Chapter 3

"A Leave of Absence"

As Spitfire came to term with the fact that her mother had suffered a mild heart attack, the rest of her team sat in the waiting room, anxiously waiting for news. All of them were just as worried as Spitfire was, not just because Stormy Flare was a former Wonderbolt, but because Wonderbolts both current and former were always like family (some of them could even remember working alongside Stormy Flare in her younger days).

At last, the doors of the hospital's hallways opened and Spitfire emerged, clearly exhausted.

"Spitfire!" Rainbow Dash gasped, as all The Wonderbolts gathered around Spitfire, hoping for news. "What's going on?! How's your mom?! What happened to her?!"

"It was a mild heart attack," Spitfire sighed. "She's fine now, but it took a lot out of her. In fact, I have something important to tell you all. But, it will have to wait until we get back to Wonderbolt Headquarters."

"You can tell us now, boss," Soarin remarked with concern. "We're Wonderbolts. We look out for each other, you know that! Whatever's bothering you, we want to help!"

However, Spitfire did not have the mood or the energy to get into an argument. Instead, she just walked past her team and out of the waiting room. The rest of the Wonderbolts wondered just exactly what was going on at that moment. Then, suddenly, they heard a loud and painful noise from Spitfire! In fact, hearing this noise made Rainbow Dash feel very sick to her stomach!

"I'm going to find out what's going on," she announced. "Maybe she'll at least talk to me."

"I don't think she'll want to talk, Crash," Misty Flare advised, briefly taking to the air. "I mean, this is her mother we're talking about. Let's just wait until…."

However, Soarin raised a wing to silence Misty Fly and gave Rainbow Dash an affectionate look of concern. Nodding silently, Rainbow Dash left the waiting room and headed to where the sounds of Spitfire pouring out her emotions were being heard. It didn't take long for Rainbow Dash to find her superior, she was at the bottom of a stairwell with her head against a wall and a puddle of tears forming at her hooves.

Almost immediately, Rainbow Dash felt nothing but pure sympathy for her superior and couldn't help but relate to her in a such a manner. If, Celestia forbid, such a thing happened to one of her parents at one of her Wonderbolts shows, Rainbow was sure she'd be just as distraught, even if she maybe wasn't as close to her folks as Spitfire was to her mom

"Spitfire?" Rainbow Dash asked gently as she made her way towards Spitfire. "I know you want to be left alone, but…"

"It's alright, Rainbow Dash," Spitfire replied, talking through ragged sobs. "It's all right. I just didn't want to show my emotions to the team, that's all. Wonderbolts can't break down and…cry like little foals…especially in front of their teammates."

"Who said you didn't have to?" Rainbow Dash remarked. "Look, why don't we go outside in the fresh air and talk about it for a little bit? At least maybe you can get something off your chest and start feeling better."

"If you say so." Spitfire whimpered, and the Wonderbolts' most promising flyer lead her out of the hospital and into the fresh air.

...

Once they were outside, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire made their way towards the hospital's courtyard. Spitfire had calmed down, but she was still feeling very emotional.

"You don't know what's it's like to have someone you love hide their illness from you," Spitfire said as she and Rainbow Dash sat down on a bench. "Why couldn't my mother just tell me that she was having chest pains, Rainbow Dash? I could have helped her, been there for her! But she couldn't even tell me that she was suffering! Why?! Why did she have to keep this a secret from her only daughter!"

"Look Spitfire, I how you feel, I'd be pretty darn mad if somepony I cared about didn't tell me they were sick if there was something I could do for them," Rainbow Dash sympathized, while being thankful such a case hadn't arisen yet. "But, maybe your mom didn't want you to worry unnecessarily."

Hearing this made Spitfire feel, in a sense, insulted.

"Unnecessarily?!" she growled. "Rainbow Dash, do you even know how I feel about my mother's well-being?! My father died before I could even fly, let alone before I even thought of joining The Wonderbolts! And even at a young age, I understood the pain of that loss! And for a while afterward, there a time where I worried that I won't even have any time to be with her! And now this heart attack happens and I find out my mom's been having chest pains without telling me?! What if I'd lost her knowing that I could've done something to save her?!"

The sight of her superior snapping at her made Rainbow Dash feel both shocked and saddened at the same time. For the first time however, Spitfire was revealing her pent up feelings to Rainbow Dash.

"Then, why don't you take some time off?" Rainbow Dash suggested. "It's clear to me that you've been troubled lately and when was the last time you actually spent any time with your mom, Spitfire? Maybe what happened at the derby was a sign that you should take some time off, just to be with her. Sometimes you don't truly realize how much you cherish something, until you've nearly lost it."

As much as she was enraptured by Rainbow Dash's suggestion, Spitfire was internally conflicted with her feelings. Yes, she was being offered a chance to spend time with her mother, but her career was getting in the way, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to compromise the team at such a crucial time. Rainbow Dash was still learning the ropes, to say nothing of the fact that Misty Fly and Fleetfoot were still trying to work out who was supposed to be the other second in command.

"But I can't just leave you all to be without me," Spitfire protested, her voice filled with worry. "Without me, who will manage the new recruits for the Academy, the aerial shows, the…"

"Listen to yourself, Spitfire!" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "It's like there are two sides to you that are talking here! You need to be on the side that focuses on family, you hear?! I'm the element of loyalty, but even I know the right side to be loyal to! And right now, it's your family that needs you more than the Wonderbolts! You want to spend time with you mom?! Do it, nopony's stopping you! Don't force yourself to stay on the job if your heart would rather be elsewhere!"

Spitfire took in what her most promising flier had said and at that moment, she got up from the bench that they were sitting on, and trotted over to a nearby tree. Her mind was conflicted and Spitfire could only feel like wanting to find a spell to clone herself. But, she was not a Unicorn, she was a Pegasus and that's all there was to it.

...

A little while later, Spitfire and Rainbow Dash returned to Wonderbolt Headquarters with the rest of their team. Afterwards, they all gathered in the locker room where Spitfire announced her decision. "Team, I have something to tell you all. Something of great importance," She said seriously, and everyone carefully listened. "Something that's going to affect us for quite some time."

"We know what it is," Fleetfoot guessed, as Spitfire closed her eyes and nodded. "It's about your mother."

"No," Spitfire corrected, sighing heavily. "Well yes, but I've decided, that I will be taking some time off until my mom gets back on her hooves. Until then, Soarin is in charge and Rainbow Dash is second-in-command. Anypony got a problem with that?"

Spitfire waited for a response or even an objection from Fleetfoot or Misty Fly, since the two of them had been around longer than Rainbow Dash. However, the raspy voice Pegasus didn't say anything to object to Spitfire's decision. And neither did the mare who was known for seldom smiling.

"Very well then," Spitfire sighed. "Wonderbolts, dismissed!"

Saluting each other, all of the Wonderbolts dispersed and retired for the evening. Now, came the difficult task of going through the process of life at Wonderbolts Headquarters without their fearless leader. True, they'd functioned without Spitfire's leadership before, and on short notice no less. But this time there was the looming cloud of Stormy Flare's heart attack that hung over the change, and although nopony dared to say it, there was a fear that this change might be permanent. Stormy Flare was quite old.