“What’s wrong with Cold Digger?” Rainbow Dash demands, scowling at Doug. “You don’t like it?” She taps a hoof on her muzzle. “You could be the Crypt Cultivator. Or the Tomb Tiller! The Barrow Harrower! Or…” she glances down, flipping a few pages in Pinkie Pie’s helpfully marked thesaurus. “The Rut Plower!”

“Okay, that just makes me sound even less like a pony,” Doug objects, “except for that last one. There I just sound like I want ponies for their…” Doug trails off, glancing at Applejack and Rainbow Dash, both of them holding her bellies with a hoof while giving him a mournful look. “...Foal Factories. I mean foals. And that’s not true!” He quickly appends, “Not entirely, that is.”

“I know,” Rainbow Dash says, snuggling next to her stallion. She realizes how uncool it must look to Spitfire about a second after she starts, but by then it’s too late. She goes all in, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Cold Digger it is!”

“Yes,” Doug concedes. He says in his best Dutch accent, “I like coooooold!” He playfully rubs at Rainbow Dash’s head, ignoring her squirming to try to get away.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Spitfire says, ignoring Rainbow Dash’s display and continuing as if there was never any doubt, “I have this for you.” She pulls out a thick folder, two textbooks, and topographical maps of Fillydelphia and the surrounding farms.

“This is a lot of stuff,” Doug says, sifting through the folder. It contains the weather schedules going back seven years. Fairly detailed, and would give him quite a head start compared to starting fresh. He’s not sure how much he can use with his new system, but it’ll be a good baseline, and he might be able to draw some similarities to Ponyville’s weather. He starts reading through the first of them, already thinking through what changes he might make as he gets a feel for their weather patterns.

“The Academy’s not exactly a short flight,” Spitfire says, loosening her wings. Her muzzle doesn’t show her frown, but her eyes give it away as she looks out one of the windows. She doesn’t particularly want to make the journey tonight. “And I get my endurance training without shuttling back and forth three times a day like some common cloudpusher. So I came prepared.”

“And if I said no?” Doug raises an eyebrow at Spitfire. Her saddlebags still have some items in them, but it’s hard to tell exactly what, and he returns to his new book.

Spitfire gives a shrug that is perhaps a little too casual. “I… We were prepared to make a few… concessions.”

“Aww,” Doug says with an embellished sigh. “You’re telling me that if I played hardball I could have gotten a better deal?” He flicks the paper in his hands, slightly annoyed but still joking, “That’ll teach me for being agreeable.”

Spitfire glances at the towel on the table, then tries to hide it by cracking her neck. “Everypony wants more bits. You think you’re worth it?” She jabs a wing towards the Fillydelphia papers. “Prove it.”

“Oh, I don’t think Doug wants monetary compensation,” Rainbow Dash lasciviously purrs. She winks at her stallion, shaking her hips. “He does this for free.”

“Hey, don’t tell the boss that!” Doug exclaims. He reaches an arm around his mare’s neck and tugs her close. His knuckles dig into her scalp, and Rainbow Dash rolls her head to give him better access, a carefree smile plastered on her muzzle. She even tries to shove her way into his lap, only the table preventing it. Doug adds a bit of flair to his words, “If you’re good at something, never do it for free!” with an extra wide grin at the end. “Plus,” he adds almost as an afterthought, “the farm could use the bits.”

Spitfire finds herself staring at the oddly shaped ‘stallion’. She’s glad Rainbow Dash has forged such a close bond, and wishes she could share the camaraderie. But it would destroy her reputation as a no-nonsense Captain if anypony saw beyond her tough-as-nails exterior. Well, it’s not just coat deep; she does love yelling at the recruits.

Doug’s chair scrapes along the floor as Rainbow Dash successfully wedges herself between him and the table. She rolls in his lap, a hoof grabs onto his back for support, and presents her belly with a silly grin. He lets out an exaggerated sigh, rolling his eyes at Spitfire with an expression that clearly states, ‘See what I have to deal with around here?’

“Well,” Spitfire says, repressing her chuckle as she starts to walk away, “much as I’d like to stay, I-”

“Oh, ya don’t have to go,” Applejack, now wearing her hat, says as she walks down the stairs. Fluttershy follows after, reeking of musk and with a shy smile, the two not even attempting to hide that they were eavesdropping. “We got some leftovers if ya’d like a bite!” She opens the pantry and pulls out flour, then goes to the fridge and displays the contents. “Fresh bread and apple jam?”

Spitfire’s mouth waters at the thought, and she could use the calories. She settles back into place at the table with a smirk. “Twist my wing, why don’t you.”

“I wouldn’t mind some bread,” Fluttershy says quietly, joining Spitfire at the table. She offers the Wonderbolt a hesitant smile. “Um, h-hello, Flame Swallow.”

“Hey!” Spitfire yells, smacking her hooves against the table with a loud crack. An instantly later she grits her teeth as Fluttershy flinches down. Doug’s hands leave Rainbow Dash’s side as the pegasus nearly bolts up. She finds it almost comical that the stallion would defend his mare like that; sweet and endearing, but what stallion wants a mare that can’t protect him?

“Sorry, Shutters,” Spitfire continues, settling back down. She glances to the kitchen, where Applejack has her floury hooves ready to drop the doughy mass and charge over. “Didn't want that... nickname getting out.” She takes a deep breath to steady herself.

“You two know each other?” Doug says, looking between the two yellow pegasi.

“Been years, but yeah.” Spitfire says. “We’re both from Cloudsdale, born the same year. We just…” She shrugs apologetically. “Drifted apart, I guess. I joined a lot of the flying clubs and never really saw her any more.”

“So Shutters is a child, err, foalhood nickname?” Doug asks, raising an eyebrow at the name Spitfire used for ‘Shy and turning to the pink maned pegasus. A hand leaves Rainbow Dash’s side, the pegasus only allowing it because it’s going to her herdmate, and scratches at the downcast ears. “I’m guessing it’s because you hid behind your mane a lot?”

“Y-yes,” Fluttershy says. She wants to illustrate her hiding, but her body subconsciously pushes herself up to chase after his hand. A hoof flicks at her mane. “Except there wasn’t as much back then, so I started wearing extensions. Gave me more to hide behind,” she hunkers down a little, “but also more for ponies to tease me about.”

“And Flame Swallow is…” Doug stalls, inspecting the fiery pegasus. She grins back cockily. “Because you liked dangerous stunts?”

“Not stunts,” Spitfire corrects, “though I was a little hotheaded.”

“Little?” Rainbow Dash retorts from Doug’s lap.

“Cut it, Crash,” Spitfire spits out. She rolls her eyes as Rainbow Dash’s smirk intensifies. “Okay, fine. More than a little. I was always making boasts, challenging other ponies to races, contests, you name it. Had to swallow my flames more times than I liked. Then, as I got better, I could spit fire and back it up.” She mock glares at Rainbow Dash. “Except when hotshots like you crash in.”

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash exclaims. “I don’t crash nearly as much!”

“You say that,” Applejack quips from the side as she stuffs a few loaves of bread in the oven.

Rainbow Dash pouts, folding her forelegs over her chest. “They aren’t as bad!”

“I-it doesn’t seem like a very nice nickname,” Fluttershy says, her head drooping a little.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash says with an eager nod. “It’s gotta be something cool! Like Rainbow ‘The Coolest’ Dash!”

“Okay, Mom,” Spitfire says with a nasty grin.

Rainbow Dash continues, “Or Rainbow ‘Awesome!’ Dash, or...” Her cerulean coat blanches as she trails off, the potential nickname hitting her. Her pupils shrink to pinpricks, and she does such a perfect imitation of Fluttershy even the pink-maned pegasus wants to slap her and tell her to buck up. She whispers meekly, anxiously rubbing her hooves together, “...Or, um, Rainbow Crash is fine.”

“So, to get this straight,” Doug interjects, his hands returning to distract Rainbow Dash with belly rubs. It takes effort to tear himself away from the new book, but he turns to address Spitfire. He’s not sure how but he manages to keep a straight face. “Your maiden name is ‘Spitfire’ and your nickname is ‘Swallow’?”

“Flame Swallow,” Spitfire corrects. She puffs out her chest, owning the name like a badge of honor. “It’s a kind of bird, like a phoenix.”

“So, which is it?” Doug demands plaintively, his mirth barely contained. “Spits or swallows?”

A quizzical look crosses Spitfire’s carefully controlled face. “The only ponies who know me as Flame Swallow are the fillies I grew up with-” she indicates Fluttershy with a hoof “-and the Wonderbolts. Everypony else calls me Spitfire, or Captain Spitfire.”

Doug sinks into his chair, his enthusiasm gone. He mutters to himself, “Freaking innocent ponies.”

All four ponies’ ears twitch, which makes him realize he might not have been as quiet as he thought.

“Looks like somepony wants to go from ‘spit’ to ‘swallow’,” Spitfire says with a sly wink at Doug. “It’s a pretty hard maneuver, though.”

Rainbow Dash fervently tugs on Doug’s arm, her eager longing plain in her wide eyes. She opens her mouth to say something.

“Bread’s ready!” Applejack interrupts, shoving a loaf of piping hot bread into Rainbow Dash’s mouth. Cerulean hooves flail about until a shaving of chilled apple jam slips into her mouth, the pegasus slumping over from the blissful respite. Applejack passes each pony a loaf while Doug gets a knife and a jar of jam, and three loose apples. Everypony digs in, barely waiting for the bread to cool.

“Buh, Ahhlehac,” Rainbow Dash says through her bread, slowly chewing the fresh deliciousness.

“Nnope,” Applejack says with a shake of her head. “We ain’t treatin’ Spitfire here like a sky glider.” She turns to the Wonderbolt, saying in a low, quick voice, “You weren’t actually, ya know, gonna... swallow, right?”

Spitfire chuckles as she chews. “Only the bread,” she says after she swallows. The rest disappears quickly, and a wing loads the saddlebags onto her back. “Sorry, but I can’t stay.”

“Nice havin’ ya,” Applejack says politely. “Want some more apples?”

“...Sure,” Spitfire says after a moment’s deliberation, wondering if the sweet treats would go to her flanks. She can always give the extras to Soarin, and she groans as Applejack fills up her saddlebags from a basket by the pantry.

“I’m glad it worked out,” Rainbow Dash says, though she’s disappointed she didn’t get to watch her idol get rutted by her stallion. She hops off Doug’s lap to bump a hoof with the Wonderbolt Captain. “Tell Flatfoot to stay frosty.”

Spitfire flicks her head up just slightly and turns to Doug. He’s got his head buried in the book, except when he consults the map. “Thanks for being an easy sell.”

“Huh?” Doug says, barely looking up. “Oh, yeah, sure. Any time.”

“I’ll work something out with the weather office,” Spitfire continues, “so you get all the letters with the changes in one big bundle instead of piecemeal.”

“Sure,” Doug says, not bothering to look up this time.

“Ugh, the edits are the worst,” Rainbow Dash commiserates.

Doug grunts something unintelligible.

“I think we lost him,” Rainbow Dash remarks to Spitfire.

A thin smirk crosses the yellow muzzle. “When I retire from the ‘Bolts,” Spitfire tries, not seeing a reaction from Doug, “I’ll have your foal.”

“Have a good flight,” Doug says with a wave. He turns the motion into flipping a page.

Rainbow Dash blankly stares at Spitfire as she leaves, then Doug as he reads, flabbergasted. She draws closer to look at the book, wondering what could possibly be so fascinating.

“Alright, y’all,” Applejack says as she cleans up. “Off to bed with ya.”

Rainbow Dash sighs heavily as she glances outside, not really wanting to leave her stallion. Fluttershy leads the way, motioning for Rainbow Dash to follow. The cerulean pegasus practically skips up the steps; even if she only gets to watch, she loves the snuggles afterward. Applejack brings up the rear, except she has to stop halfway up to glare at Doug.

He keeps reading, slowly turning pages and wishing he had something to take notes with.

Applejack clears her throat.

It doesn’t work.

“Doug,” Applejack sternly says. He glances up at her with a confused look, like he’s not sure why she wants to tear him away from his new-found joy. “Bed. Now.”

“Aww,” Doug says, downcast. He slowly closes the book with a sense of finality, like he is saying goodbye to a friend he might never see again and will sorely miss. He trudges up to the stairs.

Applejack clears her throat again, then points at the book in his hand.

“Fine,” Doug says acerbically. He puts the book on the table with the rest of the supplies. “I might need to appropriate your old room, and turn it into an office.”

“We can talk about that in the mornin’,” Applejack says brusquely. “But ‘Shy’s gonna be mighty disappointed if ya leave her waitin’ any longer.”

Doug nods along as he follows his lead mare into the bedroom. Rainbow Dash is on one end of the bed while Fluttershy eagerly awaits in the middle.

Next Chapter: Ch. 97 - Solstice Vigil Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 35 Minutes