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Post by Spitfire on Jan 14, 2013 16:35:57 GMT -5
[Forgive the awful choice of thread title, I couldn't think of anything else XD;;;] [46th of Summer, midday. Closed to pegasus ponies]
Wind whipped her fiery main, at her clothes, as the yellow pegasus shot through the sky above the shopping district of Argen, painting a golden trail behind her as she streaked across the sky, looping, twisting, diving. Eyes were narrowed in concentration. Wings beat furiously. Anypony who happened to glance upwards might be lucky enough to catch sight of the golden blur.
Spitfire was training.
Admittedly, it hadn't been her intention. She'd flown to Whinnyapolis for a few days off over the Summer Sun Celebration, a well-earned break from leading the best fliers in Equestria and bawling out new recruits - but nothing good ever lasted as long as planned. With the emergence of some new threat from within the Everfree forest, Spitfire had been summoned to choose some of the other 'bolts to patrol the border from the air.
Spitfire herself, as captain, was coordinating the effort from the hotel room that had undergone a hasty conversion into a base of operations, rather than participating directly - though if it came down to it, there would be no question that she would be the first to charge into the fray when the need arose. As for right now, though...
Frankly, knowing that a real thread might call the Wonderbolts into serious combat soon, her wings had itched to do something active; so Spitfire had left one of the junior 'bolts at her makeshift desk with orders to contact her the instant anything changed, and taken to the skies above the town. Practicing moves, preparing herself for what might become an inevitable fight.
Finally, sweating from exhertion, the pegasus slowed for a few moments, her wingbeats slowing until she was simply hovering in place. The mare hadn't taken the time to change into her flight suit, not wanting to draw attention to the Wonderbolt presence - the princesses, understandably, wanted to keep news of the threat as low profile as possible, not to cause panic, and the unexpected presence of Equestria's elite fliers could raise unwanted questions - and so she simply wore her formal uniform's shirt and tie; which now were looking particularly windswept as a result of her strenuous airborn workout.
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Post by Nightbow on Jan 23, 2013 16:21:28 GMT -5
Fluttershy had a tiny crease between her invisible eyebrows. Any other day she would be thrilled with the job to decorate the park with flower arrangements. She let out an inaudible sigh of frustration, trying to focus on the task at hoof but unable to take her thoughts of off bunny Angel back home. How upset he would be when she had not come back as promised. Since they were shopping for flowers anyway, the yellow peg made sure to promise herself that she would at least find a pretty bouquet to send back to him. The biggest bouquet there was. With a nice card. The prettiest among them ...
The forest was off-limits. The townsfolk could see the barricade and the ponies gathering, and rumours circulated around Midnightsun Plains. Naturally not even the Element of Kindness had been allowed close to the forest's edge, so picking wildflowers was definitely out of the question - hence the trip into Argen. The pony with the sun-kissed coat made no notice of the airborne acrobat. She noticed some particularly nice daisies in a stand outside Sunray Flowershop. "Ah! Angel would love these ... and, um ... they would look pretty in the park, too."
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Post by Becka on Jan 28, 2013 12:10:54 GMT -5
[Dash continued from Facade: eventidemlprpg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=argen&action=display&thread=69&page=4]Morning came much too soon for the blue pegasus. Dash and Twilight took Zecora to the tower after the prophecy the night before, and the zebra still hadn't woke. The worry in the princesses' eyes had been clear, although they didn't say anything before the young fillies. Twilight had gone straight to the library when they left, and Dash had gone to her room to try to sleep, but nightmares plagued her. So at first light the young peg arose and left the tower to find breakfast. She was wandering the streets, looking for a cafe, when she saw the pegasus flying overhead. Dash stopped and watched the amazing feats of what could only be one of the Wonderbolts. When the pegasus slowed and hovered Dash realized who it was - not just a Wonderbolt, but the captain of the Wonderbolts. Despite everything that had happened in the past few days, a smile grew over the blue face. The Wonderbolts were patrolling the skies over the Everfree Forest. Perhaps if Dash could prove her worth the captain would let her fly patrol too? It was worth a shot. Dash jumped into the air and flew up to Spitfire. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! That hairpin flip was amazing. Can you teach me to do that?"
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Post by Spitfire on Jan 29, 2013 17:26:22 GMT -5
"I didn't realise I had an audience," turning in midair, Spitfire appraised the pony who had addressed her. A familiar face; she had met the rainbow-maned pegasus on a few prior occasions, and the younger mare had managed to make quite an impression on the Wonderbolt captain; for sheer guts if nothing else. And not to mention actually saving her life on one occasion.
"Rainbow Dash, wasn't it?" She hovered in front of the other pegasus, yellow wings beating rhythmically behind her, creating enough of a draft to billow her already-windswept clothes slightly. Gold eyes weighed up the other winged pony. She really ought to be heading back to her impromptu base of operations now, but Spitfire would never say she didn't have time for her fans unless it was a real life-or-death emergency. There was no harm in indulging the yonger mare for a few minutes. "You sure you'd be able to manage it?" Her tone was half-teasing challenge, half-serious. "You're a good flyer, kid, but that's a tough move you're asking about. Some of the most promising recruits at the Academy haven't been able to pull it off." Then again, she was talking to the only pegasus ever to achieve a sonic rainboom. That might make Dash a natural for difficult flying techniques - or it might just make her cocky. Spitfire was admittedly curious to find out which, if either, was true.
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Post by Becka on Feb 4, 2013 12:46:44 GMT -5
A wide grin spread across Dash's face - the Wonderbolts captain knew her name! She saluted and stopped herself from doing a little flip of glee. "Yes, Ma'am, that's me. Rainbow Dash at your service."
Wow. Dash couldn't believe she was actually talking to the Wonderbolts captain. Of course, the captain had thanked her after that disaster with Rarity, but she never expected the other pony to remember her name. Posters of the Wonderbolts and Spitfire had covered Dash's bedroom wall since she was just a filly.
"Manage it?" Dash laughed. "With a couple lessons I'll have it perfected in no time." She puffed her chest out a little, hoping Spitfire would offer the lessons. Of course there wasn't much time for silly things like flying lessons with all the Eclipse stuff going on, but maybe she'd get lucky?
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Post by Spitfire on Feb 20, 2013 16:51:41 GMT -5
"Heh. You really do have guts." The other pegasus was overconfident and cocky too, by the sounds of it; or maybe she really was that good, though Spitfire had her doubts. She didn't believe anyone who truly was that skilled would feel the need to boast so obviously. She was no psychiatrist, but it sounded to her like overcompensating; Rainbow Dash might have wanted to be that good, but she most likely wasn't there yet.
Still... she had to admit, she was curious to see just how good the younger pegasus was. And there was no immediate sign of threat from the Everfree Forest... Spitfire decided she could spare five minutes. Maybe ten if Dash proved to be even better than she expected. Then she would have to return to her makeshift desk in time to check up on the 'Bolts out on patrol.
"Fair warning; if you train with me, you've got to be prepared to push yourself to your limits and beyond. I won't go easy on you just because you're not an Academy recruit," she cautioned. She didn't expect that to deter Dash, but at least the violet-orbed pegasus wouldn't be able to say she hadn't been warned.
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Post by Becka on Feb 22, 2013 12:16:14 GMT -5
"I always push myself to the limits," Dash said with another salute. She couldn't believe the Wonderbolts captain was agreeing to train her personally! If not for the heaviness of the recent days weighing on her, this would have been the best day ever.
Maybe if she'd pushed a little harder in the forest they could have beat Eclipse, and the sun would be shining brightly and Zecora wouldn't have been attacked by the stonebacks. The proud smile faded from Dash's face at the thought, but Spitfire was still looking at her, so she plastered it back on.
"What's first?" she asked, although her voice didn't sound quite as bright and excited as it had a moment ago.
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Post by Spitfire on Mar 5, 2013 17:02:50 GMT -5
(ooc: Sorry for the delayed reply... again... I seem to spend most of my time apologising for this. Guess that's what comes of being on (on average) four different roleplay sites at any one time...)
Spitfire folded her hooves across her chest for a moment. Maybe Dash did believe she pushed herself to her limits, but Spitfire was willing to bet that what Dash thought her limits were and what she, Spitfire, thought Dash's limits were would be two entirely different things. "If that was true, you'd already be a Wonderbolt," she chided, though not altogether unkindly; she wasn't fully in her 'drill-sergeabt' mode right now. The blue pegasus had the raw talent , of this Spitfire had little doubt, but she lacked the rigid discipline to focus that talent as clearly as she should.
She didn't miss the slip in Dash's grin, the sign that something was wrong, but the golden mare didn't press the issue. She and Dash were still relative strangers, and Spitfire certainly didn't expect the younger pony to want to offload all her concerns onto her.
"You were interested in the hairpin flip?" A clarification more that a question. "Tight turns like that, in midair, can be hard to master. In a flip, even harder. You need to angle your wings just so" coming to rest on a nearby rooftop, Spitfire demonstrated the position she meant "to be able to pull them off. Catch the air currents at perfect moments. Some of these moves can be as much an art form as a flying manoeuver." Fluttering back up to Dash's level, Spitfire faced her impromptu pupil.
"Since I don't know quite how good you are, this is how we'll do it. I'll demonstrate the move again, then evaluate you as you try it." She seriously doubted the girl would manage anything even close to perfect first time, but she wanted to judge Rainbow Dash's abilities for herself to begin with. "Got that?"
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Post by Becka on Mar 6, 2013 15:38:52 GMT -5
[Not a problem. Dash is an NPC, so I’m not invested in her like my other characters. Just pop in whenever you have time.]
Dash studied the position of Spitfire’s wings as she showed the proper form from the rooftop, and imagined what she would have to do to achieve it. She sank briefly in the air as she positioned her own wings, then beat them hard to rejoin the captain.
“Got it!” Dash saluted and hoped she wouldn’t make a fool of herself in front of the Wonderbolts Captain. But really, how hard could it be? Dash could make a sonic rainboom.
Of course, that required one of her friends and three Wonderbolts falling to their deaths, but surely a hairpin flip was easier than a sonic rainboom?
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Post by Spitfire on Mar 13, 2013 15:14:51 GMT -5
"Alright then..." Without further ado, Spitfire beat her wings hard, sending herself straight up into the air. Wind whipped her tie back over her shoulder, drove through her mane making it dance like the flames it resembled as she shot higher, intent on finding the perfect air current to catch...
And... there!
Instinct as much as conscious thought snapped her wings into the position she had demonstrated, she felt the briefest moment of disorientation at the incredibly tight turn, and then she was zooming back towards Rainbow Dash, fast enough to leave a streak of fiery gold in her wake. The captain pulled up smartly in front of Dash, her wingbeats slowing until she was just hovering again, and turned to the younger pegasus.
"Okay, kid, let's see what you can manage," she challenged. Truth be told, she was looking forward to seeing just how good the rainbow pony actually was.
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Post by Becka on Mar 28, 2013 14:36:12 GMT -5
Dash swallowed hard as the captain of the Wonderbolts returned from her hairpin turn. Why did she let her big mouth get her into these situations? What had looked easy the first time now seemed exceptionally difficult, especially with an audience.
Too late to back down now. Dash gave a smart salute. "Yes, ma'am!"
She took off into the air in a straight shot, testing the wind currents until she found what she thought might be a good spot to turn, positioned her wings, and flipped.
And continued to flip as she lost control.
When she finally regained herself she waited for the world to stop spinning around her, then flew slowly back, ears lowered in shame. She'd made a fool of herself in front of Spitfire.
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Post by Spitfire on Apr 2, 2013 15:37:03 GMT -5
Spitfire tried not to smirk as the younger mare fluttered back to her, looking very dejected. Rainbow Dash evidently held herself up on a bit of a pedestal, and in Spitfire's view, it did her no harm to have that pedestal lowered by a few inches. Dash wouldn't be able to rise to greatness if she believed she was already there, so if nothing else, these reminders that she wasn't as hot a flier as she thought were probably good for her.
Still, the firey-maned Wonderbolt didn't have a heart of stone, no matter what impression she might give while acting the drill sergeant, so Spitfire couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for the other pegasus. "If its any consolation, you'd have had to have been some sort of prodigy to get that move the first time, kid," she consoled the blue pony. "It's notoriously easy to lose control when you're in the middle of it. I thought I'd let you find that out for yourself, see how you managed. You didn't crash into anything, and you recovered fairly quickly. That's an achievement in its own right."
Spitfire's own her first attempt at that move, when she was about Dash's age, had ended painfully when she hadn't managed to correct in time and planted herself muzzle-first into the ground, but she wasn't about to share that particular fact. She'd seen plenty of other ponies with worse first attempts who had made Wonderbolts, too, so she certainly wasn't about to write Dash off for this. The rainbow-maned pegasus had plenty of potential, that much was clear.
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Post by Becka on May 13, 2013 12:04:10 GMT -5
Dash had thought she was some sort of prodigy. Making a fool of herself like that was unacceptable, especially in front of any of the Wonderbolts. This, on top of failing the Princesses in the forest, was making for a pretty awful week.
"Yeah," Dash said, the disappointment apparent in her voice. "I guess I should let you get back to your important business." There was no way the Wonderbolts captain would want a failure hanging around her when she had more important things to do.
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