggling.

"Maybe there's such a thing as too relaxed," the blue filly giggled. Feeling embarrassed again, Spitfire got back to her hooves.

"Okay, let's try this again," she gave her sister a sharp glance, the shiver up her spine having been too sudden for her liking. Now that she was prepared, Spitfire let her wings extend as her sister rubbed her softly between her wings. Finally, she heard Typhoon let out an 'ah-ha' of victory.

"That's more like it," she raised her chest at her triumph. Spitfire looked her wings over, noticing that unlike before when her feathers had been bundled up in certain places they were spread out evenly, the same way Typhoon's looked when she was flying.

"Awesome!" Spitfire flapped them a couple of times. "I'm gonna try again!"

"Wait a sec-" but Typhoon was too late, since her sister took off from the ground and flapped her wings as fast as she could. But like before she only stayed aloft for a few seconds before plummeting down again and landing on her rump.

"I think you get a strong 4!" Surprise raised her chalkboard up again. Spitfire got up and rubbed her sore behind.

"What went wrong this time?" she asked Typhoon, trying to ignore the pain in her rear end.

"There's more to flying that having straight feathers, ya know?" she told her. Spitfire felt her shoulders sag. How long was this gonna take?"

"Okay, so just tell me what I need to do."

"I'm trying to remember what dad told me… there was a lot," Typhoon admitted.

So Typhoon guided Spitfire through various lessons that their father had taught her. She progressed slowly, falling and hurting herself more than a few times. But no matter how slowly she progressed, no matter how many times she had to repeat an action; Typhoon never grew impatient with Spitfire, never spoke harshly to her, and praised any improvement she made, no matter how insignificant it seemed. After some time, Spitfire brought herself to her hooves after falling for the… she didn't know how many times she had fallen. She guessed that it was somewhere in the Eleventy-million's now.

"This is impossible!" she complained, throwing her hooves up in the air. "I'm gonna be sent to live on the ground or something, 'cause that's where earth ponies belong!"

"Hey, I'm not giving up yet," Typhoon wrinkled her fake glasses up her nose. "You're a pegasus, right? You were meant to fly!"

"Well so far I've crashed so many times that I'm starting to lose all feeling in my back legs," Spitfire kicked one of them out to try and get the numbness out of it.

"Spit, you wouldn't believe how many times I crashed while learning to fly," Typhoon looked a little humiliated as she saw Surprise's jaw drop at the revelation. "But I never stopped trying, and neither should you." It was lucky that Typhoon had a knack for motivational speeches. "Ya know dad always told me…" she cleared her throat and began doing a bad impersonation of Jetstream. "If ya believe in yourself there's nothing you can't do."

Spitfire then clutched her throat and began gagging. She teasingly looked up at her sister. "Would you stop that? You're starting to sound like one of those movies we like to make fun of," she chuckled. "Besides, what is there to believe in? I don't think it's possible for me to do that." Yep, it sounded even sadder out loud. Typhoon sat on her haunches and picked her little sister up, raising her to eye-level.

"Now see here. There's plenty that you can believe in. Like I said, you're brave, sweet, adorable… especially adorable." She nuzzled Spitfire's tummy, getting a tiny giggle out of her. "Besides, even if you don't believe in yourself, I do."

Dammit, Typhoon had that look on her face; the one that was a mix of determination, desperation, and durability. The Three D's, as Spitfire called them. In short, this wasn't going to end until Typhoon reached hers and her sister's goal.

"Me too!" Surprise waved from the bench, having written 'Yay Spitfire!' on the chalkboard, with the E at the end turned around backwards. Spitfire sighed and shook herself out of Typhoon's grasp. She had to do this; she knew that as well as her two companions, and if she didn't then it was going to be a long night. Heck, she wouldn't be at all surprised if they were still trying to do this when the sun rose. She stood up and hopped onto a clump of cloud that towered a little higher than the rest of the ones in the playground.

"I'll try again, then- OOF!" She was suddenly slapped on the back.

"That's the spirit!" Typhoon praised once all the air had been knocked out of her sister's lungs. "Now for the love of Celestia, spread those mighty wings!"

Spitfire did as Typhoon had instructed her, then, holding her wings straight, she took off from the ground. She glided slowly through the air, sinking lower by the moment, then just as she was about to touch the ground, she flapped her wings as Typhoon had shown her, keeping them straight. Her wings caught the air, pushing her up- not by a lot, but enough for her to know that she had done it right. Hold on… she'd done it right! She couldn't believe that she had actually flapped her wings without hurtling into the climbing frame! But she couldn't get overexcited just yet. She brought herself to a stop before stretching out her wings again and flapping them once again. She was propelled into the air; then she flapped her wings again, and then again, each flap bringing her higher and higher above the clouds below. She seemed to hang in the air, her wings keeping her small body aloft.

Spitfire would have jumped for joy if she could have. She was doing it! She was really doing it! She was doing the one thing she wanted more than anything else, the thing she had been yearning for what felt like her whole life.

Spitfire was flying!

"WOOHOO!" she began swooping around the playground, weaving through the climbing frames and diving under the slides. She failed to notice Typhoon's concerned yelling over her cheers.

"Hold on, you need to be careful!" the blue filly out. But Spitfire paid no heed to her as she danced across the sky, her heart practically singing with glee. She'd done it, she was finally flying! She couldn't wait to see Sugarplum's face when she saw that she could fly now. For the first time in her life she felt invincible. She felt as though the world was hers for the taking. She…

…crashed headfirst into a lamp post, and started descending towards the bench Surprise was sitting on.

"Whoa!" Surprise tried to leap away in time, but the falling filly crashed into her like an arrow meeting the bull's-eye. The two of them tumbled over each other until finally they stopped in a heap on the clouds. Spitfire had her face in Surprise's mane, and the white filly was pressed into the floor. Spitfire rolled off Surprise and helped her up. The white pegasus looked a little dazed, and only responded when Spitfire gave her a small slap round the face.

"You okay?" she asked. Surprise shook herself and groggily reached for the chalkboard. She scribbled something on it and held it up for Spitfire to see.

"Ten!" she declared. It took a few seconds, but Spitfire began giggling at Surprise's silliness, and a moment later the poofy maned filly was joining in. Typhoon finally made her way over to the two of them.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay, Spit?" she asked. Instead of getting a reply, her sister jumped up and wrapped her forelegs around her neck.

"Thank you! Thank you!" She hugged her tight, too overjoyed to do anything but stand there and repeat herself. Typhoon, hugged her sister back, and used her right wing to pull Surprise into the hug, too.

"It was no sweat," she was clearly lying, since it had been hard work. "But helping you out is my special talent, after all."

"Huh? How does your Cutie Mark show that?" Surprise asked curiously, looking down at the two candles that were shown on Typhoon's flank. The blue filly looked proudly at her Mark.

"Candles are supposed to light the way for others…" she started to explain, only to be cut off by Spitfire.

"And that means that she's my candle," she nuzzled her sister's neck, and Typhoon flushed from the embarrassment.

"Yep," She confirmed. "And I promise that I'll always try and keep things bright."

---

And Spitfire was right. When Sugarplum saw her flying around the playground, looking happier than she'd been for a long time, there was no denying the humiliation plastered on her face. Surprise and Spitfire became best friends, and life at home was alright, too. She and Typhoon may never grow to like Scotch, but nothing bad had happened, so they were content with things the way they were.

In other good news, Silver Lining was accepted into the Wonderbolts at long last, which just gave Typhoon all the more reason to be obsessed with them. As irritated as Spitfire was by her sister's Wonderbolts aspirations, she couldn't be ungrateful for it. Because the day that Silver Lining took her and Typhoon to Spitfire's first Wonderbolts air show turned out to be one of the greatest days of her life…

---

Twelve Years Old

"Why do I have to wear this?" Spitfire tugged irritably on the hem of the T-shirt Typhoon had forced her to wear.

"Because it's supposed to be cool!" her sister replied, raising her chest to show off her own one. Typhoon's shirt read 'Wonder' in big blue capital letter, and Spitfire's had 'Bolts' on it. "Now just remember that you have to sit on my left for this to work otherwise we'll just look like retards. And we wanna look like number one!"

"I feel like number two." Spitfire grumbled, receiving Typhoon's signature slap on the back.

"That's the attitude, Spit!" she said naïvely as her sister landed on her face from the impact. "Now let's go into the stadium!" She lit up as she got an idea. "Hey, maybe afterwards we could look around Canterlot. I've never been here before, so this is a pretty rare opportunity."

Spitfire shrugged. "Why not; it's not like we have anything else to do for the rest of the day." She replied. The two of them made their way to the long queue to get into the arena, and Typhoon flapped into the air to examine how lengthy it was.

"Dang, we'll be here a while," she reported to her sister, who slumped down to the ground. Was seeing a bunch of ponies fly in formation worth standing in line for half an hour. It had been ten minutes when some royal guards came walking by.

"Hey, kids," one of them addressed the two sisters. Typhoon turned to face them.

"What's up?" she asked them.

"Have either of you seen the Princess's pet phoenix? She went missing a couple of hours ago and we've been going on a wild phoenix chase!" the pegasus guard explained.

"A wild phoenix chase in this case." The unicorn guard interrupted, only to be stared down by his colleague. Typhoon shook her head, buffeting her spiked dark and light blue mane side to side.

"Nope, sorry," she replied. The two guards began moving up the line, asking everypony the same question and being met with the same response every time. Spitfire looked up at her sister.

"What's a phoenix?" She asked.

"A phoenix looks pretty cool for one thing," the blue pegasus began. "It's a pretty big bird that looks like its feathers are made of fire. I've never seen one in real life though."

"Wow…" Spitfire admitted that a phoenix did sound like a pretty awesome bird. She'd have to see if she could find any pictures of them when they got home. Oh to be at home…

Five more minutes…

Spitfire was flopped over her sisters back, feeling even more bored than she felt in geometry lessons. Maybe she could just fly home without Typhoon noticing? Oh who was she kidding, that was never gonna work.

"This is crap." She finally sighed, rolling onto her back and staring up at the sky.

"Just a little longer, Spit; we're almost there and then you'll finally get to see the Wonderbolts! You won't be disappointed, I promise." Typhoon vowed. "I'd use the Word of a Wonderbolt if I was one." She added for extra measure.

"Can you last two minutes without relating something to the Wonderbolts?" Spitfire asked. Typhoon pondered that for a moment.

"Um… no, I don't think so. When you're really passionate about something, you live, breathe, and sleep it. Basically, it's on your mind twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week." Typhoon replied. Wow, it must be really boring in Typhoon's head, Spitfire thought, looking down the line to see that they were almost at the doors. Feeling relieved, she jumped down from her sister's back and impatiently hopped from hoof to hoof. Typhoon gave the pony at the doors their tickets and then led the way to their seats. Since it had been Silver Lining who gave them the tickets, their seats were pretty good, close to the front where they had a great view of the show. They had only been seated for about ten seconds when Typhoon started buzzing in her seat like she had chugged a whole bag of sugar.

"What now?" Spitfire asked, getting her sister to stop. Typhoon stopped jumping, but started clapping her hooves together instead.

"I'm just so psyched to see all of the Wonderbolts! I mean we're gonna see all the greats: Contrail, Afterburner, Hoarfrost, Concorde, and of course, Captain Nighthawk!" Typhoon put her hooves on the sides of her face and squealed. Spitfire found herself rolling her orange eyes. Why couldn't her sister be interested in something more fun?

"Save it for the show, why don't ya?" she asked, grumbling as her fiery mane fell into her eyes again. She tucked it behind her ears to avoid any further frustration. Spitfire kept a close watch on the entrance doors as the other ponies filed through. She noticed that most of the attendees were unicorns, which made sense since unicorns were usually of a higher class than the other races of pony, and Canterlot was the prissiest place in Equestria. Spitfire hadn't had any interactions with unicorns or earth ponies before, so she was a little weirded out by their lack of wings to say the least. The unicorns' horns and magic baffled her to no end; how did they get the sparks to come out of the long bumps on their heads? And how were they able to cast different types of spells? A part of her was curious about it, and she wondered if it hurt when the magic came out of their heads? Did the magic sparkles tickle? Oh well, what's the point in dwelling on subjects she could never fully understand?

Unfortunately for the filly, her decision to pay no further heed to the way unicorns worked brought her boredom crashing back down on top of her. Were they going to have to sit in the stands forever? Well, she knew that they wouldn't, but it felt like they were- when you're a young pony, boredom inevitably began to eat at your spirit, and the only way to quench your thirst for entertainment was to get off your butt and go find it. So there had to be a way to get out of that stadium for a second.

"Ty, can I go to the bathroom?" Spitfire asked, feeling like she'd do anything to get out of there for even five short minutes. Her sister shrugged and nodded.

"Fine, but be quick, the show starts in fifteen minutes!" Typhoon waved her off, and Spitfire wasted no time in retreating to the mare's room. It took a couple of minutes for her to find it, so there were just over ten minutes left to wait. She took her time in the bathroom and when she came out she just leaned against the wall beside the door and looked out across the stadium. It had no roof, perfect for flying pegasi, and was pretty big once you got the full view of it. Spitfire was no architect, but she could tell that it was a pretty impressive structure. Oh well, she might as well head back-oh, hello!

Spitfire froze mid-step as she caught sight of something perched a little way along the railings in front of her: a tall, beautiful bird with feathers of scarlet and gold, with eyes that looked like embers were burning within them. Typhoon had been right that it was a stunning creature to behold; in fact the very sight of the phoenix made the golden filly feel honored. So, this was the pet that the Princess had lost… she sure had good taste when it came to animals. Hmm… she started to imagine how proud Typhoon would be of her if she managed to catch the bird and return it to the guards. Now that was an intriguing thought. Now, how does one catch a phoenix?

Moving forward slowly, Spitfire strode over to the phoenix until she was all but a foot away from it. The bird was tilting its head at her curiously, and now that she was closer she could finally see just how tall it was. It was making a soft warbling sound in its throat, almost sounding like it was humming. Maybe she should call its name… oh wait; Spitfire didn't know what it was called. No, she. This was definitely a female phoenix, if the eyelashes were any indication.

"Um… here, birdy birdy birdy…" Spitfire attempted to coax the phoenix towards her, but the bird just chirped and began preening one of her wings. Grimacing at her failure, Spitfire began slowly extending her hoof forward for the phoenix. The bird looked down at the pegasus with interest, and stretched her long neck out. Just when Spitfire had a feeling that the bird would move to perch on her outstretched hoof, she squawked and pecked her instead.

"GAH! Ponyfeathers!" the filly shook out her now sore hoof. She glared vengefully at the phoenix, who seemed to be… laughing? Yep, it was an unmistakable, but very bird-sounding cackle. Why that little…"

Spitfire leapt for the bird, only for her to take off, allowing the filly to crash into the railings with a resonant CLANG! Once the stars had vanished from view, the pegasus got up and looked around for the bird, rubbing her forehead. She caught sight of the phoenix hovering in the air a few feet above her and, the nerve, it blew a raspberry at her.

It. Was. ON!

Spitfire flew into the air and gave chase, pursuing the phoenix out of the arena and into the streets of Canterlot. She swerved left and right, up and down, round and round, every direction she knew as she fought to catch the phoenix. She was astounded to find out just how swift the bird was; it soared through the air with the greatest of ease, her feathers making a fiery effect as she streaked over the houses. It was actually pretty awesome to look at, but Spitfire had no time to marvel at the bird, she was gonna catch that thing and teach it not to mess with her!

She flapped her wings as hard as she could, beginning to grow more and more aware of the speed she was travelling at. She was pretty sure that she had never flown this fast before, not even when she was racing Typhoon. There must have been something about the vast determination that seemed to be coursing through her veins that made her need to go faster.

A couple of times she almost caught up to the phoenix, but it seemed that whenever she got near enough to grab her, she always flew that infinitesimal bit ahead of her, almost as if she were taunting her. If she was trying to test Spitfire's patience, then boy was she doing a good job. The phoenix was flying pretty low to the ground now, and Spitfire wasted no time in dropping to the birds level, even if she did startle a few of the ponies wandering around town… she may have accidentally knocked somepony over, but she felt that if she looked back to check she would just feel obliged to go and apologize, which meant that she would lose track of this pesky bird!

The phoenix ascended higher again, and flew straight through the window of somepony's house. The filly chasing her followed through, scaring the mare who was inside brushing her mane out of her wits, before the speeding bird and equine flew out the window on the opposite side of the room and resumed their course through town. The phoenix dove straight downwards at a seemingly frightening speed, but Spitfire trailed after her anyway, only realising the danger of crashing to the ground and breaking her neck when she was a few feet away from it. Gasping, she stretched her neck up and flapped her wings as hard as she was able to, and then… wow, she didn't know she could do that! She pulled up right in time so that her hooves were skimming the ground below as she flew. Chuckling at her discovery, she admired her trick for a moment more before returning to the chase. The mischievous bird flew right towards a particularly tall building that loomed over the houses surrounding it. Spitfire slowed down as she saw that the phoenix was flying straight for the wall, but that was exactly what she wanted the pegasus to think. With a teasing squeak, the bird flapped its large, powerful wings and flew vertically along the wall. Growling a little, Spitfire tried to catch up to the bird again, even though she was pretty far ahead of her by now. For a few seconds she struggled to maintain a view of the phoenix, but thankfully its vibrant colors made her fairly easy to spot.

For a while the chase ran ordinarily, the phoenix gliding over the rooftops with the filly always a few feet behind. And then much to Spitfire's surprise, they found themselves back at the stadium. Oh no! Typhoon was probably wondering where the hay she had got to. Well the sooner she caught this ever elusive feathered fiend the sooner she could get back to her seat. She would actually be quite relieved, since her wings were beginning to get sore, and she was sweating a little, too… okay a lot. Her mane was beginning to stick to her face, and the Celestiadamn shirt Typhoon had forced on her wasn't helping the matter, clinging to her body uncomfortably and providing unnecessary heat.

Oh crud.

Why was the phoenix leading her down to the seats? Should she stop? Too late! Before she could even decide what to do she was flying above the ponies' heads in the stands. Thankfully since she was merely a fiery streak in mid-air at this point, nopony could see anything distinct about her. Looking to her left she saw that the air show had begun and the Wonderbolts were performing a complicated routine with a lot of flashes and flips. It did actually look pretty awesome.

Wait a sec…

The bird was flying out into the midst of the show! Oh gosh, if she were to get caught in one of their flashes… aw nuts, she had to do something! Burying all of her doubt in a dark hole in the deepest corners of her mind, the filly took the plunge and followed after the phoenix, feeling her heart pounding in her head from the fear of getting hit by lightning or something. Oh boy, she could imagine Typhoon's horrified face as a fiery streak that she could recognize any day appeared with her idols. Oh woe.

She swooped down after the phoenix as she narrowly missed being knocked clean out of the sky by one of the Wonderbolt stallions. Spitfire had to do a back-flip just to avoid colliding with a 'Bolt doing an insanely fast spin like move, which made the pegasus look like a bullet in the sky. She thought she was going to have a heart attack when a charcoal black stallion had to cease flying as she flew in front of him and a second later a rose colored mare barreled into him.

"Oh Celestia spear me with your horn," Spitfire thought as she imagined the chaos she was creating in the air show. She never lost sight of the bird, however, and she began climbing higher into the air again. Spitfire gulped and looked at how high she was going to have to go to tail the phoenix. She'd never flown that high before, and as strange as it was for a pegasus to be afraid of heights, there was still a reason to fear the altitude and the fact that some mistakes could result in injury… or worse. Here goes nothing…

Spitfire fought to keep her eyes open as she defied the laws of gravity to catch up to the phoenix. The bird must have some trouble with flying at this height as well, since she seemed to be slowing down.

Perfect.

Spitfire stretched out her hooves in an attempt to snatch the bird, but she just dove down. Oh, not this again! But instead of flying straight down, the phoenix instead rose back up, circling the filly. Spitfire, beginning to get even more frustrated, began a mindless chase, allowing her irritation to numb the rest of her senses as she flew in a repetitive circle. Up, down, up, down, round and round and round again. The golden pegasus had expected to get nauseous in seconds, but she seemed to just feel exhilarated. She was looping around at incredible speeds after this phoenix, and it almost seemed as if she were growing… warmer. Yes, the friction that she was building up as she looped was forming a fire-like effect around her. It was like she was a living Catherine Wheel firework. Spitfire couldn't tell herself, but from the ground it was like a huge fireball was shimmering in the sky, getting bigger and bigger as the seconds passed on. Even the performing Wonderbolts had stopped to see what was happening. Finally, the heat began to get more and more intense, and for a moment Spitfire feared that she would simply burn to a crisp. But then the phoenix began a new course, and zoomed off higher into the sky. And then as Spitfire shot up to follow her.

!BOOM!

She gasped and looked over her shoulder at the fiery explosion she had created, and her eyes grew wider as she noticed the trail of fire leading off from her tail.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, grinning with glee. She looked back ahead to see the phoenix make a sharp turn left. As Spitfire mimicked the bird's movements, another resounding explosion rang out the moment she dashed left. She began laughing with euphoria every time she made a corner-cut, each time leaving a fiery blast in her wake. Once the fire from her tail died out, the smoke still lingering in the sky, the phoenix she had been so keen on chasing slowed down until she was flying right next to the filly. Spitfire gazed at the bird with big, confused eyes. As if reading the thoughts in her mind, the phoenix gave out a soft chirp-like squawk.

"Thank you…" Spitfire said to the phoenix, which raised her neck and made a long trilling noise. As Spitfire flew back down to the stadium, she was pleased to find that the bird came with her, and soon the two had returned to the ground outside the stadium, Spitfire finally sitting on her haunches to catch her breath, and the phoenix landing on her shoulder, straightening up in all of her glory.

"Hey, I've found her!"

Suddenly those two guards from earlier practically appeared out of thin air.

"Thank goodness for that. I wouldn't want to imagine what would happen if we couldn't find Philomena."

"Philomena?" Spitfire looked up at the phoenix, feeling pleased to know her name. It sure was a pretty one. The unicorn guard lowered his head for Philomena to move on to while the pegasus ruffled Spitfire's mane.

"Yes, this is Princess Celestia's personal pet, and if she went missing then… the Princess would be disappointed and let's leave it at that," he explained.

"Oh, relax," the unicorn sighed. "It's not like she was gonna pour molten silver down our throats or something."

The pegasus just ignored his comrade. "Anyway, thanks for finding her…"

"Spitfire," the filly smiled up at the guard.

"Right." The guard gave her a grin in return. "Thanks for finding Philomena for us. You saved our fur, that's for sure."

"No it's not!" The unicorn called out.

"I'll be sure to mention you to the Princess. She'll be incredibly grateful." The pegasus looked relived. Philomena bent down her neck and affectionately butted Spitfire's head, and the filly giggled in response, reaching up and petting the phoenix.

"Bye, Philomena." She waved as the two guards trotted back towards the palace. The filly sighed in relief as they left, still smiling lightly. Now all she needed to do was go find Typhoon, and then… she looked up at the three ponies standing before her.

Oh horseapples.

Standing there were three pegasi in blue and yellow skin-tight uniforms. There was that rose mare with the maroon mane (Afterburner), a light blue stallion with a golden spiked mane (Contrail) and a muscular stallion who was mostly as black as the darkest of nights with grey streaks in his mane that kinda reminded Spitfire of smoke (Captain Nighthawk).

"Um…" Spitfire tried to say something, but the tension in the air was so thick that it felt like she would choke on it if she dared let another word escape her mouth. The two pegasi flanking the captain were staring down at her with displeasure. Each of them started muttering things to Nighthawk, who silenced each of them with a quick glance to each side. He then turned his attention to Spitfire, who had sunk down to her haunches and was staring at him with a mixture of terror, honor, and humiliation. Was she really about to get scolded by the most famous pegasi in Equestria? Nighthawk bent his knees so he was face to face with her.

"That was really dangerous, ya know, kid?" he said to her with a surprising amount of gentleness, though there was still a hint of harshness in his tone. Though Spitfire knew that he had every right to hate her- she had got caught up in their performance, caused a collision, messed up their routine, and stolen their thunder in a way. There was probably going to be a restraining order filed against her. "I've never even seen a pony do that before." Nighthawk added, referring to her fiery trick. Spitfire sighed and looked down at the floor, wishing that she could dig a hole, crawl into it, and die. It seemed better than being berated by the Wonderbolts. The ponies were all silent for a lengthy minute or two, Afterburner and Contrail staring at Nighthawk; Nighthawk staring at Spitfire; and Spitfire staring at her hooves, wishing she could just disappear. Suddenly…

"Wow…"

Spitfire looked up in surprise as Nighthawk's tone changed entirely. He was actually smiling now… wait, this didn't make sense. He was supposed to be angry? He was meant to kick her from here to Las Pegasus. At the very least he was inclined to hang her upside down from tree branch and let ponies beat her with a stick like she was some kind of piñata. But he just smiled. And that was preferable.

"I've never even seen a pony do that before." He repeated, Afterburner and Contrail lightening up a little too as they caught on to what their captain was getting at. Even they gave her tiny smirks. Nighthawk reached down and pulled something off his uniform, before bending to Spitfire's level and pinning it to her shirt (thank Celestia she hadn't taken it off). Spitfire's jaw dropped as she caught sight of the badge that was now on her chest, glimmering gold and in the shape of a winged lightning bolt.

"Nice job, kid." He messed up her mane with a forehoof, and Spitfire gazed up at him with fascination. His red eyes seemed to strike a match in her soul, because it was as if some kind of mist had cleared within her. Giving her a wink, Nighthawk took off into the air, his two companions flashing her their own broad smiles before following suit. Spitfire stared after them with her eyes still wide, wondering if that had really just happened. Well if the badge she was wearing was still there then it must have been. And then-

"SPIT!" She was suddenly seized by her shoulders and twisted round, where she found herself looking into Typhoon's frantic face. Her sister felt Spitfire's forehead, looked inside her ears, opened her mouth wide, and rifled through her mane, before putting a hoof on each of her little sister's cheeks. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked.

"Ty, I'm fine." She replied. Then she yelped as Typhoon delivered several swift punches to her arm.

"Then. What. Were. You. THINKING?!" she said a word between each hit. She then began to pace back and forth. "I thought you'd been foalnapped or something, and then you were out there with the 'Bolts, and you were so high and I thought you friggin' exploded!" she raised her forehooves in the air. Spitfire had never seen her sister so mad before. The blue teenage pegasus stood at her full height and glared down at her sister. "So what have you got to say for yourself?!"

Spitfire didn't answer right away and instead looked up into the sky, where the Wonderbolts were just vanishing over the roof of the stadium. And in that one moment, she knew. She knew what she wanted to do. Her dream. Her desire. Her destiny. And then she looked back at her sister, wearing a bright smile and her eyes glowing.

"How do I become a Wonderbolt?"

And in a flash of light, something appeared on Spitfire's flank.

Her very own Cutie Mark.

---

And for a long while, everything was perfect. Both sisters had the same dream, and dedicated hours of their day to working towards their goal. Spitfire figured out how to perform her fiery trick without the assistance of an annoying phoenix, which she and Typhoon had dubbed the 'Spit-Blitz', and Typhoon even found out that she could do her own neat trick. The blue teen just had to fly long and fast enough for her to build up friction on each of her sides, and then she would use her wings to slow down; the impact would allow Typhoon to practically stand on the wind, which carried her along while forming a wave-like effect in the sky. She called this trick simply 'Riding the Wind'. Silver Lining gave them his own personal flying lessons, and he told them that he was giving Captain Nighthawk good word of their progress.

Perfect.

But as most people know, perfect is a word that can only be used loosely, for with the slightest turn of events, perfect could change into disaster…

---

Fourteen Years Old

"Hey Spit," Typhoon greeted as she came through the door to the sister's bedroom. Spitfire was at the desk beside the window, finishing writing a book report for school.

"Hey Ty," Spitfire replied, looking over her shoulder. "You've read Of Mice and Mares, right?" She asked. Typhoon nodded.

"I love that book." She grinned. "It was moving, full of meaning, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, cool, can you just tell me what lesson the story taught?" Spitfire cut her off, much to her sister's annoyance. She moved over to sit at the desk next to her golden sibling.

"The story teaches a grim lesson about the nature of equine existence. Nearly all of the characters admit at some stage to having a sincere sense of loneliness and isolation." Typhoon said slowly as Spitfire wrote. The youngest sister knew that her sister had read the book more than once due to her love of reading so there was nopony better to go to for book reports.

"Thanks. Now that's all my homework done." She irrevocably dabbed a period at the end of the report and let the quill drop from her mouth. Unicorns must have had it easy since they held their quills in magic. Statistics proved that unicorns did better than pegasi and earth ponies in school, but Spitfire had a theory that school was rigged; she understood all the lessons just fine but she'd like to see a unicorn write down equations with their face pressed against the paper.

"Whoa…" Typhoon got Spitfire's attention. The young blue mare was staring at the clock on the wall. "It's almost midnight." She stated. The littlest sister shrugged.

"You say that like it's weird." She told Typhoon. The older pony nodded.

"Yes. It's odd because Scotch hasn't come home yet." She bit her lip, looking worried. Spitfire scoffed and leaned back in her chair.

"So? Maybe he finally got kicked off of Cloudsdale." She relished in that idea for a while, loving the mental imagine of the stallion unconsciously plummeting out of their lives.

"Spit, he went to the bar." Typhoon looked at her little sister as if she should understand. When it was clear that it wasn't getting through to her, Typhoon sighed and went in a little deeper. "When is a guy going to a pub and coming home late ever good? I mean, mom's gonna be furious!"

Then, as if on cue, the sound of the front door opening was heard. Typhoon seemed to just leave the subject behind after that, but then…

"What the hay is going on down there?" Spitfire asked her sister as the sound of shouting rang out from downstairs.

"It's… it's just mom telling Scotch off for coming home two hours late. No biggie." Typhoon shook her head in dismissal, ever the optimist. But the shouting just got louder, and the sound of Scotch swearing violently drowned out Honey Glaze entirely. Typhoon had to cover Spitfire's ears at one point. The blue pegasus removed her hooves for about a second when the yelling stopped, only to put them back a millisecond later when the sound of things breaking could be clearly made out.

"Actually… this is a HUGE biggie." Typhoon gulped, looking scared. Spitfire didn't like that; as said before, if Typhoon was scared, Spitfire was scared, and vice versa.

"Um… Spit?"

"Yes?"

"You know how I always say that I love it when we're right about something?" Typhoon asked as Scotch began another rally of curses.

"Yes." Spitfire repeated her last reply. Typhoon jumped as something else smashed down below and pulled Spitfire into a tremble-filled hug.

"Well I change my mind… I don't."

---

The fillies had been right about Scotch. The stallion repeated his cycle of leaving the house and coming back late, yelling at Honey Glaze, and in some cases, using physical violence on her, and then stomping upstairs.

Once time the sisters had been unfortunate enough to be downstairs with their mother one Friday night when Scotch came home. The stench of that horrible bitter stuff was so strong that it made Spitfire choke, and his fur was messed up. There was a wild look in his eyes, as if he was ever so slightly insane. During the daytime, the teal pegasus was collected and calm, but whenever he came home after his drinking trips, he looked like he'd been dragged through a bush backwards. Honey Glaze had been silent and ignored him that time, but it didn't stop the large pony from barking orders at her, and when that didn't work he had started yelling at Typhoon, which had terrified the poor pegasus out of her mind. That was when Honey Glaze had started yelling back, and soon they were hitting each other and cussing.

So Typhoon always locked herself and Spitfire in their room when Scotch came back, though that did nothing to stop the fighting. A couple of times, Typhoon had gone downstairs to assist her mother, but had always returned with some sort of injury.

And it went on like that for days… then weeks… and then months. The sisters hadn't ever been afraid of their own house before, and sometimes when the fighting got serious, Typhoon got Silver Lining to take care of Spitfire until the coast was clear. Typhoon finally decided that she'd had enough when Honey Glaze came to hide in their room after receiving a black eye from Scotch; Spitfire had locked the door and barricaded it with their desk (with some difficulty) while Typhoon negotiated with Honey Glaze.

"Mom," Typhoon had said, sitting next to Honey Glaze while she wept into her hooves. "This has gone far enough; you can't let him push you around like he does. We- we need to get out of here- run away!"

"We can't," Honey Glaze had pulled Typhoon beside her with a wing and rubbed her back gently. "He's got all the money, so if we leave we'll be on the streets." She fretted. Typhoon had tried to come up with something.

"Silver Lining will let us stay with him. We'll be better off there!" She had pleaded. But Honey Glaze was too kind for her own good, and refused to take advantage of Silver's hospitality. No matter how much Typhoon begged, Honey Glaze wouldn't stop enduring this, and so they stayed…

And things didn't improve. There was more screaming, crying, and injuries. Sometimes the neighbours would called the police, but Scotch was clever, even if he was drunk, and he'd always come up with a cover story to make them leave.

And it carried on…

Until…

---

"Maybe we could ask Mrs Starburst if we could live in the classroom." Spitfire suggested as she and Typhoon landed outside their house. It had been a particularly quick day at school, something they had gotten used to over the recent months. They heard the other ponies saying that school went by slowly, but for them school couldn't go slow enough. They envied ponies who looked forward to going home, since they could enjoy themselves, whereas all that the sister's had to look forward to were a few hours of fleeting freedom before the fighting began. And Honey Glaze had forbidden them from telling anyone about what was going on at home, so they couldn't get comfort from anypony. Typhoon had already told Silver Lining, but with a lot of persuasion he had reluctantly agreed to keep everything to himself. Even his new marefriend didn't know about their little secret.

"Fat chance of that working," Typhoon giggled despite their situation. For some reason Typhoon laughing always managed to perk Spitfire up. For her the laugh acted as a little reminder for her that they had some hope that things would get better. "Where would we sleep anyway?"

"We could sleep on the desks and use our saddlebags as pillows." Spitfire suggested. Typhoon smirked at her as they opened the front door.

"You've already thought of this haven't you?"

Yes, yes I have."

But the moment they stepped inside they knew that something was up. They couldn't see anything wrong but they could hear that something was out of the ordinary.

Because there wasn't any noise.

Usually their mother would come and greet them at the door, or there was the sound of pots and pans clanging in the kitchen as she cooked. But there was no noise at all, and that made the house seem surprisingly cryptic.

"Mom?" Typhoon called into the house.

No reply.

"Mom, where are you?" Spitfire slunk past Typhoon into the living room and looked at the desolate chairs. Typhoon closed the door behind her and the two moved into the kitchen. Now that there were no other sounds they could clearly hear the clip-clopping of their hooves on the ground, and that scared them a little.

"You in here, mom?" Spitfire poked her head into the downstairs bathroom, finding nothing out of sorts (apart from the toilet seat being left up, something Honey Glaze usually despised).

"Have you found her?" Typhoon's voice made Spitfire jump. As she shook her head, Typhoon frowned and shuddered. "This isn't right…" she muttered under her breath before turning and making her way to the staircase. Spitfire followed suit, not wanting to be left alone downstairs. Typhoon checked the upstairs bathroom while Spitfire checked their room- nope; Honey Glaze was nowhere to be seen. Finally there was only one room left to check.

"I'm scared." Spitfire muttered, leaning against her sister and using her soft blue fur as a form of comfort. Typhoon stroked her fiery mane, brushing it out of her eyes due to its tendency to flop into them. Spitfire could see her sisters hoof shake as she put it on the door knob and pushed it open. Spitfire stood in the hall as her sister took a couple of cautious steps in, breathing heavily. Actually, she may have just been breathing normally, but the silence made it seem louder. Suddenly, Typhoon gasped and clapped a hoof over her mouth, staring to the left.

"No… no…" she repeated. Spitfire rushed into the room and stood next to her, following her gaze. What she saw on the bed made her blood run cold. Typhoon moved slowly around to the side of the big double bed, tears streaming down her face as she shook her head. Spitfire hoisted herself onto the bed and stared down at her mother. Her limbs were spread around her in a fashion that made her look like she had frozen whilst making a snow angel. There was a small, empty pill bottle beside her hoof, the label on it reading 'painkillers'. Spitfire put a hoof on Honey Glaze's chest, and shivered when she couldn't feel a heartbeat. She was also shocked to find out how cold she felt, like she was slowly freezing. Her green eyes were wide open and they stared straight ahead, and when Spitfire stood above her face she didn't blink. She didn't move at all. Spitfire put her front hooves on Honey Glaze's shoulder and shook her a little.

"Mommy…" she croaked. Spitfire hadn't called her 'mommy' since she was much littler, but she was terrified, so she made an exception. "Mommy, please get up. This isn't funny."

"Spit, she's not gonna get up…" Typhoon sobbed, bending down and putting her forehead on her mother's tummy. Spitfire had known, of course, but hearing it from Typhoon just struck her in the heart. And then she was crying, too, not being able to take her now bloodshot eyes off her mother's lifeless body. She had read about ponies looking peacefully asleep when they're dead... but Spitfire now knew that the books were wrong. Honey Glaze just looked dead. Like a candle that had lost its flame. Spitfire tried to make some kind of sound, but it was like her throat had closed up on her.

Typhoon reached over and pushed a few locks of their mother's hair to the side, like she did with Spitfire's. The youngest sister had never really taken into account how much she looked like her mother. They had almost the same fur colour, and her mane was a little like hers, too… the only big difference were their eyes, those bright green eyes that had once shone with brilliance and kindness were now dim and blank as they stared up at the ceiling she couldn't see.

"Never could bring herself to wear her mane up," Typhoon said out of the blue, her voice strained. "That's what ya get for being such a sweetheart you big doofus... that's what ya get…" she sniffled. Jolting suddenly, Typhoon punched the wall as hard as she could, leaving a dent in the wall.

"Celestia damn it, mom…" she begged, hitting the wall again and again to make it obey her. "Oh, damn it, mom, don't be dead, please just get the hay up!"

And then she bolted through the door and down the hall.

---

That was when Spitfire's shutdown had begun. She started wearing her mane in spikes like Typhoon did and began developing a bad attitude towards ponies.

But even though Honey Glaze was gone, Scotch didn't get any better. In fact, he just got much worse, and all the anger he had previously taken out on Honey Glaze was then aimed at Typhoon. Spitfire was forced to watch as Scotch beat the living daylights out of the young blue mare, but Typhoon wasn't like Honey Glaze- she fought back. She never won their fights, but she didn't stop trying. She wasn't going to suffer the same fate as her mother.

And then the cops finally found out the truth…

---

Sixteen Years Old

"GAH!" Spitfire yelped as she narrowly missed being hit in the face by an airborne TV remote. She dove under the coffee table and trembled, praying to Celestia like she did every night, not that it ever helped. She supposed that it just gave her something to believe in. She was forced to emerge from her hiding spot when the table was flipped over. She glanced at her sister, who was bleeding heavily from her jaw and a gash on her cheek that had been reopened from a few fights ago.

"Get. OFF!" Typhoon kicked Scotch off her as he attempted to deliver a punch to her muzzle. Not being able to stand seeing her sister take him on by herself, Spitfire leapt and landed on the teal stallion's back, biting on his ear and tugging it hard until she drew blood. Yuck! It tasted vile and it made her eyes sting when it clashed with the strong alcohol smell that seemed to permanently occupy the house.

With a strong curse word, he flung Spitfire from his shoulders, sending her flying across the room into the wall with a shocking amount of momentum. The golden pegasus pony's ears rang for a few seconds, and for a moment she was afraid she couldn't move, since any effort to move her legs were met with failure. Fortunately, she began to feel her hooves again and she shakily got back to her hooves, getting a head rush in the process.

Spitfire realised that she had landed on something wooden (whatever it was had been destroyed beyond recognition) and the pain from the sensation caught up to her, making her entire left side hurt. But she had grown strong over the past year and shoved the pain aside, throwing herself back into the scuffle, despite Typhoon's protests. She managed to grab one of Scotch's wings and twist it around; for a glimmering moment she thought it would break, but he just tossed her aside like a ragdoll and she slammed into the door, bouncing off it and landing on her face.

She was about to try and get up again when something wet and warm dripped into her right eye and blinded her. She wiped whatever she could of the stuff out of her eye, feeling sick to the pit of her stomach when she saw its maroon colour and reached up with her other hoof, pressing it gently against her forehead. When she brought it back down it was reddened as if by magic… and that time she really was sick.

Spitfire looked up once she had finished spewing to see Scotch pinning Typhoon against the wall, one hoof on her throat and the other on the wall. Typhoon flailed her hooves wildly, trying to land a hit, but it was no use. The blood kept flowing down Spitfire's face, and much to her horror she even coughed some up, too, and soon even breathing became a big effort. The next minute or two passed as if she was in a dream- the door swung open, and a few pegasi in uniforms came in. Scotch let Typhoon fall to the ground, and the world started tipping from side to side as she started swaying, feeling faint from all the blood loss. There was a high pitched buzzing noise, which the youngest pegasus could only assume was Scotch and the others all yelling simultaneously.

Then two of the cops grabbed Scotch and dragged him out the door, still yelling and swearing. Typhoon made her way over to Spitfire, and started saying something, looking distressed. Man, it just made her ears hurt… and had her head always been this heavy. She tipped backwards, not even conscious enough to notice that she'd fallen into a pool of her own vomit and blood. She felt her body get rolled over and suddenly she was looking into a pair of worried orange eyes.

"Stay awake, Spit!" Typhoon cried out, but Spitfire could barely hear her. "Whatever you do, don't close your eyes. Just stay awake long enough… long enough so that I don't have to go through with this alone…"

It sounded like a good idea, but try as she might, Spitfire did feel awfully sleepy… man, her eyes weighed a ton…

"Heh… bit his ear off…" Spitfire chuckled, blood burbling from her mouth. "Pretty freaking cool… right?" everything started getting darker.

"No! You gotta stay awake… you gotta tell 'em what happened… you need to…"

---

"…have you living by yourselves. It's out of the question!"

"Listen, I've been practically raising Spitfire for the past year. You are not sending her to a dumb care home!"

"I'm sorry, miss. She needs a working adult to look after her. If we left her in your care- well I can't do that… and since you don't have any other family members to take care of you this is the best I can offer."

"This SUCKS! I'll get my own place and we'll be happy there. Just don't… don't take her away from me…"

"Oh Celestia, please don't start crying on me. You seem like a good pony, but where would you go if you got the chance to take your sister and live somewhere by yourself?"

"Our old foal sitter Silver Lining and his wife- they'll let us live with them. Silver Lining is pretty much our second dad anyway."

"…I tell you what. You call this guy and get him over here. If he meets the qualifications I might be able to get the sergeant to look the other way and let him have custody of the two of you."

"Okay… thank you."

"Ty…" Spitfire opened her heavy eyelids, being blinded by the bright lights of the room. Typhoon gasped, and immediately held her younger sister against her chest.

"Spit! Don't scare me like that again. You were bleeding and pale- terrified me half to death," Typhoon kissed each of her cheeks and then started snivelling into her mane, shaking a little.

"Where are we…?" Spitfire lifted her head away from her sister's bosom and looked around at the small room. There was a huge glass window in one wall and only one door out.

"It's an interrogation room. They know all about Scotch now." Typhoon explained as she stroked Spitfire's back.

"About time." She commented, scooting off her sister's lap and sitting next to her on the sofa, though she wasn't able to sit straight and had to rest her head on Typhoon's shoulder to stay up.

"So what's happening?" She asked, nuzzling Typhoon's neck. The blue mare sighed and rubbed her forehead, prodding her cheek where her gash had scabbed over.

"Since Scotch is gone and we don't have any other family that can take us in, they're gonna send you to a foster home if Silver Lining can't take care of us." She explained solemnly. That got all the senses back into Spitfire's head.

"What… b-but we aren't gonna let 'em do that… right?" She asked, not being able to stand the thought of being taken away from Typhoon. Not having her sister around would be like ripping a part of her soul out.

"Of course not." Typhoon said intently, biting her lip and not being able to mask her uncertainty. "They'll have to deal with me before they do that. I would rather cut my front hooves off and stick pins in my eyes than… well, I'll have to stick the pins in my eyes first, and I'll need help to cut my other hoof off because I wouldn't be able to hold the knife in the first hoof because it would have been cut off and-"

"Ahem," a voice got their attention, completely cutting off (ironic) Typhoon's rant. The cop in the doorway looked at the eldest sister. "The phone's available now and you can call your friend."

"Great," Typhoon looked down at Spitfire. "I'll be just a minute." She then left the room, leaving Spitfire alone in the room with the cop. Being the distrusting pony she was, Spitfire just stared at her hooves the whole time, meeting any of his attempts at conversation with a menacing glare. She was relieved when Typhoon finally came back.

"He's on his way." She reported to the cop, who looked as equally relieved as Spitfire to have her back.

"Alright then, you two stay put while I tell the sergeant." He walked briskly out of the room, leaving the sisters by themselves once again.

"So… what happened to Scotch?" Spitfire asked Typhoon after a few minutes of sitting in silence while the oldest sister paced alongside the glass window. Typhoon stopped and stared out the window, obviously waiting for Silver Lining to come through the door and rescue them.

"They're throwing him in jail of course. Abuse is a serious matter, Spit, and causing his own wife to commit suicide… he's gonna be in a cell for quite a while." She sighed. Spitfire huffed and leaned against the arm of the chair.

"Serves him right- he should be in the slammer for life for what he's done to us." She stared at the wall opposite her with slitted eyes. Typhoon only responded after a few seconds.

"It's kinda sad." She muttered. Spitfire's ears pricked up. She had to have heard that wrong.

"Say what now?" She asked. Typhoon looked over her shoulder, her ears drooping and her orange eyes fixed on the floor.

"It sounds horrible… being stuck in a cell for years at a time. I mean just think, not being able to fly free," she visibly shuddered at the thought. "I'd lose my mind."

Spitfire sat up straight once again. "What's the matter with you? After all the pain he's caused us you actually feel sorry for the guy?" she made incoherent bumbles as Typhoon nodded. "But- but he beat you and me up over and over again; he made our mom kill herself! And- and you… you don't think he deserves it?!"

Typhoon sighed again and let her wings fall to her sides. "Well…" she couldn't think of anything else to say. Spitfire shook her head at Typhoon; she was too optimistic for her own damn good. She could always somehow see the good in everyone- Scotch could have murdered the whole street and she still would have figured out some reason for him to be pardoned. It was in her nature to look on the bright side of things, and Spitfire was convinced that it was her sister's weakness- one of her only weaknesses. The enemy needed to be taken down, and if that way was throwing them in a cage then so be it!

"Let's not think about it," Spitfire said as her sister began repeating 'Courage!' over and over again. Then the door swung open and a familiar silver stallion walked through, flanked by the cop from before.

"Typhoon, Spitfire!" He greeted them as they flung themselves at him, Typhoon nuzzling his neck and Spitfire wrapping her hooves around his middle.

"About time you got here," Typhoon slugged his shoulder. "I was beginning to think that you were just gonna leave us for dead in here."

Silver Lining gave her a small shove and ruffled Spitfire's spiked mane. "Never mind that," he gathered the two young mares in for a second hug.

"I'm here now."

---

And so it was arranged for the two sisters to live with Silver Lining and his marefriend Cloud Showers. Since Silver was a Wonderbolt their house was pretty big, about the same size as Spitfire and Typhoon's very first house. And things got better. Cloud Showers was very sweet to the two of them- she was a cornflower coloured mare with an orchid mane that she wore in waves, and treated them like her own foals right from the start.

Even better, Typhoon was accepted into the Wonderbolts Academy, since Captain Nighthawk had heard so much about her from Silver Lining's frequent reports about her. She got the role of lead pony, and broke countless Academy Records, even beating Nighthawk's score on the Dizzitron- 6.8 seconds with 6.5 seconds. She was looked up to by all of the other cadets, and soon she had achieved her dream of joining their ranks. The happiest day of Typhoon's life was when she was given her official uniform, signifying that she was one of the greatest flyers in Equestria. Spitfire and Cloud Showers were in the stands of all her and Silver's shows, cheering them on as they completed stunt after stunt. Everypony went wild for Typhoon's 'Riding the Wind' trick, which soon became iconic for the Wonderbolts. In no time at all Typhoon had become one of the most popular 'Bolts, always having to stay after shows to sign autographs, and being dragged to photo-shoots. Once when Spitfire had accompanied her to one of the shoots, Typhoon had made her join in- getting her to sit on her back or wear her goggles while Typhoon made a silly duck face, which always cracked her up.

It seemed like after a long time of darkness, the candle had been lit once again. And it must have been burning brightly because a couple of months after her nineteenth birthday, Spitfire finally got her own acceptance letter to join the Academy.

---

Nineteen Years Old

"I can't believe we're finally here!" Surprise buzzed in her excitement as she and Spitfire flew over the Wonderbolts Academy towards the training grounds. From their years of being best friends, Surprise had gained an interest in the Wonderbolts, too, joining in whenever Spitfire, Silver Lining, and Typhoon trained, and even going to see some air shows with them on some occasions. She had also lost that pudge of hers.

"Me neither. Seven years of training and we've made it!" If she was younger and a little more naïve like Typhoon then she would have squealed.

"Oh my gosh, check everything out!" Surprise did squeal as they descended down to the landing strip. Spitfire looked around at all the training equipment; of course, she had seen Typhoon train on it dozens of times, and had even been allowed to fly around the track a few times before, but the first time she had seen all the stuff she had reacted the same way as Surprise, desperately wanting to try out everything in the training grounds… twice! They landed at the end of the line of cadets standing on the strip, chatting amongst themselves and looked down it. Five other ponies were in the line, two mares and three stallions, all shaking hooves with each other and introducing themselves. Nopony had seemed no notice that two new ponies had joined them… actually, one pony did.

"Hi there," a rhythmic voice got the two mares' attention. They looked to their left to see an eighth cadet, a white pegasus stallion with a gamboge coloured mane he wore in high spikes, smirking at the two of them.

"Oh, hello." Surprise was the first to greet him with her signature grin. "How're you doing?"

The stallion moved to the side until he was standing between the two mares. "Oh I was just doin' fine, baby." He then snaked an arm around each of their shoulders. "And then two fly mares flew down from the heavens and now I'm even more fine."

Feeling a little awkward, Spitfire removed the stallion's arm and scooted to the left, away from him. This didn't seem to faze him in the slightest, despite Surprise's obvious discomfort. "So…" she tried to think of some form of conversation to break this silence. "You're special talent is…?" she looked at his Cutie Mark, which was a cluster of a bottle of hair gel, a pair of sunglasses, and a comb.

"Looking hot, of course!" he chuckled. "But ya must've already figured that out."

Wow, narcissist much?

"So, what're your names, ladies?" he asked, looking from Surprise to Spitfire. Surprise pointed over at her golden friend.

"That's Spitfire, and I'm Surprise, and we're both a little freaked out…" Surprise added that last one through gritted teeth, not that this guy noticed. He seemed to be a little ignorant.

"Ooh, your names are cute, baby. Mines- HOO! - Paladin!" he pumped his hoof in the air when he made his 'hoo' noise. Surprise slowly walked around him and sat on the other side of Spitfire, who then walked around to sit on the other side of her, resulting in the two mares arguing over with of them had to sit closer to this weirdo. Suddenly-

"Hey, what's going on here?"

The two mares quit arguing to look up at the speaker, seeing Captain Nighthawk, fully clad in his uniform, which displayed his cutie mark- the head of an eagle, colored completely white with a red outline and one yellow eye. The three ponies stood there for a while, before Surprise squealed and leapt up at him, hugging him so tight that he stumbled a little.

"Oh my gosh, Captain Nighthawk! I'm touching Captain Nighthawk! I've been a fan for years now, and I'd really appreciate it if you autographed everything I own- you can even write your name on me if you like. Mind if I squeeze a little tighter- WHOA, you smell like oranges- you'd look good in a tux, kinda like those spies from the movies, can I take a selfie with you, I-"

"Whoa, easy there," Nighthawk pushed Surprise off her to get her to stop fangirling, though her display had got a lot of the other cadets laughing. Surprise took her spot next to Spitfire (it was also next to Paladin but by now she didn't care) and Nighthawk began pacing along the line of pegasi.

"Okay listen up everypony 'cause I wanna make myself very clear! I'm looking at all your smiling faces and I bet you all think that this whole training session is just gonna be a barrel of fun. Well wipe those grins off your face, 'cause fun is near the bottom of the list of words I would use to describe this. Grueling, is one of the words near the top- so is exhausting, challenging, and for some of you, painful! GOOD! 'Cause it's my job to make Wonderbolts out of you, so if I have to make you squeeze every last drop of sweat out of your lazy, napping-on-the-couch flanks I WILL, dammit!" he barked. Spitfire had seen him act like this before when Typhoon took her to her practices for air shows, so this wasn't new for her. When she had first heard him yell like this she had been taken by surprise, since he was one of the coolest, nicest ponies ever when he wasn't in Sergeant Nasty mode. But she had grown accustomed to it.

"Any questions?" he scanned the line of cadets. Surprise waved her hoof in the air and made a few 'ooh' sounds. Nighthawk nodded at her and Surprise lowered her hoof back to the ground.

"Okay, when lightning strikes the sea why don't all the fish die?" she asked. Spitfire groaned and face hoofed, hissing the word 'idiot' out the corner of her mouth.

"Any questions that are in some way related to literally anything we're doing?" Nighthawk made his point a little clearer, only to be met with no response. "Okay then, I want all of you to give me 300 laps around the track so I can see what you're made of. Let's move it! GO, GO, GO!"

The cadets raced to the track, Spitfire taking the lead. Well, that was short-lived when she was suddenly tackled to the ground. All the cadets stopped as Spitfire was pinned down by the muscular blue mare.

"What's up, Buttercup?" Typhoon grinned down at her sister. Spitfire felt a blush creep onto her face as Typhoon reached down and nuzzled her forehead. The other cadets started whispering to each other and pointing as Typhoon continued to baby her sister. Spitfire tried to get away, but Typhoon just grabbed her again and ruffled her mane. "How's my sister's first day so far? Is Nighthawk treating you right?" she planted a wet kiss on her cheek, clearly embarrassing her on purpose. "You been potty yet?"

"Alright, lemme go, this has gone too far now!" Spitfire scrabbled to escape her sister's iron grip. Years of training had done her well- Typhoon just maintained her hold on her and blew a raspberry on her neck, making her sister squirm with the effort of not laughing.

"Ahem," Typhoon stopped mid-raspberry as Nighthawk trotted up to her and gave her an amused glare. Typhoon released her sister, who gave her a shove before moving to stand next to Surprise.

"Yes sir?" Typhoon asked, putting on an innocent face.

"Typhoon, I'm all up for you looking out for your little sister-" when he said the word 'sister' the cadets all gasped and looked at Spitfire with bewilderment. Yep, it paid to be the younger sibling of a popular Wonderbolt. "-but couldn't you wait to humiliate her after training."

Typhoon huffed and folded her arms, making a pouty face. "Aw, fine," she moaned, but as soon as Nighthawk started walking away she sat up and poked her tongue out at him. And then-

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Typhoon," Nighthawk called back without turning around. "If the wind changes while you're making silly faces it'll get stuck like that."

Typhoon pulled her tongue back into her mouth and silently mimicked him. "It'll get stuck like that, meh meh meh…" she teased him as she walked past a group of three cadets, who all burst out laughing. Typhoon bent down and whispered one last thing to Spitfire.

"Grind 'em all into the clouds, Little Wonder." She winked before flapping into the air and whizzing back over the training grounds.

"She's your sister?" a male voice, not Paladin's this time, spoke from Spitfire's right side. Looking in his direction, Spitfire was met with a pale blue stallion with a phthalo blue mane that he wore in a windswept style. He had green eyes that looked at her with disbelief and his jaw was slack, giving him a dopey appearance. Spitfire nodded, feeling odd that she was getting so much attention for her sister's fame.

"Yeah," was all she said, shrugging her shoulders like it was no big deal. Well, for her it was no big deal at all, since she had known Typhoon since the day she was born. Her sister was special, but when you've known somepony for nineteen years they become normal no matter how famous they become.

"That's so awesome," the stallion gaped. "Typhoon's one of the greatest Wonderbolts ever. I tried Riding the Wind like her once." He added. Spitfire's eyes widened.

"And it worked?" she asked.

"Yes…" the stallion looked down. "if you consider hurling out of control and crashing into a tree 'working'." He made quotation marks with his wings. Something got Spitfire's attention then.

"Trees?" She cocked a brow. "I guess you don't live in Cloudsdale then." She supposed that if he did she would have seen him before. Heck, she should probably have gone to the same school as him if he lived here since he was about her age, most likely a little younger.

The stallion shook his head. "Nah, I'm from Fillydelphia- nice place even if the ground isn't as soft."

"It's nothing special once you get used to it," Spitfire kicked at a loose tuft of cloud with a hoof, which was a habit of hers. "Kinda like having a prestigious sister." She added mentally.

"But if I graduate then my family and I are moving to Cloudsdale immediately. I'll get a place for them… and a bigger place for me." He told her his plan. Spitfire gave him an eye roll for being so prepared.

"So, yeah, I'm Spitfire," she shook hooves with the stallion, relieved to meet one that wasn't a wadbag. Usually she didn't trust ponies she just met, but this guy seemed nice enough.

"And I'm Soarin," he greeted back, giving her a smile. He looked after the other ponies and his ears poked straight up. "Hey, everyone's taking off. Wanna race?" he offered. Of course, being the competitive mare she was, it only took Spitfire about a tenth of a second to say 'yes'. She quickly caught up to the ponies at the front of the pack, getting an awe-filled stare from the grey mare who had previously been in the lead.

"Hey!" Spitfire looked to her other side to see Soarin flying neck and neck with her. Wow, she hadn't ever met a pony her age that could fly as fast as her- not even Surprise could beat her in a race (when she wasn't hopped up on sugar anyway) since she was more of an agility pony. Soarin gave her a cocky grin. "What's the matter? Little Wonder can't catch up to the newbie?" he teased. Spitfire gave him her most challenging smirk.

"Little Wonder can make you eat her dust!" she declared, picking up speed. Even though Soarin lagged behind her a little after that, he managed to keep close enough to her that she was impressed. As a Wonderbolt's sister she had become a good judge on whether or not to be impressed by a pony's skills. She could barely believe that she had once been astounded by a triple barrel roll. To her that was just basic now.

When they finally finished the 300th lap, they came in for landing, skidding to a halt right in front of Captain Nighthawk, who seemed pretty proud of them. "Nice going you two, I think I'm gonna keep an eye on you guys."

Spitfire felt her heart skip a beat at the captain's praise, knowing that if she was a touchy-feely pony she would hug him.

"Yeah, great work, Spit!" Typhoon landed next to Nighthawk, who gave her an exasperated look. "You and your friend are gonna go far. Who is this anyway?"

"This is Soarin," Spitfire introduced the stallion, who looked a little starstruck at meeting Typhoon. The blue mare reached forward and shook his hoof anyway, even though he didn't shake back due to his paralysis from being in the presence of the kind Wonderbolt.

"Um… durr…" Soarin slurred dozily when she stepped back. Nighthawk tapped Typhoon on the shoulder.

"Yes, my good man?" Typhoon gave him a playful grin, which he didn't seem to find so funny.

"Typhoon, we've talked about this. Family members should normally be excluded from these training session so nopony feels obligated and there's no favoritism," he lectured her. Typhoon sulked and made puppy dog eyes at him.

"But I wanna see my widdle sister twain!" she begged, getting Soarin to chuckle at her. That's another thing Spitfire loved about Typhoon: she always knew how to make ponies laugh. Nighthawk got a cunning expression on his face.

"I'll tell you what. You can watch her train tomorrow…"

"YES!" Typhoon flapped into the air.

"…if you clean all the latrines with your toothbrush."

"NO!" Typhoon sunk back down to the ground.

Nighthawk chuckled at his colleague's crazy antics. There was always that one member of a group that loved to liven things up, and when it came to the Wonderbolts Typhoon was definitely that pony.

"Now will you leave me alone to figure out the lead ponies and wingponies?" he gave her a shove to get her moving. Typhoon snorted through her nose and slunk off.

"Sure thing, ya grumpy old fart," she mumbled. Nighthawk called after her.

"What was that?"

Typhoon's eyes darted around as she frantically thought of a lie. "I said 'sure thing ya… jumpy golf cart…?'" she flew off before Nighthawk could ask for the truth. He shook his head and looked at the cadets, all of whom had completed their laps.

"You'll have to ignore Typhoon guys; she's very nice but she can be a bit of a distraction." He looked sympathetically at Spitfire, who just shrugged. She loved Typhoon no matter how irritating she could be. She was her sister, best friend, and mother all bundled up into the same pony, after all.

"She's not so bad," Spitfire whispered to Soarin, who nodded.

"She seems great! It must be awesome having her as your sister."

Spitfire nodded sincerely. "Yeah, she's the best."

"Okay, everyone, we're gonna move on and test you all out on the Dizzitron. After that you can all get settled in." Nighthawk began leading the way over to the huge circular machine near the center of the training grounds.

"So fun!" Surprise made Spitfire jump as she popped up right beside her.

"Will you stop doing that?" She bonked her white furred friend on the head. Soarin looked past her at the new arrival.

"Oh, who's this?" he asked. Spitfire sighed and put a hoof on Surprise's shoulder.

"This is Surprise, my best friend. She's sterling, tough, dependable, honest, brave and true." She gave her friend an introduction.

"Aw, thanks, Spit." Surprise smiled.

"Oh shut up, Surprise, you know I don't mean a word of it," Spitfire smirked, though Surprise didn't seem disappointed or upset in the slightest. Mostly because she knew after all these years than when Spitfire teased somepony like that she didn't really mean it. She did it to Typhoon a lot so it was just natural. "And don't call me Spit. Only Typhoon can call me that."

"Hi, Surprise," Soarin smiled at the white mare. "Nice hair." He complimented her. Surprise grinned and puffed up her mane a little more.

"Thanks. I've been trying to wear it in spikes but for some reason it seems more natural like that. All I have to do to get it this way is stick my head under one of those automatic hoof dryers in public lavatories." She explained. Spitfire had tried to explain to Surprise that she could just use a hairdryer to do the exact same thing, but Surprise said that she didn't trust those kind of electronics because they cause fires. Well at least she was wary of safety…

"Yeah, you're lookin' so hot that you could make a stallion melt like butter on hot asphalt, baby." Paladin swaggered up to stand between Surprise and Spitfire again. Soarin and Spitfire exchanged glances, Soarin pointing at Paladin and mouthing 'yikes', which made Spitfire chuckle.

"Wow what a jerk," he said out loud. Paladin looked Soarin up and down, looking at him with the first frown they had seen on him.

"Oh, who're you?" he asked. Soarin could sense that something was up, so he raised himself to his full height.

"Soarin Skies," he used his full name this time. Paladin moved over to him and gave him a shove.

"Well listen here, Soarin Skies, this is how things are gonna work." He stood nose to nose with the other stallion. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen…" Soarin replied awkwardly, looking weirded out by the whole situation. Paladin jabbed him in the chest.

"What's your wingpower?" he asked a second question. Soarin gave him a proud yet challenging smirk.

"10.7!" he bragged. You could tell that Paladin had a lower wingpower by the fact that he didn't answer. "Why d'ya wanna know? So you know your place when I fly right past you in every single race? I mean you were way behind just then."

"Yeah, you were right behind me the whole time," Surprise said to Paladin, who smirked.

"I was doing that on purpose," he said. "That way I had a good view," he winked at Surprise, who turned a bright red color. Spitfire felt the sudden urge to punch this guy in the jaw. He had no right to treat mares like this!

"Are you gonna get to your point with all these questions?" Soarin got Paladin's attention back. Paladin straightened himself up and sauntered around the small group.

"I'm planning on becoming the youngest stallion cadet to get into the Wonderbolts. And it looks like you're gonna be my competition," he devised. "So I just wanna let you know that I'm not gonna go easy on you here."

Soarin didn't look put off at all. "Good." He shoved past Paladin. "And I won't go easy on you."

Paladin scoffed before returning to his usual routine of being a bad flirt. "So, now that we're all friends, do you two wanna play a game like, maybe, truth or dare, spin the bottle, or seven minutes in heaven?" he asked, winking at each of the mare's in turn.

Paladin was on the floor with a sore jaw in less than a second.

---

And so Nighthawk arranged all the lead ponies and wingponies. Surprise and Spitfire were overjoyed to discover that they had been put into a pair, Spitfire being the lead pony, with Surprise as her wing. However by some cruel irony, Soarin had been made Paladin's wingpony. Spitfire didn't know how that happened, since Soarin was way faster than that pile of pony poop. True to his word, Paladin didn't go easy on Soarin; in fact he treated Soarin like something vile that he'd stepped in. But then again, neither Soarin nor Spitfire could be ungrateful for the way Paladin treated the pale blue stallion, because it turns out it would benefit both of them.

---

"You okay Soarin?" Spitfire approached the stallion, taking off her flight goggles after a pretty intense cloud busting session. Soarin shrugged and sighed, his usual response when she asked that question. After finding out what Paladin could do, Soarin had grown less cocky- the white stallion made Soarin do a whole bunch of crummy jobs, like carrying him across the training ground or doing his laundry, which he then had to do because he was inclined to as a wingpony. The stallion was clearly getting sick of all the slave labor he was doing for his jerk of a lead pony.

"Where did I go wrong?" he muttered, managing a small chuckle. Spitfire sighed and patted his shoulder.

"Soarin, just keep telling yourself that you're better than that tailhole. No matter what he makes you do you're always gonna be the better pony." She comforted her friend. Soarin gave her a grateful smile and started heading off to talk to one of the other cadets.

"See ya later then, Spitfire," he said over his shoulder. Surprise caught up to Spitfire as they approached the mess hall.

"Paladin?" was all she asked, and Spitfire nodded. Surprise rolled her eyes and headed in. Spitfire was astonished to see that two cadets, Paladin and Soarin no doubt, were still outside.

"Paladin, there is no way I'm gonna help you out with that!" Soarin stared at him angrily. Spitfire crouched down behind a particularly large lump of cloud and eavesdropped on them

"C'mon, it'll be fun pranking the captain. I heard you saying that you like pranks, and if you help me fill Nighthawk's office with helium it'll be hilarious." Paladin gave his wingpony a noogie. "Or are you too chicken?"

"It's not that, it's just that nitrous oxide isn't just laughing gas. It can make you hallucinate and worse!" Soarin told his lead pony. "It's too risky- I don't wanna get in trouble and kicked out of the Academy."

"Wow, someone paid attention in science," Paladin yawned. "Listen, if you do this then I'll… let you comb my hair for me," he suggested running a hoof through it. "Just check out my mane- it's so soft. I use a really good conditioner and I know that you're always wondering how I get my hair to be this shiny."

"Dude, I'm not doing it- not for all the bits in Equestria!" he declined. Paladin was silent for a few seconds, clearly contemplating an insult to throw at him, since he was wearing the same expression he always did when he was about to make fun of somepony, a smug smirk accompanied by one squinted eye.

"I know what's going on here. You're just being useless on purpose… not that I blame you- if I lived my whole life surrounded by earth ponies I'd probably be… well, maybe not a lame as you but still." He berated the pale blue pegasus. Spitfire silently snarled.

'Not this racist stuff again.' she thought.

"Leave earth ponies out of this," Soarin sighed, his voice shaking as if he had been through a similar conversation with Paladin before.

"Aww, is the earth pony gonna cry?" Paladin taunted Soarin, making his voice go high. "Are you gonna add being a crybaby on top of being useless?" he started laughing.

The ass laughed!

Spitfire felt the blood roaring in her ears, the sight of Soarin's pained face was enough to make her feel like a pack of windigos in pony form. She dashed over and stood beside Soarin, staring Paladin down with eyes of fire.

"Hey, knock it off ya sack of crap!" she snapped at him. Paladin rolled his eyes at her, not the slightest bit worried about how long she had been listening to him and Soarin.

"And who're you to stop me, babe?"

"I'm his friend." Spitfire replied simply. Paladin snorted with laughter.

"So?" he asked.

Spitfire marched forward, spreading her wings wide so her shadow covered Paladin. "So, you mess with him, you mess with me, and you do not wanna mess with me." She grabbed Paladin by the collar of his cadet uniform and pulled him forward so that they were nose to nose, dropping her voice to a lethal whisper. "And if I hear you bothering him again, I'm gonna tie you up and take you on a little trip over the side of Cloudsdale. Insert the spoiler tag here: it all ends with you making a pony shaped bloodstain on the ground! And if you think I'm lying, just try to do it again!"

Paladin was shaking now, all his previous arrogance gone as he quivered in Spitfire's hold, hopelessly lost in the ferocity of her eyes. "Y-y-yes, m-ma'am."

"I can't hear you!" she punched him in the shoulder.

"YES MA'AM!" He squealed desperately. Spitfire threw him to the ground before nodding at Soarin.

"Now for the love of Celestia, apologize to Soarin." She ordered him. Paladin scrabbled to his hooves, his tail between his legs.

"I'm sorry! Honest, I really am! Don't hurt me!"

"Good," she glared daggers at the stallion, who was sweating bullets. "Now get outta my sight before I take you on a 'trip' anyway."

He turned and bolted for it, tripping on the way, never looking back.

Satisfied, Spitfire sat down next to Soarin, who was staring at her with his jaw slack. "If he bothers you again just tell me and I'll kick his ass." Spitfire told him. He fumbled for the right words.

"That… that was…"

"Impressive."

Spitfire and Soarin almost had consecutive heart attacks as Nighthawk suddenly appeared behind them like some kind of crazy jack in the box… okay a jack in the box would pop up, and that's not what Nighthawk did so- GETTING AWAY FROM THE POINT!

"H-how much did you see?" Spitfire asked, since Soarin was incapable of speech for the time being. Nighthawk seemed amused by their shock.

"I was standing behind Spitfire while she was listening in on your conversation," he revealed. Spitfire anxiously raised her hoof.

"Pardon me sir, but… that's a little creepy."

Nighthawk just smiled at the two of them. "I've gotta say the two of you have something about you," he commented, looking at Spitfire first. "You aren't afraid to protect your friends, and you're tough, too- always good in the Wonderbolts," he then looked at Soarin. "And you show great loyalty and endurance for dealing with your lead pony for this long. And your refusal to gas my office proves that you stand up for what you believe in." He lowered his voice a tad. "To be truthful I'm grateful for that, too."

"Well… th-thank you Captain," Spitfire said nervously. "But I would have thought you'd be mad at me. I mean, I did just make a cadet wet himself."

"I'm not mad- didn't I just say I was impressed?" he repeated his earlier praise. "In fact I have a proposal that I think you two will like."

"Oh… what?" Soarin asked, baffled by the fact that the captain was remaining calm about all this; was he gonna spring their punishment on them now under the impression that it was a good thing? Nighthawk gave the two of them a smirk.

"How would you two like to be my personal protégés?"

---

And of course their answer had been a resounding "HELL YEAH!"… followed by Nighthawk being tackled to the ground and hugged. And from there I think most of you know how the story goes.

Under the watchful eye of Captain Nighthawk, Soarin and Spitfire made it all the way through the Academy, and they, along with Surprise and another stallion, Nimbus, graduated and were made fully fledged Wonderbolts. And much to Paladin's displeasure, Soarin became the youngest stallion to become a Wonderbolt.

"Huh? Hey Cap, how come he gets to be a Wonderbolt and not me? That's not fair!" Paladin had whined after their graduation ceremony was over. Nighthawk glowered down at the stallion, something he only did when he was at his most fierce.

"Because you lack all the qualities a Wonderbolt needs," he told the ex-cadet. Paladin looked crushed, and for one fleeting moment Soarin and Spitfire felt sorry for him. Just one moment though.

"B-but I'm such a good flyer. I'm fast and I can do stunts… what else is there?" he asked, looking like he was in one of those dreams that you couldn't make sense out of no matter which way you looked at it. Nighthawk put a hoof on the young pegasus pony's shoulder and looked him intently in the eyes.

"Remember Paladin, it isn't fast flying that gets you into the Wonderbolts. It takes boldness and determination in the face of great danger; especially in battle." Nighthawk replied in a strong voice an answer that you could tell had been branded into his heart, "A Wonderbolt has courage, bravery and valor, the greatest of those being Valor!"

"Loyalty unwavering. Bravery before loyalty. Heroism greater still. Valor above all." The captain recited the Wonderbolt creed.

"That's what it takes kid," Nighthawk stated then gestured to her own wings. "Trust me, there isn't an ounce of any of them in these wings," he then thumped his hoof against his chest. "They're all in here, you just gotta dig deep and find them."

Paladin dipped his head before slinking off to the doors out of the main hall, where Surprise and Nimbus were congratulating each other. Deciding that there was no reason to pass another opportunity to flirt with Surprise, he poked his head around the side of the door and smirked at her.

"So now that you're a Wonderbolt how about we see if you really can give a flying-"

And then the door slammed on his nose.

"Spit, ya did it!" Typhoon grabbed Spitfire around her shoulders and squeezed her tightly. Spitfire hugged her back, despite the pain in her chest that made her fear her lungs would collapse, and suddenly realized her sister was sniffling.

"Ty, are you crying?" the golden mare asked. Typhoon lifted her face from her sister's mane, affirming that there were in fact tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Why shouldn't I?" she asked. "My sister's finally a Wonderbolt," she kissed her nose and nuzzled her forehead. "I didn't know it was possible to feel this proud."

"I did." Spitfire told her. "I'm pretty sure that's how I felt when you became a Wonderbolt."

"This good?" Typhoon looked at her sister with disbelief. "Wow, you sure must have been proud of me."

"You have no idea," Spitfire rubbed her cheek against her sister's, getting a giggle out of her. Nighthawk and Soarin walked up next to them since Soarin had finished being congratulated by his family.

"Well Typhoon, I think you're the only pony prouder of Spitfire and Soarin than me," he said to the blue Wonderbolt. He then glanced at Soarin and Spitfire in turn. "But seriously, I'm so glad that I made you my protégés. The two of you are going to do great things- I just know it."

Soarin was the first to hug the captain, something the big black stallion was used to from him now. "Thank you Captain."

Nighthawk looked down at Soarin. "No need for formalities now that you're a Wonderbolt, Soarin. Just 'Nighthawk' will work just fine." Soarin looked at him incredulously as if this was a great honor… well it was, but he had just been made a Wonderbolt so in comparison it wasn't all that cool. Spitfire was about to say something to Typhoon when Soarin grabbed her and pulled her into the group embrace, too.

"We can't forget about you," he said to her, even though he knew hugs weren't exactly how Spitfire rolled. Typhoon then joined in, putting a hoof around Spitfire and Nighthawk.

"Don't leave me out- I want a hug, too!" she chirped. Nighthawk obliged, though he did that usual head shake and eye roll he seemed to reserve for Typhoon alone. The blue mare stood back, pulling a camera out from her mane- yes she had indeed learned that trick from Surprise. "Okay, now the three of you get into position. We need a photograph of this moment."

"Alright then," for once Nighthawk agreed with one of Typhoon's ideas, standing in between Spitfire and Soarin and smiling at the camera. Spitfire stood on Nighthawk's left, grinning up at her sister rather than the camera lens, and Soarin wore the same cheesy smile he'd had on his face for the past half an hour it seemed. Then Typhoon snapped the picture and the three ponies crowded round to see it.

"I look constipated," Soarin flushed as he saw his smile, and Typhoon was quick to agree.

"Just so we're clear, I'm keeping this on my bedside table," she told the others. Spitfire poked her in the ribs.

"You could at least give us copies," she said. Typhoon scoffed and gave her sister a playful shove.

"Why would I forget to do that? Sheesh, treat me like I'm useless why don't ya, Spit?" she nudged the younger golden pegasus with one of her wings. The two of them made their way out of the main hall and into the hallway. Typhoon led Spitfire over to the window on the right side of it and the golden mare stood next to her.

"Lemme tell ya something," Typhoon gazed up at the dark sky. "Remember when we were fillies and I picked out a star for us to wish on," she waited for her sister to nod. "Well I never stopped wishing on it."

"Seriously?" Spitfire scoffed. Typhoon shrugged.

"Yeah, I wished on it every night that you'd get into the Wonderbolts, and I'm so pleased to see that it came true," she said in that naïve voice of hers. Spitfire knew that there was no way wishes on stars came true, but she didn't want to rain on her sister's parade. "Hey."

"What?" Spitfire asked. Typhoon nodded up at the stars.

"I remember mentioning something to you when we were little about flying up to the stars and bringing one back for you," she recalled. "Well I'm glad I waited to do it, because now we can fly up there together," she schemed. Spitfire felt her heart throb at her sister's sweetness and twined her tail with hers, butting her cheek with her muzzle.

"This is the best day of my life," she confessed, blushing as Typhoon nuzzled her forehead again. Typhoon then booped her on the nose.

"And it's only gonna get better," she revealed. "I checked out the buffet list for the celebration earlier and I'll give you one guess at what certain sweet treat is on it."

Spitfire gasped before drooling out the answer in unison with Typhoon.

"Chocolate!"

---

Both sisters had achieved their goal: to fly with the best of the best. And their streak of good fortune didn't end there! When Afterburner, the co-captain, retired so she could look after her ill mother, the role was given to Typhoon who practically tore the whole compound apart bouncing off the walls in her joy.

Silver Lining had some good luck too: Cloud Showers had a foal of her own, Orion, and Typhoon and Spitfire then had to move so they had more room, which was no trouble, since they could now afford to get their own place.

And in air shows the ponies in the stands went nuts for the Spit-Blitz especially when Spitfire did it at the same time Typhoon Rode the Wind. There were, of course, some downsides along the way, too. For example, Nighthawk retired from his role as captain after twenty four years as a Wonderbolt and the torch was passed on to Concorde, one of the senior Wonderbolts. Spitfire, Soarin, Typhoon and the others were all sad to see their leader leave the business, but they couldn't really complain since he'd had a pretty long career, most Wonderbolts only lasting a little over fifteen years on average.

And then for a while after Typhoon and Spitfire lived the celebrity life of luxury, but similar to the rest of their lives, something always had to interfere with that. It was on the day of the iconic 'Dragon Attack of Hoofington' that the real impact was made, and each of the sister's got hit hard. For one it meant an everlasting agony; for the other it meant something much worse, yet not anywhere near as painful…

---

Twenty One Years Old

"Holy Celestia!" Spitfire felt her wings go numb as she along with Soarin, Nimbus and Surprise flew onto the scene. They had recently got news of a huge blaze in Hoofington, not caused by something stupid like a dropped match or an oven left unattended, but a huge fire breathing dragon!

"I suddenly wish I'd brought my bag of marshmallows," Surprise gulped. Spitfire would have slapped her upside the head if they weren't in mid-air.

"Is this really the time to voice your need for your marshmallow bag?" she asked. Surprise nodded.

"Yes! It's a snack and a pillow!" she explained. Nimbus pointed down at the ground.

"There's Concorde!" he led the way as the four reinforcements made their way down. Concorde, who was a tall navy blue pegasus stallion with a maroon tail and mane that he wore in a buzz cut, was speaking to Contrail.

"I think that's the last of the residents, Captain," Contrail reported. "We'll send out another search party just in case, though." Concorde gave him a nod of approval and then turned to the four youngest Wonderbolts.

"Thank Celestia you got the message- we need every Wonderbolt for this," he wiped some sweat from his brow, though whether it was from the stress or the heat they didn't know.

"Where did this dragon come from?" Soarin asked, flapping into the air to get a better view of the beast. It was a huge orange monster, and whenever it roared the ground shook. Concorde looked into the fire, which had spread across the whole town. From their spot just outside of Hoofington, they could tell that a lot of the houses had burned down, and destruction like this would take months to restore.

"The mountains to the east; apparently this dragon had just woken up from its hundred year slumber, and from the looks of things it was a pretty restless sleep," he joked, though his voice stayed stern. Spitfire looked around at the other Wonderbolts- some were assisting ponies along and others were flying over town looking for any stragglers.

"Where's Typhoon?" she asked Concorde. The captain sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I sent her to use her trick to try and blow out the fire… it worked for a little while, but it just rolled the fire further along town. So now she's trying to figure out how to take down the dragon. Crazy mare's gonna get us all killed." He said that last part to himself, not aware that he was worrying the others.

"So what do you want us to do?" Nimbus asked Concorde, standing straight. Concorde gestured to the stack of first aid kits a little way away.

"I want you four to take care of any injuries. If anyone comes out with wounds patch them up as best you can. I'm going to take a few of the strongest flyers to the reservoir to try and create a tornado of water big enough to put out these flames. Not sure what we're going to do about the dragon yet. Maybe we should just try to confuse it and chase it off?" Concorde was clearly sceptical of his plan. He whistled loudly and flew off into the fire, Contrail, Hoarfrost and another stallion, Storm Front, following close behind.

"Okay then, let's get to work," Soarin sat beside the stack of first aid kits. It only took a second for Nimbus to get bored.

"Doing what?" he asked. Nimbus was a stormy grey stallion with a mane and tail the colour of mustard and a cutie mark that pictured a storm could with blue sparks coming off it. He was a pretty impatient pony, but when duty called he could be a real soldier stereotype. Surprise was sitting close to the blaze, roasting something on a splint from one of the burnt houses.

"Surprise, what are you doing?" Spitfire called over from her spot with the two stallions. Surprise looked over her shoulder, waving her stick in the air.

"I found a couple of marshmallows that I keep spare in my tail. Want one?" She raised the splint higher, and Spitfire just shook her head and started pacing. She wasn't sure what worried her more- that there was a major dragon attack and they weren't allowed to help, or that Typhoon was somewhere in that inferno trying to take down the huge beast. Fortunately, no Wonderbolts came seeking medical attention, but unfortunately Nimbus decided he'd had enough.

"I can't do it," he stood up determinedly. "I'm not sitting around while my teammates risk their lives. I'm going in to help; who's with me?" he asked the others. Soarin was the first to speak.

"But… we'd be disobeying the captain, and we're not supposed to do that," he stated the obvious. Nimbus scoffed at him.

"We could save lives! Our help could make all the difference. Come on- the four of us against that dragon. We can do this!" he tried to hype his colleagues up. Spitfire tried to reason with him.

"Nimbus, this is crazy. There's no way we can go up against a fully grown dragon and live to tell the tale; I mean look at what it's done to Hoofington!" she gestured to the destruction around them, just in time for a pillar to collapse and send another house caving in.

"How do you know that?" Nimbus countered. "We'll never know unless we give it a chance. We're supposed to be the most skilled flyers in Equestria, and we're sitting on our flanks like bumps on a log waiting for the others to get the job done. I'm not standing for that! I'm going in to do what Wonderbolts are supposed to do, and if any of you want to help me out then come on!"

Soarin, Spitfire, and Surprise just sat and stared at him, knowing that there was no way they were going to change his mind.

"None of you…?" he looked a little worried now, but he put on a brave face anyway. "Okay then, if you wanna be good for nothing lumps then see if I care," he spread his wings before being confronted by his golden teammate.

"Listen you- we're just doing what Concorde told us so that no unnecessary casualties occur. Nimbus just shoved her to the side.

"Coward!" he snapped at her. "That's what you are; I thought you'd be all up for this, but you only care about yourself since you're the captain's pet!" he spat the last word out with so much venom that Spitfire associated him with a snake for a second. "He thinks that you're special just because you're the co-captain's sister, but you're the biggest coward out of everypony here. After what he's done you don't wanna back him up! Coward!" he said again. Wow, never had one word struck her to the heart like that; it stung so much that she felt miserable.

"Nimbus, shut up!" Spitfire flared her wings out to show that she meant business. The pegasus stallion just scoffed and walked on by.

"If any of you need me I'll be making something of myself!" he looked like he wanted to say other things, but he just shook it off and flapped through the flames. Surprise got to her hooves.

"Maybe we should go after him," she said once she'd swallowed her marshmallow. Spitfire put a hoof on her shoulder.

"No, Surprise. He's just being reckless… he'll come to his senses in a minute or two…" she gulped, pushing her friend back down to the scorched ground, just wanting him to get what was coming to him.

So they waited…

…and waited….

…and waited some more…

But Nimbus didn't come back.

"Okay, I'm starting to get worried…" Soarin fiddled with his tail whilst looking into the inferno. Spitfire was also concerned because the tornado had not been made yet. Originally she'd had qualms that they wouldn't have enough wingpower to make one, and it seemed like her fears had been correct after all.

"Maybe we should look for him," Surprise suggested.

Spitfire shrugged. "You could be right," she reluctantly said. "But what if some ponies need first aid? We'll need to be here for that."

"Oh come on," Soarin pointed a hoof towards the burning town. "Nopony has got hurt and we've been here for over an hour! If nothing's happened yet, then nothing will!"

And then a huge explosion sent the town up in flames. A huge arc of fire curved over Hoofington, buffeting everypony's fur and forcing the three youngest Wonderbolts to clench their eyes shut to shield them from the awful wave of heat that slammed into them. Once they could see again, which was a little scary since the flames in the town were now ever bigger and more lethal looking than before. Spitfire gave Soarin a look.

"You were saying?" she asked harshly, and Soarin looked down at the ground in embarrassment. Suddenly, Silver Lining swooped down from the sky, just in time to assist Hoarfrost, who tumbled out of the flames, looking like she'd been through hell. Surprise led the way as she and her two friends raced over to the battered brown mare. Spitfire cringed at the state of her: Her feathers were scorched, and she'd lost all of the fur on her right hind leg. It was a pretty grim sight for anyone who had never seen a pony without fur. Hoarfrost choked and spluttered, and clutched her chest in obvious pain.

"Hoarfrost, what's going on?" Silver asked. Suddenly, Contrail and Storm Front raced through the fire as well, looking even more messed up than Hoarfrost, their tails burned completely off. Surprise went to tend to Storm Front while Soarin dashed over to lend Contrail a hoof and Spitfire stayed with Silver and Hoarfrost, who was explaining what happened. "The fire spread to the centre of town…" she stopped to cough and hack some more. "I don't know how it happened, but everything went up in flames. We had to abort the tornado and get the hay out of there. But everything started falling apart and a pillar fell on top of me…" she winced as she tried to stand up and collapsed back to the ground. "I can't feel my back legs," she whimpered. "Are they still there?"

"Lemme get you some medicine," Spitfire was about to get a first aid kit but Hoarfrost grabbed her by the leg to stop her.

"No, I'm fine," she said between coughs. She was obviously lying, but Spitfire obeyed her will anyway. The brown Wonderbolt then pointed behind her into the flames. "But Concorde's still in there!"

Silver's jaw dropped and he started muttering 'no' over and over under his breath. Spitfire felt immensely worried, too- over the past year she had grown close to the captain, which Nimbus was quick to point out. She hadn't seen what the problem was with it; he just kept an eye on her because, and I quote, "She showed potential", Nimbus was just the jealous type.

"Surprise!" Spitfire called out to her white friend, whose ears perked up when she heard her name. "Fix Hoarfrost up; I'm going in!"

"WHAT!?" Surprise dropped the first aid kit she was holding in her mouth on her forehoof and yelped. "Are you insane!?"

"YES!" Spitfire spread her wings and looked away, ignoring Surprise's pleas as she took a deep breath and took off through the fire.

"Crud!" she exclaimed as soon as she flew in. She shielded her eyes against the blazing flames and landed in the middle of a burning house that had lost most of its walls. Keeping her eyes closed she pushed her way through the heat, amazed and terrified at just how hot it was possible to be. She had wondered several times what it would be like to walk on the sun, and if the sun was a trillion times worse than this then the idea of it now petrified her! For a second she even thought she might be melting!

"Concorde!" she yelled into the flames, gasping as she rolled out the way of a falling roof. "Concorde, are you here?!" most of her cry was drowned out by the dragon roaring again. It swung its massive tail and knocked a few more buildings down, sending debris flying here, there, and everywhere! She looked over her shoulder, wondering if Surprise had followed her, and when she saw she was alone she felt a tinge of regret. Was she being careless like Nimbus?

Wait… Nimbus!

He was in the explosion, too! Moving quicker this time, Spitfire dashed through the maze of fallen walls and flames, reeling back whenever something fell down in her path or having to fly swiftly through the blazes. She had been to Hoofington for air shows many times in the past, and now the place was impossible to recognize. The smells of the bakeries were replaced with a choking smoke, all of the foliage had been burned to a crisp, the clear night sky was blocked by the black smoky cover, and… wait, what the hay was that awful smell?

Spitfire felt her eyes water, this time not from the smoke as she caught a whiff of something vile on the wind- it smelled like… the worst fart ever mixed with a musky substance with a hint of… vanilla? Well whatever it was made Spitfire sick to her gut. She could liken it to the smell of death. Probably because…

"Nimbus!" Spitfire dashed to the crippled form that lay on the ground beside a black, flaming tree. She stood stiff as a statue as she gazed down at the stallion. If it wasn't for the cutie mark visible on his flank she wouldn't have recognized him. Almost all of his fur had been burnt off and his body was near completely covered in grotesque blisters. He looked terrible, so terrible that it was hard to look at tongue lolled out and his eyes were glassy… they seemed to be the only part of him that hadn't burned. She felt guilt stabbing her chest as she realized that the last thing the two of them had ever done was fight. She would never get to make amends with him now, and he had probably died thinking that she hated him. Oh Celestia…

"Nimbus, I'm sorry," she sat on her haunches and stared down at him. She knew that he couldn't hear her but she just felt possessed to apologize to him. "I should have helped- or at least got you to stay. I'm sorry, I didn't want you to…" she couldn't bring herself to say the word 'die'. She hadn't even realized she was crying until she raised a hoof to her cheek to wipe some ash off it. And the tears were only making the stinging worse when it mingled with the smell of burnt flesh and the smoke… which was soon accompanied by the smell of vomit as Spitfire lost her lunch right there and then. Forcing herself to look back at the burnt up pegasus, she decided that she couldn't just leave him there. She needed to get his body back to the others. But he was so… icky.

"Okay… it's just Nimbus... only Nimbus…" she held her breath and lowered herself down, hooking one hoof around the stallion's middle, feeling bile rise in her throat again as she felt that he was crusty in some places and oozing in others. "OnlyNimbusonlyNimbusonlyNimbus!" she repeated while trying not to freak out. She was so occupied by trying to imagine that she was carrying something other than Nimbus's burning corpse that she completely lost her sense of direction. She hurriedly made her way through the labyrinth of burning debris, not really looking for the others, just wanting to get the body safely out of the fire. She then got the idea to fly up to see where she was going. Flapping into the air, she cringed as Nimbus writhed on her back when she opened her wings and tried desperately not to pass out. As she swooped down to avoid a falling wall Nimbus's limp hoof fell into her face and she bit her lip to keep from shrieking. Ewewewewewewewewew!

"SPIT!"

"GAH!" Spitfire frantically looked around, hoping that Nimbus hadn't suddenly come back to life and was speaking to her. Well, if the blue mare in front of her was any indication then she wasn't carrying a reanimated carcass.

"What are you doing in here, Spit?" Typhoon asked, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Don't you know that it's dangerous… what is that on your back?" she looked at the dead body with wide eyes.

"It's Nimbus," Spitfire squeaked out, noting that her sister's face was turning green. Typhoon gestured from the body to the fire and then somewhere else, then at herself then at Spitfire then back the corpse to Spitfire again and then some other place. Whatever she was gesturing at was unclear. "Please get him off me!"

Typhoon didn't obey. "Hold on, what are you doing in here. Answer that first!"

"Fine," Spitfire held in her complaints. "I came in here to look for Concorde, and then I found Nimbus instead. Now we need to get him back to the others so they can deal with his grossness instead of me! I wanna respect the dead and all, but it's hard to when the dead is melting all over your fur!" she puffed up her cheeks at that and took rapid breaths. Okay it was official. She had a massive phobia of dead bodies!

"Okay, relax," Typhoon grabbed Spitfire's shoulders. "I'll take him back to Silver and the others and you can look for Concorde. I'll come back and help you once I'm done."

"Great," Spitfire nodded her thanks. "Now if you don't help get Nimbus off me I think I'm going to scream!" she was holding in her shrieks in a similar fashion to how you'd hold in puke… though she was holding that in, too. Typhoon, being the braver of the two, grabbed Nimbus and hauled him onto her own back, and Spitfire felt nauseous at the stains of blood and… some other thing she wished she couldn't see on her fur. She shuddered and rubbed one front leg with her other, slightly ashamed that this was the most physical contact she'd had with a stallion.

"You okay, Drama Queen?" Typhoon asked with concern.

"Yeah…" Spitfire shivered again, ignoring her sister's comment. "It feels like he's still on me," she voiced aloud. Surprisingly, Typhoon didn't seem fazed by the dead body on her back.

"Okay, go find Concorde," she saluted before dashing off into the flames. Spitfire knew that the navy blue captain would most likely be on the ground, so she landed on the ash covered surface and started searching around again. Much to her terror she found that she was moving closer to the dragon, so close that the ground vibrated with each step it took. To her dismay she discovered that with every passing minute it was like her lungs were closing in on themselves. Whenever she breathed it stung and she was almost constantly coughing. She knew that if she didn't find Concorde and get some air soon something was bound to go wrong. She was aware of the risks that came with breathing in too much smoke, like lung disease or cancer, so maybe she should try an aerial search instead.

She soared above the town, noticing a distinct change in her breathing once she was high enough to get some fresh air. She would never take the air for granted again; she was so relieved that it was like she was breathing soup. The first thing she laid her eyes on was the rampaging dragon- it was snuffling through a row of houses, occasionally sneezing and sending a building up in flames whenever it did. She then caught sight of the reservoir near the north west of Hoofington, taking one more breath of the sweet night air before diving downwards towards the pool.

When she landed next to it the first thing she did was examine the water, which was a murky black color because of all the ash falling into it. She staggered to avoid stepping on any burning splints as she whipped her head round and round to try and catch a glimpse of the lost captain. Smoke… that was pretty much all she could see no matter which way she looked. It was like the clouds had fallen from the sky right on top of Hoofington, only clouds weren't usually so foul smelling. Her lungs were already stinging and running began to hurt, so she decided to call out Concorde's name again, breaking into a coughing fit after a few attempts.

"Spitfire?" somepony called out in a weak rasp. Spitfire gasped (accidentally inhaling more smoke) and followed the sound, discovering Concorde trapped under a landslide of rubble, only his front visible under the pile.

"Concorde," Spitfire knelt down and started pushing some of the bricks off his back. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of there, just hold on a minute," she frantically scrabbled to uncover the stallion.

"I've got time…" he choked a few times. "Not going anywhere after all," he let out a feeble chuckle. Spitfire acknowledged how bad his voice sounded, like every word he said was hurting him. Eventually, Spitfire had pushed enough of the rubble off him that she could grab his front hooves and pull him out. She did it gently and slowly, fearing that she would hurt him even more with even the slightest mistake. Once he was fully out from under the fallen bricks, Spitfire looked over his wounds. He had a long gash in his side, that looked like a massive scratch, and it didn't take a genius to figure that he'd probably been scratched by one of the dragon's claws. He was bleeding heavily, and the blood pooled around him like paint spilling from its can. His back was scratched up, and he'd lost quite a bit of fur. His left hind hoof was free of fur, and a little blistered at the back of it, but at least he hadn't got hit full blast by the explosion like Nimbus had.

"Okay, get on my back and I'll fly you back to Hoarfrost and the others," Spitfire assisted the stallion as he struggled to clamber onto her back. Thankfully he didn't ask how she had blood and pus all over her flight suit from earlier. She really didn't want to talk about it. "Oh crap!" she cursed at the dragons tail suddenly sliced over her head and she ducked, feeling her spiked mane get tousled as the long tail passed over her and Concorde. The tail sliced through the surrounding houses like a knife cutting a slab of butter and sent wood and bricks raining from the sky.

"Hold on," Spitfire gave Concorde a second to react before she took off into the sky. She didn't want to risk being crushed or having their way out blocked, so she took off and flew diagonally up, leaning to the side a few times to miss some flying rubble, or ducking whenever something flew at her face. Concorde didn't make a sound the entire time, but the shallow breathing in Spitfire's ear alerted her that he was still alive. A large plank of wood spun their way and Spitfire quickly bounced off it with her hind hooves to propel herself higher and faster into the sky. The dragon breathed its fire in their direction, and the golden pegasus was sure that her tail was on fire, but she didn't have time to dwell on that. Remembering her training, she flew between two airborne chunks of a wall and dodged some falling ash, since getting that in her eyes would blind her, meaning that they could get hit out of the sky. Almost there…

And then they were above the flames, and Spitfire was sure that the dragon's next roar was one of frustration that it hadn't managed to fry them. Spitfire soared above Hoofington, until she saw Silver, Surprise, Soarin, and the others.

"We're here," she alerted Concorde, who hummed to let her know he'd heard her. She landed in front of the assembled ponies, a few of whom were crying over Nimbus's body. Though when Spitfire touched down with Captain Concorde, a few of them left Nimbus and rushed over to the new arrivals, including Hoarfrost, who was being carried on Storm Front's back. Spitfire gently placed Concorde down on the ground and the stallion struggled to his haunches, choking and coughing up an unusual amount of blackened saliva. Silver slapped him on the back while reassuring him that he would be okay. Spitfire turned to face the others and much to her surprise she felt something whack her across the faces, making her head snap to the side. She looked round and suddenly the explanation to her surprise was explained.

"You. Complete. Idiot!" The mare of the same name grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently. "I thought you'd been burned alive like Nimbus… well, until Typhoon told me that you hadn't anyway. But you could have been flattened, or eaten or… I made a list, where is it?" Surprise started rifling through her mane but gave up after around five seconds, hugging her friend instead of strangling her. "I'm just so glad you're okay… but I'm still so mad at you! UGH! I don't know if I want to kiss you or kill you!" she leaned against Typhoon for support, looking exhausted from her rant. Typhoon patted her shoulder and pushed her towards Concorde.

"Are you hurt at all?" she asked, nuzzling her sister's cheek where Surprise had slapped her. Spitfire shook her head.

"Just my innocence," she chuckled half-heartedly. She'd never get the image of the burnt up Nimbus out of her brain- it would haunt her in her nightmares for the rest of her life!

"C'mon, let's go check up on Concorde," they moved in closer to the captain, who looked battered beyond repair. He was still bleeding from that gash in his side, and Spitfire finally noticed just how deep it was. The dragon had sliced clean through his ribs, and she could tell that sickeningly because she could see them! She fought to hold in her barf again, and Typhoon had to lend her one of her shoulder to keep her from falling over. Concorde collapsed onto his back, gasping and kicking out one of his hind legs. Instantly a gabble of shock and confusion rang out from the circle of Wonderbolts as the captain rolled onto his front and started hacking up blood. Soarin clapped a hoof over his mouth and Surprise fainted clean away; she would have been no help in carrying Nimbus's corpse back. Typhoon knelt down next to him and started stroking his back.

"Sir, you need bandages and some painkillers," the blue co-captain said to her superior officer. Concorde shook his head, his tears noticeable.

"No… too late…" he was breathing heavily now. Spitfire watched with worry in her eyes as he shakily got up and made his way over to… her? He sat on his rear again, only managing to stay straight a few seconds before tumbling forward, and Spitfire fumbled to catch him. He coughed a few more times and ran a blood-soaked hoof through his maroon mane, though the colour didn't really show amongst it.

"Captain…" Spitfire couldn't bring herself to say much more. She knew what was happening but her mind fought to persuade her otherwise.

"I'm sorry," Concorde mumbled, wiping some blood from his mouth. Spitfire shook her head at him. "No, you're gonna be okay, you just need some medicine and-"

"No!" Concorde cut her off. Contrail made his way over to the captain in Spitfire's arms.

"Listen, you can make it, you just need to be patched up and taken to hospital. That's all," he was desperate.

"Contrail, you know as well as I do that it's not possible. I've lost too much blood," he looked down at his gash, which was displayed in all of its gory glory. "I'm not afraid," he assured his senior Wonderbolt. Contrail stammered and looked down at the captain with watering eyes.

"But… but…" Contrail was pulled aside by Silver, who held on to him despite his struggling. By then Soarin had revived Surprise, and he was hugging her close to him while she cried. Hoarfrost was weeping too, muttering over and over that it was all her fault. Storm Front nuzzled the mare's ear before looking over at Concorde.

"Captain… I just… well, without you who's gonna lead us?" the green stallion asked. Typhoon moved over to sit beside her sister and the dying captain.

"Yeah, who?" she asked. There was fear in her eyes for definite, Typhoon was stressed out enough with the co-captain position, and she had once told Spitfire that being the captain would be far too stressful for her to take; with her naïve and carefree attitude she could make a decision that could cost them everything- that was her worst fear anyway. Spitfire was jolted from her memories by something jabbing her chest. She looked down and saw that Concorde was pushing a blue patch with a lightning bolt badge against her, the one that he always wore on his flight suit for good luck, the one that he wore to let everyone know that he was Captain of the Wonderbolts.

Wait…

"Captain, what are you-" he cut her off out jabbing her again with the badge. His eyes said it all, but once again Spitfire worked hard to convince herself that it wasn't happening. He smiled softly up at her and spoke five words that rendered every other pegasus speechless.

"Lead them well, Captain Spitfire."

Spitfire stared down at him with her jaw agape. No… she didn't deserve this. She was too young! There had never been a captain as young as her! She couldn't do it! She didn't want to do it!

"No… just no, Concorde you've lost your mind, I'm not-"

"I've never been so positive of anything before," he interrupted her yet again. "I've always kept a close eye on you, and you know it, and I've always had my suspicions that you would someday take my place when my time was up."

"You're delirious or something, you're not making sense. I can't be the captain, sir," she argued, knowing that she had no right to accept this honour.

"My mind is clear enough to know that I'm doing the right thing. The captain always chooses his successor, and I choose you," he said with finality in his tone, despite the life draining from him. Spitfire looked around at her fellow Wonderbolts, expecting one of them to object, or at least have Contrail strut up and take the badge for himself, but he stood rigid. Everypony had their eyes on her, even Typhoon, and for the first time there was no expression there. She was alone on this. Though to be honest, her mind was blurred too. Concorde was usually right about everything, which was something she has frequently heard Nimbus complain about when he made him do chores. If he wanted her to be captain then maybe she should listen, even though she was unsure as to whether the captain was just saying these things because his dying brain was screwing up his thoughts. But she wanted him to die thinking that the Wonderbolts were in safe hood, half-conscious or not… so there was really only one option.

She grabbed the badge in her hoof and squeezed it, smiling down at Concorde to let him now that she accepted. Concorde gave her a brave grin.

"You're gonna go far, Little Wonder," he gave her a final wink. Then the light faded from his brown eyes and he seemed to grow heavier, like stone, sinking lower into Spitfire's hold. And then everypony was crying; as if they'd been given a simultaneous command. There wasn't a dry eye amongst the group of pegasi. Spitfire was feeling a lot of guilt, much to her surprise, thinking of all the times she could have hung out with him when she didn't. She would never again see him laugh at one of Typhoon or Surprise's jokes, or see him merry after having more to drink than he should have, and he'd never give her a knowing smile when he was pretending to be mad at her in front of her friends. She could not comprehend that he wasn't still alive, and this wasn't just a sick joke he was playing on them. And moment Spitfire expected him to open his eyes and make fun of her for crying over him, but it never came. And it never would.

Contrail and Silver Lining took Concorde away from her and lay him beside Nimbus. Spitfire wiped her eyes, walking over to a stack of barrels a little way away. They seemed to be the only wooden thing around that the fire hadn't caught up to yet. She leaned her back against them and was soon joined by Typhoon, Surprise and Soarin.

"Wow…" Typhoon muttered as she sat next to her. She was blinking back fresh tears, her eyes already burning. "My little sister's the captain… never would have seen that coming."

"He's gone, Ty," Spitfire buried her face in her sister's shoulder. "I should have found him sooner. He might still be alive if I'd-"

"Hey, this is not your fault!" Typhoon scolded her. "If it were I would be lecturing you far worse than he or Nighthawk ever did! Now, listen here," she tilted her sister's chin up so she could look her in the eye. "You're the captain now, which means that you need to give the others hope. You're their leader now, so get out there and lead. For Concorde."

Spitfire knew that she was right… oh, how she hated it when Typhoon was right. She got up and made her way over to her teammates with her friends and sister in tow, Surprise still sniveling. She cleared her throat to get the others' attention, not sure how she was supposed to order ponies around the way Concorde had. And even if she did come up with something who was to say they'd listen to her? She was too young for this! Looking around she caught sight of the barrels she and the others had been leaning against not that long ago. That actually gave her a good idea… and it was just crazy enough to work!

"Okay, listen up!" she barked in a voice she didn't know she possessed, one that surprised Soarin, Typhoon, Silver, and even Surprise herself. "I know that all of us are feeling losses for these… amazing stallions, but I just feel inclined to remind you that they gave their lives for the good of Hoofington. They died doing what they did best, fighting and flying for Equestria, and they'll be watching over us from the stars just like all those before us," she gave Typhoon a glance at that, and her sister nodded with approval at her pep talk.

"I know that a lot of you are angry… or hurt," she sniffled before straightening up again. "But this is the right time to aim that anger where it belongs!" she pointed towards the burning town. "There's a dragon in there destroying ponies' homes, and I've got a plan that can put down this beast for good. But you all need to follow my orders. You got that?!"

"YES MA'AM!" the Wonderbolt's chorused, a few of them still saying 'yes sir' instead. Even Typhoon and her friends were calling her 'ma'am'. It felt strange…

"Alright, Storm Front, you stay here and take care of Hoarfrost, everypony else, see those barrels over there?" she nodded over to the stack of barrels. "I want you all to take one barrel between two ponies and head on over to the reservoir. Use the barrels to scoop up the water and put out as much of the flames as you can. Typhoon and I are gonna head after the dragon. Silver and Contrail, I want you two specifically in a pair. When I do a Spit-Blitz that's your signal to grab a barrel of water as throw it down the dragon's throat; that'll extinguish its flames. Everypony got that?"

"YES MA'AM!"

"THEN MOVE IT, MOVE IT, MOVE IT!"

And then the Wonderbolts took off. Spitfire found herself wondering if this was what it was like to be a god, having control over everything and everyone. A part of her felt powerful, while a different part of her wanted to slap herself for doing Concorde's job- it was almost like she was insulting him for not giving the others more time to grieve.

"Hey, Spit," Surprise gave her friend a hug. "Don't die, okay," she squeezed her shoulder. Spitfire put of a brave face and pushed her away.

"Don't call me Spit," she grinned lightly. Soarin was about to follow the white Wonderbolt to the barrels when he looked over his shoulder at his golden colleague and new captain.

"Yeah, if you die I'll kick your flank," he joked. And then he was off. Typhoon nudged Spitfire from her left side.

"Ready captain?" she asked. Spitfire blushed, not sure that she would ever get used to being called that. Heck she wasn't even sure she liked being called that. But there was no time to debate whether or not she preferred one title over another.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she shrugged, looking straight into her sister's orange eyes. Yep, even after all these years they were still identical to her own, and they were reflecting the fire, making it seem as if they were really alight. If anything it just made her look even stronger that she was already.

Then they looked straight into the fire, each of them knowing that this would be the toughest challenge they'd ever have to face. Spitfire knew that there was a high chance that they would all die if her plan didn't work… in truth there will still some parts of the plan she wasn't sure of, so they had no choice but to literally wing it. She breathed in, aware that this would be her last breath of fresh air before she was in the smoke again, and then spread her wings.

"I feel the need…" she looked over at Typhoon, who smirked before they both finished the sentence together.

"THE NEED FOR SPEED!"

And then they burst into the fire again.

"So, what's the plan, Stan?" Typhoon asked her sister once their path had been blocked by a wall of rubble, probably caused by the dragon smashing something else. Spitfire thought frantically for a plan.

"Ty, what's our combined wingpower?" she asked. Typhoon added the numbers up in her head. 21 point something," she shrugged, not knowing the numbers precisely. Oh well, that might be enough.

"If we flap our wings hard enough maybe it could blow out the flames?" she was just spit-balling ideas here. Typhoon just scoffed at her plan, which she had kinda expected.

"Have you forgot who your sister is?" she asked. "I can do better than that," and then she crouched down. "But I'll need your help; jump on my back!"

Spitfire obeyed, knowing that her sister always had the best ideas. Typhoon then took off and backed down the path a little.

"Now flap your wings hard!" Typhoon took off instantly afterwards, Spitfire flapping her wings along with Typhoon, in sync and getting faster. And then she knew what the blue mare was planning. It only took about six seconds for the right amount of friction to be built up around them, and then Typhoon stopped flapping; the wind that they had created carried them along through the smoke, blowing the flames out an sending the barrier blocking their way tumbling down. They blasted through it like bullets, sending shrapnel billowing around them before it implanted itself in the ground and walls around them.

"Nice thinking, Ty," Spitfire praised her sister, getting off her back and flying next to her. "Now let's go smash that dragon's head in!" Well maybe she wouldn't do something that severe; as long as the dragon retreated back to its hidey-hole then everything was cool. She still wanted to avenge Concorde and Nimbus in some way, however.

The sisters' had a clear route from then on out, and soon they were looking over the dragon's path of destruction. It had stomped all over the buildings- so much that you couldn't tell that they had been houses once. And much to Spitfire's horror, there were more corpses; most of them blackened beyond recognition but quite a few in the same state Nimbus had been in.

"Pst, this way," Typhoon gestured for Spitfire to follow her, creeping carefully around the wreckage's. Spitfire found her eyes watering at the scrambled smells in the air, and she was struggling not to cough because of the smoke assaulting her lungs. A few times she and Typhoon passed a dead body, which just made the rank smell even stronger. The ground below was also partially painted with blood from the dead, and injured ponies that had run for cover. She decided not to look at it all and just keep on looking straight ahead, but she found out that it was the worst thing she could have possibly done.

Squelch!

Oh Celestia…

"Please don't let it be what I think it is…" Spitfire slowly angled her eyes down, where she saw her front hoof embedded in a corpse's chest, her leg reddened all the way up to her knee from where it splattered. She was paralyzed for a full ten seconds before she could say something.

"Typhoon…" she squeaked, feeling sick all over again. Her sister turned and gasped, quickly grabbing the younger mare and pulling her closer.

"My goodness, you're white as a sheet," Typhoon looked her over. "Though mostly red," she added as an afterthought.

"What do ya mean?" Spitfire asked woozily, trying to keep her puke in. Typhoon escorted her into the husk of an old house and dragged her over to a mirror that had been partially cracked. She was actually horrified at the sight of the pony that stared back at her.

Her mane and tail were ruffled, but that wasn't the most horrific thing- not by a long shot. Her flight suit had been ripped in many different places, blood and pus were soaking her back, and it was dripping down her sides. She had several cuts on her face, the right side of her face almost completely reddened. Her front right leg was so red that it looked like she'd stepped in a can of paint, and there were scorch marks on her suit and tail, which had burned so much that a few inches of it was gone! She had ash all over her face too, tinting it with a dark grey and she had a pretty grim looking gash on her shoulder that was oozing blood and pus of her own. She was also embarrassed to find that there was still a puke stain at the left corner of her mouth. She wiped it away, but it was all for nought since she threw up again about two seconds later.

"You alright there?" Typhoon asked softly, petting her sister's back. Spitfire wiped her mouth again, getting rid of the stain entirely, though that was the least of her worries.

"Do I look okay?" she gestured to herself. "I look like something out of a slasher movie!"

Typhoon gave a weak grin. "I uh… can't really disagree with you there," she rubbed the back of her neck. Spitfire gave her sister a quick once-over. She wasn't in the best state either, her back was soaked too, so she assumed that Nimbus had oozed over her a lot, too. She was admittedly not as bad looking as Spitfire, however.

"Look, we'll have a shower when we get back to compound. Just think of that," she waited for her sister to calm down and then they went back outside. Looking up, Spitfire saw that the other Wonderbolts were hard at work putting out the flames. The dragon slashed at them a few times, but they got out of harm's way fairly easily.

"Okay, here's the plan," Spitfire looked up at the massive beast. "We're both gonna fly around its head, only you're gonna go fly around it one way while I do the same in the other direction. A dragon is basically a reptile, right, so once we get it dizzy enough I'm gonna stop flying. When you catch up to me we're gonna fly in circles around each other to hypnotize it- ya know, like a cobra. Then I'll signal Silver and he'll do his part. Then the dragon will be powerless and the royal guards can take it from there." She plotted; amazed that it seemed to just come to her. Now if it would just work!

"Okay boss," Typhoon winked at her little sister and spread her wings. "Hey?" she asked just as Spitfire was about to take off.

"Hm?" the gold mare raised a brow. Typhoon looked awkwardly at the ground.

"What do you think dad and mom would say if they could see us now?" she wondered. Spitfire usually didn't like to think about her parents… or most of her past come to think of it. But it was a good question, and one that she had to consider.

"Well… they'd probably be scared of me," she decided, looking at one of her bloodied hooves. "Heck they might not even recognize me in my state," she thought of the innocent little long haired filly that had been replaced by… Jack the Ripper in a skin tight flight suit!

"Meh, I bet they'd still love you if half your face had been bitten off by-"

"LALALALALA!" Spitfire plugged her ears and sang loudly, not wanting to think about- nope, too late. EeEeEeEwWwWwW!

Unfortunately, her singing had attracted the attention of the dragon, who stared down at the two ponies with slit, yellow eyes. Typhoon and Spitfire stared back at it stiffly.

"Oh," said Typhoon.

"Crud." Said Spitfire.

The dragon breathed its terrifying fire at them and they dove in separate directions, narrowly avoiding getting scorched like Nimbus and all those corpses. After skidding a few feet through rubble and blood, Spitfire got to her hooves and looked around for Typhoon, fearing the worst. And then her hope was restored as her sister flew up to the dragon and started spinning around its head while singing:

"I'm the T to the Y

To the P, H, O, O, N!

I'm-a kick your scaly butt

And send ya crying to your den!

I'M TYPHOONLICIOUS!"

Spitfire had to hand it to her sister- she knew how to be hilarious even in a life or death situation. Well, time to commence the plan! Spitfire stretched out her legs once and then followed Typhoon. And then the plan was in action. She flew once way around the dragon, while Typhoon did the same in the other direction. Occasionally when they flew past each other they would hoof bump and then laugh at the dragon's befuddled face. It was like it was swatting aimlessly at two particularly annoying flies.

A few times, Spitfire came close to being shredded by those lethal looking claws, but luck must have been on her side because she swerved out the way of every attack. Typhoon practically breezed past every attempt the dragon made to knock her out of the sky, and once even blew a raspberry at it.

The new Wonderbolt captain took a second to look at her colleagues dousing the fire with the barrels of water. It seemed to be working, and the fire was extinguishing quickly. She caught sight of Surprise and Soarin tipping their barrel over and accidentally soaking Contrail, who yelled at them before getting back to work with Silver Lining. Man those two were funny.

"Spit, look out!"

"GYAH!" Spitfire snapped her wings to her side and free fell for a few seconds as the dragon breathed fire at her again, yelling in agony as she felt her back left leg get caught in the flames. She really needed to learn not to get distracted by anything. She looked back at her hoof, startled to find that when the fire died out on it, it took her fur with it. That was nasty!

Finally after a few minutes, Spitfire's wings were beginning to tire, and the smoke wasn't doing her any favors. It was stinging her eyes and cuts and making her head fuzzy. Not to help that the fresh burn on her back left was stinging like crazy. She recalled Nimbus's entire body being burnt, and felt a little sick at the idea of so much pain.

"Spit?" Typhoon started flying beside her, going against the rules. But the dragon seemed dazed enough anyway, so she allowed their discussion to commence. "Should we do our thing now?" she asked. Spitfire looked down at Silver Lining and Contrail, who sure enough were looking back at them.

"Alright, let's go!"

And then they started spinning around each other, flying up and then down over and over again. Spitfire had to remember that Typhoon couldn't handle that kind of dizziness for as long as she could, so they couldn't spend too long doing this. Though today she'd barfed so much that her throat was starting to ache… or was that from the smoke? Oh never mind the point is that she probably had nothing left to hurl anyway.

The dragon had its eyes fixed directly on them and for some horrific time the two pegasi thought that it wouldn't fall for their trick. Then suddenly its eyes went glassy and its jaw hung open. It looked a little like a limp toy swaying ever so slightly from side to side now, though its eyes never strayed from the circling Wonderbolts.

"Do it now!" Typhoon yelled over the sound of whirring, and Spitfire was quick to agree, grabbing Typhoon as she pulled up in a Spit-Blitz so that she didn't set her on fire. She looked over her shoulder and sure enough Silver and Contrail were flying up to the still dazed beast with their barrel.

"Please get there before it snaps out of it," she prayed to Celestia. Silver And Contrail readied the barrel and the thrust it forward with all their strength, sending water cascading into the dragon's mouth. The best convulsed and looked shocked, but by then it was too late. It roared to try and breathe fire but nothing came out! The dragon whined in a high pitched growl, as if it were having a tantrum. Typhoon made some happy cheering noises and grabbed Spitfire, hugging her and spinning around! They landed on the ground below and started jumping around each other just like a pair of little fillies playing together would do.

"We did it!" Typhoon sang over and over again and she hopped. But they weren't exactly out of the woods yet… oh no. In the dragons fury, it knocked over the Hoofington clock tower which, while on fire, was one of the only building that hadn't been smashed to pieces. The blazing tower toppled over, right at the celebrating sister's. Spitfire gasped and rolled to the left, while Typhoon dashed to the right. Spitfire landed on her right wing, feeling it bend and make a horrible cracking noise. She gasped with pain and shock, and found that when she lifted it, it burned as if it were set alight, without actually being on fire! Spitfire discovered that she was faced with a dead end wall of flames and twisted round to go back, but it was too late.

"SPIT-" and then the tower cut her off from Typhoon. And then wherever she looked there was fire. The sky was smoking so much, but it was her only chance. Flying into the air, she could only make it a couple of feet up before the pain in her right wing was too much for her to take. She then fell back down to the ground, trapped in the inferno.

She gave it a few more attempts, but every time the pain just got worse and worse. One time she even found herself worrying that her wing might break clean off. So she was forced back to the ground again, looking around desperately for some other way of escape. Forward? No. Backwards? No. Left? No. Right? NO!

And then she realized that there was nothing she could do. She was going to die here, all alone, engulfed by fire in what was left of Hoofington. She sat in the middle of the small space she had left and did all she could do- she curled up on the ground and waited, sobbing a little, too. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. She'd go knowing that she'd defeated a dragon, and that her friends were safe, most importantly Typhoon. She'd always heard that when you died you went to the EverAfter to be reunited with loved ones, so she would possibly see her mom and dad again. Concorde and Nimbus, too.

She buried her face in her hooves as she waited for the flames to swallow her up, imagining her parents when she saw them again. Her father would take her flying through the stars, just like they'd talked about when she and Typhoon were fillies, her mother would be in the beautiful state she'd been in before she met Scotch, she'd be smiling and singing all the time and she'd tell Spitfire how proud she was of her. Concorde would be there, and he'd be great friends with Jetstream. They'd talk about all that scientific stuff Jetstream would be into and when he met Honey Glaze he'd do the classic 'How did Jetstream get a mare as fine as you' line he often pulled. She'd make amends with Nimbus, who'd have all his fur back, and they'd chase each other through the sky like they'd done when they were playful moods.

Yeah, death was nothing to worry about… right?

"Spitfire," somepony shook her shoulders. Spitfire lifted her head and looked up. She found herself looking into the bright green eyes of Honey Glaze. "Spitfire, sweetie, you need to get up."

"Wha… mom?" she slurred, blinking rapidly. Oh, she knew what was happening. This was her mom come to get her. She'd heard about this happening before you died. Okay then… she was ready to give in anyway.

"No, Spit, you need to get up now!"

Wow, her mom had never been this harsh when she was alive.

"C-can't," Spitfire spluttered, coughing a few times. Then Honey Glaze slapped her across her cheek.

"OW!" she sat bolt upright. When her head finally cleared, her lemon yellow mother shifted into her blue sister, who was frantically shaking her.

"Snap out of it! We've gotta go now!"

"How the hay did you get in here?" Spitfire was fully aware of things now. Typhoon pointed to her side at a barrel.

"In that!" she gave her sister a shove as a plank of wood narrowly missed hitting her. "Now get in it. Trust me!"

Spitfire did as she was told, finding that the inside of the barrel was still wet from where it had been full of water previously, and it soothed the burn on her back hoof. Typhoon grabbed the barrel by the rim and started lifting it up into the air. As stated previously, pegasi were strong despite their size and so Typhoon had no problems in ascending with her sister in the barrel. Spitfire peered out from her spot, and she could see that the smoke was thinning out. Then she could see the dragon; it was close and flailing its tail about wildly. Silver and the other Wonderbolts were putting out more of the fires, pouring barrel after barrel down to the earth, and it was beginning to look like an improvement, even if you couldn't tell what most of the buildings were.

"OH SH-"

Typhoon's curse was cut off as the dragon's tail came their way. She wasn't able to move out of the way in time and soon the two sisters were falling through the air. Typhoon recovered after a little while and managed to latch onto the barrel before it hit the ground, though Spitfire was still a little shaken, especially since most of the impact had been on her broken wing.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Typhoon apologised as Spitfire clambered out of the barrel. Typhoon tutted and walked back and forth frantically. She looked severely at Spitfire. "I can't fly fast enough to avoid the dragon while carrying you. We'll have to run for it!"

Spitfire had issues with this plan. Her wing hurt no matter how slightly it moved, and her burned hoof stung like Tartarus whenever she put it down. Upon realising this she lifted it up. She had to be strong. For Typhoon. For Surprise. Silver. Soarin.

"Okay," she replied simply, coughing on smoke immediately. Typhoon looked at her with concern but shook it off, not wanting her to change her mind. She bent down and kissed Spitfire's nose.

"I'm proud of you," she beamed at her, and those words seemed to pour strength into the younger mare's soul. She looked gratefully up at the blue mare and reached up to hug her, breathing in what she could of her familiar, comforting scent through the smoke and ash. She was ready. When they parted Spitfire stopped Typhoon as she was about to run.

"Hey, why don't you fly on ahead? I'll be fine by myself," she assured her, Typhoon shook her head.

"I'm not leaving you this time. We're in this together, all the way, that's the way it's always been right?" she asked rhetorically. "You know what they say. 'If your sister has to run through a blazing town-" she put a hoof on Spitfire's shoulder. "-You should too'!"

Spitfire chuckled as best she could and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, nopony says that," she gave her sister a playful shove before remembering that they were in a serious situation.

"Let's go!" they started dashing through the wreckage and fire. Unfortunately, they had fallen in a section of town that hadn't been visited by the Wonderbolts and drenches with water yet so it was still scorching. The dragon was obviously still fuming at them, and he wasn't going to let them go so easily. He picked up a flaming pillar in his jaws (damn dragons for being fireproof) and tossed it their way. Typhoon shrieked and picked up the pace as the pillar skidded across the ground after them. Luckily it didn't reach them, but the flames were licking at Spitfire's heels. Every step she took sent a volt of pain like electricity through her veins, making her want to just fall down. Typhoon was keeping her pace slow for her sake as well; didn't she know that they were in danger. This was the reason Spitfire admired her sister so much- she would risk her life for the ponies she cared about, no matter what the circumstances were.

The two sisters ran into some exceptionally thick smoke that partially blinded them. Apart from some orange flickers where the fire was Spitfire couldn't see anything! She looked to the side, wanting to tell Typhoon that they should go right, but-

"TY?!" she called out. Her sister had disappeared. Where the heck was she? Then again she could be anywhere- how could she see Typhoon when she couldn't see her own hoof in front of her face. She squinted to be able to see. Man she hated smoke!

She trooped on through the smoke, expecting to bump into Typhoon all of a sudden but she seemed to have just vanished into thin air. She hadn't been caught by the fire or crushed- oh no, she would have heard that! She was probably looking for her, too.

Suddenly there was a loud thud and the smoke around her billowed about. She wasn't exactly sure what happened but the next thing she knew her tail was trapped under a large chunk of… oh it was a chimney stack. She tried tugging her tail out from under it but found that it only hurt. She then tried pushing it off, but the darn thing was too big and heavy for her. She managed to make it scoot a little, but at the speed she was going she'd be dead before she was free.

"I sense a damsel in distress," Typhoon morphed out of nowhere like a ghost. It actually freaked her out, but Spitfire was just relieved to have somepony there to give her a hoof. The two of them managed to free her tail from the chimney stack and they hurried on, out of the thick smoke into… slightly less thick smoke.

"I think we're almost-" suddenly a sound similar to an explosion rang out and the ground began shaking. Before either of the sisters knew what was going on lumps of rock and brick were raining from the sky.

"Oh come on, that's not fair!" Typhoon wailed as they dodged each of the rocks. One of them slammed into Typhoon's side and sent her skidding across the ground into a wall, and with Spitfire assistance she managed to get back up to avoid being smushed by another one. It was like they were being fired at with the hugest bullets in existence!

The path was pretty clear now, and if Spitfire squinted she could see silhouettes of pegasi in the distance.

"I see them!" she shouted at Typhoon over the ringing in her ears. Typhoon smiled at her and they ran side by side through the rubble. Though as the seconds past Typhoon started to run ahead of her, her hoof began stinging like hell and every time her wing slapped against her side she wanted to pass out from the pain. She looked behind her and saw that she was leaving a trail of blood. Strange, when had she got that gash in her flank? Heh… ooh, why was everything spinning?

"Spit, hurry!" Typhoon called her back into reality. Oh yeah, running! Running is good! She picked up the pace again while trying to blot out the pain, though found that with each passing moment the ringing in her ears just got louder and things started to echo. She couldn't shake off that terrible feeling that something would fall on her head at any moment and knock her brains out, and there was an even worse feeling that maybe she should just let it happen. Wouldn't it be better than hurting herself like this? This just discouraged her more, and in her state of despair started hearing ponies' voices taunting her.

"You. Complete. Idiot!"

"Coward!"

"What's the matter? Little Wonder can't catch up to the newbie?"

"What. Were. You. THINKING?!"

"Try not to fall off the clouds, 'cause nopony will catch you."

One more dead pony wouldn't make much of a difference, would it? Ponies died all the time, so why would she matter?

"He's dead, kid."

"Oh, damn it, mom, don't be dead, please just get the hay up!"

"No, you're gonna be okay, you just need some medicine and-"

"I should have helped- or at least got you to stay. I'm sorry; I didn't want you to…"

"Spit, don't you dare stop!" Typhoon's voice broke through that infernal ringing. "Courage!" Wait, what was she thinking? She had Typhoon, Surprise, Soarin, and she was their captain now. They couldn't lose another Wonderbolt.

"Nice job, kid."

"I'm here now."

"We can't forget about you."

"Don't die, okay."

"Yeah, if you die I'll kick your flank."

"You're gonna go far, Little Wonder."

"I'm proud of you."

And then they were out of the fire.

The first thing Spitfire did when she and Typhoon made it to safety was collapse on the ground and gasp for breath through all the coughing she was doing. Typhoon was beside her immediately, slapping her on the back and hugging her. Spitfire saw that there were some royal guards on the scene now, armed with what looked like tranquilizer guns… the size of a tree.

"Okay give them some space," Silver Lining pushed away the Wonderbolts who were crowding around them. He sat down and wrapped his hooves around the two sisters as best he could, nuzzling each of them in turn. "Thank Celestia you're out, we were starting to think that you'd… never mind," he shook off his sentence.

"We're… alive…" Spitfire croaked out, lightening up a little. "We're alive!" she exclaimed, standing up on all fours, lifting up her injured hoof a second later. Surprise and Soarin rushed over to congratulate her and Typhoon along with the other Wonderbolts, and Spitfire took a minute to reflect on the praise she was getting. Would this happen all the time as a captain? Well if it involved death defying obstacles and fire breathing monsters then she'd happily pass it up.

"I really thought that you'd been burnt alive or- or squashed or eaten or…" Surprise was in tears. "Gah, I was so worried, and now you're here and I don't know what to do!" she just grabbed her friend, hugged her and then kissed her cheek, gagging as she realized that her friend was covered in blood and… Nimbus. Soarin hugged her from the other side.

"I'm so relieved that you're not dragon kibble," he looked shocked at what he'd said. "Not that it would have happened," he shrugged and grinned weakly. Spitfire slugged him on the shoulder and gave him an affectionate head-butt.

"Good to see you too, ya big dope," she teased him, and Surprise laughed at her. Things were already going back to normal. Spitfire then realized that Hoofington was still partly blazing, and this whole section needed to be put out. Concorde needed to… oh, yeah. So, taking her new position into account, she yelled over all the bumbling.

"GUYS!" she choked instantly afterwards. Okay, no more shouting for a while. She had their attention anyway. "Let's leave the celebration till after the job is done. We need to put out these fires pronto, so leave the royal guards to get the dragon and head on back to the reservoir. Let's go, come on!"

The Wonderbolts did as they were told, leaving only the sisters, Silver, Surprise and Soarin. Spitfire looked behind her at the blazing houses, taking comfort in the fact that they would soon be flameless… destroyed, but flameless. Silver Lining smiled down at them.

"You have no idea how proud I am of you two. I'm sure that Cloud Showers will say the same the next time you see her, and you'll have a cool story to tell Orion." He told them. Spitfire liked the sound of that, picturing her trying to tell the story and then Typhoon butting in, putting in some false information about how she put the dragon in a headlock or something. Surprise and Soarin started walking away.

"C'mon, let's go help out," Surprise chirped happily. Silver started following and Spitfire was about to follow. Then she realized that with her broken wing she would be no help whatsoever. She felt bad that she couldn't take part, but in truth she really wanted to go over to Storm Front, who was still assisting Hoarfrost with her broken back, and get some medical attention. She was about to mosey on over when Typhoon stopped her by putting a hoof on her shoulder.

"What?" Spitfire asked her sister. Typhoon smirked and ruffled her mane, something she usually found annoying.

"You've done something incredible today. You know that, don't you?" she asked. Spitfire smiled softly to herself.

"I guess I have… but you need to give yourself some credit too. If it wasn't for you I'd look like Nimbus… or worse," she replied. Typhoon pulled her into another hug, resting her head on her sister's.

"We make a pretty good team," she commented. Spitfire felt relaxed by the sound of her sister's heartbeat, kind of like the same way a baby would be soothed by its mother's.

"We do," she agreed lazily, nuzzling her sister's chest fur. Typhoon sniffled and lifted her head up.

"You're the greatest sister I could ever have," she bent down and gave Spitfire a kiss on the forehead. "And the most amazing pegasus ever to take to the skies."

Suddenly, Spitfire's ears perked up at a weird crackling noise. "What was that?" she asked, looked behind her at the inferno. It seemed to be coming from the house nearest to them.

And then the blasted roof fell off!

The flaming roof fell down towards the sisters, casting a shadow over them. The two of them started to run, but it just wasn't working. Spitfire heard Surprise shriek hers and Typhoon's names out before the roof crashed down on top of them. She felt the terrible sensation of stinging all over her and everything went up in flames, nothing but fire. She couldn't move at all and her body was being crushed into the ground. She wanted to call out for Typhoon but it was like she couldn't control herself anymore. Then things went from blazing and painful to numb and dark.

And then Equestria vanished.

---

Beep… beep… beep…

The first thing Spitfire saw was whiteness. Literally everything was white. Was she dead? She didn't feel dead? But were you supposed to feel like you were dead if you were dead?

Beep… beep… beep…

And what the heck was that noise?! She was sure that she could hear ponies talking, but she couldn't understand a word they were saying, like she was submerged in water trying to figure out what the ponies on the surface were talking about.

Beep… beep… beep…

She tried to sit up but she couldn't feel… anything. She tried to lift her head but it wouldn't budge, her legs were limp and her eyelids were heavy. She felt like all she could do was lie there, but when had she ever just given up… okay there was that time- never mind!

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

She wanted that awful sound to stop more than anything, keep her… wherever she was forever, but shut down that cacophony! And then she could finally move. She was in some kind of bed… not hers, but a bed nonetheless. She looked to her right and was a little freaked out by the weird machine there. What was with all the wires… and that weird jumpy line-thingy on the screen? And why was there a bunch of things attached to her? They hadn't been there before. She moved a hoof up to rub her eyes found that it didn't feel quite right. She realized with a jolt that there wasn't any fur on her hoof. Oh Celestia! Please don't be bald! She lifted up the sheets and looked frantically under them. She didn't know how to react.

For one thing she wasn't covered in blood anymore, that was an improvement, and she wasn't wearing her flight suit anymore, but she had stitches in several places, her fur had been shaven off in more places than she could mention exposing some admittedly gross looking wounds, and her right wing was bandaged and strapped round her middle. Oh this must be a hospital. Whew, thank Celestia- she didn't want to go to the EverAfter looking like this. She wasn't usually concerned about her appearance but if she was gonna reunite with her parents she should have been in one piece at least.

"Oh you're awake!"

"GAH!" Spitfire jumped and that beeping sped up. She clutched her chest and looked angrily at the stallion who'd made her jump. He quickly apologized.

"Oh, sorry; I wouldn't want to give you a heart attack to go with those burns," he was obviously trying to be funny about this, but Spitfire didn't find it amusing… at all. "That was no way to be woken up, especially since you've been out for three days." He cleared his throat and looked her over, while she lay there with her hooves folded.

"So, aren't you going to explain things? That's what doctors do, right?" she asked. The stallion was clearly a doctor judging by his uniform… and the name-tag that said Doctor Feelgood. He nodded and read from the clipboard he was levitating.

"Well you've got a lot of second degree burns and a couple of third degree burns, nothing that your fur can't cover though and luckily they weren't that large. You've probably gained some mental trauma through all of this, I'll name the symptoms later, but you'll need medication and a few pills. We've also contacted a therapist and you've broken your wing in three places and one of your back hooves is a little busted up.

"Wait a sec," Spitfire sat up. "You got me sessions with a therapist?!" she almost face hoofed. There were waaaaay worse things to focus on than seeing a variant of a doctor.

"Um… yes. Another thing to point out is that you inhaled a dangerous amount of smoke. We've had to extract some of the tar from your lungs so they may be in a bad way for a little while. You're lucky that it didn't affect your heart because then we would have had to take more drastic actions."

"Wait, does this mean I can't fly?" she asked, suddenly aware of the pain in her body. When would these burns stop, well, burning?! Doctor Feelgood sighed and looked at her with regret.

"Sadly you'll have to stay off that wing until it's fully healed, and until we're sure that you don't have any lung problems you'll have to be rooted to the ground lest you suffer from a failure while flying."

"Just great!" she let her arms fall to the side, though winced when they hit the mattress. A mattress hurt her. A mattress! God, she just wanted to get out of here, find Typhoon, and get back to her usual life.

Wait…

"Typhoon!" she gasped, wondering how she could have forgotten. She hadn't asked how her sister was recovering. "Where is Typhoon? I wanna see her." She said to the doctor. Doctor Feelgood gave her a long look, seemingly debating something in his head. What was there to decide? All he needed to do was send her sister in, what more was there to it?

"Um… wait one second," he left the room after that, leaving her alone with her thoughts… and her pain. She looked at her burns more carefully this time. The second degree ones were bad enough, all pink and swollen, but the third degree ones made her feel sick. They were red and blistery, like a less crispy version of Nimbus's burns. Oh no, Nimbus… Concorde… it seemed like it was all a dream by now. One second she was at the scene of the fire and then she was in a soft bed. Just like waking up from a nightmare… with a lot of burns.

And then the doctor came back in, accompanied by an older looking mare. The mare looked like she was fangirling a little since she was speaking to a Wonderbolt but held in her squees.

"It's great to see that you're doing so well, ma'am," she smiled. "You're a real fighter, ya know?" she looked astounded to be in her presence, almost shy. Spitfire wasn't used to this and she really just wanted to get right to the point with this. No beating around the bush!

"Listen I just wanna know where Typhoon is," she put on her business face to show that she was serious no matter what her conditions were. "I need to see my sister."

The mare gulped and looked up at Doctor Feelgood, who wouldn't make eye contact. She looked like she wanted to strangle him but sucked it up, almost as if she were scared of doing it in front of Spitfire. She looked back at the Wonderbolt and cleared her throat nervously.

"Um… miss; I don't really think that you understand just how serious this incident you and your sister were in was. You're lucky to still be alive," she told her.

Hold on…

No…

Spitfire felt as though she'd just been stabbed in the heart. It couldn't… no, it just… she wasn't… she practically felt all the light in her life leave her, as if some vital part of her had torn itself away from her and run away. This couldn't be happening…

"And you've made a miraculous recovery, but… the truth is…"

"No…" she choked, not sure of anything anymore. Was this happening? Was this a bad dream? Was this some kind of post-death punishment? Typhoon couldn't be… she… she didn't know what to think. All she could do was sit there numbly as the doctor told her the one thing in the world she'd hoped she'd never have to hear.

"You were the only one who survived."

---

The next six years passed slowly, and painfully. The Wonderbolt captain recovered well enough, her burns being covered with her golden fur and her heart and lungs turned out to be okay, too. But some wounds can't heal, no matter how long you have them. Some ponies just have to live with the scars.

Ever since Typhoon died it was like Spitfire's mind was disintegrating. Her grief was gnawing away at it, and it felt like she was slowly losing it. She would rather have suffered any other kind of pain- burn her like Nimbus, break every bone in her body, but Typhoon had been taken away from her. It hurt like her heart had been smashed with a mallet.

When she finally got well enough to start working again she rebuffed ponies who tried to comfort her. She would push Surprise away whenever she tried to give her a hug, and she no longer laughed at Soarin's jokes, just rolled her eyes and called him stupid. She avoided Silver Lining like the plague, since he brought back the most memories of her sister, and whenever she did interact with him she treated him with as much respect as she would for a fly buzzing by someone's ear, so that eventually he gave up trying to help her. She offered the position of co-captain to Soarin seeing as he was her smartest friend (a fact she was ashamed to admit). Hoarfrost was retired because of her back and Storm Front retired with her to keep her company and help her out. Contrail quit because he couldn't handle working without Concorde, and some new recruits, Rapidfire, Wave Chill and Fleetfoot were assigned to replace them.

But there was one pony that no one could ever replace- the one pony Spitfire was certain she loved. Adapting to life without Typhoon was like trying to accept that you could never walk or fly again. When she was with Typhoon she knew that amongst all the pain there was one thing that made living worthwhile: her candle in the dark. She missed being woken up at night by Typhoon after she had a bad dream, strange as it may seem. But she always used to crawl into bed next to her and they'd fall asleep together. Sometimes when Typhoon had a bad one she would make Spitfire read to her, and sometimes she kept making her read for hours at a time. But she didn't care, you never did when you loved someone that much. When you love someone like Spitfire loved Typhoon, they were a part of you; it's like they were attached by this invisible tether and no matter how far away they were from each other, they could always feel the others presence. But now whenever Spitfire reached for that tether she knew that there was nopony on the other end, and she felt like she was falling into nothingness. But then she remembered Typhoon, remembered a life led with no enemies, no resentments, no regrets, and she was inspired to get up and walk through another day. She missed Typhoon so much that it felt like part of her had been torn away. She just wanted to hug her one last time, just for ten seconds. Was that so much to ask- ten more seconds to hold and hug her? But she couldn't, and she wouldn't, and the only thing keeping her from being swallowed whole by her sadness was that Typhoon would have killed her if she did. So all she could do was miss her.

Most of the time she stayed in her new office all day crying; she couldn't do anything else. Everything reminded her of her dead sister, and too many times she found herself turning to talk to Typhoon before remembering that she would never speak to her again. There were certain times that she felt that she couldn't go on without Typhoon. And Cloudsdale was a pretty high place to fall from...

No, she couldn't do that. She thought of Honey Glaze. Did she really want to go out the same way her mother had? Just give up because she felt like there was no other option? No, she wasn't like that- she was a fighter, a survivor. She decided that the only real way to get over this was to just forget all about it; pretend that Typhoon and the fire were just bad dreams and move on. Nopony was allowed to talk about her, and if they did then Spitfire would shun them, too.

She never wanted to hurt like that again, but what the hay could she do? There seemed to be only one logical solution- shut everypony out. If she didn't care about ponies then she couldn't be hurt.

Simple.

---

Three months ago- two weeks before the boot camp

"…and that's why we should ban broccoli from academy grounds." Lightning Streak finished his explanation. He was met with a serious of groans and face hoofs before Fire Streak pulled him back into his chair. Silver Lining sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Thank you Lightning Streak, that was definitely… a speech," he said. Lightning Streak grinned; obviously proud of himself, and his twin brother buried his face in his front hooves. "Now does anypony else have anything to say?"

Spitfire usually had nothing to say and remained silent through every blasted staff meeting, the one day of the month that everypony who worked here dreaded. She could be doing other things right now but for once she did have something to say.

"Actually, there is one thing," she spoke up, getting everyone's attention. Ponies were surprised to see her talk during a meeting since she usually just drank coffee until it was over to keep her from falling asleep. Silver nodded at her to speak.

"Yes, Captain?" he asked. Spitfire sat up, putting her coffee aside.

"For a while we're going to be short one staff member," she began. A few of the other Wonderbolts and staff started talking amongst each other, not realizing that one of the seats was empty.

"Really? What's happened?" High Winds asked, sitting up straighter.

"I really hope that you guys already know this, but our cook Marey Berry has quit," she told the others. Surprise and Misty Fly looked at each other and shrugged, clueless. Seriously, it seemed like Spitfire was the only pony who paid attention to things around here. Fleetfoot raised a hoof.

"Why would she quit?" she asked. Spitfire rolled her eyes at the thought.

"She quit because, and I quote, "My inner soul is moving me to pursue my biggest dream- being a host on the Great Equestrian Bake-off."

"Wow, she's a big dreamer," Fire Streak commented.

"No she got the position," Spitfire told him. That left him speechless. "But onto the point- we need a new cook, preferably soon!"

"And you want us to…" Rapidfire made circular motion with his hoof.

"Well we need to get out some applications I guess," she looked over at Silver. "So if somepony could-"

"Wait!" Soarin called out, clearly louder than he'd wanted to. He awkwardly looked around before folding his hooves behind his back.

"What is it, Soarin?" Spitfire asked. The pale blue pegasus cleared his throat.

"Well I was going to ask if I could go to the bathroom but then I thought of something else," he told her. Cue facehoof now.

"Go on."

"I have a friend who can cook, and he's looking for a temporary job," Soarin reported. Spitfire leaned back in her chair, interested.

"Okay, so does he have any previous catering experience?" she asked, hoping that for once Soarin had a good idea. Soarin thought for a moment.

"Well when we were at school together he did some stuff for parties I guess- oh come on, he sells food for a living," he told her. Spitfire raised a brow.

"So if he's making a living then why does he need this job?" she asked. Soarin bit his lip and looked off to the side.

"Well… he kinda botched some things up and then he got banned from selling apples, so-"

"Wait, this sounds like an earth pony's job," she should have already known. Soarin had gone to school in Fillydelphia, after all. "Wait, how could an earth pony work in Cloudsdale?" she looked at him like he was stupid. Soarin raised a hoof.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten the Best Young Flier's competition," he said. "Rainbow Dash's friends used some kind of spell-thing to let them walk on clouds. I've planned this out, don't treat me like a doof," he looked down and reached under the couch cushion, pulling something out. "Ooh, I found a bit!"

Spitfire debated his idea. It would save money and time and he seemed to be confident that this would work, and that his friend wouldn't fall to his death so…

"Ugh, he starts next week," she decided. "Soarin for the love of Celestia, don't screw things up. And if he poisons one of us then I'll make sure both of you go in the hole!"

"Do we have a hole?" she heard Surprise whisper to Misty Fly.

"Pfft, how could I screw up getting my friend to Cloudsdale?" Soarin asked.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Not really."

---

Third day of the boot camp

"You overslept. When do you ever oversleep? What's wrong with you?!"

"Shut up, it's too early for your nagging!" Spitfire thought back at that voice in her head. She wasn't sure when this voice had started pestering her, but it was always there, telling her what was wrong and what was slightly less wrong. But this time she agreed entirely, there was hardly anything more wrong than waking up to find out that your alarm had already gone off an hour ago and that you were supposed to be teaching drills at that moment in time.

So that morning a very flustered pegasus had taken three hurried minutes to make herself presentable and then skipped breakfast before heading to the academy. She flew down the hall to the locker room, got her uniform on, having to go back there again when she realized she'd forgotten her tie, and then flew the rest of the way to her office. There Whiplash was waiting with that friend of Soarin's. They didn't even notice her zip over. She took a second to catch her breath before addressing them.

"Sorry I'm late, my alarm didn't go off," there was no harm in being honest with this, right? She just wanted to get out to the cadets as fast as possible, so hopefully neither of them would ask for a more detailed explanation. The earth pony looked round to face her.

"That's quite alright, ma'am, it's not yer fau-" and then he sort of… froze? What, did he run out of batteries? She raised a brow at him.

"You okay, cowboy?" she asked. He gave himself a little shake and blinked a couple of times, as if he were waking up from a nap or something. Hopefully he wouldn't make a habit out of that.

"Um… yes, ma'am," he sounded like his voice was straining. Great he was the nervous type, too. Had Fleetfoot really made the right choice here? Then again when had Fleetfoot's ideas ever worked? Whiplash nodded over at the door to the training grounds.

"We'd better get outside. The cadets must be getting restless by now, Captain Spitfire." He stood straight, waiting for her to give him the signal to leave. Her ears perked up as she heard the earth pony sigh quietly. What, was he bored already? Shaking her head, she walked outside with the two stallions. She was seriously worried about the arrangements with Soarin's friend- sure he didn't have to do much, but this was a friend of her co-captain's who could mess anything up. She couldn't even trust Soarin with a sandwich without him thinking it was going to explode! He probably had an entire army of dumb friends in Fillydelphia.

"So, Whiplash showed you the ropes, right?" she asked him. To her confusion the light gold stallion looked over his shoulder for a second before looking back. Yep, weird.

"Yep, Ah know exactly what Ah have t' do," he confirmed, and Spitfire gave him a nod and turned away. She suddenly realised something and looked back at him, feeling that she should know just in case.

"So, what's your name again?" no doubt she'd forget since she was terrible with names but just for today she'd acknowledge it. It wasn't like she was gonna have much use for him after today, right?

"Um… B-Braeburn, ma'am," he responded, looking down at his hooves. Huh, strange, was he this red before? She gave him another nod and kept walking.

"Braeburn…" the pony in her head mused. "Did his mother not like him or something?"

"Just shut up," Spitfire thought back at it, not in the mood.

And she was blissfully unaware of what was going to happen over the next few months, because after six years of bitterness and internal suffering things were going to change, even if she didn't quite know it yet. Because this earth pony that she met on a whim was going to save her.

He was her new reason for living.

He was her second chance.

---

Endnote: I'm so relieved this chapter is over. It took way longer than expected and it's the longest thing I have EVER written! But if you made it to the end without getting a migraine then thank you, it means a lot to me.

But don't forget, the next chapter is a HAPPY one! Soarin and Dashie are gonna have their first date and it's gonna be hilarious, random and sweet. So now that you've seen the dark side of my mind I'm going to-

Rainbow Dash: Oh sorry, is this studio B?

No, studio B is… hey, you just wanted to be in this chapter didn't you?

Rainbow Dash: What?! No… No!

Yes you did.

Rainbow Dash: Yes I did.

Get out now, please.

Rainbow Dash: But for the record I can do better endnotes that you.

Dash!

Rainbow Dash: Okay, I'm gone!

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to-

Rainbow Dash: -slam my head into a wall because I'm stupid.

OUT!

Captain Nighthawk is Captain Alaska's creation. Thanks, man. ;)