Bullets of Fire

by BlackWater

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, Wonderbolts, Spitfire, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Soarin
Length: 97473

Everyday life of the Wonderbolts. Things start to heat up when Spitfire trains for the deadliest stunt yet: Celestia's Bullet.

Life in the Wonderbolts is unique, to put it one way. But life starts getting even more interesting when Celestia herself offers to teach Spitfire a deadly new stunt. It won't be easy for the captain and her pegasus team to learn the alicorn trick. Patience and determination are a must but friendship may be the most important thing for Spitfire to get through the training. If only the Wonderbolts can hold together long enough...

IMPORTANT: This fimfic was started after Season 2 but before Season 3. It may NOT adhere to the canon from new seasons.

Art by BlackWater (me)

Published 2012-08-18 00:14:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-05-30 05:24:37 UTC

2 - Training Begins

Eighty...five...eighty..six...” Spitfire counted in heaves as she felt about ready to pass out. In fact, she did. One bucket of cold water later and she awoke to a very skeptical-looking Princess.

“You need to do at least a hundred wing-ups today or else you’ll never improve fast enough,” Celestia commented gravely as Spitfire got back on her hooves. Her wings were shaking from the stress.

“I would have no problem doing a hundred normal wing-ups. How am I supposed to do that many if I’m lifting my whole body?” the pegasus complained even as she continued wheezing from lack of breath. Normally a wing-up was just a push-up using the wings instead of the front hooves. Celestia however had the ‘Bolt lifting her entire body (including all four hooves) using only her two wings. Using them to fly was one thing but using them for pure weight lifting was another. The physical stress was intense and she almost wished for death.

“Well that’s just what it takes to get the necessary thrust for the stunt. Actually, one hundred is just your first goal. It takes about five hundred to ignite.”

Spitfire just stared at the alicorn in both disbelief and horror. Celestia took the cue to wind things down. She did not, after all, want to scare off her latest hobby.

“Well it’s okay if you can’t quite reach that yet. Eighty-six was very good!”

“Ah...thanks, I guess,” Spitfire replied. It felt awkward for her to be praised by the Princess. After all, what greater praise could one get?

“But I can see how tense it made you,” Celestia motioned towards the pegasus’ wings. “We can’t let that knot your muscles or else you will be grounded for a week.”

Spitfire felt her blood chill. The thought of being grounded was horrifying. It would not only take away her job but also her freedom. Thankfully that fear was immediately dissipated by the alicorn’s next suggestion.

“So we’ll start with some stretching. Copy what I do.”

The orange mare hesitated at first when she saw her ruler begin to stretch in ways that she didn’t think possible. Celestia had bones in her body, right?

She didn’t show it on the outside but on the inside the Princess was smirking. She was just showing off. “Well, are you going to follow?”

“Y-yeah!” Spitfire berated herself. She had to keep up and so far she kept giving Celestia the impression that she was a gawker. After a while, however, she began to feel more relaxed and the stretches were almost soothing.

“This is a routine that I learned from a pegasus a few hundred years ago. She was a physical therapist and stumbled onto some very effective methods for tension relief.”

“I don’t think...” Spitfire stopped and watched Celestia stretch her wings to the ground while lifting her rear hooves over her back. It didn’t look right. Joints shouldn’t be able to move in that direction...

Noticing the mare’s abstainment, Celestia brought her limbs back around and gently grabbed Spitfire’s wings. “You won’t be able to go far until your muscles are more flexible. But you do need to learn this one because it will be crucial to relax your body after you pass two hundred fifty wing-ups.”

She was being gentle and her voice was still elegant but Spitfire was getting nervous. The ‘Bolt’s orange wings were being guided by the alicorn to the absolute limit of their downward arc. The stretch was beginning to burn.

“Don’t worry,” Celestia encouraged as she noted the mare’s worried expression. “It may burn a bit now but it won’t tense up your muscles more. Actually, it will relieve them.”

When Celestia began to lift Spitfire’s rear hooves over her wings, she squeaked in terror. “Something wrong?” the royal asked.

“Can I be frank with you?” Spitfire asked cautiously.

“Of course. I thought that’s how I asked you to be when we started.”

“...I don’t trust you.”

“Oh?” Celestia giggled.

“Uh...I mean I don’t trust this stretching. I’m scared my body is going to get stuck in this weird position.”

“Well, I suppose we can pause here. At the very least you should remember where to stretch your wings.”

“Celestia?”

The Princess smiled at having her royal title left off. “Yes?”

“Thanks.”

Celestia sighed. Her rare and precious day off had been a surprising success - even if it wasn’t exactly as she expected it to be. It was refreshing to be doing something a bit different than her usual pastimes. Maybe it was nice because it reminded her of the lessons she used to teach Twilight Sparkle when she was still in Canterlot.

“You feel better now?” the Princess asked in a calming tone.

Spitfire smiled in return. “My body feels like jello.”

Win some, lose some. That was a saying that was probably used to the point of death. In retrospect, Spitfire hadn’t really lost anything. That was especially true now that she was watching Princess Luna’s spectacular night sky. Why anypony would be disinterested in it was beyond her. Of course, her own opinion might have been biased considering that she was sipping strawberry lemonade while lounging in Celestia’s private outdoor lighted spa. The bias was awesome.

The keeper of the sun walked over and finally slid into the water. She had been momentarily delayed by some couldn’t-wait papers that needed signing. She let out a sigh of bliss as the spa’s bubble jets massaged away all of the day’s problems. Spitfire’s own sigh had been far greater when she first got in due to the strenuous exercising she had done.

“Thanks again for letting me hang,” Spitfire grinned.

“I hardly ever have company so it’s really nice to have somepony over.” Although she didn’t say it, that had been even more the case since she had sent Twilight out on her study of friendship. “The stars are beautiful aren’t they?” she continued.

“Yeeaaah,” the orange mare’s voice droned out as her back was assaulted by the spa’s bubbling.

Celestia giggled. She had been doing more of that ever since taking on Spitfire as her personal project and it was a welcome change for the immortal ruler. Although she tried to put on outward appearances, here day-to-day life was almost to the point of depressing. Her true smile returned now that she was thinking of her sister. “The stars are only this beautiful because of Luna. Having her back is...”

Spitfire only nodded as Celestia trailed off. The Princess was obviously emotional about her family. The pegasus picked up on the mood and thought not to comment on the matter. She didn’t want to have the alicorn crying or anything like that.

They just relaxed like that for a while and let the bubbles take away all worry. They were probably staying in longer than they should have because Celestia began to nod off. At that point, Spitfire was past relaxation and began getting bored. Thus begged the question, “Where’s the remote for this thing?”

Celestia just nodded her head in the direction of the remote. Thankfully it was within reaching distance. Spitfire grabbed it and found the control for the bubble jets. “Time to take this baby up to eleven!”

She cranked the dial.

Looking back, it had probably been a bad idea. As they say, hindsight is 20-20. But there were sometimes those things in life that were bad decisions on the surface yet somehow resulted in some unforeseen good. Or perhaps that was just the effect of nostalgia.

The air bubbles exploded into air bombs and the two mares were sent rocketing out of the spa and into the night sky they had admired some moments before. Luna waved at her sister as she passed by but was puzzled when she saw the orange pegasus trailing behind her...holding the remote to their spa.

“Who built that spa?” Spitfire asked excitedly.

“If you’re asking about the bubble jets then you can consider me the one,” Celestia replied. “The jets are from UniSpa, but I added my own magic to boost their power. The magic combination is actually something Star Swirl came up with. It was totally unrelated but I adapted it for the spa. Looking back I...can’t remember why I wanted to boost them so much...”

“I bet it was because it was just plain fun. Now I can actually say that I’ve been launched out of a jacuzzi,” Spitfire couldn’t get over the absurdity of the statement. That and the fact that she survived a spa that Celestia modified with military-grade bomb magic.

The Princess could only facehoof. “It’s getting late. We should turn in.”

“Ah,” the ‘Bolt submitted.

As they walked down the halls of the royal palace, a thought struck the alicorn. “Will you be staying in Canterlot for a while? I just remembered you have performances to continue and your training will take quite some time...”

Spitfire beamed as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “Yeah, we have another one tomorrow afternoon and then we go over to a nearby town the following day. But we’ll be staying close to Canterlot for quite a while. Besides,” she paused for effect. “I’m the captain so I have a very strong say in where we go. Nobody would question us staying in Canterlot for a while since we have so many fans here - especially if I mentioned training for a new stunt.”

“Perhaps it would be best not to mention me,” Celestia suggested.

Spitfire’s expression wilted in response, “Why not?”

The Princess didn’t want to admit that the news of her training a Wonderbolt would cause complications. She would be drowned in reporters and her latest “hobby” would inevitably take on political implications. In summary, her fun would be ruined. “Others might want to join in,” she decided to say. “I really can’t take on more than one...student.”

“I...see,” Spitfire mused as she began thinking about what she was going to do. She would have to come up with some excuse as to where she was when Celestia was teaching her. The ‘Bolts had a mostly harmless but bad habit of spilling the beans to each other about what everypony did.

That’s where they split ways. Celestia retreated into her own royal quarters while Spitfire continued down the hall to her room. It took her a few hours to calm down and settle into sleep. That night her dreams consisted of raging fires, exploding spas, and bad excuses.

The only notable point for the following morning was that Celestia managed to slip away from her duties long enough to get Spitfire started on another training routine. Unlike the wing-ups, the new routine was purely about rhythm. The Princess had said something about getting the timing of the thrust right and the ‘Bolt captain tried to take her seriously on it. After spending a surprising amount of time on it, Spitfire finally got bored. Doesn’t matter, she told herself. The hours were growing long and she had to meet up with the other ‘Bolts for their afternoon show.

Everything went exactly as she expected it too when she met up with the others. Misty met her first and practically monologued about what an awesome time she had the previous night. Something about sneaking off to watch the latest movie from one of her closet-fan series...Spitfire did not share quite her level of enthusiasm on the matter.

They started to join up with the others and Soarin’ almost knocked his captain down when he spotted her. “Where were you last night?” he asked with a worried tone.

Fortunately, Misty answered for her and thus saved her from throwing out her barely-better-than-lame excuse. “She was practicing again. Probably did all night. You know Spitfire.”

Soarin’ just squinted. “You take it easy boss. I don’t want to be stuck with these babies when something happens to you.”

Fleetfoot, however, caught the jest. “That’s hilarious coming from you.”

“Yeah,” Fire Streak agreed. “You might as well be one of those fancy restaurants...’cause you’re never short on whine.”

Only Blaze giggled while the others groaned. “You trying to say something?!” Soarin’ countered.

Spitfire took her cue to cool things down and get them on track. It was something she had become rather good at. Silently she thought it was impossible not to have such skills after captaining this bunch for so long. Thus they got started on their warm-up for their impending performance. None of the other ‘Bolts noticed at this point that their captain had a tinge more energy than she used to.

3 - Tension

The crowd gasped as Silver Lining saved Fleetfoot just in time as she plunged from the heavens. It was all scripted, of course. This was one of their more theatrical performances as sponsored by one of Canterlot's greatest drama societies*. In spite of this, the scenes were drowning in action sequences. It was certainly climatic for the audience but may have been just an excuse to show off some awesome moves. The theatre wanted to get their money's worth out of the Wonderbolts after all.

"If you must cast us from the heavens then we must climb once more to them. We will never accept such judgement as righteous!" Spitfire valiantly challenged Soarin'. The scene had just changed from Whisp's (Fleetfoot's) banishing to Whiteway's (Spitfire's) challenge of the King of Clouds (Soarin'). The 'Bolt captain was outfitted in a shining suit of armor and she stood alongside Blaze and Misty who portrayed Whiteway's two shieldmares.

The audience was riveted by the escalating mood. The King of Clouds lifted off his throne with a powerful gust of wind from his gold-tipped wings. "Know your place, servant. I will give you one chance to repent from casting your lot with the vile Earth ponies. Don't become the lowly swine that your sister did!"

"Swine?! What's wrong with a few pigs?" Fleetfoot countered.

Everpony immediately looked to stage left where Fleetfoot and Silver Lining entered. Both appeared weary from the previous scene. It was, of course, just an act because they were far too fit to be drained with the theatrical gimmicks.

Whiteway beamed, "Sister! You're alright!"

"I told you I would never let the beautiful Grey Haven come to harm," Silver Lining grinned.

"Guards," shrieked a now petrified King of the Clouds. Fire Streak and Lighting Streak appeared alongside their ruler. They were dressed as royal guards and moved in front of their king to protect him.

Suddenly all of Tartarus broke loose and the guards wound up taking on the five opposing ponies. It was, however, a lengthened scene that proved the royal guard's salt and - of course - Wonderbolt athleticism. The guards finally collapsed when Whiteway delivered a lighting-fast blow to the both of them in the shape of a cross. The fight was not yet over though and the hero's true enemy reared himself up for the attack. It was the show's final scene.

"You will now feel my full wrath!" shouted the King of Clouds. That's when the backstage crew billowed smoke onstage to match Soarin's wing beats. It looked as if the King was casting a storm spell upon the mighty heroes.

"Not today!" Whiteway shot like a cannon into the King and knocked him from the air. Her two shieldmares lunged upon him and grabbed his hooves to pin him in place. Even as the villain tried to ensnare Whiteway with a whiff of purple poison cloud from his still-free wings, the heroine dove into him with a single lunge - one beat from her own orange wings.

Finally, the King lay still. The lights narrowed to show Whiteway posed atop the evil king. Good had won the victory even as the smoke of battle whisped away the horror of the fight. Background music built to a climax as Whiteway declared, "May peace and freedom dwell between our races!"

The light finally blinked out with the show concluded. There was a healthy round of hoof pounding from the pleased audience and only a few minutes later the cast came out on the cleared stage to do their bow.

"Horse feathers, Spitfire!" Soarin' complained.

Spitfire didn't have a clue what he was going on about now. It was odd since she usually read him like an open book.

"What? Did I do something wrong?"

"What was with the finishing hit?! It was supposed to be for show but you just plowed into me!"

Misty nodded with a grimace, "That did look kinda rough."

"Crowd ate it up, though," chided Blaze.

"Oh...I...guess I wasn't paying enough attention. I didn't think I lunged that hard..." The mare was being perfectly honest. She really hadn't thought she had put so much into the "fake" hit. She had felt a little energized during the show but she didn't think it unusual or anything.

"Getting soft, Soarin'?" Even Wave Chill was getting a piece of the star stallion.

"At least I didn't get a bit part," the former King retorted.

Wave Chill almost ignited and Spitfire was once again playing the role of group firefighter. Ultimately she did apologize to Soarin' for knocking the wind out of him literally and figuratively. That was when they wound down their nerves along with their chat and split into smaller groups to chill out. The orange mare had a schedule though and had a certain royal palace to get to.

Upon arriving, she was conveniently escorted to the room she had stayed at the previous night. Looks like I got a residence, she snickered to herself. Should she feel bad? It almost felt like she was indulging in some secret away from her friends.

But no. It wasn't anything bad. It was actually very good. She was improving herself and it would be a boon for her team. In fact, she wanted to get all of the 'Bolts up to par if she could. Wasn't that what captains did?

The spa was probably bad though. It was like taking first-class while the rest of her team got to ride the bus. Benefits were not something to factor into the "fair" equation, she decided.

In her room she found a note from Celestia detailing when the alicorn would get free for their training. As it was going to be at least another hour, she decided to warm-up and resume her rhythm exercises.

Knock knock.

Spitfire almost teleported to the door when she heard the tap. Opening the door to suddenly be faced with the grand ruler of Equestria was still a tad breathtaking but she worked to get over it.

"Oh, I see you've already started," the Princess' smooth voice commented.

"Thought I'd at least practice that rhythm. I haven't done the heavy stuff though."

"We'll have to change that," Celestia smiled. "To the garden!"

The orange mare followed her as she twirled around and led the way to her private garden. It was practically a lush jungle. It even had a few small waterfalls to boost. Such detail was in every pathway and alcove that it must have been the result of over a hundred years of work. Of course, with Celestia that was believable.

Trying to resume her focus, Spitfire leaned down and began the wing-ups that Celestia had began instructing. She blew by her record of 86 from the previous day and felt like she could suddenly conquer the world. Said hopes were quickly crushed. She gave out at 97.

"Th...three...more..." she wheezed. "Why...?!"

Celestia just beamed her usual smile. "You improved by eleven. Don't give up and keep pushing yourself," she encouraged. "Let's do some stretching and then wind down."

"Aren't...there...other things?"

"Exercises you mean? We can't do any others until you get things wings strengthened up. Besides," Celestia gave a stern voice. "You shouldn't do anything beyond what your currently doing. If you try to push yourself too far you could rip a muscle."

The Princess must have caught Spitfire's dismissive look because she responded quickly, "I'm serious, Spitfire. Your already beyond normal limits. That's why we do the special stretching. You'd go stiff for a week without it."

The orange mare tensed at getting scolded on her recklessness. It must have been her thrill-seeking disposition that made her want to do the Fire trick so soon. But that's when it hit her. "Celestia?"

"Hm?" the alicorn replied as she walked over to one of the garden's waterfalls.

"When I get around to doing this trick, it won't be the only one, right? I'll be strong enough to do some other wicked things, won't I?"

"I knew you'd realize that soon. Spitfire," she turned back to the mare to emphasize her point. "Don't try just anything. The Wonderbolts are already daredevils. I may enjoy a show now and then but I don't want dead subjects. Promise me you'll be careful."

The Princess sounded so serious about it that Spitfire couldn't refuse. It was true that she and her 'Bolts tempted fate. That was true of most acrobats, in fact. After all, extreme physical trickery could suddenly go expectantly and horribly wrong. It was just a risk you took when decided to do it. However, Spitfire got the feeling that the Princess meant more than that. Suddenly being capable of more was a dangerous situation. You tended to go overboard to test your new boundaries and that could get you in harm's way - even dead. That was so much more true for stunt-fliers like herself.

"Yeah...I will be."

"Good. Now come over here and we'll start the stretching."

This time they moved through a variety of regular moves before doing the odd one from the previous day. Celestia insisted on it and Spitfire managed to get a bit farther - though that might have only been her imagination.

"This pose is so...awkward," the pegasus commented.

"Well it's not supposed to be a pose. It's an advanced method to relieve wing stress."

"Why does this," she grunted as she tried to move her back hooves over her lowered wings. "Why does this even work?"

Celestia beamed a grin that the orange mare only rolled her eyes to. The Princess was waving her back hooves high into the air...right where her wings would be if they were stretched straight upward. She had clearly mastered the stretch and was capable of an unreal level of flexibility. "Most ponies don't realize exactly which muscles are used for movement. That's why so many Earth ponies are surprised that their back muscles freeze when they do too much work using their front hooves or shoulders. With a pegasus, the back muscles are an integral part of flight. This exercise stretches out those muscles because the direction of the back hooves pulls them outward."

"Wow. You sound like a teacher or something," Spitfire half-joked.

Celestia sighed, "I have been a teacher many times. You might even say I'm teaching you."

"I prefer the word 'train.' The thought of school makes me shiver."

"You don't like it?" the Princess asked surprised.

"Don't get me wrong. It's just...well I already went through it all and I don't wanna go back. I don't like sitting around all day reading books and listening to lectures when I can be out doing things."

It really wasn't something Celestia hadn't heard before. It was just a personality type. Spitfire was the kind of pony that liked physical activity. In fact, she was like Rainbow Dash in that regard, which was probably why the Element of Loyalty thought so much of her and her Wonderbolts. "I understand more than you know."

The White Mare of the Sun finally decided on what post-training fun she wanted to do. It was a sudden idea that came about from the mention of school. Actually, it would take a bit of explaining to prove that the idea came from such a topic because the reasoning was extremely removed. Perhaps Celestia's inner-psyche would someday be explained by science or even magic. Yes, magic was more likely to explain how school reminded Celestia of-

"Diving!" she exclaimed.

The 'Bolt captain did a double-take. "Huh?"

"We're going to do some deep water diving after we're done here," the alicorn replied. "I've even got the air and movement spells fresh in my mind!"

Spitfire was speechless. Diving? And she didn't even want to ask why Celestia had recently refreshed herself on diving spells. "I've never-"

"Which is why we should. I know you'll like it. I just have to find some way to tri- I mean ask Luna to take care of things while we're gone."

"Gone? How long is this going to take? Because I have-"

Again Celestia cut her off, "Not that long. You'll have plenty of time because we won't be doing much traveling."

"But I don't think there are any waters in Canterlot deep enough," the mare commented skeptically.

Celestia merely pointed a back hoof, which was still raised over her wings. When Spitfire followed the direction, she saw a sign almost hidden by the garden's lush greenery. It read "To Diving Cavern."

"You have a private cavern? And it has a diving pool?!" Spitfire nearly cried out.

Celestia just let out her now signature giggle.

How many things did the immortal Princess of the Sun have?

Author's Note

* In this context, a drama society is a synonym for a stage group or theater company. The Wonderbolts get a wide variety of deals from sports and theaters due to their athleticism and mastery of stuntwork. In example, working as racers, judges, rescuers, and stage actors.

4 - Deep Waters

You're having too much fun, sister."

The voice could only belong to the mare of the moon. Her tone was light but she was right all the same.

"What's your point, your royal darkness?" Celestia taunted in the way only she could. She could be completely carefree and open to Luna and she took advantage of every opportunity to do so. After all, she knew just how to push every single one of her sisters buttons. Luna, however, ignored the jest.

"I'll cover for you again but only if you promise to give me more play time next week," Luna bargained.

"Oh, your precious ideograms?"

"They're called video games, Celly. An old fossil like you would have a hard time playing them. It was hard enough to teach you how to play solitaire."

"And it's hard enough to get you to go outside the palace. The only thing those video games have done other than keep you locked up in your room is relax your speech. I have to admit that the subjects are having an easier time now that you can speak more...normal."

"And who's fault was that?!"

Celestia snickered. She had to admit that she enjoyed the delicious awkwardness that would result when Luna tried solving court problems in her archaic speech. She enjoyed teasing her more, though.

"I must say I'm pleased that there are more interesting things to do," Luna continued. "The 'fun' I remember from the last millennia involved counting the stars. Not very amusing when I'm the one who put them there."

"That was an obscure pastime, Lulu. Nopony actually did that."

Luna's face darkened more than should have been possible.

"Except me," Celestia hastily added. "You know how I love your sky, Lulu."

The dark expression began lifting as quickly as it came. Sometimes her lax attitude got her in trouble with Luna, but what were sisters for? It was natural to want to tease her right? Now, however, the dark mare walked over and hugged her sister. Apparently Celestia's words had struck a cord.

"Thanks, sis," Luna sniffled.

Celestia bit her lower lip when she saw her younger sister's teary-eyed but smiling face. She had to harshly resist the urge to prank her. It was just the sort of face you wanted to mess with...put ink on the rim of her telescope or something.

"You have your fun, Celly."

"Oh, I will," the white mare snickered once again. Only, this time, it was a tad more sinister.

"That was quick," remarked the orange mare.

Celestia had just returned to the garden where she had left Spitfire while she requested a favor from her sister. On her way back she had gotten a few things that they would need - namely the diving suits. They didn't have the air tanks or flippers that normal H2pOny equipment had. Celestia opted instead for special magic to make up for them. It enabled her to move more freely in the water and it allowed her unlimited air supply, which was something the poor diving company had not yet stumbled upon. Daily she wondered which spells to reveal to the public and which not to. Powerful magic was not to be thrown around lightly, after all.

"I take it you're going to keep me from drowning," Spitfire commented worriedly.

"And make you a natural in the water. You'll be able to move around as if you were in the sky."

Spitfire's mouth formed an O-shape as she marveled at the prospect. This really was something that got her excited - actual and physical fun. It sounded rather dangerous to boot. She would be placing her life in the hands of another pony. But she decided an immortal thousand-year-plus-old alicorn was probably competent enough.

"Wondering if I'm competent enough to keep you alive?"

Spitfire shrieked accidentally. "Did you...read my mind?"

"Never. That would be rude,"the Princess giggled.

"You keep doing that."

Celestia feigned an innocent look, "What?"

The pegasus didn't take the bait. "Giggling. I don't think I've ever heard anypony giggle that much. It's weird."

Now the white alicorn sighed. "I have to. Spitfire, you have to understand that nothing and I mean nothing is amusing after a few thousand years. I have to make things fun or else I'll go crazy with depression."

Not expecting such a heavy answer, Spitfire just let out an "I see" and let it slide. Maybe living so long wasn't such a great thing after all. What would she do if she had learned every possible trick and stunt and exhausted every bit of fun out of her career? And all other careers for that matter?

Celestia began leading the way into the cave entrance that the diving sign had pointed to. Since the royal palace and the royal garden were not adjacent to a mountain, the path quickly lead downwards. Apparently the palace had been built over the cavern. "Follow me and stay close...or the vamponies might get you," Celestia joked.

"Oh please. I'm a grown-up. You can't foo-" Spitfire was cut short when something dark raced by her. She whimpered just enough that her companion caught it.

"Vamponies meaning normal bats. This is a cave after all, my dear grown-up."

Spitfire's face reddened but she couldn't say anything more on the matter because the mare that had been leading her through the dark had suddenly stopped. There was the sound of a click even as the pegasus was wondering why Celestia hadn't lit the way. Was she using some magic to find her way through the dark? And why didn't someone as rich and powerful as the Princess have the whole cave lighte-

"Gah!" screamed the orange mare as a particularly bright lantern ignited the room with light. It wasn't really that bright but the suddenness of it in contrast to the previous darkness was unpleasant on the eyes.

"I prefer to keep this cave in it's...more original form," Celestia answered Spitfire's unspoken wondering. "This single light will give us all we need to start our journey."

Spitfire, still adjusting her eyes, noted that they were not in a small passageway anymore but rather in a large room-like cave. In spite of being underground, the entire floor of the "room" was occupied by an enormous pool. It was dreadfully dark and wouldn't even be visible save for the lantern that now hung high on the room's ceiling.

"You'll note," the white mare said as she dipped her front hooves in the water, "that the water is warm. This means that there must be a source of heat close by - perhaps a volcanic vent." Celestia was now wishing that Twilight were with them so she could hear one of her little scientific rants. She would have to get Twilight over for a dive sometime soon. The purple mare was just so much fun.

"Well at least we won't freeze into ponysicles," Spitfire commented. "How deep is it?"

As Spitfire moved a few steps in to test the underwater slope, Celestia held her back with her left hoof. "Careful," the Princess warned. "The bottom gives way quickly to a straight drop. It's incredibly deep."

"H-how deep again?"

"Incredibly deep."

Spitfire frowned, "Seriously. How deep is the pool, Celestia?"

The giggle again. "I never counted."

Spitfire just rolled her eyes and snatched her diving suit that Celestia had been carrying on her back. As they both fit themselves into the suits, the pegasus began to realize how funny the other mare looked. Her long legs and flowing mane were an almost comical contrast to the dark form-fitting diving suit.

"Pfft," she snorted accidentally.

Celestia tilted her head, "What is it?"

"Nothing. This suit kind of feels like my regular uniform," Spitfire changed subjects.

"Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if your Wonderbolt uniforms were just modified diving suits," Celestia winked.

So the mare had noticed the little wardrobe secret. Of course, it made sense that an immortal would be able to pick out fabric from a distance. Oh well. It's not like it was that big of a deal. The suit material just happened to work well in wind and storms - especially rainstorms. Other materials tended to get heavy when soaked.

"Ready for an adventure?!" Celestia excitedly started.

"You've already been to the bottom, though." Spitfire seriously doubted there was any possibility that Celestia hadn't already explored every inch of the cavern - underwater or not.

"Let's pretend I haven't," she smiled.

"Just promise me you won't fake getting us lost under there and pretend we're running out of air."

Celestia frowned at getting caught. "Horse feathers," she whispered under her breath. How did the orange wonder catch on so quickly?

"Last one in is a mortal!" Celestia leaped into a pony cannonball before splashing into the black waters.

"How is that a bad thing? Especially when I am a mortal..." Spitfire wondered aloud as she more carefully edged her way into the pool.

The underwater floor was starting to get steeper as she moved forward but she didn't expect to find the drop-down point so quickly, nor did she expect to get purposefully pulled under by her royal companion. Two hooves grabbed her own and she got a deliciously bitter taste of the cavern water. It was kind of gross.

For the slightest fraction of a second she was scared. Her whole body had plunged underwater and she was afraid to open her eyes or mouth. Very slowly she became aware of the fact that she wasn't running low on air. She was holding her breath but didn't suck in water when her nose accidentally breathed in. It should have been water but it was air instead. Air? Oh that's right. Celestia was performing some kind of magic. She heard a familiar voice only slightly altered by the interference of water. "Open your eyes."

Trusting quite literally in Celestia, she did. What she saw might have stolen her breath if it had not been constantly supplied via royal spell. Her sight was not hindered by the effects of the water. It was as if the water barely existed. She could still see it and tell it was there by the feeling and the way it refracted the light and yet she could see straight through it. The water was not murky or dark as it had appeared from above. Celestia floated right in front of her and was apparently getting a kick out of the younger mare's reactions.

"You look like a filly who just learned that she could fly," Celestia grinned. Her mouth moved openly and the words reached Spitfire clearly, in spite of some slight watery distortion. Bubbles escaped the mare's mouth and fought their way to the surface. Afraid of inhaling water, Spitfire didn't reply.

"You can talk and move all you want," Celestia continued. "Don't worry about inhaling because you'll only ever get normal air. I've already cast the magic so you can...how do you put it...chill."

Spitfire returned Celestia's remark with a deadpan gaze. Nevertheless she tried it out. "I can talk?"

Her voice sounded weird to her but it was amazing to be able to talk so freely underwater. She tried it again. "So what are we doing?"

"Teaching you how to swim," Celestia joked as she began somersaulting through the water. Showboating, she glided through some additional underwater acrobatics.

"I think I can swim just fine," Spitfire proved as she waded towards her carefree trainer. "You're just a show off."

Celestia faked a pained expression.

"This is pretty awesome, though. Thanks."

"I'll accept your gratitude," Celestia replied as she swam circles around the pegasus. "If you refer to me as Queen of the Seaponies."

"Now who's being the little filly?" Spitfire blanched.

"Well it won't take that long to reach the bottom and I'm being paid by the hour," complained the alicorn.

"You are not being paid. And are you always this giddy when you're underwater?"

Celestia just pursed her lips, "Cheapskate."

Spitfire took another look around to solidify her bearings. The pool was indeed quite wide and she could only see as far as the lantern cast its light. She couldn't see the bottom. Even though the water itself was as clear as crystal, she did not suddenly have night vision. Celestia's horn began to glow and it illuminated a larger distance around them.

The white mare locked her eyes with her companion's. Her expression quickly turned grave, as if their very lives were at stake. "Stick close and we'll see just how deep this rabbit hole goes..."

5 - Everything is Training

Pinkie Pie's right eye twitched. Then her tail puffed up, left eye twitched twice, and finally her ears turned ninety degrees. It could mean only one thing. Somepony had gone scuba diving and didn't invite her! Well, she wouldn't stand for that. Immediately she started writing invites to her five close friends. There was going to be a Scuba Party.

"This is," Spitfire began as she gave another stroke to propel herself, "fantastic!"

"I knew you'd enjoy it," Celestia remarked. "But we must be cautious. There are cave sharks further down."

Spitfire stared blankly. "You can try harder than that."

The Princess had to admit that the orange mare was making her be more creative. She needed to make something up to spice up their adventure. A little magic would probably help. Suddenly she got an idea. A terrible aweful idea.

They started their descent into the dark depths and the range of their vision expanded as the light from Celestia's horn moved down with them. Slowly the light from above grew dimmer until only the alicorn lit their surroundings. The pegasus, however, was not so keen on picking out the fluctuations in the light that indicated that the Princess was doing something else with her magic. Spitfire was too enthralled by the diving experience anyhow.

Still they swam. The pool was endlessly deep and yet there hadn't been any "branches." It was only a large and round hole that seemed to continue forever. Perhaps Twilight might have pointed out how odd it was that such a pool existed. Clearly it could not have been formed by the natural deterioration of water. Was her life really so boring that she wanted to hear Twilight's scientific ranting? Ah, but it was so endearing.

"What's that?" Spitfire asked.

Now broken from her inner musing, Celestia propelled herself towards her friend. The orange mare had made her way over to one of the smooth walls. On it was an inscription. Somepony had chiseled a message straight into the rock.

"It says 'Don't stay in the dark.' What's that supposed to mean?"

The white mare considered the possibilities. "Perhaps it's a warning. There might be something down here but it doesn't come out when there is light. After all, I've only ever come down here with something to see by."

Spitfire blew it off. "I've never heard of anything like that. Besides, I haven't seen anywhere something could hide. This whole thing is just a straight drop."

"Then shall we?" Celestia gestured for them to continue.

Again they descended and again they discovered a message on the wall. The pegasus was curious all the same and decided to read it. She couldn't help it because it felt too much like a trail of crumbs. Seeing the trail, anyone would want to find what lay at the end.

"It says 'It starts with the wings,'" she read. "Seriously?"

"Have you ever seen or heard about Tartarus?" Celestia asked offhand.

The fearless 'Bolt captain didn't follow the train of thought. "Huh? Why you ask?"

Having placed the seed of thought, the Princess motioned once again to continue the swim down.

After a moment of silence between them, Spitfire spoke up. "If this pony knew how bad this thing was then why did she - or he - chisel random short warnings about it along the way?"

"I've known ponies that have done very strange things when angry or frightened. Strong emotions can lead to some very irrational decisions."

Her question was logical but she couldn't deny that the Princess was also being reasonable about the answer. It was very true, after all. Some ponies didn't even need a strong emotion for irrational behavior. Soarin' was living proof of that.

When the third message came into view, Spitfire noticed that Celestia's light was starting to flicker. This one was long unlike the previous two. Nevertheless, she read aloud, "That makes three of them. 'I only regret that these messages are all I can do. Perhaps they will save somepony. I now carve in the dark as my light has given out. Something seems to be touching my win-'"

Suddenly Celestia's light imploded and they were immediately wrapped in complete blackness. Something was moving through the water. It was the sound of something big swimming towards them and moving fast. Spitfire forgot any and all doubts and began to panic. "Celestia!!"

Something grabbed her wings and yanked backwards. It felt like something wanted to tear them off. Something strained, snapped, and a chill ran through her spine. Her eyes rolled back and she passed out.

Light came back slowly but everything felt wrong. There was no water and something felt soft - like she was on a bed. Her senses continued powering up and she began hearing a sound.

"...Spitfiiirrrre..."

Somepony was calling - almost singing - her name.

"...Spitfiiirrrre..."

It was soothing like the morning sun.

"...Sugarmuuuufiiiiiiiin..."

She flung out with her right hoof.

Even as Celestia fell backwards while holding her now-punched nose, Spitfire let out a stream of apologies. It was only a natural reflex, she explained. But the orange mare returned to a frown when she saw the Princess snickering behind the the hooves that held her face.

"I suppose I should apologize since I was the one that made you faint in the first place."

"Wha-" Spitfire stopped short as the memory flooded back. She had passed out during their dive because of the supposed Monster of the Deep. Apparently, it had merely been a streak of mischief from the Royal. "You!"

Holding her hooves up, Celestia faked an attempt to protect herself from the wrath of the pegasus. "It was just a joke. I didn't think you'd take it so hard!"

"You don't sound very sincere about that," Spitfire complained. She turned in the bed so that she could get up and out of it but, realizing how soft and warm the expensive sheets were against her coat, she found she didn't have the nerve.

"Spitfire's a fierce name but you sure didn't look that way when I carried your body out. You make the cutest expressions when you're sleeping-"

Bam! Spitfire threw a pillow at Celestia and was reaching for another when she heard yet another apology. The 'Bolt captain had her fill, "You should really be more careful with that mouth of yours. Or am I the only one you like to mess with?"

Celestia considered it and realized that she really had been overly playful with the mare. It was probably a result of her pent up stress finding an outlet. Whatever the case, she wasn't about to let Spitfire get away with her little "episode."

"There are others. Really, it's not like I'm bullying. You're the one that asked to be trained."

Spitfire begged to differ, "And how is faking an underwater monster considered training?" She grabbed hold of the unthrown second pillow and hugged it as she feigned a pout.

"Nerves," Celestia responded as she struck a pose. It looked like she belonged on the front of some political magazine.

"Huh? How's-"

"You must have nerves of steel if you want to pull off the Bullet. If you hesitate then you die," she remarked coolly.

Spitfire knew it was a dangerous move but still had much to learn about the details. "It's called the Bullet?"

"Well that's one name I've given it," the white mare smiled. "More importantly, it can be lethal if you don't do it perfectly. If you hesitate at any point before achieving ignition then you can easily plow yourself a farm...with your head."

Spitfire grimaced. She had experienced a few failed stunts in the past that had sent her careening out-of-control and straight to the ground. Such things were particularly dangerous when the failure came at high speed. There was never time to consider pulling up before you meteor'd yourself into your own grave.

"If you hesitate at any point after achieving ignition then you can...well...catch fire," Celestia explained with just a hint of amusement.

That didn't seem to be an issue. "I thought that was the point," the orange mare balked.

Celestia climbed the bed and sat on one the the upper corners. Looking down, she addressed her friend, "The fire ignites around you and your speed prevents it from harming you. If you don't exit the move properly then the fire will catch up and roast you alive. I didn't just want to have fun with you - although I did. The reason I tried to scare you was to test your nerve."

Spitfire fell silent as she listened to the older mare explain. She hadn't expected it even though, in retrospect, she should have. Celestia was turning everything into a part of her training. Perhaps exercise alone wasn't enough to get her ready.

"I know you're comfortable at high speeds but it's not the same for the Bullet. You will experience a very unsettling moment at ignition. It will almost feel like you escaped incineration with a singed tail and, frankly, that's what it is. There's a flash of heat, light, and sound - each of which can cause you to jolt and exit prematurely. That would be very bad. It took me the longest to get over the sound, though. The explosion is quite loud..."

"You mean you got it wrong? More than once?" Spitfire finally interrupted.

Celestia gave up her normally positive appearance for a frown. "My coat looked more like coal for a while. I would have been dead if not for my ability to use magic. You don't have that privilege, Spitfire. That's why you can't mess up."

Spitfire nodded solemnly only to bury herself further into the sheets. It must have been the advantage of royalty because the bedding was so soft that she was tempted to spread her wings out just to feel the comfy fabric.

There was a knock at the door and Celestia rose to answer it. Spitfire couldn't see who it was but the ruler returned after a few phrases to the visitor. "Something has come up. You have a performance you needed to attend to, right? I remember you mentioning something about it earlier."

Spitfire's heart raced. She had almost forgotten about it! The fear of forgetting to show at a performance was akin to having a heart attack. "I do! Pony feathers! What time is it?"

"Nearly sunset. Would it be possible for you to call off your personal appearance?" Celestia asked worriedly as she moved over to a bookshelf across the room. Quickly finding some thick-looking book, she began pulling it out using her magic.

"I suppose I could if I got a letter to Soarin'. Why do you ask?"

Celestia didn't look back over at her as she turned towards the bed while focusing on flipping through the pages of the book. "Your little nap in the pool wasn't good for your health. Honestly, I didn't expect it would go over so badly. I would like you to stay and rest early."

The Princess' tone had moved more to her public voice. She was more crisp and authoritative in her speech. Spitfire couldn't refuse. "If you say so then I guess I shouldn't argue. Could you get a letter to Soarin' for me?"

"Easily," she finally looked up from the book now that she was beside the bed. "Now rest," she leaned over to touch her horn to the pegasus' forehead. There was a faint glow and the pony was asleep.

Being careful to keep the letter anonymous, the Princess quickly penned a letter and had it sent express to the stallion in question. With that affair settled, she walked briskly out of the room with the thick book still in her magical grasp.

"I will not defer!"

Celestia entered the Royal Court just in time to hear the outburst. Luna was seated high on the throne, looking somewhat unsettled. The outburst had thus come from below. A single Earth pony faced her sister from the court floor. He wore heavy garments that screamed political militant and was in every respect a foreigner. The white mare was quickly able to understand the situation - adding what she had been told earlier by the court messenger and what she hastily grabbed out of the heavy book (otherwise titled the Record of Sovereign Registries and Foreign Treaties: Circa 3rd Era of the Sun).

"I did not travel from Oljav to have this travesty swept under your royal rug," the stallion emphasized the final word with disgust.

"Perhaps we'll resolve it now then," Celestia replied as she approached him from behind.

The foreigner clearly had steel nerves deserving of his apparent rank because he wasn't surprised in the slightest by the sound of her voice. Coolly, he turned around to face her. "I would prefer it. Remove the ponies from our southwest border and pay 150,000 hues for damages. I will then consider the matter closed."

He didn't beat around the bush, Celestia had to admit. Taking note of Luna's relieved expression behind them, she took the problem upon her shoulders. "I apologize on behalf of my citizens for what happened. I will take measures to ensure no further mistakes are made regarding our borderlines. I think, however, that you may be using old exchange rates for our bits. 80,000 hues should be sufficient to pay for your lost timber."

The stallion stared daggers into her. Perhaps he really did have a military background and didn't merely dress the part as so many others did. "My rates are exact. It was not any normal timber that your citizens raided. It was darkwood, which is slow growing and immensely valuable. 150,000 hues."

Celestia had anticipated this. Regardless of exchange rates, the going price for darkwood was volatile. "95,000 then. That is the price within your own country. It completely covers all damages."

"150,000. That is the price in your country. The price your little thieves will sell it at and the amount your people will benefit from. Any less and I'll have to take the darkwood back personally. By force."

"What is your name," Celestia asked nearly in a growl. The stallion had no sense of politeness and was even making threats.

"Actus. It would pain me to hear you use my title, so just call me Actus. I have full authority by my country to do anything and everything necessary to protect our people," his fierce gaze never faltered. The intensity of his presence seemed to indicate there was something personal about the whole affair even though there likely wasn't.

"Well then, Actus," the alicorn forced herself not to say the name with spite, "150,000 hues it is. For your reference, that is equal to about 1,230,000 of our bits. I trust your people will be pleased."

She expected him to break into an evil smirk but he never did. In the same guarded tone and expression he replied, "Satisfactory. And I do hope we will be able work together in the future on more pleasant matters."

With a noted lack of menace, the stallion turned and exited the court with a brisk pace. He was indeed notable, Celestia concluded. He was stern, sharp, and intimidating...and yet unusually professional about it. Perhaps it all wasn't that special except in comparison to her usual cases, which involved subjects and foreign creatures either too timid or hot-blooded to make a rational request.

With a knowing look passed to Luna, she knew that the deal would be swiftly carried out. Well, she thought to herself. Another day of tragedy avoided. My job is so fun.

6 - Fateful Meeting

Why did you give in like that, Celly?"

The court was now empty and Luna conversed freely with her sister. "He was considering it a raid instead of a simple mistake," she continued.

The older sister only sighed. "There was more to it than that. He was wrong to blame us for malice but you can't be an effective ruler by correcting every detail."

"Did I do something wrong...?" Luna asked with a tad bit of worry.

"No no, Lulu. It's just...we have some unfortunate history with that country and it's made relations rather cold. In addition, that Actus was under extreme pressure."

"Oh? Well I imagine border trouble can be stressful..."

The white mare shook her mane. "No, it was something else. There was some other matter that was eating at him and that's why he was so intent on closing the matter as quickly as possible. I expect it's also why he had even less diplomatic posturing than he normally would have."

"So something else other than a border breach was on his...plate?"

Celestia smiled at Luna's brave attempt at integrating more modern terms into her speech. "Quite. But that's for him to deal with and us not to find out. We already have enough to handle as it is without worrying about the internal affairs of a different nation."

"Couldn't it become our problem, though?"

The white mare massaged her forehead with her front hoof as if she had a headache. "I hope not, Lulu. I really most definitely hope not."

Chirp chirp.

It was the sound of birds chirping in the morning breeze. Morning breeze...wait. Morning?

Spitfire rocketed up from the warm sheets to find herself still in Celestia's room. Doing a double take, she quickly realized that she had somehow moved from the Princess' bed to a separate bed. It wasn't there when last she was awake so it must have been brought in after she had fallen asleep. How the Princess had transferred her to it without waking her was a mystery.

Feeling something off about her face, she reached up to find a small note lightly stuck to her forehead. It read "I love sleepovers but you steal the sheets."

Spitfire quickly crumpled the paper and was about to use it as ammo against the still sleeping mare when she remembered her schedule. She needed to get moving if she was going to make it to the Wonderbolts' morning meeting that was supposed to happen today. Forgetting the paper ammo on the floor, she rushed to make herself presentable in the Princess' bathroom. Promising to herself that her look would do, she raced out of the bedroom and tried to be inconspicuous as she exited the palace. However, it wasn't long after she left the towering castle that she ran literally into one of her 'Bolts.

"Oomph!" Fire Streak groaned as he picked himself off the ground.

She hadn't meant to collide with him but he had ran around a corner immediately in front of her. "Sorry, Fire. I take it you're late to the meeting too?"

"Spitfire? Uh...yeah. Well I guess I'm not anymore since I'll be showing up with you," he smiled. It was the age-old walked-in-with-the-teacher tardiness block.

"Ugh. Lightning better not nag about it. Seriously! Every time you get out of something..."

"Or into it," Fire Streak added. "Clearly he's jealous of my superior ability."

"More like your superior mouth," Spitfire mumbled under her breath.

He heard it but luckily didn't catch the words. "Huh?"

"Oh look. Blaze in a dress!" Spitfire pointed down a long crowded crossroad.

Like a magnet finding its opposite, Fire Streak whipped his head around in a desperate search. Seeing Blaze in anything girly was a rare occasion and the guys had an understandable fascination with every instance of it. In this case, however, Spitfire had merely made it up so that she wouldn't walk into the meeting with Fire Streak. Considering her absence the previous evening, she didn't want any of her teammates to think weird stuff.

Fire Streak stood there dumbfounded for a good thirty seconds before realizing he'd been duped. If it was Soarin' then he might have stood there for a good five minutes. Needless to say, Fire Streak was late for the meeting.

The meeting was only at the usual level of chaos by the time all of the Wonderbolt members arrived. One, two, four, eight, twelve, Spitfire counted. Everypony was present, which made sense considering the current level of noise that clouded the hotel lounge they were meeting in. The hotel was plush to say the least and very accommodating towards the celebrity group. They regularly reserved their facilities for the Wonderbolts' private use.

Spitfire, resuming her authoritative position as the 'Bolt leader, took in each of her members. Soarin' was close by and clearly itching to ask her a question or three. Misty was properly seated in one of the lounge couches and was having a muted conversation with High Winds. Knowing the latter mare, it probably had something to do with hair styles or dress fabrics. High Winds was the resident 'Bolt on vanity - perhaps a minor conundrum if one thought too much about it. Fire Streak and Lightning Streak were in an opposing couch having what looked like a debate. The two were rivals in every sense of the word but acted more like brothers when matters got serious. The debate likely began when Fire started complaining about Spitfire's little stalling maneuver from earlier. Fleetfoot and Blaze were standing along with Wave Chill and Silver Lining smack in the middle of the lounge. One of them had started a word game, probably Silver Lining. In any case, Fleetfoot was looking like she was having a hard time keeping up. As expected, Rapidfire and Surprise were each in separate lounge chairs, not really engaging with the others. Rapidfire was the posterpony introvert and Surprise was just shy, so it wasn't of any note.

Spitfire moved towards the center group of four and called out for the entire group's attention. Silence fell and a certain stallion was first to speak, as she expected.

"Where were you again?" Soarin' complained.

"Captain's privilege. Now what's the agenda?" Spitfire expertly dodged the question.

Blaze moved over to nudge Misty and whispered, "Think she got a date?"

The mare just rolled her eyes in response. High Winds was the one to reply to the captain, "You had us schedule this meeting to check ratings - all of which are green as ever. Minus last night's light show that is. The fans were quite sharp in noticing your absence, Cap'."

"Yeah, I don't remember you ever trotting out like that. Something up?" Wave Chill remarked.

Spitfire decided to keep it low key, "Nothing. I just got a little tired from a new workout I've been trying."

"What did I say?" Misty chipped in. "You never take breaks."

"And when you don't take breaks you end up taking medical leave," Silver Lining added. "Overwork and you burn out."

Spitfire turned crestfallen. She couldn't really deny it, especially if she wanted to keep her secret from them. "I'll be more careful."

"You won't. We know you, Cap'," High Winds was once again on the ball. Only, this time, she decided to take the reigns. "Which is why you're going on a special holiday with us."

Except for Spitfire, all of the mares smiled. The males of the team only gave confused looks to each other having, apparently, been left out of the loop. "Huh?" Soarin' asked dumbly.

"Me and the girls discussed it and we've decided it was about time for us to have our own getaway," High Winds explained.

"Hotel, spa, shopping...we've set everything up," Fleetfoot beamed. She must have taken personal pride in the accomplishment.

"We thought it best to make the stay at a different hotel so we wouldn't get distracted by thoughts of work," High Winds remarked.

Spitfire was frozen in time. She didn't know what to say. What would she do about Celestia's training if she went on this goalless snooze-fest? But her thoughts were quickly broken.

"The girls get a special vacation?!" Soarin' moaned.

Fire Streak, still a tad bitter from Spitfire's earlier trick, was more agitated. "And what about us? Are we chopped carrots to you?"

Blaze merely laughed. "More like...cabbage..." she piped between chuckles.

"Figures," the normally quiet Rapidfire lamented.

"Get ready fooooooor Girl's Night!" Blaze hollered without any sense of refinement.

Silver Lining took the cue that the meeting had long been over, if even it began in the first place. Politely he exited the room. The others were less swift. "Are you kidding me?" complained Wave Chill.

Misty decided to be more reserved. "Aren't you being preemptive about this? It's still morning..."

"But that's check-in time at our special resort hotel. We can get in even if we leave right now," rebuked the more level-headed High Winds.

"Ca-" Soarin' tried to speak but was cut off.

"We've got nothing left for today so let's just get to it, girls!" Blaze relentlessly continued to shine her unnatural enthusiasm. She grabbed Misty to her right and Spitfire to her left, hanging her front hooves around their necks. Smiling, she continued, "Don't you already feel better, Fyfy?"

"What did you just call me?" Spitfire asked with a worried expression.

Misty just sighed as she went along with it.

"Don't be that way. We're having a vacation. A vay-cay-tion. Loosen up!" Blaze nudged her.

There was a flash and each of the 'Bolts looked over to Fire Streak who had just snapped a photo of the three unintentionally-posing mares. Breaking out a golden grin, he quickly hid the camera behind his back. Lightning Streak facehoofed and Soarin' decided to wrap things up. "Okay, stallions out."

Rapidfire flushed with relief as he and the males exited the lounge. Soarin' gave only one closing remark before leaving too, "Try to relax, Captain. You need to."

With only the mares remaining, the room seemed much larger than it had before. Misty shook off Blaze's hoof and started towards the elevator. "I suppose I should get the sleeping bags."

"I thought it was a hotel?" Spitfire asked in confusion, still trying to figure things out.

Fleetfoot was the first to answer this time, "It's a double Queen, which only has enough bed space for four. There's a couch but it's in another room. We thought it would be better if it was more like a slumber party, so we're putting two sleeping bags in the bedroom."

Surprise had slowly made her way over to the other mares once the stallions had left and took the moment to finally speak. Her voice was not light but gave the impression that she was even younger than she was. "Who has to use the sleeping bags?"

Blaze grinned evilly and Spitfire immediately began questioning why she had ever let the mischievous mare into the group in the first place. "Truth or Dare. First two to chicken out get the bags," Blaze snickered.

Spitfire could hear poor Surprise gulp. Blaze had cruelly targeted the mare's weakness. The only question was who the second victim would be. "You are a very cruel and unusual pony, Blaze," the captain remarked.

The mare in question tossed her mane as she replied, "Cruel? It's not like I'm targeting anypony. I have to play too, you know."

"There's no truth you wouldn't spill and no dare you wouldn't leap at. And I don't really mean that as a compliment," High Winds put in.

When Blaze looked around for support, she was appalled to find none. Even Surprise was nodding her head in agreement to High Winds. "Well..." she tried desperately to hide her advantage, "...well...you've all been dying to hear Misty's big secret, riiiiiiiight?"

Spitfire grimaced. There it was. The one thing that every member of her group struggled with: gossip. The other mares fell straight into the trap and Spitfire immediately felt sorry for her poor friend. Misty would be nothing but fodder for the T or D game. The captain would have to give her an extra dose of solace. After all, Misty would be resting in a sleeping bag tonight.

7 - Pranks and Secrets

Somepony needs to tell me why I'm standing outside of the hotel with nothing to do," Wave Chill whined.

The 'Bolt stallions were now gathered just outside of the hotel. The mares were still inside as they moved around to settle their luggage. "It's not like there's anything to do inside, you know," Fire Streak rebutted.

Silver Lining had found a bench nearby where he parked himself and stared at the clouds as they passed by. "Real gripping action there, Silver," Lightning Streak joked. The pegasus just smiled politely in response.

Soarin' was trying to wrack his brain for an idea when Misty came out carrying a satchel. "We didn't forget about you guys, just for the record," she exclaimed. Soarin' brightened when the mare opened the satchel to reveal six movie tickets. The labels read "Mare on the Moon."

Lightning Streak darted over faster than the others in excitement and Wave Chill smiled, "Thanks, Misty!"

Her return smile was lopsided. "Oh I didn't get them. Blaze was the one that picked them out. She said it was some kind of action movie - the kind of thing you guys would like."

"Don't stereotype me," Fire Streak joked.

"Oh I think it's quite safe to," she countered. "Anyways, enjoy!"

With that she left down the street. Apparently, the mares had sent her to pick something up. Probably something girly like scented conditioner, Fire Streak thought.

"Hey, the viewing's in an hour," Soarin' realized.

Silver Lining casually trotted over, "I guess we should get ready then. Everypony have bits for snacks?"

Misty looked down the aisles and almost gave up when she finally spotted the cinnamon oat toasties that Fleetfoot demanded as a necessity. She was willing to get them since she needed to pick up facial tissue anyway. She knew they would need it for the tears that would be shed throughout the brutality of T or D. As she picked up the bag of snacks, a thought struck her. Blaze had insisted on being the one to pick out the movie tickets for the guys. They didn't go to the movies often so none of them were familiar with the recent titles. Something was strange about it. Shrugging it off as inconsequential, Misty walked over to the counter to pay for the goods.

It was past noon and the sound of hooves could be heard clearly in front of the theater. The thunder they produced was not moving into the theater, however. It was moving out. The movie "Mare on the Moon" had started some two hours ago and it had taken them nearly half that time to get out, as a certain bouncer-like stallion had insisted strangely but insistently that they stay. He must have been paid off by one of the girls.

"Why didn't I know?!" Wave Chill cried.

Fire Streak did likewise, "It was so obvious!"

As Rapidfire banged his head on a lamppost, Lightning Streak lamented their agony, "It was a trap! Blaze will pay dearly for this...this indignancy!"

Suddenly Soari'n turned to his fellow 'Bolts, "Where's Silver?!"

"Oh no! He must still be in there!" Wave Chill screamed.

Rapidfire turned from the lamppost, "Stallion down. Stallion down!"

As Soarin' about-faced to rescue their comrade, Fire Streak grabbed his shoulder. "He would have wanted it this way..."

The stallion shook his friend's hoof off of his shoulder and turned away so that his tears wouldn't show. "He was a good pony," he whispered.

Sitting in the middle row of Theater #2, armed on either side by soda cups and buckets of popcorn, Silver Lining cried.

"So what kind of movie did you pick out?" Spitfire asked as Blaze continued situating their belongings in their new hotel room. It had just randomly come up when she heard that the stallions had been given movie tickets for the late morning movies.

"The best one," she replied in a near fit of laughter.

High Winds gave up the truth, "It was a fillyflick. Really, Blaze. You have no sense of restraint."

Spitfire couldn't help but giggle a bit. Perhaps Celestia had rubbed off a bit on her but, honestly, who wouldn't find it amusing?

"Mare on the Moon. I saw that one," Surprise smiled innocently. She obviously didn't realize how the movie would go over with the males.

"As did I," Fleetfoot added in. "But it was too mushy for my liking. I don't want to imagine how the guys took it."

Spitfire had to grab a pillow to suppress her laughter. There would be so much retribution from the other half of the Wonderbolts - but that was for another time. Right now, Spitfire was going to enjoy it along with Blaze. It was a guilty pleasure.

Blaze couldn't help but add, "I promised this really strong looking stallion that I'd go to dinner with him in a couple days if he made sure they stayed until the end."

High Winds stifled a laugh and Fleetfoot was next to comment, "Neither of you have any restraint." Apparently, the mare was taking the chance to prove her superior sense of dignity. Misty, however, was not going to let the posturing slide.

"We're Wonderbolts, Fleetfoot. I doubt any of us has the normal amount of restraint."

"We'll sure find out during Truth or Dare, right Misty?" Blaze suggested.

Putting up a sour face, Misty looked about ready to pounce. "I do all the errands and that's how you thank me?"

"Girls!" Spitfire intervened. "Let's just chill. This is a vacation right?"

Misty turned with embarrassment, "Sorry, Spitfire. I know we were supposed to help you relax...."

"Yeah, well we're not even gonna do the game until tonight," Blaze felt obligated to say.

High Winds found the opportunity to cut in, "But there's a lot of other games we could play!"

Surprise just smiled faintly as she held up Scrabble between her front hooves.

"Yeeeeaaah, how about this instead," Blaze countered as she held up Twister.

Fleetfoot facehooved but Spitfire saw her chance to shine. Celestia's stretching exercises would make her far better than the others. When wouldn't a captain want to show her moves?

"I think we have a competition," she said.

In a certain palace, Princess Celestia stretched her hooves. It had been a drag of a day and she almost considered faking some emergency to get Twilight over. It was just not as interesting without somepony like Spitfire to mess with. When was she coming back for training anyways? Oh well. Maybe Luna was doing something productive. She loved to interrupt her sister. After all, if you wanted to have fun then why not tempt fate?

"Where did you guys go? I've been looking all over for you?" Silver Lining complained. He had finally found the rest of his troupe after exiting the theater and searching Canterlot for a good 20 minutes. He was surprised to catch a glimpse of them outside of the Canterlot wall as he made his aerial search. Honestly, he couldn't begin to imagine what business they had in an empty dirt field. It looked like the kind of place that had been cleared of trees and rocks for a building, but didn't get used in the end.

In response to him, the other stallions merely gave him a cold stare. "Traitor," Wave Chill remarked.

"What? You didn't like the movie?" Silver Lining asked.

His friends merely stuck out their tongues in disgust.

"More importantly," Silver Lining continued, "what are you all doing in this field?"

His question was quite legitimate. It made little sense even after Fire Streak started explaining. "The only way we will wash ourselves of that dribble is to go back to our roots. Real stallions do physical labor and what work is more backbreaking than digging an underground dirt fort?"

"Fire," Silver Lining started. "We're pegasus. Dirt forts are Earth pony roots. Second, I don't think I've ever seen you do any kind of physical labor before."

Without a comeback, Soarin' was next to speak. "It's still fun...."

"I'm not so sure about that," Lightning Streak doubted.

Rapidfire threw a dirt clod over his shoulder. "How do I get out of this stupid job?"

Fire Streak turned to him in fury, "You'll dig and you'll like it!"

"Careful. You might chip a hoof, Silver," Wave Chill said snidely.

With a humph, Silver Lining trotted over to the hole that they had started digging in the field. Furiously, he began thrusting dirt out of the hole. Fire Streak just watched in amusement before Lightning smacked him across his left wing. "You gonna help or just be the evil overlord?" Lightning complained.

They all quickly joined up and attacked the ground with the raw power of their front hooves. "Some vacation," Rapidfire smirked. "I guess it's too late for a refund."

"Just a little further and then we'll dig that way," Wave Chill pointed as he briefly paused his digging. "That'll be the ramp down."

"See what we can do when we work together?" Fire Streak stated.

"Nice change of heart, slave driver," Lightning couldn't help but butt in.

Soarin' grabbed a massive pile of dirt with both hooves and tossed it out of the deepening hole. "No kidding."

"Hey, are we stallions or mares? I don't see your heart in this, Rapid," Fire responded.

"Miffed? I'm so sorry about that," Rapidfire countered.

Lightning Streak and Wave Chill burst out a laugh even as they sent chunks of dirt zipping over their manes.

"How about a work chant?" Soarin' suggested.

Lightning Streak beamed, "Ah, I know one!"

Fire Streak rolled his eyes. "Oh great."

Starting on a deep note, he started the song, "On the eve of my day's wearies..."

Soon even Fire Streak was joining the solemn tune as the other stallions gave a thundering voice to the old song. "...Ten tons more and I went asunder..."

The sun spent its last light and Surprise knew her time was up. Truth or Dare was never her strongest game and Blaze was a fiend at it. Tonight would be a massacre but she assured herself that, after the embarrassment, she would be able to recuperate by reading the latest book in the EQuest romance series - under the protective covers of the sleeping bag, of course.

Fleetfoot drew the curtains closed in their overpopulated hotel bedroom. Only Blaze and High Winds were missing, but they'd arrive shortly. Spitfire was sprawled over the closer of the two beds and she rolled over to look at Surprise, who was laying on the floor. "You don't need to be on the floor. The bed's really soft," the captain suggested.

Surprise hesitated, as she didn't want to seem to pessimistic. "No, that's okay. I'll be in the sleeping bag anyways, so I'll be fine."

The mare had always been on the shy side even for a 'Bolt, but Spitfire wasn't going to let any of her members get pushed around. "Blaze doesn't usually mean badly. I'm sure she just wants to have some fun and I want you to have fun too," she put on her best grin. Then she leaned over close to the shy mare's ear and whispered, "I've got you covered for the game, so don't worry. You'll be sleeping in a bed tonight...and not one with Blaze in it."

Surprise looked up at her superior with an expression befitting of her name. "W-why...?"

"I'd never leave a 'Bolt behind," Spitfire raised her front right hoof. "Don't leave me hanging."

The near-white pegasus displayed her ever-rare smile and tapped Spitfire's hoof with her own. Internally, Spitfire felt victorious for cheering the poor girl up. The moment was lost though when Blaze erupted into the room with all the grace of a nuclear explosion. High Winds was trailing behind her, albeit with greater dignity. "You mares ready to get marred?!" Blaze hollered.

"If that was supposed to be witty then you failed. Quite badly," Fleetfoot remarked.

"You worried, Fleet?" Blaze challenged.

The mare met her friend's gaze with scorn, "We'll see about that. I'm going to give you the worst dare in the deck!"

Spitfire took her cue, once again, to step in. Removing herself from the seductively plush sheets and getting her hooves back to the cold floor, she put herself between them. "Chill, everypony. Blaze, you got the deck?"

"Riiiiiiight here," she whipped it out of the satchel she had carried into the room. After using her teeth to toss it to Spitfire, she beamed a smirk of overconfidence. Surprise felt the need to hide.

The captain just rolled her eyes as she picked it up and placed it on the bed next to her. "Uh, Blaze?"

"What?" asked the rambunctious mare.

"Why does it say 'extreme edition' on the front?"

High Winds just sighed, not wanting to explore the subject further than she already had. Blaze readily answered, "Because the Truth cards in the regular deck were lame. I didn't want us trading cookie recipes. I want secrets. Juicy ones."

Fleetfoot facehooved, officially making it a regular custom. Spitfire decided to let the 'edition' slide to avoid two weeks of "whiny Blaze sauce," as the others put it. She would have to up her ante though. After all, she had somepony to protect.

9 - Mares in Motion

Something felt weird. Something thin and cold...something large and warm. In her dream, Spitfire saw a thin small snake coil around her and a large ostrich was trying to push her around. She was confused, not knowing how it all related to what was happening in real life.

Spitfire awakened slowly and groggily like she always did. Only this time, she awoke to see Surprise's face only inches from her own. The other mare had an odd expression of embarrassment and giddiness. When the captain tried to move, she found her hooves tied - literally. It was so early in the morning but she already found herself sighing. She never got any slack. There certainly wasn't any in the rope that tied her to Surprise.

"Morninng, Cap'!" Blaze nearly hollered. It threatened to give the lead mare a headache.

"Blaze, I know you did this."

"Don't ask me to loosen it. Blaze was the one that went overboard so she should be the one to fix it," Misty said, obviously awake. The others were also up and were probably prepping themselves in the bathroom.

Blaze acted cool, "You don't seem too surprised. I wanted you to freak out or something when you woke up all tied."

"It's annoying. Not scary," Spitfire remarked deadpan. Not helping but to notice Surprise's almost hurt expression, she had to add, "Not seeing your face, Surprise. I meant the rope's uncomfortable."

"I don't think we can do anything if we're tied together this tight," she wavered with a faint smile.

Misty decided to take the lead as she shoved Blaze out of the other bed. "Lossen it. And get rid of the rope on their hooves."

Spitfire hadn't noticed until Misty just mentioned it but there was indeed an additional rope tying their back hooves together. Blaze must have hopped that they would stumble when they tried to get off the bed. It was unnecessary since it was already impossible to do anything with the mid-body rope tying them so tight.

Blaze reluctantly fixed the rope. "Thanks," Surprise responded a bit too grateful.

"This is going to be interesting," Spitfire mumbled as she scooted to the edge of the bed. At least they didn't have to unwind from the covers. Blaze already pushed them aside to fix the bindings.

Surprise tried maneuvering herself to match her orange companion. When they started slipping off the bed she couldn't help but eek out, "Ah, careful."

"This is going to be a loooong day," Spitfire cried. Carefully she titled off the bed, dragging Surprise with her. The tilt gave both mares a chance to get onto their hooves. Once they were both standing properly, tied side-by-side, they both gave a curt "hah" of victory.

"Ji-"

"-nx, you owe me a soda!" Surprise finished.

Spitfire tried to clack her hoof against the floor but it only made a muffled swish against the heavy carpet. Fleetfoot laughed as she turned the corner into the bedroom. "You two!"

Blaze grinned and addressed the two funny looking mares, "Shopping at the grand market. I suppose your going to have to buy double everything."

The rope might have been loose enough to move in but they were still close enough that Spitfire's left and Surprise's right wing were pressed firmly together. There was no chance of flight if that had ever been a possibility in the first place. The feeling was vexing for the captain but the others seemed to get a kick out of it. Even Surprise seemed to be enjoying the novelty. Well, she probably wouldn't for long. Such things lost their charm rather quickly.

"You all just do whatever shopping you want. I don't think we can do anything but window shop like this. Was there anything you wanted to go see, Surprise?" The orange mare barely turned her head to address the one tied to her. Turning her head all the way was likely to cause them to knock their skulls together.

"No, I...wait, yes. I did want to check the bookstore," she hesitantly answered.

High Winds walked into the room. "What a sight!"

Misty groaned, not wanting to go through anymore of the ridiculousness. "I'm going. If anyone wants to start with Chance's then you better hurry up."

"Oh! They have a new dress I want to try out," Fleetfoot hurried behind Misty as she left the hotel room. Blaze, however, just stuck her tongue out.

"Let's just go," Spitfire moaned. Unfortunately, she nearly faceplanted when she tried walking forward. Surprise tried to match her captain's movements but the two mare had different strides. Spitfire took longer steps and put her weight forward while Surprise took smaller steps and slipped into her movement rather than throwing herself forward. It was going to take practice for the mares to work in tandem.

When they finally managed to compromise enough to at least walk, they exited the exorbitant hotel.

It was as the other girls were browsing the sports-grade flight goggles at Chance's Fashion that the unexpected happened. Spitfire had tried quite successfully to hide her involvement with Celestia from the group. The Princess wanted it after all. So she never expected what was coming when both her and her white side-pegasus got magically pulled into a dressing stall. Both their mouths were plugged with Celestia's hooves. "Shhhh," the white alicorn shushed.

After she slowly removed her hooves, Spitfire whispered, "What the hayseed are you doing?!"

Celestia just laughed - quiet enough not to be heard outside of the stall. "I was wondering when you'd get back and I come to find you having a ball without me."

"This," Spitfire motioned to the rope, "isn't what I'd call a ball. It's really hard. Almost as bad as a three-hoofed race."

"I love those," Celestia remarked nonchalantly. "But I don't think we've met before - not like this anyway. Nice to meet you, Surprise."

The white pegasus was shocked in silence until then but nervously gave her reply. "S-surprise is a-all mine."

Spitfire wrapped her front hoof around her teammate, "It's okay, Surprise. You can talk to her like you would to me."

The Princess grinned. "And how do you talk to your fellow Dare victim?"

"How do you know about the dare?" Spitfire quickly asked.

Her grin got bigger. "I have that Extreme Edition. It's really not that extreme but it's still fun to play with Luna. I gave her that dare once...it was a very interesting evening."

Spitfire rolled her eyes, not wanting to hear the million different ways that she teased her sister. It must have been a sibling thing. "What are you doing again? I didn't catch the part about you pulling us into a stall," Spitfire finally complained.

"Training, Fire. You can't miss it."

"Well I've got some problems as you can see," the captain remarked. Surprise whimpered with her head already drooping. She was the third wheel as usual. Spitfire tried to reverse it but was too late - even for her practiced super-kind voice. "No, I didn't mean it like that, Prize..."

Celestia sighed and effectively got both of their attentions. "You both should come with me."

The ruler took a scouting peak out of the stall. None of the other bolts were in visual range, which was amazing considering how many there were. "I don't think we can run," Spitfire declared.

"You don't need to. I just wanted to make sure that none of your team members would be close enough to notice."

"Notice what?" the captain asked. Only her answer came in the form of a powerful teleportation spell. After a bout of brief nausea, both of the pegasus realized they were in some sort of garden. A garden that the Wonderbolt leader was familiar with.

Shaking her head, the orange mare seethed, "That was uncalled for."

Celestia's tone, however, was more severe. "I think it was."

She pointed to the other pegasus and Spitfire noticed it. She always knew how emotional Surprise was, which is why she was careful around the mare. As a teammate she was just as good as the others at putting on the show mask but her true personality was a different matter. Sometimes Spitfire even questioned whether or not it was the right decision to add certain members. She had faith in Surprise but it seemed like a loosing battle sometimes to keep the mare afloat. She was just too...self-aware. No, maybe it was more accurate to say she lacked confidence in herself. Surprise was crying.

Celestia walked off to a cushion that was kept for her in the garden and left the two mares to talk. Spitfire noted that the rope had been severed off.

"Prize..." the captain started. "What's wrong?"

"I'm wrong," she responded too quickly, nearly choking over her sobs. "I give it everything everyday and it's still not enough! I'm always the third wheel. I don't deserve to be arou-"

Her words were cut short when Spitfire embraced her. Surprise, her own teammate, had been struggling this whole time with this. It was clearly not something that she had come to on a whim. Just a few taken-the-wrong-way words were all it took to push her over the edge. Spitfire wanted to scream. What about herself? She often gave more than she had to keep the Wonderbolts going and she still couldn't handle her team right.

So she stood there on her back two hooves, wrapping her front two around Surprise. She almost felt like crying along with the mare. She had too much on her plate. What would she do if any of her other members broke down like this? Everything was going to chaos.

"Prize," Spitfire whispered as she stroked the mares trembling back. It was a trick her mother used to use on her to get her to settle down from a fit. "I'm right here and I'm not going to let you go. I want you to know that."

Surprise kept crying but her tears slowed. They remained like that for what seemed to be hours. It was really just minutes - long terrible minutes. Once Surprise had settled down enough to speak, Spitfire let go and the two settled down to lay in the grassy garden. The white pegasus couldn't stand anymore because of her trembling legs. "I've never belonged," she finally said. Her voice was raspy and quiet from the previous crying.

"Why do you think that?" Surprise gently asked.

Surprise shook her mane. "I'm not like any of you. You always have a better time when I'm not around."

Spitfire wanted to respond right then but allowed the mare to continue.

"I'm scared to death everytime we have a performance and I've always felt like I've been living a dream. Like it's not my real life. I'm not supposed to be here."

All of the mare's negative thoughts were surfacing.

"I've...I've..."

Spitfire waited patiently.

"I've always idolized you, Spitfire!"

There it was. The foundation of the problem. Spitfire was no psychologist but she could see how things worked just by looking at her fans. It wasn't just her own fans either. She had heard similar things from other ponies made popular by their professions. The problem occurred when somepony idolized another and belittled themselves. They would start judging themselves by the standards they made up from the "perfect" stallion or mare - whoever they decided was their "hero."

Surprise continued, "You're something I'll never be. You're even friends with the Princess!"

Spitfire saw the opening finally come. She laid a hoof on Surprise's and waited until she could feel the mare stall her trembling. "Do you know why I chose to let you join the team?"

Surprise's voice wavered like a shrinking shadow, "I don't know..."

"Because you're not me," she whispered. "I'm not what you think I am. I'm not what a million ponies think I am. I know what I'm like and that's why I don't want other people like me on the team. I want to be more like you, Prize."

"Why...?" Surprise almost began to cry again.

Spitfire kept holding onto the mare, refusing to let her slip away. "Because you're always so honest and you're considerate of others. You're pure and I don't feel that way. So I never want you to leave the Wonderbolts. They need you just like I do."

"That's not-"

Spitfire leaned forward to look the mare deep in the eyes. "No. I don't want you to say it doesn't matter. Because it does. You matter to me, Prize! If you feel like you don't belong then I want you right by my side. I want you flying on my right wing, where you belong."

Surprise finally started crying again but for a different reason. The emotions were too much for her and she felt, at that moment, like everything in her life was a hurricane.

Celestia approached again and whispered to Spitfire, "Let's get her to the bathroom. She needs a cold rag."

Nodding, Spitfire waited until Surprise had spent her tears and then lead her to the Princess' bathroom. She helped her 'Bolt cool down and talked to her about their formation revisions.

It was after some time had passed that she was finally back to normal in Celestia's bedroom. The captain ordered her to rest in the bed and the alicorn ushered Spitfire out. As the two left Surprise and headed back to the garden, Spitfire couldn't help but ask, "Should I have left her? Maybe I should stay-"

"Fire," Celestia corrected. "She'll be fine. She's tired out from the stress and she's already fast asleep, trust me."

Almost thinking to argue, Spitfire realized she could trust the immortal ruler. "She had a breakdown. A complete breakdown. What does that say about my leadership? I've been blowing it."

"Nopony can do everything, Spitfire," the ruler declared concretely. "You're doing everything you can. You were the only one who could connect with her and you did. I guarantee that would not have ended well if it was anypony else saying the same things to her."

"I guess I should take that encouragement," Spitfire replied blandly. "But now she knows about my connection to you. Don't blame me either. You started it."

"Oh, I have some ideas about what to do with this," Celestia grinned.

Spitfire, however, gave a grim look in response. "I will not let you tease her in any way."

Looking aghast, Celestia countered, "I wouldn't dream of it. I'm not insensitive you know."

"Really?"

Celestia smiled, "In fact, I think I know something that will help cheer her up."

10 - Wingmare

Spitfire went through more exercises with the Princess and started to feel the exhaustion come on. She didn't improve much on the wing-ups but she didn't expect to with her recent lull in confidence. Surprise's breakdown had left her feeling inadequate as a leader. Celestia knew this feeling all too well. Even after her many years the princess would still feel incompetent when somepony close to her broke down. Twilight was the most recent example of it.

The white alicorn had a plan. It was something she had first wanted to do with Twilight but never had the time to pull off. She fumed silently at her position as ruler. It prevented her from doing what she wanted to do on a regular basis and sometimes it even prevented her from doing what she knew she should do. With Spitfire at the castle, she could at least do something.

Leaving the tired pegasus in the garden, Celestia made her way back to her bedroom. Quite some time had past now that she had finished the final stretching exercises with the Wonderbolt. Surprise would be getting up if she weren't already. Now the princess knew she didn't have the kind of influence necessary to connect to the mare. There was a very important difference between royal influence and personal influence, so she wouldn't try to persuade the mare into anything herself. Spitfire would be doing everything. She was the captain, after all.

She snickered at how everything was going to work out.

"Prize," Spitfire called as she saw the mare come back into the garden along with the Princess. She internally decided that it would be better to refer to her friend as "Prize" since it might help the mare feel that she belonged. Spitfire found herself doing more and more of that kind of subtle work when she became captain. The role was certainly not as glorified as it seemed when she was just a regular member of the team. "How are you feeling?" she continued to ask gently.

Surprise just mumbled, "Okay."

Obviously, the mare was still troubled. Celestia spoke up before Spitfire could say anything else, "We won't be able to do much more, but I thought this would be the best time to start."

Both mares looked at the Princess with confused looks. Neither knew what she was going on about. Celestia savored the moment while reclaiming her silky cushion beside the garden path. Once she was settled, she addressed them again, "Surprise will be the first Wonderbolt to join you in your training, Fire."

Surprise gasped but only understood a fraction of what it meant - not knowing about the trick behind the training. Spitfire, however, was skeptical. "I thought you didn't-"

"Oh, I knew you'd want your whole team to learn the Bullet. I just didn't want things to get out of hand. I still don't but I think one more mare will be fine. I'm sure Surprise can keep a secret and it'll be all the better for you two to teach the rest of the team without bringing my name up."

"I suppose," Spitfire conceded. The advantage of taking Surprise as her wingmare for the training didn't escape her notice. Of all the Wonderbolts, Surprise was the one pony that was at risk for quitting the team. The shy pegasus would no longer consider doing that if she was flying par with the captain. Besides that, she would be hard to train for such a difficult move in a group environment. The current setting was perfect and Spitfire found herself almost grateful for the breakdown that led them to this situation.

"You two should take a flight to talk things over," Celestia suggested.

Spitfire turned her gaze to the white pegasus. She was just standing there on the cobblestone garden path trying to sort out what was going on around her. She almost looked surreal under the glow of the sun and the lush garden greenery made her uncertain expression look out of place.

"What exactly is the 'Bullet'?" the white 'Bolt asked her friend.

"I haven't learned it yet so I can't show you," Spitfire conceded as she spread her wings and started lifting off of the ground. "But...I have a lot that I need to tell you so we should accept Celestia's offer."

Surprise took the cue and joined the orange mare in the air. With a wavering voice she replied, "Where to?"

Rapidfire groaned as he tried to get out of bed. His whole body hurt after that ridiculous misadventure that Fire Streak had put them through the previous day. It was not that he was out of shape - he was a 'Bolt and respectively fit. It was the fact that they had been doing hoof work rather than flight maneuvers. His leg muscles weren't as built up as his wings were. "I'm going to get him for this," he mumbled.

There was a knock on his door and he groggily stumbled over to it to see who it was. Recognizing the stallion from two rooms down, he let him in. "What are you doing up so early, Silver?"

Silver Lining had a satchel on him and he wasted no time in getting to Rapidfire's bed to spill the contents. The sleepy stallion gawked and almost forgot to close the door. There were probably a hundred letters there and they all looked alike - all the same unique red envelope. "What's up with your fan mail?"

Each Wonderbolt was used to getting a large volume of mail from their fans so it wasn't surprising to see the mess of papers. What was interesting was that these letters all looked the same. Silver Lining was nearly in panic mode. "It's all the same! One mare sent all of these!"

Rapidfire walked over and swiped a letter from his bed. The label showed the sender to be "Red Tulip." Was there really a pony by that name? Sometimes their fans would give themselves monickers for one reason or another. Either they thought it was cool or else they thought it would make them stand out from all the other letters. In any case, all of the mail was indeed sent by the same mare.

"So...why are you bringing this to me?" Rapidfire asked in confusion even as he shook the remaining sleepiness from his head.

"Because you're the only one I can trust to help me out," Silver Lining replied anxiously.

A silence passed between them before Rapidfire broke it. "Seriously?"

"You know the other guys. They'd just poke fun like they did with the movie. This is serious. I could have a stalker!"

Rapidfire sighed. He knew his friend was right. "Well what do they say?"

"Different things. Some of them are short, some are long. This one," he drew out a letter from one of the envelops that had already been opened, "is really long."

The letter looked more like a scroll used to document complex legal proceedings. Silver Lining held his hoof as high as he could reach and the letter continued to unfold until it reached the floor. Rapidfire almost grinned and caught himself when he remembered that it was supposed to be unsettling rather than amusing.

"Some of them are innocent. But not all of them," Silver continued.

"So what do you want me to do about it," Rapidfire puzzled.

The other stallion's eyes narrowed. "Help me figure out who this 'Red Tulip' is and if she's dangerous."

It was a good thing that the mares in the team had set up a vacation, because it gave the stallions some extra time off. Rapidfire didn't have anything planned so he just resigned himself to be Silver Lining's co-investigator.

"Let's get to it then."

"Where's the dynamic duo?" Blaze asked her fellow 'Bolts. They had just gathered up again after milling around Chance's for a bit too long - even for High Winds' standards.

"I haven't seen them for a while," Misty admitted.

"I already checked the store and they're not here," Fleetfoot added.

High Winds made the obvious suggestion, "Did you check the dressing rooms?"

Fleetfoot nodded and Blaze gave a "humph." There was a moment of contemplation while each mare considered the options.

"You think they ditched the dare?" Fleetfoot offered.

Misty agreed to the possibility while criticizing Blazes indiscretion in the matter.

"They weren't that miserable," Blaze countered.

"But where are they?" High Winds repeated the problem.

Misty took charge, "We'll just have to split up and look." The group decided that was the best - if only - option and they left Chance's Fashion to search Canterlot. It would be a simple affair for four Wonderbolts to find two of their own in the otherwise crowded city. A Pegasus always had the advantage in that respect.

Soarin' was often the one that flied beside Spitfire during a performance and she had Misty fly beside her when Soarin' wasn't available. So it was a very odd sensation for Surprise to fly side-by-side with the famous Wonderbolt leader. She just kept reminding herself that they were not in some performance at the moment. They were just taking a leisurely flight around Canterlot. Spitfire had explained the Bullet maneuver to her and how she lucked out with the Princess' attention. Now they were just small chatting and, somehow, Surprise felt closer to the other mare than she had in all the time she had been a Wonderbolt.

"I didn't know you hated cherries," Spitfire laughed.

"I've hated them ever since elementary school. My dad would always get me cherry flavored candies because I didn't know that color didn't equal the flavor. I loved strawberries so I'd always ask for the red candy."

"And he thought you meant cherry," Spitfire finished.

Surprise smiled at the memory. "It wasn't his fault."

"Well I have to say you were lucky. My parents wouldn't let me have any candy. They thought it would give me bad grades or something like that."

"That's silly!"

"I know," Spitfire laughed at it rather than getting mad. "It really was..."

Suddenly both mares heard a shout from below. The Canterlot street they were flying over was packed with what looked like mares. No stallions. Odd.

"What's going on down there?" Spitfire asked even as she wandered down to get a better look. Surprise had a bad feeling but followed her friend anyways.

The group of mares was crowded in front of a building that was made with some very extravagant woods. The dark wood paneling was an offset to the other buildings and towers of Canterlot, which preferred light colors. Deep red draperies decorated the windows and gave it the refined look appropriate for the city.

Spitfire hovered above the crowd beside a few other pegasus mares and tried to read the signs in the store windows. "What is this place? It's a store of some kind, right?" Spitfire mumbled.

Surprise found the building's identifying sign almost obscured by the crowd. "Red Tulip? It says it's a 'Special Message Service.' What does that mean?" she asked her new wingmare.

Spitfire turned to the white pegasus by her side and fumbled mentally as she failed to figure out what the title meant. "I've never heard of something like that..."

Below them, a strong-looking stallion shoved his way out of the store's doorway and raised his voice to the crowd. "We are currently overbooked! We regret that we cannot accept any more requests for today so please take your messages home until tomorrow!"

The crowd moaned and began dispersing. Spitfire saw her chance and landed straight in front of the stallion. He was the large kind of pony one would expect to be working as a security officer or some such role. His deep brown coat simply added to the intimidation factor. His response was unexpectedly gentle, "Can I help you, miss?"

"Can I have a brochure?" Spitfire asked in a voice that matched his politeness.

"Here you go ma'am," he grabbed a piece of paper from a thick sack on his back. "Please remember that we get a large volume of requests, so your chances of submitting a message are best during our early morning hours."

Spitfire nodded and walked away with the dwindling crowd. She mentally booked the stallion as one of the best customer service ponies she'd ever encountered. It didn't take her long to fly back up to the patiently waiting Surprise.

"So what is it?" the white mare asked.

Spitfire began reading a few lines from the paper, "Don't know the address? Can't get noticed? Red Tulip is here to get your message across! We deliver your special mail fast and in style. We also offer Xtra spEd: Get your mail marked as 'Red Tulip' for extra fast delivery through the Equestrian Royal Postal Service."

"Really?" Surprise asked in a shocked tone. "I didn't know that was possible..."

"Me neither," Spitfire agreed with suspicion. "Something's not right about this."

"Isn't the Royal Postal only for a few members of the High Court?"

"I suppose we could ask Celestia about it," Spitfire's voice muffled as she held the brochure in her mouth. "Let's get back. I don't want to-"

"Spitfire!" a familiar voice called. Both mares looked to find High Winds soaring over to them. She must have spotted them from the nearby intersection, which crossed a major road through Canterlot.

"Be found?" Surprise finished for her leader.

11 - Changing Pace

So why was the sender's name missing from all of those letters?" Silver Lining asked his companion.

"Because Red Tulip isn't as great as our fans think?" Rapidfire said blandly. They had run into a flier early on in their city-wide investigation and quickly found the true identity of 'Red Tulip.' They were both upset at being spammed by the business but they were also a tad disappointed that it didn't turn out to be a very exciting search. In the end, they just wound up taking a leisurely walk around the city while attempting with varying success to keep from being swamped by fans. They were mostly successful in this, since they both had experience in such matters.

"It can't be legal," Silver continued. "I mean, it's just begging for massive abuse. Anypony can get flooded by advertisements or even...dangerous mail."

Rapidfire sighed. They may not have been out long but it was still a tiring experience. He chose a bistro they were passing by and lead them to it. It was a fancy place but only a few ponies were there. It was ideal since Rapidfire didn't feel like being spotted by a fan. Thankfully, he and Silver were not as easily spotted because of their lower positions within the Wonderbolts. Having Silver Lining around was still a problem with the mares, though. They idolized him more than any of the other stallion members if Rapidfire had any say in it. It was annoying and-

"So what are we going to do about this?" Silver interrupted his thoughts as he waved a red letter he had taken with them.

A dark purple mare walked up to them and, wearing a vest with the bistro's logo, could only be their waitress. "Two? Interior seating?" she asked in a smooth tone of voice that lacked the Canterlot snob but made up for it in corporate drawl.

"We'll take a booth," Silver answered before Rapidfire, who felt like shoving the grey stallion for grabbing the mare's attention. He really didn't want a 'fanisode.'

The waitress, by some dumb luck, didn't recognize the 'Bolt and simply led them through the bistro to a booth near the back. Once seated, they ordered a few drinks and Silver got back to the matter at hoof. "Well?"

Rapidfire took a sip of his soda. "We'll just drop off a notice at the city office. Let them take care of it."

Silver Lining was less optimistic about it but nodded as he did a double-take on his surroundings. He never recalled coming to this particular restaurant but it had a very nice feel. It was bright outside but it was actually quite dim where they had been seated. It was a nice atmosphere so Silver made a brief compliment to his friend for choosing an inside booth.

Rapidfire yawned and lazily stirred up his drink with the straw in it. "Looked okay from the outside," he half-replied.

The smooth grain of the deep mahogany table was oddly warm under Silver's front hooves. He grasped the cup of tea that he had ordered. "Well now we've got nothing to do and the guys have probably run off to do something fun without us."

"Disappointed about Tulip?"

"What do you mean?" Silver asked quizzically as Rapidfire finally looked up from his drink.

The stallion smirked. "You wanted it to be some go-crazy fanmare. Admit it."

Silver Lining grimaced, "Well it would have been more interesting than this."

"Oh I get it! You don't like being around me anymore. Fine then. I'll just leave!" Rapidfire shouted as he nearly threw himself out of the booth. A tear leapt from his eye and soaked the table he was departing. He took two steps away from the table and then looked back.

Both stallions started laughing hysterically.

Silver Lining was almost in tears as his friend resumed his seat. "You do that....so well."

"Oh yeah. I'm rather proud of my moody marefriend routine," Rapidfire joked with a huge grin plastered across his face.

"It's just so...painful," the grey pegasus remarked.

Rapidfire grabbed the dessert menu as if his life depended on it. "What is? Getting blindsided when the mood bracelet is showing the wrong color?"

"You going to make fun of me too?" Silver asked sardonically.

"I'm not poking fun. I'm serious and besides...you were thinking of asking our waitress when she gets off for the day. Maybe try and make it a double date so you don't have to ditch your precious teammate." Rapidfire didn't remove his gaze from the menu as he stared greedily at a chocolate cookie and ice cream special.

Silver was speechless but only for a moment. "How do you know my thoughts?" he asked suspiciously.

Rapidfire didn't pause for a second even as he looked to see if the waitress was nearby so that he could order the dessert. "I don't. I just make a probable guess. I've known you long enough to know your tastes - most of them. I'm just grateful you're a gentlecoat and never cause trouble with your dates."

Silver Lining stuck his head upwards, "I'm the model pony."

"Minus the occasional ego," Rapidfire mumbled under his breath.

The waitress finally started coming back to check on their drinks and Rapidfire took his chance to get the chocolatey prize. Silver Lining started growing a grin but a microsecond glare from his teammate made him think twice. Trying to shrug off the disappointment, he decided to order another of "what he's having."

"Well that took long enough," Wave Chill complained as he dove almost face first into the grass.

"It's everypony for themselves," Fire Streak hollered as he dove once again into the forest near their dirt fort.

The group of four stallions had stretched themselves on the ground after being exhausted by too many games. Fire Streak had started it all once again by asking for Wave Chill's paintball equipment. They considered it a passable bit of fun since Silver Lining and Rapidfire had gone missing. The two stallions only left a note saying that they were out on some mission to save Equestria. The back of the note said "or Silver's psychological safety."

"Not again, Fire," Soarin' tried to yell after his teammate. It was too late but the stallion would soon find the others were not following. "It's not even dinner time and I'm tired."

"Yeah. One paintball run was fun but ten is pushing it," Lightning wheezed. "I didn't even finish healing up from yesterday. Fire's got to be made of pure energy..."

Wave Chill consented. "Except when there's real work involved."

"Speaking of which...?" Lighting Streak prompted as he looked over to Soarin'.

Soarin' just looked blankly back for an awkward moment before stirring. "Oh! Yeah. I think Fleetfoot said we were back on...um...Saturday?"

The other stallions groaned simultaneously. "I can't take Fire for another two days!" Lightning protested.

Wave Chill pointed to their vice-captain, "You're choosing pasttimes from now on."

Lightning dragged his body across the ground until he was within reach of one of their water bottles. He started draining it as Soarin' gave a suggestion for their next course of action. "How about we chill at Apple's?"

"Still lovin' the apple pastries, Soarin'?" Wave Chill nudged him.

"They're the best!" he beamed.

A sound slowly started coming into range of the three stallions. It started in low but the droning soon increased. It was the unending buzz of Fire Streak's complaining as he slowly trotted back to his three "lazy" friends. None of the other stallions wanted to hear it so they mustered what energy they could and started off in the opposite direction - towards Apple's Bakery Lounge.

"Your highness," a burnt red unicorn approached the throne where Celestia was currently seated. It was business as usual for the alicorn, who sighed at this 367th issue that had come up. Maybe she was exaggerating but it certainly felt like she had handled a thousand matters already. The unicorn, one of the many court messengers, gave her the letter summarizing the 'urgent' issue. Apparently, some pony at the Equestrian Postal Service had taken a bribe to send unauthorized mail through the special Royal Post. The Royal was a small subsection of the far greater Equestrian Postal Service and was specified only for certain high-ranking officers. It was to ensure swift delivery of critical messages. However, it was currently being bogged down by mail that was not supposed to be going through it. It was suspicious that the mail couriers hadn't recognized the massive flux in volume. Office bullying was likely to blame.

Celestia summoned one of the other court messengers, as the red unicorn had already taken off for additional work. "Go to the Postmaster and tell him to rectify the situation on pain of investigation. I want the one who made the bribe and the one who accepted it incarcerated until court three days from now. Get reports from all members of the Royal Post regarding the situation. Make sure to tell him who gave the order."

The messenger cringed at the strictness but went off to deliver the message all the same. Even before he left, another messenger - this time a purple pegasus - approached the Princess. There were so many matters to handle that Celestia couldn't afford to be light-hoofed in them. Taking the bribery lightly would only cause more problems in the future. She accepted the next letter and read it. It was another summary of an issue as recorded by the neat pen of the court scribe. Whatever that mare was being paid, it wasn't enough. The alicorn couldn't fathom how she could write these summaries so quickly. She probably had a cutie mark for speedy writing.

This next issue involved a matter in one of the Canterlot performance halls. Celestia recognized it as one that the popular DJ PON-3 frequented. It amazed her, in spite of her years, that the other court members couldn't handle these issues. Why was she being buried in court problems when more important things demanded her attention?

She dictated a response and sent the messenger off. As the next pony approached the throne, Celestia widened her eyes. It was Luna, her sister. "You're supposed to be getting some sleep," Celestia scolded.

Luna's eyes looked every bit as tired as she probably was. "The mayor won't let me," she complained. "The city office is getting flooded with reports about 'Red Tulip.'"

Celestia groaned. "I told him not to bother us when we're sleeping."

"Celly, he said one of the Wonderbolts dropped off a complaint. You heard anything from your new friend?"

"Sh! Don't talk about that here," she whispered to her sister. She gave a thought before she continued, "I haven't heard anything about it. I sent Spitfire off earlier to talk things over with her new...wingmare. I'm not sure when they'll get back."

Luna yawned. "Kay kay," she replied.

Ignoring her sister's horrifying terminology and the nervous-looking court messengers that started lining up into a long column behind her, Celestia just continued whispering. "Were you really trying to sleep?"

"Huh?"

"Lulu...what did I say about losing sleep to play your video games?"

Luna giggled a bit too cheerfully. Clearly she was in the twilight zone of happiness that was only possible after extreme loss of shut-eye. "You said it right this time."

Celestia almost sighed but caught herself since she had been doing it far too much in the past hour. "That's it," her voice raised above a whisper. "Your big sis is going to show you how to sleep!"

Luna's gaming addiction: court issue #369. Celestia ordered one of the court officers, who was also buried in messengers, to handle her line-up and then departed the court room. There were moments when Luna seemed so mature that she could permanently take Celestia's place on the throne. Then there were moments like these. As she dragged her giggly sleep-deprived sister to her room, she promised herself that she would hire somepony to take her place as ruler. Perhaps then she would have the time to properly deal with her sister.

12 - Kindness and Heat

Some things just never hit home until enough time passed by for it to sink in. Surprise was happy to be Spitfire's designated wingmare for the new maneuver. Time passed and that happiness turned to nervousness. What if she messed up? What if she disappointed her incredibly awesome lead- friend? Yes, Spitfire was her friend. She didn't have to worry about things like disappointment. Her mind buzzed with such thoughts and distracted her from making too many responses to what what going on around her. Both of the pegasus mares had followed High Winds back to one of Canterlot's shopping plazas. They were seated next to a fountain that had to be the designated meeting place for the other mares. They waited there while the others slowly gathered together.

Finally, Surprise broke from her internal distraction. I've gone over this a hundred times already, she thought. There was no need to keep dwelling on such trivial things. That's certainly what she told herself but hardly what she ended up doing. Spitfire helped her escape her own mind. "This is going to be a mess...not that it isn't already."

"Huh?" gasped the white mare. "Oh...yes. We never went through with the dare. Blaze won't be happy."

Spitfire almost stuck her tongue out in disgust. "I don't care if Blaze is happy or not."

"Yeah, I guess she's the type that moves on really fast," Surprise contemplated.

Spitfire leaned over to her friend and started getting tickled by the spray of the plaza fountain behind them. It was a bit refreshing. "I much prefer to have a trooper like you around," she kidded as she half-hugged her 'Bolt.

Surprise simply got flustered and didn't have to wonder about a response as High Winds came back with Misty and Fleetfoot. The three of them each had a relieved expression.

Misty was first to speak, "I'm glad Blaze isn't here yet."

When Spitfire released Surprise from her hold, she picked up on the odd mood and gave a look to motion one of the other girls to continue.

High Winds answered, "We were worried about you two. We don't really care about the whole dare. Are you two doing okay?"

"We didn't think you'd go off and disappear like that if there wasn't some problem," Fleetfoot knifed in.

Surprise mustered some unusual courage and interrupted her own captain from the reply. "We're doing great! In fact, I'm now the lead wingmare," she beamed.

High Winds and Fleetfoot were only momentarily stunned and Misty was in a prolonged shock. Spitfire mentally shook her head. Surprise was being giddy right now - maybe even moody. But then she probably was too. There was just too much going on in their lives for anything to feel normal. It was already a stretch to use the word "normal" with the Wonderbolts. "Sorry, Misty," the orange pegasus started. "I know you're usually my wingmate when Soarin' can't fill in. I thought it would be best if I changed our positioning a bit."

The mares all looked to Misty for her response, which was simply a nod when she could afford to give it. Spitfire knew she could trust Misty to handle everything well. On top of the mare being just a tad older than the others, she had a certain mental maturity that was rare in the business. As for the others, they had at least proved the were mature enough to be concerned for their teammates. Blaze was a tad lacking in that category.

So, with that, the entire matter was resolved. Fleetfoot took the silent cue to change the direction, "Looks like you're finally relaxing, cap'."

High Winds echoed, "Our plan worked out in the end...even if it didn't go at all like we thought."

The five mares shared only the briefest second of laughter. It was the special kind of laughter that was not for comedy but rather for relief. An invisible burden left the group of mares. "Thanks, girls," Spitfire said warmly. "I'm glad I have such a great team. You're all very considerate to think of me like that."

"More than you know," Misty added too faintly to be heard.

The girls started to discuss what they were going to do next when the latecomer finally arrived.

"Hey! Dare Dropouts!" Blaze was as energetic as always. When she got close enough to start her ranting, Spitfire ended it prematurely. Thankfully the mare picked up on the tone of her voice.

"I hope you remember what the point of this vacation was," the captain suggested.

"Yeah yeah," Blaze relented. "Well I guess it's okay since you're the captain and all."

Spitfire gathered her breath, "I'm going off with Surprise to get in some training...whatever I still have strength for. You girls can keep on with the vacation."

Fleetfoot started to raise her hoof but Spitfire anticipated her question, "I'm not overworking myself, Fleet. I actually want to do this to relax. It's okay if you don't get it. I'd just like to work on the sync with my wingmare."

Surprise grinned while Blaze fumbled over her words. "Y-you took Surprise on? I thought I was next up for lead wingmare?"

Misty slung a hoof over the girl's shoulders, "You've still got some work to do before that, Blaze."

Slowly the mare turned her head to her would-be comforter, "You saying I'm lacking, missy?"

High Winds gave a nod to the captain to indicate they should just leave. Misty and Blaze would be at odds for a while.

"Are we going back to the-?" Surprise tried to ask when Spitfire covered her mouth with one of her flexible back hooves. A single knowing look passed between them and Surprise remembered they were supposed to keep hush.

With a final goodbye, the two mares left the others and started back to the Royal Palace.

What the two mares found when they got back was an odd sight. One of the guards lead them to the private garden and told them to wait. Apparently, the princess was off doing something else and had to be retrieved. It proved how careful she was with details that she would instruct a guard to handle the two mares when they got back. What didn't make sense, however, was the crate that sat squarely in the middle of the garden's pathway. It was marked "water bottles, aspirin, and ammo."

"Wha-" Surprise started.

"Welcome back, my little ponies!" Celestia declared as she rushed into the garden. It definitely looked like she had raced to meet them.

"What's the crate for?" Spitfire felt almost awkward in asking.

"Hm?" the princess paused as she took everything in. "Oh! Yes! I just haven't sent in on ahead yet."

A bright yellow glow emitted briefly from the alicorn's horn and the crate disappeared with a "poof."

"It's the supplies for our next exercise," she continued.

"What's the water for?" Surprise asked.

Spitfire could only facehoof. Out of the three items, that was what she was curious about.

Celestia was even less revealing. "You'll find out. First we need to get to where the crate is. I teleported it not far from here. It just wasn't a good idea to use the cannon here so I had it set up farther across the mountainside. We'll be quite private there. It was one of my favorite places to watch my sister's night sk-"

"Cannon?!" Spitfire backtracked.

"That's what I said, yes," Celestia smiled almost evilly.

Sighing, the captain couldn't help but complain, "I was just thinking of doing some gentle stuff to get in sync with S-Prize." She almost didn't use the mare's more familiar name. A slight sweat broke out as she tried to recall if she had used the name properly before. Quickly she had to decide to just use it as she remembered to and not stress out. Celestia knows she already had to much to stress over...literally.

"Oh, I haven't forgotten. I don't expect you to go 110% after the exercises we've already done. Think of this as a sort of warm up."

"This sounds exciting," Surprise added innocently. It was certainly not the kind of encouragement the princess needed.

At once, Celestia beckoned the two pegasus to follow her into the cavern. It was the same one with the "Diving Pool" and Spitfire almost got a bout of nausea at the remembrance.

"Don't worry, Fire. We're just taking the cavern because it's easier to leave this way without being seen," the white alicorn assured.

Surprise, ever full of wonder, couldn't help but kindle the conversation as they went. She was being much more outgoing and Spitfire took it as a good sign. "It leads outside of Canterlot?" the white pegasus inquired.

Celestia was at ease in answering all of the mare's questions. "At quite a few points. It's a very complex cavern..."

What they found at the end of the awkwardly long trek was an enclosed field upon the side of Mt. Canter. They had exited the cavern some distance back and the field before them was mostly hidden from Canterlot's view. It did, however, present an incredible view of the sky. The first tones of burnt yellow began to show on the horizon as the afternoon approached its end.

The crate that the two pegasus had seen earlier in the garden was now sitting before them in the grass. What was more interesting, however, was the cannon next to it. It was nothing like the cannons occasionally used in their performances. It had two long but thin barrels that pointed upwards, as if it was challenging the sun to a shootout. Gears could be seen behind the barrels and they gave the Wonderbolt captain a dangerous feeling about the cannon's rate of fire.

Celestia began opening the crate and removing its contents. "Move over there," she instructed the mares with a pointing hoof.

Surprise gave her friend a questioning look, not knowing whether to go along or not. With a nod, Spitfire directed her to the spot the princess indicated. After unpacking the crate, opening several jugs of water, and loading the cannon with some sort of belt-like object, Celestia approached the two very concerned mares. "You said this wasn't going to be extreme, right? I don't really have the ener-"

"No no," Celestia interrupted her orange trainee. "I'm just preparing things. Consider this a light...introduction."

"To what?" Surprise tried to ask but failed as she squeaked in shock. Something just tied itself to her tail.

Spitfire remained cool. "What are you doing?"

Celestia smirked as she continued to keep her horn glowing. "I'm tying banners to you. They will trail behind you as you fly."

"I'm very familiar with the idea. We do it all the time. The question is what do you want them for?" The captain didn't let her nervousness show.

"You need to get used to the sensation," the Princess of the Sun replied deadpan.

"What-?" Spitfire was cut short when Surprise screamed and bolted into the air. Smoke was trailing behind her. The captain quickly looked back to see her own tail-attached banner begin to burn. She looked back to Celestia with saucer-sized eyes.

"Get used to the fire, Fire," Celestia giggled eerily.

Off she was like a bolt of lightning.

She knew she couldn't keep the flames from crawling up the banner towards her tail but the heat was unbearable if she stood still. She panicked as she begun to realize what would happen if she stopped flapping her wings. The flaming banner would droop below her hooves and begin cooking her. In the distance she could see Surprise adding length to her smoke trail.

She gave an eek when she slowed down even a small fraction. That blasted banner wasted no time in falling when she lost momentum. It was obviously heavy material, since it took so much strength to pull behind her. The captain began to worry for her new wingmare, since she didn't have nearly the same strength as herself. She must have been racing ahead on mere adrenaline and panic. Spitfire wasn't doing much greater with most of her strength already used up in prior hours.

What happened from then on was mostly something Spitfire didn't want to recall or have recorded in any way. There were simply some moments in life that were so embarrassing that they were best left forgotten - or shared only by the closest of friends. Suffice it to say, it was not even five minutes later that both pegasus were lying on the grassy field. Panting from the exhaustion, they gave harsh glares to an awkwardly cheerful Celestia.

"What? I already removed the banners..." the alicorn tried to play innocent.

Spitfire felt like she was going to expire into her grave right then and there. Surprise was entirely honest, "That was...horrible!"

Celestia's cheerful facade faded and she resumed her trainer's tone, "It's supposed to be. That's only a partial taste of what it's like to engage the Bullet. The fire on those banners would only singe you at worst - I placed a protective spell over you both. The Bullet, however, would roast your entire body. You have to take this training seriously and get comfortable with the heat."

Surprise looked as if she were going to start crying so the captain rolled over to her and grabbed the mare's front hooves in her own. "We...can do this," she encouraged while still a tad short on breath.

The white pegasus gulped and gave a tiny nod. It was at that moment that Spitfire finally closed her eyes. Her hooves gently fell from her wingmare's and she didn't respond when Surprise shook her.

"Oh dear," Celestia sighed. "And I was trying not to push her that hard."

"Is she okay?" Surprise asked very worried.

"Of course. But we need to get her to bed."

Surprise sighed so deeply that it sounded like she had held her breath for hours. "I guess I could use some rest, too."

Celestia picked up the sleeping mare with her magic. "Oh? You look like you still have some energy...I think I should get you started on some stretching after we put Fire away."

"Stretching?" the near-white mare inquired curiously.

"I have to get you to Spitfire's current level if you two will be learning together."

13 - Facing the Flak Cannon

Celestia made a rare miscalculation in exactly how long it would take to get the two mares training with the cannon. She would have guessed right if it was only Spitfire or if Surprise was more rambunctious in her physical exercises. In the end it was Surprise that was holding them back from advancing. The white alicorn did not hold it against her and certainly the Wonderbolt captain paid no mind to it. Suffice it to say, it was well past three weeks until Surprise was physically on par with the captain. Thus it was three long and crazy weeks that the two mares juggled their training in Canterlot and the Wonderbolt performances abroad.

Spitfire felt that she deserved a gold medal for managing to pull it off in the first place. Of course, she would not admit it but the scheduling posed such a problem that she was often pushed past her limits and was forced to find clever ways of balancing Celestia's training, her management of the 'Bolts, and actual performances where she and Surprise would show. She certainly was not the only one being stretched beyond duty.

Surprise was more or less in the same boat. She may not have had the stress of her leader's responsibilities but the physical advancements were practically insane. Her whole body ached and she felt as if that had always been the case. Celestia had pushed her every day to improve her muscles and reaction speeds. The immortal knew the exact limits of the pegasus body and only gave Surprise the few breaks necessary to prevent physical harm.

All of this lead to the present situation. All three mares were in the hidden area once again - the place occupied by the odd-looking cannon. With only light remarks, neither of the 'Bolts ever ventured to ask why Celestia had the cannon in the first place. Such things tended to be either self-explanatory or beyond the comfort of inquiry.

"190!" Surprise boasted as she pumped her wings to show their shear power. Spitfire only gave an acknowledging smile. That number was what both mares could currently get to in the wing-up exercises. It was much closer to their target of 500 but certainly still a distance off.

Spitfire was finishing her stretching and was thus still in an awkward position. Her back legs were far more flexible now, as were Surprise's. Both her back hooves were pointed high towards the clouds as her wings stretched flatly into the grass below. Spitfire wound up with this particular time slot since it was the only one viable for the three mares. It was quite normal for the alicorn that raised the sun each day but the 'Bolts had to get used to the blinding light and early breeze of dawn. Maddening as it was to get into the habit, both of them began to enjoy the early hours. As if to emphasize the point, some nearby birds were having a contest at singing the morning tunes.

"Fire. Prize," Celestia addressed them both. The mares came to attention, expecting some sort of new instruction. They were dedicated through and through with the training the ruler was giving them. "I had not expected it would take quite this long until we would get to use this," she patted the cannon's left barrel, "but I suppose it was best. You are both quite able to handle this exercise now. Though I guarantee it will still make you shaky at first..."

Neither mare was intimidated by it as they first were, so they simply let Celestia continue. "I've already set the various light and sound barriers to prevent us from being found out. This thing is very loud so you can probably guess what it's for. Prize?"

The off-white pegasus had lifted her hoof to answer. Dropping it back down with a muted clop, she replied, "It will fire harmless smoke-shells to simulate the sound and poor visibility associated with the Bullet maneuver."

"Quite practiced, my little pony," Celestia giggled at the mare's stoic attempt. "You're right, though. The smoke is only an issue if you fly back across a path you've already flown. Otherwise, you always keep ahead of it. I assume that trick fliers such as the 'Mighty' Wonderbolts would invent their own complicated maneuvers. So you'll need to know how to move back through that smoke."

"We regularly use smoke trails for our shows-" Spitfire tried to remind her trainer.

"I know, Fire. But that is a very different kind of smoke. The kind you use is a prepared solution - a solid that produces gas when agitated by wind movement. The Bullet produces fire smoke, which smells and acts differently. This is very important because it will cause a sting when you fly through it."

It was one of those moments when the captain remembered how knowledgeable the princess was. Or perhaps this was something she had discussed prior with her pupil - the purple unicorn she often spoke of.

"So," Celestia resumed. "Both of you get some altitude. We're going to make the first run."

"Aren't there...um...additional instructions?" Spitfire asked with a quizzical expression.

The Sun Princess only laughed. "Don't die?"

The captain facehoofed and donned her uniform and goggles along with her wingmare. Finished, she lead Surprise up into the morning sky. It couldn't be all that bad, she thought to herself. She and her team had endured quite a bit of light, noise, and smoke throughout their show lives. Perhaps it was this small confidence that left her totally unprepared for the-

BOOM!

Something exploded not three hooves from her face. She felt heat wash over her and smoke raced past her eyes, bringing tears out like a river. Celestia had wasted no time and fired early to give the mares a realistic sensation of fright. Well, it worked to some degree. The Sun Raiser watched the two mares begin to bolt together. Very good, she thought. The two mares were racing away in tandem. At least they reacted fast and kept formation, she continued thinking as she held the trigger on the cannon. She began using the gun's rotation gear to track them across the sky. The cannon's mechanical whir and the primitive blasts from the twin barrels were left mostly unheard to the alicorn due to the headphones she slipped on behind the backs of the mares.

Surprise was feeling a rush of adrenaline unlike what she had felt in regular performances. She usually got the easier stunts anyways due to the gap between her and the top members. That was certainly not the case anymore and she had said goodbye to the easy work after becoming Spitfire's wingmare. She now flew at breakneck speed, matching pace, alongside Spitfire. The explosions were mostly behind them now, but a shot would occasionally explode beside one of them or just diagonally off of their path. Neither mare could see the round except when it exploded in a tiny burst of flame and mushroomed out a cloud of black smoke.

Their path seemed mostly straight but curved sideways to keep them in the princess' protective barriers. All of Canterlot would be in arms if they witnessed the horizon drenched in cannon fire. At the very least, Celestia would be framed the most eccentric mare in all of Equestria - not that she wasn't truly but rather that she wasn't supposed to be known as such. Still pushing their limits, both mares could feel the wind pull at them with a fury unknown at lower speeds.

Spitfire's wing flaps could almost be heard over the thunder of the ammunition. Each beat gave a throaty FUM in sync with her wingmare's. Though faster than ever, they each felt something lacking, as if the were on the threshold of something yet didn't know what it was. Aside from such simple thoughts, neither mare wondered about anything else. It took full concentration to keep flying. Team sync was second-nature but became more of a challenge with such pressing distractions. The heat, noise, and blasted sting of the smoke touching their nostrils was enough to drive them mad. Thus they always were a tad annoyed after every session with the "bee" as they sometimes called the cannon at later points of training. At first, its fire would seem loud and very much like a cannon but, after a few dozen rounds, the BOOM would seem to be a BUZZ. Again, it was enough to drive them mad.

Around they went, circling the designated area. It became harder when they finished a full circle and had to fly through the smoke laden sky from where they started. Celestia never seemed to run out of ammunition and both mares wondered if she really needed it or simply fed the thing magic rounds. It would not be the first time she had messed with them.

The Princess of the Sun was, of course, very much enjoying herself. There was little else to tell of the two mares racing in the sky from fiery retribution. Celestia nearly felt like bringing a lawn chair so that she wouldn't have to stand at the trigger. Perhaps even a glass of lemonade. It was so very enjoyable shooting away at the poor pegasus. They were in no danger, of course. Even if one of the relatively harmless smoke rounds actually hit them, she had cast a protective spell around their bodies. It was a very special cast and she never let them know of it for fear that they would lose the seriousness of the exercise.

"1000," Celestia counted to herself. That was how many rounds she had put through the gun and it was when she released the trigger. Her hoof was almost sore and she promised herself to pad the trigger for next time.

The two mares flew for a bit more. First, they had to soar to reduce their speed. It was not easy to brake at such velocity. Second, the explosions were ringing in their ears so much that they had not yet noticed that they had, in fact, ceased. The stale smoke around them did not help matters.

With a few innocent coughs, both mares finally landed on solid ground again. There they collapsed in front of Celestia, exhausted and filthy from the smoke. What had been their patterned blue uniforms were now each a midnight color.

"I think that will do for the day," the alicorn remarked as she began dissipating the smoke with her magic. With it cleared, she could drop the magic barriers. The cannon had already been put through a cooling spell and she used a quick medical spell to ensure the smoke was not causing the mares trouble. She thought nothing of doing so many things at once. It was natural for her position and she certainly enjoyed juggling these tasks more than the menial diplomatic ones up in the courtroom. To use the term throneroom instead seemed too much to indicate that her time was valuable. With the number of court messengers, anypony might conclude that her time was rather cheap.

Neither 'Bolt had any breath for complaint or even for a cheer for the relief from training. Spitfire could only think that the exercise had to be worth it. Surprise turned over to face her companion in the grass. She made gestures to indicate an explosion then lifted a hoof to one of her ears. Spitfire tried to laugh but ended up coughing instead. Her wingmare had joked about Equestria blowing up and them not being able to hear it. Indeed neither mare was completely rid of the ringing yet.

Thus ended their first serious training exercise - if none of the muscle-building ones counted. After they rested enough to get up, stretched the tensions out, and long after Celestia had left to attend matters at the palace, the two female pegasus made a gentle and somewhat sluggish flight to their quarters in northern Canterlot.

As expected, most of the 'Bolts were there. They had a performance coming up so they had to make preparations and practice (yes even professionals practice - even more so than beginners). As Spitfire had compensated their schedules, both herself and her close wingmare had little physical activity laid before them. This time, their part was mostly for show and what a show it was going to be. The Wonderbolts were housing once again in Canterlot for an aerial acrobatics show. It was much less important to have speed in such things than it was to have flexibility and grandeur. In that vein, both of the lead mares were going to use their increased physical prowess to boost the others. That was why the Wonderbolts were a team and not some hodgepodge of showboaters.

The morning had gone on since their race against the cannon, but much of the day still laid before them. Spitfire caught Surprise's chin as her head began to droop down. The white mare shook off the drowsiness and gave her captain a reassuring look. "I still have enough energy," she voiced.

Spitfire gave an obligatory but wane smile in return, "So do I."

14 - Hoof by Hoof

Their performance now lay before them. Practice was over and they simply had to do what they all had prepared for. Thankfully the show was in the late evening, which gave Spitfire and Surprise at least a small amount of rest. The Wonderbolts were all lined up behind the stage entrance. It was an outside show, of course, so they could see the stars shine faintly in their battle to pierce the veil of light that the stage lights projected. The evening had gotten long indeed for so many of the stars to be showing themselves.

The crowd had already started to roar its cheers as the announcer declared the show's agenda. First was the warm-up sprints. Those would lead into the high-velocity acrobatics, which made the bulk of the show. The finale was the Wonderbolt Firework, a relatively new stunt that required the entire team. It had been drastically improved by the two lead mares' increased strength.

Spitfire looked onwards to her team, as it was lined up neatly before her. As captain, she was last to exit the stage enclosure and meet the open air. Surprise was right in front of her and she needed no time to regard the mare. They had become as close as sisters over the last few weeks. In fact, Spitfire was on much closer terms with her than she was with Misty - formerly her most trusted confident. Of course, Spitfire's mind never came to that particular thought as she regarded the blue-maned yellow mare.

After Surprise and Misty stood Rapidfire and then Silver Lining. It looked as if the two stallions had been on rather friendly terms lately. The captain considered it a positive turn since Rapidfire tended to be introverted and was at risk of the same breakdown that Surprise had gotten through. What the two stallions had in common, however, was hardly her guess. The two were as opposite as two ponies could get, if she was any decent judge of character.

After the two stallions was High Winds. How the mare managed to keep such an extravagant mane in spite of her flying was quite to Spitfire's wonder. Well, she decided it was okay not to know. After all, she had little interest in fashion. The closest she often came to such things involved edgy flight jackets and streamlined sunglasses. "Cool" was her "pretty."

After the team's fashion police stood Spitfire's only real complaint. The rambunctious Blaze was about the only pony in all of Equestria that could make her regularly exasperated. Even now, the mare wore a smirk, as if begging the world to challenge her. It was a contrast to Soarin', who was placed right before her. His own look was some odd cross of careless and determined. There really was no other stallion like him.

It was harder to see that far up the line but Spitfire could nevertheless make out or guess the ponies by wings and manes. Fleetfoot was next, wearing a painted look of dignity. She tried too hard sometimes, unlike the two stallions in front of her. Fire Streak and Lightning Streak were in another heated debate. It was doubtless something trivial, such as which one of them owed the other a soda. Lastly, Wave Chill was in the very front. He would be first to show himself to the crowd and it suited Spitfire just fine. The stallion sometimes had a sharp mouth but he was a solid flier and rarely disappointed.

Spitfire nodded to herself. Her team was in excellent condition and this performance was going to go over seamlessly. Having heard it so many times before, she didn't budge when the announcer started calling them out. That said, she still felt the chill of adrenaline course through her veins. It happened no matter how long one was in the show business. It was that great, or small, rush of expectation that one could feel from the awaiting crowd.

As soon as Wave Chill exited the stage enclosure and was visible to the outside stands, waves of cheering came upon them. Even without being onstage and before the stands, the sound was annoyingly loud. It took a few moments for Spitfire's ears to dull it back down to background noise. It was only possible because she had spent so much time around such masses. Guiltily, she knew that the cheering would be loudest when she came out.

Each of the 'Bolts left the safety of backstage and earned their own cheers as they took the takeoff positions on stage. Quickly, Spitfire looked backwards to make sure the orange glow rod was still attached firmly to her suit. It was crucial to making their Fireworks maneuver spectacular. It was hard to tell if it was on well since it was attached between her wings, so Surprise gave her an "okay" when she noticed her captain was worried.

Blaze walked out to the crowds and got a very healthy cheer. Spitfire rolled her eyes and Surprise giggled - though it was well lost in the sound of the cheering. More of the Wonderbolts entered their positions and, when Silver Lining entered the stage, there was a very distinct cheering from the mares in the crowd. Surprise seemed to get a kick out of this as well. In fact, her humor had overall increased since being lead wingmare. Why that was, Spitfire had little clue.

Soon, the off-white pegasus was called and the captain steeled herself. It was about to get hot and not just from the stage lights.

"Are you all ready for the flame?" the announcer played the crowd up. They obliged all too well in return. "Are you ready to turn up the heat tonight?!"

The crowd sounded so energized that it seemed like it was about to turn violent. The announcer used the moment to introduce the final Wonderbolt. "The fireball from Celestia's own sun-"

Spitfire gulped at the mention of the alicorn. She had to remind herself that the announcer was merely provoking the audience and had no idea about the awkward truth hidden in his statement.

"SPITFIRE!!"

At the very second of her cue, Spitfire launched out into the open air of the outdoor stage grounds. The crowd exploded in cheers and clops as hooves beat against the floor of the stands. The Wonderbolts may not have been new but their reputation was as strong as ever. The majority, if not all, of the audience members were dedicated fans.

She finished her quick fly-around and landed, more slid, into her launch position in front of her ten Wonderbolts. Surprise, her wingmare, was right beside her. The lead pair would take off while the remaining groups followed - just as everything was practiced.

The announcer began a backwards trek off stage. He obviously knew that the Wonderbolts weren't going to waste time with words before the show. They always did the talking afterwards, where they could engage with their fans. Spitfire had to remind herself that the evening and night were now completely taken in her schedule. They would be doing autographs and such long after the show was over. There was no chance that any of them would have any energy left over for anything but getting sleep.

The audience's cheering died to a cold silence in expectation. The announcer had given the last few words about the show officially starting and had left the stage. Now was the heart-wrenching moment where everything started and hopefully nothing went wrong.

There it was again. Wings flapping, she heard the sound of the wind. The stage behind her; the Earth reaching out to her. She felt the rush as she stretched her wings and escaped death.

The Wonderbolts took off from the stage in a near perfectly unified launch. Up and up they went at lightning speed before diving through the death-drop. Spreading their wings, the ten 'Bolts followed their leader to rocket back upwards and build their velocity to a peak. The sound of their movements was as thunder to their loyal fans.

Spitfire forced her eyes not to squint instinctively behind the protection of her goggles. She felt more than saw Surprise beside her. The air may have separated them physically but she felt her presence nonetheless. Somehow the 'Bolt was closer to her as a wingmare and friend than Misty had been. Perhaps it was all of the horrible training that they had endured together.

Now the lead wing (as the two lead pegasus were called) led the Wonderbolts back downwards to the stage grounds. Each 'Bolt was like a shooting star etching its way across the sky. The glow rods attached to them made this possible and also helped the audience keep better track of them. The rods were each of different colors as well so that the fans could monitor their favorite 'Bolt. It might be said that most male fans tracked Spitfire and most female fans tracked Silver Lining, but that is not quite the proper point to be made here.

Speed was, again, not the agenda of the show and therefore the team ended most of their sprinting right then. When Spitfire and Surprise began approaching the ground once more, they prepared themselves for their unique acrobatic stunts. Surprise began drifting beneath Spitfire.

This maneuver was dangerous, as were all the ones in this particular show. Most Wonderbolt stunts were risky and that was perhaps why Celestia was so stern with the captain previously. This particular stunt could easily end up with two broken necks. Only professionals should attempt such things - and professionals of professionals at that.

Surprise stopped flapping her wings and closed them up against her body. Spitfire grabbed the wingmare below her and pivoted forward. The result was a lightning fast two-pony somersault against the ground that had them springing back up into the air after the roll. Spitfire shot off at a high angle and Surprise bolted at a lower one.

The crowd roared after a stark second of stunned silence. But more was, of course, to come. Even as the orange and white streaks of light faded, the ten other Wonderbolts imitated the same stunt (albeit somewhat slower). The effect was five pairs of pegasus hitting the ground and then exploding back upwards in a colorful display of light. It seemed the 'Bolts had caught onto something visually spectacular after their previous light-show performances.

The lead orange mare was already curving into the next move. She shot past Soarin' and collided hooves with Fleetfoot, which sent her twirling in a sharp turn. It looked like horrible chaos as the other members collided in similar fashion, but it was all carefully coordinated. Each pony fell at just the right moment so that they were all synced at the same altitude when they re-engaged their wings and shot straight up, fighting gravity as a dragon fights for its gold. Each 'Bolt had their back facing the audience so the glow rod colors were clear and they appeared as a multicolored strip across the sky.

They drifted back towards their partners, who were in position next to each other. Back hooves met back hooves and they stretched wings as far as they could and pushed. They pushed with all the strength they had and sprung from each other. The outermost pegasus, Misty and Lightning Streak, fell back down to start the next stunt. All other members were crossing paths once more and would smash together if they had not engaged properly. Each Wonderbolt grasped the other's shoulders with their front hooves, spun 180 degrees, and launched each other out in a swirl of color. Still their speed remained swift and Spitfire released effortlessly from Wave Chill's spin. After a few more aerial acrobatics, the captain would loop back to her wingmare near the ground.

Thus the show went on for quite some time. Not so long that anyone could get bored or that any Wonderbolt could get too tired. The final maneuver was suddenly upon them and Spitfire felt glad. The night would still be long but she was ever closer to well-deserved rest.

Each of the Wonderbolts separated themselves in the sky and came back together like and enormous Hoberpony Sphere made of mere light. All twelve pegasus met together in a single mash-up of pony limbs that lasted only a fraction of a second before exploding back outwards at a speed exceeding their earlier stunts. The result was their planned Wonderbolt Firework - greatly enhanced by the power Spitfire and Surprise added to the team push-off. Each pegasus showered outwards in an expanding sphere formation, which made it look very much like a multi-colored firework.

The audience began their thunderous applause even before the stunt was entirely complete. The announcer eventually retook the stage to close the show. Not much more could be said of that night minus one small incident at the signature booths. Spitfire accidentally nodded off prematurely as she was signing autographs. The pen fell from her mouth and she let out soft neighs as her body refused to run any longer on zero energy. The fans all thought it quite cute, rather than getting upset, and found photos of the sleeping captain more valuable than any inked paper. Surprise had to fight quite fiercely to protect her friend's dignity and almost wound up asleep herself. It would be little use to detail any more of that particular episode, so it will remain as minor as it was.

It was not until the next day that Spitfire realized she had somehow been transported to her hotel suite.

15 - Odd Mention

Celestia gave her sister one final and assertive look before leaving her bedroom. Luna was asleep now and if, by some ancient skill, she managed to trick her sister into believing she was asleep when she was not...there would be Tartarus to pay.

The white alicorn closed the door behind her with a magically muted click. She had much on her mind from recent incidents in Canterlot. Something was ahoof in the shadows and it was her royal duty, as it had been for many centuries, to ensure no harm came to her subjects. Celestia was not some simple mare that could be easily manipulated. However, the problem remained elusive. The only thing she knew was that the incident with the Royal Post was not as straightforward as it had seemed when the court closed the case. A few ponies were found guilty of shady dealings and given appropriate punishments. That, perhaps, was the trouble. It was too clean and it made no sense. Why would those sadly misguided subjects soup together a deal that they knew would get them caught?

She decided to send a private investigation team of her own to look into the Red Tulip office down off Mane Street. It hadn't yet changed hooves since the court ordered repossession. She hoped to receive the report within 24 hours. It was just one more thing in addition to all her usual duties. At least she still got some downtime with training the Wonderbolt mares and reading Twilight's letters. She finally replaced her grim expression with a smile at the remembrance of her pupil. The unicorn seemed to have stuck to her lesson about "nothing to report." The last letter Celestia received was a relaxed one explaining how friendship also meant "enjoying the peaceful times together." The Mare of the Sun was almost jealous of that one. What she would give to be a simple filly again!

Celestia finally left the long hallway and arrived in the dark throne room. The lights were out because morning was coming on. She still had some time before raising the sun, so she decided to just light her own way with a light spell. She heard something move in the dark but didn't have to ask what it was. "Is the report ready?" she asked into the shadows.

A pegasus fluttered out of the dark and landed quietly into a kneel before the ruler. It was a male pegasus dressed in a dark robe - a messenger assigned specifically to her investigation team. "Nothing unusual to report," his grave voice seemed to echo strangely in the room. "We found only one unusually piece of documentation - merely an odd mention. There was a note buried in the office paperwork that read 'Verify with Actus.'"

Actus! Celestia wasn't about to forget that name. He was the militant-type Earth pony that had grabbed over one million bits from the treasury due to a border dispute. Whether the problem had originated with his people or hers was no longer an issue since the matter was resolved. It was a bad omen if he was somehow involved with the Red Tulip case. "Why" remained a valuable question, though.

"Thank you, Direway. Inform the team that they have a week off effective immediately. That includes you."

The pegasus, still kneeling with his head bowed, gave his thanks and left quickly and quietly. The alicorn decided to have the northeast border records checked for Actus' movements and whereabouts. If he had anything to do with the Red Tulip trouble then he might very well get involved in further issues, which no good ruler would want.

Celestia called one of the early morning messengers into the deserted throne room to take her instructions to the Foreign Affairs office. Afterwards, she continued to ponder the entire case until it was time for her to raise the sun.

Soarin' coughed. "Ugh," he moaned as he finished clearing his throat. It was never a pleasant sensation to swallow something wrong. The ferocity to which he attacked his apple fritter was far beyond safe, so he could only blame himself. Wave Chill patted his back and thanked Celestia that Soarin' hadn't chocked. Wave Chill hated taking up the slack from his other team members.

The Wonderbolts were enjoying a very warm and welcome morning meal. As there was no table or configuration thereof that would seat them all, they were arranged in three tables of four. Spitfire felt she got the short end of the stick when she wound up sharing a table with Blaze. As usual, the mare talked more than ate.

Misty was seated elsewhere with High Winds, Silver Lining, and Rapidfire. "The nuances are critical!" Silver Lining agreed with High Winds. The fashion mare had just finished a rant about how the most important fashions were the "small things." She now continued to carefully consume her gravy-drenched biscuit entree. The hotel restaurant wasn't the best but it certainly got close to it.

"Yeah, I'm sure everypony noticed that clip on your goggle strap," Rapidfire joked as he more messily tore at a jumbo-sized chocolate doughnut.

The jest was aimed at High Winds, who was quite willing to cease her eating to defend her fashion sense. Misty didn't really care. It was simply all apart of the morning droning that she was all too used to. Her thoughts were on other things. But too much thought about one's life goals would just give her wrinkles around her eyes, she tried to remind herself. It was a core belief of the style-queen beside her.

"Yes!" Fleetfoot exclaimed far too loudly from across the restaurant. She had just been informed by Spitfire that their next event was a race - one she was participating in. The races in Canterlot were actually a tad boring compared to the more lively events scattered throughout Equestria. Fleetfoot was excited because it meant she had another shot to best her record at the Canterlot track. Rapidfire had leapfrogged her scores several times and she always needed to put in the extra effort to keep her record ahead.

Rapidfire just gave a "tch" and resumed the doughnut consumption. One of the tables, taken by four of the Wonderbolt stallions, was currently a hot zone of debate. Soarin' was still swallowing large amounts of orange juice in an attempt to remove the scratchy throat sensation left after his previous near-choking. Wave Chill was trying aggressively but quite unsuccessfully to prevent Fire Streak and Lightning Streak from causing additional choking (to each other). Both stallions hotly disagreed which one was going to come out first, as they were both in the race with Fleetfoot. Actually, the disagreement was less about first place and more about their finishing positions relative directly to each other.

It all turned out to be a typical 'Bolt breakfast. Having settled some quick matters with her team and event registration in the early hours, Spitfire finished breakfast and took her chance to train at the palace alongside her wingmare. It was typical exercising and survival. The cannon experienced more ammunition, which was much to the girls' dismay. Celestia had no intention of keeping pace and seemed to want the two mares to expire. No instructor like a tough instructor, Spitfire firmly decided. It was a position she had to take with her own team so such matters deserved little consideration, especially after so many weeks of training. She and Surprise both reached 191 wing-ups, which is of little note besides the shear determination it took them to get in the extra 191st.

Three of the 'Bolts - Fleetfoot, Fire Streak, and Lightning Streak - went onto the race while the others attended to their own interests. Misty indulged in more personal training for reasons all her own. High Winds engaged in all of her usual fashion agendas and Rapidfire declined going about with Wave Chill and Silver Lining so that he might finally finish a game he had started some time ago. What happened later that day between the two "up and about" male Wonderbolts was, perhaps, of more consequence.

"It's basically like being fired," Wave Chill continued another one of his non-consequential rants. "Only it's worse because you're not allowed to find a new job."

"How does it matter? We could all retire right now and live like royalty," Silver Lining half-heartedly countered. He was more focused on the matter at hoof rather than Wave Chill's complaint archive.

"Of course I know that," the dark-maned stallion replied. "Anypony who's ever been a Wonderbolt can practically retire first year. We do this because it's not about the bits...it's the dream. And now I feel like I can never go to sleep."

Silver Lining wanted so badly to facehoof. Wave Chill was getting his horrendous grin on because he thought that once again he said something utterly profound. It was moments like those that Silver Lining wanted to ditch his refinement and pommel his smug smirk. It was just one of his pet peeves.

They were currently approaching the dirt fort that Fire Streak had started them on quite a few moons ago. It's earthly entrance lay before them. The goalless project was doomed to failure from the start but Wave Chill had insisted on a proper farewell. He might have thought a farewell to be philosophical or poetic. Silver Lining suspected the stallion simply had closure issues. He didn't pursue the thought further due to previous experiences with team members. The past tended to be a draconequus box of horrors - at least with the Wonderbolt types.

They went into the small underground portion of the fort. Not much was dug out so it was a short trip and the walls were rough. Silver was actually surprised, as he hadn't remembered them even doing as much as they apparently had. Wave Chill walked to the very back of the cavernous room and pulled a rose out from the satchel slung over his back. Silver had been wondering about it and took the opportunity to hit his head on the dirt wall. It had been some weird poetic thing. He had to keep himself from pegging the 'Bolt as a weirdo because, after all, they all had their oddities. Except himself...of course.

Wave Chill turned to his travel partner, "Well there's nothing for it now. I still want to do something though..."

"Like what? There's nothing to do here or in Canterlot. We're off for the day," Silver remarked. "I'd go support our buddies at the track but I really don't want anymore of the Streak debate."

Wave Chill gave a "hmph" in agreement and turned his gaze to the back walls. He started scratching at it with his front hooves. "Earth ponies used to get a blast out of this, huh? I don't really-"

Wave Chill's boredom and odd sense of poetic justice almost ended right then. Neither stallion had bothered to note either that it had rained since they had last been there or that pegasus dirt-digging was subpar to Earth pony standards. Their light hooves were used to clouds rather than clods. Thus Wave Chill's meddling, which should have been minor, broke a very important chunk of dirt and sent the fort into a quick and total collapse.

Wave Chill was caught unaware and was unable to act as he had the ability to. His thoughts were filled with all sorts of philosophies and arguments that he believed made himself clever. The heavy dirt clods that hit his head didn't help matters either. And so came one of those very exceptionally rare moments in Silver Lining's life when he saw the tunnel...only Wave Chill was at the end of it, in this case. Watching the other stallion after completing his complimentary head-to-wall, he was about as alert as could be hoped for when the problem occurred.

Adrenaline. One beat from the wings and Wave Chill was in his front hooves (looking quite out of it). Another beat and they were out of the dirt fort and onto the surface. It happened so fast that Silver Lining never had time to think beyond action and he realized how close it had been when he saw the dirt covering his entire body. Wave Chill was dumped on the ground with a look of momentary shock on his face. Silver eventually joined him on the ground when the adrenaline caught up and he realized fully what had happened. Scrapes with possible life-ending tended to leave a mark on one's memories.

Silver Lining eventually returned to normal and began stressing about how filthy he was. His tail, in particular, was a disaster. No good-fashioned pony would call it anything otherwise.

Wave Chill was the first to speak after a long while. "We're never doing another dirt fort."

16 - Two Hundred Fifty

Another day. Another impossible day. Well, in all fairness, impossible was usually a word meaning "highly improbable but definitely possible." In that sense, it was impossible for Spitfire and Surprise to reach 250 wing-ups after another week and that was precisely what they did. It was also at that point that Celestia ordered without dissension that both mares use the special stretching exercises to their fullest extent. Both lead mares were now posing awkwardly as they stretched their wings and back legs just a tad past their natural limits. The royal garden was like a second home and the feel of its cobblestone, dirt, and grass was comforting against their wings.

"I recall you saying something about the 250..." Spitfire commented to the alicorn.

The Mare of the Sun replied in kind, "Once you reach that point, you will start having muscle issues without the stretching. The tendons can pose a particular problem."

"So if we didn't do these weird routines..." Surprise questioned out of curiosity.

"Your muscles would swell, you'd look like a mutant tomato, and you would be in pain everyday for the rest of your life," Celestia answered.

Now the white pegasus was sorry she asked.

"Mutant tomato?" Spitfire chuckled. She almost slid forward and panicked at the thought. She could very well tear a muscle if she slipped wrong in her current position. Celestia noticed and advised her to fix her sitting stance to prevent this.

"Any more performances coming up?" the ruler asked lightly.

"As usual," Surprise answered first and let her captain explain. She knew the details better anyhow.

Spitfire breathed in deeply and started drawing her limbs back in. "We have an all-team race coming up. It's tomorrow."

Celestia nodded. Of course, she knew about it and was asking more for the sake of conversation. She was, however, curious as to the captain's predictions. "How do you think each of your members will place?"

The alicorn took to her cushion as the two pegasus mares wrapped up the routine and sat near her. Spitfire was pretty comfortable in her estimations. She knew her team as well as she needed to and, of course, much more than that. "Me and Prize will take top two on the flight section. I suppose she might even top me for first," the orange mare nudged her companion. Surprise grinned with pride. It was less for her physical ability than it was for her friend's confidence in her.

"Soarin' might be next but I wouldn't be shocked if Misty knocks him out for third. She's been training quite rigorously."

Celestia nodded as she shifted on the cushion. The feel of the plush fabric was almost as sleep-inducing as a sunny spring afternoon.

Surprise was silent as she listened to the captain go onward. For the flight part of the race, she predicted that Wave Chill would be last. "He talks big sometimes but doesn't always live up to it," she commented.

"...and the sprint?" Celestia asked sleepily.

"We won't do as well as the others. We've trained our wings this whole time so we aren't as strong in the legs as some of the others. I'll say Fleetfoot and Rapidfire are likely suspects for first with Lightning Streak and Fire Streak behind them..."

When Spitfire finished her analysis, she finally noticed that the Princess was nearly asleep. She looked over to her wingmare, "That boring, huh?"

Surprise rapidly shook her head. "It was...fascinating. I never really thought to rank the others based on their individual abilities..."

Celestia began snoring very faintly - almost unnoticeable.

Surprise blushed, "Well...maybe it was...a tad too...detailed?"

There was an moment of silence and Spitfire barely stifled a laugh. "Yeah, I don't really give a muffin about that stuff. She asked...that's all. Maybe we should let her sleep..."

"She is the Princess," Surprise agreed.

With that, they both headed out for the private bedroom that Celestia had designated for them. It was really less of a bedroom than it was an entire house enclosed within the palace. It came in handy when neither of the mares had any matters to return to outside of the castle or even Canterlot.

The lead 'Bolts decided to save their practice runs for later in the day and stay longer at the palace. The exercising had worn then down so they both felt like relaxing in a plush room for a while. It was certainly more enjoyable than trying to babysit the Streaks. They were likely in one of their tussles at that very moment and the thought of it was sour to the captain.

Two card games of War later, Spitfire's face made contact with her Ace of Spades. She was so close to winning but the exhaustion had taken it from her. Surprise wasn't doing much better. Still, she managed to get a blanket over her friend and get back to her own bed across the awkwardly large room. What kind of pony would want a bedroom this big, she wondered. And that was the last thing she wondered before slipping under her bed sheets and turning out like a light.

It was many hours later that Spitfire awoke. She scrambled up even as her eyes were opening. "Who won?!"

There was only the soft sound of a breathing mare. It would not be noticeable if it weren't for the completely dead silence that hung over the room. The lighting was low. When Spitfire looked over to the window, she nearly jumped out of her coat. It was late and they had a practice run to do!

She rocketed out of the blanket, which she didn't recall putting over herself, and zipped over to Surprise's bed. The sheets covered the pillow and only the tip of a nose was visible from under the covers. Spitfire ripped the sheets off and the slumbering mare sprung to full-awake. "Wha-?!"

"We have practice!" Spitfire exclaimed.

Surprise stared blankly for a second, still starting the mental cogs after being in happy-fun dream land. She gasped when her mind came up to speed. She also sprung from her bed and the two mares started out the door.

What, or who, they met in the hallway was quite unexpected. Princess Luna was passing by from her nearby room and regarded the two pegasus with a smile. In fact, she even snickered. "Sleep well?"

Spitfire was at a loss at first but managed to regain her composure. She didn't often see the dark mare or speak to her so it felt different than conversing with Celestia. "Yes. Perhaps too well. We have an engagement," Spitfire motioned to Surprise next to her.

"As did my sister. I'm sure she appreciated the nap, though." Luna kept the mysterious grin.

The two mares hadn't a clue as to what the mare of the Night was letting onto, so they said their quick and cursory farewells and continued on their way. Luna finished her own little chore and then returned to her sister's bedroom. She had moved the white alicorn there after finding her asleep - deep asleep. Apparently, the water that her sister had been drinking was an excellent solution for sleeping powder. Now we'll see who needs sleeping lessons, the younger sister thought.

The sun had gone down quite far and there were lights lit along the track to brighten the twilight hour. It was still usable, so the two mares went through their warm-ups and practice runs. Flying was hardly a challenge but the running felt more difficult. Surprise looked over every once in a while to the mare running next to her. Technically, the race was a free-for-all and there was no such thing as a two-pony "wing" and yet...neither of them was vying for the advantage. Either they didn't have the drive or, more likely, they were more interested in a friendly run than a competitive one.

If it was against their own team members, both mares had enough confidence in their abilities to keep the practice sessions tame. Spitfire was almost at a trot rather than a run. Her wings were folded up nicely against her sides and, having tired of the Wonderbolt suite after their flight practice, displayed a coat of pastel orange. The shade of the color had been altered by the glow of the waning sun.

In that one moment, Surprise thought about where she would be in a year or five. She never dreamed of being lead wingmare like she was now and that had been only a month ago. Or was it two months? Whatever the case, her future was a great big question mark. It was no different than the mystery of her mastering the Bullet maneuver. Would they ever be able to do it? And that was hardly to mention any of the other Wonderbolts. Would the entire team be able to reach that goal?

"Prize?"

Spitfire's voice snapped the off-white mare back into reality. She had drifted to the side of the track while she had been mentally distracted. Spitfire had stopped ahead and was beckoning the mare to join her again. "Sorry!" the wingmare squeaked as she trotted back up to Spitfire's side.

"Something on your mind?" the orange pegasus tried to ask lightly as they resumed their pace.

Surprise had to think about precisely what it was she wanted to say. What had been on her mind? Just saying something like "the future" was far too vague. "You," she decided to throw out.

"Me?" Spitfire inquired with a laugh. "You mean you were thinking how awesome I am?" she continued with a joking grin.

"No. Well not that your not awesome!" Surprise caught herself in a confused reply.

Spitfire continued in a gentler and softer voice, "This about the future?"

"How did you know?"

"Because it's also what I was thinking of. But why me in particular...?"

Surprise said nothing for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. The two mares made the turn at the end of the track and started once again to the other side. The sun was lower.

"Fire...what do you want for your future?" she finally answered with her own question.

Spitfire almost blurted out something trivial but caught herself. Was the question a trap? Certainly not if it was from the mare next to her. "Hmmm," she mused. "I've always loved flying and doing stunts so I thought I was living my dream when I made it to captain. I guess I never thought beyond that. Well, before I actually was captain anyway..."

The white mare remained quiet as she let her friend talk. The pace they were at gave them both a bit of bounce with every step and she could see Spitfire's deep orange wing feathers wave up and down with the motion.

"I don't really know what I want for the future. I don't look far enough ahead, I guess. It's scary to think of settling down with a family. Not to mention that I haven't met anypony I'd call a...'special somepony'..."

Surprise gawked. "Not even on our team? What about Soarin'?"

Spitfire giggled. "You sound like one of our fans, Prize. Honestly, he's just a teammate. I trust him a bit more than the others but that's probably because I know him more."

"Mm," was the white mare's only acknowledgement. She couldn't really say anything on the matter since she didn't have anypony she could call "special." Of course, she liked her male teammates and thought that some of them were even nice but not to the point of wanting to get involved. That prompted her to think exactly what it was she would look for in a significant other.

"You're kind of the same, right? I'm guessing by the look on your face," Spitfire sighed.

"Uh...yeah..."

The orange captain slowed her pace to start the wind-down. "I don't think it's a bad thing. I mean we both have plenty to do these days and it's what we want to be doing. I haven't felt the need for any romance - not yet anyway."

Surprise lifted her head from its downwards gaze and looked over to her friend with a worried expression. "But isn't it something we have to deal with?"

The captain sighed again. The entire conversation was out of her "zone" to begin with. Surprise's worries were understandable but they were also exasperating. "Look, Prize. You can't have other ponies telling you what you need to do with your life. You're the one that calls the shots. If you don't feel like you need to do something then just don't do it."

"But I saw something that mentioned mental health and-"

That's when Spitfire stopped completely and faced her friend head-on. Surprise took notice and stopped as well. "You've been reading those...magazines, haven't you?"

Surprise blushed but it was more from nervousness than embarrassment. She had indeed been reading some magazines relating to daily life and health. She knew Spitfire hated them and often called them "sensationalized trash." The lead mare was not without her opinions on matters. Surprise, however, enjoyed them and thought the advice was usually sound. She was now almost regretting bringing the subject up in the first place.

"Let me ask you something, Prize," Spitfire more stated then asked. The white pegasus just nodded quietly with a bit of fear. "Are you happy right now?"

The question took her off-guard and she had to keep from answering "no." She wasn't happy with the uncomfortable situation she was in at the moment but Spitfire was asking for a more overall answer. "I guess so."

"Have you wanted something more than what you've been getting? I haven't forgotten that look on your face when you finally got comfortable with being my wingmare."

Surprise let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She knew what her friend was getting at now. The twilight hour was quickly diminishing and the stars began to shine brightly as the mare made her reply. "I am happy and, no, I haven't felt like I've been ignoring something. The magazine's are the ones making me feel that way. That's what you were going to say, wasn't it?"

Spitfire frowned. "Pretty much. I just don't want some stupid magazine to make you feel depressed, that's all."

"That's all?"

The captain nodded, "No hidden motive."

A quick and quiet moment passed and Surprise hugged her friend. Spitfire just smiled and returned the gesture. "Thanks," was all the white pegasus said softly.

"Hey," Spitfire remarked in return, "what are best friends for?"

17 - A Drag of a Rule

The air was hazy and it was hard to breathe. Everything was visible only through a tan-ish and very aerial layer of dirt. Such as it was, a beige stallion was having a hard time making out the words on his scroll. The bad air certainly made it hard to read but the goggles made it worse. It was unfortunate but he couldn't take them off - not unless he wanted to completely lose his sight. The goggles were the only thing keeping all of the dirt out of his eyes. His breathing mask was doing similar things for his lungs.

The sounds of digging, picking, hammering, and shoveling were all quite noticeable. He had set up his post near the workers to facilitate the orders that he had to keep giving them. He had to dictate the construction orders personally due to some dull security policy. Still, he kept some distance from the active work so that he wouldn't be drowned in the dirt and could have at least some quiet - or reduced sound as it was. He had little to do save for giving orders and writing in his own personal journal. It was the latest round of distant hammering that jolted him from his writing. He had been doing quite well on his latest literary venture. He was writing a detailed analysis of a light refraction spell. It could very well open the door to new ones. The hammering snapped his mind once again to the place around him.

He had to admit that, though dirty, the Earth pony workers could dig like no others. The head constructor, a massive stallion named Collider, was approaching him once again from the deep tunnels. The beige stallion double-checked the scroll, squinting to read the numbers. "We're at one thousand," rumbled the deep voice of the Earth pony. "How many hooves you need out from the doors?"

The unicorn recalled the numbers he had just reviewed. "Fifty. And go sideways from the stop point. We need two hundred hooves East and West."

The larger stallion grumbled in return. "What's the old mare thinking anyhow? No need for another vault...'specially not with the one bein' in Canternot."

The beige unicorn grimaced. This was the same lot of workers that was responsible for some of Equestria's most difficult constructions. They were "disenchanted" as a result and didn't hold much love for Canterlot or its throne. However, the unicorn had been one of Celestia's court messengers long enough to know when to let things slide. He would let the workers grumble because, regardless, they were still dependable. They would get the job done with speed and quality. Such was their pride.

Collider turned back down the tunnel and his form soon disappeared into the dusty darkness. The glow of the tunnel lamps was at extreme odds with the air particles and thus left some sections of the pathways to the dark. The workers were used to such things but the court messenger still had to travel carefully to keep from harm. Perhaps the only reason he had been given this job in the first place was because he had more field experience then the others - at least when it came to the filthy jobs.

The unicorn's horn lit with a pale yellow glow and the space around him brightened with a more clarified light. He didn't like to do it too much because repeated use of his light spell was draining him. It was the little things that added up, as any magic-savvy unicorn would say. He squinted at the hue of light as it emanated from his own forehead. It almost pulsated in indistinct levels of luminescence. Magically-created light was not the same as natural sources. Although it typically followed the same conventions, it didn't necessarily adhere to the rules. With further analysis, he might be able to exploit those differences and take advantage of them in other capacities. He levitated the pen once again to his journal.

"Light Scribe," a voice rang behind him. The voice was somewhat familiar but he wondered more immediately how a pony could get behind him when he was nearly against the tunnel wall to begin with. He never got to guess who it was that called his name because something struck him hard on the side of his head. He saw stars...and dirt...

Celestia was no foal. That and the scheme had be tried before a hundred or so years ago. There were so many such incidents and plots, in fact, that the shear number of them kept her from immediately recognizing when one was being repeated. It was after she had gotten the report from the border that she remembered this particular one.

She had needed the whereabouts of the pony named Actus. As it turned out, he had indeed crossed back over to his own country and had not returned since. A more detailed report from her own investigation team made it clear that any communication - including magical - had not occurred with him. That left only one possibility.

The note that was left in the Red Tulip office was a plant. Somepony wanted to tag his name to whatever was going on. Throwing suspicion onto a foreigner was easy, especially when there was such a recent controversy involving him. Celestia wouldn't fall for it though. It was all just a scheme - however complicated - to get money or power or both if the pony was particularly ambitious.

The remaining details were irrelevant because the scheme was already falling apart at the seams. Celestia already knew something was going on under the surface and it wouldn't take much longer to break the whole thing up. She had to think now. What was their most likely move?

They must have paid off the two ponies that were "responsible" for the trouble with the Royal Post. They were probably paid to re-testify at a later date with some notion that they had been threatened by the Princess. The entire Red Tulip case was a sham. They meant for it to fall apart with the express purpose of throwing dirt at Celestia. They probably wanted it to look like she had ordered the whole thing in the first place.

They needed more, though, and the revelation came to Celestia with ease. The new vault. It was still being built and would be an easy target for anypony who wanted to tamper with it or cause trouble with the workers. The artifacts themselves might be at stake, since they would need to eventually be transferred to the vault at completion. Any trouble there would be a pain to fix later. Somepony would need to be present at the site until the vault was completed.

Who could she send that she could trust? She obviously couldn't go herself since there was too much already to take care of in Canterlot. Luna might be able to go but her presence could cause just as much trouble with the workers - who probably still considered her to be Nightmare Moon. Not everypony was as understanding as Celestia would have liked.

Twilight Sparkle was trustworthy by far but she was already assigned to Ponyville and, to be honest with herself, Celestia didn't want to send the young mare into a construction site. She tried not to think of the worse places she had already sent the poor filly.

That left her with a few other options which she cancelled out for all of their own reasons. There remained just one pegasus...somepony that didn't have to be anywhere else. It was somepony that was trustworthy and had some tough hooves. She could be trusted in a tough environment and she had the physical ability to deal with any trouble. Her public status would also be a deterrent against anypony with a scheme. Cloaks and daggers didn't mix well with stars.

Celestia waited for the two pegasus mares to arrive for their afternoon training.

"Why me?" Silver Lining asked earnestly. It was true that he was a tad annoyed at being called off from their active roster but he was more curious than upset.

Spitfire and Surprise were walking alongside him as they began their trip out of Canterlot. "I have a few reasons," Spitfire responded vaguely.

Silver Lining wanted to groan. Of course she had her reasons. She was a good captain and she never did things without a point. "Mind filling me in?"

Surprise answered him next, "It was very nice of you to rescue Wave..."

There it was. He had a suspicion that the whole thing was related to that incident. He could have left it at that but, as he had nothing else to talk about, he continued. "This construction site isn't going to be like that half-baked dirt fort. I seriously doubt it will all come down on our heads," the stallion turned his gaze back to his captain. "You don't feel comfortable being around worker ponies without a trustworthy stallion. That's one of your reasons, isn't it?"

Spitfire sighed and then nodded. What Silver Lining suggested was only half-true but she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she really was nervous. After all, she had never done anything quite like this. The Princess' request was unusual but she couldn't turn it down - not after what Celestia had already done for her. And anyways, she could still train with Surprise at the work site. Exercises and stretches no longer required guidance.

Look out for anypony suspicious. Of course, Celestia had been more elegant than that but it was basically what the job came down to. Apparently, the construction was a strategic opportunity for some troublemakers and Celestia couldn't give the responsibility to anypony else. Still, she didn't know whether she should be happy that the ruler of all Equestria trusted her so much...or terrified of the expectation. Her life was normally free and only tied down by whatever trivialities her teammates dished out at her. This job was like a heavy weight and, in spite of each time she tried to reason it all out, she was worried. How could she tell if a pony was suspicious or not? She didn't even know any of them-

"-but the conditions might be too much!" Silver Lining's exclamation broke the captain's thought.

Spitfire looked over to Surprise to try and get a clue as to what the stallion had been going on about. The white mare made a gesture with her hair that filled her in. The stallion was probably the only one in their group that actually cared about the look of his mane. He had probably just finished a complaint about the work environment's effects on his appearance.

"However!" Silver picked up, "I will do whatever is necessary for my team, my captain, and my fellow members."

"Thanks. That's one of the other reasons I picked you...because you actually give a stick," the orange captain nodded to him.

The stallion widened his eyes and then replied, "I don't see what sticks have to do with it but I hope you don't think the guys are a bunch of brush-offs. They care about the team as much as I do."

"I hope so," Surprise ventured.

Spitfire shook her head and glanced to her wingmare, "I don't think they care the same way but I certainly hope they do too."

There seemed to be a lack of any further discussion but Silver Lining felt awkward with two mares and silence so he started talking about trivial things just for the sake of conversation. Things like his favorite fashion styles...

It was a long trip but Surprise noticed that Silver's favorite fashions had a very close resemblance to the style of one of their teammates. She noted it in her memory.

"Money is power," sniped a gravely voice in a dark room.

"But not always," replied another.

"It's all we will need," countered a third.

"Is the artifact secure?" the first voice questioned.

The second voice wavered in return, "Almost. Our agent is very close now."

18 - Trust

There were many kinds of magical spells available to the average unicorn. The more dangerous ones were reserved only for certain things (i.e. medical use). Forced hibernation was one such example since it could prove extremely harmful if misused. Even if it was properly used, the target tended to reawaken with the common cold. Light Scribe, one of Celestia's court messengers, had no clue why that was the case since he never learned the spell or studied it in any fashion. His captor didn't know either - but that was probably because she simply didn't care.

Light Scribe awoke with a pounding headache and he felt sore all over his body. His nose was runny and his eyes felt like tree bark. He couldn't help questioning whether he was really awake or simply suffering some nightmare that had a grudge against his physical health.

"Up already?" came that familiar voice again. "You don't look so good."

The beige unicorn only gave a groan in response as he tried to get up. He immediately regretted both actions as the pain in his head throbbed harder. He collapsed again and the familiar voice laughed. "You should see yourself!"

Time ticked by slowly even without the sound of a clock in...whatever room it was that he was in. In reality, he didn't even see the pony that had been talking. The world continued to spin around him and his only thought was that the pain must stop. He didn't hear when the voice said that it had better things to do. The pony that had been in the room had left and it hardly made a difference to him. It would be quite some time before he could try to move again.

Trust was easy to come by. Not true.

If somepony gave you safety then you could trust them. Not necessarily.

The captain was always up front about everything that was going on. Not always.

The dust was damaging his mane. Fact.

"As much fun as this snooze-fest has been, when are we getting back? It's been two days already," Silver Lining complained.

Surprise was sitting there with the stallion in one of the worker's lunch rooms. "I agree that it's not all that exciting. I don't even know why-"

"Huh?" Silver Lining didn't know why the mare suddenly cut herself short.

"Oh...um...I don't know why Spitfire took on a supervisory role," she decided to reply instead.

The stallion looked miserable as he sat squarely on his flank. His mane had indeed drooped since they had arrived and he had a persistent cover of dirt on him that was impossible for anypony on the work site to avoid. Both the stallion and mare were taking a break from their "watch." Nothing unusual was going on as far as they could tell. Being underground was just making the whole experience worse. They were pegasus and they were supposed to be above the ground. Flight seemed like gold to them now.

"She's the captain. Her role is already supervisory...but I get your point," the miserable male remarked. He felt odd when he was alone with somepony else and there was no conversation so he often talked to his two teammates throughout the course of their stay. Sometimes he would even talk to the workers if the other 'Bolts weren't around. Not having another male 'Bolt to talk to was also a tad odd since he wasn't used to them being away. Rapidfire was somepony he took for granted, apparently.

So the grey pegasus said the the white one, "Want to hear a joke?"

Luckily for Surprise, Spitfire walked into the break room at that very moment. There was an exchange of greetings and updates before the white mare left to make her rounds. Silver Lining saw his chance to ask about something he had been wondering about for a while. "Want to tell me what those moves were all about, cap?"

Spitfire responded with a blank look for a moment. Finally guessing that the stallion happened to catch her exercising with her wingmare, she thought up a lie...and she thought it up quick. "Just some fitness routines we're trying out. I want to keep in shape for the camera too you know. Read about them in a mare mag."

Silver Lining tried to hold in the laughter and only partially succeeded. "You're horrible at lying, you know that?"

Spitfire's ears drooped. She didn't want to start letting the other 'Bolts in on her training yet. She had only recently passed the half-way point and it would be chaos if it got leaked. It was what Silver Lining said next that made up her mind.

"You can trust me, Spitfire. If you don't want anypony else to know then I won't say a word. And I won't judge you for it either."

The stallion was sincere and the orange mare knew it. She hadn't a clue as to what he thought was going on but it was irrelevant. He was about to find out. She made sure nopony was listening in and then approached the male 'Bolt. As captain of the Wonderbolts, she didn't put ponies on her team if she couldn't trust them. She couldn't afford to be hesitant in making her decisions as a leader - even if she didn't always live up to that requirement. Silver Lining wasn't going to let the whole thing slide and, deep past the part of her that kept it a secret, Spitfire wanted somepony else to know what was going on.

Thus she carefully told the short tale of her secret training. Unexpectedly, it was the mare and not the stallion who wound up surprised. Silver Lining had a cool head and took almost anything with ease. On the other hoof, Spitfire was surprised that he didn't freak out. She had apparently underestimated the stallion's iron nerves. He had an amazingly solid mind for somepony so concerned with fashion. The mare was certain that High Winds wouldn't take the news with such calmness.

"Very well," Silver Lining responded. "I won't tell the others. But, I don't think everypony in our team can pull off this maneuver."

His words stung a bit. As captain of the team, Spitfire was very proud of her 'Bolts. They were capable of dishing out the most amazing stunts but, in reality, Spitfire knew that Silver was right. There were some members that lacked the resolve and microsecond timing that was a mandatory requirement. Wave Chill was the first such member to come to mind. High Winds was the next and the captain slowly - reluctantly - crossed out some of the others.

Spitfire sighed almost depressingly, "You're right."

"I don't want to make you feel like a bad leader, Fire. You're the best captain we could ask for," he encouraged her with an earnest smile. "But I'd say, at best, only half of us could actually go through the training and do it."

"I guess I was being too enthusiastic," the mare moaned.

Silver Lining laughed softly in return to lighten the mood. "It's because you love your job so much. Flying is the world to you."

"What about you?"

"Me?" the stallion asked in mock surprise. "I wouldn't give it up for all the fashion in Canterlot. I may agree with High Winds on some things but at the end of the day I'm still a Wonderbolt. If I cared more about looks then I'd be a fashion designer instead of a stunt flier."

Spitfire's lop-sided grin returned. "You don't think we look good up there?" she motioned to the sky, which was somewhere above the cramped underground tunnels they were confined to.

Silver snorted, "Of course we look good. We look more than good. We look magnificent."

There was a pause as the stallion struck an exaggerated pose and the two ponies finally laughed together.

"Thanks," the orange mare giggled.

"What for?"

"For the laugh. I didn't even realize that I needed it so much..."

Silver Lining beamed as he wrapped a hoof over his captain's shoulder. "What are teammates for?"

Suddenly, Spitfire remembered that something very similar had happened recently with another pony. It brought a new smile to her face - one with new meaning.

She really did have an awesome team...

Fire Streak grumbled a string of incomprehensible things under his breath. Lighting Streak had him again. Why did that stallion always have to go and say something that he didn't have the words to counter. There was no doubt in Fire Streak's mind that he was right, but he didn't know how to explain it. The words escaped him and maybe that's why he never got stellar grades in writing or public speaking.

The stallion had steamed off in anger and now he was trotting down the countryside alone. The other Wonderbolts were busy doing their own little events as instructed by their captain before she left with Surprise and Silver Lining. Fire Streak's own little group consisted of himself, Lightning Streak, and Fleetfoot. The mare was just as bad as that confounded stallion, though. She had sided with him in the argument.

It was like all of Equestria was against Fire Streak. Every little suggestion he made was not only shot down but rabidly attacked as if it was evil incarnate. He had been lucky way back when during the Great Dirt Fort Expedition. But then again, the only reason that had gone through was simply because nopony had anything else to do. Was it his ideas? Were they...not that good?

No! They were perfect, he reminded himself. The dirt fort wasn't supposed to be mind-bending. It was just a pointless bit of fun for the guys. A random moment to share together. His latest idea on the other hoof...

Okay...maybe lighting our tails on fire during a race wasn't a perfect idea...

"Lightning Streak?" a voice called feebly from somewhere nearby.

Fire Streak broke from his thought-filled trot and looked over to the side. There was a young pony standing there on a lawn. The nearby house was large and gave off a "rich" feel. Must be one of those countryside mansions I've heard about, he thought.

The near-teenage cream-colored pony approached him and he was able to pick up from the figure that it was a mare. She had a wavy red mane and was wearing an elaborate dress that he could only describe as "poofy." He wasn't keen on the different classifications of dresses like High Winds was. "Are you Lighting Streak?" the mare asked again excitedly.

The 'Bolt groaned. This mare must have failed to get a picture of the Wonderbolts out-of-costume. He and Lightning shared a vaguely similar color of mane but they were different in all other respects. The uniform made it harder to tell, but Lightning Streak was blue and Fire Streak was an off-white. Perhaps it was the recent argument that made the 'Bolt snap in his response.

"No! I'm Fire Streak! And that worthless pair of wings can shove dirt for all I care!"

The young mare whimpered at the outburst and began to turn back to the house with a start. What did I just do, the stallion panicked even as his mouth was still closing. What kind of Wonderbolt lashes out at a fan?

He tried quickly to stop her, "Wait! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

She didn't halt but only increased her pace back to the safety of the large house. Fire Streak was determined not to look like a jerk and bolted over her, landing in her path. She stopped so quickly that she almost flipped backwards. The stallion tried his best pleading expression. "Please, I'm serious. Lightning Streak's a cool guy! I'm a Wonderbolt too so I can get you his autograph if you want!"

Mentally, he wanted to kick himself or at least gag. He didn't feel honest in the slightest about what he was saying. Still, he was willing to do even a painful favor if it meant keeping the small mare from hating him. He didn't join the team to be the worst member.

The mare was still looking scared and her ears were laying backwards as she sat helplessly in the grass. She nodded. Maybe she was agreeing about Fire's assessment of Lightning or perhaps it was the bribe. Whatever the case, she looked like she just wanted him to leave. I'm not going to blow this, the stallion thought. He quickly looked behind him to the house and noted the number. Writing the general area in his memory, he turned to the mare again with a wide smile. "Okay. I'll go get you a very special autograph! Is Lightning Streak your favorite?"

Ears still back, she nodded quickly and said nothing.

"Why'd you think I was Lightning anyways?" he asked careful with just a bit of a quizzical look.

Finally her voice returned as a small squeak, "Y-you look k-kinda the same and..."

Fire Streak didn't get why she started pointing at his face until the feeling finally clicked. Fleetfoot was going to laugh about this one. He had meticulously ditched the uniform only to leave the signature Wonderbolt goggles in place. They were resting just above his eyes. "Oh...yeah..." was all he could say as he reached up to feel them.

The mare gave a nervous and very unsure smile, which encouraged the stallion. "I'll be right back then," he continued.

With a wink and flap of his wings, he was off into the air. That autograph was going to be very special indeed. So special, in fact, that maybe she would consider changing her favorite 'Bolt...to somepony more awesome. He smirked.

19 - Deception is not a Good Forte

Have you heard anything from Light Scribe?" Spitfire asked the court messenger.

"Only a little. He seems to be doing okay," the unicorn mare replied kindly. It certainly was true, after all. She had heard him mumble a few things through his cold-induced hacking. He could be doing better but, then, he could be a lot worse off too.

"It's too bad he caught the cold before I got here. The Princess wanted to keep things pretty tight with our connection. She said Light Scribe was good about that."

"Oh, I won't go telling ponies anything. You have my word," the unicorn acted both aghast at the implied doubt and fervent to please in an attempt to win over the 'Bolt's trust.

Spitfire gave her lop-sided smile of reassurance, "I don't doubt you. I'm glad we met and you've been a great help over the past few days."

The other mare's pastel green coat almost seemed sickly in the odd tunnel lighting. It made it seem as if there were some eerie aura emanating from the court messenger. It had to be Spitfire's imagination. The pegasus shook the sensation off and reassessed the unicorn. She was one of Celestia's many ponies assigned to relay orders and oversee matters throughout Equestria. They had little direct power and their overseer jobs were mostly just that - observations. This mare in particular was named "Issai" and her cutie mark was some sort of green fruit. Spitfire thought it looked odd but then she rarely ate any fruit besides plain apples. Maybe she just wasn't that adventurous. It was a funny thought in any other context.

"We have one more day of digging before the vault is complete and secure enough to haul the first artifacts in," Issai remarked as they began a new thread of conversation. They were walking leisurely through the entrance tunnel as was usual in Spitfire's routine. Nonpony came into the tunnels without the captain knowing about it. Issai came and went quite often but it was expected since she was a messenger. When she was present at the dig site, she spent quite a bit of time giving orders to the workers via a collection of scrolls. They had been Light Scribe's before he had taken sick leave.

Spitfire liked to think she had been appropriately observant in everything. If something was amiss then she would surely know about it. "The artifacts are already in route then?"

The unicorn smiled at that. "Oh yes. They'll arrive before midnight and we don't even need to worry about guarding them. I've been told they will already have an armed escort."

Spitfire gave an intrigued look. "For some dusty old relics?"

"These are not some insignificant curiosities," Issai corrected. "The artifacts have to be guarded and secured carefully. Some of them hold great magical abilities that would be dangerous in the wrong hooves."

The Wonderbolt knew it was true from what Celestia had told her but she couldn't imagine some evil organization trying to end the world with some ancient relic of magic. It just seemed too absurd.

Fire Streak was set. Lightning Streak was still sore about the earlier disagreement but he was willing to make an autograph at Fire Streak's desperate pleading. That was the trick. You have to understand when to use forced humility to your advantage, he thought pridefully to himself. Groveling usually got him anything he wanted. This time was no exception. The stallion knew the gift would work and the mare would see him as her new hero.

Finesse. That's what it all came down to. He noted when he spoke to her that she had a thin ribbon around her neck. It was a simple accessory but girls seemed to adore that stuff - at least High Winds did. A new ribbon with Lightning's special stylized signature was sure to catch her attention. It was so perfect that the off-white stallion had to hold back a maniacal laugh.

Of course, he wasn't laughing on the return journey because he nearly forgot where the house had been. After wasting a good half-hour going the wrong way, he finally got on the right track and found the mansion. It really was quite big for a house but it probably didn't have more than three or four occupants. For some reason, that tended to be the case.

There was nopony outside so the Wonderbolt had to go the long distance up to the door. He almost knocked before realizing there was a button. Door bell? Fancy indeed, he thought. Perhaps he was simply too used to hotel rooms to be a good judge of such things.

Some nearby birds were singing without any care in the world. It was probably because the day was without clouds. Nothing but sunshine and a refreshing breeze was present. Combined with the sea of green grass, it was actually a far cry from what the stallion was used to. Cities, stages, tracks, and air were his most familiar settings. That and the hotels.

He pressed the button next to the door and an almost cheery ring echoed through the building. There was a moment of silence thereafter where he assumed the mare was getting to the door. The moment stretched on and Fire Streak felt a small but noticeable wave of drowsiness come on. It had been a long flight there and back.

Finally the door opened, if only by a crack. The red-maned mare from before was peaking through. "Yes?" she quietly asked as she recognized the pegasus.

"Back!" he replied enthusiastically. "And your gift is fresh off the oven!"

Her eyes lit up as if she was suddenly a different pony. The sight of the ribbon that he was now holding up to her was apparently too much for her to contain her excitement. All restraint went, almost literally, out of the door. She flew out of the house and grabbed the ribbon as if it were a million bits.

"Whoa!" Fire Streak cried as he was nearly knocked down. "I thought you'd like it...but not that much!"

Her smile was priceless. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"I guess 'fan' is a bit of a tame word, huh?" the stallion gave an uncertain laugh.

She didn't respond as she looked intensely at the ribbon that was now in her hooves.

"So...what's your name? If you don't mind my asking..." the pegasus tried.

"You really just got this from Lightning Streak?" she asked, not having heard his own inquiry. She kept staring in awe at the ribbon and marveled that it might have come from her favorite stallion in the entire world.

"Uh...yeah. It wasn't easy though because he can be kind of...um...head-strong..." Fire emphasized his final words as he struggled to give a diplomatic answer. Nevermind that Fire Streak himself might have been the head-strong one.

The mare slowly lifted a hoof to the ribbon around her neck. It finally dawned on her to try on the new one. The Wonderbolt just sat down on the porch and watched helplessly. He thought he had just done a great favor and it seemed to be having an incredible effect on the young mare. Yet somehow...he was still left as the pony on the outside.

There was no question as to who his captor was now. He had seen her the last time she checked on him even though he was too weak to actually respond. His throat was so rough that it hurt badly just to whisper. At first he thought things were as bad as they could possibly get and then he started to realize that something deeper was going on that he couldn't see.

His captor was the pastel green unicorn from his school days. They had gone through magic school together and even shared a few short jobs after their graduation. He hadn't seen the mare in quite some time now but he never forgot that look in her eye when they had last seen each other. It had been years and the look haunted him still. She had given him a worried look. He never knew if she had been worried for him or for herself but it was irrelevant now. That was what he told himself. What mattered was what she was doing in the present.

He guessed from her words, actions, comings, and goings that she had taken his place at the dig site. Of course, she was not a court messenger and had no authority to do so. That was not even to mention the fact that she basically kidnapped him. This whole scenario was very much like the warning that Celestia had given about the dig operation. Light Scribe was just shocked that Issai had a part in it. He always thought she had gone off in fulfillment of her talent - her cutie mark. He imagined growing prime kiwis in a garden was a great, if peaceful, life for her. He had guessed wrong, apparently.

She had knocked him out rather painfully and then kept him under with magic. She seemed hostile at first but maybe that was just the sickness talking. There was something very off about her...as if she was still the nice Issai he once knew and something else was making her misbehave. She may have caused the cold he now suffered but she also took care of him. He had fresh sheets, soup, and tissues for his runny nose. She checked up regularly to get anything that he needed. It was...confusing.

In the end, he knew he still had to act as soon as possible. The artifacts were in very real danger. Regardless of how Issai was acting, she was currently the number one threat for those magic relics. He had to stop her and it was a fresh wave of soreness and coughing that prevented him from taking the appropriate action. He would have to make his move when she came to check on him next.

Perhaps it was bad luck that it was that very instant that the check-up occurred. He meant to make his move when she returned and he was feeling a tad better. The sickness was currently making him as lethal as a lily pad. "I-issai," he mumbled weakly.

"Light, some things never change. I think you're one of them," the mare replied as she walked into the room.

It finally started to clear up in his head. The headache, that is. He still hadn't a clue why Issai had gotten wrapped up in these dark affairs. "Why are you doing this?"

Issai had not a single pause to her reply, "Because you're too blind to see what needs to be done. You've been sucked into a sub-par life and Celestia brainwashes you into thinking it's the best it could be."

"Nopony has brainwashed me. This is how I've decided that I want to live," he replied with too much anger. The emotions and speech just made the pain worse.

"And what about me? Is this not how I've decided to live?"

"How is this a better life for you? You could be living a peaceful life, not hurting anypony. You have a wonderful talent, Issai. Why are you running from it?" Light Scribe's voice sounded like it was rolling over gravel and a small cough often escaped behind his words. He would keep speaking with her even if it hurt. It was not just his duty that he had to think about. Issai used to be a friend and he didn't want her to become his enemy.

"I'm running to it, not from it. Once this is all over, I'll finally be able to live a good life..."

"With what? Money? That's what these stupid struggles are always about!" the stallion couldn't hide his contempt.

"I'm not doing this for money," the mare countered darkly as she turned away.

"Then what? None of this makes sense," Light Scribe forced himself out of the bed. It hurt as bad as he thought it would but he had no choice. He would be loyal in his duties even if it meant his end.

Issai turned back to face him when he got up. Her expression was conflicted and the beige unicorn knew then that there really was something going on...had she been threatened into this?

"The only thing you thought about - the only thing you still think about - is your stupid duties!" she shouted. "You keep hurting yourself trying to live up to impossible ideals and the only way to snap you out of it is to take away your obligations."

Slowly he tried to wrap his mind around her meaning. "Is-" he stuttered as his throat burned with a new vengeance. "Issai...what are you saying?"

"You said 'good luck' so many times and then you would go off to do Celestia's dirty chores. You wanted me to have a perfect life but you didn't want any part in it! Did you think I wanted to live some peaceful life alone?!"

With the final word and a shove, the mare sent him reeling back into his bed. He collapsed there in the sheets with a fresh bout of pain sweeping over him. The headache throbbed back with stark resolve. "You really should get your rest," Issai said darkly. "Maybe you'll start thinking straight."

He tried not to pass out as the room spun in his vision. He did notice, however, when Issai stormed out of the room in a huff. Was it wrong for him to wish his friends the best? Was he somehow responsible for feelings that she never told him about? As he got back under the sheets, he realized that he failed to stop her from continuing her mission. Somehow, he didn't care about it as much as he did a moment ago. The personal conflict he had with Issai was taking a far higher priority for him. For the first time in a long while, Light Scribe let his royal duty slip as he questioned his own personal loyalties. Celestia was not to blame but perhaps it was true that he had left friendships behind for his... occupation. Was he content to always be some errand-runner? He didn't want riches or fame...maybe that was why Issai had that look in her eye. She had the same simple ambition that he had long forgotten about and she somehow blamed Celestia for his own poor choices.

She had been alone ever since they had parted ways.

20 - Artificial Difficulty

At some point, the ordeal with the Lightning Streak fan had become a personal challenge. That point was probably the second she had mistook him for the other stallion. Fire Streak was not going to give up. He was, after all, the kind of pony that never gave up on anything when he set his mind to it. Forget all those times he had given up on things in the past.

He burned a number into his mind so that he would never forget it. It was the house number. After a somewhat disappointing reaction from the fan (in terms of received praise), he made the mare a second promise. He was going to prove through shear skill that he was a better 'Bolt than his peer. The next time that all twelve Wonderbolts flew together, she would see who was the better of the two.

He wasn't quite sure why it was so important other than the mere ego factor. The mare was a bit attractive but he wasn't looking for that sort of thing. He shook off further thoughts as he sped through the air towards his destination. It was no place in particular other than the fact that it was devoid of curious eyes. Any simple spot in the green grass of the countryside would do. It wasn't that he didn't like anypony to watch him. He just didn't like getting recognized and bothered by fans - it interrupted valuable concentration. The flight goggles were gone so he would not likely be identified. Still, he felt the need to be alone and wondered if it was the fresh air, breeze, and sunlight that were affecting his mood.

He found the perfect spot and landed in the grass with a muted crunch. The grass was apparently quite stiff. Not wanting to get poked too badly by it, he found a nearby spot where the grass was matted. Alright, he thought. Lightning Streak is better than me at the flips and turns but he doesn't have a very good push when he exits them. My best chance to impress that mare - whatever her confounded name is - would be to improve my exit boost. It'll make it look like I've got way more energy and skill even if I botch the nuances. There's only one way to get that kind of spring...

Fire Streak laid down into the grass and stretched his wings downwards so that the tips touched the soil. He curled his hooves against his body and tried to push himself up with shear wing power. Immediately, he strained and fell back down from the pathetic millimeter he managed to push himself up to. Ugh, he groaned. I knew I shouldn't have put off those routines. I guess Spitfire was right. I have lost a bit of my figure. I used to be able to do this stuff without even trying. Last time I saw the captain's wings...

The stallion's thoughts stopped abruptly as he blushed. It was hard not to compare himself to Spitfire. The mare had obviously been doing some sort of secret training because she was far more toned than she used to be. It was getting to a point where it was embarrassing for him. After all, he was a stallion and she was a mare. The fact that she had the guts for training when he didn't was just sad.

Fire's determination roared back. I'm going to do this! I'm going to show them all that I've still got the fire! Wing-ups, meet your master!

...Just as soon as I get to twenty...

Times had been bad, Light Scribe decided. But the scale was ready to tip and Issai would be the first bit of snow to start the avalanche. It had been a few more days and the green-tea-colored mare thought him to still be as sick as he appeared to be. However, he had made up his mind a good two days ago and took every opportunity to use healing magic when she was away. He faked the illness that he now only barely had.

The stallion also took the moments when he was alone to prepare a trap. Issai may have been a mare destined for gardening but that was not to say that she couldn't take him on head-to-head. Light Scribe was not a warrior, so his physical ability was stereotypical for his name. The back-and-forth work he did as a field messenger did help toughen him a bit, but it was not enough of a difference. Issai was cunning and could obviously use her magic to great advantage. He still couldn't imagine how she had managed to get behind him in the tunnel without him knowing. The only conclusion was stealth magic, which he wasn't familiar with.

He would have to fake weakness and then overtake her in an instant. That was the first goal. The second would be to get the contacts out of her. She was obviously nothing more than an agent in the grand scheme. Even if she didn't know the ringleaders, she would still know somepony that would give a solid lead. Light Scribe would have to get that information out of her and to Celestia before the schemers found out. If they knew too soon that their agent was compromised, they would wipe their tracks, split, and reform anew.

The beige unicorn was determined to nail that second goal too. Such things may normally have been outside of his expertise but there was no other choice in the matter. It was the third and final goal by far that bothered him the most. He would have to figure out how to fix Issai for the long-term. She was misguided and he didn't know how to correct that. He didn't even completely understand why she was doing this. She implied that she was upset over something regarding him and his job. Maybe she was being co-dependent? If she thought that she had no future without somepony else - whether it be him or not - than that would make sense. She just never struck him as being so aggressive as to take out her frustrations in such an extreme way.

"Still hacking up a lung, Light?"

The voice knocked him back to reality. Issai really must have trained with some kind of stealth magic because she came up on him far too quietly. She had just entered the room and started making something - probably tea - with some simple magic.

"Ugh," the stallion replied with a few thrown in coughs. "But I think I'm getting better. Might be out of the cough-stage in a few days."

The mare didn't look over at him but he could see a faint smile nonetheless. There was definitely something very wrong with the pony. Her moods were too unpredictable and she was liable to quick rage when she thought he might escape. Depending on the position of moon and stars, she would be either happy or angry at his recovery from the cold. Light Scribe laughed pitifully at his own joke. He hadn't seen the open sky in many days.

"What's so funny?" Issai addressed him skeptically before returning her gaze to the tea-brewing.

"Oh, um..." he stuttered with a sneeze. It was a legitimate one that reminded him that he wasn't completely over the cold. "Just remembering how you used to ask me why carrots were orange. You were persistent about it back in magic school. The weirdest things made you curious."

"I didn't care about the carrots. I hate orange anyways," she almost barked. Her expression turned intense as she stared at the boiling water.

There was that mood swing again. Something was really eating away at her but the stallion had no choice but to calm her down if his plan was going to work. "If you don't mind my asking, why did you keep bringing it up then?"

Again she didn't look at him but continued to pour the water and add the tea packet. "It was just a dumb excuse to talk to you."

Light Scribe felt his heart go cold. Goal #3 just got a whole lot more complicated. A silence fell but he couldn't let it keep if he was going to catch the mare off guard. "I recall you got your own house and started a garden," he changed subjects, not wanting to light an early fuse.

"The garden died. I just couldn't take care of it when...it was just so...meaningless."

Her tone was flat, dismal, and not very encouraging for his purposes. "It was a really nice country house, right? Your parents sure worked hard to get it for you," he tried desperately to get her mood to swing back. It wasn't working.

"So that I could have a cozy life with my special somepony," she replied brightly. Her mood changed suddenly and a smile was beaming on her face. She turned from the brewing tea and came up to his bedside. The mood she was now in was too happy. There was something wrong about it and it was then, as she faced him a mere hoof away, that he knew what was going on. Everything that didn't make sense now did. The mood swings and the carelessness mixed with caution and cunning.

Issai had snapped. Her eyes stared into his with a certain void that sent chills up his spine. At some point when she was in that country mansion all alone, she had snapped. Maybe she just refused to accept the world around her. Maybe she thought she had been robbed of something. Maybe that's why she blamed Celestia...blamed his job.

He knew he had to act. It was now or never, especially since the mare was so far off the deep end.

"Huh?" Issai almost grunted as the stallion flew from under the sheets and tackled her to the floor. In one motion, Light Scribe struck her horn and ignited a light spell. She was now incapable of magic and half blind for a few seconds. He quickly rolled off of her and pulled the items he had prepared previously from under the bed. The shackles clicked onto all four of her hooves even as she still reeled from the take-down. Light Scribe had secured the shackle chains to the floor so that she would be secure. Next, he slipped an inhibitor ring over her horn.

The ring would not be able to prevent her from using magic, as he didn't know enough about such things to make a full inhibitor. He did, however, know the basic sealing technique to keep the ring on and a wealth of light-based magic to penalize her every time she tried to use her horn's abilities. It would have to do.

The exertion unexpectedly made him feel light-headed and the adrenaline made his head throb. Issai was coming out of her shock. "I have some questions and you're going to answer them. Don't try any magic unless you want a light show. It'll make you dizzy really fast."

"You...you're not sick!" she seethed as she rushed to her hooves. She instantly regretted it as the blood rushed to her head.

"Who got you into this mess and where are they? Who wants those artifacts?" he was surprised by the intensity of his own voice. He didn't want to admit that he was in a dangerous situation. He was an overseer...a scribe for Celestia's sake.

Issai practically jumped into his face. "You dumb-!"

The mare cut her own words short as she noticed, or rather felt, something on her horn. "You can call me names if it'll help get everything out. Who are you doing this for?" Light Scribe encouraged her to continue but the mare suddenly sat down in front of him on her hind hooves. She reached up with her front ones and batted at the inhibitor ring. It didn't budge.

The stallion masked a sigh of relief. He had never made something like it before and there was always a 50-50 chance that it simply wouldn't work or stay on. The mare's rage seemed to drain away completely, though. Another one of her mood swings...almost like she didn't even register the shackles that clinked with every movement. She just kept looking up at her horn and batting at the ring.

"Issai, who are the other ponies?" he tried again and again she didn't answer.

When she finally did speak it was in a tone of awe. "Ring..." was the only word that escaped her. Her eyes drifted away from the ring and then down to the floor. It went to the shackles next and then to the chains as they laid across the floor. She looked up at Issai and a dark glare started growing on her face.

"Issai?" Light Scribe asked as he no longer hid the concerned tone in his voice. He looked straight into her eyes again and no longer saw a void. He saw a battlefield where her emotions fought to decide who she was...how she would react. One of the feelings won and it wasn't one that he had ever known.

"Light?" her voice was weak as if she was ready to cry.

He couldn't trust her. She was switching personas too fast. Still, this one was probably the Issai that had been alone for all of those years. This was the one he had left behind, so he had to change his tactics. "Issai..." he didn't want to take advantage of her but the situation was already on the edge of a knife. "If you tell me about the other ponies then..." he paused painfully. "We can go back home..." he gulped. "Together..."

The mare started crying without abandon. She leaned down and covered her face with her front hooves even as the chains rattled against the floor. She continued for quite a few minutes and Light Scribe knew without any doubt that this had to be the worst and most awkward day of his life. Gently, he put a hoof on her shoulder and mustered as calm a voice as he could. "Issai, who are the others?"

She stuttered badly with her sobs and her face looked like a wreck but she finally replied to the question. "T-There's a...brown o-one. Klacky H-hooves. He's i-in Canterlot. There's Tyr-rant Blood too. She's in Maneh-hatten. They're the only t-two I know. I think there are two o-others, though."

She sniffled constantly and would probably have continued crying if she had any more tears left to use. Light Scribe burned the new information about the scheme into his mind. With any hope, there were only four other ponies involved in addition to Issai. Regardless, the matter was now in Celestia's hooves. The only question left for him to address was how to get the news to the throne fast and without the other ponies finding out. Magic letters were in all likelihood a bad idea. Magic traffic around the vault site was probably watched closely by the ponies in question. A quick inquiry to the weeping mare confirmed it.

"S-Spitfire will take your letter," Issai suggested as the Stallion standing above her thought to himself.

"Letter?" he asked, confused as to how she read his thoughts.

She wiped the tears from her face and sniffled again. "You work for Celestia, right? So you need to get a letter to her..."

"Yeah...who's Spitfire?"

"Pegasus. Celestia sent her to check up on things, but she was too late for that. Maybe she could fly the letter for you."

Light Scribe's serious expression finally began to lift for the first time. "Perfect! I just hope she's fast enough."

He started to turn for the exit prematurely and he heard the chains rattle and slam against the restraints. Issai fell back down to the floor with a crash. "Don't leave! You said we'd go together!" she screamed.

Light Scribe's heart wrenched. He didn't want to lie but...he had something he had to do and it couldn't be delayed. He had a duty. There it was again. Everytime it came up, the mare before him was the one to suffer. He wanted to curse the day for forcing way too many hard decisions on him. Maybe I'll regret this, he told himself. But my conscience won't.

With a set of clicks, he popped open the shackles with his magic. "I think I'm going to need you to show me the way."

21 - When Reality Hits

Spitfire looked at the two ponies, not having a clue what was going on. Issai introduced the stallion as Light Scribe - the original court messenger that had gotten sick. She also seemed like she was glued to him as if her life depended on it. The beige unicorn was very serious about getting the letter to Celestia and didn't appear to take notice of the mare beside him. Whatever, Spitfire thought. One speedy letter delivery and she would be done with the dirty cramped tunnels forever.

The captain looked back to the two Wonderbolts behind her in the break room. "Ready to blast this burrow?"

Surprise giggled but Silver Lining was less amused, "Your wit leaves something to be desired but I certainly do appreciate the thought of restoring my mane to what it should be. Not to mention putting all of this confounded exercise to good use. I can't believe I've only managed half what you two mares are up to."

"Patience young one," Spitfire joked. She was getting more exited by the minute. Having a pegasus spend days underground was a recipe for insanity. That was especially true for the Wonderbolts. "Sure you two will be okay here?" she asked the unicorns.

"We won't stay long. I'll go make sure the workers are in order and then we're leaving. Celestia will send a replacement for me - another one I mean," Light Scribe explained. The artifacts were no longer in danger. First, the other ponies weren't aware that Issai was out of the picture. Second, they wouldn't try a second shot with Celestia hot on their trail.

"Well, okay," the Wonderbolt leader grinned. "I guess we'll see you guys some other time. Stop by one of our shows if you feel like it. I'll waive your ticket."

With a motion of her right wing, Spitfire trotted gleefully past the two unicorns. With her two teammates in tow, she couldn't be happier. Finally, she was ditching the dirt and getting back to the real training. Silver Lining was going to make an interesting addition. Surprise trotted faster so she could come up to the captain's side.

"So we're done?" she asked enthusiastically.

"I guess," Spitfire shrugged with her wings. "Celestia will tell us but that unicorn seemed pretty confident that the situation is handled."

"What was with that anyways?" Silver Lining mentioned as he tried to squeeze next to Spitfire on her other side. The tunnel was hardly wide enough.

The orange pegasus sighed. "He was sick for a few days. What's to wonder about?"

Silver Lining persisted, "Perhaps that Celestia asked our captain to oversee security at a dig site? Or perhaps that the court messenger in charge caught a cold in the otherwise warm tunnels? Or how about that weird ring on Issai's horn? She seemed awfully cozy with that Scribe pony."

Surprise almost bounced in her pace with a giggle. "Mystery Mare with Suspicious Stallion?!"

"Ugh!" Spitfire wanted to facehoof. The tunnels really had been getting to them. Her 'Bolts were getting weird. It was a good thing they were about to taste the wind at high speed. "Let's just get some air. I think I heard the clouds calling our names."

Silver Lining cheered but then caught himself short. "It'll be Canterlot before I can take care of this," he pointed to his frazzled mane. "I hope nopony gets a snapshot of me before I can at least calm it down."

Surprise chuckled. "How about you just go for the wild look?"

The tunnels were climbing upwards fast and they were soon able to see the natural light. It had not been seen enough in Spitfire's opinion. "Get those feathers ready!"

It was their captain's mark that caused the two other Wonderbolts to get serious. They dropped their more light-hearted expressions for intense gazes. There was no way they were going to be stuck in the dirt-filled tunnels when Spitfire launched. Her wing power was monstrous and there would definitely be some kick-up behind her takeoff thrust.

She increased her pace and the two 'Bolts followed her lead. As the light at the end of the tunnel began to consume them, Spitfire spread her wings outward and thrust them backwards with a single and powerful stroke. She heard a "gah" behind her that was almost drowned out by the rush of wind and dirt.

In the same instant, Spitfire was taking to the skies. It felt incredible to her to be once again embraced by the warm and natural light of Celestia's sun. The air was like silk to her as it moved through her feathers. Surprise and Silver Lining flew up to either side of her with ease. She was, after all, not trying to give them a race. She just wanted to be in the air again as quickly as possible.

"Not that I don't love eating your holy dust, oh great flame, but would it be so difficult for you to mind your six?" Silver Lining commented with dripping sarcasm. His hair looked even more wild than before. He looked like he had just narrowly escaped a hurricane.

Spitfire tried to laugh gently. "I was being careful. You avoided most of it, am I right?"

"Ugh..." the stallion breathed. "Yes, but..."

Surprise decided it was best to interrupt, "Well just look at my mane!"

Both pegasi looked over to see a very frazzled Surprise. Silver Lining gasped but the captain laughed eagerly. The mare's mane was not actually that bad but it was rare to see Surprise with anything but a subdued style. It was, therefore, a remarkable sight.

Trying to get his mind off of all such matters, the stallion decided to change the subject quickly, "Are we going in the right direction?"

The three ponies were flying through the clouds already but only Spitfire remembered the correct direction to go. "Of course," she replied. "Straight to Canterlot. We're going to have to pick up the pace though. This letter is supposed to be express so don't feel bad if you fall behind."

The wingmare and stallion only nodded in return and began building more speed. It wasn't long before Silver Lining began to lose out to the two mares. He had managed to surpass the average Wonderbolt speed but the captain and her wing were built up far beyond the standard. He eventually lost sight of them. There was nothing for him to do but continue in the same direction and hope that they wouldn't wait too long for him in the city.

He had to get to get up to speed on that physical training.

"Two...hundred," Misty gasped as she fell onto her face. The exhaustion was unbearable but it was something she had to get through. Spitfire never said that she was going through intense training but it was obvious that she was. She never said that she valued Surprise more than the others but that was obvious as well. Misty had no choice now but to push her limits past breaking. She wanted to deny it with every part of her being but she knew deep down that she was jealous of that lucky mare...

Misty relished every opportunity she got to fly as wingmare with the captain. To her, Spitfire was still a personal hero. The term "idol" just sounded too vain to her. Nevertheless, the Wonderbolt captain was a very special pegasus. Perhaps it was because the mare worked so hard. She wasn't like all of those other famous ponies that never did anything but revel in money and fame. Spitfire was who she was simply by the hard work she poured into herself and her team on a daily basis. Misty had lost sight of that and it was why Surprise replaced her as wingmare. That was what she kept telling herself.

Sometimes she wondered if the reason that Soarin' used to repeat as the captain's wing was simply the equality complaints that they received on a daily basis. There was no doubt that Soarin' was a good flier but he wasn't more than an average Wonderbolt either. The team had been balanced on terms of gender and that fact was reflected often in their performances even if the pairings didn't make sense. Some of her teammates, including herself, were sometimes matched up poorly for the sole purpose of maintaining "good gender profile."

Misty hated politics and maybe that was why she was determined to be a Wonderbolt for the rest of her life. She didn't really want to be captain either. That role also dealt with too much politics for her taste. She wanted to be the best that she could be. That's what it all came down to. It was unfortunate that it took the whole deal with Surprise for her to realize that she hadn't been pushing herself. That all changed recently with her own personal training. It was back to the basics for her. With an improved set of muscles (in the proper places), she could once again meet Spitfire's high standard.

"Ow," Misty cried softly. Her body hurt from the strain. For some reason, weird pains started coming on as she increased her wing-up count. She was only at two hundred, which couldn't yet be at the captain's level. Still, she would have to find some way to relieve the pain soon.

Why do I get the feeling that this day is going to be a long one, Light Scribe thought. Oh, because it already has been long.

Issai was eerily quiet as she walked beside him down the long road to Canterlot. She seemed happy at the moment and willing to ignore the stallion's few short errands in the hope of...what? It couldn't be just friendship that she wanted. Marriage was a term more fitting for the crazed mare's ambitions. That, however, would simply not go over well. Light Scribe could already picture the disaster labeled "the workaholic and the insane codependent." They would both need some therapy before knowing what they were going to do with their lives.

That was priority number one for the stallion as they headed for the city. Well, it was the next priority after a quick check-in with Celestia. The letter would arrive long before they did but he was still trying to take a slow pace to be on the safe side. There was no telling who and at what point the conspirators would get information on what was happening with Issai and the dig site.

"I'll have to deal with the tenant first," Issai muttered.

Light Scribe glanced over to the green mare beside him. "Tenant?"

"I couldn't leave my place empty when I left so I rented it out to some young mare. She seemed well enough..."

More than I can say for you, the stallion couldn't help but think. He tried to remind himself not to tempt fate. The mare was acting like a good little filly for the time being, but there was no way to be sure that she wouldn't snap again. He could only hope that he could keep the "good" Issai around by giving her what she wanted. Everything would be taken care of properly when they reached Canterlot. Perhaps he could mask the psychological therapy under the guise of marriage preparation.

Lightning Streak narrowed his eyes behind his grey-tinted goggles. Fleetfoot was better on her hooves than she was on her wings. Dirt-side stunts were her specialty - not aerial ones. He could outlast her even if she took the lead at the start. So, when the starting gun went off, he let her jostle for first place.

The track was not some lame Canterlot oval. It was a countryside Road and Cloud that spun through meadows, canyons, and low-hanging cotton balls. Truly these were the races that he enjoyed most. They got one on their hooves and then back on their wings in ways that those pompous unicorns would never dream of.

Unfortunately, such tracks were also a challenge for safety. Even seasoned fliers could take a nasty spill if they were too reckless. It was lucky for Lightning Streak that he had two teammates in the race that had the good side of caution to keep track of their fellow 'Bolts. It was an unwritten and unspoken rule that you watched out for your fellow pegasi when the track was dangerous.

Lightning Streak made a very rare mistake in his take-off. In fact, it might have been his first such mistake. He was supposed to retake to the air after running to the lip of the canyon. A bad step made him slip on the edge just before his wings could pick up his weight. The result was a failed take-off and an off-beat pegasi fumbling down the canyon's cliff-side. He would have easily recovered if he hadn't repeatedly gotten his head and wings bashed against the cliff as he fell down.

He was lucky indeed to have such cautious and caring teammates...even if Fire Streak was a hot-head.

22 - Problems are Free

Solutions were expensive. It was something that Misty was learning while trying to deny. Perhaps it was simply a matter of perspective though. Misty was proud of her ever-improving build and she couldn't help but subtly flaunt it when Spitfire finally returned. The captain was reviewing everything that happened with her team in her absence. All the members were assembled at their usual training track in Canterlot for the meetup.

"I'm away for a short while and you guys fall apart. Soarin'!" Spitfire cried.

The stallion looked nervous but responded all the same, "It's not my fault, cap'. These things happen you know..."

"I'm not talking about Lightning Streak. I already saw him at the hospital and he's doing fine. What I'm talking about is the fact that Wave Chill failed half his moves at the trinary and Blaze practically verbally assaulted a fan. You don't see disasters like that when I'm around do you?" the captain fumed.

Blaze tried to speak up as Wave Chill bowed in depression, "Verbally assaulted?! The dir-"

"Shut up, Blaze! I've had it to here with your attitude!" Spitfire barked. She hated to use her captain card on her friends but it was a fact that strong discipline was what made the Wonderbolts what they were. The offending 'Bolt took her cue and said nothing more.

"Now," Spitfire continued, "We have another all-team performance coming up. It's a speed run. Unfortunate as it may be, Lightning Streak will not be flying with us since he needs more time to heal. Since eleven is an odd number, I'll take on the odd pony as a second wing."

The orange pegasus paced across her line of 'Bolts and stopped in front of Wave Chill. "I'm not going to let it slide any more, Wave. Get in some serious training and you'll be flying with us in the run. But let me make this clear, if you don't get back up to par then I'll be reconsidering your position."

Wave Chill gulped. He hated getting called out so badly but he knew the captain was serious. "Yes, captain!"

Next, the leader came up to Fire Streak. The stallion had been acting very distracted ever since she got back. "Are you going to get focused or do I need to teach you how to pay attention, Fire Streak?"

"No - I mean yes and no! I'm all set captain!" he desperately replied.

Spitfire shook her mane and continued down the line to stop again at Misty. She did a double take on the mare's build. "I see it was a good thing I let you off for training when I was away. Only one problem..."

The captain poked Misty's shoulder and the mare collapsed onto the ground with a cry. Spitfire quickly commented as the other 'Bolts whipped their heads around in surprise, "You've overworked your muscles without relieving them of tension. I admire your determination but it's all for nothing if you damage yourself in the process. You're staying after the meet for some lessons. As for the rest of you," she turned to the staring ponies, "Soarin' has your formation positions. Note them and get to practicing. I want top form for that upcoming run!"

With a final note to dismiss, the Wonderbolts split up for training. Only a few stayed at the track to work on speed and Misty was still groaning on the ground when the captain dug her front hooves into the mare's back. "You're just short of needing physical therapy, Misty. What were you trying to pull?"

The mare let out a whimper of pain before she started to feel her muscles relax. Spitfire was moving her hooves back and forth to let out the strain. The relief felt so good at first that the mare forgot to respond.

"I'm taking you on as second wing for this next performance, but you're going to need to learn some stretches before you continue your routines."

Misty let out a gasp as the other mare's words caught on. "You're going to instruct me?"

"Of course," Spitfire replied with a sigh. "I hadn't planned on things getting out of control so quickly but I might as well tell you now."

"Tell me what...?" the mare asked slowly in suspicion. She couldn't keep the seriousness, however, as Spitfire continued massaging her up to her shoulders. A content sigh escaped as she melted into the grass.

The leader paused before answering, "On second thought, later. I'd rather not say it here. Just know that you'll be doing some special training with me, Prize, and Silver."

"If you don't mind my-" Misty froze as Spitfire removed her hooves. "Hey, did you have to stop?"

The captain laughed in return. "I'm not your masseur, Misty. You were saying?"

"Oh, um...you don't want to include me in this training just for the stretches...right?"

Spitfire sat on her flank in the grass as she watched some of the other 'Bolts race around the track. "Misty, you've always been a hard worker. If it weren't for the fact that Soarin' was a guy then I'd have you as my wingmare. I only recently chose Prize because she beefed up - a lot. Same as me. But you haven't stopped pushing yourself and you even pushed yourself harder when I was away. I know you have the strength, loyalty, and determination necessary for the special training."

Misty rolled over her captain's words carefully, relishing the praise in particular. There was silence for quite a few minutes before she spoke up. "Why Silver Lining then?"

Spitfire would have choked if she had been eating at that exact second. Instead, she rolled back into the grass and started laughing herself to tears. Misty just smiled faintly as she watched. "I didn't really mean that as a joke..."

"I...I know..." Spitfire wheezed, short of breath. "It's just...funny. Yeah, I can see why Silver doesn't instill a strong sense of potential. He's got a quiet talent. Most ponies can't see what he is past the pretty part of him."

"Pretty..." Misty snorted.

"He's strong though," Spitfire continued. The orange leader paused and did a double-take when she caught an odd expression from her fellow 'Bolt. "Is there something between you and Silver Lining?"

Misty practically spazzed out. "What are you talking about?!"

The captain giggled and waved a hoof, "Forget I asked. We should get to training now like everypony else."

Silver Lining stood awkwardly in the field. Perhaps it was the odd-looking cannon thing that was making him nervous. "I'm not entirely certain that I'm adequately prepared for what you have in mind, cap'."

Spitfire merely shook her head. "You'll never be ready with that kind of thinking."

Surprise tried to keep an upbeat attitude. In reality, she was part sad and upset that her time with Spitfire was decreasing as more of the 'Bolts joined in the training. "Ready as always," she winked.

"More than ready," Misty grumbled under her breath.

Turning to the royal guard stationed beside the cannon, she nodded and took to the air. Celestia had designated a guard to handle the cannon since Spitfire's group had grown by another two members. The ruler was adamant about staying out of the spotlight but was still quick to give private lessons to the captain and her main wing. Spitfire knew enough of the training now to guide the others and was tasked with getting them past the physical build up before she could take the next step.

The other pegasi took formation around her and they started picking up a flying pattern moments before the cannon began its rounds. Silver Lining and Misty were as startled as she expected them to be. She was, after all, quite disturbed by it when she first started the unusual routine. Odd and uncomfortable as it was, the exercise made perfect sense and the other 'Bolts would have to get used to it. Still, there was that matter of the magically-induced stealth shield. She could only assume that Celestia had taken care of it ahead of time.

BOOM!

The pounding mid-air explosions were probably more audible to the two pegasi who weren't used to them. Spitfire was pleased all the same when she saw them pushing onwards through the chaos. Their form was a bit off and they were losing ground behind her but they were doing well all the same. The four Wonderbolts continued their circular rounds against the cannon until Silver Lining literally dropped out.

Misty was next but she was less dropping out than she was checking on Silver. Spitfire gave the guard pony the signal and the cannon ceased fire. She could faintly hear voices as her hearing began to properly return. "-train together," was what she caught Misty say to the stallion as she approached. Silver was lying in the grass and panting for breath.

"It's important to push our limits but not kill ourselves over it. Let's wrap it up for today. Silver, you'll get to relax soon but you have to do some stretching first if you don't want those muscles to seize up later."

Misty was first to interject, "Captain."

"Hm?" the orange pegasus raised her brow to the 'Bolt. That word rarely stood by itself unless somepony wanted to propose something...or challenge her.

"I think me and Silver Lining should do additional training by ourselves to get our endurance up to your level."

Spitfire humphed. "I already told you that you'll just hurt yourself by pushing it."

"I meant we'd train only if you okay'd it," the mare explained.

The captain hm'd for only a few seconds before replying. "Well alright. But you two can't do any more today."

Surprise trotted happily up to Spitfire's side. The mare's cheerful attitude was slightly annoying to the more tired out Misty. "Let's get those hooves moving," the white pegasus beamed.

Spitfire just smirked as she moved on past her teammates to get a better spot in the grass. "I'll go slow so that you can copy what I do. This part is critical if you don't want to be in pain later. You know what I'm talking about, Misty."

The concerned mare solemnly nodded and found her own place on the ground. It ended up being Spitfire and Surprise side-by-side with Misty and Silver mirroring them on the opposing side. It was unintentional but best all the same since the two newer trainees needed to watch their leader carefully. It was when the group got to the one odd stretch that they had difficulty. It was not from the challenge that the stretch presented but rather from Silver's execution of it.

Surprise rolled onto her back in laughter. "I'm...I'm sorry!" she managed between chuckles. "S...Stallions..."

Misty couldn't help a giggle either. Somehow the sight of a mare doing the stretch was less silly than a stallion. Silver just looked ridiculous.

"I'm just doing what you are!" the male 'Bolt complained. "It's not like you mares look any better."

Misty continued to fail in masking her amusement and Surprise was laughing to the point of mockery. "Alright you two," Spitfire regarded her female teammates. "That's enough laughing. Besides...he has a point."

The white mare cut herself off abruptly since she was getting a sideways look from her captain. Misty actually apologized to the stallion, who just turned his head the other way as he continued his steaming. It was Spitfire again who got the three ponies focused and through the routines, but it was the head wingmare that noticed the leader's fatigue afterwards.

As soon as they finished the variety of stretches, Spitfire dismissed her smaller group of Wonderbolts for the rest of the day and headed in her own direction. Misty and Silver Lining flew slowly back to the city due to their lack of energy. It was after a few minutes of walking that the captain looked behind her to regard her follower. "Why are you following me, Prize? We're done for now."

"I'm a bit worried to be honest. You're walking when we're still a long way from the city. Thinking got you grounded?" the white mare's voice flowed softly.

Spitfire regarded her friend with a sideways look that showed her lack of energy. "You analyzing me?"

Surprise moaned a negative before coming up close to her friend's side. "I'm looking out for my best friend. That's all. We've both had longer days than this, so why do you look so drained?"

There was silence for a while as the orange pegasus thought about what she was going to say. However, the first words out were "walk with me."

23 - Finding the Flame

Take as much time as you need," the white alicorn replied. It was the least she could do in way of apology to the poor messenger. He looked like the life had been sucked out of him. No small wonder considering that she had assigned him one of the harsher tasks. The mare beside him was more or less what she expected when she had received the messenger's letter through Spitfire. A great battle warred within her - made obvious by the unicorn mare's half-baked magical training. Whatever she had been taught had been more concerned with power than finesse. Only Celestia's own judgement deemed the mare fit for what Light Scribe had in mind. The stallion had some very difficult choices left to make and he needed the time off to sort out his thoughts and feelings. She wished him the best as she dismissed him.

All matters are coming to a close, Celestia thought as she watched the two unicorns depart. She hadn't needed Light Scribe's physical report to act, since she had already been informed through the letter. She already had an update from Direway that reported that Tyrant Blood was in custody. Klacky Hooves was already in confinement and the Mare of the Sun had received a summary from the pony in charge of the interrogation. It was just the sort of pathetic plot she had had dealt with countless times before. Ruling a nation could sometimes be the worst combination of boring and annoying.

Direway was getting a lead from the captured mare in Manehatten. It would be difficult but not impossible to round up the others. They were, after all, rather shallow ponies who were obsessed with power and money even though they understood neither. That's how the ship sails, the alicorn thought tiredly as she stepped down from the throne and made her way to her personal quarters. She removed her crown with a sigh.

With any luck, there would be a new letter in her room. There was at least one pony in all of Equestria that truly knew what the most valuable thing was...

"..." Spitfire was silent for a while as she collected her thoughts. Eventually she spoke, but it was not as slow as Surprise expected it to be. The captain instead spoke quickly - revealing her frustration. "No matter how hard I push myself, I just can't seem to get where I want to go! I met Celestia by a bizarre happenstance and found out about a trick I wanted to learn. I wanted my team to do it too. It was just a cool move, that's all. I thought it would make a great addition to our routines. But instead, I've gone through one distraction after another. It feels like I've been going uphill this whole time without any wings to make the trip short. I feel like we'll never be able to reach the point where we can improve ourselves without falling to pieces in the process!"

Surprise kept her mouth shut at first, not able to make a snap response. Instead, she had to think about what her friend was really saying. Finally she spoke, "That's just how life is, right?"

Spitfire winced. She had really hoped her friend wouldn't say that because deep down she knew that was the reality of it. The harsh reality. Surprise saw her captain cringe but let the mare speak on her own time. If it weren't for the seriousness of the mood, the two pegasi might have been enjoying the walk. The route back to Canterlot from the training field was quite beautiful. In fact, the green mountainside and flowing waterfalls might even be called breath-taking by the more nature-loving ponies. But only the chirps of the local birds were noticed by the two Wonderbolts as they trotted onwards.

"I didn't want that...but thanks," Spitfire finally replied. "Sometimes I just don't want to get my head out of the clouds."

That made Surprise giggle but she agreed all the same. "I know what you mean. I get really frustrated when my life takes a detour or when I just can't seem to go where I want to. That's why they say that the journey is more important than the destination. Even if we never get to actually do this crazy Bullet trick, the journey's changed us...that's what I think anyways."

"You think we've changed?" the captain asked with a raised brow.

The white mare smiled brightly in return, "Of course! We're closer friends now than we would have ever been if it weren't for the training we've gone through."

It was a rare occasion for Spitfire to feel emotionally moved but something in her friend's words made her heart ache. She couldn't deny that she knew Surprise so much more since they had become wingmares but the same was true for some of her other 'Bolts as well. Silver Lining and Misty were already warming up to her differently than their teammates. Maybe there was something in working with a smaller team...or maybe it was because she herself thought of them differently than before.

Surprise broke her thoughts, "Something's different with Silver Lining too. He kept complaining about being stuck in that dirty tunnel but I think he enjoyed it in his own way."

"You've sure got an interesting way of looking at things," Spitfire remarked.

"Well I've had plenty of time to think about it. I realized it's better to think that way than to always be upset or depressed about the things I don't or can't have."

"I guess I should take a page then. But I'm not giving up this training," the orange mare ended flatly.

"I wouldn't either," Surprise added. A sudden grumbling sound broke the conversation. "I guess I'm really hungry..." the wingmare commented embarrassingly.

"Alright then. I guess it's lunch for two."

"Fire..."

The captain swung her head around to meet her friends eyes as they walked. "What?"

"I think you mean dinner."

My life is officially over, Fire Streak thought to himself as he practiced his aerial maneuvers. Lightning is out of the picture for this event? My plan is totaled! That mare is never going to see the true victor. It's not like I can get her to come to the next full-team event. Who knows when that'll be!

In his frustration, the stallion kept unconsciously adding power to his wing thrusts. His movements began pushing the air around with deep thrums. As he came out of a full circle somersault, his hooves tapped the ground and he pushed back off of it with a fiery leap.

"I can never get anything no matter how," the enraged stallion shot through the air and approached his maximum speed.

"Hard," he gritted his teeth as the wind bit at him.

"I," his face was stretched against the torrent.

"Try!" he screamed as his wings gave one final punch.

BOOM!

The sound barrier fell behind him as he shot like an arrow towards the setting sun.

Soarin' was not usually one to push himself to the limit. After all, he had already made it pretty good as a Wonderbolt. That attitude cost him brownie points with the chief and he decided it was time to get serious. In reality, he hadn't been really serious about his work in a long time. He only got on the team in the first place because he joined in the early years. He had a wealth of natural talent and was too lazy to take on any other job since he found pretty much everything else to be boring.

He snatched the opportunity when Spitfire provided it. After all, it was a pretty hot gig and the mare that asked him was pretty hot too. Being scolded by her was not hot, though. He was going to get back in the game and blow her away. Maybe he could even score a marefriend in the process. He hated it when the other guys kidded him about it.

One month. That's all he needed to get to sixth gear. The stallion punched the wall beside him with one of his front hooves and a chip fell from the stone wall as he removed him limb. His fellow Wonderbolts would soon remember why Soarin' used to be the head wing. Three flaps from his wings and he was blazing circles around the practice track.

Blaze felt like her heart was on fire. The captain could be such a witch sometimes. Nopony had any right to shut her down like that and she was going to prove it. No more "Ms. I'm-Better-Than-You." Blaze was going to make that mare eat her words if it was the last thing she did. Even if Spitfire had more muscle than she did, there was more to stunt flying than raw power. In fact, too much muscle could even prevent one from doing certain tricks that required a slim figure and high flexibility.

It hadn't escaped Blaze's attention that Spitfire had begun to shy from certain moves in past events. It didn't take a genius to figure that the mare was trying to beef up for some power-heavy stunt. Whether or not that was worth giving up her other moves was something only she was capable of deciding. Blaze, on the other hoof, wasn't just in the business for the stunts. To her, perfection was the best combination of beauty and ability. Oh, she didn't think of beauty the way High Winds did. That mare was just gaudy in her opinion.

Blaze smiled as she rolled through a somersault, spun into a cyclone, and exited with the grace of a feather. Beauty was a mixture of hot and cool (and not in the sense of temperature). Blaze adored the looks of her fans whenever she began and finished a performance. It was like hot chocolate on a snowy day...

Spitfire had been taking that from her. Blaze's fans had begun to wane and convert over to the captain's side. They had begun to believe that raw power was better - that a toned mare was more attractive. Within Blaze's mind, it erupted coarse thoughts for Spitfire. It was no good to have a leader who was an attention hog.

Blaze knew she was better.

Wave Chill kicked a rock as he dragged his hooves along the street. Everything that had happened in recent memory was just...horrible. Maybe he just wasn't cut out for the job. That sort of mentality was not what was going to get him in better standing with Spitfire but it wasn't something he could help, all the same. He had great confidence in the past that he was as good if not better than most of his peers but that confidence had slipped through recent events. He hadn't been living up to the standard that he thought he was at.

Each time one of his hooves fell, a miniature cloud of dust would rise from the ground. He took notice of it in an attempt to prevent any further thinking - thinking that just made him feel worse. There were times in every pony's life when feeling down was like a career. Maybe he was going through that cycle. Or maybe he just didn't want to admit that he had fooled himself since the beginning. He was never cut out to be a Wonderbolt.

Cringing at his own thoughts, he tried to focus on the tiny dirt clouds again. It was amazing how even a paved and well maintained street within Canterlot could collect so much dirt. It settled within the tiny ravines that existed between the tiny rocks of the pavement. Every time it billowed upwards, it would only descend once again into obscurity.

What was he doing? He needed to get to training quickly if he was going to make it to the next performance. Maybe he could get to the fields outside of Canterlot and do some training by himself...maybe he had one last chance to get into the game before he lost it forever. Steeling his heart one last time and using the last of his dwindled confidence, he headed for the nearest city exit.

24 - Emotions

One, two. One, two. Soarin' pumped the air in front of him with his front hooves. The whole team was getting fired up for the upcoming event. They had done such performances countless times before but Soarin' knew that this one was going to be different. Spitfire had gotten them in line to push their limits and the former head-wing stallion knew that he was going to be the one to blow her away. He felt good about himself.

In fact, Soarin' might even say that he had never felt so good in his entire life. He actually had mentioned it to Silver Lining, who was often away with Spitfire (special training no doubt). But even Silver's improving physique couldn't leap ahead of Soarin's own regiment. The stallion was adding ten laps and fifteen wing-ups per week. He calculated his sleep and diet while calling on natural born talent and determination. Spitfire had already taken notice that something fundamental had changed in the pegasus. But perhaps it wasn't that something changed. Maybe something had just been ignited.

Time for water and veggies, Sorain' thought to himself. He laughed aloud carelessly as he nearly bounced back into his hotel room. The other 'Bolts sometimes kidded him about his ridiculous routines and meal choices but he let them. After all, he was not going to have the last laugh. He already was laughing because he had long surpassed his teammates in physical ability. Only four of the Wonderbolts matched or exceeded what he could now do in the show. Spitfire and Surprise held a firm advantage over him. Misty was barely out of his reach and Silver Lining was now his peer. That was another laughable point. Silver Lining, the stallion concerned with his dress and mane, was his stunt-flying equal. That 'Bolt didn't used to have such tenacity...not before Spitfire started drilling him.

Doesn't matter much, he continued to think as he snatched a water bottle off of the kitchen counter. What had changed had been for the better. Looking back, Soarin' wanted to kick himself for being so laid back and never pushing himself. It was like some sick kind of joke that being half-baked in life made one think that being half-baked was the way to go. In reality, he only snapped out of that pathetic way of thinking because Spitfire had gotten stricter with the team. To just think what he would be today if he had been so determined in the first place...

The captain had become a more straight-up kind of mare at exactly what point? It was most likely that she had started expecting more from her team when she started expecting more of herself. As her own abilities increased as a result of her training, so did her belief that her team could do more. But that point was a bit beyond Soarin' level of reasoning - at least as he currently was.

Soarin' crunched on some celery as he took a seat at the kitchen table. For a hotel room, it was a large kitchen. In fact, the "room" was more like a small house. It probably had something to due with the fact that it was a fancy hotel and the Wonderbolt rooms were some of the best. Maybe he took the place for granted but, then, he figured he was a hard worker and deserved it. It was the kind of self-serving attitude that came as a side-effect of his more active self-determination.

The stallion enjoyed his snack as he contemplated what he was going to do with himself.

"Red...or blue?"

The store clerk raised a brow and then tiredly shook her head. This mare is better off by herself, she decided as she sauntered off.

High Winds was in the tight grip of despair as she was forced to make the tragic decision between two fabulous colors. The blue sash would be a good addition to her already blue uniform, as it would make it seem to flow better. The red one, however, would give a spicy contrast and bring attention to her speed as it highlighted her as a red blur. Which one to choose?!

Suddenly, she felt a hoof slam into her shoulder. The force was enough to startle her but not knock her down. She twirled around to address the pony who dared interrupt her feverish concentration. "Who-"

"Hi, High," the chipper female 'Bolt greeted.

"Misty? I thought you were off with Spitfire!" High Winds couldn't hide her surprise. She had gotten more used to being alone or with Fleetfoot. She didn't see the other girls as much as she used to.

"Heh," Misty replied. "I was. Finished, though. Thought I'd catch up with you before I pass out," she gave a light chuckle.

"Well," Winds stated rather absolutely as she held out the two sashes for her friend to see. "We'd better start with getting caught up with this."

Misty gave a complicated look in return. Fashion had always been more the other mare's speed. She doubted she could be much help in any decisions pertaining to clothes or accessories. She had heard others call her the "sporty" type and, though she wouldn't agree, she didn't have anything contrary to say on the subject.

"Flare or unity?"

What was that supposed to mean? Was flare supposed to be the red one? Misty called on her hidden super power that she often used around the mysterious Wonderbolt. It was a power that no one knew of but herself. It was the power of random selection! "Flare!"

"Of course! You're right!" High Winds nearly squealed. "I knew I was on the right track!"

Potential disaster averted, Misty thought to herself.

"So," the other pegasus continued. "I'll get this checked out and we'll have some tea together. Sound good?"

Nodding pleasantly, the yellow mare found her way back to the store front as her fellow teammate bought the item. It was only a short moment before they left to find a nearby cafe. The place was owned and operated by a non-Canterlot family, which made it considerably less posh than most. High Winds chose it because it didn't serve the "nasty over-priced" tea that the specialist cafes and restaurants did.

"You never were much for blowing your bits. In spite of that one habit of yours," Misty remarked as the two mares took their seats at one of the cafe's outside tables. She gave a loose gesture to the sash that now hung tidily around her friend.

High Winds simply gave a "psh" of dismissal. "Bits has never equaled fashion. Or quality for that matter. It's nothing more than a mindset perpetrated by the privileged to make them feel better about themselves."

"A bit harsh don't you think?" the sunny-colored mare countered.

"Misty," the pale white mare gave a determined look as a waiter started towards them. "Some of the most fashionable ponies I've ever seen were nameless Earth ponies from backwater towns - and I don't mean that as a bad thing. Money has nothing to do with good sense...though it does seem to ruin it often enough."

"May I help you?" the waiter asked kindly. He was an Earth pony with a short-cropped mane. His eyes were narrow, though he was certainly not glaring at the two customers. His dark brown coat was an easy contrast with the white apron he wore, which featured the cafe's blue logo and mascot.

"Two cups of tea," High Winds started in response. "South Seas. No additions."

The waiter smiled, bowed, and left to enter the cafe's kitchen.

"Not like I can argue that. I don't really get into the high-class stuff anyways," Misty said and turned her head to the other tables. "There aren't any others here..."

"Oh, it's a slow and quiet place. Very relaxing," High Winds sighed faintly as she sunk into the chair. "A very good contrast."

"To what?"

High Winds giggled. "I think life is much like a dress or outfit. It gets tiresome when you only wear a single color." She slid a hoof over her new sash. "A change of pace can be so refreshing, don't you think. The excitement we get in the sky is made even sweeter by these moments of rest and tranquility on the ground."

Misty grinned. "Well geez, Windy. I didn't take you for a poet."

"You think that was poetry? I'm glad Wave Chill wasn't around to hear that."

The friends shared the cheerful mood as the waiter returned with the tea. He set the cups in their proper places, informed them to call him at their most miniscule need, and then returned to the cafe interior. Only a half dozen or so ponies were within the vicinity - merely walking leisurely across the adjacent road. The cafe was a quiet stop on a quiet block, indeed.

"So what's bothering you?" the fashion-centered pegasus finally asked after they enjoyed a moment of tea-sipping relaxation.

"There's something bothering me?" Misty frowned.

"Oh, come now. I've been around you enough to know when you're trying to cover up stress. I think you just might have hunted me down to talk about it..."

Misty knew deep down that High Winds was right. Yes, she wanted to catch up with her friend and fellow 'Bolt, but she needed advice as well. Now that the other mare had brought it up, she found herself oddly reluctant. Somehow her resolve had fled her and she felt embarrassed about the whole matter. "I'm not sure if I want to talk about it..."

Her friend gave a serious expression of concern. "That bad, huh?"

"It's kind of personal."

High Winds kept her tone for the sake of Misty's feelings. She was not one to kid or make fun at the wrong moment. "I imagine it would be. But I want you to know that I wouldn't gossip or share personal matters with anypony else. I take those things seriously, Misty."

Misty looked up from her tea to see a warm smile on the other mare's face. There was a very trusty aura about it, as if she were family rather than a mere friend. Perhaps that was why the yellow pegasus felt compelled to speak to High Winds about her predicament rather than any of the others. High Winds had a certain presence about her that was akin to a caring older sister. Maybe she seemed that way because she had been a Wonderbolt longer than Misty or maybe it was because she simply carried herself in a subtly more mature way. Regardless, Misty was encouraged to relate her troubles.

"It's the special team that Spitfire has me training in..."

"Mhm," High Winds nodded.

The sun-colored mare frowned once again but her voice held an unstable waver. "You don't seem surprised."

"It was the only thing I could think of that would be an issue. We still train together outside of your special activities, after all," the mare remarked in return.

"Well..."

Misty paused and High Winds felt that something was stirring in her friend's heart. It was something very big and important. The mare's eyes weren't looking forward anymore and instead held a firm gaze over her tea. But even so, High Winds could see the mist in them. Misty hadn't been the first teammate to confide something serious to her. Fleetfoot had also trusted her with some personal issues. Even Silver Lining had talked to her about some things that were best left confidential - though the stallion's secrets were of quite a different matter than Fleetfoot's. High Winds didn't know why she seemed to be a magnet for her troubled teammates. It could be hypothesized that it was because High Winds had been born and raised in Canterlot, which gave her a sharper sense of social competence. Or perhaps it was related to the fact that she never had brothers or sisters. She had always wanted one or two and the desire led to her treating some of her friends as a sort of extended family.

High Winds got up from her seat instinctively and rounded the table just in time to catch Misty in her hooves as the mare began crying bitterly. Fleetfoot had done something similar and High Winds had caught on that her female teammates had a habit of keeping matters bottled in until they simply had an emotional breakdown. The calmer of the two pegasi held her friend dearly, rocking and hushing her to tell her that it was going to be okay. When Misty had cried herself dry, she attempted to speak her mind.

"There's somepony I like but I can't do anything because things will just get awkward..." she managed to say between sniffles. Her blood-shot eyes laid closed as Misty held her friend's embrace a moment longer.

"It's one of our teammates?" High Winds asked gently.

The other mare just nodded solemnly as she leaned back from the shoulder of her friend.

"Do you want to tell me?" the near-white mare offered, as she continued her soft approach.

Misty simply nodded a second time and took a deep breath.

25 - Breaking Ground

High Winds kept silent to let her dear friend speak on her own time.

"Blaze figured it out somehow and tried to get it out that time we did Truth or Dare. I didn't want everypony to know but maybe it would have been better..."

Misty was skirting around the name and High Winds knew it. However, as a good friend, she was still gentle in the conversation. The whitish mare took a guess. "Do you have feelings for Spitfire?"

Now that made the yellow pegasus scrunch her face in a surprised and bewildered expression. "No...why would you even think that...?"

High Winds sighed in response. Misty was honest and that was good. A violent and joint-jerk response would have told her otherwise. But now the fashionista had some explaining to do. "Misty, I know you've always looked up to Spitfire in your own way. We all do. But I have to tell you that some ponies get...weird when it comes to our captain. Ever since she got on the team, she's been a magnet for all sorts of ponies that confuse admiration with intimate feelings."

"I'm not some obsessed fan though..." Misty interjected weakly in a low tone of voice.

"I know that, Misty. But it's something to keep in mind regardless of who you have feeling for," High Winds reigned in her voice as well as the conversation so that she remained gentle and open with her friend. "Now enough of my self-help. Who do you like?"

Misty's confidant threw on a cheesy smile to coax the mare, but the answer would have come out regardless.

"It's Silver Lining."

It took a good five seconds for the name to click in the mind of the concerned friend. It was not that High Winds was unable to fathom any attraction that a mare might have for the male Wonderbolt, but rather Misty had done well to remain aloof of obvious emotions while in the company of Silver Lining. How Blaze had figured it out was beyond her.

She spoke carefully, "I see..."

The mare didn't say anything else for the sake of figuring out what she was going to say. She wasn't a magical repository of advice or comfort as some ponies seemed to believe. Finally she continued, encouraged to speak by the ever worrying look on Misty's face, "Why do like like Silver?"

The yellow pegasus winced as if she had just bit her tongue. "Well, I don't really think about why I like him...I just do."

High Winds waited and the mare knew she was being prompted to figure it out. "Um...maybe I like him because he's different."

Her whitish friend began to smile to encourage the train of thought. Misty tried again, "He's not like all the other stallions I've seen or met. He's dependable and hard working...he doesn't complain. Well, he sort of does but he doesn't go on like others. He just powers through stuff."

"You like him for who he is and not the appearance he gives out."

"Huh?" Misty queried with confusion at her friends interjection.

"He talks to me about clothes and accessories from time to time and the other guys think that it's girly. His self-confidence lets him overcome peer pressure and it's that same confidence that makes him seem attractive to you. He's stable because he defines himself rather than letting himself be defined by others."

Misty hung her mouth open just a little before responding, "You always put things so perfectly..."

High Winds sighed. "I don't try to but I'm glad if my point got across. It's something I had to learn here in Canterlot. Most ponies here are pushed and pulled by what others think of them. The ones that stand out on their own either get praise for individuality or scorn for rebelliousness. I got a taste of both in my foalhood."

The sunny mare groaned. "I usually just got the scorn part."

"Well, not anymore right?"

Misty cracked a small smile that quivered from the nervousness that she still had for the conversation. "Wonderbolts don't get a whole lot of hate."

"There are some but we're getting really offtrack. Does Silver Lining know how you feel?"

Misty had just taken a tentative sip of tea and nearly spit it back out before swallowing it. "Of course not!"

High Winds figured as much but wanted to keep the mare talking. "Afraid to tell him?"

A nod was all that was needed and all that was given.

"Want help?"

Misty's eyes widened in surprise. "Help?! What do you mean?"

"Well..." the friend raised her brows conspiratorially. "I could talk to him like I normally do from time to time. Get some information...drop some hints...set something up."

The fashionista mare wasn't sure if her apparently shy teammate looked shocked, hesitant, or horrified.

"I'll take that as a green light to go," High Winds declared as she put her two fore hooves on one of Misty's that laid upon the table.

The yellow mare felt as if she had more to worry about now than before. Only, she did nothing to keep her friend from drawing up a scheme.

Spitfire tore into the meal as if it would be her last. Too much work brings too much appetite, as the saying goes. Wait. There's no saying like that, is there?

Surprise ate daintily in every manner that her best friend and captain did not. They had dinner ordered and brought to them in the hotel room. This time, it was a double room for the wing pair. Hotel arrangements changed regularly as training and performances did. There was, in the end, continual variety for the team - even if it seemed otherwise at times. The food, on the other hoof, was not so different. Go with what you know, as the saying goes. That was most certainly a saying.

Neither mare spoke for it was eating time. It was rude to speak with a full mouth but that was not a mannerism that either was particularly adept at. The lack of conversation was more attributable to the fact that both were very hungry and put higher priority on consuming the delicious hay fries than engaging in small talk or banter.

Not much else happened within the ensuing time. Meal finished and bellies full, both mares rested on the hotel beds and complained about there being nothing good on the room's TV. They eventually settled for the nature channel and became increasingly riveted with the survival of a certain prairie dog. The two Wonderbolts got to nicknaming him Jerry in the worry-filled conversations they held during the commercial breaks.

The night ended with the two mares asleep in their separate beds. It was not an unusual evening for either of them but it was certainly not the kind of life that the public knew about - in spite of often living it themselves. The Wonderbolts were still ponies, after all, and all ponies shared at least a few things in common.

Fire Streak, on the other hoof, was at odds with ponydom. He had been expending energy ferociously and, though some of it helped improve his physical ability, most of it was wasted breath and effort. He was frustrated with life and when one is frustrated with such a large and generic thing, there is no cure but to deal with it.

"Dumb rock," the stallion mumbled as he kicked a pebble with his left fore hoof. It was a rebel of a stone to be sitting in the streets of Canterlot. But then, it wasn't the only one.

It was late and the stars shone brilliantly even as the lights of the city tried to haze them into obscurity. The noise of the city was not deafening due to the hour but it was still at a high enough volume to produce a background buzz of activity. A nearby restaurant was in full swing for its late night customers. Somepony was complaining about the arrangement of parsley on their plate and Fire Streak had to roll his eyes. What a bunch of upper-crust dead-weights.

Having grown up in "everytown" Equestria, Fire Streak had no compassion for the privileged ponies of the capitol. Some of them even made him sick. He burned himself to the ground every day to train, act, and fly loops for their amusement. And even with the money and fame he got because he was a Wonderbolt, he still felt like he was at the bottom of the bucket of life.

"Fire!" a voice called out to him and seemed to get closer at the same time.

The frustrated male turned from his spot on the side of the road to make out another Wonderbolt walking up to him. He would have asked how Wave Chill had found him but he didn't want to bother. "Hey," was his acknowledgement.

"Thought I'd find you around here. It's a good spot to feel like crud, isn't it?" Wave Chill blurted out bluntly as he stopped and sat in front of his teammate.

Fire Streak winced. "Obvious?"

"From one 'Bolt to another. Yeah," he answered. Fire might not feel the same as him but he figured it was pretty much the same anyhow.

"So what's up?" the cream-colored pegasus continued as he returned his gaze to the restaurant across the street. The unicorn that had been complaining about the parsley was now making a fuss to the waiter.

"I was trying to find you...sort of have something that I want to get off my chest," Wave Chill breathed deeply as if indicating he had something serious to say.

"If it's about the performance then you should just go to Spitfire. I'm sure that she'd love to hear it," the line came out dripping with sarcasm and the dislike he had for the nameless unicorn across the way. An unintentional sharpness for the pony next to him.

The rainy blue 'Bolt tried to figure out what his friend was looking at but still spoke all the same. "I don't want the captain to know right now. I thought you might get me though."

Fire Streak had to tear his gaze away from the disaster in progress. "Get you? About what?"

"Well..." Wave Chill mumbled at first before nearly shouting the rest. "I think I might leave the team."

The pegasus didn't know how to respond at first but there were a few things that went straight through his mind. Wave Chill quit? Should I quit? Is that what I want? Open spots on the team...

"I'm starting to think that I just don't want this. I'm not cut out for the team and I'm not really happy in it either," the stallion continued to speak in Fire's silence. His voice wasn't shaky or uncertain. It sounded like he had already given it serious thought and was confident about it. Why didn't he want to talk to the captain though? "If Spitfire doesn't put me in the performance or if I can't pull everything off then I'm going to do it."

Fire looked him straight in the eye. "I guess I can get that. I'm not happy either to be honest."

His friend smiled at that. "I thought that might be the case. You looked less ecstatic than me during the last meet."

"Yeah..." A sting hit the cream pegasus as it forced him to remember Lightning and the country mare. "But I'm not going to stop being a Wonderbolt anytime soon."

Wave Chill nodded and seemed to have little more to say, "Yeah."

Nothing more had to be said for the two ponies to understand each other. They each had things they wanted to go for and time was running short. Nothing unusual was officially planned for them but there was a change in the wind. Fire Streak knew he couldn't stay like he was. He had to improve to get past the invisible wall in front of him. Wave Chill had to find his own calling in life and it might not turn out to be the Wonderbolts. The two stallions thus sat side-by-side in the night as they took to observing the restaurant across the artificially-lit street....

...until both of their stomachs growled.

"Doughnut run?" Wave Chill suggested calmly.

"Yeah."

26 - That Look in Your Eye

A few days flew by as if time itself was making a get-away. That was just the sort of thing that happened when one worked hard without interruption by unusual happenstance. The upcoming Wonderbolt performance had been planned well in advance, as such large events usually were. Still, the time was drawing near and Spitfire knew that she had to tie up some loose ends. Lightning Streak was out of the hospital and warming back up to the regular routine. Fire Streak and Blaze were practically tripping over themselves in training. Something had gotten them fired up, but the captain didn't question it since the enthusiasm was a good thing for her team.

The other mares were acting different but not necessarily weird. Misty was spending her time with High Winds when she was not in training for the Bullet. Surprise was acting more giddy by the day. Maybe it had something to do with being her wingmare in the upcoming event. At least the male 'Bolts were more predictable. They didn't seem to change as much as the females and they only rarely had any mood swings (to her knowledge). Soarin' was definitely more fit and serious than she had ever seen him - even taking into account how he was in the "old days."

Of all of her Wonderbolts, Spitfire had to say that Rapidfire was the one that had changed the least. He was still a solid flyer and a tad on the quiet side. He talked most with Silver Lining when the two stallions actually had the occasion to meet up, but that was only judging by what Spitfire witnessed after training hours. The two must have come to some understanding with each other because they seemed opposites in every imaginable respect. Rapidfire wouldn't wear flashy accessories or clothing if his life depended on it. He wouldn't style his mane or tail to be suave and he wouldn't flirt with a mare on the best of days. Not if Celestia herself requested it of him.

Rapidfire had been on the team for a while now, or at least long enough for Spitfire to get a handle on him. But now that she thought about it, she knew less about Rapidfire than probably any other pony on her team. He just didn't talk. Not to her anyways. Maybe she could pry something out of Silver Lining later.

Spitfire reviewed her team roster in the blazing heat of the Canterlot race track. It was always ordered in terms of physical ability, flight position, and personal status. The exact formula used to arrive at the order of members was a Spitfire trade secret. However, the order did seem to change at least three times per week. She used a lot of paper.

Unsurprisingly, she also used a combination of sloppy writing and terminology that only she could hope to understand...

Spitfire: REG 350

Surprise: REG 350

Misty: REG 290

Soarin: FOR 240

Blaze: FOR 190

Silver Lining: REG 240

Rapidfire: REG 100

Fire Streak: FOR 180

Wave Chill: HANG 90

Fleetfoot: BACK 100

High Winds: BACK 120

The list reflected her most recent changes and she felt confident enough about them that she considered keeping it for the big event. Full-team stunt shows didn't happen every day, so she had taken care to pair the "wings" according to the best possibilities. A captain had to know how ponies flew together and that meant more than just considering pure wing power. Pegasi each had their own timing for maneuvers, which was a critical factor. Not as critical as emotional connection, though. Pegasi who were in good standing with each other were capable of feats far beyond what either one could do individually or with somepony they didn't know. Call it phenomenon or some psychological theory, all Spitfire cared was that it mattered and she had to arrange her team with it in mind.

Almost unconsciously, the orange mare noticed that each "wing" was gender-matched with the exception of Soarin' and Blaze. Those two are pegasi of the same feather, she laughed to herself. They were headstrong and self-determined if always on the side of arrogance. Soarin' less so than Blaze but the stallion was growing his ego to be sure. If he made trouble for it later then she would have to put him back in his place. He was a good flyer but not always a good leader.

Some members of her team had come and gone on the track as they practiced for the pending event and it pleased her to see that times had not changed so much that they weren't giving their all. There was not much for her to do at the moment since everypony was in order and special training had concluded for the day. Her records were in order and she had finished the necessary correspondence for future event planning. The roster was set and all she had left to do for the day was relax. So, she let the clipboard lay beside her as she settled into the grass of the outer track. The green blades were cool from being recently watered and it was a pleasant sensation. Sometimes it was the simple things like a fresh breeze or crystal night sky that refreshed her spirits.

Like an afterthought, Spitfire decided that she would have to plan her special team's first practice of the Bullet stunt.

The performance was coming up ever faster and it had become an unspoken goal for High Winds to set up her two fellow Wonderbolts before the event occurred. Perhaps it was just a matter of testing herself or, to Misty's advantage, an eagerness to solve the mare's situation. In any case, High Winds thought that Silver Lining and Misty were a good match for each other. They were strong enough to take care of themselves, weak enough to accept each other's assistance, alike enough to understand each other, and different enough to spice things up.

High Winds shook her head as she walked down the road that would take her to the Canterlot track. She was getting too wrapped up in the fantasy of it. Maybe there was some truth to her being a "big sister" character to her other female Wonderbolts. She swelled with happiness at the thought that one of the girls might find a happy relationship.

Poor girl has bravery in the air but not in the heart, High Winds thought sadly. Well she was not going to waste time in setting things up. As the off-white mare finally stepped onto the first green of the outer track, she calculated her first move. Misty and Silver Lining were each engaged in their own agendas at the moment but the mare knew the whereabouts of each of them. The troubled 'Bolt would be taking a break at one of Canterlot's grand waterfalls but the stallion would be coming to the track to knife in practice for his final maneuvers. He'd arrive in less than an hour.

That was the chance High Winds needed to drop the first seed of interest. It would be easy because Silver Lining was already a bit of a flirter. He hadn't been doing much of it lately since a good amount of his free time was being eaten by additional training but that would just make for an easy conversational segway. It would also give him more drive to hit on Misty when things got to the breaking point.

It was a solid forty minutes but Silver Lining finally arrived. He had a darkness about him that proved he was getting pushed past his limit. That and his build had improved since before the "special" training. It was gradual and only noticeable if one was particularly attentive. High Winds was one such pegasus that had a tendency for details.

"Good afternoon, Winds," he hailed cheerily while failing to cover up the weariness in his voice.

"It has been some time hasn't it," she responded and slowed her pace around the track to let him come up beside her.

He didn't speak up so she prompted him, "Need a couple flight rounds before..."

"Yeah. Warming back up for the gyros," he answered. The Gyro was one of the tricks that the Wonderbolts had all learned for use in their high-ticket shows. It was a complicated and difficult maneuver that required high speed and sense of balance. Simply put, it was a mid-air tumble that spun the pegasus in every imaginable angle.

"Well maybe you can spill the beans while we fly the rounds," the mare suggested.

The male 'Bolt didn't catch on though. "What beans?"

The two pegasi turned at one of the track's far ends and traded spots in-out to out-in. "The beans behind your missing ear clip."

"The silver cloud?" he asked in amazement. "You notice every little thing I do..."

"Fashion, honey," she replied in a purely platonic sense.

He scrunched his face up as if he didn't want to talk about it but eventually relaxed. "I guess...I'm just too busy these days..."

The uncertainty in his voice and the definite implication was all the room that High Winds needed to plant the seed of conspiracy. "I think I know that look in your eye."

"What look?" he countered defensively.

"The look that says you're sad about your personal life, Silver. I'm sure it's had an affect on all four of you."

The stallion knew that she was referring to the special training group. The Wonderbolts already had enough to do to keep in shape and prepare for events, but the additional training was the last straw. He never knew how much those few hours of free time meant for him on a personal level. "I guess it has..."

High Winds laughed in a soft and gentle manner that wasn't of Silver's expense. "You're starting to dress down again because you're losing confidence in yourself. You don't think you spend much time with the mares anymore, right?"

Silver Lining stuttered in his flight and his tone was almost annoyed. "Where do you get this stuff?"

She sighed, "I grew up here in Canterlot. Ponies here have a tendency to dress up or down depending on their self-confidence. Outsiders have a hard time telling since even the 'downers' dress like they're a million bits."

The male's annoyance turned to amusement. "You certain your cutie mark isn't for acute observation?"

High Winds smiled but let it pass as they made their next turn. "You're not spending any less time with mares, Silver."

"I know what you mean but you guys are my teammates. Not my love interests," he commented neutrally.

"Really? You're spending additional time now in the company of three mares."

At that, Silver Lining laughed. "I never thought about it that way but it's certainly true."

"It's good to be professional with your teammates but that doesn't mean that you should consider them less than real ponies. We all have feelings the same way you have them. And you're not the only one to feel down about personal matters."

The stallion gave a particular glance to the mare flying beside him. "Oh?"

Knowing it was an indication for her to continue with details, she denied him that. Instead she only dropped the seed of interest that she needed to. "Spitfire and Surprise sure seem set though. Those girls will probably wait years to get a stallion - if they ever do. Mares like that are married to the job, so to speak."

Silver Lining didn't say anything or else gave a "hm" that was lost in the sound of their energetic flying. High Winds gave him the out he needed to take, "You better get into those gyros before your body gives out."

At that, he nodded and flew gracefully out of the track loop. He had to get into some clear flying space to practice the tumbles before he was too tired to manage them. The near-white pegasus hoped that she had played things right. Silver Lining could be pretty slick with the mares when he wanted to be so she had confidence that he'd come to the proper interest based on what she had said.

27 - Sparks

It was high noon and the sun was shining with a particular sparkle. Thankfully, the heat was not intense and the cool mist that drifted over from the grass sprinklers made in almost enjoyable. High Winds sighed with relief when, during the morning hours, she had caught some assurance that her plan was going well. The previous night, she had almost panicked when she realized that her little "hint" that she dropped for Silver Lining could backfire. What if he took the wrong implication and thought she was suggesting something might happen between him and...herself? But everything turned out okay because the stallion apparently had a secret order of interest in each of his female teammates.

Early that morning, Wonderbolts had come and gone on the Canterlot track in preparation for the big event that was being held the next day. Silver Lining had stayed the longest because a certain mare had failed to show until it was nearly lunch time. Nevertheless, High Winds had been watching discreetly from the stands and she caught his every look. Maybe she was just being paranoid because of last night's worries but she no longer had any reason to harbor them.

High Winds caught an expression that Silver Lining flashed when Misty showed up on the track - particularly when she was doing her warmup stretches. If the stallion had ranked his female Wonderbolts then Misty was quite luckily at the top of his list. High Winds was hoping that would be the case since the chemistry seemed to work well between the two. Now all the fashionista had to do was get one of them to make a suggestion to the other. The rest would be history.

However, that was for later. Right now she needed to get in some of her own practice. She was a Wonderbolt with an upcoming performance after all! So she got down to the track and started warming up. One, two, three...

"Yo!" a pony smacked her on the back. High Winds hadn't seen the mare approach her.

"Fleetfoot," she responded surprised. "I thought you had gone on with Blaze to get lunch."

The looks-average pegasus stuck her tongue out and made a rude sound. "I get tired of that girl sometimes."

High Winds knew the story without having to ask. Doubtless some dumb quarrel had broken out between the two. Blaze was a pony easy to disagree with. "Well you've already gone through your moves right? What are you doing back here?"

"Because," Fleetfoot rolled her eyes. "I knew you were still here and I also know that something's going down. I want to know about it."

Either the mare was perceptive or had some seriously dumb luck but either way she had figured something was off about the team's atmosphere. High Winds would have to be careful in what she said. "You should be worried about what's going on with yourself before you meddle in somepony else's affairs - if that were even permissible in the first place."

The white-maned pegasus cringed. "Hey, you don't have to remind me. It's not like I've forgotten."

She was referring to an earlier discussion she had initiated with High Winds. Just like Misty, Fleetfoot had come to her about some personal issues. Unlike Misty, however, they were not getting resolved in any fashion. Fleetfoot had indeed, in a sense, forgotten the advice her confidant had given her. The curly-maned mare made just such a point. "You have, Fleet. If you have such an issue with being left out then just find somepony you can hang out with. You're on the team for goodness sakes. Just designate one of us as your go-to pal."

"Like you and Misty?" Fleetfoot countered light-heartedly.

So it was back to that. The topic wasn't really for public consumption. "Everypony has their reasons for being with one friend or another. But I'm guessing that the reason you're keeping that chip on your shoulder is because you're looking for something more than mere friendship."

The light blue mare opened her mouth in shock before quickly regaining her even composure. "And what if I am? There's nothing wrong with that. It's perfectly natural."

"I didn't say otherwise, Fleet," High Winds replied suggestively. She had to hold her tongue from saying the most obvious thing on her mind, which was something to the effect of "everypony but me is starting to have relational issues." She couldn't open her mouth on the matter for the sake of keeping Misty's affair confidential.

Perhaps High Winds had been too open to her friend because the blue mare launched herself into a laying position in the grass in front of her, eyes aglow. Stretching her hooves to feel the plush green, she started the next thread of conversation with enthusiasm. "So is there anypony that you'd suggest? For me, that is."

Fleetfoot had always been somewhat plain but there were still some things that she'd go at without abandon. One such thing was her interest in...

"And remember: no John Does," she declared firmly.

...unique romance. Not regular old harlequin romance. It had to be a relationship with something that gave it "spice" as the white-maned pegasus liked to put it.

The fashionista sighed as she tried to continue her warm-up exercises. "I don't know if I should reprimand you or not..."

"Oh c'mon, Winds. I've never actually had a special somepony before...except that one time in Junior. But that was totally different. A little spice never hurt nopony. Certainly not me."

"I'm not so sure. But it hardly matters since I don't have any suggestions for you," the mare responded as she shifted her gaze to the side. A nearby ladybug was suddenly the most interesting thing in Equestria for her to fix her gaze upon.

Fleetfoot caught the dodge, however. "I know better, Winds. You're like the most perceptive pony I've ever known. You totally have somepony in mind - a special stallion who'd be perfect for me."

High Winds tried to put all her energy into a vigorous stretching routine. A bead of sweat rolled down from her forehead and it was not due to her physical activity. "You think too highly of me."

"Oh, you have no idea what I think of you," she kidded in return.

Groaning, the whitish mare finished a stretch and trotted over to the track. Two Wonderbolts getting paired up was as much as she could handle - or as much as the team could handle for that matter.

"You're not getting away from this, Windy!"

Placing her first hoof on the lined oval of the course, she relented into one more comment. A comment that she realized, all too late, was all her teammate needed. "I can't be too sure with that stallion."

Fleetfoot may have been Joe-average in a manner of speaking but she wasn't dull in the head. In fact, she had her own moments of genius as most ponies do. Thus she picked up the indication immediately with an "aha."

High Winds sunk her head, knowing the chaos that would ensue after the next day's event. Doubtless, Fleetfoot would stir up something then, as she was too busy in preparation (as most Wonderbolts were). "Please don't-" she whispered more to herself than the teammate just behind her.

"Looks like I've got an appointment with one Rapidfire," The blue mare waved her flank as she emphasized the 'Bolt's name. It was enough to make her fellow pegasus regret having looked back to see it.

"-make my life into a love drama," High Winds finished too late.

Spitfire let the cold sweetness of the iced lemonade run down her throat before placing the empty cup aside. It was quite refreshing, as she had recently finished her practice runs with Surprise and Misty. Although the latter mare lacked the same level of synchronization that the former had, she was a good fit all the same. Misty was a solid flyer and would do well in tomorrow's speed run. The event was not entirely a free-for-all as it required pairs to combine their efforts to get the best time.

Surprise hung a fore leg around her captain's neck as they gazed into the green pastures beyond Canterlot. They were both taking a break with Misty atop one of the city's observation towers. "Beautiful, isn't it?" the white pegasus smiled.

Misty, however, was the one to answer before Spitfire. "It's just plain old Equestria, Surprise."

The captain smirked as her wingmare let her leg drop from her neck. Surprise began her rebuttal, "I know it's easy to take it for granted but we live in a gorgeous world. We should be thankful for what we already have."

"Even the badlands?" Spitfire couldn't help but question.

"Of course! Every place has its own kind of beauty," she responded. There was a pause before she spoke again with firm conviction. "You know, captain, every year of my life, I grow more and more convinced that the wisest and best is to fix our attention on the good and the beautiful...if we just take the time to look at it."

Maybe there was some truth in it but Misty couldn't stay her thoughts. "I suppose it's easy for us to focus on the good stuff since we're kind of..."

"Rich?" Spitfire finished. "Maybe so, but not all of us have been that way all our lives. I wasn't exactly the kind of pony anyone would peg for success when I was younger."

"Oh?" Surprise tried to egg her friend on. In spite of being close teammates and friends, none of the Wonderbolts were ever required to wax on about their past - and most didn't. If the captain was going to say something about it then both Surprise and Misty were eager to hear it.

Such was not the case, however. "What about you two?" the mare asked instead.

Surprise hesitated and so Misty was first to speak. "Meh. I didn't really grow up poor but I'm definitely not from Canterlot either. I guess I was just your average filly."

"Where did you grow up?" Surprise questioned curiously.

"Blueshore," she replied flatly.

Spitfire huffed as she rolled her eyes. "So you were rich."

"No way! I didn't even have my own TV!" the sun-colored mare argued.

Seeing the troubled look on Surprise's face, Spitfire decided to ignore the complaint. "What about you, Prize? You on my team or Misty's," she joked as she playfully stuck her tongue out at her second wingmare.

The white pegasus gave some sort of murmur at first before quietly replying, "Your team."

"Ooooh?" Spitfire grinned. "What's that?"

"I grew up in..."

Misty leaned in closer and Spitfire had to ask the mare to repeat the lost word. "Yellowtail," Surprise repeated just loud enough to be heard.

"Where the hay-?" Misty tried to ask somewhat rudely before Spitfire shoved her away. Embracing her primary wingmare, Spitfire squealed in the way that the Wonderbolt fangirls did at their performances.

"You really are on my team!" the captain giggled.

"Am I missing something?" Misty deadpanned.

Spitfire tumbled around with the mare in her hooves so that she could face Misty, but she just wound up in a tangle on the floor of the observation tower. A blushing Surprise was trying to slip away, but the captain held on firmly. Misty sat patiently as she waited for an answer and she got it even as Spitfire was wrangling her teammate. "Yellowtail is sort of a nowhere town - the kind of place you have to pay somepony else to get you out of. I went through there once when I was still street performing."

Surprise finally managed to escape and backed away to the other side of the platform. As she was still laying on the floor, the captain turned to look at her second wingmare. "It's worlds apart from your gate-community Blueshore."

"Oh..." Misty commented, not sure of what else she should say.

Surprise let out an "eep" when the orange pegasus got to her hooves and made like she was going to pounce on her whitish friend. "I see now that we were destined to be wingmares. We're like kindred spirits!"

The scared mare spoke with a stuttering nervousness, "W-why do you say that?"

Spitfire loosened up and shrugged. "I was raised in the bad side of Las Pegasus. It was like a foalhood from Tartarus but I think you can get that."

Surprise smiled sadly and returned, "Yeah..."

Misty whinnied pitifully. "You two are making me feel bad."

Both of the pegasus looked to her worriedly and tried to speak at the same time. When they failed, Misty told them not to be so concerned. "Sorry," she apologized. "I grew up better so I shouldn't be the one feeling bad..."

"Oh, I know. You just don't want to feel left out," the captain nailed it as proved by the yellow mare's grimace. Turning, she readied herself to pounce on Misty instead. "C'mon, Prize. I think Misty needs some love."

Before the secondary wingmare could respond, she was fumbling to the platform floor with one mischievous and one slightly embarrassed mare coddling her. They wound up nothing more than a giggling ball of hooves and wings, and Misty was hard-pressed not to be thankful for the two girls. She may not technically be head wingmare but she had some great friends and that was far better than any position she might have had.

28 - Road and Cloud

Soarin' breathed in the rich morning air and savored the aroma of fresh cut grass and damp dirt. It was invigorating to him even though some other ponies hated the scent. Only a few clouds drifted in the sky overhead, so the day was generally bright and sunny. Perfect for the race that laid ahead.

Today was certainly not a day to test his ultimate limits, but it was still necessary to give it all he had. He calculated that he'd be faster than nearly every other member of his team and he'd soon get to find out. The pony with the start gun was making her way onto the edge of the large dirt path. Their race course was certainly not the puny Canterlot track that they sometimes raced for the snobbish unicorns. No, the course before them was the massive Road and Cloud at Mt. Canter's summit. It was just the kind of course that Lightning Streak had gotten injured on. But that event was an unfortunate fluke and none of the Wonderbolts were looking for accidents today.

Blaze was on Soarin's right side with the captain's triple-wing on his left. He knew Blaze enough that he knew he could count on her. In fact, she had been getting serious like he had been before the event and her wings looked a tad sharper than they used to. Only her lack of his raw talent would hold them back from a guaranteed second place. Misty gave a muffled whinny, reminding him how determined the lead wing was.

"I'm not going to race for second," he heard the fiery mare whisper to him. Blaze was even more determined than himself and she had seemed to have a chip on her shoulder for the last few days. Soarin' knew better though. Sure he wasn't going to race for anything but first but he was experienced enough to know that determination alone was not enough to win. No matter how talented he was, the tri-wing had him beat in pure physical ability. He and Blaze would race hard but there was no beating reality.

Soarin's muscles readied as his peripheral vision noticed the start-pony levitate the gun with her unicorn magic. It aimed into the air...and shot. Sound like thunder erupted from around him and also from him. The start of the race was a dirt-side sprint and was no time for thought. None of the Wonderbolts failed the start but doubtlessly one of the teams had hesitated for a fraction of a second. That time would be a deadly loss and an advantage that Soarin' was always ready to take.

Blaze, as rambunctious as ever, had nearly leapt in front of Soarin' to form their pair's drafting head. He was supposed to be the one to do that, but he couldn't argue it until the race was over. No breath could be wasted on anything but the in-out necessary to maintain moving speed. They hadn't even gone fifty hooves out from the spectator stands when Spitfire's tri-wing slipped its way into first like a fish flowing downstream. No surprise there unless one was speaking of the white mare included in the triplet.

The dirt that had picked up from the thundering of the Wonderbolts' hooves was beginning to form an unbreakable cloud behind them even though the track crew had dampened the ground to prevent it. At least it wasn't in front of them or else they'd be running into each other. One hundred hooves from the stands, the running teams were still packed too close together and had to jostle for room.

Fleetfoot and High Winds were moving up ahead from their right but it only provoked Blaze into making an early move. The orange mare reduced her pace and angled away from Soarin's direct center, allowing him to get a draft burst and shoot forward into Fleetfoot's victory path. The opposing mare had to ease off to avoid a collision, which was just what Soarin' needed to keep their lead position. He could feel more than hear his running mate behind him and knew she had used their draft early because Fleetfoot was one of the 'Bolt champions in leg speed. They couldn't afford to make up all of their time in the Cloud sections.

A lightly forested area was fast approaching and the ravine was soon after. Soarin' knew just as Blaze did that Spitfire's team would leave them eating cloud fog after that point but he wasn't going to put any less effort in trying to keep the difference down. The first tree zipped by him like lightning and the gallop suddenly sounded a whole lot closer. Blaze missed one step behind her partner and almost tripped, as she still wasn't as used to the conditions of Road and Cloud tracks. Open grassland one minute and then trees surrounding you the next. The sudden shadow, closeness, and smell of damp bark still unnerved her free-flying pegasus roots. Perhaps it was fear of the forest canopy, however light, that dared block her path back to the sky. In any case, she didn't falter much and was still in the lead runners with her partner.

Silver Lining's heart tightened. What had High Winds done to him? He couldn't afford to be thinking of other things during a Road and Cloud! Curse that mare! If only she hadn't told him all of those things before the race. So what if he had a tendency to reference Misty's style in his fashion choices? That was just an extremely obscure and unintentional coincidence. But no. He took his looks seriously and knew it was true that he liked Misty's sporty personality. It was a refreshing contrast to his own intricacies...

"Whoa!" Rapidfire wavered in front of him as Silver Lining nearly clipped his left quarter.

The troubled stallion knew he had to focus or he'd cause an accident. Curse that mare! He would have to do something about the whole thing after the race. It took enough focus to simply stay in the race, never mind matters of attraction. Rapidfire was fast on his hooves and no wonder since he was Fleetfoot's main competition on the ground. Only Spitfire's special training managed to keep the two runners in synch with each other. No doubt something that the captain had counted on when pairing everypony up. And Silver Lining could draft well with his friend too - if he focused.

The trees that were sailing by on either side of them were a beautiful shade of deep green and the shade, grass, and occasional bird chirping would have all been noticeable and enjoyable if the style-minded stallion wasn't in the middle of a breakneck race. It was hardly a loss though, as he was quite aware of several such places he could relax at. They were the sort of places he would invite an attractive mare to.

Silver Lining's eyes narrowed against the wind that sped by them. Three pairs were holding the lead in front of them and he knew that Rapidfire wasn't going to hang back forever. One of the pairs included his personal rival, Fleetfoot.

High Winds was grumpy for sure. She had failed to get one of her two target ponies to move on each other - in spite of some very blatant suggestions. Silver Lining was sensitive enough to get bugged by some style revelations but she had to practically spill the beans to Misty. That mare was stubborn about some things and shy about others and even though they had talked at length before about her feelings, High Winds still had to suggest (gently) that Silver Lining had been checking her out. Modern romance had to be pretty messed up for High Winds to be having such a hard time getting the two together. Suggest this but don't ever mention that...she might swear never to get mixed up in it again. Especially not with Fleetfoot.

But now was not the time for contemplation. The lead running pairs were approaching the ravine part of the Cloud run and that meant she had to prepare her wings for take-off. Her partner wasn't exactly the best in the air but then neither was she. The only particularly redeeming quality about their team-up was that Fleetfoot was a champion in the hoof race. That had kept them jostling for second wing position against Soarin's natural talent and Blaze's fiery determination. That was about to end, however. The ravine came in sight ahead as a backdrop to Spitfire and her two wingmares. The trees were about to end abruptly as the path dived in a cliff-drop for the Cloud section. Their path was about to get very sunny and very windy.

Fleetfoot had no false hopes as to how she was going to place with High Winds. She was, after all, not deluded. Spitfire's wing would win with either Soarin' or Silver Lining's in second. The only question was whether it would be Fire Streak's or her own wing in last place. It was questionable. She knew she had made good distance between herself and Fire Streak due to her superior land speed, but the stallion had been training just a notch below Blaze for aerial ability. He could make up the time with the Cloud.

The smell of damp plant-life dissipated and, as Fleetfoot began to unfurl her wings, she could already feel the competition heating up. One step, two, dive! The ground shot from beneath her and she soared forward with her feathers stretching to either side. High Winds zoomed overhead and took the lead as her teammate dipped low and followed in turn. The air was fresh and only a tad cool. It was a perfect day indeed.

Two ponies suddenly overtook them on the right with incredible air speed. Fire Streak and Wave Chill were using their draft burst with a boost from the freefall to shoot up their position. It was working splendidly and Fleetfoot let out a crude word that was lost in the roar of the wind. In fact, the pair was blazing a trail right up to Silver Lining's wing. Losing momentum, they only managed to hold their close-quarters with the third-place wing rather than overtake it.

High Winds tried to quicken her own pace but was ashamed to find that she couldn't close the distance. In any case, Fleetfoot was not the strongest flier and wouldn't be able to keep up with any greater speed. So the leading mare had to decide to wait for an overtake on the next Road section where she'd swap places with her partner.

As it turned out, their position with the wings of Fire Streak and Silver Lining traded even sooner. The ravine was a deep gorge with vines and forest growth littering the walls as well as the occasional waterfall. Trees grew in odd spots on the cliff walls and, in combination with the occasional cave entrance, gave the in-out breeze an unexpected pattern and strength. One such draft was all that was needed to disrupt Wave Chill's flight path, as he was starting to edge around a leading Fire Streak. Perhaps he was getting a view to Silver Lining's wing in front of them or perhaps he was attempting a lead swap but, whatever the case, the draft picked him up from under his wings.

Some may reference Wave Chill's lack of stunt prowess as the reason he couldn't recover his path, but it would be a bit unfair to do so. He wasn't the best of the Wonderbolts but he was still a Wonderbolt all the same. It was better to peg the trouble as a mere accident. They happen to everypony.

Wave Chill went careening from behind Fire Streak and tumbled sideways towards the ravine's rock wall. Fire Streak noticed it and signaled the other 'Bolts as he veered around. Silver Lining took the cue in turn from his tailing partner, Rapidfire, and angled off with more speed than either of the others. Fleetfoot knew that she and High Winds were still too far back to reach them and had to settle for holding their forward path.

It was excruciating for both mares to watch and not just for the fact that they couldn't reach Wave Chill in time. The stallion wasn't recovering and had they been closer they would have noticed that he had lost his goggles in the spin. What should have been a simple mistake and quick rescue turned into a dramatic disaster, as another up draft from the ravine lifted Fire Streak and Rapidfire out of their rescue dive. The same draft, more powerful than they expected, reached High Winds and her partner - turning them away from the scene and taking them straight out of the ravine.

The two mares careened into a thick patch of trees a few hooves distance from the lip of the cliff. Fire Streak wound up in a similar spot and Rapidfire was taking an unintentional swim in the river that occupied a portion of the ravine's bottom. Only one pony, struggling against the freak torrent of wind, got to witness Wave Chill's collision with the rough canyon-like wall. Silver Lining just didn't have enough strength yet to power through the updraft in time.

29 - Calm of the Night

The first matter for Spitifre to address was actually the event supervisor's weather test. She knew her 'Bolts well enough and thus she knew that Wave Chill, regardless of skill rank on the team, was capable of handling a draft of wind. It was a simple matter that most pegasus were capable of dealing with. "You said the path was tested. That's supposed to mean you sent a surveyor through the course on a windy day, not a still one. Wave Chill could have died out there you-"

Surprise winced. It was rare for the captain to cuss at another pony and this time was likely due to the double-punch of the incident. Wave Chill wasn't badly hurt, as he was actually a pretty tough stallion. Like Lightning Streak, he would be out of the hospital and ready to fly again in very short order. Spitfire's upset mood was more attributable to a failed event and a quitting Wonderbolt. Earlier at the hospital, Wave Chill told the captain his intention to leave. He no longer believed he was meant to be in the team.

Of course, Spitfire had argued against it like one would expect a captain too. Wave Chill was adamant and had obviously thought about if before because he had no hesitations. Now their orange leader was letting the event supervisor have a piece of her mind. The incident really was attributable that mare's failure, after all.

"Nice move," Misty stated as she found her way through the dark night to find Silver Lining. It wasn't sarcasm, as she was trying to approach him gently and honestly. He was sitting at a badly lit park table with his head resting upon it. Hardly the portrait of success that his usual demeanor demanded.

"Meh," was his only half-hearted reply. He didn't even turn his head to regard the mare. He felt like trash and even Misty wasn't enough to make him think of anything else other than his complete and utter failure to save Wave Chill. He felt bad enough without overhearing the stallion's remark to Fire Streak. The whole thing would soon be going down as a landmark moment for the Wonderbolts. Oh, not just a moment for the media - but the team members as well.

Misty caught his mood and sat herself on the opposite side of the table. Laying her head down to match his own, she tried again. "Nothing's your fault. It's not your job to babysit any of us."

"But we're still friends and friends help each other when they need it. Maybe I wasn't that close to Wave Chill but I was still supposed to save him," Silver Lining remarked in an almost complainant-oriented tone.

She had to give him some time to pout before she had enough bravery to speak out. "We're just pegasi no matter how much we train ourselves. We can't magically save others. It just wasn't possible to stop his fall and besides...he still would have pegged it as a screw-up and quit anyways."

She tried to say it gently but he "tsk'd" in response anyway. His eyes didn't meet hers from across the wooden surface of the table and wandered to the side instead. "That's just talk. I don't expect to get any blame but there's still going to be blame passed somewhere. That's what really ticks me off."

Misty heard something come from him but couldn't peg it as a huff or a sigh. At least she understood his frustration - even if she didn't understand why he was so depressed about it. She was tired of ponies passing blame around like it was some kind of game. It seemed especially so when it came to the captain. Spitfire got more than her fair share of blame for things she had nothing to do with. Wanting to change the subject, Misty suggested a new idea. "How about we just forget this whole thing and watch the stars."

Now that surprised the stallion. He never knew that Misty stargazed and certainly didn't expect her to suggest doing it with him. Of course, he also didn't know that High Winds had filled her in on some of his lesser known pastimes. For all he knew, she enjoyed it too. "Sure..." he answered slowly.

His stunned look combined with the fact that his eyes were actually on hers now made the mare smile thinly. "There's a spot just over there," she gestured to a clear spot in the park grass. "It's a good view."

He got up from the table and, as she followed suit, he asked the inevitable question. "You stargaze?"

"Not much really. I just look at them once in a while," she admitted. It was probably best to be upfront with him now if she wanted to be close to him later.

"Well, that's what I mean by stargazing. I don't get into all of that telescope and scientifical trash."

His sentiment seemed a bit strong so she wondered aloud, "You don't like it?"

"I like the stars but I hate it when ponies ruin it with all the complicated stuff. I don't like anypony knowing that I stargaze because they just ask what telescope I use and which constellations are my favorite. Then they give me a snide look when I tell them I don't do it that way."

Misty mentally sighed in relief. It was a good thing she didn't bring a book or equipment. He obviously had enough ponies to be upset with as it was. But it worried her as well. Silver Lining had peeves the same way all ponies did and she didn't want to trigger any that she was unaware of. Maybe she had thought he was magically different - devoid of certain emotions. It didn't say much for how well she knew him.

He found the spot in the grass with ease, as he gauged the object-unobstructed sky. She also found a place beside him and was meticulous with measuring out just the proper amount of distance between them. The plush grass felt nice and just slightly warm in the cool night breeze that swept by every now and then. If she could get both of them to forget the day's troubles then it just might turn out to be an enjoyable night.

The silence that was at first calming started to become a pressure after the first minute of stargazing. They were both looking at the stars and Misty could only guess that Silver Lining was relaxing in the process. In reality, the mare became transfixed with the starscape and could not avert her gaze for fear of being awkward with the stallion next to her. She was alone with the stallion that she liked and, with High Winds' words in mind, could no longer just think of him as a teammate. Perhaps it was that fact that was getting her nervous. To her relief, the stallion finally spoke again.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

It was just a simple thing and all she could reply was with a mumbled "yeah" that trailed off with her breath.

"So clear and bright. That goes for the night air too," he thought to add.

Misty heard it but didn't really register the statement in her mind. She was starting to feel a sweat come on. Now that she was actually in a perfect situation to talk to Silver Lining about her feelings, she was choking up. She wasn't normally a shy pony for Celestia's sake! Why was her heart clenching up?

"Misty, do have feelings for me?"

He said it so casually that she almost didn't hear it in her little self-contained panic attack. When her gaze finally wrenched away from the stars, neck hurting, she looked straight to the pony beside her. The colors of his coat and mane were darkened by the night but the moonlight gave him a surreal hue. Still he looked to the stars, not to the mare he was addressing. His face was tight and he was nervous even though Misty mistook it for anger. For that, she dropped the confession and said the one thing that she felt for having made their working relationship awkward.

"I'm sorry."

"Please don't be," he countered immediately in a shaky voice. "I feel the same way about you!"

Misty's heart would have leapt out of her mouth if the stallion's words hadn't stolen her breath. High Winds couldn't have set this all up if Silver Lining hadn't had some feelings for her in the first place. It was overwhelming and rather than leaping into a hug or giving a great sigh of relief, she just sat in the grass stunned. The weight of the moment had been too much to bear and, instead of plunging into some overdramatic kiss, she locked up into a freeze. They both liked each other. What was supposed to happen next? What was she supposed to say? She had never thought to consider what happened after a successful confession. Perhaps she had spent too much time planning her escape run when he would inevitably reject her.

She needed some other mare to tell her what to do next. There was only one other mare present, however, and her presence was hidden in some distant bushes. It was a pegasus that very much enjoyed the look of awkward distress on Silver Lining's face when Misty shut down. Most of all she enjoyed the fact that he moved himself over to his new marefriend, half embraced her, and gently asked what was wrong. That last part - the whisper of worry from his lips - was actually quite difficult to hear at the mare's distance. That was when the mare walked off. After all, the rest was just simple history to High Winds.

"Take a deep breath, Fire."

The gentle voice of her close friend was enough to make Spitfire grateful but not quite enough to cool her jets off. She had, after all, lost a teammate. Wave Chill would be on his own way within a week and the fans would notice. It was not the inevitable rumors of scandal that bothered the captain now. Rather it was the threat of additional members choosing to leave. The Wonderbolts were only the greatest team of all-around heroes so long as everypony believed that was the case. Spitfire knew that because she was the one that created the Wonderbolts in the first place. Well, perhaps that wasn't entirely true. The "Wonderbolts" had an older past but that was irrelevant now.

Lightning Streak was foremost on her mind, having just gone through something nigh identical to Wave Chill. Oh, Celestia! If he quit then Fire Streak would probably follow. That was exactly the kind of snowball break-up that Spitfire was afraid of. It was the same risk every team was always in danger of.

"Spitfire!" cried the white pegasus behind her.

The orange mare finally turned over in her hotel bed to face the pony behind her. Surprise had her upper half stretched across the sheets so that she could reach her friend with her front hooves.

"Sorry," Spitfire replied half-heartedly. She had been contemplating the difficult circumstances (not sulking) under the covers of her plush bed sheets. Thus her mane was a tad frazzled. A perfect illustration of "bed head."

"Don't apologize. And don't stress about Wave Chill. It's not like it's the end of the world," she soothed while rubbing her friend's shoulder. She was trying to be helpful and calming but Spitfire was stubborn when it came to letting some matters go.

"I practically made the Wonderbolts from scratch, Prize. Even the worst member is like gold. Months of training, not to mention natural talent, focus, and discipline. Wave Chill is not getting replaced anytime soon," the captain complained wearily. The lack of energy in her voice was testament to the recent blow to her confidence.

Surprise, ever growing in both peace and competence, knew just how to respond. "So that's even more reason not to stress about it. You can't change Wave Chill's mind and you can't get an immediate replacement. So, for now, you don't have to do anything at all. Just relax and do things like you always have."

"So I can lose more team members?" Spitfire countered.

Surprise flattened her brows and deadpanned, "So you can take care of business with a head between your shoulders."

A heavy sigh later, the captain was turning around in the bed again. "Maybe. But I just want to sleep right now."

Her friend flashed a smile that wasn't seen. "Maybe I should join you. It is almost midnight."

Spitfire may have replied with a "sure whatever" but the mumble was quite unrecognizable. Surprise was about to walk over and get into her own bed across the room but was suddenly struck by an idea. Why hadn't she thought of it before? It was so simple and she had so many opportunities to do so within the past few weeks.

The white pegasus carefully lifted the sheets on the far end of the captain's bed. The mare on the opposite side hadn't noticed since she was facing the other direction with her eyes closed. Carefully - very carefully - Surprise slid onto the bed and moved under the sheets until she was right behind Spitfire. The room had taken on a deadly silence where even a pin-drop could be heard. Then, with reckless abandon, Surprise grabbed her friend in a full embrace.

"COLD!" was the scream that echoed the halls of the hotel. Cold hooves on a warm coat. Such an old prank that very few even considered it a prank anymore. To be fair, it was mostly accidental rather than intentional. Mostly.

30 - Heater

Spitfire lazily rolled out of bed - or would have if somepony wasn't holding onto her. Surprise had been adamant the previous night about her friend not going to sleep with a stressed mind. She said it wasn't good for her health or something like that. Spitfire questioned the legitimacy of the whole thing and was certain that her wingmare just wanted to sleep in the same bed. It was an innocent thing - like when Spitfire used to sleep with her parents on stormy nights. Or perhaps it was more akin to a young filly grasping a plush animal for comfort.

Her friend had changed for certain over the past month or so but she would never be rid of her core personality. The fact that Surprise was firmly holding Spitfire while still in dreamland was testament enough that the girl was still the shy insecure pegasus she was when she joined the Wonderbolts. Maybe she had become more light-hearted and talkative on the outside but Spitfire suspected that the mare was harboring some fear about losing her position...about losing the friendship they shared. Oh Celestia, maybe Spitfire was afraid of that too. After all, there was the deal with Wave Chill.

I can do the morning work in bed anyways, the orange mare thought to herself. The bed (and associated pony) were quite warm and comfy, after all. Spring was still seeing some mildly chill mornings in spite of warm to hot afternoons. It was no battle of wits to stay where the morning warmth was, but temperature was not what Spitfire needed to think about. She needed to concern herself with scheduling.

The captain had been throttling down events so that the team would have enough time and energy to train and get back on track. Lightning Streak would be available for the next event but Wave Chill was out of the picture. And then, of course, there was the matter of her special team. Surprise, Silver Lining, and Misty would be far enough along in training to do some pre-ignition practice for the Bullet. Speaking of which, Spitfire reminded herself, a trip to Celestia was in order. The mare had been absent with the addition of more Bullet trainees and Spitfire had a few questions to ask.

Neither of the lead mares had been able to add as many wing-ups as of late and Celestia had named five hundred as the goal. They were slowing down at four hundred each and the other two trainees were catching up. They would eventually even out but Spitfire was concerned they would cap at four hundred fifty.

She was about to start mental preparation for the upcoming stage performance when Surprise finally stirred. The whitish mare scrunched up her face and tightened her grip around Spitfire. It made the mare look back in time to notice a tear streak across the other's cheek.

"Huh?" the orange pegasus accidentally voiced aloud. Concerned, she forced her body around in her friend's grip and tried shaking her awake.

"Ah!" Surprise startled awake. It was as if the pony had been thrown from her slumber rather than shaken. As it happened, there were two other tears waiting to fall down from each eye. They made their journey as she blinked.

"What's with the tears, Prize? You usually cry in your sleep?"

The mare gave an expression halfway between frustration and embarrassment before letting go of her friend and turning away. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?"

"Of course not. I was already up. I just want to know if something's wrong," she replied with utmost honesty. There was really nothing more to it than that.

Taking the time to get out of bed, Surprise tried to hide her face behind her wild bed-hair. "I just had a bad dream that's all."

"I've heard that bad dreams tend to happen when you worry about stuff too much. You better not be worrying after what you told me last night."

The wingmare didn't answer as she went over to the bathroom and started washing her face. Spitfire was about to shrug it off when her friend leaned back out of the bathroom doorway. "I guess I should take my own advice. But there's just so much that can go wrong in our line of work."

"Oh?" Spitfire raised her brow as she also got out of bed. "You worried you'll take a dive like Lightning Streak?"

"It can happen to any of us. 'Professional' doesn't mean 'invincible.' One of us could get seriously hurt one these days."

To that, Spitfire just have a snort of dismissal. "That's obvious. You should have seen all the scrapes and bruises I got as a street performer. But even if you were to take a bad spill, I'd be right with you, Prize."

The white pony almost spoke again but her friend came up to her and laid a hoof on her shoulder just long enough to say "stop worrying." Spitfire continued on to the living room to retrieve her event planner and added "your words" to her last comment.

The walls of the royal Canterlot palace were mostly devoid of noise. The low thrum of a heater was one of the few discernible disturbances. It's vibration-like utterance was constant within Princess Luna's room. She had been feeling just the tad bit chilly and thus had decided to turn it on despite the season not being quite right for it. Other than that, only a few blips echoed within the walls of the princess' room. They were merely stray bits of sound that managed to escape the unusual contraption that was affixed to the pony's head. She called it "headphones." Apparently, it was some new fangled thing that the younger ponies were into. Same as those video game things.

Thus Princess Celestia had no reservations at all about disturbing her younger sister, who was engrossed in some game that she was in the middle of playing. "Huzzah!" cried the white mare as she launched herself onto her sister's back.

"Gah! For Pete's sake!" Luna cried as the headphones went careening off of her head. "No!" was her next exclamation as, within the same second, her in-game character got mauled by a manticore and reached zero hit points. The dark sister turned her head to give her back-mounted sister a scornful gaze...only to be met with a look of utter aloofness. Celestia was completely oblivious to the problem she had created.

"Sister!" cried the mare of the night.

"Yes, sister?" replied the mare of the day.

"You killed me!"

Obliviousness turned to confusion and then glee as Celestia shook her mane and wrapped her fore hooves around the mare. "Do I didn't. You're right here. Alive!"

Luna felt that she had every right to feel exasperated with the princess. "Celly..."

"Mmmmyes?" the alicorn's voice barely escaped as she began nuzzling her face into her sister's starry mane.

"You're bored, aren't you?" Luna deadpanned.

Still burying her face in her sister's mane, the mare huffed, "You have no idea."

"What about that pegasus, Spitfire? Are you not training her?" the younger alicorn turned over. As Celestia flopped off of her back, Luna finally got a look at her sister's face. It looked like she had died and come back to life.

"She's training others now. I just have to give her a few more short instructions and she'll be off again with her Wonderbolts. I'm not really needed anymore. Lulu, my life," the white mare gestured with her front hooves, "feels so empty."

"Well, what about Twilight Sparkle then?" the sister asked as she moved over to her bed and laid on the silky sheets. "You mentioned that you used to spend a lot of time mentoring her. I'm sure she can keep you busy. After all, the last time I went to Ponyvi-"

"I can't do that!" Celestia interrupted as she hopped onto the bed with her sibling. "She's perfect where she is...along with her friends. She doesn't need me anymore. She's even stopped sending letters."

"Oh?" Luna rolled onto her side to face the white mare.

It was clear that Celestia was entering distress in her own way. "I'm just...not needed anymore."

Princess Luna rolled over again onto her back and tapped her chin with a fore hoof. "Perhaps we can change that..."

The light-colored sister looked intently back. "Are you going back to your old 'we' vocabulary?"

"No! No. I just think that the both of us can find a way to make you important again," Luna schemed.

However, Princess Celestia merely widened her eyes. "Are you implying that I'm not important anymore?"

"That's what you were implying," the sister deadpanned back. "Now it has to be something big. An event that causes some sort of disturbance. It must be something..."

"That significantly changes Equestrian dynamics?" Celestia tried to finish.

Luna turned her head back to the side to behold her sisters beaming face. It had been so very long since they had schemed together. She had forgotten how enjoyable it was. "Or the dynamics of something smaller," she suggested.

Celestia furrowed her brows before a lightbulb blinked on within her head. "Like a town?"

Luna's eyes took on a sparkle like the stars that shined within her mane. "Or a pony."

The white mare nearly bolted upright on the bed. Scooting over excitedly to grab her sister's shoulder, she giggled, "Like Twilight Sparkle?"

Princess Luna smiled. This was a much better idea then attempting to storm Cavaria with only a party of level forty dragoons. It almost made up for the fact that she would have to replay the last boss that she defeated in her video game (due to sisterly interruption). "Yes..." she grabbed her sister's shoulder in response. They both looked like they were planning some crime but, as the rulers of Equestria, there was no crime they couldn't legally commit. "It has to be drastic, though."

Celestia let go of the dark mare, rolled onto her back, and grabbed a pillow that she could hug. "Something drastic..."

The alicorns had to think hard and it was the mare of the sun that finally had the idea. "We'll give her wings!"

Princess Luna whipped a horrified expression to her sister. "Make her an alicorn?"

"She'll have to learn how to fly with them. It'll be just like when she was still a filly!" Celestia beamed ever brighter as she clopped her front hooves together in happiness.

"But...will she be immortal?" Luna worried. "It will seriously affect her psychological state. Her friends..."

"Oh pish posh, Lulu. We'll just tell her that friendship is magic and that magic never dies. It just lives on in your heart or something like that. She'll buy it. Besides, nopony ever bothers to ask how I would feel about losing Twilight," the white alicorn huffed.

"Nor of me losing all of those I had known before my imprisonment. Celly, are you suggesting that we make Twilight Sparkle our fellow prisoner of time?" the night-maned alicorn gently inquired.

"It will be so much fun, Lulu!" Princess Celestia continued to beam, letting her sunny talent shine through almost blindingly. "We could have sleepovers in my room. Set up our little tents beside the bed and pretend it's a camp out!"

It had been so very long since they had done that. It was something that Celestia had simply adored when Luna was still quite young. Forgetting that it was unrelated to Twilight's wing acquisition, the dark mare remembered those times fondly. "Perhaps that is not entirely a bad ide-"

Bang!

A harsh and rapid knock started to repeat. The pattern and strength could only mean that it was one of the guards. Luna looked to the door and then glanced back to her sister with a confused expression. It was a very odd time for anypony to be making a personal call to the princesses and neither of them had much tolerance for matters of the kingdom to be brought to their living quarters.

Princess Celestia got up from the warmed-up bed and trotted over to answer the knocking pony. As it turned out, it was indeed one of the guards. In fact, it was the one that she had ordered to handle Spitfire should the pegasus decide to visit. That same pegasus was behind the white-coated guard.

"Spitfire?" Celestia asked with an honestly surprised tone. She had not been expected for at least a few more days.

The guard turned away and went back to his regular patrol as the orange mare stepped forward. "Yeah. Thought I'd drop by and get the final pointers for that special move of yours."

31 - The Next and New

It looked like the white princess would have to conclude her sisterly matters at another time. It probably wouldn't be long though. Spitfire was the kind of pony that got things done, which was an obvious reason that she was captain and the others were not. In any case, Luna's bedroom was not the place for instructions regarding inflammatory stunt moves. Not as long as she wanted to keep in good standing with Luna.

Glancing back to her night-colored sister, Celestia remarked, "I'll be back shortly."

The other princess nodded slightly and watched the taller mare exit the room with the orange one in tow. Off to that hidden meadow no doubt, Luna concluded. Well she was no longer in the mood for her game. Replaying a difficult level that you just failed at was an annoying idea. Instead, the mare of the moon laid back on her bed and spread her wings. What to do about Twilight Sparkle, she wondered. So many possibilities...

"It's called resolve, Spitfire," Celestia continued the discussion that they had been engrossed in as they traveled the underground caverns to the special meadow.

Spitfire was certain that the place would never be completely welcoming. Or at least not to a pegasus. Free flying was always in her heart, after all.

"I know what resolve is. As well as determination and patience. It took a lot to get through my street days," she remarked in reply.

"But is your resolve strong enough to get through this?" the alicorn wondered aloud.

Rolling her eyes, Spitfire continued, "I've already gotten through most of it haven't I?"

Celestia had to give the mare credit. She had indeed gotten most of the way through. "There's honestly not much to tell. Keep training for strength and control. Your team should be ready for the Bullet within two weeks - as I understand it."

"So we won't stall out before five hundred wing-ups?"

"No. But the last ten percent will be difficult," the princess began to explain as they finally left the dark tunnel and entered the bright outdoors. The meadow lay before them just a short way up the trail. "Today, I will teach you the final part. It's all about the method. Strength is just...like a primer. You can't simply power your way into the fireball. It's really more an art than a science. I don't think my poor Twilight will ever be capable of it," she almost giggled.

"So what should I do?" Spitfire questioned as they stepped onto the green of the enclosed meadow.

Princess Celestia walked calmly past the cannon that was still sitting in the grass and flared her wings. But instead of taking off, she merely leaned her front half downwards as if to lunge.

"Watch carefully," she instructed.

Spitfire walked around the taller mare to get a good view of her wings, noting the position of them in relation to Celestia's body while taking into consideration the proportions. Slowly at first and then with building speed, Celestia waved her wings with fish-like movements. It started with a fluid up and down and then the wings started to retract back to the mare's body. Only drawing in about one hoof's distance from their full extension the wings popped back to full wingspan again. Combined with the up-down pattern, the result was a mesmerizing display of complex movement. The pattern started to decrease in spatial travel until it finished with the wings looking like they were spread out completely still. Just the hint of vibration was visible until...

BOOM!

A blaze of fire erupted around the wings and extinguished into drifting smoke just as fast.

"That is the final part. You must practice the wing movement until it is perfect. The wing power and high speed combined with that movement will give you a lasting fire. But you must-" Celestia cut herself off when she noticed that the pegasus was still staring in awe. "Spitfire?" she prodded the mare with a fore hoof.

"Oh! Sorry! That was just incredible. It's the ignition move?" she eagerly inquired.

"Indeed. And you can't get the necessary friction unless your wing muscles are adequately built. You should have enough strength now to do it."

"I can already do it?!" enthused the orange mare. She was starting to feel giddy like a young school filly.

"It will take much practice and you won't be able to sustain the fire until you reach those five hundred wing-ups," warned the princess.

"Oh, right," Spitfire recalled. "Well I'd better get practicing."

"First, lower your front half to the ground," Celestia began her teaching.

The pegasus did so but raised a brow in curiosity. "Why?" was all she voiced.

"Because I want you to focus on the grass," the princess replied as a matter-of-fact.

Spitfire gave a curt nod and the a double take. "Wait, what?"

Celestia placed a hoof against the back of Spitfire's head and gently forced it downwards. "I don't want you looking back. Don't think about your wings or the movements they should make. Just feel. And act. Now, loosen up your wings."

Spitfire tried to comply. First, she focused on the grass. Then, she felt hooves grab the tip of one wing. They began pulling it to full spread and Spitfire let it happen. Suddenly the hooves started waving the wing in a fluid up-down pattern - like the one that Spitfire had witnessed just prior.

"Are you starting to feel the beat?" The princess' calm voice asked.

"I think so," was the best that Spitfire could say. She understood the feeling of the movement but was unsure if she could replicate it. It wasn't, after all, a completely natural beat for her wings.

Celestia continued waving the other pony's wing for a tad longer before letting go.

"Let the movement flow naturally. Let it repeat itself," she said.

Spitfire tried. She tried very hard and she managed to move her wings with the beat just enough to let the movement peter out. When she tried to bring it back, her wings merely stuttered. It looked like it was no big deal but then trying to actually do it was difficult.

"I lost it," the pegasus had to admit.

Celestia grabbed the wing again and returned it to the pattern. After a good ten seconds, she let go again and Spitfire tried once more to find the rhythm and keep it going. For the second time, she failed. In spite of that, Celestia didn't lose one molecule of patience and continued calmly working with the girl.

Resolve, Spitfire reminded herself. She had to keep at it just like all of those extreme tricks that she had to learn for her acts. She would keep at it and have it down to a "T" before the day was over.

Silver Lining hummed happily to himself as he made his way to the hospital. The previous night had been a turning point for him. Maybe not for his career but certainly for his personal life and that rarely ever changed for a Wonderbolt. Locked inside the steel cage of fame and fortune, the Wonderbolts had little to speak of when it came to personal affairs. Most everything they did became a matter of work, training, or collectively trying not to climb a wall.

Actually, not much really happened those ten-something hours prior. Misty had seemed a bit upset for a while but lightened up when he suggested that they take a slow relationship. Just do what we want when we want, was how he put it. She liked the idea of a laid back approach. It would be relaxing in comparison to the fast-paced way they always had to do things as Wonderbolts. As for what else happened that night, there was not much to tell. They nuzzled in affection once and Misty almost fell asleep while they watched the stars. Certainly nothing to write home about.

Now, it was time for him to say his own good-bye to Wave Chill. Oh, he would keep visiting the injured stallion and check up on him after his leave but at least one of those visits needed to have closure for their working relationship. Wave Chill was not the Wonderbolt champion but he was a Wonderbolt all the same and that meant he was unusually skilled. He deserved some consideration.

That and there was the whole matter of the dirt fort. Silver Lining wanted to warn him not to go into any more of them on the account that he wouldn't be around to save his rear.

"Silver!" shouted a familiar voice across the street.

He turned to see who it was even though he had already guessed by the voice. It was the same voice that was heavy on his mind of late.

"Visiting Wave Chill again?" Misty guessed as she came up along his side.

The stallion nodded in surprise. It would be an obvious thing to wonder how the mare could have guessed but then they did share some common ground. Perhaps they were even more alike then he hoped for.

"Yes. And you?"

"Same," she pipped. "Lightning first and then Wave. I hope this isn't setting a trend. I don't want you getting hurt now that I have you."

The mare shot him a smile that warmed his heart and he returned it without feeling the need to say anything on the matter. They were taking things slow and he was happy with it.

"Want to do something afterwards? After all, the captain has us off special training for the day and I can't imagine you had anything line up," Silver Lining suggested.

Misty grinned, "You think so, huh?"

"I know so," he affirmed.

"Well..." the mare trailed as she gave it some thought. "Maybe we could go for some ice cream. There's this place near the station that's selling some new flavor. Looks like apple."

"Isn't that just an old flavor?"

"You'd think. But I've never seen it before."

Another street and around another corner, the hospital finally loomed before them. In typical Canterlot fashion, the face of the building was ridiculously ornate even though it was sandwiched in the close-quarters of the inner city. A band of Earth ponies were huddled outside the front doors, only kept out by a pair of gruff looking pegasi. As it happened, the two were each wearing a uniform with a familiar emblem. With another teammate down in the hospital, Spitfire had to assign some of their support crew to keep the nosy ponies out. Wave Chill would take twice as long in recovery with a hundred journalists shoving their mean questions in his face.

For the two visitors, however, the entry was easy. Every Wonderbolt was instantly recognizable to the two temporary guards and, unfortunately, to the journalists too. But then the journalists were Earth ponies and didn't have wings to keep up with Silver Lining and Misty. A simple glide slipped them right past the whole mess and into the hospital's reception area.

"I was hoping we wouldn't need those guys since Lightning Streak didn't have a problem," Misty remarked.

The stallion shook his head. "Maybe the reporters think two accidents is suspicious. They're always trying to put scandal in the hearts of the innocent."

Misty silently noted her companion's probable dislike of reporters but didn't highlight it. None of the Wonderbolts thought highly of them to begin with.

A half minute later and the pair was upstairs in room 203. Wave Chill's fortress. Or at least that's what it looked like when they entered it. Four more of the Wonderbolt staff members were there - guards against evil if one wanted to be dramatic about it.

"Silver!" exclaimed the injured stallion from his hospital bed. "It's good to see you. I've needed reinforcements for the last hour!"

Seeing Wave Chill on guard was not necessarily new but it certainly was for the current situation.

"Reinforcements? I saw the crowd outside but what's with the team here?" Silver Lining asked about the inner guard in earnest while Misty walked around to the opposite bedside.

"I've got two downstairs for the Earth ponies but unicorns keep teleporting right in here and the pegasi go to that window," he gestured to the room's only window. The street was visible below. "Why'd they have to give me a window room? Why?!"

"Because we're celebrities," Misty huffed in annoyance. "Though getting a window in a hospital isn't really that-"

TAP! TAP!

A pegasus was suddenly at the window. It was a mare carrying a pen and a notepad around her neck. One of the guards strode over and opened the window just enough to say something to the mare. When she didn't go away, the guard raised his tone. Still having the nerve to stick around, the guard had to say something to the effect of "remove" and "force." She finally left.

"I don't know how," Wave Chill retook their attention, "but they found out I left the Wonderbolts and now they won't stop with trying to pry a scandal out of me. Thanks for the support by the way."

Silver had to remind himself that Wave Chill really wasn't a member anymore. All the official document stuff had yet to happen but the stallion was already off of the team. The Wonderbolt security was just a mark of Spitfire's consideration for the injured pegasus.

"It was Spitfire's decision," Misty reminded him. "She's going to miss you just as much as we will."

"Ah," the stallion lowered his head and nodded minutely. "I'll miss you all too. It's not like I'm taking any enjoyment out of quitting. I don't like doing it just like I don't like stepping away from friends," he looked first to Silver Lining and then to Misty. "But I need to move on. There's more to my life than just the Wonderbolts."

"Yeah. That's true for all of us," Silver Lining reflected. It was especially true for him and Misty and he suspected that the others all had their own personal lives that they fought to maintain against the torrent of work.

"Got any plans?" Misty inquired with forced cheerfulness. She didn't want to think too much about any Wonderbolts leaving, not when it would just make her extremely emotional. Of course, she had no knowledge of how emotional the captain had been about it and perhaps that was for the best.

"Well," Wave Chill tried cracking his own smile. "There's this deal going down up north. Some cross-borders exploration gig that I've got a slot in. Pays good and they really need my talents," he stuck out his chest proudly. "Seventy-five percent chance of death but I hear they have a great dental plan."

Silver Lining gave an "ugh" in response but he knew that Wave Chill would probably be fine. Somehow he knew but still had to speak his one peace.

"At least it's not building a dirt fort."

32 - Rough on the Inside

Three ninety!" Soarin' counted aloud before collapsing.

He was still pushing himself and he was still behind. No amount of dieting and Tartarus-on-Equestria training could catch him up to Spitfire's best and he knew it. But he also knew that, regardless of current strength, the pegasi body had its limits. From the material that he had looked up, it seemed that pegasi couldn't physically build up wing muscle past eight-hundred wing-ups. Though few ever went past two-hundred. It was a large difference in power and the number was probably inaccurate but Soarin' was not going to slow down until he could match Spitfire wing to wing. If the captain was going to have a special power-based group then he would be in it. Period.

But he wasn't alone in his personal training. A certain other pegasus had caught onto his renewed resolve and had made a scary amount of progress in catching up to him. That pegasus was beside him now, practically passed out on the gym floor. However, the two were otherwise alone since the gym was reserved for Wonderbolt use during the current hour.

"You still want to be one of Spitfire's honor students?" Soarin' asked with a huff. He was as winded as the other 'Bolt next to him.

"You say that like it's a bad thing but," the stallion paused with a pant for air, "you're going for it too."

"And so is Blaze. But she's too good to train with us," Soarin' spat in contempt. Of all the Wonderbolts, Blaze was the easiest target for contempt. In her defense however, she rarely lacked the talent to back up her self-confidence.

"Three...fifty," the other 'Bolt continued to pant. "I can't believe...I've gotten this far."

Soarin' wearily got back up off the gym floor and wobbled over to his bottle of water on one of the shelves that lined the front wall. It was cold and refreshing. After the drink, his spirit returned and he was ready to continue his day.

"Training's over for today. Unless you want to rip a muscle," he commented to his companion. "How long are you going to wheeze on the floor, Fire Streak?"

The 'Bolt gave him a deadly glare, closed his open mouth, and shot to his hooves. Even Soarin' knew it was too fast and the stallion nearly fell back to the floor as the blood rushed to his head. He gave a "gah" of mild pain and decided to shoot for conversation to cover up his comparatively lower physical ability.

"You sticking to that diet?" he asked his friend.

"The diet is one of many reasons why I'm ahead of you," the blue pegasus sniped right at the spot that Fire Streak was trying to cover. "It's why I was racing close second against Spitfire's dream-team in the last race."

"Pfft," the cream color pony blew off the insult. "You can stick to it all you want. I'm going to keep enjoying life. I've got an ice cream date this afternoon."

Soarin' smirked, insistent on keeping his high ground. Perhaps his personal resolve had ignited his competitive spirit too much.

"You mean a date with ice cream. Not a date involving ice cream."

To that, Fire Streak huffed with annoyance.

"You don't have a mare either, hot stuff," he countered.

The still faster Wonderbolt didn't miss a beat.

"As far as you know. And you don't know a lot," Soarin' kept smirking as he turned to the gym's front door.

Fire Streak nearly erupted into a flame that would have done his name justice. Soarin' was worse than Lightning Streak had ever been. Who was this half-bit to snipe at him? It looked like a visit to Silver Lining was in order. That stallion was better at listening than the others. Maybe he would be willing to listen to a little venting.

It started with a spark and then evolved into a tiny flare. Eventually it grew to a repeatable burst of flame but, at that point, Spitfire could no longer stand. Her legs were tired and her wings were sore. Celestia had tried to get her to break and continue later but the mare wouldn't listen. She was determined and had thus sufficiently learned the ignition move. It wasn't until later, when she was resting in her castle guest room, that she began to realize that something was off. Very off.

She wasn't an expert on science but something was not quite right with the numbers. Spitfire calculated the number of days she had been training along with the day count for her teammates and the numbers remained skewed. It had been about seven weeks since she had been approached by Princess Celestia concerning the Bullet. In that time, Spitfire had trained her body nearly to the point where she could pull off the maneuver. Surprise had also trained but by slightly less time. Silver Lining and Misty had trained for even less and some of the other Wonderbolts had made remarkable progress in their own personal trainings.

Basically, it did not make sense that some of her team members had made such giant leaps in physical strength and ability. The captain doubted even herself. She was the strongest of any Wonderbolt but even she doubted that it was possible to get to four-hundred fifty wing-ups in just seven weeks. It made less sense for some of the other 'Bolts.

Hence the orange pegasus approached and knocked on Princess Celestia's bedroom door.

"Spitfire?" the white alicorn cocked her head sideways as she opened the door. "I thought you were off to rest..."

"I was going to, but something came up," Spitfire answered with just the slightest tone of annoyance in her voice.

Interested and too patient to be annoyed as the other pony was, Celestia let Spitfire into her room. She moved to her bed and rested on it as the pegasus sat stoically on the carpeted floor.

"Well," the royal prompted.

"You've tampered with me and my team," Spitfire bluntly accused. She suspected that the princess was aware of her own actions and didn't need further explanation. And she also decided to put aside her own feelings for the only question that really mattered. "Why?"

The alicorn sighed. She was caught red-hoofed.

"I was bored," Celestia admitted. "Do you remember what I told you before about making things fun?"

It did not come to Spitfire immediately but she struggled with her memory and managed to call up that small bit.

"Because you're too old for things to just happen to be fun?" the orange pony guessed.

"Yes. I wanted to teach you the Bullet because I thought it would be interesting. I know this sounds ridiculous from your point of view but I just couldn't wait for you to work up to it. I wanted you to get through training as fast as possible so that I could see you perform it."

Spitfire's face soured. Her suspicion had been right.

"So you used magic on us to increase the rate of our muscular growth. That's illegal and no self-respecting athlete would even think of it," the captain practically growled.

"It would have taken you years to get through training, Spitfire," the alicorn argued.

"And you couldn't wait that long? How old are you again?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. My age is just a number. Nothing more."

"And your patience? I thought you were supposed to have unlimited patience," Spitfire continued.

Celestia's lips tightened against each other until she finally let out another long and deep sigh. She was collecting herself.

"I'm not perfect, Spitfire. I'm not who most ponies think that I am. But I do have some patience. That should be obvious considering how long it's still taken you to get trained. Seven weeks does not pass by overnight. It was still a long pay-off for me. And if you are completely against using anything that you've obtained by magical assistance then I can perform a reverse spell to return you to your original state."

Spitfire was going to keep up the accusatory tone but held back when Celestia made her offer. Should she accept? It wouldn't be fair to the others. Magic or no magic, they had been working as hard as herself to train. Furthermore, her own attitude was becoming far too negative. She had failed to calm herself over the magic tampering before approaching the princess on the matter. Even ignoring Celestia's royal position, it was simply not nice for her to use such snippy tones with another pony.

"No, I'm sorry if I sounded ungrateful," the captain decided with a small bow. "And it's not right for me to treat you like you're not a normal pony."

Princess Celestia opened her mouth but no words came out. She hadn't recalled those words being spoken to her in many long years. Spitfire breathed deeply in the silence before continuing.

"My words got ahead of me, as an old trainer of mine used to say."

The white mare's smile returned and she finally found some words.

"Captains can't accuse others. If somepony isn't doing their job then you must train them to do it. If somepony fails then the blame is your own," Celestia stated to Spitfire's surprise.

"He used to say that all the time too," the pegasus whispered in amazement.

"Tracker was one of my better guard captains. He decided to go into acrobatics after he retired because he didn't care for any of the sleepy retirement communities. I'm really not surprised that he decided to train you. He always had a soft spot for ponies who knew what they wanted," the princess laughed.

"Small world. How many ponies do you know, anyways?"

"Oh..." Celestia wondered aloud as she laid back on the bed and gazed up towards the ceiling. "I stopped counting a long long time ago..."

"Love birds, dropouts, and egomaniacs," Blaze complained as was not unusual. "The team is rife with them."

"Rife meaning that there are a grand total of two love birds, one dropout, and one egomaniac - which is you by the way," Fleetfoot kidded as she ran alongside the other mare on the Canterlot track.

The currently annoyed pegasus decided not to comment. She needed to focus. It wasn't easy keeping up with Fleetfoot while on the ground, after all. Even when she had been racing through a balanced but firm training schedule. She was almost as powerful as Soarin' by her latest guesstimation, but she was way more flexible than any of the others.

"Well I suppose there might be four love birds rather than two," Fleetfoot tempted for conversation again.

The flippant manner in which the mare was trying to talk to Blaze only worsened the orange mare's mood. Fleetfoot didn't look like she was even breaking a sweat. Maybe she was really an Earth pony inside and had been born a pegasus by complete mistake. Her legs were just way too powerful.

"A saucy romance between the worst of rivals," the light-hoofed mare tried for the third time.

"That doesn't even make sense! And who uses the word 'saucy' these days?"

"Ah!" Fleetfoot exclaimed in victory. "You're so interested! So you want to hear the scoop, huh? Huh?!"

Blaze wanted to roll her eyes but knew she would crash if she did. The bait had been taken and it was too late to be saved from Fleetfoot's stupid droning.

"So I was totally not thinking of Rapidfire in that way, right? I mean, he's like the super villain to my super hero you know? We're totally from different worlds. I don't even know how he can run so darned fast. And then High Winds went and implied something like maybe he's interested..."

Blaze tuned out at that point even though the mare running alongside her wouldn't stop going on for the next half-hour. Fleetfoot's way of talking tended to get messy and hard to understand when she got too excited so Blaze wouldn't be able to tell what the mare was saying one way or another. The first ten minutes of Fleetfoot's rambling were spent running on the track. The next twenty, in which Blaze was exhausted and Fleetfoot was jumping around like a little filly, were spent on the grass of the outer track.

Celestia, thought Blaze. Please just take me to the afterlife.

33 - Tumble on Through

One down and two to go, Spitfire proudly concluded. Never mind that Surprise was panting in exhaustion upon the bare dirt. They were going to relax at a spa later anyhow.

"That," Surprise wheezed, "was not easy."

The captain tilted her head in acknowledgement and gave the mare a hoof.

"But it's like learning to fly. You only have to learn it once. I think," Spitfire suggested while realizing that she didn't quite know her words to be fact.

Surprise caught onto it and gave a questionable look in return as she got back onto her hooves.

"All I know," the pale pegasus started, "is that I've been training, sweating, and panting non-stop for..."

"Six weeks?" Spitfire offered, not entirely sure if it was five or six. The past was hard to gauge in terms of numbers.

"Six gruesome weeks," Surprise declared.

Spitfire patted her friend on the back to encourage her. The training was soon to pay off and, to excuse the usually dire analogy, they were approaching the light at the end of the tunnel. All the captain needed was to train the others for the ignition technique and get their overall strength up to five-hundred. With that estimated strength, Spitfire guessed that only two of them could funnel a reservoir straight up to Cloudsdale. That made her smile even more. The Bullet was paying off in ways she had not originally wanted it for.

Surprise looked thoughtful after she finished catching her breath and made for conversation when they were on their way from the gym to their hotel.

"Shouldn't we have a few others though? I mean, half a squadron would be better than a four-point wing, don't you think?"

"Oh. Yeah," Spitfire replied a tad jarringly. She had forgotten about the two other 'Bolts that she had thought about adding in.

"It's too bad that Fleetfoot and Rapidfire are so dedicated to the leg races. I thought it would have been nice if they could join us."

The captain held similar feelings since those two pegasus were less prone to theatrics. Show business, in spite of the name, was not the place for hot-blood or drama. Keeping one's cool was crucial to staying alive in stunt work. Unfortunately, the only candidates that Spitfire could bring up were the three Wonderbolts with the hottest blood. Blaze, Fire Streak, and Soarin' were all easy to upset but they were also rough on themselves when it came to personal training. They were the only ones that could pull off the Bullet soon enough to be included in the first special team.

"No kidding," Spitfire agreed. "High Winds and Lightning Streak are also good but neither of them is even close to half of the strength requirement."

"Blaze?" Surprise worriedly turned her head to her leading wingmare.

"Pfft," chided the orange pegasus. "She's powerful enough to finish the physical parts but I wouldn't trust her to not be a problem child in the attitude department."

The light-colored 'Bolt nodded solemnly at that. Even if Blaze was more even-tempered, there was just too much bad atmosphere between her and the captain. Maybe it's because the both of them are so headstrong, Surprise thought silently.

"How about we just forget it for now? Romeo and Juliet need to learn ignition before I'll have time to get the other two 'Bolts."

"Oh?" the white pegasus perked up. "You know about Misty?"

"Who doesn't?" Spitfire kidded flippantly as the two of them continued on their way. "But they're way more mature about it then most ponies these days. They don't go all mushy in front of everypony. I'm kind of grateful to be honest."

The wingmare smiled without looking to her friend.

"Yeah," she said. "They always were the mature ones. They both know what they want for the future."

Both continued walking in silence and it wasn't until they were walking back into their hotel that Spitfire decided to ask an old question.

"What do you want for your future?"

The white mare gave a "hmm" and "huh" to indicate she was thinking about it and the answer didn't come until they were back within the familiar walls of their hotel suite.

"To always fly by your side."

The clock ticked one more time and then stopped. The seconds needle was making a vibration-like motion that indicated it was taking great pains to get in one more tick. But the clock was done. It needed to be wound again.

"You'll have to set it again if you don't wind it right away," Misty remarked as Silver Lining continued digging through his closet.

The two pegasus were in the stallion's room as he searched for something that he insisted was crucial in having before they set out. Misty had only just arrived to pick him up and, even though It was quite the switch from the stallion coming to pick up the mare, Misty was content with it. In fact, she had been the one to suggest that they not get involved in all of the formalities that typically came with having a romantic-love relationship. Misty just wanted to relax around her stallion.

This, on the other hoof...

"I don't really use it anyways," Silver Lining dismissed the matter of the clock. "My lucky clip is something I do use. If I don't wear it today then my chance of successfully proposing to you in fifteen months might as well be zero."

Misty facehoofed.

"You don't have to be so specific about the date," she moaned, not even bothering to mention the bluntness of the remark he had just made.

"Wait," the stallion exclaimed as he suddenly popped his head back out of the closet. "Which one of us is paying today?"

Misty decided to give up hope of quickly being on their way. She might as well dig in for the long haul and thus she took a seat on the room's overly plush carpet.

"It's just the pool, Silver. It doesn't matter. Getting in is what? Two bits per pony?" the mare raised a brow.

But the stallion returned the look.

"I know. I just don't want to bring my wallet if I don't have to," he stated flatly.

Misty facehoofed for the second time.

"Oh! I found it!" Silver Lining beamed as he discovered the missing clip using the powers of his peripheral vision.

"Are you really going to wear that wingclip to the pool?"

"Well I have to have something to give the proper highlight against my alicorn-like physique," he stared blankly back at her. Clearly he was unaware as to why the mare could not understand the importance of the miniature accessory.

"Alicorn-like?" Misty groaned and barely stopped a third facehoof. Of all the stallions she could have loved...

A "let's go" and two seconds later saw the pair of pegasus out of the room and well on their way. Misty was bursting with happiness on the inside even if she was advertising exasperation on the outside. Of all the stallions she could have loved, she loved the best one.

"I heard that something happened to Misty before she got on the team," Fleetfoot gossiped as she hovered outside of the clothing store's changing rooms. The room to which she was directing her words was currently occupied by another Wonderbolt. A certain High Winds to be exact.

High Winds didn't care much for gossip. Or at least, she didn't care for gossip that could cause problems later. But then, it was nigh impossible to keep Fleetfoot from leaking every single thing she ever heard. It was an unavoidable event that the mare would gossip and the sooner that the past was once again in the past the better.

"She had some thing with a stallion named Chestnut," Fleetfoot continued. The mare was seemingly unconcerned with High Winds' lack of response.

The Fashion-minded mare who was, even now, testing new fashions, decided to offer at least a few half-baked words to the "conversation."

"I'm not sure if I would take a stallion seriously or not if he had that kind of a name."

"Well, maybe that was only half of his name. I got this from an event volunteer, after all," Fleetfoot explained.

What a shock, High Winds rolled her eyes. Gossip was only one pinch truth and a full two cups rumor.

"So she dated this Chestnut guy and things didn't work out. In fact, he kind of scarred her. Apparently, he was the real gruff-type stallion that thinks that anything cute or girly should be banished and locked in a dungeon all at the same time."

The mare in the changing room was well aware of the type. They even came to Wonderbolt events because they were under the impression that all Wonderbolts were like them. What a shock they would have if they met Silver Lining.

"So I guess I'm starting to get why Misty is so smitten with Silver," Fleetfoot began to conclude as if she had read the mind of her friend behind the changing room curtains. "He's so gentle and girly that he makes her feel safe."

"I'm not sure if 'girly' is the proper word," High Winds remarked as she popped back out from behind the changing room curtains.

Fleetfoot looked shocked for a moment as she beheld her clothing-lacking friend but then remembered that such a state was normal.

"He's more reserved and he has a more precise sense of fashion. That does not make him 'girly.' It just means that he's more sensitive than others," the fashion mare continued.

"Look who's talking," the second mare grinned. "If he's sensitive then what does that make you?"

High Winds gave a "tsk" of dismissal as she sorted through the items that she had just finished trying on. One shawl and two mane pins didn't make the cut.

"What do you think is going to happen with the team?" Fleetfoot switched tracks as the two headed for the check-out register.

It took a full three seconds before the other 'Bolt looked back up from the scarf that she had wrapped around her neck. It was a deep burgundy color and quite a steal for the clearance price.

"Are you referring to Wave Chill's empty position or Spitfire's elite?" High Winds finally replied in question.

"Well, I was thinking more about what Spitfire is going to do with us when her elite team is scheduled for an event. Are we going to get sent off to pass out fliers? It kind of irks me."

The fashion mare opened her mouth in mock surprise.

"You honestly don't think that we'll be included in the event?"

"Oh, you know that we won't. And I don't know about you but I'm glad I'm not in the running. Wonderbolt work is tough enough as it is. I don't want to get drilled even in my free-time. I, for one, enjoy my goof-off hours," Fleetfoot explained cheerfully.

"I wouldn't consider my activities to be 'goofing off' but I still agree with you," High Winds considered aloud. "So who do you think will be included? I doubt Spitfire will stop with just herself and the other three."

High Winds was simply making for idle conversation as she loaded the clothes and accessories onto the store counter for the cashier to scan. Canterlot really did have some of the most advanced and extravagant technologies. Minus shopping baskets. For some reason, High Winds still had to carry her purchases upon her neck and back. Perhaps it was just something that other ponies preferred to do. Personally, she would have preferred a cart. After all, she tended to buy quite a bit.

"Do I really have to say? It's totally obvious!" Fleetfoot started to get excited for some reason. "Soarin' is even looking to surpass the captain now. Fire Streak is almost to that point too. And Blaze...I'm pretty sure she'll get in too."

One ring sounded and then two. High Winds watched the checkout-screen as the prices were added for each item. She had done rather well to attain the best looks for the best price. Satisfied even as the ringing continued, she turned to continue speaking to her fellow Wonderbolt.

"I suppose. Lightening Streak would never be able to catch up to his rival anyhow. The poor stallion lost too much time in the hospital after the last accident. I mean, the accident before the last one. I do hope there are no more."

"Well, I sure don't want to get injured. Unless, of course, Rapidfire would visit me every day," Fleetfoot reconsidered. "Did you know that he isn't looking for a marefriend right now? Said it to me straight up. I'm not convinced."

The rest of the conversation continued in typical Fleetfoot-fashion and High Winds considered herself free some thirty-five minutes later when they had exited the store and went their separate ways some five blocks distant. The fashion mare was finally able to let out a sigh that she had been keeping in. It wasn't just for Fleetfoot either. She was slowly getting weary of all of the activity that had been going on recently with her other Wonderbolts. Perhaps she had a secret desire for the peacefulness of routine rather than the torrent of accidents, relationships, and posturing that was ongoing.

It will be over soon with any amount of luck, she thought.

34 - Fires of the Past

Two more days past before Spitfire made her move to recruit the other two Wonderbolts. Misty And Silver Lining had some initial difficulty in learning the Bullet's ignition but they mastered it all the same. On average, the four members of the special team were up to four-hundred eighty wing-ups. It was getting downright gruesome to keep pushing those numbers up. Luckily, they didn't have much more strength to acquire and they would soon be making the first practice run for the Bullet.

Now, however, was the time for Spitfire to let in the two stallions that she had decided on. For reasons she did not want to admit to herself, she had chosen to speak to Fire Streak first. Thus she was in front of his hotel room door in the early hours of the morning. Unless they were on a for-sure stretch of free-time, most of the Wonderbolts were early risers. It was just a simple practice that was good for keeping in shape. There was no doubt that the stallion was wide awake.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Something clacked from the other side of the door after Spitfire knocked. Soon, the door was open and Fire Streak stood at the entrance with a confused look upon his face.

"Mind if I step in for a moment?" the captain asked evenly.

He opened his mouth as if to ask a question but then shut it, nodded slightly, and stepped aside to let the mare in. He was about to burst on the inside with the suspicion that Spitfire had finally come to recruit him for the Elite. Such was the name that kept getting past around by the Wonderbolts not in the captain's special group.

The mare walked all the way to the suite's kitchen counter before stopping. She took a seat on one of the stools as Fire Streak gently shut the door and nervously made his way to the opposite side of the counter. The captain's straight and calm expression only made the moment more tense for him.

"Do you know what I've been doing with Surprise, Misty, and Silver Lining?" she started.

Fire Streak frowned a bit in disappointment. Clearly, she didn't think that he was paying attention to what was going on.

"Of course!" he said a bit louder than he intended. "You've been gearing up for some big stunt. You mentioned it to the team a while back."

Spitfire nodded absently as she tried to recall that moment.

"That's just about it. This stunt is more demanding and dangerous than anything we've done before. I'm only going to have the top half of the Wonderbolts do it because I don't want anypony to get hurt if they can't manage it."

She paused and the silence was deafening. Fire Streak felt like he was going to die from the pressure.

"I want you to join the team. You're in the top half," she stated without any hint of ceremony.

Now the stallion really did feel like exploding. He had poured sweat and blood to overcome all obstacles and now he was getting what he wanted. Spitfire recognized him and he was going to be the best of the best. Distinguished even as a Wonderbolt. Lightening Streak was a rival far in the distant past now.

"It's going to be hard if you accept though. You're going to have to fight for every inch of progress. If you fail to properly perform the Bullet, you could get seriously injured or even die."

"Bullet?" Fire Streak asked while ignoring the warning. It was not that he disregarded the danger. He was just already aware of the consequences of high-ticket stunt failures. "Is that what the stunt is called?"

Spitfire nodded again and then smiled to break the mood.

"It's basically a fireball. Suits your name, doesn't it?" she almost giggled.

The stallion threw dignity to the wind and pumped his fore hooves in victory.

"Aw yeah!" he shouted. "Just my kind of thing!"

Spitfire felt like some weight had been removed from her shoulders. How did she get nervous about asking more Wonderbolts to join? And why? This is what the 'Bolts existed for in the first place, wasn't it?

"12:00. That's when I expect to see you in the hotel lobby. I'll be taking you to the training grounds. And," she added, "expect to get exhausted."

Fire Streak hovered up just below the ceiling and raised his fist as if to accept a challenge.

"You've got it!" he beamed.

At least I know he has the enthusiasm, Spitfire thought. But it was now time to visit the second stallion and the nervousness entered her gut once again. Why? It was just Soarin' she was going to talk to. She had been flying with that stallion for years now. He had been one of the pegasus that she started the Wonderbolts with. Maybe she felt as she did because she never hanged out with him like she used to back in the day. Their relationship had always been unique but it had changed greatly in recent years - even before the Bullet came up.

She bid farewell to Fire Streak, left his room, and walked the short distance to Soarin's. It would be a quick and simple matter to get the second stallion on board, right? Even as she raised her hoof once again to knock, she dreaded it.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Somehow, the wait seemed longer. It felt like hours before Soarin' answered the door. It was really the same amount of time though.

"Fire," Soarin' stated coolly. "It's about time. Come on in."

He stepped aside with confidence and the captain knew that he knew what she was there for. After all, she never went to individual rooms if she could just tell her Wonderbolts something at a team meet.

"Maybe you should tell me what's on your mind first," she suggested as she made her way to the counter. The hotel suite's were all alike.

But the tough stallion didn't go to the other side as Fire Streak had. Instead, he pulled a stool up to the one that Spitfire had decided to sit on. And he leaned over onto her with a fore hoof wrapped around her shoulder.

"The fact that we're not the same way we used to be," he answered the belated question. The short distance between their faces was making the mare even more nervous, but it was a very different kind of nervous.

"Everypony changes over time. It's inevitable," she replied.

"Yeah, but," he countered without taking his gaze from her eyes. "We used to be buddies. There's no reason we can't be the way we used to be with each other."

Spitfire felt that the conversation had rapidly gone somewhere that she never thought that it would. She hadn't come to discuss the past with him. Why was he bringing it up now of all times?

"Ponies look up to us, Soarin'. We were closer in the past because we were no-names. Nopony was paying attention to us. But we have to be respectable now."

"Respectable," he frowned and took on a dark tone. "We were respectable then, Spitfire. All we used to do was be ourselves. We didn't do anything bad. What you're talking about isn't 'respectable.' It's just being an uptight snob."

The orange mare finally pushed him off and away.

"Yeah, well maybe I don't like it either. But I'm not going to have every paper in Equestria running some scandal about me," Spitfire bit back.

To that, Soarin' outright laughed.

"They do that anyways, Firefly," he chuckled.

It had been a long time since he had called her that. It was like hitting a wall of nostalgia.

"Don't start, Soarin'. This is not what I came here for," she exclaimed with a small wobble in her voice.

The other pegasus wasn't going to let it go, though. Not by a long shot.

"I know what you came her for," he said just below a shout. "But you haven't given a single thought about it, have you? Don't you think I'm insulted that you didn't include me in your special training from the start? You picked Surprise over me. Surprise!"

Spitfire tried to speak but couldn't finish one word before he jumped off of the stool and knocked her off of hers. It was really just a gentle shove and not a violent hit. He grabbed her so that she didn't fall on her back, but he didn't let go.

"Maybe I slacked off. I admit it. I haven't been on top of my game. But I am now! And I want my spot back. I want things to be the way they used to be. I want Firefly back!"

Spitfire was more upset than angry and she looked him right in the eyes. Just as he was looking into hers.

"That's just a dumb nickname you gave me, Soarin'!"

"It's not dumb! You used to call me by a different name too!"

The mare's eyes shot wide. He was bringing that up too? How far was this going to go? A fire lit in her heart but she didn't know whether it was because she was upset or sad.

"Stop it, Soarin'! Why are you being this way?!"

Both of them were beyond the point of using a normal tone of voice. Shouting was becoming the standard.

"Because I'm sick to death of settling for less when I don't have to. You've only changed on the outside. Admit it! You're still the same Firefly I met in that back alley. You just traded me for Surprise!"

Everything was coming out all at once and Spitfire wasn't sure what to do. She had gotten used to things going slow but Soarin' was determined to deal with everything at the same time. It affected her because she knew that at least some part of what he said was true. Maybe she had alienated herself from Soarin' and befriended Surprise more in the past year. It didn't matter if she had never done anything wrong with Soarin' in the past. She just knew that if she looked to be too close with a stallion then the media would label it a scandal. And now she knew that she needed to compose her thoughts and decided to simply run away from the stallion. But when she turned and bolted for the door, she was grabbed once again by the male pegasus. The sudden jolt between them caused both ponies to fall to the floor.

"You're doing just what I did before I decided to wake up. You're pretending like you have everything down to a 'T' when you're just killing off everything that makes you who you are," Soarin' said with lower volume as he moved over to the mare in front of him. "You're getting all upset and running when all I want is to have our friendship back."

Spitfire heard the words but couldn't react. Her heart felt like it was on fire and it was now clear why she had been nervous before about coming to talk to Soarin'. Deep down, she knew that things between them had been bottling up so much that something was bound to explode. Soarin' had just let everything slide for so long that she thought he had completely forgotten. In reality, she was the one that had forgotten. Her entire life growing up in Las Pegasus was like something out of a living nightmare, but that was why Soarin' had quickly become her best friend. He had been one of the first of the Wonders - now called the Wonderbolts - and unlike all of the others, he was the only one that had stayed on her team through the years. He was the only one who had been with her when the Wonders were a homeless group of street performers in Las Pegasus. And now he was opening the lock that she had put on that past.

The stallion came alongside her on the carpeted floor and wrapped his hooves around her.

"Remember those days in the alleys? When we had to hold each other so that we wouldn't die from the cold?" he asked with a waver in his voice. Spitfire knew he was getting emotional in a way that he rarely did. "Remember when there was no fame or fortune and we were happy?"

After sorting through the mess of her inner thought, Spitfire looked back at him and responded.

"I'm happy as I am now."

Soarin' narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on her.

"Then why are you running away from this? Why do you want to bury our past?"

Why indeed? She didn't understand it herself. Why was this affecting her so much? It was took her from her normal calm and competent demeanor and burned her up on the inside. It took the other pony to answer and Soarin' spoke again when he saw that she had no response.

"You think that I'd do something to hurt you. That I'd go to the press and lie through my teeth if you don't give me whatever I want. You know me better than that, Firefly. The only one that's hurting you is yourself. You're too afraid of losing the image that others have given you."

Spitfire's heart calmed down but she felt torn to shreds on the inside. All she could do was lie there within his hooves, rest her head below his, and listen to everything she had been running from.

"I hardly slept last night because I just realized it myself. It's because you went on this journey to do the next best stunt and I felt like you were tossing me to the wind. It made me get off my rear and do something. I'm just sorry it took me this long to realize that I needed to do something for you," he explained. It was now obvious that just as much, if not more, had been going on with Soarin' than herself. Spitfire had begun to assume, at some point, that the world revolved around her. That nopony else had a complicated life.

"We should have talked about this a long time ago," Soarin' continued with a a short chuckle of irony. "I guess that's just like us to let things go on until we blow up on each other."

"It's my fault," the orange mare finally said. She no longer had any intention of getting up from the carpeted floor. "It wasn't fair for me to pretend like we barely knew each other. I started doing it years ago when we got that big break in Manehatten."

"It was my fault too, you know. I should never have let you take that deal. I knew that we'd have to start playing politics and I remember how much it ground me up inside," the stallion admitted.

"I hated it," Spitfire agreed with the male pony. They felt the same way but never spoke to each other about it. Now all the years of silence seemed so ridiculous. "We had a relationship that nopony else did."

"And we threw it away for the money," Soarin' concluded. "I guess we had forgotten that it wasn't the money that made us happy."

But maybe it's not too late, Spitfire thought. It was still possible for the two of them to get back what they had lost.

"Thank you," the mare declared.

"What for?" Soarin' asked surprised as he tilted his head to look down into the mare's eyes.

"For being the one to snap me out of it."

He smiled with the same smile he used to give her when he pulled off some new stunt in the back alleys. And he responded the same way as he did back then.

"I get the feeling that I'm going to be getting you out of trouble for the rest of my life."

35 - Reigniting

Spitfire knew she had to get up. 12:00pm was rolling around and she had to lead the two stallions to the special training meadow. On the other hoof, Soarin's wing feathers were bringing back memories she had forgotten as she had tried to convince herself that her past was bad and her new rich life was better. Now she would be content to just lie on the floor with Soarin' embracing her. It wasn't a relationship that any other pony would understand. That was why it had become a problem in the first place.

Everypony would just assume that they were romantically involved. But that's not what they shared. Maybe that kind of love was something that could happen in the future but what they had back then and had once again now was just simple friendship. Deeper and more caring than most but friendship all the same. Soarin' had always stood up for her and she had always been there to help him in return. It was a friendship that could only be forged by the fires of desperation that they had endured together in Las Pegasus and then later in similar cities.

"I'm really ashamed of what I've been the last few years," he spoke into the calm silence that had fallen like snow over them. "But I'm not going to be that way again. I've decided what I want and I'm going for it."

"And what is that?" Spitfire whispered from beneath his wings as she looked up to his face above hers.

"The pegasus that keeps you alive," he laughed gently.

The mare laughed in return. She hadn't been in serious trouble since the alley days but she enjoyed the thought anyhow.

"Whatever you say, Shiner."

"Ugh," Soarin' groaned. "You don't have to start using that name now."

The mare wasn't going to let it go, however. His own nickname for her was kind of embarrassing so she felt the need to return the favor.

"I'm starting to remember why I called you that too. You'd get a shiner every time you had to beat off the local gangs. Thinking back, it happened quite a bit. It's kind of incredible how you managed to do it."

The stallion rolled his eyes.

"They acted all tough but they were mostly wimps. There was only one pony that actually got to me. Ironically, it was a mare. I didn't know any of their names so I just called her Bruiser," he recalled.

"And I thought you were always talking about some huge stallion," Spitfire laughed.

"Hey!" Soarin' complained. "She was a really nasty fighter. And she always kicked for the eyes."

The captain sighed.

"I was so weak back then. I didn't even help you."

"No way," Soarin' countered. "I didn't let you because you needed all of your strength to do the street shows. It was how we paid for our bread."

The smile returned to the mare's face but only because she remembered how much they had been a team.

"We really did kill everything that made us who we were. Just so we could live in luxury. Is that why the others don't talk about their pasts either? I kind of wonder if any of the others are like us...going through the motions and pretending like there's nothing under the surface."

"None of that," Soarin' stopped her. "They live how they choose to. Same for us."

Spitfire nodded. She really did need to get up. It was probably already 12:00pm since the two of them had been laying on the floor for so long. It was easy to loose track of time with the old Soarin'. Shifting, she got to her hooves and the stallion had to let her out of his hold.

"It's going to be hard getting to sleep tonight," he remarked as they made their way to the door. "I'll be thinking of the old cardboard that I fixed up to make our 'sleeping quarters.'"

"That's definitely something I'd rather leave in the past," Spitfire grinned. "It was Tartarus when it rained."

"Hey," Soarin' once again complained. "I was the one that got rained on, remember."

It was true. He always gave her the best side of the shelter and caught any other drips with his wings. Celestia, where would she be now if he hadn't been around to give her the will to keep living?

"I'm sorry," she spoke again as they exited his room and made their way into the hotel lobby. "I've treated you like dirt for so long. I just didn't realize it because the change was so gradual."

"I told you to stop already. We both tried to bury it and remake ourselves into ponies we were not. And it's not like we were the only ones back then. I wasn't always there for you. It was only after you recruited me for your team. Remember Low Line?"

"How could I not?" Spitfire joked as she failed to spot Fire Streak among the sparse occupants of the lobby. She looked to the clock and noted there was still some time before noon. "He was the typical Wonder. There one week and then gone the next. But he did have a louder mouth than the others. He'd go on and on about how much attention you gave me when he would get soaked on rainy nights."

"The nerve too. I even built him his own cardboard shanty," Soarin' shook his head as he took a seat with the captain on one of the plush lobby sofas. "Not that I was a saint. I admit I was a little full of it."

"A little? You refused honest jobs because you thought they were 'boring.' And then you joined my pathetic little group because you thought it was interesting."

"And I kind of thought you were hot," Soarin' smirked.

"Did not. I was a dirty alley cat," Spitfire countered.

"You were an angel in disguise," he returned.

A pause held before they both laughed. Neither of them was really serious about the whole matter and the relaxed manner of the reminiscing was putting them at an ease they hadn't felt for a long time. It was the kind of ease that meant they were no longer worried about losing face or wondering what others thought about them. And that was when Fire Streak showed up.

"Tada!" he exclaimed as he practically burst into the lobby. He didn't even have his hooves on the floor, as he was hovering a hoof above it with his wings. "Ready for action, captain!"

They had to get to training now but Spitfire knew that she would have more fun than usual with it. Surprise and the others were fun enough on their own but she would be training with Shiner now and that made it all appealing in a way she hadn't thought of before. And slowly but surely she was letting go of the fear she had been hiding away. The fear of losing the fame and fortune. It felt like she could tackle anything now.

As it turned out, the only thing she could tackle was Fire Streak. He was so bursting with excitement that he kept using the ignition move to spray flares of fire in random directions. He occasionally sustained the fire...by catching the flames on his mane or tail.

"Fire Streak! How many time do I have to tell you to stop?" the captain scolded the stallion as she tackled him to the ground again and quenched the fires that had caught in his mane.

He wouldn't stop giggling like a foal.

"This is just so ridiculously awesome," he laughed. "I love fire!"

Soarin' shook his head as he watched from the side. Fire Streak indeed. Teaching him the Bullet ignition might have been a hazardous decision but it was done and they needed his skill. If only he could be serious about it for more than five seconds.

Surprise was standing opposite of him and she was giving him an odd look. It was as if she was unsure about how to act with him. Well, she always had been shy around everypony. Spitfire might be the only one that knew her very well. The other two Elites, Misty and Silver Lining, were already engaging in post-training stretches nearby.

What it came down to was this: six Wonderbolts had learned the Bullet ignition maneuver and they had reached an average of four-hundred fifty wing-ups per pegasus. One week of strength building and they would be ready for the first practice run. It felt almost unreal for Spitfire. She had gotten used to the Bullet being a distant goal and now she had a full team assembled and was almost within reach of it. And then there was Soarin' and Surprise. They were two ponies that were super close to her but both for very different reasons. They both knew a different version of her and she would have to reconcile them.

But Fire Streak needed to calm down first.

"Sorry," the stallion finally apologized as Spitfire got off of him. "I'll try not to cause an accident."

"As long as I don't have to keep saving you from third-degree burns," the orange mare stated in exasperation. "Misty and Silver Lining are finishing up but since I had to teach you two the ignition," she gestured to Fire Streak and Soarin', "we'll be starting our routines now."

Surprise came up alongside the captain and steeled herself.

"Are Soarin' and Fire Streak going to be the third pair?" she inquired softly.

"Yes. Now take a spot and start. There's no magic to building muscle. Well," she caught herself awkwardly, "not really."

There were few words beyond that as each of the Wonderbolts had to focus their energy on the exercises. No breath was available for idle chatter and it was another forty minutes before they conversed again during the stretches.

"How long will we practice before we hold an event for the Bullet?" Surprise questioned as she sunk into another stretch alongside the captain.

"It depends on how practice goes. Anywhere from a few days to a few weeks," she answered.

Soarin' grinned at the orange mare that was positioned opposite from him on the grass-covered ground.

"I'm hoping for just a few days," he added.

Fire Streak was squinting up into the sun and he seemed to be wondering about something. The moment passed and he looked back down at the other Wonderbolts.

"I just can't wait for practice. It's basically the same whether we do it in front of a crowd or not, right?" the fire-maned stallion enthused.

It was true enough, Spitfire admitted. It should be fun to do even in practice. After all, it would be a sudden burst of speed great enough to ignite flames. What kind of pegasus wouldn't get a kick out of that? But it was Surprise who turned out to be the unconvinced one.

"It's easier without the crowd," the pale mare softly stated with a sheepish tone.

Soarin' just shrugged as he finished another stretch and got to his hooves. It was wind-down time for everypony.

"You've still got some catch up to do, don't you, Fire Streak?" Soarin' teased on a whim.

But the other stallion saw the bait and didn't take it. Instead, he made his own remark.

"You like messing with me, don't you?"

Soarin' widened his eyes in mock shock.

"No," he said sarcastically. "It's fun because I know you just won't up and quit," the blue pegasus explained.

Fire Streak slammed a hoof as a gesture of "I knew it."

"You don't like quitters?" he asked on a similar point of whim.

"I just don't like ponies that don't finish what they start," he said with a grin. And he really did feel that way. Maybe that was why he was happy to stay second to Spitfire. She was a Firefly that never stopped half-way.

36 - Take Off

Six days flew by awkwardly for the six Elite Wonderbolts. It was like sitting on the edge of a knife. The anticipation was thick but, unfortunately, the complaints from Blaze were even thicker. The mare believed she had been short-changed by not being included in the group despite the hard work she had undergone to match Spitfire's ability. The captain was not convinced that adding her would be a good idea and, with six members in the special team, had no reason to add her anyways.

Now, the best of the Wonderbolts were warming up in the training meadow. Spitfire hoped without any assurance that Celestia was watching from somewhere. After all, they were going to make the first actual performance of the Bullet. In all honesty, they would have done so two days prior if Fire Streak had been further along strength-wise. But none of them held it against him.

"I know I'm ready," Misty enthused from the end of the wavy line of pegasi that they had formed during warm up.

"Quite," agreed the stallion, Silver Lining, next to her. The two rarely showed affection towards each other when others were around but Spitfire could still feel it in the air between them. There was just something palpable about ponies that truly cared for each other. In fact, a slightly similar aura stretched to her from two other 'Bolts - Soarin' and Surprise.

"Alright, Wonderbolts," the orange captain commanded. "Get in formation."

The five other pegasi moved into their proper spots, forming a shallow V with Spitfire and Surprise as the middle two points.

"You know the plan but I'm going to say it again because this is a very - I repeat - very dangerous stunt," she continued. "We will not attempt a formation performance until each of us has succeeded twice individually. We will start with me. I will call you each by name to proceed afterwards. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" cried the five.

Alright, Spitfire assured herself. This was the moment of truth and she could feel her blood boil up to it. Time to heat thing up.

One step, two, and then she leapt into the air. Her wings beat once then twice and took her upwards, climbing altitude quickly. They beat fast and she sped up until her mane was tearing behind her in the wind. Before her was the stretch of Equestria that lead to the wastelands beyond. She could only hope that Celestia's cover barrier worked to conceal the explosion of the Bullet.

Faster and faster. It was good that she secured her flying goggles because she would not be able to see otherwise at this point. The air was almost painful in the way it tore past her. And then it came. She felt the invisible barrier gather around her and her wings ceased beating for just one second. In that short time, Spitfire's waved her feathers through the ignition maneuver and effortlessly slid back into the push to keep her soaring. What resulted was an explosion of flame that first enveloped her and then fell behind. The flames trickled behind her and the world seemed to shoot by faster than she could adequately perceive it. The blur scared her at first but the slow-in-coming boom behind her was what scared her more. She wobbled dangerously in her flight path before regaining herself.

To those on the meadow below and behind, she appeared as a fireball. Surprise was grinning nearly to the point of forming tears. Soarin' just smirked, content that Spitfire was pulling off a milestone once again. Misty, Silver Lining, and Fire Streak stared in awe but reveled in the fact that they would soon do the same. All in all, it seemed that things were going smoothly.

Spitfire was well out of sight by the time she stopped and was, in fact, far past the point at which she intended to stop. Got to get a hang on the brakes, she muttered to herself. It had indeed been exciting - a rush for sure - but it was not some end-all experience that she had built it up to be in her mind. Oh well, the strong orange mare decided as she hovered above the ground that she had begun lowering to. One particularly tired piece of wisdom came to mind.

The journey is more important than the destination.

Surprise gasped as the captain shot back before them in a ball of fire. Apparently, the mare had decided to spend her second try on the return journey. Steam surrounded her as she finally got her hooves to the grassy ground before them.

"Have fun?" Soarin' joked.

Spitfire smirked, satisfied with what happened.

"You might say that. Now before I have Surprise get up there," she gestured in the general direction of the sky, "I have a few things to warn you all about."

All five pegasi leaned forward in expectation.

"Plan your stops ahead. You need to slow down a good ten seconds before you actually think that you need to. And don't slow down too fast or else the fire will catch up and you'll be cooking your backside."

Fire Streak laughed. Apparently, he found it amusing.

"And you have to turn hard if you want to turn at all. The air doesn't seem to like it when you go anywhere but dead forward."

Misty nodded solemnly.

"There's a loud explosion when you first ignite the Bullet. Be ready for it so that it doesn't scare you into a nose dive. Not that there's too much risk since the speed limits movement."

Surprise started to look nervous.

"Make sure your goggles are really secure and don't worry about the blur. You won't be as out-of-control as you might feel. Sorry, this is getting kind of long," Spitfire finally admitted after giving one too many warnings.

"No, no," the others all tried to chime in. They were honestly grateful for having a heads-up.

The captain started to smile but then coughed instead. Her throat was parched.

"Anypony got water handy?" she croaked.

Silver Lining raised a hoof before running around to get the bottle. The captain downed it instantly when he got it to her. After swallowing a large amount of it and giving a sigh of satisfaction, she made to remark.

"And you're going to be very thirsty. Apparently," she laughed. "Alright, Prize. You're up."

The white mare looked unsure but slowly lifted into the sky.

"Don't doubt it, Surprise! Just believe in your training!" Soarin' shouted up in encouragement. He wasn't about to let Spitfire be the only one for all of the spirit lifting.

The mare in the air hadn't expected it though and felt happy about it for some reason. Soarin' hadn't often directed anything towards her before and it was nice to know that he cared. Time to do it, she decided with resolve.

In mere seconds, the second Wonderbolt was careening like a meteor into the distance.

"Fire Streak, go get us some more water. We're going to need it," the captain commanded as she sat back into the grassy meadow and beamed like a filly. As the stallion flew off back to Canterlot, she knew that today was a good day.

Surprise finished her two tries without any problems. She was a bit shaken at first but so had been the captain and she was honest about it. It wasn't that the experience was incredible but rather that the sense of danger was nerve-wrenching. In any case, Silver Lining and Misty both had their rounds and finished without a problem. To Spitfire's total lack of surprise, Soarin' completed both attempts in the shortest amount of time and came back acting as if he had just flown to the market for groceries. The orange mare suspected he was just putting on a show for her though. It was something he always liked to do in the past and she saw him in a different light for it now. Instead of confusing it for arrogance, she took it as the friendly gesture that he meant it as.

"Looks like fire-sport get his shot now," Soarin' remarked as Fire Streak hovered up into the air. He had just returned from his errand for water and was more eager than any of the others to do his rounds. Maybe he really did have a natural affinity for the element of fire.

The stallion in question sniffed in response.

"Of course, just you watch," his eyes narrowed in determination.

Spitfire made to say something but he was off like a flash and she closed her mouth instead. He was not the kind of pegasi to listen anyways and she trusted him all the same. He exploded into the bullet of fire within short order and the orange mare had to admit that his fireball was indeed a tad more fierce than any of the others.

"He manages it," Soarin' whispered to her, "because he has a one track mind. Really good at focusing on just one thing at a time."

Surprise joined in, having been paying extremely close attention to anything said from or to the captain.

"It's like his special talent. And I mean that in a good way," she said hopefully.

"Oh?" Spitfire raised a brow to the mare on her right side. "You like thinking about his good points?"

The statement was purely for effect, which was quick in coming from the wingmare. She blushed and was too flustered to respond with Soarin' listening in. She probably didn't have any special feelings for Fire Streak but it was fun to play with her anyways.

"So," Soarin' got serious. "We got an event for the Bullet scheduled?"

"More or less," Spitfire responded in similar tone. "Looks like Fire Streak has it down too so I'll set something up with the Triplet's Ring."

"That place? Can't we do better?" the stallion whined in complaint.

"It's not a bad stage ground, Shiner. We're going to need the space and open grounds for the spectators to see clearly."

Surprise perked her ears up at the nickname that just flew.

"I guess so," Soarin' relented. It wasn't a matter that could be helped.

"Gahahaha!" Fire Streak laughed maniacally as he skidded to a fiery halt before them. With a snap of his tail, he extinguished the fire that had caught on the tip of it. "I'm a desert. Where's the water?"

Stallions, Spitfire giggled mentally as she trotted over to the water packs that he had brought earlier. Tossing one to Fire Streak, she then turned to face and address all pegasi present.

"Alright! Everypony tighten that formation and get ready. We're about to do a team Bullet. Remember to keep the distance and stop precisely fifteen seconds after ignition. That goes double for you, Fire Streak!"

The stallion smirked almost evilly in return.

"It's been going extremely well so far so I don't want any accidents," Spitfire continued. "Time to fly!"

As captain, she was the first to hop up and fly to the proper altitude. After the others we're in position on her left and right sides, she pushed forward with her wings and started a steady speed climb. She didn't notice any timing issues with the others and she didn't expect to. They were Wonderbolts and Wonderbolts already had stunt timing down to a "T." Still, a multi-pony ignition explosion was going to be interesting.

They may have done it individually but that didn't mean much for doing it together. Too much of a difference in ignition could place them a long distance apart and severely deter additional stunts. Typical with doing any group act for the first-time, it seemed to take forever before they were to the point of erupting into flame. But then "erupting into flame" was not the kind of thing that anypony said very often. At least not in this context.

The wind was racing against Spitfire's face once more and she knew it was time. Without daring to look behind to check her teammates' positions, she ignited. But she was not being careless. Rather Spitfire knew she could trust the others to be in wing formation and ignite with her on time.

When the team later exited the high-speed maneuver, Spitfire found that her trust was not betrayed. Five other fireballs successfully came to a smoking halt.

37 - Burn

Celestia nearly shouted out in glee as Spitfire made her first successful performance of the Bullet. Luckily, her dark-coated sister was next to her to pop a hoof in her mouth and thus prevent them from being discovered. They were currently nestled behind some bushes at the edge of the meadow.

It was such a ridiculous thing. Why should the royal sisters worry about being discovered anywhere at any time? The elder of the two was simply adamant about not having to make all six of the pegasi go through the obligatory bows and "it's an honor" speeches. She just wanted to watch her part-time pupil blossom and do so with the minimum amount of fuss.

The white alicorn spoke when the darker one removed her hoof.

"So what do you think of my little project, Lulu?"

The night-ruling alicorn rolled her eyes just enough not to get caught doing so.

"Quite good considering the amount of magic you used on their physical structures. You used the least on that Spitfire, correct?"

"Exactly. And her determination got her to this level of strength quicker than I thought."

"A matter of her cutie mark no doubt," Luna added with curiosity.

"All of the Wonderbolts have a cutie mark related in some way to their physical talents - speed, agility, etc. It was only a matter of time for Spitfire to learn this technique. Even her name portrays it," Celestia commented before thinking to ask a question. "You haven't been to one of their shows yet, have you?"

Luna felt the urge to blush. Perhaps attending a Wonderbolts performance was something that everypony did at some point. Was she lacking in something once again? Her return to Equestria was no longer "recent" and yet there was still so much for her to learn and experience.

"No, I'm afraid not," she admitted. "Perhaps I can attend the next one if you relieve me from my duty hours."

Celestia tapped a hoof to her chin.

"I think that can be arranged..."

BOOM!

The Wonderbolts continued their individual practicing. Surprise was responsible for the last explosion and Celestia was certain they would all succeed. But now that Spitfire and her wingmare had taken their first flights of fire, the white princess was beginning to take interest in other matters. The matter at hoof, for example.

"Perhaps you would be interested in learning the Bullet, Lulu," the sun alicorn began with a tone of increasing mischief.

Princess Luna felt a pang of fear course through her for reasons she was only beginning to understand.

"M-me?" the moon alicorn stuttered nervously. "I'm not really that fond of fire."

Celestia raised a brow, which made the darker pony catch herself.

"Oh! I mean, I like your fire, sister. Uhh...I mean-"

"I was starting to forget how fun it is to get you embarrassed. It's just so hard to do," the white mare giggled.

Still blushing, Luna tried to frown in retaliation. Failing to pull it off well, she settled for abruptly turning her back instead. "Well...whatever."

Celestia was far from letting the opportunity pass and she certainly couldn't ignore her younger sister's use of the word "whatever."

"Still getting into the slang of modern Equestria?"

Luna refused to answer.

"Pouting?"

Still the Mare of the Night was silent.

Seeing another possible course, Celestia approached her sister and grabbed her wings. "We'll need to train these first!"

Luna finally let out an "eep" that rarely befell the ears of common ponies.

"What are you doing?"

"It doesn't have to be fire, you know. You can use your night magic to create an explosion of mist and shadow. Now that I think about it, that would be rather enjoyable to watch," the elder beamed.

"No!" the younger refused. "Not until you start treating me with a little respect."

Celestia thought she heard a "humph" and the end of the last statement but brushed it off as she let her sister's wings go only to cup the mare's cheeks in her front hooves. "But you're just so adowabuh."

That was the last straw. Luna began huffing with an uncontrolled rage that ended with a teleportation spell. She had to be somewhere else. Anywhere but with her confounded and condescending sister. As it happened, she teleported to the palace kitchens. Only a massive amount of junk food and gaming could heal her soul.

Back at the meadow, Celestia just barely avoided detection from the Wonderbolts. Her sister's exit had been rather loud, after all. Still, the white mare was smiling. Perhaps she had gone too far but then was it really possible to go too far with teasing her sister? It was infinitely enjoyable. Luna was just so adorable when she stormed off in anger. Perhaps that was why she had become Nightmare Moon all that time ago.

With a clipped self-reprimand, Princess Celestia convinced herself to attempt being easier on the Mare of the Night. In fact, she would have to apologize if she was ever going to convince her sister into trying new things. So, hearing another explosion from a Bullet ignition, Celestia started making her way back to the castle. She was going to take her time to plan her next move.

Surprise awoke the next morning acting every bit as exuberant as she felt. The Elite team was going to continue practicing for an upcoming public performance of the Bullet and the lead wingmare knew she had an important part to play. In the past she might have felt self-conscious about being in a lead position before the large Wonderbolt-crazed audiences, but she had changed a little since then. Now, she was more focused on executing all of her hard work alongside her best friend, Spitfire.

Breakfast was short but quite delicious and the special team of six pegasi were all present in the hotel lobby afterwards. Surprise was thinking, as Spitfire had yesterday, that this day was going to be a good one. And, in fact, it already had been.

"Ready to make some sparks?" Spitfire grinned as she came alongside the pale-coated pegasus. She stretched a wing over her friend in a warm way that highlighted the energy they all shared.

"Just like yesterday," Surprise pipped. "Are we going to try any turning today?"

"Sure are!" exclaimed Soarin' as he bounced up to the pair of mares. "Not going to be easy but then nothing cool ever is."

Surprise was going to make a remark in return but Spitfire spoke instead as she retracted her wing.

"Like your double tumble? Three years is a lot of training to pull of a stunt consistently," the orange mare kidded as she hit the stallion's shoulder with a forehoof.

He gave his obligatory eye roll and weak comeback. It wasn't long afterwards that the captain ordered the entire special team to make its way back to the training grounds. All the while, Spitfire made sure to keep Surprise close at hoof. Perhaps it was a move of guilt, as she still felt that she needed to talk to the mare about certain things. There was something off in the air between her and Soarin' and it was likely a result of Surprise's lack of knowledge on Spitfire's past. It had to be brought up eventually.

For now, the team made its way to the hidden meadow discreetly by hoof. Silver Lining and Misty seemed to enjoy the nice weather en route but the others were too absorbed in the fiery practice that they had lined up. Hence nopony noticed when the two pegasi began to talk about the controversy that existed in Canterlot regarding the use of ear clips by male ponies. It was just the sort of discussion that Silver Lining would get passionate with while few others would even give a feather about. Misty, on the other hoof, was beginning to wonder what her stallion would look like wearing such an accessory. It was relaxing to be lost in the petty intrigues of daily life - or so she concluded.

Soarin' was having his own conversation with Fire Streak but it was of an entirely different sort, as would be expected from the stallions. Mostly it was a one-sided exchange in which Soarin' was trying to convince, in an older brother sort of way, that Fire Streak needed to take it easy and not hyperventilate about the opportunity to bathe in flame every day.

"C'mon! We're like tiny meteors, for Celestia's sake! The best of the best!" the over-enthusiastic one continued.

Soarin sighed, "Sure, but that's even more reason to keep your head cool. You don't want to make a crater, do you?"

"Why not?!"

The blue pegasi facehoofed.

Meanwhile, the captain was contemplating all possible ways to approach her close friend about her relationship to Soarin'. There didn't seem to be any way to say it and avoid a misunderstanding. Perhaps it would be best to say that they had been like family and leave it at that.

"I know that we should perform more than once," Surprise interrupted the captain's thoughts. "But how many times exactly? It's a really dangerous move to push our luck on."

"Oh. Yeah," Spitfire changed mental tracks. "Maybe four times a year? I've been working on scheduling and I'm considering limiting the high-profile shows as the highlights."

"That's probably a good idea," the whitish mare breathed in relief. She didn't want to waste training but she didn't want to tempt fate either.

"Aaand," the captain droned, "we're here."

The other four pegasi trotted out into the green field and started warming up. Fire Streak tried to rush but Soarin' kept him in check. Silver Lining and Misty were the last to finish prep and Spitfire took the cue to order up a formation.

"Standard form," she declared with a mix of command and routine.

Surprise beat her wings and zipped up to the lead mare's side. Once everypony else was in place, she took lead into the sky. Forming point, she decided to check team positions due to Surprise's edge of earlier caution. Sure enough, Fire Streak was fooling around, much to Soarin' annoyance.

"Fire Streak," the captain barked. "Wing point. Now!"

The stallion dropped his gleeful expression and gulped as he flew somberly to Soarin's left-side flank. The captain card had been successfully played.

Spitfire glanced briefly to Surprise, who gave a nod indicating she was ready. With beat of feathers, the orange captain took off steadily forward while the others followed pace. Silver Lining and Misty were flying a tight wing, as Spitfire expected. Knowing that everypony was set up for proper maneuvers, she accelerated to higher speeds and approached ignition. By the orange mare's side, Surprise matched movement and began the Bullet in synch.

BOOM!

One after the other, each Wonderbolt ignited into flame and shot forward with new speed. The pattern of explosions was closely knit and sounded with only a slight drum. Against the remarkable rate that the world passed by below them, each of the six pegasi knew that they had to act quickly and accurately with each minute movement. Spitfire, at the farthest point forward, began the first turn. Even if it was only a mere ten degree left-side angle, it was a ten degrees that she fought for with all her strength. She might have made it to twelve degrees but knew better than to push a turn further than her Wonderbolts could manage. Over all, the team fell into the curve with her and took her cue to exit and land.

The ground tore beneath Spitfire as she screeched to a halt at Mt. Canter's summit. A second trail was dug into the ground as Surprise landed in turn. Three, four, and then the rest. The entire team succeeded in the first intra-Bullet movement practice, which caused the captain to turn to her team with a smile. No matter how simple it was, it was still a success.

"Alright!" she beamed. "Status?"

"Check!" Surprise affirmed her energy level.

"Check!" Silver Lining and Surprise called in unison.

"Double Check!" Soarin' laughed.

"Half Check," Fire Streak added tiredly.

Spitfire had suspected as much. Soarin' was overqualified and had probably pushed his wingpony past his limits. After all, Fire Streak was the least strong of the six in spite of his great enthusiasm.

"Break!" the orange mare called. There was no reason to throw out caution and cause an accident. The Wonderbolts weren't founded on recklessness.

Well...perhaps a little recklessness.

"Fire," Surprise said softly from Spitfire's side.

"Hm?" the leader raised a brow and faced the lighter-colored pony.

"We forgot to get some water here before we took off from the meadow."

The statement hit her like a stone. Or like the parched state of her tongue. It was going to be a long day of practice.

After getting the proper hydration, via Soarin's kind but totally commandeered delivery service, the Wonderbolt Elite team was ready for the second run. There was little to it, as the captain was starting to believe. And thus she flew up as point once again and got them into acceleration as before.

And, as before, they ignited with a roll of close-timed explosions. With the wind tearing at her flying goggles for the second time that day, Spitfire began the same ten degree bank to the right side of the flight path. Silver Lining and Misty banked at the appropriate time to keep the proper distance and Soarin' was leading the now-more-serious Fire Streak to follow suit. With the fast rate of movement, it didn't take long for the turn to end.

Everything was going as expected and, as it happened, nothing unexpected had happened all day. Until now.

Surprise suddenly spun off from Spitfire's wing position and narrowly missed hitting Silver Lining and his own wing as she spiraled to the right and downwards in a unbelievably fast and viscous torrent of flame. Something had gone wrong. Very wrong.

The captain didn't have time to think. She was already flying at speeds that didn't give time for reason so she broke out of instinct. And she broke out of the Bullet in a record four seconds, setting her tail aflame and scorching her back legs painfully. She hit the ground as soon as she could to roll off the fire, all the while racing to Surprise. In her mind, she was going to make it. In her heart, she knew she was too late even if she had broke out in one second rather than four.

The orange mare could only race painfully on her damaged legs as her wings had been bruised too badly in the overzealous stunt braking. When she reached Surprise, she found the mare curled at an eerie angle. The unconscious mare had become a crashed meteor at the end of a long landing groove that scorched the earth in small fires. Even the mare's wings still held tiny flames to which Spitfire quickly doused with her bare hooves. The pain that the captain felt was irrelevant. All that mattered was that the wingmare was still breathing.

She had survived.

38 - Tears

Spitfire felt dead inside and she was not the only one. The other four members of her Bullet-performing team were present with her at the hospital - an altogether too familiar sight. They were just one room over from where Wave Chill had been hospitalized. What the captain had feared had become a reality. The Wonderbolts were experiencing a streak of dire luck.

High Winds and Lightening Streak had just entered the room, thus further stressing the hospital staff. Due to the rushed nature that Surprise had been delivered to the premises, there was already a pack of ponies trying to get through the building. Reporters trying to get the latest scoop. They had been kept back so far only by Spitfire's fury, as the mare was deeply worried about her friend and had no patience for sensation-magazine journalists.

There was no cheer in the pale white room with each of their faces being painted with a dour expression. Misty was still in shock over the matter and Silver Lining had his head lowered. Inside, he blamed himself for not catching the wingmare as she had spiraled past him. Even if it really had been impossible for him to do it, he still felt horrible about it.

Fire Streak was feeling useless in one of the room's corners and Soarin' looked outright angry. Perhaps it was because of what the doctor had said after he had finished treating the broken pegasi. "She'll never be the same" had been his words. It was a phrase that no pegasi ever wanted to hear and Soarin' was angry at himself because, deep down, he felt like he had let it happen.

As for Spitfire, she still felt dead. That hadn't changed and she felt like it never would.

"I'm sorry," Spitfire whispered to the unconscious mare on the hospital bed. Tears were falling from the captain's face even though she didn't feel them and Surprise couldn't see them. "I should never have brought you in on this stupid stunt. I shouldn't have even done it myself."

Surprise was in no condition to hear or respond and her closed eyes seemed to be shut in pain. Spitfire couldn't bear to imagine what torment that the girl was enduring. She had hit the ground too hard and at an insane speed. It was a miracle that she had managed to use her stunt training quick enough to roll into the dive. If she hadn't done that then she would have lost more than her ability to perform. She would have lost her very life.

Fire Streak, fed up with the dark cloud that was the entire room, quietly came up to Soarin's side and asked as softly as he could, "Do we know why she spun out like that?"

Soarin' glanced to the stallion beside him to respond but seemed to glare menacingly instead.

"There's no way to know. It's not like we can keep tabs on each other when we're going that fast," he replied in a low voice. "If anypony knows then it would be Surprise. I'm just hoping she didn't lose her memory. I've seen some pretty messed up stuff happen to ponies who failed a big stunt."

Fire Streak shrunk back at that. He always knew that being a Wonderbolt was dangerous and he knew that the Bullet was even more so. But contemplating an accident and actually seeing one were too different things. He was a little afraid and Wonderbolts were never supposed to be afraid.

It was Silver Lining who spoke after another five painful minutes had past.

"We should go now. We can't do anything more for her and she needs room to breath."

It was true but none of them felt any better for it. They left Surprise's bedside in just as much melancholy as a funeral. Life would go on - even for Surprise - but it would never be the same as it had been before and the change was not for the better. Spitfire left last but, before she did, she lifted a forehoof to gently stroke Surprise's mane.

"I'm sorry."

The dark cloud never really lifted for the rest of the day. Spitfire cancelled all scheduled activity and went back to her room to fix the long-term team planner. It was when she opened the booklet to the current month that she finally broke down entirely. The tears wouldn't stop and, though she didn't think of it then, she was grateful that she was alone in the room. She was nothing of the strong captain that most knew her as.

It was the scheduled events that had struck a cord. The Bullet premier that she would have performed with the wingmare. But, even more, all of the crossed-out days in the planner that were spent training with the white pegasus. The doctor's lecture echoed again as if to emphasize it. The moment when the medicinal pony took her aside to explain everything would be forever burned in her memory.

"She'll never perform again and I mean it, Spitfire. You have to take her off the team. I don't want to see her back in here when she tries to perform again. Wings are like joints. They never heal back to their original state when they take significant damage. A minor break will heal fine but Surprise broke everything to protect her vital points. I'm glad you trained her properly but we're still going to have to do major surgery. We'll try for prosthetics but I can't guarantee anything. Some pegasi just don't adapt and their bodies atrophy the wings against proper exercise and therapy. She might never fly again."

Spitfire had been too flippant about the risk that came with the Bullet and now she was paying the cost. In an instant, the immense sadness turned to anger. It was anger against Celestia for tempting her with the stunt but it was mostly anger against herself. She couldn't forgive herself for what had happened and she knew Celestia was not responsible. The orange mare just wanted a scapegoat so that she could run away from the weight of responsibility that she was feeling as both captain and as Surprise's close friend.

Before she could even consider continuing with the rest of the team to perform the incredible stunt, she would have to find out what happened to Surprise. The mare had become as strong as her over the course of their training and she couldn't believe it was matter of physical stress. All she could do was hope that Surprise would awake soon. It was heart-wrenching to imagine her best friend stuck in a coma.

She knew the injured pegasus needed room but Spitfire couldn't help the urge to visit again in the same day. It had been at least six hours and, even though the sun was setting, visiting hours were still open. She had some time left before the nurses would shoo her out.

As she walked into the place of general injury and hopeful healing, she noticed the staff ponies giving her odd looks. Probably had something to do with the repetition of hospitalizations. The corridors certainly seemed to carry an eerie cloud. But, then, that could have been a cloud over her and not the halls. Surprise's room came up and nopony tried to stop her.

Slowly she entered the room again. In her mind, she walked in to see a smiling Surprise sitting upright on the bed and even jumping off of it to hug her best friend. In reality, she walked in to a dead quiet room with dim lighting. Surprise still laid on the bed and breathed regularly. But she was not conscious and only some of the agony seemed to have worn off her face. Her nose was still slightly scrunched up in pain.

It wasn't until the orange mare got to the the edge of the bed that she realized that she hadn't been breathing and thus had to sigh deeply. What else had she expected? It would have been a miracle for the girl to have a full recovery.

"Remember that time that we talked about what we wanted in life?" Spitfire whispered to the sleeping mare as she leaned over to her. "I guess I've always been running after things I don't really understand."

She didn't even understand what she was saying and that realization made her give a melancholic laugh.

"Should I keep doing what I've been doing? Even if there were no dangers? I mean...what does it matter what I can pull off wonders if I don't have a life, right?"

Did work count as a life? Or did her work consume her years ago?

"I guess I don't have to have a brush with death to question myself. Just have to have a friend do it for me..."

The whispers were more about herself than Surprise.

"Maybe I should do something else with my life, huh?"

A hoof brushed her face. A white hoof. It startled Spitfire at first but she soon realized that Surprise must have just moved a bit in her sleep. It was the second white hoof that got her attention even more for this one was nestled in a golden hoof-cup.

"Spitfire," Princess Celestia voiced softly as not to disturb the patient.

Shock, anger, and embarrassment shot through the captain and she didn't know what to say as she got up from Surprise's side.

"I need to talk to you. At the palace," the princess said grimly.

What else could the Wonderbolt do?

She nodded tersely.

"I'm sorry," were the alicorn's first words when they finally arrived at the palace garden. "I know this sounds foalish of me but I simply did not expect this to happen."

The usual tranquility of the lush green private garden didn't seem to exist anymore. Not with what was going on. Spitfire picked her gaze up from the ground to meet the other mare's eyes, "That's how accidents are, you know?"

"No. It wasn't an accident."

The words hit Spitfire like a train.

"What?" was the only word that could escape her confusion. It had been an accident. It had to be an accident, right?

Celestia had a pained look on her face that said everything that she didn't want to say. So she turned away from the pegasus and took a few steps before starting.

"I placed some magic on your special team. You already figured that much out. But one of the things I did was place magical alerts on each of you. Just in case something happened."

"So you knew when Surprise crashed?" Spitfire interrupted, annoyed that the Princess hadn't shown herself earlier over the matter.

Celestia turned halfway to face the captain and nodded solemnly as she continued, "I thought I had made everything fool-proof but I hadn't considered the possibility of anypony actually trying to get hurt."

No. That wasn't possible. Surprise wouldn't...

"I had Luna enter her mind so I could confirm what happened."

Spitfire didn't want to hear it. She wanted to close her ears and never hear the truth if it meant more pain.

"I just assumed she was okay after you brought her into your confidence. But it seems that only made her attach herself to you more. She was scared of what would happen if you abandoned her," Celestia explained.

"I would never abandon her," the orange pony whimpered in response.

"Dread often replaces reality in the minds of the fearful. Surprise had this planned for a while and managed to keep it to herself. She decided to crash on purpose. If she survived then she was convinced that you'd always take care of her and if she died...she would have died flying at your side."

Spitfire fell to the ground. Everything had been going fine before the crash. Everything had been okay...

And now it felt like her heart had been violently torn from her for the second time in the same day.

39 - Reset

Soarin' knew that he had to step up and be something he had never been before. He had been a leader in the past but never quite like the way he needed to be now. Spitfire had obviously been affected by Surprise's incident and might even consider permanently cancelling the stunt. He couldn't let their hard work go to waste. They would perform even if it was only once.

Spitfire had just come back from wherever it was she had gone off to and, in spite of her apparent depression, he had to take the opportunity to talk to her. Alone. And thus he beckoned to her from his hotel suite's doorway as she started towards her own room. Thankfully she wasn't so distracted that she didn't notice and Soarin' clicked the door behind her as she walked slowly into his room.

"We have to perform, Spitfire. You know the rules. The show must go on."

Instead of nodding, her face turned sour and she made her way over to his sofa. Laying upon it, she gave a mumble that might have been a "yeah." Soarin' wasn't so certain.

"I know you're feeling bad about Surprise. We all are. I want to punch a wall in to be honest. But that won't help her and it won't help us," he explained as his own way of encouraging the captain.

"I know," Spitfire sniffed. "And we won't be cancelling it."

"Huh?" Soarin' raised his brows, not expecting the mare to have said that. It was what he wanted to hear but by no means what he expected to hear.

"The Bullet may be dangerous but I'm confident we can handle it. Surprise didn't have an accident," the orange pegasus began to reveal.

"Wait. You mean-?"

"Keep this a secret between us, Shiner. I trust you and I want to keep trusting you. Surprise went down intentionally because she was afraid of the future. Of what she could stand to lose."

That surprised Soarin' and he opened his mouth only to find that he didn't know what to say. Should he say that the mare had been stupid? Arrogant? Crazy? Nothing quite seemed to fit the ticket. Spitfire seemed to get stronger and more convicted with every word she spoke, as if she was making up her mind and moving on with life. The stallion supposed it was a good thing and let it continue.

"What she did was wrong even if I can understand her fear. I'm not going to let it happen again. If I suspect that anypony may be in a state of mind that is harmful to themselves or anypony else then I will remove them from high-profile stunts. But I don't expect I'll have to do that. Surprise is the only one of her kind on our team."

"So what are you going to do with her?" Soarin' finally voiced.

The mare tilted her head in thought as the stallion walked up to her and sat before the sofa.

"She'll be my assistant," the captain finally answered. "But no more performances. I won't throw her out - I could never do that - but I can't have her on the team either."

Soarin' nodded calmly.

"She'll be safe with me, anyhow. On the ground."

Something seemed to cross the stallion's mind, as he stopped nodding along and widened his eyes until a smirk crept onto his face.

"What?" Spitfire asked simply.

"Oh, nothing...just wondering if you'd accept a second 'assistant.' I'm quite qualified you know," Soarin' grinned.

Spitfire groaned and didn't feel it was worth it to bother with a facehoof. "Soarin'..."

"Oh, I'm sure you could use help with the planners and ledgers. I've seen those things. That's got to be like a job out of Tartarus."

The mare had to tilt her head in silent consent. It indeed wasn't that fun of a chore.

"And the food too. I've seen you skip meals while you run and fly all over the place to get things done," he continued.

It would be nice to have a hot meal on the go, Spitfire thought.

"I could even bake you some chocolate chip cookies to enjoy after brunch."

The mare finally flattened her eyebrows. He was messing around with her.

"Soarin'...." she breathed. This time in a dark tone.

"Oh!" he dangerously decided to ignore the captain. "Perhaps I could make your bed in the morning and do your laundry. An assistant is basically a maid, right? I think the two job descriptions are awfully close. But then, I wouldn't be a maid, you know. Because I'm a guy and all. Maybe a butler then. But I don't really like butlers. So uptight-"

"Soarin'!" Spitfire shouted to stop the stallion from his meaningless dribble.

He gave a "heh" of faux embarrassment and finally fell silent.

"I'm not looking for a second assistant. And I'm certainly not looking for a maid or butler. Okay?" she almost grunted with a huff.

"Just trying to cheer you up, Firefly," Soarin' remarked with a more serious but gentle tone. "I don't want to see you in the dumps. Not after what we've gone through."

It was true. They had gone through a lot.

The stallion saw the opportunity and took it. He leaned over to the sofa and hugged her, to which she slowly hugged back. Soarin' really had been her friend through thick and thin and he always proved it too - even now.

"Is it just us or does everypony have this much drama in their life?" she joked as her face rested against the stallion's shoulder.

He didn't pull away as he joked in return, "Nope. Just us. It's because we're just so awesome."

"You're the only awesome one, Shiner. You keep picking me up when I'm down," the mare remarked more seriously.

"Well, I won't deny that," the stallion giggled. "In fact, I don't think I'm going to let you out of this totally platonic hug."

That got the mare giggling too.

"Oh, yes you will," she argued playfully as she tried to push him away.

She failed.

"Oh, no I won't. In fact, I think my mood radar suggests that you need more relaxation. Prepare to be coltnapped!" Soarin' declared triumphantly as he grabbed the mare around her midsection and rolled her off of the sofa.

"I'm not a colt, you lamebrain!" she countered.

"Nope. But I am!" he began laughing crazily as the both of them continued to roll onto the floor is a mess. "That's your problem, Firefly. You never did any good old rough-housing as a filly. No plain no-thinking fun."

"How am I supposed to when it takes all of my strength just to keep you in line?" Spitfire laughed as the stallion launched himself against her. He tried to secure her wings in an effort at "capture."

"But a princess is supposed to keep her soldiers in line," he flashed a grin, ever intent on countering her every word and action.

"I'm not a princess!" the mare began laughing uncontrollably as Soarin', failing to hold her wings, began tickling her.

"You sure throw yourself around like one, though. Do this. Do that. Get me a cup of tea."

"I-" Spitfire failed to respond through her near-painful laughing. "I never ask for- for tea!"

Seeing the poor girl heaving for air, he decided to give her a break and ceased the tickling. But he did take the opportunity to grab her around the midsection so that she couldn't use her wings.

"Well even if you aren't a princess, I can probably get a hefty ransom for ya!" he played a badly voiced accent that was supposed to sound like a foalnapper.

She took a moment to catch her breath but Soarin' was surprised when she didn't squirm to break free.

"You okay?" he decided to inquire.

To that, Spitfire replied with a smile, "Why wouldn't I be? It's not like I'm in any danger here."

Soarin' beamed inside. It seemed his plan worked quite well. Spitfire was no longer focusing on all of the problems that she couldn't do anything about.

She was just enjoying life.

Spitfire came to after a few hours to realize that she had fallen asleep. Soarin' must have carried her back to her bed because she didn't remember going there herself. All she remembered was getting drowsy while watching a movie with him. The stallion had one of Equestria's latest projection televisions, but Spitfire was having a hard time remembering anything in particular about the movie. The warm blanket and the popcorn on the other hoof....

"Oh Celestia!" Spitfire mouthed as she shot up from her bed.

She had forgotten the things that she still had to do for the day. Fix the planner some more, schedule that stage show, and inform Blaze about a position with the Wonderbolt Elite. That last item was not something she looked forward to but her job as captain often led her to do such things. They needed that sixth position.

So the mare got up and got busy. While Soarin' may have wasted a good portion of her time, she wasn't really sorry for it. Rather, she was grateful that he was thinking of her enough to force her to relax a bit. She would need to do something for him later. Exactly what that would be, she would decide when the time came.

With the speed that was often associated with her, she started and completed her chores. The plans were made and the events were finalized with the stage director. A few showings were moved around and, before it was time for sleep, the captain found herself before Blaze's suite door. This wasn't going to be pleasant.

KNOCK!

Something clicked behind the door and it was a good ten seconds before it opened. When it finally did, there stood a frowning Blaze. It was not something that Spitfire was used to seeing, as the mare usually expressed unhappiness with good old complaining or even snide remarks.

"Yes," Blaze stated rather than asked.

The captain almost hesitated and then spoke up. "Can I come in?"

Stepping inside as the other orange mare made way, Spitfire felt something in the air. A certain mood. But then there had been many unusual moods of late. She made her way to the nearby counter, much as she had with Fire Streak. Blaze shut the door and followed suit.

"I need-"

"-to talk to you," Blaze finished the captain's statement, which made the mare raise a brow. "I don't want to give off the wrong impression or anything."

Spitfire decided it was best to just listen to the other mare's serious tone.

"I want to...apologize."

Now that made the captain tilt her head in curiosity.

"I'm really, really sorry about what happened to Surprise and...I'd like to decline your offer to join the special team," she said, still frowning.

"Now why would you need to apologize? And why don't you want to join?" Spitfire inquired.

"I know Surprise got hurt really bad and," the mare hesitated as she was speaking slowly. "And I admit I haven't been thinking very well of her. Of any of you. I just don't want to be that mare. Always thinking badly of others and being happy when bad stuff happens," she lowered her head.

"Hey now," the captain interjected. "I haven't always thought well of you either, so how about we just leave that behind. I'm glad I have you on the team and I don't want you turning down my offer just to look one way or the other. Nopony is going to think badly of you for taking Surprise's spot. And, if they do, they'll have to answer to me."

The frown started to loosen in the opposite direction and Spitfire was happy to find her impression of Blaze was improving. The mare really wasn't that bad after all.

"So don't be concerned with something that you can't help. Will you reconsider my offer?"

Blaze sighed to let something out of herself. She must have been thinking hard about this ever since Surprise had the accident. "Yeah. If you want me on the team, I'd be happy," she finally righted her expression. It wasn't quite a smile but it was close enough.

"Awesome," Spitfire breathed in response. "Now that it's decided, how about we go get dessert somewhere? I think we could both relax a bit."

"That..." Blaze looked straight to meet the other orange mare's eyes, "would be great."

40 - Settling In

She looked out at the crowds. She was the captain of the greatest pegasi team since Commander Hurricane's Typhoon Legion. Or maybe that was just an old mare's tale. In any case, Spitfire was relived to be settled with Blaze since that mare had been the most troublesome in past experiences. She was hot-headed which often led her to bump heads with others. Though Surprise's "accident" was unfortunate, it seemed to have cooled Blaze's jets. Maybe it had cooled all of their jets.

This public performance was not the first for the Bullet. That was tomorrow. Rather, this stage show was just a regular event that the Wonderbolts had in the planning for some time. Canterlot did enjoy its stage dramas. Personally, Spitfire could do without them but she nevertheless acknowledged how valuable such shows were for her own team. They tended to take the edge off the pegasi, breaking up the high-tension high-risk stunt shows.

The announcer pony was on stage, giving the audience the introduction to the story. This time, it was something about the fall and resurgence of Equestria. Typical drama.

"And thus the princess left to defend her subjects, leaving Shadowline to care for..." the announcer continued to script in theatrical style. It just went on and on until Spitfire heard the appropriate cues. "Silence!"

"Shadowline!" the captain called as she glided onto the stage from the left. "I'm sorry! It was my fault! Please take me instead and spare my family!"

"Only if you give your life!" barked an infuriated Soarin' playing the part of Shadowline. He was enjoying the role just a tad too much. "You deserve only death for what you have done! And your family as well!"

It went on to the parts where Blaze and Fleetfoot joined in and begged for mercy. Lightning Streak and Rapidfire cowered in fear to one side as Soarin' began his fight against Silver Lining, who ultimately lost. Misty had a morning scene and the story went on to a rather dreary end. Such was the formula of that variety of Canterlot stage drama. Soarin' was laughing as he exited to backstage along with the others.

"I swear they all blur together," he chuckled.

Spitfire couldn't help but make as quiet a shambling as possible since she was still wearing the chains that were a part of her last costume.

"I don't remember ever being led away into slavery though," she mumbled.

"Oh that was the best part," the lead stallion grinned as he leaned over onto the mare. "My little pegasus slave..."

Spitfire rolled her eyes as Silver Lining cleaned the red paint from his coat and remarked about how Soarin' actually wanted to be an evil overlord.

"C'mon. Who doesn't want to be master of the universe? Especially if it means you can have Spitfire clean your laundry and wash your dishes."

That got him a smack on the side from the captain. He just kept grinning.

"Why do they all have to end so badly?" Silver Lining wondered aloud.

Misty came up to help him with his coat. "I think it's a cultural thing."

"Culture, heh. That seems to be the excuse for a lot of sub-par old plays and books," Lightning Streak complained as he was struggling out of his torn peasant costume.

Blaze was conversing with some of the others across the room so it wasn't until she walked over that Spitfire noticed the mare was in a rather good mood. Only her mood was a reflection of another's. Fleetfoot was walking alongside her with her own smile, which prompted the question.

"Good news?" Spitfire inquired.

"More than good," Fleetfoot whispered as she came up alongside the other orange mare. "Rapidfire and I have been spending some quality time together and he told me earlier this morning that he really likes me. As in 'be my marefriend' likes me," the mare gave an additional but covert squeal of excitement.

Spitfire facehoofed. So much for the "business" relationships.

"And why are you happy?" the captain looked to Blaze.

The mare raised her brows, dropped them, and looked away. "I should be happy for others, right?"

It seemed Blaze still had Surprise's incident on her mind. She was usually more judgmental of others. Perhaps she really was changing.

"All the sunshine in Equestria isn't going to make things right between the two of you. Why do you like each other?" High Winds cut in, walking over to the trio. It was a blunt and simple question that she voiced in a low enough tone only to be heard by the three.

"Well..." Fleetfoot started.

It felt like regular old times with the girls, so Spitfire's mind drifted to thinking that she was rather content with things as they were. Only one thing bugged her still. She needed to visit the hospital after they were done with things backstage.

Perhaps she had been too hopeful once again. Spitfire expected to see Surprise awake but instead found the mare asleep as usual. The pain, at least, was gone from her face. She looked almost peaceful as the captain walked up to the side of the hospital bed.

"Hey," Spitfire whispered to the whitish pegasus. She didn't stir. "When you wake up, there's a lot that I need to tell you. So don't stay asleep for too long, okay?"

As Spitfire brushed her hoof across one of Surprise's forelegs, the unconscious pony rolled a bit in her direction. A sparkle came to Spitfire's eye before fading once again. The mare wasn't about to wake up.

"I'll always be around for you," the orange pegasus said as she got up to leave. "Even when you don't think that I will be."

"Tomorrow?" Misty asked as she shared a single glass of pink lemonade with Silver Lining. They were at another low-key cafe that High Winds had told Misty about. That fashionista sure did get around. And yet it was not a common occurrence to bump into her around the city. Images of High Winds dressed in a ninja costume began to cloud Misty's mind before she shook them away to make room once more for matters at hoof.

"Why not?" Silver Lining asked back in that casual tone of voice he often used with her and nopony else. "Everypony's going to be tired after the performance and it's not like we'll be gone for very long. Lake Till is only far enough to be safe from the crowds. It'll be nice."

"I suppose so," the mare considered with some thought. It seemed like spending so much time with Silver Lining had taken her energy down a notch. It was not really a bad thing but the stallion's more calm life style was indeed different. Shrugging it off as too much thought and not enough action, she gave her okay. "What should I bring?"

"Anything you want to. Though I don't imagine there's anything that you'll really need. I'll bring all of the usual picnic supplies and some extra desserts too," he happily formulated the plan.

"I kind of feel bad for Spitfire though," Misty brought up a more serious subject. "I don't think she plans a vacation anytime soon. She was really close to Surprise..."

"Now, now," Silver Lining waived his hoof in dismissal. "There's nothing we can do about that. Besides," he paused as he suddenly took an interest in a nearby flower pot.

"Besides what?" the mare encouraged when Silver Lining didn't continue.

"Well...nothing," he insisted on dropping whatever it was he was going to say.

Misty was not going to let something so obvious slide. She was interested in hearing anything that the stallion suddenly felt better not to tell. Being an "item" gave her all the reason that she believed that she needed. "Well, everything. What were you going to say?"

Silver Lining looked sheepish at first, took a small sip of the lemonade, and started slow. "You know how there seems to be...well...a love bug in the air?"

"Your talking about Fleetfoot and Rapidfire?" Misty guessed.

He nodded minutely, "It's not just them. I've noticed some couples around the city that just weren't there before and I have a little theory about that. It's got to have some truth to it since even Spitfire seems to have something going on."

"Spitfire?!" Misty spit out the lemonade that she had just taken a sip of. Luckily, Silver Lining had a handkerchief handy to wipe himself off with. "The captain?"

"Well that's the thing. I can't be sure with that mare. I don't think anypony really knows what she feels for who. After all, she doesn't treat other ponies the way most ponies do. Friends, enemies, coworkers. There's just something off about how she acts around everypony. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying anything bad about her. She's just different."

Misty lowered her head a bit in agreement. There certainly was something different about Spitfire. Perhaps it was related to her past but good luck to anypony who wanted to figure it out. From what Misty knew, Spitfire's past was as unique as it was complicated. "So you have a theory?" she decided to get back on track.

"Something like that," he suddenly took on a smile. "You see, Princess Cadance is currently in Canterlot on some royal business. You heard about her special talent?"

"Love, right? It sounds cheesy but it's probably true. I've met ponies with talents far more unbelievable," she mused and then took another drink from the lemonade's heart-looped straw.

"I happened to overhear some Royal Guards talking to each other. I don't think they knew I was passing by," he remarked.

This sounded shady to Misty but she couldn't bring herself to believe that he intentionally eavesdropped on some guards. Such a thing was probably not possible even if it was in the pegasus' nature to do so, which is wasn't.

"They were talking about how Princess Cadance was in an unusually giddy mood last night. Apparently, she said something that indicated she had been practicing some of her wide-range magic," he continued.

"Oh dear," Misty covered her mouth.

Silver Lining grinned again. "I guess you're thinking what I'm thinking."

"But her magic isn't like mind-control, right? It just brings out something that was already there," Misty tried to explain.

The stallion shrugged. "Could be. But who knows? That kind of magic probably gets into heavy philosophy when you analyze the composition."

"Philosophy? Composition?" Misty suddenly countered. "So that's what that book was for. I was wondering why you had that thick tome checked out of the library."

"It's interesting reading," the stallion defended himself. "I thought we might look it over together just for fun. Take it on our picnic."

Finally, Misty gave a giggle. "I suppose it might be fun. Does it list anything related to pegasi?"

"We'll find out," Silver Lining beamed as he went to take another sip of lemonade. He accidentally bumped noses with Misty, who also went to take a drink. Blushing, they both decided to get up from the table and begin their preparation for the next day's picnic.

"You need to stop making losing bets, Lulu," Princess Celestia rolled her eyes at her dark-coated sister. The Princess of the Night was seated across from her, laying upon a cushion in the royal garden. It was a lazy afternoon for the both of them, which didn't happen often.

"How could I resist, Celly? And it was not a losing bet," Luna argued. "Cadance is far too powerful for her age."

"Power has nothing to do with it, sister," the white alicorn giggled. "You simply believe you are older and thus superior in terms of magical ability."

Luna looked away from her sibling and puffed up one cheek in rebellion. "But I am better with magic."

Celestia grew a sudden and dramatic smirk. Luna was so much fun to play with. "Cadance has a husband now. I'm sure it's quite easy for her to use love magic that requires an actual love interest. Perhaps you could prove your ability against her if you..."

"NEVER!" Luna suddenly whipped her head around and shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice, already getting a rosy tint on her face.

Celestia giggled once more. "It doesn't have to be real," the alicorn lied a bit. "Perhaps one of the guards would be willing to be a test subject for a few experiments."

"What kind of experiments, dear sister?" Luna asked, taking on a dark expression that made her look ill.

"Oh, you know. Just a candlelight dinner. Maybe sharing a plate of spaghetti. And then when you are down to the last noodle-"

BAM!

Luna threw her cushion at her sister's face and hid beneath her hooves. "Stop it, Celly!" she begged, obviously blushing once more.

Oh, Luna was indeed so much fun to play with.

41 - Bullets of Fire

Spitfire had felt it before in practice. But today was not practice, it was for real. The only regret was that Surprise was not with her now, as the mare was still asleep in the hospital. She had heard good news from the doctor, who said that she had actually awoken to full consciousness and exhibited no permanent damage. If only Spitfire had been there. The mare had fallen back into unconsciousness before the captain could show up.

Now it felt empty. Surprise wasn't even in a spectator seat to watch the first public performance. Maybe it wouldn't have hurt Spitfire so much inside if Surprise had been a late joiner like Blaze. But Surprise had been the very first to train with her in secret. Only she knew about Princess Celestia.

Speaking of the alicorn...

"Woohoo!" cheered a white mare at the edge of the crowd. She was dressed in an elegant but not dramatic outfit that conveniently covered her cutie mark. A similar mare of the opposite shade of coat was standing beside her with a pout upon her face.

Spitfire had been approached by the mysterious pair of unicorn females backstage before the official performance time. The white one had presented herself quietly and only to Spitfire as "the one and only." The pegasus had failed to get it at first but eventually realized with a rather long "oh." Apparently, the royal sisters wanted to enjoy the show incognito. Well, at least that was the case with Celestia. Luna seemed to be stewing about something. Spitfire just concluded that there were plenty of things going on with the princesses that she was not aware of - or entitled to know. Whatever the case, she had bid them to enjoy the show.

Now, the magically-disguised-as-unicorn Celestia seemed quite happy with herself. Why shouldn't she be? This was the moment when her side-show student was about to pull off one of her own incredibly difficult maneuvers. It was purely a matter of popcorn and carbonated drink - which Luna seemed very upset to be carrying around for her sister.

The show was soon to start as the seats slowly finished filling to maximum capacity. Spitfire's Elite team was around her on the take-off stage, doing stretches and warm ups. An announcer unicorn was fiddling just off stage with the lighting director. Basically, everything was in order.

Spitfire felt that the nature of the Bullet called for a nighttime performance, since the fire would show best in the dark. Of course, flying under night conditions was no big deal for the Wonderbolts and, in fact, the captain almost liked it. It was an extra challenge and her team was always up to that.

"All clear," voiced a pegasus that had just swooped down onto the stage.

Spitfire looked at him and, even under the currently dim stage lights, recognized him as the pony in charge of aerial space reservation. "Thanks," she replied. "We won't be going past ten."

He gave a nod and took off again. If Spitfire had any time to concern herself with non-show matters, she might have contemplated what the weather pony needed his rather bulky tool-pack for. But that would get into matters of personal circumstance, since the male pegasus had to take on a second job as a repairman just to pay the bills. Such was a complicated affair that she would never have been able to know. Right now, she had to focus on the show and even the disguised princesses couldn't distract her. Put differently, there were a lot of things that could distract her right now and she was intent not to lose her focus for the performance.

The captain collected herself and turned to her Wonderbolts onstage. "Positions," she whispered loud enough for them to hear.

They each gave a nod except for Soarin', who gave a wink. If it wasn't so late into the evening, he might have looked like nothing but a goofball. But the dim lights, pale moon, and overall shadow managed to somehow combine in such a way that made it look like a competent flirt. Spitfire was going to have words with him after the show. If she had the energy for it.

Speaking of looks, the orange mare thought as she scanned the Wonderbolts a final time. They were each giving each other an excited look. First public performance of a stunt always felt different than just doing the same old stuff. And they probably all had plans after the show as well. Spitfire knew that Silver Lining and Misty did at the very least. They passed each other a look that said they had a date after the performance.

Of course, everypony was free to do whatever they wanted after scheduled events but Spitfire didn't think any of them would do anything that required much energy. They would all be tired. More tired than other shows.

Noting that the five were in place and that Soarin' was up by her side, she turned around to face the crowd and walked up to the stage's front lip as the lights brightened up. "This is not going to be like our usual performances. You've come here to only one thing. The Bullet. And that's what you're going to get. It's currently the only stunt involving fire, smoke, pure pegasi power and no magic or special effects."

The ponies gave their cheers of excitement.

"Is everypony ready for some heat?!" she yelled effortlessly in her get-them-fired-up voice.

The cheers and hollers from the crowd were answer enough. But she played it up anyways.

"I said is everypony ready for some heat tonight?!!"

Again the crowd went ballistic.

Fire Streak was about as crazy as the audience was and Soarin' had to shoot the stallion a look to tell him to keep his cool. Dangerous stunts required calm minds. Spitfire was glad that her team still had a love for stunt work but Fire Streak was a bit too enthusiastic about it. At least Blaze was his wingmare. She could keep a handle on him, which was actually the captain's plan all along.

Spitfire looked up to the dark sky with its moon hanging in the corner pocket. A breeze went by, cool against her coat and mane. It really was a beautiful night for a performance. The breeze was too slow, even at higher altitude, to be a problem. Tonight would have been perfect if Surprise was there...

Shaking it off, the orange mare began stretching her wings out slowly. The roar from the audience got even louder in excitement of events about to happen.

"No need to lead them on, Firefly," whispered the voice of the stallion wingpony beside her.

"I'm not leading them on. I'm just enjoying myself, Shiner," she whispered back inconspicuously.

With a calculated grace, she reached her full wingspan and gave a flap. Then two. With the third, she started to lift upwards.

Every aspect of the show was intentional and had to come together to add to the spectacle that was the Bullet. That was a basic principle of show business. Get the crowd on the edge before giving them what they want. So the other two pairs of pegasi behind her arose in similar, if somewhat dramatic, fashion. Spitfire kept to the timing as they all gently arose from the stage and entered the cool and dark night sky. The stage lights left them, staying below.

A quick glance to Soarin' told Spitfire all she needed to know. They just had to build up some initial speed and then they could go right into a flaming Bullet. But then that would actually be too quick, so they had to perform some more simplistic stunts to fake a build-up. The stallion had a smirk on but the captain wasn't so sure it was for the performance. He tended to be giddy around her as of late. Perhaps as a result of their unique relationship.

As the leading pegasi, Spitfire angled her wings and started into a gentle forward glide with a slight downwards curve. The others followed in formation and she tilted left to stay within visibility of the audience. With a curve that continuously added to their speed, each of the three pairs of Wonderbolts swept around in from of the crowd. Some passed by at only a couple dozen hooves distance from the watching ponies.

Spitfire continued to lead them back upwards and through a long loop and spiral until she felt that the timing was right. Coming out of the spiral at a high altitude, high above the audience, Spitfire began a death drop in perfect synch with the other two pairs, who exited the spiral early.

Six pegasi dropped like lead in the night sky, quickly reaching the stage lights below. And just as the crowd was sure that the Wonderbolts were going to meet their end, all six of them turned at ninety degrees.

One after the other, the Wonderbolts ignited. The explosions sounded like the rolling beat of a drum and erupted like a volcano against the stage that had mysteriously darkened. To them, the night became as dark as pitch with only a glow coming from the fire that chased them. To the audience, there was an explosion of flame on the stage and then six streaks of fire screaming by over their heads, painting an excited hue against the moon and stars. Needless to say, the crowd erupted in cheers of delight.

Forward, forward, left, Spitfire timed within her head. They had practiced the turns, however long and slight, and had managed to exit and re-enter the Bullet once per practice. Not being able to turn easily back to the crowd, they began slowing down and prepared to move around to the side, using the dark to cover the return. Without the flames and with use of certain flying tricks, they could get back to the audience's current point of focus and dazzle them with another and yet unexpected Bullet. Which was exactly what they did.

A pause and silence blanketed the crowd of watching ponies as the blaze and roar of flame left them. Some were just starting to look around in an effort to find the six 'Bolts when six more explosions erupted before them. Most gasped in surprised with the suddenness and closeness of the explosions, but smiled again when they saw the six flaming Wonderbolts careening straight up into the night sky.

Even as Spitfire lead her team into the second ignition, she knew the show was about up. Even she herself couldn't physically handle more than two in quick succession. Blaze must have been on her edge by now as she was lead off to the right with Fire Streak. Silver Lining and Misty waned left as Spitfire and Soarin' continued straight up with all of their strength. The result was, what appeared to be to the audience, a trident of fire pointing straight at the moon.

A slight dizziness came onto the captain and she knew her time was up. Soarin' was probably tired as well. And so ended the second and last Bullet for the night. She exited with the stallion, making a smoky trail that ended in a sharp point. Once they had slowed enough, they had to angle their wings to shoot back down with a different direction. Otherwise the heat would scorch them.

But it was more of a gentle glide downwards, since neither of them had the strength to make a big deal out of it. In any case, they were getting back down on the other side of the trident-shaped smoke so that the crowd couldn't see them. The captain could, however, see the other two pairs making their own wobbly glides to the meeting point. An announcer pony would be making the closing words right now since none of them had the energy left for it. Spitfire had really stretched things to get them to do a vertical Bullet right after a horizontal one.

The orange mare approached the ground and stretched for it with her front hooves. Only, one of her wings cramped from being overworked and she almost made a faceplant. Luckily, Soarin' caught her.

"Whoa, there," he said. "Can't have you eating dirt."

"Thanks," Spitfire replied gratefully as they both got their hooves firmly on the grass. "Shortest show, but..."

"Yeah. No way we can drag it out with more small stunts when it takes everything we got just to do the big ones," the stallion finished. "Me, on the other hoof. I can still do more," he grinned that old grin.

The mare shook her head. "You're going to have to because I might just need somepony to drag me back to the hotel," she joked tiredly, realizing that it might really turn out to be the case. Her hooves were starting to shake a little. Guess I really was pushing to my limit, she thought.

The other four were walking towards them but were doing so noticeably slow.

"All accounted for?" Soarin' called.

They each gave their confirmation. Spitfire took note that Blaze was holding onto Fire Streak to keep herself up. Misty was doing something similar, though the captain suspected she didn't need the support. Something glinted in Soarin's eye and he passed Spitfire a look that said everything.

"You're not carrying me, Soarin'. You're just hiding how tired you are," she deadpanned.

"Two stunts is not enough to keep me from a little fun," he countered lightly.

"Celestia, you two," Blaze rolled her eyes as she walked up with Fire Streak. "If you're going on a date then just get out of here already."

Spitfire widened her eyes. "That's not-"

"Blaze is just confused," Misty butted in. "It's me and Silver Lining that are going on a date. Something real mellow and relaxing," she sighed in exhaustion.

Silver Lining nodded. "We're all fine so we should get going. Can't be standing around here with how tired we all are. Right, Fire Streak?"

The stallion in question suddenly jolted in his spot. He had obviously nodded off. "I wasn't sleeping!"

Spitfire laughed, "And you were the most enthusiastic one."

"Get some sleep," Soarin' said as he turned and took one of Spitfire's hooves over his shoulder. She didn't resist. "I'm going to get her back to the hotel."

"I can stay up," she argued.

"But that's not what you want to do," he returned. "What you want is a pillow and sleep. There's a difference between being able to stay up and wanting to stay up."

The captain really didn't have an argument for that so she didn't give one. Letting the stallion lead her away, she waved and gave her goodbye to her perfectly intact Wonderbolts.

After they had walked for a while in the dark, Spitfire decided to ask, "We going slow for a reason?"

Soarin' chuckled. "I'm tired, Firefly. Don't worry though. We'll get there."

Sighing again and leaning into the blue coat of the stallion, Spitfire rested even as she walked beside him.

They had pulled off the Bullet and could do so again. Now the captain had to decide what was next in the schedule.

But that could wait for tomorrow...

42 - The Changing Wind

The night air had become less warm as Silver Lining lead Misty down the country path. Nothing but the moonlight lit their way and yet they were both at ease. Everything was how they wanted it so far.

Perhaps they were too tired to fly and that was why they walked instead. The performance had indeed sapped their strength. In reality, they walked because they wanted to. Because they found it relaxing to do so together. Not everything had to have such a strong reason.

"You said we might have the picnic under the moon rather than wait until tomorrow," Misty spoke softly in the calm quiet between them. "But just looking at you, I can tell you'll fall asleep before we're halfway through with the food," she giggled.

Silver Lining smiled faintly. "You're hardly any different. I was about to say that I wouldn't mind falling asleep under the moon with you. The idea is rather romantic..." he passed a prolonged glance to the mare as they continued the relaxed pace forward.

"Oh," she replied simply. "But we might catch a cold."

He laughed. "Just as well. I decided we'd better sleep at a hotel near the lake until sunrise. We're both too tired anyhow."

A gentle breeze blew by and cooled Misty once more almost to the point of a shiver. "Ah. Sounds perfect," she yawned.

Again, they walked for some time with the peaceful quiet of the night before Misty spoke again.

"Silver Lining?" she practically whispered.

"Yes?" he asked back, not knowing what she had in mind to say. Her tone seemed a bit different.

"Thanks for being...you. Nice, considerate, gentle, peaceful..." she spoke still in a small voice.

Silver Lining wanted to smile at first but felt he shouldn't on the account of it seeming rather arrogant. Instead, he sighed happily as he felt the mare wrap a wing over him even as they walked together.

Finally, he answered, "I'm just happy to have you, Misty."

Maybe things had just gone too far. Spitfire wasn't sure but considered that she might have let the Bullet consume her goals too much. She had a life, after all. Soarin' and Surprise were at the top of it too. On one hoof, she wanted to take some vacation time with him. On the other hoof, she wanted the same with her. They both deserved it and the orange mare couldn't help but settle on taking them both. A trip to the tropics would be nice...

Thing was, she had gotten a call early in the morning about Surprise being up again with a more stable condition. She had to use all of her limited morning strength to shove the blankets, pillows, and unconscious Soarin' off of her to get to the phone. She had fallen asleep on his sofa while watching some random movie. Thus she correctly assumed that he had fallen asleep while putting the blankets on her, which hadn't been there to begin with.

Soarin' still hadn't lost his old habit of taking care of her.

But that hardly mattered to Spitfire now that she could go see Surprise and speak to her. Rushing, the captain took only a second to make sure she wasn't missing anything vitally important before she was off. It wasn't until the door shut behind her that Soarin' began his wake-up mumbling.

"Fire...?"

Blaze stretched her joints, hearing a few of them pop. It was an early start for her, especially considering the performance they had done last night. She was still a bit sore from it but was intent that such a thing wouldn't stop her. Not when she had a breakfast set up with High Winds and some of the others. As it turned out when she arrived at the restaurant, she was the only Elite Wonderbolt present.

"Fire Streak must be sleeping in," Blaze mumbled to herself as she walked up to the large table that the others were situated at. She took the open seat next to Fleetfoot, vaguely noting that the result was three mares on one side and two stallions on the other.

"I'm glad to see you weren't too tired from last night," High Winds said as she turned in her seat to regard the new arrival. "I think you'll enjoy the meal. This place has great pancakes."

As if on cue, the Earth pony waiter walked casually to their table and started taking the orders. Not wanting to wait or make a fuss, Blaze just ordered the pancake special. It would do.

After the waiter finished promptly, Lightning Streak started asking about the previous night's show. But mostly he asked about Fire Streak's performance.

"Hardly any different than the others," Blaze answered. "We all had to be one-to-one with synch so there wasn't any room for uniqueness. If anything, Fire Streak was the most tired one afterwards. Make you feel better?" she raised a brow, knowing the ongoing competition between the two stallions.

"No, not really. Why should it?" he shrugged it off in an attempt not to be obvious.

Fleetfoot prevented the topic from continuing with her own remark. "I don't think I'd want to learn the Bullet even if I was offered. Too much risk is bad for one's health."

"That's rather conservative of you," High Winds spoke across Blaze. The mare obviously knew why Fleetfoot had said what she did. "Don't want to leave somepony behind?"

When Fleetfoot looked embarrassingly back to High Winds and gave the "quiet" gesture, Blaze knew that things had definitely been going on while she was busy in the Elite team. It was amazing what one could miss happening with the other members if absent even for a few days, even when most days seemed to bring nothing of note.

"Geez, Fleet," Rapidfire finally spoke and locked eyes with the named mare. "You don't need to be like that all the time, y'know?"

Somehow, Blaze guessed she was out of the loop.

"But I-" Fleetfoot started before Lightning Streak facehoofed and High Winds interrupted.

"Alright now. How about we talk about something different," the fashionista suggested.

Blaze sighed relief on the inside. Whatever that had been, she was glad High Winds cut it early. Weird vibes and all.

"So anypony got ideas for the two missing spots?" the orange mare initiated the new subject.

"You mean Wave Chill's position? What's the other?" Lightning Streak asked.

Fleetfoot, looking to establish herself again, gave the answer that they were all thinking. "Surprise, no doubt. There's just no way she can stay on the team with those injuries. The captain will cut her."

"Gently to be sure," High Winds remarked. "My first impression is that Spitfire will choose the top candidates from the training academy."

"The academy?" Rapidfire raised a brow in suspicion. "No offense to the trainees, but none of them has ever had enough power and talent to fit a 'Bolt slot."

It seemed at first that one of the five at the table was going to say something to counter the remark, but it never came. A general "hm" ensued due to the fact that none of them had any particular pony in mind that could fill one of the empty positions.

Finally, Blaze broke the concentrated mood. "I remember there being a blue-coated one that was pretty good. But I guess it doesn't matter one way or another because the captain's the one that decides. Now where are my pancakes?"

Again, as if the waiter had been on cue, the Earth pony returned with a tray packed with food. Needless to say, the Wonderbolts were already licking their lips in anticipation. Or perhaps that was only Lightning Streak, who happened to be particularly hungry that morning.

There were few words that could describe how Spitfire felt when she rushed into Surprise's hospital room. Relieved would be an understatement. But then, that relief faded out as the captain took in the situation more clearly.

The whitish mare was sitting upright in the bed with a doctor and nurse on either side. She was crying and hadn't yet noticed that Spitfire had entered the room. She was just shaking her head with both forehooves covering her face as she sobbed. The doctor and nurse must have known a little bit as to what was going on because they both looked thankfully to Spitfire and took their leave of the room. They did so rather quickly, which left Spitfire alone with the mare that hadn't even noticed her yet.

Now that the orange mare was actually there, the energy that she had on the race over started to drain the same way the tears were draining from Surprise. She had been so excited to see the mare awake that she hadn't actually thought of what to say. Of how to approach her. Now, the weight of Surprise's "accident" was coming back like lead on Spitfire's shoulders. What was she going to say first?

As it turned out, nothing. The captain just walked up to the bedside, leaned over, and put a hoof around the other mare as if to comfort her. She had to take care not to touch the metal braces that were holding the mare's broken wings. Finding the right position, she tried giving a reassuring rub. But Surprise didn't warm into it. Instead, she flinched from it as if it was evil. It was at that same moment that she looked up from her hooves, face red and messy with tears. She seemed almost horrified by the sight of her best friend.

Surprise tried to say something but it came out as nothing but a babble against the sniffling and half-sobbing that she couldn't seem to control.

Not knowing what to do and having her hoof stretched out to a friend that didn't want it made Spitfire's heart hurt in a way she hadn't quite experienced before.

"Do-" Surprise tried again before hiccuping from all the crying.

Spitfire's outstretched hoof wavered painfully in the air.

"Don't hate me!" Surprise cried out painfully.

Even if the injured mare flinched away again, Spitfire was going to hug her. Getting up on the bed, as visitors were not supposed to, the orange mare grabbed her friend as best she could and hugged her tight. "I could never hate you, Prize!" she answered honestly. "I never will!"

Maybe that was enough for the other mare or maybe she just didn't have any tears left to cry because she fell silent and finally relaxed into the hug.

They both stayed like that, not counting increments of time. It was not until Surprise started talking again that Spitfire knew that she had to take charge of the mare. "I can't be around you anymore," Surprise started depressingly.

"No," Spitfire replied, not letting go of the hug. Surprise slackened at that, believing that her former friend had agreed to what she said. "You have to stay with me now. Always."

The pale-coated mare widened her eyes in pure emotion.

"You might not fly with me," Spitfire continued. "But you will still live with me. Well," she smiled in an attempt to relief herself of the heavy tension in the room. "If you don't mind putting up with Soarin'. He's sort of hanging off of my wing these days," she gave an experimental giggle, seeing if she could try to lighten up the mood any. She still felt at a loss as to what she was supposed to do so she just said and did whatever came naturally.

Surprise didn't answer at first but then spoke. "Why would you want me around?" she sniffled again against the orange mare's coat. The captain was intent not to let up the hug. Not if it made Surprise feel the least bit loved.

"Because we're best friends and I care about you. Do I need to have a reason to care about you?" Spitfire tried to put it gently. "I want to have you at my side all the time. I know it's selfish of me because there's already somepony doing that, but I can't bear to let you go."

"I can't do anything-"

"You will do anything," Spitfire suddenly bit back with a harsher tone. "You'll do what I say," she commanded as she finally leaned back out of the hug to look the other pony in the eyes. It was a gamble but, since the idea landed in her lap, she decided to take the chance. If Surprise was going to go as far as self-harm over her sake then perhaps the mare would listen to her orders.

"Whatever you say?" Surprise quivered. She had been trembling the whole time but now she seemed to tremble for a different reason. The mare was obviously confused and Spitfire had to take the opportunity to straighten things out.

"What I say is law," Spitfire put on a more serious tone. "You will heal up and then, when you're released, you will be at my side doing whatever I tell you to. You will stay with me in my hotel room and keep Soarin' from hogging all of my attention. And if you dare try to run away from me, I will stop at nothing to hunt you down and drag you back."

Surprise gulped and nodded slightly. Apparently, the mare was buying the whole thing, which Spitfire was making up on the fly. It encouraged the captain to add a final touch. Something to ensure that Surprise wouldn't hurt herself again.

"And if you dare make me hunt you down, then I will personally break both your wings again," Spitfire blatantly lied. "You stay with me and do what I want and you'll be safe and happy. You try to get away from me again and you will have nothing but pain and suffering."

"Spitfire!" the injured mare wailed and collapsed forward to hug her friend. "Please don't! I'll stay! I'll do whatever you want! Just don't leave me! Don't hurt me!"

Spitfire quickly wrapped her hooves around the mare again and, knowing that Surprise couldn't see her face for the moment, she smirked evilly. The gamble worked. Talk about dumb luck with a dumb idea. Maybe there was something to be said for Soarin's half-flanked approach to life. He did this kind of horse apple non-sense all the time.

"Oh, don't you worry," Spitfire placed a hoof atop her friend's head and stroked her mane. "I'll take good care of you."

Mentally, Spitfire sighed in relief. That was one problem down the drain. But the stallion that suddenly came waltzing into the room just made another one. Thankfully, he was skilled at quick clean-ups.

"I thought so," Soarin' exclaimed as he strode up to the bed. "Only thing I could think of that would have you rush out like that."

Surprise stared at the male, at a loss as to how she should respond. Spitfire was less reserved. "Prize is going to be sticking with me after she gets out, Shiner. You're going to need to make room and keep your hooves to yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he smirked as he came up to the bed and leaned over and onto it. The bed had to be pretty sturdy because it wasn't buckling under the weight yet.

Spitfire rolled her eyes. "How many times are we going to go over this? Most ponies take your little mannerisms as something they're really not. I don't want Surprise feeling all weird. She doesn't have the tragic connection to you the way I do."

"Tragic?" Soarin' opened his mouth in mock shock. "So now you're a victim because I know you?"

Spitfire didn't fail to notice a small movement in Surprise's lips that indicated the beginnings of a smile. She was going to have to thank Soarin' for showing up. Maybe it was because they had known each other so long that the stallion had been able to pick up on her situation when he came in. Without any signals, he just slid right into the mood, trying to change Surprise's attitude if even by a micron.

"Still," Soarin' beamed again as he leaned over to Surprise. "Glad to have you back. It'll be nice to have somepony else to keep the hutch for."

"Huh?" Surprise almost whispered, not knowing the meaning.

"There's so much for us to talk about, Prize," Spitfire addressed the mare again. "I know you're supposed to get lots of rest but if you're not too tired then we can start now."

"Oh," Surprise looked more excitedly to the captain. "No, I'm fine."

Soarin' caught Spitfire's look and breathed in to start. "Well," he began.

Spitfire held onto the mare and added her own parts when necessary, talking about all sorts of things from their past. In the end, they managed to get Surprise out of her mental rut. With any amount of luck, she would be safe with the two of them from then and on into the future.

Wave Chill looked up to the great city of Canterlot, situated against Mt Canter. He smiled, knowing that the Wonderbolts were probably neck-deep in some crazy mess. But he smiled a bit more because he knew that he might just end up with a crazier life than them. After all, he was no longer a Wonderbolt. He was just a plain old pegasus powerhouse with a mission.

He turned and faced the road again, heading into the distant mountains. His heavy pack weighed him down but he just took it as strength training. He could have easily been flying rather than walking but he had decided that life was too short to fly everywhere in a hurry. He wanted to enjoy the scenery that he was passing. The country road he was using was certainly beautiful enough to justify it.

The weather was almost overcast, a gentle and cool breeze was sweeping by and rattling the leaves on the trees. The day was good. Perfect for his adventure.

Extra - Blue Feather

Tap.

Tap tap.

A blue forehoof clacked against the tile floor of the academy's shared shower. Water was running across it from the downpour. The shower cubicle itself was steamy, with hot water wetting every inch of a rainbow-maned mare. She brought the tapping forehoof to her mane as the other turned the water flow off.

The soap was out of the mess but the multi-colored strands were shielding her eyes from seeing anything. She had to brush repeatedly at them to clear up her view enough to find the towel. The shower curtain made a shushing noise as it was moved aside and one dripping wing lifted the large towel from the small bathroom table that provided such niceties. Every thread of the towel was new and still very plush with the Wonderbolt logo proudly sewn through its surface.

The pegasus sighed but it wasn't for the work she had just been through to get herself spotless. It was for her nervousness. She hadn't understood why she had needed to take a shower halfway through the day's training. Spitfire herself had come to her in full regal dress on the cloud track route and ordered both a shower and an audience in her office.

It just didn't make sense. She had never been ordered to the office like that and why the shower? With a dark bit of dread, Rainbow Dash worried that her reserve trainee status had been closed and she was going to walk into that office to receive instructions to pack up and never return. This was her dream. She couldn't lose it after she had just begun to taste what it might be like.

The drying was over and the soaked towel was hung up over the shower rod of the stall she had used. The steam had already been blown away by the overzealous bathroom vent, leaving a chill to strike across the mare's coat. She attempted to get the warmth back by working up an energetic trot out of the bathing quarters. Normally, the place would be packed with the other trainees and every shower stall would be in use, but the odd time she had needed to use it left her as the only occupant. The next moment, it was empty again.

Rainbow lightly bit her bottom lip as she made her way through the building's hallway up to Spitfire's office. She stopped in front of the door with the little fogged glass window and bold type that spelled “Captain Spitfire” and “Office.” A deep breath didn't help as much as she wanted it to. It was the moment of truth, but she still failed to come up with any positive reason that her personal idol requested her presence. Her most optimistic guess was that Spitfire wanted to scold her for pulling some dumb trick out on the track.

With no more assurance, Rainbow pushed open the door and strode in with head held high. She faked her pride in the hopes of seeming professional. Perhaps Ms. Harshwhinny was right and it would help. It didn't.

There she was. Spitfire was dressed in full captain's uniform. Her sunglasses rested in their folded state before her. It couldn't possibly escape the Element of Loyalty's notice that the room was packed with other pegasi as well. Neither could it escape her notice that each pegasi was outfitted in their official dress uniforms, making the crowd look like some top-dog assembly of military officers. Their serious expressions fully supported that image.

There were eleven total, including the captain. Instead of a cramped grouping, they were spread around the back of the room in a rough crescent facing the door. Every eye was on her and, though she immediately felt too small to look at them on the level, she knew who each of them were. She had been an avid fan of the group for too long not to know their names and faces by heart. From left to right were Blaze, High Winds, Fleetfoot, Rapidfire, Soarin', Spitfire, Surprise, Misty, Silver Lining, Fire Streak, and Lightning Streak. They were the Wonderbolts. Every single one of them minus Wave Chill, who had been publicized as being honorably discharged some months prior.

What in all of Equestria? Such was Rainbow's frightened thought. It was like the greatest dream and nightmare all at once. She was alone in a room with all of the Wonderbolts. She had obsessed over them for so long but her lack of understanding gave her only fear.

“Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire announced from behind her desk. The orange mare folded her forehooves. “Please close the door behind you.”

Rainbow hadn't even thought about the door. She had been so overwhelmed. It was kicked close far harsher and louder than she intended to, which made her wince.

Spitfire didn't mince words. “You are to keep your mouth shut and your ears open for this. Understood?”

The blue pegasus trainee shook her head immediately and was as silent as the grave.

“Good,” the captain said and kept her hooves crossed.

The other Wonderbolts didn't move or smile. They just stood there like stone statues and seemed to almost peer down upon the rainbow rookie.

“Do you know why you're here, Ms. Dash?”

Rainbow shook her head just as fast. She remained quiet and Spitfire rolled her eyes while groaning. Soarin' frowned and Surprise snickered. It made Rainbow wilt and feel like a total failure.

“Your acceptance to this academy was made in the good faith that you might make a good Wonderbolt someday,” Spitfire lectured with a frown. “You have completely failed to meet those standards. I don't even know what to say, Ms. Dash. I'm having to make an exception to our normal policies just so I can remove you from the trainees.”

Rainbow's pupils shrunk in horror. She couldn't stop the terrified words coming from her mouth. “N-no! H-how?! I...I saw the score board. I beat every record since I arrived!”

Various Wonderbolts started snickering now at her response.

Spitfire shook her head. “I'm going to have to ask you to pack up everything you have at the trainee barracks. And the trainee suit...I'll need that back too.”

Tears formed in Rainbow's eyes. This was not happening. This was not happening. Her dream was shattered right in her hooves and the Wonderbolts, her life idols, were laughing at her. Spitfire arose from her seat behind her desk and stepped coolly around to the broken blue mare.

Rainbow looked up to see the captain's forehoof rise. It looked like she was about to throw a punch to her face and Rainbow flinched with eyes closed in full expectation of the hit.

A moment.

Nothing.

And then a warmness was around her. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to realize that Spitfire was hugging her. Hugging her. A whisper drifted into her ear from the orange mare's mouth so close to it.

“Thanks for signing up, Rainbow. You've really been an inspiration. I just prefer to hug a non-sweaty inspiration when I have the option – in case you were wondering.”

Spitfire pulled back to smile at the dumbstruck and still teary pegasus. She continued much louder this time.

“You failed to meet the standards because you redefined them. You're the greatest trainee we've ever had since opening the academy. I'm canceling your status as trainee and having you pack up because you're simply no longer a trainee.”

The Wonderbolts around them still seemed to be grinning and snickering at the confused look on Rainbow's face.

“C'mon, Rainbow,” Spitfire finally giggled. “Don't you get it? You got Promo Uno.”

“Huh?” Rainbow finally squeaked out.

Soarin' couldn't take it anymore and had to shout it plain and simple. “You're a Wonderbolt, you crazy filly!”

The blue pegasus of question opened her mouth to have nothing come out of it. Her heart raced but her mind failed to register the revelation.

Spitfire took her in her forehooves again and swung her around towards her new teammates. “Oh, this is no good. We've got to get her into this.”

“Maybe a party?” Blaze suggested.

Soarin' brightened at that. “Yeah! With apple pie!”

“Can we get out of these stuffy things now? You had your fun, Fire,” High Winds complained in her miffed fashionista tone. “They itch!”

Misty dove onto Rainbow Dash, who was jerking her head this way and that. “I really like her mane!”

Silver Lining joined in. “New Bolt Group Hug!”

It was a free-for-all after that. All eleven of them piled onto Rainbow in a massive hug that tackled the poor mare to the ground. Spitfire managed to beat her way close enough so that she could see eye-to-eye with the new member.

“Is my rainbow Wonderbolt's mind reporting for duty yet?” the captain laughed.

Rainbow was now crying for all the joy and relief she felt burning in her heart. It now beating with the rhythm of somepony who had everything she always dreamed of. “Yes ma'am!”

“Stop calling me ma'am,” were the words that echoed in Rainbow's mind as she sat down to what was probably going to be the best party she had ever experienced in her life. Of course, it was a Pinkie Party in Ponyville. The captain had let her choose everything for her promotion celebration and there wasn't a snowball's chance in Tartarus that she wouldn't have it with her friends.

Soarin' was staring like a madpony at the apple pies Applejack had made for the occasion. He only barely restrained himself from diving in because the party had to officially start first. They were all eager for the festivities to begin, though. All five of Rainbow's friends were present as well as the entire lineup of Wonderbolts. Without the suits or uniforms, they really did look a whole lot more like average pegasi. That was, of course, except for the fact that they were all ridiculously toned athletes. And Spitfire's wild manecut and sharp eyes made her stand out too.

They were assembled at a big picnic area at the town park, with streamers and balloons decorating everything imaginable. Pinkie had really gone all out on this one. It was almost as if the Earth pony was more excited about the promotion than Rainbow was. Almost.

“Your attention, please!” Pinkie shouted through an unnecessarily large megaphone after she bounced onto the center picnic table. Every eye fixed on her and she proceeded. “This is Rainbow Dash's Official Bestest-Ever I'm Totally A Real Live Wonderbolt Bow Down Before My Greatness Party!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes but kept her smile. A cheer came up from those assembled and it made her lips waver. As much as she wanted to keep smiling, this was an emotional moment for her. Her friends were right here with her celebrating this moment. She felt at home with them and knew that this was probably going to be as good a party as Pinkie touted it as being.

“Okay,” Pinkie's voice rang across the park. “So that was the original title but then I totally got to thinking that it wasn't super awesome enough and made a list that I forgot somewhere along the way and remembered that-”

“Pinkie!” Twilight cut in from the crowd.

“Sorry,” Pinkie grinned in embarrassment and crept down from the table. She added one last thing before stashing the megaphone in her mane. “Let the party begin!”

And so it did. Soarin' dove for the pies, making a nearby Applejack laugh heartily. Music started thumping from somewhere and it boomed loud with the kind of hard beat and heart-stopping bass that Rainbow loved. Fleetfoot seemed to really get into it as well because she started banging her head in time with it. Spike, in a bold move, tried convincing Rarity to dance with him. The unicorn, however, was too busy trying to keep her hat she made just for the occasion from getting flung off her mane due to the air-blasting bass. Fluttershy crawled through the crowd and whimpered until crashing into two blue hooves.

“What's wrong?” Rainbow asked, beaming as she helped the other pegasus to her hooves.

“C-couldn't we have a nice quiet party?” Fluttershy asked, voice nearly lost to the music. “With tea and tiny animals?”

Rainbow laughed hard and then felt bad because of her friend's look. “Sorry, Shy,” she disclaimed. “Maybe if you became a Wonderbolt then we would. But this is my party and it's got to be as awesome as I am!”

“Careful,” sounded a familiar voice from behind them.

Rainbow turned around to find, unsurprisingly, a certain purple alicorn.

“Don't let the fame and fortune get to your head,” Twilight winked at her.

“Oh, no worries there, princess,” the blue mare got intentionally smug. “I'd worry more about that happening to you.”

Twilight immediately frowned and was going to ask what the hay that was supposed to mean but dismissed it all last second. Rainbow's tone of voice clearly indicated she was on an emotional high. There was no stopping that self-confidence of hers now.

“Hey, Pinkie!” Rainbow shouted across a few tables. “Throw me a cupcake!”

Twilight's eyes widened and she and Fluttershy darted away as fast as possible.

Pinkie, however, grew a maniacal and not the least bit creepy smile. From her spot three picnic tables down, she lifted a tray of a dozen funfetti cupcakes frosted with multiple colors. “Incoming!” she wailed.

“No, not like that!” Rainbow tried to stop it. She just wanted one for eating. She hadn't meant to come under fire. In her moment of triumph, she had forgotten which pink pony she was dealing with.

Rainbow Dash's record-setting wings were not fast enough that day. The innocent request quickly devolved the party into a chaos of cupcake and apple pie projectiles. For generations would Ponyville residents speak of the slaughter that occurred that frightful day. None would forget the picture that was taken and later hung up in the town hall thereafter. It depicted the Wonderbolts and six curious friends covered in the frosting and apple filling of the terrible war and gathered in a group hug in spite of it all. But, more than anything else, it depicted their joyous smiles.

1 - Ignite

It was just another performance for Spitfire. She pushed herself time and time again to be the best flier and her performances showed this in spades. It was why she was captain of the Wonderbolts and why she had been alienated by so many other ponies. She gave her flying 110% but it was not just because she was competitive. Oh, she was very competitive but that was not the only reason. She just loved flying. She loved to feel the wind soar past her and zip along her stretched wings. It was an exhilarating life.

It was an exhilarating life. She had recently come down with a tiny bit of depression and the other Wonderbolts had noticed it. Minor deviations in the performance may not have caught the attention of the audience but her fellow aces flew on the same millisecond reaction times that she did. Soarin’ just chalked it down as “Spring Blues.” Or was that “Fall Blues?” He was probably not the kind of pegasus to go to for psychological analysis.

Currently, Spitfire was resting discreetly at a cafe after their latest show. Her minor depression had never meant much before but it almost caused a problem with this latest show. Her mind had wandered during one of the death drops that they performed in practically all of their shows. A Wonderbolt never let their mind wander - not if they wanted to live. She had almost missed her mark to pull up.

The death-defying tricks never rattled her will of steel but it terrified her that she might not be able to focus her thoughts during a show. Why had her mind wandered in the first place? Why was there some minor depression? There was nothing bad going on in her professional or personal life. Maybe I’m just bored, she thought.

Their performances were extreme as always but they hadn’t come up with a new could-die stunt in a while. Maybe Blaze was right and she was getting too attached to the adrenaline. Seeing as how extreme stunts were her way of life, it would be difficult to overcome such a problem. Right?

Well I’ve had enough chill time, she decided. She left the cafe after paying for the purified water she had ordered. The waiter had been surprised at first as most were when she chose plain old water over the caffeine rich delicacies. Too many ponies thought that sugar and caffeine would help in a performance. In reality, such things would only make her reflexes “jumpy” and it was critical to not be “jumpy” during a death drop. Even after a performance, she wouldn’t have any of it - not when she was parched with thirst and her heart was thumping at lightspeed. Social gatherings, such as the oh-so-dull Gala, were perfect opportunity to indulge in such things.

She had one thing in mind as she left the cafe: Train. She had to blow away her boredom with some new trick and the best way to do that was to go back to the basics. At least, that was something that her old trainer had believed in. In general, she found it to be true in her own stunt work. The difficult thing would be finding a place away from other ponies where she could train in peace. Such was not an easy thing since the Wonderbolts were currently in Canterlot. She heard a unicorn shout “Wonderbolt” and for a moment she thought her lazy disguise had fallen through. Thankfully, he simply bowled by her.

Spitfire snickered as she looked behind her just in time to see Fleetfoot escaping a rabid pack of fanponies. Served her right for forgetting to take off the signature goggles.

The Wonderbolts were in a “chilling time” after their performance, which meant that they could just go and do anything they wanted. For Spitfire, that meant more flying. Hey, you didn’t get to be captain by hugging the ground, she thought. Such zeal for practice may actually reinforce Blaze’s earlier comment but that was something Spitfire didn’t want to consider.

Finding a suitable spot behind one of Canterlot’s larger storage complexes, she began her warm-up. One, two, three. Her wings were back in business for extreme flying. She got ready to bolt into a loop that would get her velocity started. Ready, set, g-

“Fire! I knew I’d find you doing something like this. Don’t you ever take a break?” Misty berated her captain. How she found her was anypony’s guess but it was probably something mundane such as mare’s intuition.

Spitfire had almost careened into the ground. “How did you know it was me?”

“That,” Misty pointed a hoof at Spitfire’s disguise, “is not enough to fool another ‘Bolt.”

“Well that’s not really necessary,” the captain retorted in a fit of pride. The thought that anything about her might be inadequate was insulting.

Ignoring the remark, the yellow pegasus continued to make her original point. “DJ PON-3 is having a live concert in an hour. Fleetfoot wanted me to tell you that - though I’ll doubt she’ll make it. She still hasn’t shaken her battle brigade.”

Spitfire almost laughed. The sorry ‘Bolt was not the best at handling her fans. It took finesse, such as Spitfire’s own disguise. “I thought she only did concerts at night.”

“Yeah, but you couldn’t tell it was daytime where she’s playing. It’s one of those dim light clubs. Respectable though. This is Canterlot after all.”

“Well, I’ll pass.”

“I thought you were a fan...” Misty wondered aloud.

“I am but I’m just not in the mood for a beat. All I want is some wind.”

“Suit yourself,” she shrugged it off as she left to whatever entertainment she had lined up for herself.

Spitfire readied herself once again and took off. The first few loops got her some velocity but it was far from enough. The problem gradually became clear that she did not know just what to do to make it interesting - to get her heart racing. She continued going through basic movements. A corkscrew. A dime turn. A seamless high speed somersault.

Nothing was coming to her yet. Thirty minutes later and she was still at a loss. She slid into a dust-rising landing and almost considered giving up. But then what else would she do? Nothing sounded interesting to her at the moment. It was as she began wondering if she was bored with life that somepony unexpected interrupted her.

“I see you’re still obsessed with the rush. You’ll never improve if you don’t slow down.”

Spitfire whirled around to face the only mare that the voice could belong to. She had heard it many times from past events and performances in Canterlot. She almost forgot to bow. “Highness!”

“You don’t need to call me that,” Princess Celestia frowned. “I’m taking the day off to get away from the grind that is Canterlot nobility.”

“M-my apologies. I wasn’t expecting you...”

“And I wasn’t expecting to see you either, to be honest. I was just taking a pleasure flight when I saw your little practice session.”

Spitfire’s gaze lowered even further. She was no longer bowing but she couldn’t quite lock eyes with the Princess. There was a difference between the intimidation of a celebrity like herself and nobility like the Princess. Celestia’s eyes held a calm intensity...the kind of intensity that the ‘Bolt captain wanted to experience anew in her stunts.

“I was just going through the basics like my old teach’ used to go on about,” the pegasus tried to explain.

Celestia just stood there. There was almost an awkward moment as some wheels turned behind the alicorn’s eyes. “Good,” she finally said. “Perhaps I could show you a few things. The kind of things your instructor never even knew.”

The Princess was glowing with an inner excitement. This was just the sort of stress-relief she had wanted. She even got to strut her stuff as a bonus. No cameras or agendas. Just a little private show off - with magical assistance.

Spitfire was first surprised and then anxious. The Princess of the Sun was going to teach her something? Her fellow ‘Bolts would be insanely jealous. Even big time celebrities like them never got private lessons from the alicorn ruler. But no. She would not tell anyone. It would just be her little secret. “Like what?” she recklessly asked in her moment of happiness.

“The importance of patience...and show tricks,” she stated as she began trotting in place.

Spitfire was about to ask what that was supposed to mean - or insinuate - when Celestia suddenly lifted off the ground. She had suddenly stretched out her wings and climbed a good thirty hooves straight upwards in a single beat.

“I like the synchronization that your team uses but it should have that from the start. If you all lift off vertically at the start of the show then it gives you more space for the starting tricks while impressing the crowd with a clean rhythm,” Celestia lectured as Spitfire joined her in the air.

The captain had to keep her jaw from dropping. First, her team had just been criticized. Second, it was constructive criticism. Third, why did Princess Celestia know such things?

In response to Spitfire’s questioning look, the Princess responded simply with a sigh, “The Wonderbolts are only one of the hundreds of trick-flying groups I’ve seen throughout my many years. I even participated in a few in the past.”

That was surprising. “I had no idea...” Spitfire half mumbled.

“That I ever had a life apart from rulership and noble drudgery?” Celestia finished her unspoken comment.

Spitfire was mortified. “N-no! I didn’t mean to-”

“Oh, calm down. I didn’t mean to ruffle your little orange feathers,” she sighed once again. “It always feel like I’m carrying lead bricks on my back. Nopony save Luna knows what being a ruler is really like.”

“That’s what vacations are for,” Spitfire tried to encourage her.

Celestia only looked at her with a somber expression.

“...no vacations, huh?”

“Only the ones I sneak in,” she finally smiled again. “Anyways, I’ve been rambling. You ready to see some real speed?”

“Only if you can handle it,” the pegasus challenged.

Just you watch you silly filly, Celestia thought. But then she was off and only an afterimage of her was left beside a dumbfounded Spitfire. The pegasus could only make out blurs in spite of the fact that she had a mach-speed sense of perception. Celestia was just getting warmed up - literally.

It was as she started a long straightaway that she finally felt relaxed. It had indeed been a good idea to get the day off even if Luna had to help her do it. She didn’t like pushing things onto her sister after all. No matter. It was time to take things up a notch. With one massive push from her wings and a little magic to boost, she ignited.

Spitfire watched in awe as the blur of Celestia, shooting straight across the sky, suddenly ignited into flames and shot out into the distance like a bullet. Unbelievable, she thought. It was a trick nearly on par with the sonic rainboom. The ‘Bolt captain began to wonder what else the Princess was capable of. She probably had some tricks even more spectacular than the Element of Loyalty’s signature move.

Speaking of which, Spitfire had only seen it once during the last royal wedding. What was the name of the pegasus again? I think I met her at the gala that one time, she thought. However, her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden alicorn’s voice.

“Did you catch that?”

Spitfire practically jumped in the air then spun around to face the Princess behind her. “When did you get back?!”

“I’ve been here all along watching that adorable look on your face,” she giggled.

Spitfire finally remembered to get her jaw off the ground. She had been open-mouthed ever since watching Celestia’s trick flying.

“So I’m guessing you want to learn it?”

“Y-yes! Of course! But can I? I mean, it doesn’t take magic does it? Because...”

The Princess shook her head. “I used some but it’s possible to do it without magic. But it will be more difficult. It’s going to take a lot of work to learn.”

“I’ll do it!”

Celestia smiled and reached over to Spitfire. Grabbing the ‘Bolt’s right wing in her hooves, she took a guess at its strength. “We have to train these first.”

8 - Captain's Duty

First card: Truth.

"Who do you have a crush on?" High Winds asked Surprise. She had read the card word for word and Spitfire felt her soul slipping away. What was this? First turn, first card. Surprise was already out of the frying pan and into the fire. Blaze just might have fixed the deck and player positions.

It was growing onwards into the night, though not yet pitch dark outside. Some ponies would consider it evening, but none of the six mares had any concern of the growing darkness. Instead, they snuggled against the pillows and sheets they had situated for their living Tartarus game of tears, shame, and disgrace. The mares downed both chocolatey and fruity snacks with soda as they took the first casualty. Surprise was a good mare...

Her shyness was offset by a strong sense of honesty. The girl just couldn't lie and say she never had a crush. Blaze looked all too much like an elementary school filly who just found she could fly. Spitfire hugged a pillow she had raided from the bed next to her and chewed on the edge. Her fellow female Wonderbolts were seated in a close circle on the bedroom floor, using various bedding for cushions. Even without such things, the floor was covered in rich carpet.

Surprise gave a stutter as her lip quivered. She looked about ready to cry and, as odd as it was in retrospect, Spitfire was the most compassionate mare present. Or perhaps it was just her duty as captain to look after the emotional well being of her crew. After all, emotions directly affect ones physical condition. It's proven by science (or those lame mare mags on the impulse rack).

"Oh, it's not that big of a deal," Fleetfoot butted in. "I've had several crushes and look where they got me," she spread her hooves to take in the other 'Bolts.

They laughed and Spitfire took the chance. "How about I tell you my first crush?"

High Winds sighed, "We all know about your first crush, Fyfy."

Spitfire gagged, "Stop calling me that." Too late she realized that they would only call her that more.

"Yeah, Fyfy. Stormseed was a real winner. Too bad he dropped out of flight school," Blaze sniped.

Surprise gave her captain a veiled smile in appreciation for changing the direction. She knew that T and D was a poor game for somepony like herself but she didn't have the will to take flak from the others for declining to play.

Spitfire, however, was busy reprimanding her callous teammate. "How many times must I remind you, Blaze. That is not something to joke about. He got in an accident and permanently crippled both wings. I will not allow any of your mean humor in this group."

Blaze just gave her sour face she always had when she was scolded - even if it was a light scolding. Spitfire took the cards from High Winds since she was the next drawer. Seeking to reset the mood, she changed the pace. "High Winds, truth. Pick your poison."

Since it as the Extreme Edition, the game rules were a bit different. Opposing players didn't choose Truth or Dare. The drawer chose T or D and had a list of options to go with. All of the choices were cruel....every time. The orange mare wanted to be gracious though and let the other mare make the choice. Spitfire handed the card to High Winds, who read her options with a bit too much confidence. Obviously she chose the least damaging one, which was still pretty harsh. "Most embarrassing moment this week," she declared. "I had to sign an autograph in a bathroom stall. That fan was way too persistent."

Blaze balled while the others merely chuckled. It was a shared pain as they all had experienced similar if not identical situations. Popularity was a blessing and a curse.

Blaze eagerly snatched the deck from Spitfire and gave the mare a glare. Picking a card, "Dare. Spitfire has to go through all of tomorrow with somepony tied to her wings."

Misty gasped while the others simply stared. The maniacal mare had probably chosen the worst thing on the card. "Volunteers?" Blaze asked proudly.

"I'm the one that-" Spitfire tried to explain that she was the one to choose the pony but Blaze just blocked her - claiming it was compensation for averting Surprise's truth about her crush.

The room was dead quiet until Surprise took the bullet, "I'll do it."

Seeing the smile on the white pegasus, Spitfire knew that her teammate was trying to be nice for the earlier favor. Blaze almost threw a fit, though. "That's no fun! Two mares spending a whole day tied together is lame, especially since you're teammates anyways. Choose a stallion!"

"You were the one that asked for volunteers, Blaze," Misty remarked in a deadpan voice. "Besides, a stallion? Seriously?"

"Like Soarin'? Pfft!" High Winds chuckled.

Blaze smirked, "I said stallion..."

"What did I say about mean humor?" Spitfire glared again.

The offending pegasus glared back this time, "You still stressed about something, Fyfy? You've been on a short fuse lately."

"Or you've been on a rampage lately," Fleetfoot offered.

Misty nodded in turn, "I'll second that."

"I just don't want us to have fun at somepony's expense when we don't have to," Spitfire exclaimed with just a puff of pride.

High Winds couldn't help to remark at it though, "That's rather idealistic, you think?"

Misty cut in before Spitfire, "She's the captain, Winds. If she didn't go on about that stuff we'd probably end up as some bad-news delinquent group."

"She has a point," Surprise boldly agreed.

Blaze gaze a deadpan expression as a response, "We are going to keep playing, right?"

"Of course. Who's next to draw?" Spitfire asked.

"Here," Fleetfoot grabbed the cards. "This is ridiculous," she said as she read the card options. "Blaze, when was the last time you wet the bed?"

The girls groaned. "Why no dare?" Spitfire gave a rare complaint.

Fleetfoot apologized, "It wasn't a very good card."

"Ha! I never did. Even when I was a filly," Blaze proudly stuck out her chest.

"That sure sounds legit," Misty grumbled as she took the cards. Blaze, however, was silently seething over the fact that Surprise was the one who drew the cards on Misty. She would never be able to weasel Misty's secret out that way. Surprise was way too timid to do it. Spitfire had denied Blaze's request earlier to rotate the players. It was even a suggestion in the official rules. She wasn't aware that the captain wanted to freeze the player positions to prevent her from drawing a card on Surprise. Direct confrontation between those two mares would not turn out well. Ever.

Misty chose a dare on Fleetfoot as the game continued.

"Why don't we go back to the hote-" Lightning Streak was cut off mid-complaint as Fire Streak continued his split-personality reign of terror.

"Because we're stallions, not sissy mares," Fire Streak sharply replied as he waved a stick around as if it were a scepter. He had found it as they had been digging the dirt fort.

Soarin', for all his lack of sharpness, took advantage of his virtues to pull the group back together. They were sweaty, tired, and it was dark outside. So dark, in fact, that it would be impossible to get back inside the city wall if it were not for Luna's light (some called it the moon). "Hot shower and sleep?" Soarin' asked aloud. The hearty cheers well answered the question.

"But we just finished digging the first underground room - and my throne!" Fire Streak complained.

Wave Chill rolled his eyes, "You and Blaze would be the perfect pair."

Rapidfire, however, was the only one that got the joke. Combined, the stallion and the mare would be the worst prank/troublemakers in all of Equestria. Well...maybe just in all of Canterlot.

"Finally! Not that this hasn't been interesting," Silver Lining added.

"Yeah, we need to go over those room plans again, Light," Wave Chill reminded the stallion beside him. Lightning Streak just nodded. Wave had started what was going to be a stairwell to access rooms further down, which clashed with his own rampways.

Soarin' was not slow on the praise, "Well thanks for the idea, Fire."

"Of course! I knew it would be a blast - and we're not even done yet."

"I don't want to admit being excited about digging a grand hall out of dirt," Rapidfire joked.

The group made their way back to the surface and, though they were all tired, Fire Streak still decided to race back to the hotel. "First in the shower!"

It took no time at all for the others to realize what he was doing and catch up. "I'll beat you out of the shower with your own stick, oatbrain!" Lightning Streak was ablaze with justice.

Soarin' was less violent but no less determined. "I call shotgun!"

The others could only facehoof.

Surprise smiled. She hadn't been doing all that great for a while because her teammates liked doing things she wasn't that into. Some of them had said some pretty nasty things too, but she tried to remind herself that it wasn't true and that it was only a figment of her imagination - poor perspective. In any case, she had reason to be happy now. The captain she had looked up to ever since joining the Wonderbolts had once again proven herself to be her hero. Spitfire was the kind of person she aspired to become. Bold, outgoing, kind, thoughtful, and forceful only when necessary. The orange mare had taken more than one bullet for her in the T and D game and ensured that she would get to sleep on one of the plush beds. Not wanting to have the mare share with Blaze, the captain had taken the command and assigned the "winners" their beds. Blaze got to share the left bed with Misty while Spitfire and Surprise got the right bed. Fleetfoot got to take a sleeping bag with High Winds. The very self-conscious mare was aghast with sleeping in such a manner but had to go with it since she fell through on the last dare.

Spitfire was already well situated under the covers. The other mares had also gotten comfortable but Spitfire actually looked like she was going to nod off. Something heavy seemed to be on her mind but none of them knew quite what it was. Of course, Surprise had no way of knowing that her captain was fretting about how to balance her time with the team and Celestia. Perhaps she was starting to realize she had too many apples and not enough buckets. Whatever the case, Surprise was happy with her friend. Yes, she could call the captain of the famous Wonderbolts her personal friend. She had been with the group for a while but she still shivered at the thought. Perhaps she just never got used to her own position in the star team.

Some of the other mares were talking in lower tones. The mood was settling into sleep so everypony was "powering down." Surprise tried to do likewise as she slipped into the sheets. The bed was so big that it had plenty of spare room for two ponies. Three would be awkward though. As soon the white pegasus' hooves fell in between the sheets, she felt a shiver pass over her. It was a good shiver - the kind that came when first getting into a spa or sitting down after standing for a long time. The sheets were just as plush as they looked and the bed must have been one of the fancy ones with the thirty-button remote because the sheets were already warm from the built-in heater. Immediately, she wondered if it would be possible to replace her current bed she had back home with one of these.

She settled in and brought the sheets up over the tip of her nose so her eyes just barely stayed above them. "Were we going to do...uh...something tomorrow?" Spitfire addressed her in a quiet voice. Her tone carried some amount of concern.

Surrpise turned to face the mare next to her and inadvertently pulled the sheets around her in the process - effectively trapping her mouth beneath the sheets. She replied to her fellow mare but it came out in unintelligible mumbles.

Spitfire managed a tired smile as she reached over and pulled out the sheets from the cocoon-like bundle that trapped her teammate. Freed to get her mouth back out from under the sheets, Surprise repeated, "I think we were shopping...oh, I wonder when we're supposed to get tied together..."

The orange mare sighed heavily. Her energy was failing fast and she didn't really want to do any more thinking for the day. She would have to work something out with Celestia tomorrow. "Okay..." she lazily replied as her eyelids wavered. The warm and soft bed was taking her to the dreamland fast.

"Umm...Spitfire," Surprise started.

The captain, however, was being carried away to darkness as her eyelids finally closed.

"Thanks."

Surprise held onto her treasured smile as she fell asleep. Though they joined together in the world of dreams, they were sleeping on opposite sides of the bed. Blaze snickered when she saw the two mares finally knock out. She was not going to let any of the "Dare time" go to waste. Spitfire had been too much of a snob on her lately. Misty just sighed and turned in bed as she tried to get to sleep, ignoring the more rambunctious mare when she got up.