Light My Heart Afire

Chapters

First-Class Delivery
Return to Sender
Around the Skies
Clouds and Rainbooms
Family, Friends, and Relationships
Chip off the Old Block
Mentor and Student
Standing In
Signature Moves
Spotlight
Like Old Days

First-Class Delivery

Sky Shift was flying. He loved that feeling, especially in the hours just before the morning, where the air was cool and crisp, and you could just barely feel the dew collecting on his fur. He flew through the sky, swinging through valleys and around mountains, just reveling in the pure joy that his flight brought him.

Then he noticed a small yellow-orange speck, sitting on the ground, looking at him. Shift immediately recognized the speck as Spitfire, the friend he's been with since elementary school.

"Hey, Spitfire, what's going on?" he asked, landing with a soft touch in front of her.

She said nothing as he gazed into her eyes, seeing his own reflection: a charcoal-gray pegasus with a short-cut silver mane, that stopped just short of his shoulders. He'd seen Soarin's hair, and thought it was strange that he could just grow it out like that. Didn't that impede his speed when flying? Maybe it was just for show, like most of the Wonderbolts did. Hay, even Spitfire's hair looked like a giant plume of flames when she was in her uniform.

"Hey... is something wrong?" The Spitfire that he stood before only smiled as him, before pushing her head closer... and closer... "Whoa, hey, what's going on?" He pushed her back and held her gently by the shoulders. Her eyes had fallen into droopy state and she stared sultrily at him.

The next part was drowned out by silence.

He couldn't hear anything. But he knew what she was saying as he felt himself being pulled away from the dream world his mind had created.

It was three words. Three words that he knew, something that he had long given up on hearing.

I love you.

Shift opened his eyes, giving a grunt of disapproval at his ringing alarm clock. He slammed it down with a heavy hoof and looked at the time. An hour before he had to show up to work, as usual. The sun still hadn't come up outside, and he could tell by the coolness when he woke up that it would be a fairly temperate day.

He lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, contemplating the events of his dream. No, he'd long since given up on that. Spitfire was just a good friend, one he'd grown up with. It certainly didn't help his chances that she was certainly popular, insanely popular, as the Captain of the Wonderbolts. He began to figuratively punch himself by thinking of just how many of the stallions on her team even had the hots for her. Certainly, he was no match for--

Stop. Just stop. That sort of thinking was dangerous. Plenty more clouds in the sky and all that. He'd find the mare of his dreams, or at least something hopefully close enough to her. He just needed time. It was bad to dwell on these thoughts, that was just the past, and it was just a stupid juvenile crush. Spitfire wouldn't think of him like that, she was too close to him in the other way to think that.

At least he didn't run into her that often after she joined the Wonderbolts. He was thankful for that. Their relationship was basically neutral now, but being around the former love of his life would have done a serious number on his mind. He preferred to not be subject to that.

He sat up on his bed and gave a yawn, stretching his wings and flapping them for a short moment. He was due at his post at the Canterlot Post Office later in the morning, but that was why he always woke up early: so that he could enjoy his quiet time and breakfast before he flew off to complete the day's hectic rounds of delivering.

Shift's job was being a mailpony, and not just any kind of mailpony: he was a first-class mailpony. That meant that whatever he had to deliver had to be done at extremely fast speeds, and he loved the job all the more for it. It allowed him to push himself to the limit, trying to figure out the best routes and optimal speeds between towns and cities, like a small mini-game to see just if he could plan as well as he could fly.

Most first-class delivery jobs delivered by him were guaranteed to be on the doorstep by the time the sun went down, whether it be from Canterlot to Manehattan, or from Las Pegasus to Ponyville. Sure, there were a lot of pegasi that bragged about being the fastest or the "best", but Shift didn't care about them: every day was a challenge to beat his own records and limits.

He cleaned himself up in the bathroom, giving himself a smile and a wing-flex in the mirror before trotting downstairs for breakfast. He got himself a simple one today: two pieces of toast with some jam. Despite all the rich folks traipsing around the city, he wasn't really one for luxuries, and his home and diet reflected that. He made a modest living, enough of which to pay for his home within Canterlot, with enough leftover to pay for food expenses, with a small fund for emergencies.

Dropping his plate in the sink and letting it soak, he stepped out the door and took a deep breath of the cold morning air and smiled. He locked his door and then walked down the streets of Canterlot to the post office, but with over half an hour to spare, he'd figured he'd take the scenic route. It led through a number of well-adorned houses, and across a large sky-bridge that went around the outer limits of the city. The view here was breathtaking, especially in the morning when the sun was only just beginning to rise.

He stopped at the railing and stared out into the horizon. He and Spitfire had played together a lot when they were young, running through these streets and always getting themselves into trouble. There was even a time when Spitfire challenged him to a race, and accidentally knocked over small lantern and ignited a small pile of newspaper scrap on the ground. Spitfire, being as dense as she was when she was young, had attempted to douse the fire. By spitting on it.

Shift chuckled to himself. It wasn't how she got her cutie mark, that came later during flight school when she broke the record in the Fire Gauntlet Challenge, but he never let her live it down for that, especially since he got a small cup of water and just simply poured it over the fire. The look on her face was priceless, followed by a denial of "I knew that" before she got back into the race again.

It was then that he realized that he'd been idly standing for Celestia only knows for how long. He shook his head and began into a quick gallop, before spreading his wings and taking to the sky. Walking was nice, but flying was much better, and much quicker, too. He sighted the large red flag wavering over the Canterlot Post Office, and landed in front of the entrance. He walked inside, hoping that he wasn't late.

"Celestia be praised, here comes the miracle worker showing up to work early yet again," said Parcel Post, his earth pony supervisor, in his gruff voice. He was busy sorting out packages behind the main desk, allocating the deliveries for each mailpony for that day. "You gotta stop showing up early, Shifty! You're making it hard for me to complete my sorting rounds."

"Sorry, boss, but you know me," Shift laughed. "Don't feel like myself unless I'm out there in the skies, you know?"

"With those delivery records you keep breaking every single week, you should be in the Wonderbolts by now. I don't know of any pegasi that can make it from Las Pegasus to Manehattan in less than two hours, and you do it in less than half of one."

"Yeah, spotlight's not for me. I'm fine with this job. I get to go all over Equestria delivering packages, and I get to fly fast on top of that. Couldn't ask for more."

"How 'bout every single untaken mare just lining up just to get a piece of you?" Post laughed. "Come on, kid, you're in your prime age right now. You should be out there on the market, looking for the mare of your dreams." He tossed around a few more boxed packages into assorted baskets with mailpony names on them. Several of them fell into Shift's.

Shift gave a soft chuckle. "Someday, Post. Someday. But not today."

"Alright, kid. But you should really stop and smell the roses sometime, y'know? Alright. Here we are." Post lifted Shift's basket on to the front desk, before pulling out a saddlebag and putting it right next to it. "Not too many this time, kid. Don't want you breaking your wings by the time you hit your next birthday."

"I can handle it!"

Post just smiled at him. "Kid, you need a vacation. But I ain't gonna stop you from doing your job. Now get to it."

Shift began moving the packages into his saddlebags before dropping it on his back. It was slightly heavy, but it wasn't really much of a deterrence for him. The extra weight only made his effort even more worthwhile. He flapped his wings a few times to make sure they weren't uncomfortable, before ascending and exiting through the pegasus door in the ceiling.

A new day and more deliveries. Despite what Post had said, he was pretty sure he'd have more ready and waiting for him by the time he got back. First-class was used quite commonly in Canterlot.

First stop: Ponyville.

A package for one Twilight Sparkle from a Shining Armor and Mi Amore Cadenza. Oh, weren't they the couple that got married a month ago? They looked nice, really suited each other. Well, aside from that dreadful changeling business. Shift considered himself lucky that there was a lot of first-class mail going out of Canterlot that day with marriage memorabilia.

He'd nearly been worked to the bone that day, but he broke his own record. Twice. Within the span of three hours. Amazing what a heavy workload could do. He'd never flown faster to Manehattan in his entire life. Or back from Manehattan, at that. He'd even inadvertently activated a Sonic Rainboom two times, in separate instances, by accident, which Shift hated because he preferred to use raw speed as opposed to just using a "use this and you win" ability.

There was a lot of explaining he had to do when some Wonderbolts recruiters showed up at his door. He had to decline their offer. He was actually surprised that there were even any ponies around to witness the event. Sonic Rainbooms were already incredibly rare as it is, and aside from one pegasus from Ponyville that Shift heard that could do it, he was just... no one, actually. Just a regular ordinary mailpony, doing his mailpony job, delivering mail. He successfully played them off and avoided another potentially awkward situation.

That one pegasus... a Rainbow something, she was called. She had displayed her talent at the Best Young Fliers competition, even rescuing some Wonderbolts as well as another participant. Whether or not Spitfire was involved, he didn't know, but he found it pretty impressive that another pegasus aside from himself could do it. He'd heard some minor talk of the mare wanting to join the Wonderbolts. He hoped it would work out for her.

The flight from Canterlot to Ponyville was actually a pretty short one, considering that it was just down the valley and sat right on top of a river, outside of the Everfree Forest.

"Hi, Shifty!" said a mare's voice. Shift turned his head mid-flight to see Derpy Hooves, Ponyville's mailpony, flying alongside him.

"Good morning, Derpy! How are you doing today?"

"Doing great, thanks!" She reached into her bag and pulled out a brown muffin. "Muffin?" The wind quickly blew it out of her hooves. "Aw..."

"It's okay, Derpy, some other time! How is Dinky?"

Derpy smiled at him, her eyes shooting every which way as she did so. "She's doing fine! She loves the Wonderbolts poster you got for her! I didn't know you had it autographed!"

"I'm glad she likes it!" They were closing in on Ponyville's post office now. "Tell her I said said 'hello', okay?"

"Okay!" Derpy said, before she went on her own way and back to her routes.

Shift landed outside the post office and proceeded inside.

"...but I'm expecting something from my brother, can you just please check again?" said a purple unicorn at the front desk.

"Mail delivery!" Shift shouted, walking in. "From Canterlot, first class!"

"Oh, thank Celestia!" said the unicorn, turning to him. "You wouldn't happen to have something for a Twilight Sparkle, would you?"

"I would indeed, Ms. Sparkle." He fished around his bag for the small boxed package. "Here you go!"

"Wow, thank you! I only just received word that this package was sent only a day ago from their honeymoon. You mailponies sure work fast!"

Shift bowed. "We pride ourselves on our service, ma'am."

"Well, thank you, uh..."

"Shift. Sky Shift. I'm one of Canterlot's premier first-class mailponies!" He raised his head in pride.

Twilight giggled. "I can see that. You should probably be getting back to your deliveries, right?"

"Oh, right. I have some here for Ponyville, I'll just leave them at the front desk," he laughed. Various small boxes and a couple of envelopes were left with the postmaster at the office. Twilight had already left by the time he'd finished, and so he proceeded to go back to his route.

Next stop: Manehattan. There was only one package to deliver, actually.

The trip was fairly uneventful, as Shift weaved through the skies, sometime going down low and barely touching the trees or the ground, or sometime running his hoof across the surface of the water as he passed over a river or a lake. He didn't know why, he just didn't feel like flying fast today. These leisure trips were usually just slightly slower than what standard fare than he would perform, but the extra comfort it allowed him in just enjoying his flight was something he liked to indulge in every now and then.

The large profile of the city came up on his sight. He flew over the sea of buildings, looking for the large red flag that post offices flew, until he found it sitting near what seemed to be a park of some sort.

The exchange that followed when he entered was quite normal. The office in Manehattan was packed full of mailponies, undoubtedly to service the large population that the city had. It surprised Shift to hear that they rarely, if ever, had any errors in judgment when it came to delivering mail. He had to admit that they could definitely do their jobs admirably despite the stampede of ponies that surrounded the office. He left the package with the postmaster as he noticed several assistants behind the front desk frantically sorting piles of letters into mail slots. He certainly didn't envy them.

He didn't bother making conversation as he trotted out into the streets, trying to locate the small pick-up shop that sold the sandwiches he liked so much for his lunch break. After much bustling about, he found the shop on the street corner, surprisingly devoid of customers. The shopowner recognized him immediately, what with his saddlebags, and immediately put together a sandwich for him. Shift handed over the bits and sat eating the sandwich, looking out the window as the other ponies went about their business.

Chewing on another bite, he turned his head to look around the inside of the store, when his gaze fell upon a single poster, hanging on the wall. He stopped mid-bite as he stared at it.

Coming This Month: The Wonderbolts! Performing At The Manehattan Aerodrome! Get Your Tickets Now! Coming In One Month!

Star Performers: Spitfire, Soarin', and Fleetfoot! Don't Miss This Awesome Show!

Well, Spitfire certainly wasn't any worse for wear recently. Shift continued eating his sandwich, eyeing the iconography on the poster. Well, Post did say he could use a vacation, right? He figured that he could probably go see the Wonderbolts. He didn't really like the whole showboating part, but he liked the speed. It wasn't everyday that a pony could see pegasi as talented as Spitfire or her team performing daredevil tricks at breakneck speeds.

Well, hay, why not? He'd have to buy a ticket to their show sometime later today. If he could, anyway.

He finished up the sandwich and gave the owner a nod before taking off for the skies again.

Next Stop: Canterlot. Post wasn't joking when he said he packed light for Shift today.

"Hey, Shifty! You're back awfully early," Post said.

"You only gave me enough packages to cover two stops! What's up with that, Post? I thought--"

Shift felt his heart stop as he saw who had been standing there, talking to Post. It was Spitfire.

"H-hey, Shifty..." the yellow pegasus said nervously. "F-fancy seeing you here, huh?"

"Y-yeah, fancy see--hey, wait! I work here!" Spitfire's eyes opened in embarrassment as she realized her poor choice of words.

"Relax, Shifty," Post said. "She was just here to drop off a letter."

"A letter?" Shift asked. "I'm sure one of the mailponies can deliver it."

"Nuh-uh, smartypants. This one's on your tab. I don't see any other mailponies around, do you?"

"Haha, real funny, boss. Give it." He took the letter in his mouth and stuffed it into his bags. Spitfire had been nervously eyeing him the whole time he'd been here.

"Something wrong, Spitfire?" Shift asked. He smiled. "Going to ask me on a date?" he teased.

Her face blushed. "Like any mare would go out with a buckin' idiot like you!" she shouted. "Hey, I challenge you to a race when you get out of work!"

"Just like old times? We both already know how this is going to turn out, Spitfire. Maybe if we're lucky, you'll knock over another lantern this time, and maybe you can win if I have to put it out the fire for you."

"Wha--that was just an accident! I totally knew that spitting wouldn't work on it!"

"Uh-huh." Shift was wearing the hugest grin on his face. "And we both know you're already going to lose."

"As if! I'm the Captain of the Wonderbolts! And just who do you think you are, then?"

"Me? Oh, I'm just Sky Shift, the pegasus who's won every race against you since we've known each other. Yeah, that Sky Shift. Me." He gave her another taunting gaze.

"Fine! It's on, then! I'll see you after work!" She huffed and stormed out of the building.

"She's definitely a keeper," Post whistled.

Shift turned his head at him. "Whoa now, Post, we're just really good friends! We've known each other for a long time now, and there's absolutely nothing--"

"Uh-huh." Post wasn't really convinced given Shift's rather rabid defensive statement. "You have a letter to deliver, right?"

"Yeah." Shift pulled out the letter again, trying to check the address on the letter. There was none on it.

"Huh. I hope your marefriend knows that we can't deliver post without an address on it, first-class stamp or not."

"Sh-she's not my marefriend! We're just really good friends, okay? Sheesh!"

"Whatever you say, star-struck. Go find her and ask her about the address. Otherwise, we'll have to toss that letter in the trash heap. Unless you can have her take it back, that is."

"On it, boss," Shift grumbled. He walked past several returning mailponies as he left to find Spitfire, wherever she could be.

Return to Sender

Shift knew that Spitfire wouldn't take to the skies immediately if she wanted to get out of his hair. That made it too easy for him to find and catch up to her. She had to be walking.

He flew up into the skies and became scanning the streets below, trying to find any trace of the yellow pegasus before she managed to get away. He looked in every direction, trying to discern her color and hair through the busy streets below, until... there! He saw her run down a street and then bound around a corner. Just why was she so intent on getting away from him, even after challenging him to a race?

"Hey, Spitfire! Wait!" he shouted, flying down towards the street she just entered. Spitfire gave a look of shock as she noticed him following her, and proceeded to start running faster.

Just what was going on with this mare? One minute she wants to challenge him to a race, and the next she suddenly doesn't want to anywhere near him!

"Hold on!" She rounded another corner into a street that Shift was all too familiar with. It was the scenic route he took to work every morning. The large vista that was up ahead was where he saw her as she bounded over a bridge. He quickly took the initiative and folded his wings in and dived, gaining speed until he was a blur. He flew directly above her, landing with a slide as he turned to look at her.

"Spitfire, wait!" She stopped with a skid and then looked sheepishly at the ground. "I need to ask you something..."

"...what?" She looked at him seriously, trying to play off her nervousness.

"You didn't put an address on this thing." He whipped out the letter for her to see. "We can't deliver mail unless it has a proper sending and return address on it."

"I, uh..." Her voice faded off into an incoherent mumble.

"What? Spitfire, you have to tell me who you're trying to send this to, otherwise it'll end up going into the trash bin!"

"It's... it's..."

"Yeah?" Shift was getting impatient now.

"Oh, alright!" she shouted. "It's for you!"

"For me? Huh--what? What? Why me?" He was absolutely confounded.

"I have a show in Manehattan coming up, and I've stopped by a few times at the post office before, you know, asking about you. Your boss said you've never taken a day off before in your entire career! So I thought I'd surprise you by getting you a VIP ticket to the Wonderbolts show coming up soon! You know, loosen up a little, right?"

"Oh... really?" Shift said, still holding the letter in his mouth. "Oh, uh... thanks, I guess. I really appreciate that. I was thinking of actually going there myself when I had my lunch break in Manehattan," he laughed. "But, wait, why were you trying to run away from me, then?"

"Oh, hay..." she said. "I wanted to tell your boss to give it to you anonymously. I didn't want you to know that I got the tickets for you, it would have ruined the surprise."

"Aw, come on, Spitfire, you know we're best friends. There's nothing to worry about if all you wanted to do is get me some tickets to one of your shows! And a VIP ticket at that!"

"There's also a backstage pass in there, too. You should come on back after the show, I want you to meet my team!"

"You mean you want your team to meet the pegasus that's beaten you in every race we've had?" he laughed.

"Hey, not cool! I just want to introduce you to my team, I know they'll love you!"

"Aw, that's nice, Spitfire, but you know I'm not really the kind of pony who cares about spotlights and celebrities and all that."

"Can you just do it for me? Please? I've talked about you a bit, and Soarin' wants to meet you!"

Shift continued to think about it as Spitfire gave him a puppy-eyes look. Soarin', huh? He'd heard lots of stories about the Wonderbolts member, mostly stories about how much he liked pie. And he liked pie a lot. He sounded like a nice pony to know.

"Oh, alright. I'll be there. It'll be quite the show, I bet."

"You betcha!" she grinned at him. "We've been working on one of our most awesome stunts yet! Just wait till you see it! Oh, and nopony else knows that, you're the first one..." She leaned in closer. "...so don't tell anypony else, okay?"

He smiled back at her. "Right, right, I get it. I'll see you there, then?"

"Of course! Don't be late! Well, as if you'd ever be late, you're practically the fastest mailpony in existence. Hey, how come you didn't join the Wonderbolts with me? It would have been awesome, and I know you definitely got it in those wings to join! I mean, you were practically my coach up till the day of the audition!"

Right, he was there that day...

Sky Shift and Spitfire stood outside the Canterlot Stadium as they took the time to admire the grand architecture, before Shift turned to her.

"Ready for this, Spitfire?"

She took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be."

He pats her on the back. "Don't worry, we've been training for this. I know you'll make it. You're Spitfire, flyer extraordinaire, and the record breaker of the Fire Gauntlet Challenge in flight school. If anypony can make it into the Wonderbolts, it's you."

"Don't flatter me," she said nervously. "It's just making the jitters worse."

"Fine. You're Spitfire, the most confident and coolest mare in all of Equestria. Go in there and knock 'em dead!"

They walked in together as they handed the attendant awaiting at the door her audition card. Spitfire was let through, but Shift was stopped at the door.

"And who might you be?" the gruff earth pony asked.

"I'm her coach."

"Hmm. Very well, go on through."

Shift went on through the grand double doors to find himself staring at the huge, but empty stadium. There were a number of other applicants lining up nearby, awaiting their turns to perform for the Wonderbolts, who just so happened to be the judges, as well. The line dwindled slowly as hotshot after hotshot began performing their own signature moves and routines in an attempt to wow the three pegasi. For the most part, it seemed like many impressed them, and were given applause and even compliments once they'd landed.

"Okay, Spitfire, just remember what we practiced. Don't bank too hard, don't pull anything gutsy, just let the moves settle and in and move with the wind. Got it?"

"Ye-yeah, I got it." The number of ponies waiting in line began to decrease until only three were left, including Spitfire.

"Wow, going last, huh?" said one of the participants. "That's some real pressure. Good luck to ya."

"Th-thanks," Spitfire replied sheepishly.

"Come on, Spitfire. What happened to the spunky daredevil that I know and love?" Shift asked.

"I'm still her!" she almost shouted. "I'm just... really, really nervous right now. Oh, Celestia, I'm just... just so nervous, Shifty."

"Don't worry, I'll be watching! You'll do great--no, not just great, you'll be amazing! You'll knock 'em dead like you were born to do this."

Spitfire nearly jumped when she heard her number called up for audition.

"Good luck! Break a leg! Celestia bless you! And everything I could probably think of but can't at this moment!" Shift shouted as Spitfire took to the air.

Spitfire began the beginning flight twists of her routine, the Spitfire Sunbolt, created by both her and Shift. She began pulling through a number of tight turns and lane diving, eventually becoming a yellow-and-orange blur as if her body was lit on fire. She began to swing through loops, steadily increasing her altitude until she eventually dove straight up, stopping straight up in the air as if she was weightless.

Her body's silhouette was darkened as the sun appeared behind her. The judges squinted up to look at her, but found themselves dazzled by the display, on edge as they wondered what she would do next.

Then, like an arrow, she immediately began descending at an incredibly fast pace, twisting around three times as she did so, giving the illusion of a falling fireball. The judges gasped as they thought that she was about to hit the ground. Then suddenly, she pulled up, flying over the tent that the judges sat under, lighting the tip of the top on fire through the speed of her flyby, before bringing herself up and pulling through a wide and glorious yellow arc, as if she were made of fire, before changing direction back towards the balcony for her landing.

There were loud shouts and cheers and applause as she landed with a huge smile on her face, panting all the while. She walked over to a seat in the nearby spectator stands and dropped on it, taking a huge breath.

"I knew you could do it!" Shift said, running over. "That was amazing, I knew you had it in you!" He hugged her tightly.

She laughed. "It was thanks to you, too... coach."

"...like I said. I don't like being in the spotlight. All those fans and no privacy and all that," Shift said. "Just doesn't suit me. I just like being able to fly without having to worry about being swarmed by the nearest group of ponies." He wondered why Spitfire hadn't been overwhelmed by legions of fans just by running down the street.

Spitfire sighed. "Okay, have it your way. But I still want you to show up at the event, okay?"

"Right, right. I promise I'll be there," he laughed. "Happy?" He put the plain unmarked letter back into his saddlebags.

"You better show up!" she said, walking past him. "We're still on for that race later, okay? Oh, no! I'm going to be late to practice now because of you!" She broke into a gallop and ran across the sky-bridge.

"You're welcome!" he said sarcastically, before watching her run around yet another corner, leaving his sight.

Chuckling to himself, Shift took to the skies yet again. He took his time in returning back to the post office, weaving through the tall roofs and towers of Canterlot. It was also such a blast to race in the city, dodging all the obstacles and weaving through objects, and occasionally nearly missing the odd pegasus in the sky.

Shift entered the post office through the pegasus exit, landing with a soft thud in front of Post, as he wheeled around and dropped a huge loaded box on the counter.

"Hey, you're back!" Post said. He leaned in. "How'd it go?" he whispered, a smile growing on his face.

"Nothing happened, okay?" Shift said, which just earned a laugh and a pat on the back from Post.

"Right, sure, nothing happened. Anyway, here's your next batch. This one's the full rounds this time, Shifty. Good luck!"

Shift poked his head into the box. Lots of boxes and packages this time, outbound to all sorts of places. There was even one for Stalliongrad, which was practically on the other side of Equestria! This was going to be a fantastic trip. He pulled into his bag and pulled out his high-speed flying goggles. Now, he was going to get serious, and break some records.

"Come on, beat the wind!" Shift said to himself. He flapped his wings harder, trying to finish his long shift before the sun went completely down. The whole round of deliveries had sent him all across Equestria, starting from Stalliongrad, then eventually circling to places like Las Pegasus and Manehattan, followed by a nice dinner stop in Cloudsdale, and then finally, the long final haul to Ponyville again before turning in for the night.

He felt his field of view sliding into a blur as he realized he was about to enter another Sonic Rainboom. No! He couldn't, not this time, he was on a roll and by Celestia herself, he wasn't about to let himself take the easy way out! The field of white began to form in front of his face as he spread his wings open to brake, eventually causing his eyes to roll back forward into his head.

"That was close," he said to himself. He began flapping his wings harder now, making sure he didn't reach the point where another Sonic Rainboom would happen. Unfortunately, he didn't break any records this run, but the speed rush was still there, and made his deliveries enjoyable. Manehattan was certainly a beautiful sight to look at during the night.

"Hey!" Shift blinked a few times as the town hall roof of Ponyville came into view. Was somepony talking to him?

"Hey! You!" Okay, he was definitely hearing something now.

"Hey! Mailpony! I'm talking... to you!" Shift turned his head to the left to find a cyan pegasus mare flying alongside him. She seemed to have a hard time of it as she had to flap her wings harder every few seconds just to keep up. He scowled and proceeded to flap his wings harder, unwilling to let his mail delivery be hindered. "Ha... horseapples... you're... fast! Slow... down! I need... to talk... with you!"

"Then talk with me in the Ponyville Post Office!" he said, shooting ahead. Judging by that mane, that was most definitely Rainbow what's-her-name. The one that Spitfire talked to him about once or twice. A bit hot-headed, but a promising recruit for the Wonderbolts, she'd told him. While he was lost in this series of thoughts about his conversation with Spitfire, however, he lost his focus on trying to keep the Sonic Rainboom at bay, and before he knew it, he was flying in a multi-colored blur.

He immediately again flapped open his wings as an air brake, slowing down to a decent speed to descend just a bit past Ponyville. That was much too close for his liking. Having unexpected guests while flying on a route could do that to a mailpony. He began circling around as he descended, landing outside of the Ponyville Post Office, and walked inside.

"Hi Shifty!" Derpy said from behind the counter. She put a small brown muffin on the desk. "Muffin?"

"Don't mind if I do," Shifty said, chomping down the muffin in a single bite. "Hmm, strawberry. I like strawberry."

"I'll be sure to get you those ones next time," she laughed. "More deliveries today?"

"Of course! Always the high and fast life for a first-class mailpony!" he laughed, pulling out several more letters and packages for the grey-colored pegasus. Aside from the two of them, there didn't seem to be any other mailpony staffing the office today. "Working alone today?"

"Huh? Oh!" she laughed. "Usually I get to take the evening times, it's very quiet here. The postmaster also lets me--"

"Hiya!" A small filly's head and eyes appeared next to Derpy, obscured by the counter. "Hi, I'm Dinky! Who are you, mister?"

"Oh, Dinky," Derpy laughed. "This is Sky Shift! You know, the nice Mr. Shifty who got you that Wonderbolts poster? Be sure to thank him!"

"Oh!" Her eyes widened as Shift smiled back at her. "Thank you, Mr. Shifty! I really like the poster you got for me!"

"No problems, kid, it was my pleasure." He looked back to Derpy, who was smiling despite her eyes pointing in opposite directions. "Well, Derpy, I have to report back to Canterlot now. I'll be seeing you tomorrow?"

"As always! And I'll have a muffin ready for you tomorrow!"

"I'll look forward to it!" he shouted, leaving the post office. The weight of empty saddlebags brought him a joy like no other. He walked out, admiring the orange sky as the sun began to set, when...

"Ugh..." The cyan pegasus lay flat on the ground, flapping her wings a few times. "Hay, he's fast..." She opened her eyes and turned her head to see Shift standing nearby, looking at her. "Eeep! Hey, there, you... mailpony!" she laughed.

"My name's Sky Shift." He took a quick glance at the mare's cutie mark. A white cloud with a tri-colored lightning bolt coming from it. Very fitting.

"Yeah. I'm Rainbow Dash, one of the weather ponies for Ponyville. Are you sure you're a mailpony? I've never seen any other pegasi fly so fast before!" She hopped to her feet and walked up to him, wonderment in her eyes. "And you did a Sonic Rainboom! I don't think I know of any other pegasi that can do one of those! And you're really fast, and I mean, really fast. Who taught you how to fly like that? Are you a Wonderbolt in disguise?"

"Whoa, now, Rainbow, I'm just a mailpony. A first-class mailpony. I deliver priority packages and letters all over Equestria. I just... like to fly fast, okay? Without all the fame and the spotlight that comes with being a talented pegasus, that is, I don't do that sort of thing. And being a first-class mailpony allows me to push my limits, fly so many different routes. It's a real blast."

"Wow... maybe I should have been a mailpony. what's your fastest record?"

"Less than half an hour from Las Pegasus to Manehattan is something I'm proud of."

"Wh--that would take at least two hours by regular wing travel! Even more on hoof!" She narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure I haven't met you before? Because you are totally Wonderbolts material. I mean, you're not even that bad looking, not as good as Soarin' does, but you would totally fit into the Wonderbolts... but, wait... I've never seen any pegasus like you in a Wonderbolts uniform, so maybe you're telling the truth..."

"Are we done here?" Shift asked, annoyed. "Because I have to report back to Canterlot now."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. Hey, we should race sometime!"

"Kid, you're not even anywhere fast enough to keep up with me when I'm in the zone on a good day."

"I--I wasn't trying that time, okay? I could totally beat you in a race, anywhere, anytime! I'm the fastest flyer in Equestria! Like I'd let some mailpony outdo me!" She confidently flapped her wings. "I know you mailponies don't work on weekends, maybe we can--"

"You mean regular mailponies don't work on weekends, you silly filly. First-class mailponies work every single day of the week. Maybe we can have a race, I don't know, two days from now? I'll try to ask my boss if he can free up my schedule, and then we can see about having that race." Shift turned away, giving his wings a quick preliminary flap before taking to the skies again. "Nice meetin' you, Dash!"

So now he had two races to attend... well, that would certainly spice up his schedule.

Around the Skies

The stars began to shine in the skies just as Shift made it back to the post office. It was easier to pick up speed when the worry of having loose letters or packages falling out from his saddlebags wasn't present, so he made good time on his way back from Ponyville.

Spitfire was pacing around outside the post office, and looked to the skies when she heard the telltale sound of quick, but powerful wing flapping, followed by a woosh as Shift circled the skies above her. He quickly increased his rate of speed as Spitfire tried to keep her eyes on him.

Then, suddenly, he wasn't anywhere anymore. Spitfire looked around the skies to see where Shift went.

"You ready?" he said, appearing directly to her right. Spitfire jumped in shock, earning a laugh from Shift. He'd quickly jumped winded down behind the post office and landed quietly behind her.

"Wha--?!" Spitfire shook her head. "Really, you and your talents. You sure you don't want to sign up for the Wonderbolts?"

"I might, if you ask nicely," he laughed.

"Okay, tough guy, let's get this race started." She flapped her wings defiantly as she wore a confident grin. "I've been training, Shifty!"

"And so have I, Spitfire. Don't pretend like my mailpony job doesn't do me any favors, either," he laughed.

"Okay, so ready up, then!" She crouched into her starting gate stance, ready to bolt when the notice was given. "Come on, Shifty, don't... hey, wait, where are you going?"

Shift walked up the stairs and stopped outside the post office door. "I have to turn in my saddlebags. Oh, you can go on ahead, I'll catch up." He stood for a moment, letting the statement sink in as Spitfire began to scowl.

"I'm serious! Stop joking around!"

"Alright, alright, just hold on a moment," Shift said, walking inside. Spitfire could hear the sound of some conversation as Shift spoke with Post, and soon he was back outside again, minus his mailpony saddlebags. He gave a wry smile. "That offer was serious, you know."

"I want to beat you fair and square," she said confidently. "Tonight's the night you lose your title of fastest flyer in Equestria."

Shift raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Rainbow Dash hold that title? You know, the one prospective recruit you were talking to me about?"

"Well, yeah, but you're probably the fastest flyer I've ever known, and you're not even in the Wonderbolts!"

"I'd rather keep it that way, thank you very much," he said, nudging her in the shoulder. "I already have you and Dash wanting to fight for my hoof in marriage by challenging me to a race, you know," he sarcastically continued, waving his hoof around in dramatic fashion.

"Hey, I am totally not trying to--wait, a race? With Rainbow Dash?"

"Yep; just tomorrow, actually. Ran into her over Ponyville. She sort of had a hard time trying to keep up with me," he chuckled. "Pegasi just don't like to do long-distance flights like they used to. Speed and endurance, I say, but the only thing everypony cares about in Cloudsdale is the speed these days."

"Speaking of speed... the race?" Spitfire asked.

"Oh, right. Around the city, like old times?" he asked, crouching down in a lunging stance.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," she responded, mirroring him.

"Loser buys dinner?"

"You're on!"

Time seemed to slow down for Shift as he slowly turned his head away from Spitfire. His gaze fell not upon a specific object, but the entire scene before him as a whole. He carefully took into account every possible obstacle on his way up to the skies, and he knew which towers they would be racing around. So long as Canterlot hadn't undergone any substantial renovations lately, he knew the race path like the back of his hoof.

"Ready..." he heard himself say.

"Three..." This was it. He was in the zone.

"Two..." When he was in the zone, he could practically do anything if he so wished.

"One..." Like win any race he wanted. Fly like the way he wanted.

Like a master at his true craft.

"Go!" The world came rushing back to him with a gust of wind as he immediately stomped off the ground and took to the air. He quickened his ascent as he looked over his shoulder for a moment to see Spitfire lagging just a bit behind him, her face molded with a determined look.

Shift didn't feel a sense of amusement at seeing Spitfire. In his mind, she was catching up. He would do her one better, and stay one step ahead. He found it exceedingly hard to focus on anything other than the race at hand, with the finish line being his goal.

The two quickly broke the skies above the roofs of Canterlot as they began to veer towards the southwest watchtower, their first checkpoint. They swung around the outer perimeter as Shift casually waved to the royal guard that was on watch, mentally grinning at the sight of the shocked unicorn's face. He didn't focus long, however, as he heard the indicative woosh of Spitfire making her turn. She did get better: her turns were quick and controlled now, not like the reckless swing-and-bank that she used to do.

He flapped his wings in powerful swipes of the air, creating a backlash behind him, picking up speed. Spitfire, however, in her years of racing with Shift, knew better than to fly directly behind him: any other pegasus caught by that backblast would have been stopped right in their tracks, losing at least a good two-block distance before they could get their bearings again.

"Not today, Shifty!" Spitfire shouted, giving a flap and then closing her wings as her streamlined form began to slowly inch up beside him. The southeast watchtower was quickly approaching now, and the turn coming up was going to be crucial, like the other three in this route.

"Yeah, for you, maybe!" he shouted back. He flared his wings and turned his body sideways, facing to the north, then gave several powerful flaps as he literally just sailed around the tower, barely grazing the round walls. Spitfire had to suppress her surprise at this new technique. She had to bank hard to the left and made a wide turn, losing a good three city blocks' of distance to Shift's unexpected advantage.

Spitfire couldn't believe it! Something as insane and crazy as that, to fly so close to the walls that any mistake could send him crashing and cost him his life? Not even the Wonderbolts were that crazy enough! But that definitely sounded like Shifty. He was always a pretty average pony to know when he was on the ground, but in the air, he could do practically anything.

She steeled herself and flapped even harder, bringing her wings in again to increase speed like Wonderbolts practice had taught her. It was a long distance stretch, but with this, she might be able to make it! In fact, she could even try Shift's new technique at the northeast tower, maybe it'll work!

But it was something new! And the last time she tried to do something new, she nearly crashed!

No! She could finally win a race against him! The Captain of the Wonderbolts won't be left in the dust!

Oh, dear, he flew really close to that tower when he went around the corner. Maybe this isn't the best time to try something new...?

Bank! Bank left, you idiot! Before you hit the castle's wall!

She ended up backing out of her attempt to follow Shift as she again pulled a wide left turn, narrowly avoiding making friends with the Canterlot royal castle walls, and was now exasperated at Shift's now substantial lead. Every time she finally thought she had the upper hand on him, he always tried something that blew anything she had out of the water! And he was just a buckin' mailpony, for Celestia's sake!

A first-class mail-pony. She could hear him already correcting her in her mind! He could be such a fierce competitor and flyer when he wanted to be. So why doesn't he want to be in the Wonderbolts?

She angrily shouted to herself as the wind rushed past her ears, and flapped harder to try to keep up with Shift.

Shift only spared himself a single look at the beginning of the race, but that was something more of an allowance that he permitted himself. Normally, he would never look back. It disturbed the focus and concentration of paying attention to the things ahead of you. And when you're flying at these speeds, the last thing you need is to get distracted...

He quickly held his breath as he began his third featherdrift, a self-patented term, around the walls of the northwest tower. He'd practiced this for days whenever he ran the routes that led through the deserts to Las Pegasus, weaving in between the massive rock columns that dotted the canyons on his way to any and every city on that route.

And then from there, it was smooth sailing to the finish line of the race: Weststratus, the old-time restaurant that he and Spitfire frequented in their youth. It wasn't particularly the most affluent shop in Canterlot, but the locals knew it because the old-timer working there had been making food worthy of the royal court itself for as long as he could remember, and all for a very reasonable price. It had a clientele of workers and the high-class of Canterlot and many fans throughout the city.

He banked around several chimneys before aligning himself down the street where the restaurant awaited. He quickly flared his wings as his speed decreased, before finally beginning his descent, landing with a soft clack of his hooves, right outside the restaurant.

If his assumptions were correct, he would be waiting for a bit before Spitfire finally arrived...

...and around a minute later, he could see the yellow pegasus flying towards him.

"You're a buckin' jerk!" she laughed loudly.

"And here I thought that training of yours would finally be useful for something! Don't tell me Canterlot's finest Captain--mmhm?!"

Spitfire had covered his mouth with her hoof as she nervously looked around. "Don't tell anypony that I'm here, okay?" she whispered. "Yes, I'm Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts, but nopony else has ever seen me outside of my uniform before..."

"You'd think the mane would give it away..." Shift sarcastically said.

"Shh! Ponies leave me alone out here because they don't know who I am! And the paparazzi are too concerned with Soarin' to try to track down who I actually am, he's just too easy a target for the tabloids! So, please, don't blow my cover."

"Okay," Shift said, as Spitfire brought her hoof away. "Loser buys dinner..." he sang.

"Ugh, fine," Spitfire said. "Come on." They walked over to the doors of Weststratus, still the same as it was years ago, aside from a new paint job, making it a dark blue.

"Ladies first," Shift said, opening the door.

"Why, Shifty, that's so nice of you," Spitfire joked. "Shifty, the gentlecolt, who would have thought?" They both shared a laugh before entering the restaurant.

It would seem that even though the night had since began, the amount of guests present was actually... quite substantial. There were ponies of all kinds rubbing up shoulders here, enjoying the delicious foods that the chef was cooking up behind the kitchen doors.

"Ah, Shifty! How nice to see you here!" Shift turned to his left as an aged, but lively earth stallion waiter approached him. "The usual spot?"

"Evening, Desk Keeper. And, yes, the usual."

The stallion chuckled. "Ever the youngster, huh? I saw you flying in through this street like a parasprite on an empty belly! You challenge the miss to another race again?" he said, nodding to Spitfire. Desk Keeper, although he was looked rather plain for his role, was actually the owner of Weststratus.

"How'd you know?"

"Because otherwise you'd just order something to go in advance! Really, Shifty, you're always so busy. We can literally expect you at the same time every other day to swing by and pick up your meals! I swear, you practically live in the skies... but not like pegasus do in their fancy cloud cities. You, my friend, literally live in the sky."

Shift laughed. "Of course, Keeper, I wouldn't feel like myself otherwise."

"Whatever you say!" Keeper led them to a table just left from the entrance, sitting at the corner with a nice window view. "I know how you always like looking at the sky wherever you are, so we try to keep this table as empty as possible."

"I appreciate it, Keeper. Thanks."

Keeper quickly wiped off the table before throwing the cloth over his back. "The, uh, usual again for you two?"

"Sure, why not? It's been a while since we've eaten here, right, Spitfire?"

"Yeah... I've been traveling a lot," she said sheepishly. "Maybe having a little taste of home and the good old times would be nice right about now."

"So the usual it is then: two daisy-and-daffodil sandwiches, with a side of hay fries, and two strawberry milkshakes. All of that made to order by Skillet. You remember him, kid?" Keeper asked.

"No way? He still works here?" Shift curiously asked.

"The old stallion's a tough nut, I'll say that much. Said he'd rather keel over and die than give up his kitchen! He'll be glad to hear you popped in for a visit, but he probably won't get much time to talk to you, what with all these customers." Keeper looked around, but it seemed that nopony needed a waiter at their table at the moment. "Business has been booming, as usual. Even had one of the Captains of the Guard visiting here with his marefriend when they got back from their honeymoon, but all those onlookers... Oh, hay, if I wanted to know how many ponies could fit in every inch of this room, I would have just made everything a 2-for-1 sale."

"Oh, yeah, I never got around to asking: how did you guys fare when the changelings showed up?"

Keeper laughed. "You kidding me? The first thing Skillet does is grab a... well, skillet, and he barricades the doors and windows, shouting some nonsense about keeping them out of his precious kitchen. We're just lucky that none of them actually got in, because it would have been a real mess."

"Wow. I heard that the changelings were all over the city, but..."

"Yeah, tell me about it," the old-timer chuckled. "Better go turn in those orders now, wouldn't want you and your marefriend here to starve."

"Yes, thank you very--hey! You totally have it wrong, she's... she's not my marefriend!" Shift shouted, earning only a boisterous laugh from Keeper as the waiter disappeared into the kitchen. "Geez, really..."

"They keep talking about us so much. Maybe we really should become an item." Shift gave her a look. "Relax, I'm just joking. I can't hold down a relationship, anyway, not with all the traveling I do..."

"Yeah..." Shift said, his voice drifting off. His eyes widened when he realized that he was daydreaming again, and recovered himself before Spitfire noticed. "So, been a while since you were in town. How's the..." He leaned in. "...the Wonderbolts?"

She shrugged. "I guess it's fine enough."

"Oh, come on, it has to be more than just 'fine enough'. Come on, tell me, I want to hear everything about it."

She gave a pouty face before taking a deep sigh. "Okay, so we were just at Las Pegasus just last month, and let me tell you, it is the most amazing place that I've seen. I mean, I've been there multiple times already because they always love our performances, but it's always just a nice place to visit, you know? The hotels are so nice, especially when you get the penthouse suites like the owners gave to the team," she shot out.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down! No need to go too fast, we have time... and I want to hear everything. So how'd your team do over there?"

"Oh, you know Soarin', with his pies and all that. He ended up crashing into the pie table at the Moon and Stars hotel... that was really awkward to explain to the manager... oh, and Fleetfoot totally showed me this awesome masseuse place that they have at their relaxation center. It totally feels like they're turning your body into clouds. You should try it sometime."

Keeper appeared beside the table, quickly dropping off the two shakes before winking at Shift, who merely rolled his eyes as the waiter again laughed his way back into the kitchen. "That old coot just loves toying with me... so, how was the performance?"

"The Las Pegasus Aerodrome is pretty nice, but nowhere near as flashy or grand as Manehattan's. It could hold enough ponies, and it sat straight in the middle of the city so practically everypony could hear the sounds and cheers of our performance. It was a grand night. We did a new routine back then, a Tri-clone Twister that Rapidfire thought up. He could always think of something that was so large it couldn't just help but dazzle the crowd." She took a sip from her shake. "Ah, the taste of home..."

Shift, lost in the details of the conversation, realized that he had one sitting in front of him, and took a sip, as well. "And you'll be in Manehattan next month, right?" Keeper brought out tray with the food and deftly set the plates before them, this time attending to other customers before he had a chance to poke fun at Shift's expense.

"Yep! I know you won't have any problems arranging for transportation. You can toast bread and fly there and back before it even finishes."

"Well, I eat my bread only lightly toasted, so..."

"Oh, you know what I'm getting at. Definitely be there, okay?"

"You know I will be. I never go back on my promises, Spitfire." He took a bite out of his sandwich. Made perfectly to order, Keeper should have mentioned. Undoubtedly one of Skillet's finer works. "Yep, just like old times."

"So, enough about me," Spitfire said. "What's up with you?"

"Oh, just doing my mailpony job. Speaking of which, I probably shouldn't stay out too long..." he said, glancing at the clock. It was actually only about half an hour to eight. Much earlier than he had anticipated. "Yeah. Just doing my mailpony duties." He took another bite and then a mouthful of hay fries.

"That's it? That's all you've been doing every day?"

"And breaking my own records, of course. Do you know any other pony that can do Manehattan to Las Pegasus in less than half an hour flat?"

"I can sort of do that distance... in an hour... or so..." she muttered.

"It's okay, Spitfire, you still have me beat in the social game. I can only imagine how much praise you get."

"Ugh, tell me about it. I know, seeing all those little fillies and colts coming up to get my autograph, wearing all the Wonderbolts merchandise, is supposed to be really cute, and it is, don't get me wrong, but sometimes... I just want to get out of the spotlight, you know? Kind of like what I'm doing right now."

"The spunky and confident daredevil wanting out of the spotlight? That's impossible! The windigos are going to freeze the world again!" Shift laughed.

"Hey, I'm a normal pony, too, you know?" she said, sipping on her milkshake again. The bustling and conversation of the restaurant was actually quite deafening, and made for casual conversation rather easy. She continued mindlessly sucking on the straw, staring at the table, until she stopped to ask a question. "Hey... do you think I should... stop being a Wonderbolt?"

"Huh?"

"Like... maybe settle down... get a job..."

"Now why would you think that?" Shift was genuinely confused by her question, but simultaneously intrigued. "Come on, now, Spitfire, you've got a good place in the Wonderbolts, a totally awesome job. There are plenty of pegasi that would send themselves to the moon just for a chance to be what you are now."

"Hmm..." she said, finishing up her food. "...I guess so. Just wanted to know what it was like being... normal. Like you."

"Like me?"

"Yeah. You always have it so easy. You wake up early, and the only thing you do every day is just fly. Fly to your heart's content, and then some. Whenever you're in the air, you always seem so happy and confident, and I... I guess I sort of wondered if it could be the same for me... oh, I'm just talking to myself now, don't mind me... excuse me, I think I have to... go back to practice..." She left the bits for the meal on the table, before looking at Shift. "I guess I'll see you around then? It was really nice talking to you."

"Uh... yeah... it was really... nice..." Shift said awkwardly. Spitfire left without a word as she left him to ponder what had happened. The empty plates and cups were ignored as he stared at the reflection of his face that he saw in the coins. Was Spitfire unhappy with being in the Wonderbolts? Why? She was keeping something from him, but why? She never did this before... and she'd never been this troubled before, either. He had to know.

"Mare troubles, eh?" Keeper said, collecting the kitchenware. "Don't let it get you down, you'll find her someday."

"Yeah... the bits are... uh, right there," he mumbled. He left the restaurant, looking into the night sky for a moment, and saw Spitfire nowhere around. He shook his head as he took to the skies again, but found no solace in his flight on the way home. He had to get a good night's sleep... he was going to be racing Rainbow Dash tomorrow, after all.

Clouds and Rainbooms

Shift stood before a large cliff. From what he could tell, the sun was just barely about to rise above the horizon. He looked into the dark blue skies as he felt the high winds blow through his mane. He looked around, trying to see where he was, or if he could get a bearing as to why he wasn't in Equestria anymore.

His mind stopped, however, when he saw the familiar sight sitting at the top of the cliff. A yellow pegasus sitting, just staring out over the vast empty valley.

He approached her, trying to be as calm as possible, but his hyperactive mind was just full of questions. Questions that he wanted to ask her.

"...Spitfire?" he asked.

The quiet yellow mare turned to meet him. "Oh, Shift..." Her face became crestfallen, as her sad eyes felt like they were searching deep into his soul. "Shift... what should I do?"

"I... I don't know..."

"How? How could you not know what to do? You always know what to do."

"I'm sorry, Spitfire... I just don't know..." Spitfire said nothing, but Shift turned his head to look over the valley, avoiding her intense gaze.

"Do you think I should... stop being a Wonderbolt?" She repeated the words, the same words she'd spoken at Weststratus. And then it all came rushing back to Shift, in its ugly reality. But he really didn't know what to say... he couldn't find an answer, because he didn't know the full story.

He blinked for a moment, letting the realization come to pass. That was why he was shocked. Spitfire was... rather shockingly unhappy with what was her life's greatest accomplishment and dream, but he couldn't say anything because she hadn't told him everything. That was the missing piece of the puzzle, the thing that had been gnawing away at him that night.

"I don't know, Spitfire. But I want to know why."

He walked away, feeling his mind peel away from the dream world, as Spitfire looked sadly at him, her focus never wavering. He wouldn't find his answers here.

Shift's eyes slowly opened, as he stared at his alarm clock. He woke up on time as usual, but he felt... different this time around. He felt dead, lethargic. Like the blue skies today just weren't blue enough. Or the clouds just weren't cloudy enough. It was the kind of lethargy that affected one's own worldview, if only for a short time.

He made no poses in the mirror that morning. He didn't bother picking up the newspaper outside his home. He didn't even bother checking the mail, since he usually never got any, but when he saw the mail-delivered lever lifted up... his urge to find out what had been delivered to him broke through his morning dreariness. He slowly opened the hatch and looked inside.

It was the letter that Spitfire had given him. He'd completely forgotten about it and left it in his saddlebags. He pulled it out and brought it inside, giving a quick look up and down the street to see if anypony else was awake. There were none, as to be expected from this time of morning.

He took the letter inside, quietly closing his door, and dropped the plain letter on the table. A piece of paper seemed to be attached to it, so he pulled it off and read it:

Hey, Shifty, don't forget your marefriend's letter now! Haha! Sweep her off her feet, champ!

-Post

He felt his spirits rise with that last part, even if he forced himself to believe it wasn't possible. Post had meant it in goodwill, so he could do nothing but accept his boss's best wishes. He opened the letter, and found two golden VIP tickets for the Wonderbolts show, along with a single generic backstage pass and a black-and-white VIP backstage pass with his name and picture on it. He had to smile at the picture, itself literally a relic from Shift's starter job posting as a mailpony, his grin wide and about as stupidly happy as he was back then.

But there were two. Why were there two? Was Spitfire telling him to get a date? Absolute nonsense, most mares in Canterlot already ignored him as it was. He figured that there wasn't really any mare willing to say in such a place as Canterlot that they were dating a mailpony, of all possible jobs. It certainly didn't help his personal life, and it aptly explained why it had gone completely ignored up until now... Maybe it was just an innocent gesture on Spitfire's behalf.

Shift then remembered that he was going to ask for the day off today in order to race Rainbow Dash. He just hoped that there weren't too many packages to deliver...

"Again, Shifty? How many times do I have to keep telling you? You're going to work yourself to death by the time your next birthday comes around!" Post said, throwing a package into another mailpony's box. "I take it you got my mail delivery?" he chuckled.

"Yeah, I did. And about that other thing, Post..." Shift said. "...I'd like to have the day off today."

"Well, hay, and here I was finally wondering when you were about to ask! Take the whole damn day off, kid, you deserve it!" He looked through Shift's parcel box and began shifting his deliveries to the other mailponies. "Well, what are you still doing here? Go do whatever! Go back to sleep, fly the span of Equestria, I don't know, just make sure you don't come back here until tomorrow morning!"

Shift smiled at him. "Yes, sir!" He trotted out the door and with a powerful flap, took to the skies, bearing straight for Ponyville.

The skies were clear today. That was good: it meant the weather ponies won't have too much work to do, and he could race Rainbow Dash. The wind was fine, and the sun was just right, making it a perfect condition for racing. He didn't have to look long, though, as he saw the cyan blur quickly approaching him from town. He stopped in the air to meet her above Ponyville.

"Hey, there, Shift! You ready for the race?" she said, confidently held her head high in the air.

"Please, I was born ready. So the question is: are you ready?" Shift responded.

"Of course!" she said. "So... where do you want to race?"

"I think I should let you choose, Rainbow. After all, you're the one at a disadvantage here..."

"Okay, okay, fine. I say we start from Ponyville, race around the mountain, then end at Cloudsdale. Sound good enough?"

"Sure. Let's go right now?" He turned towards the mountain, and prepping his wings for imminent departure. Rainbow pulled up beside him and did the same.

"Fine. Ready? Three.... two... one... go!"

Shift took the lead, but kept his speed constant as he gradually began to build up into a tight turn around the mountain. Speed was important, yes, but so was control. Whichever one of them could maintain a closer turn against the wall could possibly overtake the other, shooting out ahead and taking the lead, made even more effective since picking up speed during the turn could propel you at extremely high speeds like a slingshot.

Rainbow Dash, however, didn't think the same. The headstrong weather pony immediately shot ahead of Shift and began a long-winded turn around the outer reaches of the mountain, as Shift just began to break into his. He immediately picked up his speed, flapping as hard as possible, quickly swinging around the mountain as he saw Dash's profile zoom past his peripheral vision as he hugged close to the mountain.

When he broke out of his turn, he was already going fast enough to leave Dash in the dust. He was sure enough that he was going to win on this final stretch as he saw Cloudsdale slowly growing bigger before him, until he saw a giant rainbow blur just boom past his face.

She used the Sonic Rainboom! Well, he had to admit that he was dumb for not expecting her to use it.

But now he lost the lead. He began quickly debating about whether or not he should use his own as he continued to flap his wings harder, futilely trying to regain his lead. He eventually decided to concede, and simply watched as Dash continued to surge towards the cloud city, expecting her to slow down and graciously declare her title of 'fastest flyer in Equestria'.

She didn't, however, and it would seem that she couldn't slow down fast enough, causing Shift to wince as he saw her collide with one of the towers in Cloudsdale. He flapped harder, trying to reach Cloudsdale, wondering what sort of problems they were in for. This was going to be an awkward one to explain...

"Nice job, Rainbow Crash!" shouted a tan pegasus.

"Yeah, guess you still can't fly straight without hitting something!" laughed a dark brown one. A gray one laughed along with him.

Dash was trying to pull her head out of the cloud tower that she'd gotten stuck in. In her bid to win the race against Shift, she used her Sonic Rainboom. Unfortunately, while she was too busy watching herself leave the stallion in the dust, she didn't look forward fast enough to avoid colliding with the tower. She pulled her head out after much effort and glared at the trio of cloud factory pegasi.

"Dumbbell. Hoops. Score," she said flatly.

"Yeah, nice to see you again, Crash," Hoops said. "Still having trouble flying?" he said, before laughing.

Dash frowned, and opened her mouth to say something, when the telltale sound of wings flapping descended upon them. Shift landed next to Dash.

"Whoa, what's this now? Dash has a coltfriend?" Dumbbell said, earning a laugh from Score.

"No, I'm not her coltfriend... but I'd suggest you stop picking on her. I swear, it's a good thing you're wearing those hardhats, otherwise your brains would fall out," Shift said. He looked at Dash. "Now I remember why I don't like this place."

"Oh, yeah? What are you going to do, tough guy? I bet you're as lame as Rainbow Crash!"

The only thing Shift responded with was turning his back to them, and opened his wings.

"I'll do this." He closed his wings in the blink of an eye, making a shockwave equivalent to that of a small sonic boom. It also produced a huge gust of wind, throwing the pegasi back several dozen meters, almost near the edge of the cloud they were standing on. The three rude pegasi picked themselves off the fluffy cloud ground, their heads swirling with dizziness.

"What the...?! Hey, Hoops, I think this stallion's some serious business," Dumbbell said worriedly, picking up his cloud factory hardhat. "Let's beat it!"

"Don't have to tell me twice," Hoops said. "Come on, Score, there's no need to waste anymore time here. Have fun with your coltfriend, Rainbow Crash." The three flew off back towards the cloud factory.

"He's not my coltfriend!" Dash shouted. She gave a loud sigh after the three specks disappeared into the distance. "Those three have always been such a thorn in my side, ever since I was little."

"Yeah. Now I remember why I'm glad my parents moved out of Cloudsdale. Too many jerks and jocks in this place," Shift said.

"You didn't grow up here?"

"No. My parents moved to Canterlot when I was young. My father was in the management business for Cloudsdale's weather teams, so he got a transfer to Canterlot where it would be easier for him to receive any notices for what the weather teams were forecasted to do."

"You didn't even attend flight camp?" Rainbow asked, curious.

"Flight camp? Flight camp's for chumps," Shift said, flapping his wings. "I didn't need to go to camp to learn how to fly."

"But how? The whole point of flight camp is to provide a safe environment for fillies and colts to fly without any risk of getting hurt. That's what the clouds are there for, you know."

Shift looked around at the sky city. "Well, I got hurt a lot. But I guess it helps, because it teaches you what you shouldn't do the next time around. I tried a lot, yes. It actually took me quite a while, but I eventually got the hang of it. There's always the risk of getting hurt hanging over your head when you train on the ground, and eventually, it sort of becomes... intuition. You see things, you look at them, and your head just tells you what you should do. That's how I learned."

"Self-taught flying, and from a pony who's more than just good at it. I'm impressed. What's your wingpower?"

"Wingpower? I don't measure my flight power in numbers, Dash, that's just dumb."

She thought about it for a moment. "I guess. I just want to know what yours is."

"Honestly? The last time I measured it was... I don't know, three months ago? It was the standard speed and distance evaluation for first-class mailponies by the Equestrian National Post Service. They said I had around twenty-five to twenty-eight wingpower."

Dash's jaw dropped. "Tw-twenty-five? Even I'm only sixteen point five! And Spitfire and the Wonderbolts hang around a nineteen to twenty-two range!"

"Is that what the numbers mean? I was sort of wondering why they were giving me weird looks... I guess what I have isn't common?"

"Of course! You're, like, one of a kind! I wasn't even sure if a pegasus could even think about reaching that kind of wingpower, and here you are just talking about it like it's nothing!"

"But it is nothing. I don't even care about it," Shift shrugged. "I let my wings do the talking."

"Yeah! And it's crazy! I mean, it took me a Sonic Rainboom to beat you. That's not something I do every day, you know. Speaking of rainbooms, though, why didn't you use yours?"

"Because I think it's a really cheap way to win. What, you just enter a Sonic Rainboom and then, boom, you're flying faster than a parasprite on fire. That doesn't seem fair at all, so I just prefer using raw wingpower and skill, and what I know and can do to win."

"And just what kind of things do you use to win?"

He looked at her as he began to prepare his small lecture in his head. "Well, Dash, most pegasi these days only care about one thing, and one thing only: speed. I'm sure you, of all pegasi, could understand that." Dash nodded. "But what all these other pegasi don't have is the other two things I have trained into myself: endurance and technique."

"Endurance? Don't all pegasi already have good endurance?" she asked.

"You don't know endurance until you've done a no-stop delivery route from Stalliongrad to Appleloosa within a half-day. Actually, it's probably the only reason why I can even hit that kind of wingpower: I do that sort of thing every single day, from dawn till dusk. On a good day as a first-class mailpony, the only time my hooves are on the ground are when I have to eat, or drop and pick up deliveries. Between those, it's nothing but me and the sky."

"Wow. So you fly pretty much the whole time you're awake?"

Shift laughed. "Just about. Been doing this for a while now, but I can't complain about it, it's a very nice job."

"I'll say! Maybe I should have signed up as a first-class mailpony..." Dash said, earning a sly grin from Shift. "...what? Did I say something?"

"You don't look like the kind to get into something for the long run, Dash. Being a first-class mailpony is a really big commitment. The only thing you ever do every single day is just fly. From what I can see of you, you like to hang out with your friends in Ponyville, right?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Now imagine if you didn't have the time for that. Imagine if you never had the time for that, except on special hoildays. That's what being a first-class mailpony is like."

"Oh... so how do you deal with it, then? Not being able to have any time to yourself?"

"I guess it's not really like that for me. I don't really keep much contact with other ponies aside from my parents, who moved down to Manehattan, and my coworkers and boss treat me nice enough. The closest I can say to having personal time would be whenever I'm in the skies." He shrugged. "I guess that's why I like this job so much."

"I can see that..." she nodded. "Okay, enough about that. What about technique?"

"You pick up a lot of tricks when you fly around Equestria like I do. I know the turns, the wind factors, the ins and outs of flying across just about every single bit of terrain there is here. Like I said earlier, you just sort of build up a really good intuition. So what I usually like to do is try to break my own records for traveling between towns by creating new ways to make a journey just a bit shorter or traveling just a bit faster."

"Like that thing you did while we went around the mountain?" She seemed a bit perplexed. "Isn't that kind of dangerous? To fly so close to the mountain like that?"

"It is. But I feel like I'm the only pony in all of Equestria who can pull it off correctly. A lot of my new techniques usually involve that sort of risk."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You sure you aren't a Wonderbolt? Or considered joining the Wonderbolts?"

"Nope. I hate the spotlight, though Spitfire tells me that it would be worth it if I could join--"

Dash interrupted mid-sentence, holding a hoof in the air. "Whoa, just wait a moment. You know Spitfire?"

"Uh, yeah... we've been friends since she was a filly and I was a colt. We practically grew up together."

"Wow! You've known her for that long?"

"She wasn't always the most spectacular flyer..."

"You have to tell me everything." Dash's eyes glowed with excitement as her face drew a little bit too close for Shift's tastes. She didn't seem to get the notice until Shift cleared his throat and gently pushed her back, throwing her out of her fan-mare stupor.

"Well, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't appreciate me telling you all those things. And how come you're so sure that I know her? How do you know I'm not lying?" he asked warily.

"I saw you racing her around Canterlot last night. And then you took her into a restaurant..."

Shift had to do a double-take. "Wait, what?! How did you see that?! I thought you lived in Ponyville!"

"I had to drop by Canterlot for a bit with my friend Twilight. She said she'd never studied the magical theory behind how a Sonic Rainboom works, so she dragged me along to the Canterlot libraries that day to study. It was really boring, but at least we got back to Ponyville before it got late. I saw you two racing when I was leaving the city. You are one crazy flyer, I'll tell you that."

"Okay... so I guess that's about as much proof you'll need. Okay, how about this: I won't tell you anything on Spitfire, but in exchange, you can come along with me to the Wonderbolts performance in Manehattan next month."

"You'd do that? Awesome! I mean, I already saw them a few times, but I never get tired of it. And I hear next month's performance is going to be the biggest yet! The Manehattan Aerodrome, only the biggest and grandest flight stadium in all of Equestria! It's going to be awesome!" she repeated.

"Well, what if I told you I also had VIP tickets?" Dash nearly squealed with glee. "...and backstage passes?" All activity from Dash ceased instantly, before she immediately fell to the ground in gleeful shock. It only took a quick moment before she recovered herself, however. She jumped to her feet and stared at Shift with a huge smile.

"You're awesome, you know that? I mean, I've always been to their shows, but I usually never get a VIP ticket, much less a backstage pass. Now I can finally talk to her face-to-face! I'll start working on a whole bunch of stuff I can do to impress her, and I'll just..." Shift merely listened as Dash started going off on her dreams of grandeur. He could understand the potential that Spitfire saw in her, that was for certain.

"Okay, okay, I get it," he interrupted. "How about we just go take a look around Cloudsdale, okay? I haven't been back here for years, so I want to see what's changed."

It was nearly dusk by the time their little tour and fun around Cloudsdale finished. Shift had insisted in visiting the flight camp, and in doing so, actually ran into a group of eager fillies and colts that he gave a quick safety lesson to, following a little accident involving a fall and a mouthful of cloud. They visited the Cloudiseum, which was followed by a nice regaling by Dash about her time at the Best Young Flyer Competition.

They ended up visiting practically every building in Cloudsdale save for the post office, because that was literally the only building that Shift had actually visited up until this leisure visit to the cloud city. They frequented various restaurants and cafes, with Shift covering the tab as he wanted to able to try all the things they had to offer, and before they knew it, the sun began to fall behind the horizon.

Before they left, however, they ran into a construction crew working on the tower that Dash just so happened to crash into. The foreman gave a booming laugh when they told him their story: the tower was mysteriously empty because it had been slated for demolition. A crash through the wall didn't hurt anything. Shift breathed a sigh of relief, having decided earlier that he was going to pay for the damages to the wall. Now he didn't have to pay anything.

Dash ended the day by repeatedly thanking Shift for letting her go see the Wonderbolts performance with him, despite repeated attempts by him to get her to just stop. Eventually, the two waved goodbye to each other as they returned back home in their respective town and city. He liked her, and she had a lot of potential; Shift noted that he would have to ask Spitfire about sending out recruit applications sometime.

Dash's enthusiasm aside, he was just glad he had some use for the extra ticket and pass now. And he would definitely have to ask Spitfire about what she said the previous night eventually, when he got the time, which, after he got back to work the next day, would be... not until the day of the performance. Damn.

Such was the life of a first-class mailpony.

Family, Friends, and Relationships

Shift slammed his snooze button yet again. He woke up and looked at the calendar: less than four weeks until the Wonderbolts show next month. He blankly stared at the numbered blocks on the paper flaps mounted on his wall, trying to dig through his mind, vaguely sure that he forgot something.

Then it hit him like a brick wall: he had to visit his parents. They always expected him around this time of month every year, and he'd always taken time off his busy schedule to visit them. Sure, they were his parents, and they were hardworking sorts who definitely earned the lives they had, but he didn't particularly like visiting them much, especially not for conversation.

Why? His father.

It was no coincidence that he only ever mentioned that his parents had lived in Canterlot and moved to Manehattan. He never, even among his acquaintances, mentioned his relationship with his parents. Not even Spitfire knew the extent of his relationship with them following her first meeting his parents since they were foals, and he was glad she hadn't decided to look into it any further.

Shift's father, Signed Pages, was best described as a curmudgeon. He ran the Cloudsdale weather teams as a coordination manager: he was the one in charge of getting the orders from Canterlot for the Cloudsdale weather teams. This position often meant that he had to stay on top of many things at once, and he was allowed to transfer to Canterlot to make his job easier, around the time that Shift was born.

In the beginning, he had nothing but kind words and praise for his son, teaching him all the good things a father would teach his foal when Shift was young. But when Shift started to grow into his adolescent years, the temperament from the young colt got on his father's nerves... a lot. Shift was very prone to staying out late most nights trying to train himself in the use of wings, practically a double insult considering that Shift had actually refused to go to flight camp to learn.

That, in turn, led to several stern lectures over the proper etiquette expected from a Canterlot pony, but Shift readily ignored his father's long-winded ramblings in favor of delving into his own daydreams. And that, in turn, earned several hard beatings from him. It didn't serve to break Shift's spirit or put him in his place, however... actually, quite the opposite, as it only fueled his rebellious attitude against his father, eventually resulting in the ice-and-daggers relationship that they held today.

The last conversation that they'd had eventually devolved into a heated argument over Shift's chosen occupation. His father argued that he shouldn't just be content with just a mere low-bit wages mailpony job, whereas Shift adamantly argued that he was perfectly fine with it; he didn't need to live lavishly like his father did in order to enjoy his life. They stared daggers at each other in silence until an intervention by Shift's mother allowed him to quickly expedite himself from the conversation and return back to Canterlot.

Shift's mother, Rose Petal, was literally the only reason he'd even bothered visiting his parents at all. In the times of Shift's late-night antics, she was always supportive of him, and actually encouraged him to practice more on his own, much to his father's disappointment. She loved Shift very much, having said that he'd inherited her father's stubbornness, and was his steady source of love and support throughout much of his foalhood. He'd even run errands for her at times in order to train his wings: usually running down to the store for supplies, or picking up a letter for his father at the request of his mother.

What confused Shift, however, was how his mother met his father... a question that he ended up asking her one night after Shift stormed up to his room and holed himself up for an entire weekend, and Rose had come to try to comfort him. She explained how she used to own a flowershop, trying to make ends meet in Canterlot; she'd met Signed Pages one normal day, and the two had fallen in love with each other at first sight. At the time, Shift thought the whole lovey-dovey thing was kind of gross, but now that he'd grown, the disbelief in the story no longer held with the lovey-dovey parts. Rather, it was the fact of how an insufferable stallion with his head stuck so far up his flank could even have fallen in love in the first place.

And with that, a visit to his parents was a love-hate relationship, mostly done out of love for his mother, and what little respect he'd still held for his father. He sighed, pulling himself out of bed. He'd have to visit them sometime, but he wasn't exactly sure when he'd really wanted to.

He sat on his kitchen table, looking at the letter. Plainly-marked, mailed from Manehattan just yesterday... ironically enough, by first-class. Obviously, his mother had written the letter, otherwise this letter wouldn't have been seen by him until next week if his father had even decided to write one for him.

He ripped open the envelope quickly, opening the letter within:

Dear Shift,

How are you doing? Oh, I know I'm being a rather overbearing mother for sending you a letter like this every year, but we want you to visit!

He rolled his eyes. His father, wanting him to visit? Probably just fancy wording on his mother's behalf. She certainly didn't imply as such last year.

I know as it has been every year that your relationship with your father has been... strained, but he admits that he's grown older in his years, and he wants to reconcile with you.

Perhaps when the world freezes over again, Shift might be inclined to believe that.

Your father would like to talk to you about your job. He promises that it's nothing hostile this time around.

Oh, as if! His father was never one to leave something unargued, especially if his point hadn't won yet.

We hope you'll visit soon! Perhaps we can head down to that old restaurant on Fifth Tale Street. I know how much you like that one.

With love from mom,

Rose Petal

He put a hoof on his head. He'd actually decided not to visit one particular year, and it left a haunting impression on him. He'd visit this year, and listen to what his father had to say, for better or for worse. Maybe it'll be a job that involved flying, with any luck, and it wouldn't end up with him storming out the door red in the face like it did last year.

Shift walked through the double doors into the Canterlot Post Office. "Post, I need a--"

"Yeah, yeah, Shifty, same deal every single year. Heading off to see your parents in Manehattan?" Post licked his hoof and flipped through another page of the newspaper he was reading. He'd looked up at the door when the telltale sound of somepony approaching reached his ears, glasses slightly fidgeting on his face.

"Yep."

"Say 'hi' to them for me, will you?"

"Will do." He left his response letter, marked with a first-class stamp, with Post and quickly trotted outside. Usually around this time, he'd usually take a few days off so he could mentally prepare himself for the expected confrontation with his father. He remember his first visit once he'd moved away from home... that went pretty badly.

His response letter detailed his visit in a day or two. He'd only visit for a while, spending time with his parents, before saying his goodbyes and leaving at the end of the day. He didn't want to risk staying longer than he had to. Besides not getting along with his father, he often found that they shared very little common interests. His father was the books and hard numbers sort of pony, where Shift was a pony of action and aesthetics. It was hard to speak about anything other than his job, which unfortunately was the only common ground the two held.

Post usually gave him a week off when this time of year rolled around. When Shift had first brought it up to his boss, he'd already performed so well that the old stallion had given him the leave without so much as a second thought, stating that it was good to spend time with his parents. Shift laughed; if Post really knew what was going on, he wouldn't be so considerate.

He headed down to the valley view next to the sky-bridge, standing there and just enjoying the view as the sun rose up.

"Somehow I just had a feeling I'd find you here," he heard a mare's voice say. He turned to find Spitfire walking up to him, smiling.

"Spitfire? I thought you had practice."

"Psh, don't act like you know the Wonderbolts training schedule. It's not like you're one of us... yet. So, what's up?"

"Just... enjoying the sunrise," he smiled. "So, what's up with you? Something with Soarin' and pie again?"

"No, Fleetfloot had an accident yesterday. She had a wing cramp and nearly ended up hitting the bleachers at the Canterlot stadium. It was bad. Last I saw, her head was bleeding a bit, but the manager says she'll be fine. The doctors say she's been pushing herself too hard, and her fatigue caused the cramp. Training was called off on account of that."

Shift rolled his eyes. "Pushing too herself too hard..."

"Yeah, yeah, I don't need to hear that coming from you, Shifty. We're not you, we haven't been doing this sort of thing our whole lives. Some of the Wonderbolts put in a lot of heart and effort to get where they are now. We'll have to bring in another one of the Wonderbolts to replace her, though..."

"I guess I can understand that."

"So... anything else up with you?" Spitfire asked.

Shift blinked at her. "Uh... just a visit to the parents tomorrow... but nothing much. Why?"

Her face lit up with confusion. "Oh... uh, okay, then. Say 'hi' to the folks for me, will you?"

"I will. One for you, and one for Post."

"Do you just hang out here all the time?" she asked, looking out at the rising sun with him.

"Not all the time. Only during the mornings. I like the breeze."

"Hmm, surprising. I normally thought you warmed up in the mornings by racing to the Everfree and back, and still have enough time to take a nap. What do you do during the day?"

"Uh, I don't know? Go help Keeper down at Weststratus, I guess. He likes having the extra help."

"No friends? No places to hang out? No flying?" she asked curiously. "Now this is surprising. There's actually times when the famous Shift doesn't fly?" she laughed.

"Only when I want to!" he snapped back. "Sheesh, I like to relax every now and then, too."

"Not with friends?"

Shift's jawline tensed. "I do... sometimes."

Spitfire had to stifle a laugh. "You don't have any friends?"

"I have you!"

"Yeah, but we've known each other for practically ever! Don't you know of anypony else?"

"...Rainbow Dash."

"But you only met her just last week! Come on, who else?"

"...Derpy..."

Spitfire nearly keeled over laughing. "Come on, Shifty, you really have to get out more! Okay, you definitely need to show up at the show next month! Or... hey! There's a Wonderbolts audition coming up in two weeks..." She leaned with a smug look on her face. "...maybe apply for an audition, rub shoulders with some other good fliers, eh?"

"Not for me," he responded flatly. "I don't like the spotlight."

"There you are going on about that spotlight stuff again! It's not about the spotlight, it's about making friends! Why not make some friends who love the sky and love speed as much as you do? Come on, the only friends you know of are me, and Dash, and practically every single old-timer you've known since foalhood... and your coworkers. Can't you make some more friends that are the same age as you?"

He looked at her. "...maybe. I'll think about it."

She raised an eyebrow as a response. "Okay... but something tells me you'll be there..." The smug smile on her face returned.

"Oh? And what makes you so sure of that?"

"I just have a really good feeling that you will." She beamed at him. "Just at least show up... please? I know we don't see each other much, and... actually, this is the second time I've seen you this month... a new record! Must be all the downtime from training. Besides that, you didn't tell me that you knew almost nopony around here. It just seemed that you were so well-connected."

"I don't really care much for having friends."

"It sure didn't seem that way when we first met. We attended school here in Canterlot, remember? All the fillies and colts always wanted to partner up with you in class! And then I went off to Cloudsdale during the summer for flight camp. What did you do while I was gone?"

He shrugged. "Practiced flying with my wings by myself."

"Wait, what?" She waved her hoof in the air in a circle. "Back up a moment. You practiced by yourself? Isn't it kind of dangerous to do that? We heard lots of horror stories in flight camp about foals practicing their flying outside of safe enviroments. Did you get hurt?"

"Sort of. You eventually learn what to do and what not to do. No biggie."

"No biggie?" She huffed. "This is the first time I'm hearing anything about this! So, keep going. You did this all the way through summer?"

"Yeah. And by the time you came back, I could fly as well as you could."

"Well, I guess that explains why I didn't see you at flight camp... but you said you were going to go, weren't you?"

"There were some... complications."

"Yeah? Like what? Something that stopped the mighty Sky Shift from learning how to fly?" she said playfully.

"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just say that I had a falling out with my dad and things sort of went downhill."

Her smile faded. "Oh... uh... sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Yeah... it's fine." He tried to steer the topic to something else. "So, have any ideas on a replacement for Fleetfoot yet?"

"Actually, no, not really. I was thinking of Lightning Streak or Rapidfire, since they're usually always fine with it. Of course, you could always volunteer..."

He laughed. "Thanks, but no thanks, Spitfire. Aside from the 'spotlight'..." He rolled his eyes playfully. "...I don't think I'd work well in a group. Staying in formation and all that just really doesn't suit my style."

"Oh, something else other than the 'spotlight' this time, huh? It's alright, I can accept that. Not everypony can do all that well working with a group. I know you would rather spend time just leaving all the other pegasi in the dust than flying in formation."

"That I do," he smiled. "Well..." He looked at the sun, now fully above the horizon. "...I think I'll just go see what Keeper needs me to do now." He began to walk away, approaching the bridge that led down to the street where Weststratus would be just opening up at.

"Okay, then. See you in two--er, I mean, four weeks, huh? Oh, yeah..." She smiled mischieviously. "...did find somepony to attend the show with?" It was an innocent question, but she already knew the answer...

"Yeah. I'm going with Rainbow Dash."

Spitfire's eyes shot wide open, not expecting him to actually give an answer. So, he was going with the prospective recruit... "Oh, maybe you should coach her," Spitfire teased. "She's going to be at the audition in two weeks, you know."

Shift stopped, letting his mind work on that. "Hmm, that sounds like a good idea..."

Spitfire nodded, agreeing with his assessment. "Yeah, I've seen her before at the Grand Galloping Gala. She's not bad, but hopefully you can shape her up to be Wonderbolts material. If there's anypony that can do it, it's you. I can already imagine how it'll be when you put her through the endurance paces."

"You've seen her fly before?"

"Yeah, she was also at the Young Best Flyer competition. That Sonic Rainboom of hers might have just saved my life! I mean, catching a falling pony is some seriously dangerous stuff, especially when you can't catch up. If we had you, however, we could have avoided an accident entirely," she laughed.

"Keep getting into trouble, and you might just tempt me to sign up," he joked.

"If it gets you into the Wonderbolts, I might just keep doing it." They stared at each other's eyes for the longest moment until Shift cleared his throat and they both ended up blushing. "Oh, uh... haha, would you look at the, uh, time? I have... uh, to go... see Fleetfoot at the hospital, I think I've spent enough time here."

"Right, and I'll just... uh, go talk to Keeper..." He looked away for a moment in silence. "...thanks for the idea by the way."

"Huh?" Spitfire had begun to walk the other direction, towards the Canterlot hospital. "Oh, yeah... no problem... see you around?"

He laughed. "Of course, we live in the same city, after all. See you whenever!" He gave a quick wave before trotting off.

"Yeah..." Spitfire said, absentmindedly waving her hoof back at a departing Shift. "...see you whenever."

Shift waved good morning as he passed by a shopowner. The idea to coach Rainbow Dash was actually unexpected, but their agreements had been correct: she could use some training, and perhaps even a new technique. The Sonic Rainboom in itself wasn't going to get her into the Wonderbolts if they'd seen it before. It was just a gimmick, after all, they wanted some real talent, pegasi that can maneuver and fly quickly. Rainbow had only shown how fast she could perform at the moment, and her lack of discipline would most likely fudge her chances at getting in.

There was the issue of having to visit his parents tomorrow, but at least he'd have something to look forward to after the whole strenuous affair was over. Dash certainly had enough time during the clear seasons when there weren't too many clouds in the air, so she could definitely afford to spare some time to help her chances of getting in.

Spitfire had been rather clever in suggesting that to him. To imagine that this means that he would have trained one Captain of the Wonderbolts, and another that held a lot of promise in getting in. And then after that suggestion, Shift had ended up staring into Spitfire's eyes... she was really pretty out of her uniform... and her mane looked way better when it wasn't swept back for her performances... and--whoa, wait, dangerous territory again, stop daydreaming, Shift!

He stopped immediately, looking around, and noticed that he was standing just outside Weststratus. The doorknob clicked for a bit, then Keeper walked outside, a broom in his mouth. He walked down the stairs and eyed Shift, surprised to see him. "Hey, there, kid! Got the day off?"

"You could say that," he said. "Need any help today?"

"Considering that today's the beginning of the weekend? We'll be getting a lot of traffic tonight. Skillet's already going through his morning chef mantras and meditation to prepare for the impending lunch hour rush."

"He... really does that?" Shift chuckled.

"Does he? Every single day!" Keeper laughed back. "He's always been a bit of an oddball, but I guess that's sort of appealing to the customers. Everypony in Canterlot knows about his quirkiness by now. The workers love him for his dedication to good food, and the high-class ponies love him for his snootiness when it comes to making good food. There isn't any other chef in Equestria that can cook as well as him... or be half as strange."

"Think he'll need me?"

"Need you? Kid, he'll practically drop everything he's doing just to give you a hug. He hasn't seen you for ages, of course he'd love to see you! You're the closest thing to an apprentice he's ever had since you ran away from home that one time years ago! Now head on in and say hello!"

Shift nodded, heading inside the aged restaurant. There was going to be a lot to do in the next couple of weeks...

Chip off the Old Block

Shift stood before himself in the mirror, turning his head to see if he'd groomed himself appropriately for the visit to his parents. Well, just this one day, and then he would be hassle-free for another year, right? He slicked back his mane, trying to make sure he didn't leave any unsightly clumps. Satisfied with himself, he nodded and walked downstairs.

The sun shone clearly through his dining room window. He could see several of the other early riser mailponies working, delivering their mail to various locales within Canterlot. Post had given him a good deal of time off already for this visit, although he had a sneaking suspicion that the aged supervisor wouldn't be too against the idea of giving Shift the entire year off, if need be.

He walked outside, looking into the sky, watching the early morning blue skies be tinged with a touch of orange, and a little gray from the wisps of clouds that swirled around the landscape. Locking his door, he curtly stuffed the key in his travel vest and began his preparations to take off: this time involving a bit more focus than most due to the nature of the visit. He shook his head quickly, bringing his mind up to speed as he felt the cool morning mist bite at him. With no further hesitation, he took to the skies, veering for Manehattan.

As he cruised high in the skies above the green lands, he felt a rising calm within him. The sky, much as it had been when he first started flying, was his ever-present companion, a haven high above the ground and the clouds, where he could just simply just think. The clouds and sunlight greeted him for stretches of flying as he quickly began his slow descent as he passed over the city of Manehattan.

The city, to any untrained pegasi, would have been completely impossible to navigate, due to its winding streets and close-knit buildings. The only points of reference were places like the aerodrome, the post office, or the park, and even then, direct addresses could be a pain to reach. Shift didn't have much problem, however, as he clearly remembered his parents' residence: a small two-story building on the corner, just three blocks down from the park.

He quickly dove into a spiral as he prepared to land. Normally, pegasi aren't usually allowed to fly in the skies above cities since a work license was required in order to do so, but Shift had his mailpony license. He liked being able to fly over the cities at any time he wanted to, and there was always little traffic to deal with since only workers used the skies.

He quickly checked his appearance again, ignoring the minor glances from the bustling ponies on the street behind him, before walking up the small set of stairs to the plainly painted white door. Waiting a moment to collect his nerves, he raised his hoof to knock, hoping dearly that his father wouldn't answer the door... he sighed and gave a quick three taps.

Rose Petal opened the door, smiling at the sight of her son. "Oh, Shift! Please, come in!"

"Hello, mom. I take it things have been well?" He hung up his travel vest on the nearby hangar, turning to his mom as she quickly dusted off the porch before stepping back inside.

"Yes, things have been fine, as well," she laughed. "How are you, Shift? Have you had any troubles, any problems, at home?"

"Nothing that I can't deal with myself," he said. "So, is... dad... ready to go out?"

"He'll be down in a moment. We already have a reservation for the restaurant planned out in advance. You liked the Sunshine Afternoon Salad, right?"

"Yes, mom," he joked. "That's the one I like. I also like having my drink served in a cup with a bendy straw and my strawberry sherbet served to me in a plastic bowl with the royal guard toys I liked so much."

They heard the sound of hooves tapping against the wooden stairs, and before long, the profile of Signed Pages stood at the top. He and Shift met each other's gaze, and it was if the air around the house had suddenly become deathly cold. It wouldn't have been too far out of the situation to say that they were practically staring daggers at each other.

"Shift," Pages said.

"Dad," Shift responded.

More silence for several moments until Rose decided to give a nervous laugh, clearing her throat. "Uh... let's head out now!"

"Sure."

"Yeah."

The response had come at the same time, and it was hard to tell who had said what, but Shift decided to break off the staring contest before the situation became dangerously volatile.

"Well, let's not keep ourselves waiting, shall we?" He opened the door for his mother. "Wouldn't want us to end up hungry now, right?" His father trotted down the stairs and out the open door as Shift held a straight face, before giving the house a final closing glance. His mother locked the door and then they were on their way to the restaurant.

"So, Shift, has anything interesting happened lately?" Rose asked.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Just running first-class mail across Equestria. It's surprising how many ponies actually use first-class mail: I can usually stay out for the better part of a day just delivering!"

"I'm sure you get a lot of time to do what you love to do, dear. I can imagine there's plenty of time for flying between cities." Shift's mother was walking in the center of their group, separating him and his father, and most likely for good reason. Pages listened to the conversation with detached interest as they continued down the city street.

"Yeah, I get lots of time, actually. It's nice to be able to see... well, everything. I think I'm one of the few ponies in Equestria who can say that he can literally visit every city there is through his own effort."

Rose laughed, sharing in her son's enthusiasm for flying. "So, a year away is a lot of time. Break any new records lately?"

"Not recently," he smiled. "If only somepony would do a delivery from Stalliongrad to Appleloosa, then things would be a lot more interesting, but nopony has done that yet..."

"Mixing business and pleasure again, I see," Pages said.

"Not like you'd even know how to do that in the first place," Shift immediately retorted.

"Please, you two, not here of all places..." Rose whispered to them. They had been earning more curious glances from other ponies around the street. The restaurant was within viewing distance right now, so it was probably for the best to not instigate something where they would happen to be at for a while.

As usual, not wanting to be the one ruining the mood, Shift conceded. "That's fine. Now let's something to eat. I'm famished," he said, fighting against his urging nature to accentuate the last word to spite his father's more proper form of speech.

"I agree," Rose said. "Oh, look, and they're having a deal today, lowered prices on everything on account of the Wonderbolts show coming up next month! Isn't that fantastic, dear?" she asked Pages.

"Very smart. Trying to build up more customers so they can hold them over when the show comes, perhaps even spread through word of mouth and get even more paying customers in." Shift nearly cringed at the way his father casually initiated business talk. In his youth, he'd actually liked it, but as the years went by, it eventually became one of the many factors in Shift's rebellious attitude, most notably for being less dad-like and more... cold.

"Indeed, dear, but hopefully there won't be too many inside! I hope they still have a table available." Shift had to admire his mother's ability to defuse almost every precarious situation that his father put them into. It was most certainly a skill she had nearly honed to an art over their years of marriage.

"How's life in Canterlot? I assume you're still in contact with old Keeper there?" Rose laughed. They had found a table, an empty one, near the corner of the restaurant. It was a little bit hard to hold a conversation with the din of the packed tables around them, but noise was never really one to deter Rose from making small talk.

"Yeah, he actually still runs Weststratus, believe it or not," Shift said. "I even spent some time with old Skillet there just a few days back. You remember him, right?"

"Oh, yes," Rose laughed. "He was always the odd sort. His food is amazing, but he can certainly be... eccentric, at times. I know you spent some time apprenticing with him for a while."

The waiter stopped by and delivered their drinks: water for Rose and Shift, with a small glass of wine for Pages. Shift gave a courteous nod before the waiter bowed his head and returned to his duties.

"Yes, I did," Shift continued. "It's surprising that he even remembered that I liked making those cheese-and-spinach sandwiches. I definitely had weird tastes back then when I was a colt."

"You did well with him," Pages interjected. "You did make Weststratus' most iconic dish, after all... the Canterlot Medley Sandwich." Shift raised an eyebrow at his father's comment: that had been such a long time ago, and it was because he had been hungry and decided to mix together a random hodgepodge of ingredients and some sauces and slapped it between two pieces of toast.

Skillet had found him in the process of eating it and demanded a bite from it himself, and from that, history was made. Shift had opted to not be given credit for the work, instead wanting it to be credited to Weststratus as a whole. It soon became the 'worker's sandwich' as it quickly caught on with ponies all over the city. It still amused Shift that the whole reason why Skillet had picked him up as an apprentice was not for his cooking skill, but rather his spontaneity with making some of the most random and interesting foods; something that Skillet apparently loved to do himself.

"Indeed, dear," Rose said. "Our little Shift has grown up so well! He's arguably the fastest pegasi in Canterlot! You've seen his performance evaluations, right? It's a wonder how he hasn't been promoted to office manager yet!"

"Mom, Post still holds that job," Shift said.

"Oh, really? That old stallion's still sitting at that desk, reading the newspaper every morning! Really, and here I thought you were one-of-a-kind, Shift," Rose laughed. "Post's had that job for years now, don't you know? Always keeps saying that he's fine with doing all that sort of thing, much like yourself. It pays nicely and he gets to enjoy quiet mornings, he told me. He even called it his pre-retirement retirement!"

"I guess that explains why we get along pretty well."

Pages cleared his throat. "Now on to the matter at hand..."

"Sure, dad, what did you want to speak about?" Shift had to choose his words carefully now, lest he end up in another argument. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to say much, since the waiter showed up with their food. The salad would be useful in stuffing his mouth so all he would have to do is nod or shake his head, or shrug.

"I know we've had our difference in the past..." he began. Shift looked at his mom, who merely gave a worried smile and a quick shrug. "...but I would like to let you know that I still love you as a son, and as a father who wants to see his son happy, I want you to be successful. I know how much you love flying in the sky, and I'd like to talk to you about finding a job pertaining to that."

Shift swallowed a mouthful of greens. "Dad, we've been over this already... I'm fine with my mailpony job. I don't need something that makes me more bits, and I'd rather not have to deal with more of your... clients, either." Most of the job offerings that his father had put forward for him had involved dealing with ponies as equally dense as his father was. Most scoffed at Shift's wanted preference for just sticking with a job they thought was 'the bottom rung of the ladder'.

"I know, I know," Pages quickly reassured. "I just thought you might want to try for something different this time around, so I took the liberty of asking for a few things here and there..."

"Please, dad, don't tell me that you signed me up for another job posting without telling me again." Shift hated it when his father did that: it was usually done without his permission, and Shift hated not being in control of his life.

"Don't worry, it's nothing of the sort. It's a job that involves primarily flying, lots of air time, and lots of traveling."

"Traveling?" There usually weren't many jobs that had 'traveling' as part of the description... and those that did were usually already taken by other ponies who were usually more qualified to fill in other qualifications for the job than he did. "Just what kind of job are we talking about here?"

Pages cleared his throat, and then smiled. "Well, son... I took the liberty of signing you up for an audition with the Wonderbolts!"

Shift held a neutral face, but inside, his mind just shifted into overtime. Him? Wonderbolts? Audition? Was that why... that was what Spitfire was asking him about: about whether or not he had 'something else' going on! As the Captain, she was the lead judge for the auditions! She knew about this! She'd seen his name on the roster! He could feel his heart sink as continued thinking on it further.

He had never told his father that he hated being in the spotlight. Could Shift really fault him for not knowing something that he'd only told Spitfire? His heart and mind were in turmoil as he tried to think the most proper response to the situation, over his instinctive cries that this was a blatant violation of his personal rights and his absolute distaste of being seen in the public eye.

"...and, really, it was something amazing!" Pages laughed. "Here, I was, literally speaking face-to-face with the manager of the Wonderbolts! He said he'd heard of me before, how I kept all the Cloudsdale weather teams afloat by cutting through all that paperwork, that he'd repay me for keeping the city afloat! It was the most amazing coincidence ever, I tell you!" It was rare that Shift ever saw his father as happy as he was now... and he actually resented the idea of actually ruining the mood.

"That's amazing!" Rose said. "You never told me about this, dear..."

Pages winked at her. "I wanted to make it a surprise." He smiled back at Shift, who had merely taken to sipping his drink very, very slowly. "The audition is coming up in two weeks, son, so maybe you can take some time off work and really spread your wings! And not only that, it's a really special audition: you're considered a top priority applicant, so you get your own personal appointment with the judges and extended demonstration time with them! You don't even have to show up to their general audition since the applicant auditions take place before them!"

"Really, dear, this is amazing! Can you imagine it? Our son, a Wonderbolt?" Rose cheered.

"And I know he's got more than enough talent to knock those judges out of the park!" Pages laughed. "So, son, what do you think?"

Oh, Celestia help him.

"I think it's... a nice gesture..."

"You... don't seem to be as excited as I thought you would be."

Shift sighed, deciding to take the direct and honest route about this. "Dad, I don't like being in the spotlight. In fact, I actually hate it. If I ever had the nerve of being able to perform in front of hundreds of ponies, being a Wonderbolt would have been the first job I would have taken."

Pages raised his head, about to say something, but then sat back, thinking over his son's response before slowly nodding. "I... understand, son. It's your choice, but... hay, this is going to be awkward to take back..." He rubbed the back of his head.

"No, you don't have to... actually... I have an idea." Shift remembered that he was going to ask Rainbow Dash to coach her in preparation for the Wonderbolt auditions. If she could have more than just getting in with the rest at the general auditions... "Could you... change the name you signed on it?"

"Well, I don't think it'll be too hard, son. What do you have in mind?"

"I... I have this friend, see... she's a really competitive pony, and she loves flying, and she loves the Wonderbolts. She actually told me that she wanted to join them someday."

"I can tell where this is going," Pages laughed. "So you want me to sign her up for it instead of you?"

"Oh, is our little Shift finally getting into a relationship? Perhaps you two are closer than I thought, to want to do something like this for just a friend," Rose giggled, a sentiment that even Pages shared.

Shift could feel himself blushing. "No, it's not like that, mom! Gosh, you two are just... okay, nevermind! Dad, do you think you can put down 'Rainbow Dash' on the roster in my place?"

"Oh, dear!" Rose put a hoof to her mouth. "Her? She's the one you're trying to get in? Oh, Shift, you're making this so much more interesting than you think... To think you'd end up with the winner of the Best Young Flyer competition!"

He rolled his eyes. "I told you already, it's nothing like that. She's just a friend that I had already planned on coaching for the auditions. If she can have more than just a single audition, it would be much appreciated."

"That sounds a bit strenuous, don't you think? Shift, have you ever coached anypony before?" Rose asked. "It's going to take a lot of work to do so...."

"I think I can handle it. After all, I did coach Spitfire before she got into the Wonderbolts, after all."

"Oh, Spitfire, that nice little filly from down at Three Block Way in Canterlot? She was always such a sweet girl, even if she did get into trouble often," Rose said. "Wait... you mean her? Spitfire? As in... Spitfire... the Captain of the Wonderbolts... that Spitfire? You coached her?"

Shift nodded happily. "Yeah, and you won't believe how long it took for her to perfect her audition move. Really, if I hadn't pointed out that she kept spinning too quickly, I think she would have been seriously hurt! Her Sunbolt was always a bit unstable like that, I suppose, but like I kept telling her: technique! It's all about the technique."

Pages roared with laughter. "Well, I can't say that I can complain if my son trained one of the best Wonderbolts out there! Really, after the... um..." he cleared his throat. "...the incident with the flight camp, we'd thought you stopped talking to her altogether. I'm glad to see that wasn't the case."

"Yeah. We still stuck together, even after she came back from Cloudsdale. Really, dad..." Shift leaned his head in, giving Pages a wary eye. "...what's gotten into you? You're... different."

"Your father had a little epiphany recently," Rose said. "Something about him being not enough of a dad, which is something that he only realized after he properly retired and we had our little talk, hmm?" she asked Pages, leaning into him with a sly grin.

"Yes... well... son... I know we've not always been on good terms, but I'd like to say that I'm sorry. Right now. If you'd accept... that is." He looked away. "I know that won't make up all the times I've been... you know... but I hope we can mend our relationship."

"Indeed," Rose said, wearing a smile that would best be described as terrifying to any married stallion. "See now, dear, was that so hard?" she said, hugging him while Pages blushed. Shift had severely underestimated his mother's ability to keep his father in check. "Really, you can both be so stubborn sometimes..."

Shift's gaze switched between the two as they casually engaged in playful conversation, sipping on his drink. Really, who actually ran the family at this point was anypony's guess right about now.

"Shh, your father's asleep in his study," Rose said, closing the second-floor door. Shift had left to visit the Manehattan Aerodrome in advance before the show, and stopped around town to pick up some supplies on behalf of his father, as well as delivering a few letters pertaining to the favor discussed earlier.

They'd actually had an open heart-to-heart following their conversation at the restaurant, and had cleared up their misunderstandings for each other. It would seem that once his father hit his retirement phase, he began to realize, with some more... direct hints from his mother, that maybe Shift just wanted to live his life without having to work towards a weekly deadline much like he had.

"So..." The two entered the kitchen, where Rose began to make two cups of hot chocolate. "...any... mare problems recently?"

"No, mom, nothing of the sort." He sat down at the table and looked out the window. The sun was just beginning to set now.

"Oh? You're in your prime age right now, Shift. You should really consider putting yourself on the market."

"Post has said that to me so many times already..."

"Then I guess he has more sense than you do at the moment. Really, you're not doing yourself any favors just locking yourself away in your own job and your own hobbies. Not even the Wonderbolts have such an obsession with the sky like you do." She began pouring the hot chocolate into two mugs on the kitchen table, before bringing the pitcher away towards the stove.

Shift said nothing, merely pulling the mug towards him and taking a small sip.

"Shift..." Rose said. "Your father's concern with your job had more than one... for him, it was about the money, about you trying to live as comfortably as you can... obviously, money doesn't mean happiness for you... but for me, it was about trying to get you out... meet others, make friends. I know you love your job, and you love the flying, but it's so horribly... isolated, and we want to see you happy... and not alone."

"Mm-hmm," Shift responded. "I'm just... having some problems with that, really..."

"Oh, no... this is about... that again, isn't it?" She stared down into her mug. "I'd thought you'd gotten over it..."

"I know, but it's just... gosh, I've been infatuated with her for Celestia knows how long..." He rubbed his nose, now unusually aware of every little twitch and action his body made, nervous to be speaking about this.

"Have you ever asked her? Again, that is."

"Not since that time long ago."

"You should just let it go, Shift... perhaps you won't be able to... be with her... and I know she's practically the spitting image of the mare of your dreams, but... it's not healthy to hold on to such a thing for so long..." Rose whispered.

Shift lowered his head as he stared at his reflection at the brown shimmering liquid in his mug. When he was young, his mother had found him at home one day, locked in his room, but strangely without an argument with his father prior to slamming his door. She'd checked on him only to find him sobbing into his pillow, unwilling to speak for quite a while... it had taken hours before he finally came forth with his problems.

He had a crush on Spitfire. At the time, it just seemed to be a silly foal's crush on another, usually the kind of elementary things that children grew out of by the time they went to flight camp, but Shift had been serious... no, more than serious, almost dedicated, to being Spitfire's special somepony. When he'd asked her one day, she turned him down, and that broke his heart.

Rose was sure that Spitfire wasn't really aware of what she was saying during the time, but the damage had been done: Shift was reluctant to talk to other mares after that, especially Spitfire, and compounded with his increasingly solitary lifestyle, he eventually became a loner. Rose was actually distraught at hearing that most of Shift's current acquaintances were only ponies that he'd met while he was younger, like Skillet or Keeper, or just coworkers, like Derpy and Post. He was socially starving himself, almost unconsciously so.

Shortly following his confession, he turned to the sky, finding the only source of confidence and pride he had in that. He eventually recovered, seemingly grown out of his crush phase, but now Rose saw that he only hid it further, not out of mind, only out of sight. He could talk to other ponies again, but the thought of what had happened during those days still held with him.

"I... I'm not giving up," Shift whispered.

"Hmm?" Rose had been thinking, as well, only stirring at hearing her son speak.

"I said I'm not giving up. I'm going to ask her again. After the performance next month. I'll ask for some time alone with her, and then I'll just... I'll confess to her. Again," he sheepishly added.

"Shift..."

"So how come dad took my response well?" he asked, changing the topic. "The dad I knew would have flown straight into a little tirade about how I'm under-performing again. What gives?"

"Simple," Rose said seriously. "Last year, after your previous visit, I had been completely fed up with the way your father treated your decisions. Normally, he wouldn't be so hostile, you know, he's actually a very caring pony. But... it was like he sort of lost his way. Like he forgot that you were his son, not his protege. I had a serious conversation with him about that, and he... he saw sense."

"Just like that?"

Rose smiled. "Yes... just like that. At that time, it was as if the stallion I'd fallen in love with came rushing back to me, and he'd... he'd been less than happy about what he'd done. You would be surprised at his offer today and how long it took him... he started working on it as soon as we'd finished the conversation around this time last year. Despite any misgivings he may have with your decision, I think he's happy over your choice to give such a chance to somepony else."

"Yeah... I don't like flying in a group. Too much... work."

"I figured as much, but we thought you'd might like it nonetheless."

"I do... though I guess I appreciate it in a different way. I'm sure Dash will probably faint when I tell her about this. Private audition appointment with the judges as a top priority applicant... really, when did they start doing that?"

"Usually it's just one or two every recruiting session, even then, not many of them make it in. It's usually reserved for those with exceptional flight talent, and they have to be checked off by the captain before they make it on the list."

"The captain..." Shift laughed. "Well, I guess I know how I got on there. Great... now Spitfire thinks I'm serious about joining the Wonderbolts."

"You can just play it off as your father's interference," Rose laughed. "I'm sure she'd understand. How is she, by the way? Have you been speaking with her recently?"

"Been speaking with her a lot more recently, actually. Just been getting into the races like we had when we were young."

"Not hurting yourself or knocking over lanterns again, I wager?"

"No, nothing serious this time. Just racing around the corner watchtowers at neckbreak speeds," Shift said sarcastically, earning a shocked look from his mother. "It's okay, it was just a one time thing. We're both accomplished pegasi, mom, no need to worry about it." He looked outside, seeing the sky turn dark. "I think it's best I leave now. Give my best wishes to dad."

"I will," she said, walking to the door with him. They gave a final hug before Rose kissed Shift on the forehead. "Good night, my son, and be careful. And no flying around watchtowers!"

He laughed. "Good night, mom."

"And the whole business about waiting for the mare of your dreams... really, you and your father have much more in common than you'd think..." she said, before closing the door behind her, leaving Shift to ponder what she had just said.

Mentor and Student

"Morning, boss!" Shift said, cantering into the post office.

"Bright and early, Shifty!" Post laughed. "Back to being the early riser again, huh? You're certainly in good spirits." Post brought up his paper, the headlines reading 'Wonderbolts Show In Manehattan Coming Up Soon!' on the front pages.

"Well, the visit turned out pretty well..."

"Uh-huh," Post tapped the desk, indicating to the fully-packed saddlebags on the desk. "Back to the usual rounds, Shifty."

"I'll be done in a lightning bolt," he said, throwing the bags on his back. He partially turned away from the reading Post when he stopped. "...say, boss, can I have the afternoon off?"

The newspaper lowered and Post raised an eyebrow. "Why?" He quickly came to a realization as his eyes shot open in response before a grin started to spread across his face, giving a hearty chuckle. "Ohoho... I know what this is about... yeah, take the afternoon off. Hay, take the whole damn day off!" He quickly flipped the paper up to obscure his glee-written face.

Shift blinked. "Uh... what's this about?"

Post lowered his paper again. "Oh, nothing. Usually you don't just ask for another afternoon or day off out of nowhere... unless, you know... you got yourself a marefriend." He whipped the paper back up again, as Shift stood for a moment, the mailpony feeling his face grow hot.

"Hey, that's not--I don't have a special somepony!" The conversation he'd had with his mother pertaining to Spitfire recently brought back a lot of angst-filled thoughts.

"Uh-huh."

"I'm serious!"

"And so am I, Shifty!" Post laughed. "Really, these jokes would stop getting to you if you found yourself a marefriend," he teased. "You're a good stallion, and one buckin' talented flyer... you could use a mare with a nice flank."

"Wh--Post!" Shift said sourly, horrified at the uncouth territory the old stallion had just delved into.

"Relax, relax! I was just joking!" Post laughed again, folding his paper away and leaving it on the counter. "At this rate, you'll take your ironclad bachelor status to your grave!" He turned away, chuckling, as he returned to sorting out parcels and packages for the rest of the day's deliveries. "Yeah, you get the day off. Go finish your deliveries and you'll be free to do whatever."

"That was supremely uncomfortable, and I don't think you should tread there ever again," Shift said matter-of-factly, though he knew that Post always kept reminding him only because of good intentions. He gave a single huff of disbelief, taking to the skies, as Post merely chuckled to himself quietly, shaking his head all the while.

Ponyville was strangely becoming a more common stop for Shift, though the quiet town was usually a final stop for him due to the fact that it wasn't visited all that often for first-class. There seemed to be a lot of packages, most likely souvenirs, for Twilight Sparkle, boasting various postage stamps from lots of places in Equestria, some of them even so exotic that Shift wouldn't have believed they existed if it hadn't been the stamps... and the strange wrappings those packages came in.

As usual, Twilight was again waiting in the post office lobby as Shift entered.

"Hey, Miss Sparkle," he said.

"Oh, hello, Shift," Twilight said quickly. "You wouldn't happen to have a--"

Shift quickly pulled out the box and waved it in front of her face, which Twilight gladly accepted with fervor. "There you go. You've sure been getting a lot of packages lately, huh?"

"Yep," she happily said, examining the banana leaf that this particular package was wrapped with. "My brother's been sending me all sorts of amazing and wonderful stuff from his honeymoon with Princess Cadance. I'll have to visit these places sometimes, they all seem so... interesting."

"Right... speaking of which, have you seen Rainbow Dash anywhere?"

Twilight stopped examining the package on the floor and looked at him. "Dash? What's your business with her?"

"Don't tell her anything about this, but..." he said, leaning towards her ear. "...it's for her Wonderbolts audition."

"Oh, really?" she asked, now curious. "Has she been accepted?"

"Well... no... not yet... but I have a good feeling that she will be." The thought of Rainbow's reaction towards getting her own scheduled audition with the Wonderbolts had been sitting on his mind for a while.

"Oh. Well, if you need her, she's probably hanging around Ponyville somewhere taking a nap in a tree, or at home at her cloud house right outside of Ponyville. She's had a lot of free time recently since the weather teams aren't needed due to clear skies. Seems to be par for the course around this time of year."

"She takes naps a lot?" Shift asked.

"Yes... she does. She only usually does it only when she has free time, but she's otherwise a very loyal and dedicated worker and friend."

"Well, I sure hope she won't slack off when it comes to the audition. That requires some top-notch fitness to perform."

Twilight nodded. "I'm sure the Wonderbolts regimen will be very taxing on her rather... carefree lifestyle. But it's her dream to join, so I doubt she'll have many complaints for too long."

"She has her work cut out for her. I appreciate you telling me where to find her..." he said. "Otherwise I might have had to spend the whole day just looking for her."

"Well, I'm glad you told me about the audition," Twilight smiled. "I'll keep it a secret from her, if it means that much to you."

"Thanks, Twilight. Just... don't spoil the surprise accidentally, okay?"

"Oh, trust me, Shift, you were lucky you ran into me instead of Pinkie Pie. I definitely won't spoil it accidentally, but some ponies can be real chatterboxes." Discounting herself when she was going into detail on magical theory, of course.

He rolled his eyes. "That would have been a nightmare."

Twiilght giggled. "I'm sure it would have been. Well, now, I believe I've kept you here long enough, and I have a package to return to my library with. Have a nice day!" Twilight picked up the twine-wrapped banana leaf package with her mouth and left.

Derpy hadn't been in the office; most of the morning and day shift had another pony postmaster which Shift didn't bother conversing with, so he left. Ponyville, though it was a rather sizeable town, had fairly small town limits, and didn't have too many trees (unless one counted the Everfree, of course), so it wasn't that much of a problem to find Rainbow Dash.

The cyan pegasus had taken up a temporary sleeping spot on a tall tree just outside of town, on the road leading to Sweet Apple Acres. The sounds of her peaceful sleep could be heard around for a while in the center of the dead quiet roads, on top of the telltale sign of her tail swinging every now and then from underneath a bunch of leaves and branches.

Unwilling to pass up this fortuitous chance, he slowly broke into a glide, swinging deftly below the tree's canopy and slowly bringing himself up to the sleeping Dash.

"Mm... I'm... totally the coolest..." she mumbled, giving a small kick of her hind leg before she rolled around to the other side.

Oh, dear. Such carelessness would never be tolerated in the Wonderbolts. So it would be up to Shift to sort her out into proper Wonderbolts audition material.

He'd heard mention, or rather, from what Derpy had told him, of Dash terrorizing the local populace during Nightmare Night by flying around on a cloud and shocking ponies into fear using lightning bolts, and her subsequent comeuppance by being on the receiving end of her own prank, courtesy of Princess Luna. Well, he figured it was time for round two.

He zipped into the air, quickly gathering as many clouds as he could, forcing them all into themselves to create a darkened and water-dense storm cloud, just rife with lightning potential and the ability to literally rain on anypony's parade. Dash would be in for a rude awakening and her first step into becoming a real Wonderbolt.

Though, whether or not they actually adhered to strict training regimens down to the second was beyond Shift. But that was what he worked with for Spitfire, so it would work here, too. A little extra discipline never hurt in the long run, right?

He slowly brought the cloud down on top of the tree, preparing to let out a torrent of water and a crack of thunder that would most certainly wake Dash up from her enjoyable time in dreamland. He leaned over the side of the cloud and saw that her tail was still hanging about, and so he jumped into a float, readying a hard kick into the side of the cloud...

CRACK!

The lightning arced off a branch before slamming into the ground, leaving a small smoldering circle where the bolt had struck. A wall of water poured down into the tree, eliciting a shout of surprise from Dash.

"Huh--what?!"

"Rise and shine, Dash!" Shift laughed. "The Wonderbolts audition's coming up soon, you have free time, and the first thing you do is take a nap?"

"Okay, okay, I get it! Hay, I was having such a nice nap, too..."

"Well, don't expect it to stay that way! The Wonderbolts are all training, all the time!"

"No, they aren't!" Dash responded. "I asked Spitfire about how they worked at the Grand Galloping Gala, and they only spend a certain amount of time every week for training! It's not like they do it every day..."

Shift rolled his eyes: apparently, not even Spitfire was willing to stick with the extremely strenuous training regimen he'd made up for her just for her audition past her induction. No matter, all that was needed was to train up well enough to turn heads at the audition, and let the training handle the rest. Spitfire had easily gotten through the ranks, it seemed, in no small part due to the training regimen... perhaps Wonderbolts training was more of a step down compared to what he had her do?

"Well, it was my coaching that helped her get into the Wonderbolts, remember? I thought it was your life's dream to join them?"

"Well, yeah, it is, but..." The allure of the audition eventually clicked in her head. "Okay, what do you have in mind?"

"I--" Oops, he was still on the clock for his job. "I'll be right back. Won't take longer than a moment, just have to go turn in my shift for the day!" he said, turning and booming away at a speed that nearly threw Dash out of the tree. Sighing, she caught herself and leaped down to the ground, before ruffling her mane back to the way it had been ruffled previously prior to Shift's arrival in Ponyville.

It wasn't long before Shift had returned, minus his saddlebags, and yet another hearty laugh out the door by Post about seeing his 'marefriend' again. There had also been other mailponies in the office during his return, and by the time he was leaving, everypony around was wearing a silly grin on their faces. No doubt that the rumors would be disseminated throughout the entire post force by the time the workday was over.

This wasn't the first time Shift had run into something like this before: usually, they just played it off as one of Post's usual jokes, and by the end of the week, everything would be back to normal. Or so Shift hoped.

"Sorry about that, I had to turn in my saddlebags..." he huffed.

"No problem. So, what do you have in mind, coach?"

He took in a huge gulp of air, turning his head left and right, surveying the flat landscape and forest line around Ponyville. "Right, for starters, perhaps you should get in some stretches."

"Oh... uh, sure." Dash expected something more... harsher, but this was fine, too. She deftly flexed her wings, making sure that all the muscles were accounted for as she watched Shift fly higher into the sky, taking in the whole of the region around them. "Hey, what are you looking for, anyway?"

"Just looking around to see the best course of action..." he called back down. He hadn't used his Coach Mode for a while, but if Dash was to have any hope of making it through... "Hmm, alright, you done stretching?"

"Yeah. Got something in mind?"

"Yep. You. Me. Endurance run. Fifty laps around Ponyville, no stops, no breaks, watch the turns, don't hit other pegasi, and think quick on your wings. If you're half as fast as you say you are, you should have no problems keeping up with me when we hit corners." Spitfire might be entirely correct in judging how Dash would do in the endurance paces...

"Psh, no problem. Just don't cry when I leave you in the dust," she said, nonchalantly waving her hoof around.

"Sure," Shift responded casually, rotating in the air. The last time Spitfire had said that, she'd nearly been worn down to nothing on the fortieth lap while Shift overtook her multiple times. "You want a head start? As your coach, I should let you know that I always have your best interests in mind, and it's in your best interest right now to take that head start." He smiled smugly.

Dash eyed him cautiously, remembering what Shift had said about his wingpower. "Fine. I'll take it. Around Ponyville, right?"

"Yep. And don't worry if you don't know the right route... you'll know what the correct one is when I pass you," he laughed.

"Oh, it's on," she said, zipping into the air and flying along the outskirts of the city. It wasn't long until she became nothing more than a blip in Shift's vision, as he noticed her take a left and follow the perimeter. He gave a quick intake of breath before he shot forward, following in her wake.

"Come on! We haven't even broken forty laps yet!" Shift said. Dash was huffing and puffing as she struggled to continue flying as Shift flew alongside her, leaning backwards as his wings propelled him through the air.

Much to his word, it had only taken less than two laps before Shift had overtaken her, and soon multiple times, as even though Dash could manage to keep up with him at first, Shift's long-time flying had granted him a strength unlike any other pegasi, and the mailpony mentor perhaps even had the equivalent of Applejack's earth pony stamina in pegasus form.

"Hah... just... how many... are we on... right now?" Dash grunted as she continued flapping her wings slowly, still maintaining good speed, but not without severe strain on her muscles.

"We're around... thirty-five? Thirty-six?" Shift wondered out loud. "Come on, Dash, I know you have more in you than that."

"You... sure you aren't... a Wonderbolt...?" she panted, giving a tired glance to her flying partner.

"Nope... but I did coach Spitfire before she got into the Wonderbolts, so there's that."

"You... actually... coached her?" Her eyes furrowed in concentration for a few moments as she strained further to turn another corner. "Wait... how did you... know that I was... going to be at the audition...?"

"Well, I wonder... Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts... I think the better question would be: why wouldn't she be there, hmm?" He did an aerial roll around her, further exasperating the tired weather pony. "You're going to need to be at more than just your top-notch if you want to make it in!"

"I know... that! This endurance run is just so... buckin'... insane!"

"Need a break?" he asked.

"No, I can... how many... again...? Thirty-six...? Aw, buck... yeah... I'll take it."

"Alrighty, then. Let's land there!" Shift pulled into a dive and landed right by the tree where they had started, looking up into the air as Dash followed. She nearly fell over until Shift helped her over to the shade of the tree and slowly set her down into a sitting position.

"Hay... you make it look so easy..."

"Years of practice," he sang. "You did well today... most pegasi aren't even able to break the twenty count before they get worn out."

"How often will we be doing that?" She leaned her head back on the trunk of the tree, glad for having some sort of support for her sore body.

Shift sat down next to her, watching the clear blue skies as some small wisps of cloud floated around. "If I had the choice, we'd be leading up to every training session with an endurance run, but I'd like to get you acquainted with all the aspects of the regimen before we start settling into any routines. Tomorrow, we'll go over technique."

"That... sounds good... anything else?" She flapped her wings a few times. Not even during her more intensive flight days did she ever come close to feeling like her wings turned to mush.

"Yep. You need to think up your own signature move for the audition."

"Wha--really? Will that even work?"

"It worked for Spitfire, and it'll work for you. Don't try to think up something too quickly: have fun with it, and be creative. For you, though, you'll definitely want to work the Sonic Rainboom into it. I mean, don't take it the wrong way, it's a nice skill to have, but the Rainboom's a bit of a one-time trick. Working it into an awesome flight routine will definitely get you some attention."

"That's a lot to do in two weeks..."

"Then I guess we both have it cut out for us, huh?" Shift chuckled. "Oh, and there's one more thing: I spoke with my folks in Manehattan a while back... turns out that my father managed to score me a spot on their list for their prospective recruits audition."

"Prospective recruits? Wait, you're actually applying for the Wonderbolts?" Dash asked.

Shift sighed and shook his head. "No, no, it's nothing like that. Just a misunderstanding on my dad's part... but I asked him if I could keep it, and perhaps give it to somepony else... like a certain Rainbow Dash, for instance..."

"You scored me a prospective recruits audition?" Dash exclaimed. "Uh... wait, what is that?"

"It's like a list for recruits that show great promise and talent for joining the Wonderbolts, and they get some private time with the judges, as well as an extended audition time, so you can just focus on the performance without worrying about spectators or time limits. Apparently, it takes quite a bit of connections or some really good skill to get on the list, and the captain has to be the one to approve it. Spitfire saw my name on the list and gave the okay for my spot."

"And you're... giving that to me?"

He smiled and nodded sagely. "Indeed I am."

"I... wow, that's... that's so awesome!" She hugged him. "Thanks! I promise you that I won't blow it! In fact, I'll try even harder now! I won't let you down!"

"That's the spirit!" Shift said. "I think I may be looking at the next Captain of the Wonderbolts here..."

"Aw, that's nice, but I think you're getting ahead of yourself," Dash sheepishly responded. "I mean, me... being better than the great Spitfire? That's a lot to take in, even for myself. I think just being able to hang around with the Wonderbolts is already awesome enough!"

"Well, one step at a time, yeah?" He patted her on the back. "We're done for today, so just rest those wings, because it isn't going to get any easier from here on out. The audition's in two weeks, remember that!" He hopped to his hooves, trotting away a distance before turning back to her. "Oh, and just making it clear: I'm going to be back here tomorrow. We'll be training every single day until the audition, so eat well and don't sleep late!" He took off to the skies and headed straight back for Canterlot.

Rainbow Dash merely sat and closed her eyes, letting the wind blow through her mane, daydreams of the audition already coming to her mind.

Standing In

The next day just happened to put Shift's plans for training on hold. Derpy had fallen sick for the time being, and it wasn't long before the call for a replacement was sounded in the general Ponyville-Canterlot region. Derpy herself had a reputation among the mailponies: after all, she was practically the only mailpony in all of Ponyville, and that was a lot of mail to deliver!

Post had immediately asked him that morning if he'd like to stand in for Derpy. A lot of the mailponies, who already had to wake up early enough as it was, were unwilling to take up the timeslot simply for the sheer amount of work and early morning insomnia it would require. Perhaps it was something with the muffins that she ate that gave her the energy needed to make her rounds?

Unfortunately, as Shift used the keys Post had given him to enter the post office, it seemed that a lot of ponies severely underestimated Derpy for what she did. Sitting on the lobby counter, next to a small box of muffins--with a note from Derpy wishing her unfortunate replacement a good morning--sat a map of the city of Ponyville, detailing the mailmare's standard morning route.

The clincher, however, was that the map could hardly really be considered one. The thing was covered with so many lines between so many homes and businesses that it was absolutely insane that anypony could even keep track of where they were going, much less the deliveries themselves. She easily had to make multiple stops back at the post office in between given her workload just to restock on more post!

"Derpy, you are one crazy mare..." Shift said, his eyes darting around the paper. Well, it was certainly daunting when one actually viewed it from a glance, but it seemed that Derpy worked her way around Ponyville in a spiral fashion, starting at the outskirts and then circling her way to the center, before stopping for the day. And to think she had the time to take care of Dinky through all of this! Most impressive, considering she was essentially doing the workload of half a dozen mailponies.

And then there was the issue of the mail itself: it was actually before early morning--earlier than most ponies would be awake, to the point where Celestia hadn't even raised the sun yet--prior to the mail delivery. That meant that whoever was working this morning job also had to take up the role of postmaster, as well. And to finish sorting all of it before delivery time? Derpy must have the patience and skill of Celestia herself!

Walking behind the counter, Shift opened the small box to find a plethora of muffins within. He didn't have a preference for any particular flavor, so he grabbed a regular blueberry muffin out of the box, and began munching on it as he examined the map further. On the outskirts of town, or rather, outside of the town itself, sat a house marked as Rainbow Dash's house, and detailed with clouds. So Dash had a cloud home down here?

Shift hadn't notified Dash since he assumed that he would be finished with the rounds before early to mid-morning, if he made good time. He probably wouldn't have if it weren't for Derpy leaving this extremely useful route map here, otherwise he might have been flying around town like a blindfolded parasprite. Interestingly enough, some of the locations had specific delivery instructions, like leaving it behind a pot, or dropping it in the backyard.

"...leave all mail behind purple flower pot in backyard...?" he muttered to himself. Some of Ponyville's citizens sure had strange delivery preferences.

He stored the map in his saddlebags, sure that he would need to use it later. Looking around, he noticed that the post wasn't anywhere to be seen. Was somepony else in charge of that? Not willing to throw away the job to chance, he decided to look around, peeping under the counter and then checking the cabinets to see if any boxes were available: he found none.

Venturing into the back rooms, he noticed a single wooden door labeled 'Deliveries', and peeked inside. The view within was absolutely shocking: there stood a huge mount of post, all in stacked boxes, collected from the day's previous rounds, taking up the span of the whole room. Shift had completely forgotten that mailponies not only delivered mail, they also collected it. It wasn't something he was used to since first-class mail service never dealt with collections.

"Oh, crap," he said, looking through all the boxes. Was this mail even sorted? He could wish it was, but on the off chance it wasn't, he'd end up spending the entire day just delivering mail, and that was time he did not have nor did he wish to relinquish even if he did. Carefully stepping the floor and avoiding the towers on either of his sides, he began the painstaking work of relocating the boxes to the larger postmaster's office, where he could sort them all out in relative comfort.

Shift sat back in the chair, having sorted the boxes' mail into proper categories. It took the longest time in actually sifting out the damn workload until he brought out the map again and looked on the back: there was a set of instructions for the replacement on how to properly categorize the whole workload, along with yet another apology. The amount of stress he went through just trying to finish his current task should have earned him a medal; no wonder nopony wanted the job.

He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, leaning back in the sturdy office chair and basking in the aftermath of intense labor, as he put one of his rear hooves on the final box on the floor and pushed it away from himself.

"Horseapples, Derpy... you should be working at ten times my own pay," he commented to the ceiling. He looked around with a bemused face, before looking at the clock, and then realizing that though the task had been grueling, Derpy's advice had again aided him immensely, finishing just before 6 AM. "You need to be promoted to headquarters or something."

Releasing himself from the supportive comfort of the chair, he began picking up his first assorted run of mail to the outskirts of town. Sweet Apple Acres, a zebra that went by the name of Zecora, and Rainbow Dash's friend Fluttershy were among the recipients of this batch, as well as several dozen of the town's denizens.

He carefully relocated the box's contents into his own saddlebags, and then trotted outside with a weight load heavier than any delivery he'd ever run, even when he worked part-time in the Manehattan branch during peak hours. Making a note to add 'gargantuan strength' to Derpy's list of outlandish achievements, he took to the skies and headed off in the direction of the Everfree Forest.

Though it was somewhere other than Canterlot, the morning breeze felt even more alive around Ponyville. The first signs of sunlight began creeping over the horizon as Shift flew for the location of the marked cabin in the forest, though he felt a little bit tense at flying into such dangerous areas, even if only for a short distance. Derpy should have received the Mailpony of the Year award at this rate, since there wasn't a single soul alive within Equestria that would have willingly delivered something to the Everfree Forest. Except him, of course, but he was only doing this out of courtesy for her, not because he actually wanted to.

"Zecora, Zecora..." he muttered. "Where in Equestria are you?" He stopped for a moment, taking the time to float in the air as he quickly unfurled the map. It was stated in the small note next to Zecora's marked location that she lived in a treehouse, and was located on the edge of a small clearing; there was a second note that she was exactly a certain amount of distance from a particular view angle, using a mountain as a marker. "Just where are you...?" He looked down. "Oh."

Shift gave a huge intake of air as he began his descent to the treehouse immediately below him. The largest of the packages didn't even fit inside his saddlebags, and he had to carry it in his hooves. Derpy's godlike strength would have been a great boon in this particular delivery.

Leaning the tall package by the door, he looked through the windows of the treehouse. Zecora must have been expecting Derpy's delivery, as she was already awake and brewing something in the cauldron in the center of her home.

Shift knocked on the door. "Hello? Mail delivery!"

There was the sound of hooves on a wood floor, followed by the clinking sound of deadbolts unlocking, before he stood face to face with the zebra.

"I did not know there would be a new mailpony today. I would hope that my package did not encounter a delay," she rhymed.

"No, ma'am, there was no delay," Shift said, pulling the box into sight next to him, before handing her a couple of envelopes. "And here, you have some correspondence, as well."

"Ah, my family's promised gift of a decorative mask! In my home shall its beauty bask!" She opened the box and pulled out a ceremonial Zebrican mask, before walking inside and hanging it on the wall along with masks of different design.

"Um, Miss Zecora, if you'd just sign off on it here..." Shift brought out a clipboard and deftly used his wing to delve into one of the saddlebag's adjoining pouch and pulled out a pen, which Zecora took with her mouth. Shift wasn't used to this aspect of normal mail delivery, either, as first-class meant that the sender had to be extremely specific in recipient and address before it would be delivered, and signatures weren't needed.

With a quick few swipes of the pen, the signature was signed, and Shift bid Zecora a good day before taking to the skies yet again.

Shift uncomfortably avoided the gaze of several animals as he landed outside the treehouse in which Fluttershy resided. Her package happened to be a thickly-wrapped paper package that had a strange scent coming from it. Knowing about Fluttershy's reputation as Ponyville's veterinarian for creatures of all sorts, his conclusion was that it was... a type of food he was better off not thinking about.

Knocking on the door, he noticed an angry stare coming from a bunny in the window directly next to it, before the scowling face disappeared and the door opened, only to reveal that very bunny looking up at him with its arms crossed.

"Oh, um... hello," Shift said. "Would, uh... would Fluttershy be here? Oh, um, mail delivery, of course."

The bunny stared at him for a moment, before holding up a finger, indicating to Shift that he would wait for a moment. The bunny disappeared for a moment and returned with Fluttershy behind him.

"Oh, um... good morning, sir... is... is Derpy not in today?" Fluttershy asked.

"Um, yeah, about that... she's sick today. So they had to call in a replacement, which is... well, me."

"I... I see. Do you... happen to have a delivery for me? It should be a paper-wrapped package..." She leaned around to see the brown parcel obtruding from his saddlebags. "Ah, like those ones..."

"Actually," Shift said, "this is your package. I assume it's something... well, I'm not going to ask. Could you please sign off on it?"

"Oh, of course," she said, as Shift again went through the song and dance of garnering signatures for his deliveries. At least normal post didn't get this sort of tenuous affair tacked on to it. "Good day to you, miss." He nodded and took off to the air, heading for Sweet Apple Acres, and very narrowly missing a yellow blur quickly racing from Canterlot on his voyage, the form starkly contrasting with the early morning dark blue skies as it approached Ponyville.

Shift arrived back at the post office to grab his final haul. Sweet Apple Acres had a postbox right at the entrance, and had no outstanding packages with only mail, and there didn't seem to be anypony around. He quickly finished up his rounds, the weight of all the mail gradually decreasing as he went on and helped him return to his standard lightning-fast travel speeds. That, however, fluctuated as he returned back and forth for more post to deliver. Before long, he was on his final run, which was the route that led to the northern outskirts of the city, and Rainbow Dash's house.

He prepared a cup of water and quickly downed it, before pulling out a tiny spine from his mane. One of his deliveries involved delivering to a pony who just so happened to have a porcupine as a pet, and it moved far faster than its owner did. How Derpy put up with this job, he just couldn't fathom. Thankfully, the other routes were much more normal, and he finished them all without incident.

Around this time, some ponies had begun waking up. They were mostly those who owned shops, running to and fro tending to opening up in the early morning and giving each other greetings as they passed each other on the streets. The time of day was quickly approaching the first parts of the actual morning; it wouldn't be long until the town would be out and about, and Shift had intended to be finished with his run by then.

There was the sound of a bell ringing as the front door opened and Shift poked his head out from the postmaster's office to see a unicorn mare entering.

"Uh... who are you?" she asked. "Where's Derpy?"

"She's sick today. I'm a replacement from Canterlot."

"Oh! I hope it wasn't too much to deal with today. I was out sick yesterday, so I wasn't available to sort the incoming mail, and now there's today, where Derpy wasn't here to deliver them..." Her face widened as if she'd just seen a ghost. "Oh, Celestia! The mail routes! I'm so sorry, I hope it wasn't too much, I know how much work Derpy takes on for herself, but I don't know if any--"

"It's alright, I managed it just fine," Shift said. The mare breathed a sigh of relief.

"Really? Wow... I had assumed that any replacement would be completely swamped with work. I hadn't expected such a capable mailpony of standing in for her. How far are you in her route?"

"Just need to finish up the northern outskirts and I'll be done."

"Wow. Not even Derpy can finish her routes that quickly. You Canterlot mailponies must be some incredible fliers."

"Not really," Shift laughed, walking out with saddlebags brimming with mail. "I'm a first-class mailpony from Canterlot."

The mare's eyes widened in curiosity. "Really? Well, that certainly explains a lot! It's alright, you go on and finish the route. I'm the morning to late afternoon postmaster, so I'll just get right on sorting the mail for Derpy tomorrow, and you can just call it a day after you're done with the route. Good luck!"

Shift nodded and took off through the pegasus exit in the ceiling, flying north, the view of Canterlot standing like a vacation postcard picture with the sun shining through behind it. He smiled to himself; this was certainly a most interesting morning workout if he ever had one.

What was it with Ponyville and getting so much mail? Where did it even come from? Or was it just that Shift hadn't done regular mail jobs in such a long time that he'd forgotten how it was to be a mailpony? Should he try to push for extra hooves down here so Derpy wouldn't have to work as hard? He deliberated further as he was arriving at the last stop on his route: Rainbow Dash's cloud home.

Basking in the feeling of the light wispy ground, he walked up to the door, posing to knock, when he heard the sound of conversation from inside. Curious as to who Dash would entertain as a house guest so early in the morning, he leaned in to listen.

"...oh, really? The show next month?" a female voice said.

"Yeah! It's going to be so awesome! I mean, not like it isn't already awesome talking to you as it is, but I can't wait!" Dash said.

"It'll be a great show, I promise you that."

"I'll bet! Oh, and Shift even promised me a reserved spot at the audition! Have you heard anything about that yet?"

The other mare laughed, a combination of amusement and... sadness? "Yes... I saw your name on the roster. Right where his name used to be."

"Huh? Is something wrong, Spitfire?"

"It's... nothing. Has he told you anything about me?"

"Just that you both grew up in Canterlot together. I mean, how cool is it to grow up with a future Wonderbolt? I don't believe that Shift's better than you. I'll bet you beat him at every race you had!"

"Well..." Spitfire laughed nervously. "...almost? I guess I won once or twice, but the way he flies is unlike any other pegasi I've seen. He gets so into flying that not even hitting a wall would stop him... he'd probably just smash straight through it."

"Wow. So he's really that good then?"

"Has he told you about my audition?"

"Only that he was your coach. He was, right?"

"Hmm..." Spitfire hummed. "Is that all he let on?"

"Yeah. So it's true, then? He really was your coach?" Dash's excitement was barely contained in her voice.

"Yep! Taught me all the tricks of the trade, even the kind of stuff that you wouldn't expect him to just hand out... his flying secrets, you know? All that turning and technique and stuff... he really wanted me to get into the Wonderbolts, and while he isn't exactly too... uh, excited at the thought of joining up with them, he put his heart and soul into helping me succeed. You should be happy to have him as an instructor."

"I am. I'm not the Element of Loyalty for nothing, you know!" They shared a laugh. "Oh, that reminds me, I have another training session with him today! I just have to wait until he finishes up his run in Canterlot and he'll be here this afternoon! Usually, I'd be up around now doing weather pegasi business, but it's been a good month, so there isn't much to do."

"Oh, right. Weather pegasi. I remember back when you got all of Ponyville to pull the water up to Cloudsdale. That's still pretty impressive to me, actually. That one mare... Fluttershy, right? Wow, she was a real surprise. I didn't think such a small town would have it in them, to be honest."

"Yeah, we're best friends. And I gotta agree, I didn't think she had it in her, either... her wingpower was a bit... uh, pretty bad, you know?"

"Oh. Wow. If she didn't fly normally like that, then I'd be impressed that she pulled that much wingpower... Oh, speaking of which, you said Shift was coming down from Canterlot, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"That's strange... I talked with his boss this morning, and he said that Shift came down to Ponyville as a replacement for one of the mailponies in this town."

"One of the mailponies? Ponyville only has one mailpony, Spitfire," Dash said, as the sound of cups clinking could be heard from within. "That would be Derpy. She's a hard worker, but a bit clumsy. She delivers to all of Ponyville."

"All of Ponyville? By herself?"

"Yep! It's a tough job, but I can't think of any pegasus better to do it than Derpy. And she still has time for her daughter, Dinky, too! I usually get my mail last, though, it's the last stop on the daily mail route."

"So if Shift took up Derpy's mail route..."

Shift was still leaning his head against the door, trying to listen, until he realized that the soft poofy sounds coming from within was actually the sound of hooves on the cloud... and it was coming straight for the door. He scrambled backwards too late as the door opened, and found Spitfire stood looking at him.

"Oh. Morning, Shifty," she said coldly.

"Uh... morning, Spitfire?" he sheepishly asked.

"I had a feeling you'd be here," she said, as Dash appeared behind her. "You and I have a lot to talk about..."

"Um... what about?" Shift asked, casually avoiding eye contact with her and passing a few letters over her shoulder to Dash. "I... uh, have to go... return... to the post office now... uh, yeah..." He stepped back a few paces, turning away and trying to ignore the awkwardness of running into Spitfire here. No doubt she wanted to know why he'd decided to change his mind on the audition... and she didn't know that it was his father who'd signed him up.

"Hold on a minute!" Spitfire flew back inside and reappeared in a flash with her saddlebag. "I'm going with you."

"Okay, then!" Shift said. "Uh, Dash, I'll see you later today?" She nodded. "Right! Off we go then!" He took off back to the post office at a fast but manageable pace, allowing Spitfire to catch up alongside him. Her usual laid-back facial expression was nowhere to be found... Shift became worried that he might have inadvertently stepped on her tail by swapping out his name for Dash's.

Spitfire had dragged Shift to a nearby restaurant shortly after he turned in his saddlebags, earning a laugh from the postmaster mare on his 'marefriend'--the jokes from Post coming to mind again--which only seemed to worsen the situation. Now he was sitting at a patio table in the morning where barely any ponies were out and about. They'd both ordered a cup of tea; Shift sipped his as he watched Spitfire digging through her saddlebags.

She pulled out a number of papers and slammed it on the table, sliding it towards him. Shift cautiously glanced at the paper's beginning:

Wonderbolts Audition Priority Application - To be approved on Captain's discretion.

He looked further down and he saw his name on it.

"I want to talk about this. Why did you apply? Why did you change your mind? Why is Rainbow Dash in your place now? I want an explanation," she spoke.

He met eyes with her, and knew that there was no way out of this one, not even through flight. Spitfire might even have the drive to outpace even him with the mood she was in at the moment. She must have been absolutely overjoyed that he was going to finally sign up for the Wonderbolts... and now he was going to have to tread on ice and tell her why, and hope that his explanation would be good enough.

"Well, you see, it's kind of a long story..." he began.

Signature Moves

"So... that's how it happened?" Spitfire's face registered confusion for a few moments... then she leaned back in her seat, exasperated. "I thought you were finally taking up my offer..." Her face switched and then she glowered at him. "I'll have a few things to say to your father if I ever meet him."

"Uh... really, it's nothing to be angry about--"

"Did I say I was angry? I'm not angry!"

"Yeah, but--"

"Agh, why did he have to go and pull this stupid stunt! I was so--" She cut herself off, her eyes furrowing in frustration. "Okay, that's enough!" She leaned forward, staring Shift down. "I want you to audition."

"Spitfire, we've been over this already, I don't want to--"

"Just. Audition. Please."

Shift sighed, taking another sip from his cup and looking out the patio. The sun was rising more steadily now, and ponies were now out and about, tending to their tasks. He saw Dinky run past the cafe, her saddlebags clumsily shaking as the bits of stationery could be seen juggling within. He continued contemplating when he felt the feeling of hooves on his cheeks and was abruptly dragged back to reality as his head turned back towards Spitfire's face.

"Conversation's over here, Shift," she said, unamused. "Listen, I'm not asking you to... actually audition, okay? Just fly around, do your thing. My co-judges... well, my friends have wanted to see you--"

Shift, unwilling to entertain the thought of being scrutinized by Spitfire's squad, interrupted. "Why are you so adamant on having me join, Spitfire? Does it have anything to do with that conversation we had back at Weststratus?"

"I... well, uh... maybe?"

"Want to talk about it?"

Her eyes meandered around for a few moments, half-lidded in thought. Over the course of the next few minutes, she opened her mouth to say something several times, but caught herself, returning to her contemplative state. Shift made no attempt to rush her, merely taking his time with his drink and enjoying the morning. Eventually, Spitfire managed to break the silence with an answer.

"Yes, I've been having problems, and I'm constantly second-guessing everything I do, and even Soarin's starting to notice, and my whole squad thinks I'm out of it, and the doctors keep saying that I'm pushing myself to crazy limits during our training sessions and... Shift, have you ever had a moment where there's something that bothers you so much that it just starts messing with how you think and work?"

"Well, no, but I think I can understand why it might mess with anypony's routine. What's troubling you?"

Spitfire shrugged with frustration. "I don't know! That's the problem! I keep thinking things, so many things, and then I start freaking out and then pushing myself in an attempt to clear my head... but it doesn't work! It always works, I don't know how it couldn't!"

"You don't know what's causing it?"

"I'm not sure, maybe it's the Wonderbolts, or the auditions, or maybe even just being me, or maybe I'm just going through a really crazy time right now, and I think I want to take some time off, but I can't since we have so many shows lined up and--"

"Spitfire. Calm. Down. You're speaking way too quickly. Isn't that what you said to me last time? About having second thoughts of being in the Wonderbolts?"

"Yes! No! I mean - agh, I don't know! There's just something really annoying me, and I don't know if it's me, you, the Wonderbolts, or everypony in Equestria! It's just this gnawing feeling that just pops up out of nowhere and makes me feel as nervous as a little filly with... a... crush..." She calmed down and stared off into space for a moment.

"Uh... you okay, Spitfire?"

She suddenly smiled at him. "Yep! Fine! Just fine!"

"Ooooookay..."

"So, what were we talking about before all that? Oh, yes, Rainbow Dash! Not going to lie to you, Shift, I think she's got what it takes to get into the Wonderbolts. With you coaching her, I'm sure she'll be up to par in no time flat!"

"I try my best," he said, smiling. "But it's not just me, it's her, too. She definitely cares about getting into the Wonderbolts, and... hmm, a couple of weeks is a pretty short timespan to work with. Might have to cut some stuff out. But don't worry, she'll be top-notch Wonderbolts material when she shows up at the audition... maybe even as good as you were, or even better!"

Shift immediately regretted the last part as he gauged Spitfire for a reaction; if she did have one, she didn't show it. He mentally facehoofed for inadvertently insulting her. Much like Rainbow Dash, Spitfire was a very competitive pegasus... and she might view Dash's potential induction as a threat to her position, both within her team and in vying for Shift's friendship.

"I'll look forward to it then," she said, giving him a devilish grin. "Better, you say...? Well, I guess I'll be the judge of that. And then maybe you can fly around, strut your stuff, and rub shoulders with my friends?"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. I guess I'll do something pretty and mingle."

"Thank you, Shift, it means a lot to me! You could always show them that technique you used back in Canterlot..."

"That'd be good. Got any flaming rings of fire I can pass through at high speeds?"

"Sure! For you, anything."

"Serious?"

"Yeah!" Spitfire said, stirring the spoon in her drink. "We have some left over from our old tours. You can use them if you want, we haven't had a routine that needed them for a while. It's all the more extravagant and innovative stuff with routines these days, less reliance on props."

"Well, that was a joke, so..."

"Aww. I was really hoping you'd try something flashy."

"Wait, what about your problems? I think it's important that you don't play it off as--"

"It's fine, Shifty. I'm fine. I'm a grown mare, I can handle myself."

He sighed, realizing that Spitfire wouldn't let him pursue the issue without getting defensive about it. Perhaps another time would fare better. "Fine. And, no, I'm not too keen on trying flashy stuff. What's wrong with a meet-and-greet?"

"I've sort of... been hyping you up a bit? I mean, all my teammates know that you're the one who trained the amazing and talented Spitfire, so they kind of think you're some sort of flying ace. And you are a flying ace, at least in my eyes. Some of the Wonderbolts are in it for the fame, or competition, or money, or all that other stuff you read about in the tabloids about being popular fliers. You, Shifty, you fly like it's the most amazing thing in the world. That's why I want you to show them how a real flier does it."

Shift was amazed. "You... you really think that much of me?"

Spitfire smiled at him. "Of course I do. You mean a lot to me, you know."

He blushed slightly, grateful for the compliment. "Uh... thanks," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I can do something, I guess. But only after Dash's audition."

"That's fine. I want to see what she has in store..." She grinned at him. "...and what kind of signature move she'll have up her sleeve after you send her through Tartarus and back to perfect it."

"I guarantee she'll be more than ready for the audition when it comes around."

"I hope so. I also hope to see you at the show."

"You can count on it."

"And we can... talk... about my problems backstage after the show is over. I just don't want to do it right now, since the Manehattan is our last major gig, and we'll be settling down for a few weeks after that. The stress is kind of... well, you know..." she said, as if sensing Shift's questions on the subject.

"You know I'll always be here for you, Spitfire."

Her eyes lightened a bit, and she returned a bright smile.

"I know."

Shift came in too hard on his landing and ended up skidding along the front of Rainbow Dash's house, producing a long peel of cloud material behind him, which curled up to his back hooves.

"Whoa," he said, observing his hoofwork. "Hey, Dash! You ready for training?!"

"I'm always ready!" he heard her shout from inside, and the window flapped open and Dash's cyan-blurred form flew into the skies, performing several loops before landing in front of him. "So, coach, what'll it be today?"

"Your signature move, of course. The earlier we can put on down on paper, the faster we can develop a routine."

"Oh, right! See, uh... I spent all last night thinking of it, and I think it might work if I put in enough practice. It's called the Spectra Meteor."

"I like it already. Meteors are pretty flashy themselves. So, what's the plan for it?"

"So, it's going to be like this: I'm going to start out with a wide circle, weaving upwards and slowly closing the formation with my rainbow trail following behind me. When I reach the top, the whole thing will look like a giant rainbow ribbon mountain, and I'll activate my Sonic Rainboom straight downwards and break the whole thing with an explosion of pure awesomeness."

"Wow. That sounds really flashy." Shift flapped his wings with anticipation. "That's a tall order, and you're going to need a lot of practice if you want to do it."

"Yeah, I know..." she said. "Hey, what'd you and Spitfire talk about, anyway?"

"Uh..." Shift and Spitfire had parted from the cafe afterwards on good terms, with himself very much elated that Spitfire thought more of him than he had previously thought. He didn't want to reveal that part, however, nor their stonewalled discussion on her problems. "Just some stuff about your training, and her training, and the Wonderbolts. Apparently, she wants me to meet her friends and show them how I fly."

"Wow, really? You're going to meet the Wonderbolts because Spitfire recommended you? Gosh, that must be so awesome. When are you going to meet them so you can show off?"

"She wants me to do it at the audition. After yours, of course: we can't just ignore the whole point of the audition in the first place, right?"

"Yep! So, uh... I know this idea looks good on paper, I just want to see if I can actually, you know... pull it off."

"Well, you can do a Sonic Rainboom already, so adding a little touch of flair shouldn't be that much of a problem. Let's see you work on that rainbow trail first."

Rainbow nodded and took to the skies, breaking into a wide circle turn and kicking in her magic. She slowly arced upwards, letting the cone formation slowly appear over her cloud home for all of Ponyville to see. Her acceleration quickened, and soon she was coming to the final apex of the formation as she quickly flared her wings to brake.

In a single fluid motion, she focused all of her energy and concentration into the Sonic Rainboom, staring down to the earth beneath her through a majestic rainbow funnel. With a single powerful flap of her wings, she felt the energy take hold and envelop her form, smashing through the sound barrier and shooting straight for the ground as the explosion from the Rainboom kicked in behind her.

Shift sat staring in awe at the spectacle: a rainbow mountain glistening brightly as motes of light fell down, while the Rainboom's shockwave spread through the skies, producing one of the greatest sights Equestria would ever see. Dash appeared out of the bottom as she pulled up and redirected her trail back to her home, a ball of pure white light with a roaring rainbow trail behind it, like a meteor. The light began to fade, and she flared her wings again, landing right in front of Shift and turning to look back at her attempt. Her jaw dropped as even she was amazed by her own talent.

"Wow," Shift simply said. "That was absolutely awesome."

"You're telling me. I mean, I knew I could do it, I just didn't know if I could actually pull it off... and not really on a level this big..."

Still staring at the fading ribbons of color, Shift absentmindedly put a hoof on her shoulder. "You're going to go far, Dash. You're going to go real far..."

"You really think so?"

"Absolutely. Now do it a couple dozen more times so we know for sure."

"Aw, come on! Are you sure, I mean... I don't want to give my trump card away before we even get to the audition."

Shift thought for a moment: Dash did have a point. Even Spitfire's own signature move was nowhere near as flashy as Dash's all-encompassing Spectra Meteor, which could easily be seen for miles around. What if one of the Wonderbolts judges, or even Spitfire, was watching this unfold? At least they'd know who the lucky pegasus was when the audition came around.

"Fine," Shift said. "We'll let you slide on the signature moves. Very impressive, though, I'm actually surprised you got something like that on your first try."

"I spent a lot of time thinking that up last night," she admitted. "I would have slept in if Spitfire hadn't woken me up by paying me a visit."

"And if she hadn't visited you, that would have been me waking you up for training, which is bad, because that would mean that you haven't done any stretches. And since you were talking with Spitfire beforehand, that means that you haven't done any at all," Shift concluded.

"Not true! I sort of did some... at home... yesterday..."

"Nice try. Let's get you on warm-ups before we get to the main event."

"Cool! What's in store today?"

"Since we're not going to have you do the Rainboom a dozen times over during the course of this week, we'll do the next best thing: endurance laps. And then we'll go over proper wing technique, where we'll back-check each other's knowledge on proper wingflight, and from that, we'll go over how you can cut out of the equation to better perfect your wingspeed."

"That sounds fine, but... endurance laps again?"

Shift flapped his wings as an affirmation. "Yes, again. Remember, practice makes perfect, and I want you to be able to fly to the moon and back without breaking a sweat by the time this is over!"

Dash sighed. "Oh, alright..."

"Enough talking! Let's get started!"

"Tired yet?" Shift asked, flying alongside Dash as they completed another lap around the Ponyville town limits.

"As... if..."

"Come on. Another one can't hurt."

Dash gave Shift an angry glare at the ill-fated joke, which he responded to by looking away embarrassed... but obviously not embarrassed enough as he suppressed a laugh. She ignored him, trying to focus on her flight and the wind flying through past her face and away from the burning pain in her wings.

"How... many...?" she managed as they rounded past another corner.

"Hmm... this is interesting... I'd like to tell you, but then you'd just be tempted to give up. But if I don't tell you, you might just... well, give up. Okay, how about this?" he shouted over the wind. "Let's just say that you're doing better than you did last time."

"That's... good enough... for me..."

"Yeah, that's the way to do it! Think positive! You can totally blow your own record out of the water. Be the best! Who knows, you just might be able to beat Spitfire herself in a race if you can put your mind to it!"

"I'm the fastest... pegasus... in Equestria! Of course... I can do it!"

Whatever motivation that comment held for Rainbow Dash, it spurred her to push harder. She narrowed her eyes, trying to squeeze out every bit of possible strength from her wings. The thought of being a Wonderbolt and seeing herself wearing their uniform was a dream so close she could actually taste it. And here she was, being coached by the captain's mentor herself. She would be an idiot to let it all go to waste.

"Dash? Dash! Pay attention!" She felt the sensation of hooves grabbing around her torso as she jerked around and towards the ground, the familiar feeling of an abrupt stop sending a jolt through her body. Grateful for the stop, her wings stopped flapping and merely laid wide-open as they descended to the ground. Shift worriedly watched her as she stumbled her way towards the shade.

"Th... thanks," she said, sitting down against a tree.

"What was up with that, Dash?" Shift asked, sitting down next to her. "You lost all your concentration there for a moment. I'm not sure if you realized, but you missed the corner a while back and flew straight for the Everfree Forest."

"I was? Oh... sorry, just got lost in my daydreams again," she laughed.

"Kind of dangerous to be fantasizing in the air. Definitely not something you'd want to be doing in the middle of a routine..." he said cautiously.

"I know, I know, I was just being a bit silly. You don't have to worry about it."

"Okay, then." They sat for a moment, letting Dash catch her breath as they felt the cool breeze as they sat at the treeline outside of Ponyville. Eventually, he continued. "Well... you beat your previous lap record."

"Really? How many did I get this time?"

He smiled at her. "I'm not sure what you did, but you way outperformed yourself this time. You made forty-eight!"

A feeling of satisfaction surged in Dash's chest. "Wow, that's..."

"...awesome?" he finished for her. "Of course it is. We're making some good progress here. I have faith that you'll be ready by the time the audition comes around."

"I'll definitely become a Wonderbolt!" she said out loud. "And, uh... thanks again. For the audition, that is."

"Think nothing of it," he replied. "Now, I'm sure your wings must be screaming, so we'll just go over wingflight and ways to cut down on flight drag." He patted her on the cheek as she nearly dozed off. "Hey, we're just getting started here! Don't go falling asleep on me already!"

"...and that is how airflow should be properly maintained when flying. The Wonderbolts don't have that much of a problem with it since their uniforms are already streamlined to give the best performance possible. I'm just letting you know right now for reference." Shift sighed, staring at the lowering sun. Dash had been listening, if only partially, but it was well-enough to know that she was paying attention at least.

"So, things like proper feather maintenance and all that extra stuff on trimming fur down to a specific length should be taken with salt, right?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I've never done it myself, it would be way too expensive in both time and money to maintain in the long run. I've just heard that some more prominent fliers in the past have done something like that. Sounds a bit stupid, but I guess at the higher levels, every little thing counts."

Dash laughed. "As if I'd ever end up like that. I mean, I like competition, but that's just taking it way too far."

"I agree. So, I think with that, we're done for today. I guess I'll see you tomorrow after my rounds, then? Oh, just letting you know that I might be a little bit late, usually the office gets backed up a little when I'm out."

"That's fine." She got to her hooves and slowly extended her wings. "Ouch... I'm going to need ice for these things..."

"Well, you've proven you're tenacious enough to beat Spitfire's endurance lap record, so we'll go on to the other important stuff tomorrow, okay? Only twenty laps," he added quickly, earning a groan from Dash and a chuckle from himself. "Relax! When you do it enough times, it becomes easier."

"For you, maybe," Dash scoffed. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. I think I might just go to sleep early since my wings are hurting bad." She looked at him with a dry look. "No thanks to you, of course."

"Need a lift?"

"Hah! No thanks, flier boy. My wings may feel like they're on fire, but that doesn't mean that I can't fly home myself. Besides, I think that rest did them some good, and they don't feel like they're about to fall off at any moment now." She turned away for but a second before returning with a question. "What was Spitfire's endurance lap record?"

"She made a flat record of forty. You've beaten her in that, at least. Maybe even mention it when we meet her backstage after the show."

Dash stood for a moment, thinking about how well she was doing compared to her idol during the training stage. There was much promise for her yet. "Yeah..." she said, leaving. "I think I might. Night, Shifty!" She took to the skies as Shift watched her form disappear in the direction of her cloud house.

Giving the area around him a final look-over, he followed suit, and made for Canterlot as the skies darkened and the stars returned to gaze upon Equestria yet again. Much later, he found himself back at home, after grabbing a quick bite to eat - stopping at Weststratus again, much to Skillet's excitement - and quickly found sleep beckoning.

His eyes trailed along the shadow of his form from the moon's light as ideas swirled around in his mind, all of the events soon to pass within a month's time, as sleep made his eyelids heavy. He had seen the signs, but he still hoped that it would turn out for the best... for both him and Spitfire. Only time would tell.

Spotlight

"Here we are. Are you ready?" A soft glow radiated over Shift's face as he and Dash stood outside of the entrance of the Canterlot stadium, the sun's light reflecting into the shaded hall. The grounds were quiet: there were no shows to be had, and Shift had wanted to arrive early so they could enjoy their time without the worry of being late.

"Well, all that training wasn't for nothing... and you pushed me beyond my limits," Dash said. "I think I'll be fine."

"Alright, then..." He looked up and drifted his gaze across the massive arch that compromised the upper entrance to the stadium. "Funny... I've been here before, but the majesty of this place never changes."

"For Spitfire's audition, right?"

Shift looked at and smiled, nodding. "Yep. That wasn't a priority audition, though, just a regular one. There were dozens of other pegasi here for the audition, and it was through her own skill that Spitfire managed to be accepted."

"I'd say that your training helped, too," Dash said, stretching her wings. "I mean, I feel a lot better, and can fly a lot faster and better, thanks to you, coach. I don't think she would have done well without it."

Shift gave a half-hearted hum in response. "I don't think I deserve as much credit as you do, Dash, or Spitfire. As much as my training would help, it would mean nothing if you didn't put your heart and soul into it. You're a great flier, Dash. I know you like the challenge and the feeling of being the best like any flier out there, but you also have that spark of knowing how great it is to fly. That's why I wanted to coach you."

"Oh, Spitfire talked to me about that... about how much you love flying, that is."

"Yep. It's like a second home to me, up there in the skies," Shift said, pausing a moment to admire the architecture of the gates. "Say, Dash... I know I've never brought it up until now... but are you sure you really want to go ahead with this?"

"Huh?" Dash raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I? Joining the Wonderbolts is literally my life's dream! And now I know you and Spitfire on a personal basis, the Captain of the Wonderbolts and her own coach! Well, my coach now, but you get what I'm saying."

"Well, it's a pretty intensive lifestyle. There's a lot of performing, training, public events, and all that other stuff that comes with being popular, even with you're off-season. Are you sure you can handle all of that every single day?"

"I'm sure," Dash said seriously. "I'm one hundred percent sure I want to do this."

"Even if it means not being able to see your friends that often?"

Dash smirked. "Well, I don't think that's going to be much of a problem seeing how much Spitfire has been visiting you recently..."

"Oh. Good point. Well, I'm sure it'll be a strain on your social life, though... Spitfire's been putting in a lot of effort to see me... more... recently..." he said, trailing off into a mutter. "So!" he quickly recovered. "It might be different for a pony like yourself, with such an involved daily life with your friends."

"Well... I guess I never really thought much about that," Dash said, fiddling with the flight goggles around her neck. "It's just more motivation for me to try my best. My friends know that I want to be a Wonderbolt, and I know they'd be behind me on this decision. I want to make them proud."

"That's a great attitude to have. From what I understand, travel's one of the best parts about this job. Well, aside from literally having everything paid for, that is."

Dash grinned and leaned in towards Shift. "Is that jealousy I hear?"

"Nope!" Shift shook his head, laughing. "I like my mailpony wages just fine. Besides, what would I do with all those extra bits? Make a castle out of them?"

"You could buy anything you want..." Dash suggested.

"Mmm, yeah, I can do without," Shift replied. "The sky's all I need, and it's always going to be up there." He looked up behind him into Canterlot's skies, unaware that the grin spreading across his face did not go unnoticed by Dash.

"Hey, flier boy! Down here," she said, waving her hoof in front of his face. "I think it's about time we head on--"

The gates clattered open as a single pony poked her head out. "Oh, hey!" Spitfire said. "I had a feeling you'd show up early, so I got the staff to unlock the gates. Hey, Shift, I see you decided to show up." She looked at Dash and smiled at her. "I hope you're ready for the big show, Dash."

"Of course I am!" Dash exclaimed, holding her head up high. "I was born for this!"

"You know, Shifty," Spitfire said, "I was sort of thinking you wouldn't show up." She turned to look at him through her Wonderbolts mask, turning her gaze between him and Dash. "Well, then again, you were always there for your pupil's support. Alright, Dash, let's get started."

She led them into the stadium proper: the bleachers sat empty as the wind freely rushed through the open-air cloud field, with a small judging booth set up at the edge of the spectator stands for the judges. A number of rings were set up on various platforms, making a small circuit that spanned the whole length of the field.

Spitfire led them to the booth, and sat down with the other two judges. Both Shift and Dash immediately recognized one of them as Soarin' - minus his standard accessory, the pie - and the other as Fleetfoot, both set to perform with Spitfire in the Manehattan show in the coming weeks.

"Alright, Dash," Spitfire said. "We'll start with something simple: three laps around the circuit, and we'll time you as you go through each lap. We'll give you some time to warm up, so notify us and take up starting positions when you're ready." She went back to conversing with her comrades as Dash moved aside with Shift to start her stretches.

"Okay, this should be simple for you, Dash. Easy in, easy out, let the wind do the work. The stadium's got great ventilation, so you'll get some strong airflow in here," Shift said, as Dash stretched her wings. "Use that, and don't wear yourself out. The straight stretches are what usually gets you: most pegasi end up gunning down the stretch and then botch the turn when it comes. You remember how to avoid that, right?"

"Yeah," Dash said, huffing as she bent her wings, eliciting a minute crack from them. "Go in wide, don't force the turn, and to weave, not push." She took in a sharp breath as she bent in the opposite direction with her other wing. "Let the wind do the work," she echoed.

"Great!" He looked up and counted the rings. "Don't forget to tuck through the rings. It's a focused target, so don't flare your wings too much as you're going through. Speed is everything here, and having wings open as you're going through might sheer off seconds - mere seconds, maybe, but every bit counts here."

"It'll help me pick up speed, too, right?"

Shift nodded. "I see you remembered our lesson. Yes, if you streamline as you're going through it, you'll pick up a bit more speed as you're going through. Remember the flying stance I taught you?"

"The arrow-bend?" Dash lowered herself into a readied crouch, half-flaring her wings so they looked were three-fourths open. "Like this, right?"

"Exactly. Remember, if you use the arrow-bend, you'll be sacrificing control for speed. Using this on the long stretches will help you pick up momentum, but full wing control will allow you to make those sharp turns." He lowered his head at her. "I hope you know when to use it."

"Of course I do! Uh... well, I hope. I mean..." She sat down, rubbing the sides of her head. "I feel like I know, but I don't know, and I just feel like I'm going to--"

"--mess it all up?" Shift finished, sitting down next to her. "Spitfire told me the same thing, you know. Almost word for word, what you said right now."

"...and what did you tell her?"

"Aw, it's nothing special... really cliche, and stupid."

"Come on, tell me."

"Okay... I told her to just... to just 'trust the wind'."

Dash said nothing, merely staring off into the stadium space pondering on the thought. "...I guess that means something."

"Really?" Shift inquired. "I always thought it was kind of stupid. I did make it up on the spot, after all... Oh, but don't tell Spitfire that, I think she... she really takes it to heart."

"Well..." Dash said, looking at the ground and fiddling with her hooves. "I think it's sort of telling of who you are, Shift."

"I don't follow...?"

"You love to fly, and you love the sky, and I'd probably say that you know better than any pegasi what it feels to move with the wind. I mean, I'm just a weather pegasi, but you're a first-class mailpony who's broken his own records repeatedly with every delivery he makes. You try your hardest, and you always want to improve yourself no matter what. 'Trust the wind' is so like you."

"Wow, Dash... I didn't know you were a philosopher."

She punched him in the shoulder. "Hey, I can pick up my egghead when I want to. I'm just saying that what you said sounds a lot like who you are. A pegasus that that thinks flying is the greatest thing in the world."

"Hmm, yeah..." he said humorously. "That sounds like me, alright. Ready to go now?"

Dash sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Come on, what happened to 'I was born for this!', huh? You'll ace this one, no problems, trust me."

Dash nodded, turning to approach Spitfire at the booth, before stopping. Turning around, she hugged Shift, holding for the longest moment before parting with him. "That's a good luck hug, just in case," she said. "BUT!" she said loudly. "Don't take that the wrong way, we're still just friends. I just trust you... a lot." She turned her head over her shoulder. "Hear that, Spitfire?! Nothing romantic going on here, we're just friends!"

"Yeah, I can see that just fine!" Spitfire called back, snickering. "Hey, keep your hooves off of Shift, you're here to audition, aren't you?"

"Yep!" Dash said, flaring her wings with new-found courage. "I'm ready to do this!"

"Then take your position at the starting line, applicant!" Spitfire formally said. Dash tossed on her goggles and jumped, flying off towards the small tuft of cloud marked with a checkered line in the distance, taking her time as she dodged through the many clouds on the field.

"That crazy mare..." Shift said. He exchanged glances with Spitfire and only smiled and shrugged.

"Ready... set... go!" A horn was sounded as Dash's timed laps started. Springing immediately to action, she shot forward, immediately passing through the first ring as she dove into the first turn. The gradual turn curving to the other side of the track proved no problems for her, and she began down a long distance stretch, remembering her training and giving it a wide berth.

Her form was a complete blur as she darted down the next lane, soaring through the sky with finesse as she raced through another ring. Coming up on another turn - this time, a sharp one - she flared her wings and adjusted her body position, drifting into the turn like Shift had taught her.

Spitfire narrowed her eyes when she saw it. So Shift decided to teach her his technique...

"Yeah, alright, Dash! You're making good time!" Shift cheered.

"You know she can't hear you from down there, right?" Spitfire asked.

"Well, yeah, but it doesn't stop me from trying... I mean, I did the same thing at your audition, too."

Spitfire's expression went unnoticed by the other two Wonderbolts as she saw Shift look back towards the field. The nagging feeling in her chest had returned, and already, she could feel it messing with her concentration in a really big way. Shaking her head quickly, she returned to focusing on the task at hand.

Dash had just completed her first lap, and was going into her second. Spitfire could see the signs of Shift's training in her: unlike some other competitive racers, who could only react to any changes in a race based upon how they knew the course, Shift's training relied completely on proactive awareness and adaptation. Spitfire watched as a rogue cloud strayed into the path, which Dash narrowly dodged by pulling into a twisting dive, skimming the bottom of the cloud as she passed under it.

"Hey, that cloud isn't supposed to be there..." Soarin' said. "Huh, I guess they haven't brought the track back up to standards yet. But that was a pretty good reaction there, don't you think?" he asked them.

"Yeah, I agree," Fleetfoot said, her right eye obscured by her bandage. "Usually most applicants either panic and mess up, or just fly straight through it and take the speed hit. It's nice to see an applicant that knows how the ropes work without spectacularly spiraling into a cloud afterwards."

Spitfire ignored the conversation as she continued watching Dash race around the track. There was a feeling, but it wasn't the nagging one that she felt before. No... this time... she felt pride. It was as if she were watching herself race around the track... and that this was how Shift must have felt, to be able to see the results. Maybe Shift should become one of the official judges for the Wonderbolts audition with that good eye of his for talent.

Shift cheered again as Dash flew by, completing her second lap. The stopwatch in front of Spitfire showed that Dash's current time, even with some of the priority auditions she'd had in the past few days, could easily be one of the best she'd ever seen, even coming close to her own at the auditions.

"Well, I guess your training really paid off," she said to Shift.

"Hard work and patience always pays dividends, hotshot!" He whooped again as Dash perfectly another sharp turn, clapping his hooves into the ground.

Try your best and keep at it, Spitfire!

Why? Well, why not? Give it a try!

You can do anything if you put your mind to it, Spitfire.

Looks like flight school didn't teach you much, haha!

Stop looking at this like it's some sort of chore, and start flying like you love it!

What's with the interest with professional flying all of a sudden?

So... that's what you want to be? A Wonderbolt?

Do I think you can do it? Of course! In fact, I'll be your coach...

The thought of Shift standing next to her outside of Canterlot back then came back to Spitfire. Feelings of the soft wind breeze and the sun setting before them as they sat overlooking the vista of the valley below Canterlot. She wished that such a day would arrive where she would--

"Whoa!" Soarin' said, breaking Spitfire out of her daydream. "That was a nice turn!"

"Woo, yeah, I'm impressed!" Fleetfoot said, clapping her hooves. "I think this one's a real winner, Spitfire. Not like the other audition where there's more... hoof-kissing or stuff like that. Celestia knows I hate those types. Oh, look, she's coming down the final stretch now."

Spitfire halted the stopwatch just as Dash zoomed past the finish line. "Wow..." she said, looking at the time.

"Well, I think that's one of the best ones yet," Soarin' said, leaning over to see the time. "Well, I think we've already known how good Dash is, what with the competition and then the wedding."

"Okay, Dash! Take ten and prepare yourself for the creative part of the audition!" she shouted as Dash came in for a landing on the spectator deck.

"Nice work!" Shift said, handing over a cup of cold water, which Dash gratefully took. "You really knocked that one out of the park."

"Heh, thanks," Dash said, downing the cup's contents in one long drink. "Hah, I really needed that. So, what's this creative part of the audition?"

"Well, Wonderbolts are always serious about talent. The track usually checks whether or not an applicant is up to par with their physical standards, but the creative part of the audition is where it really counts. They want to see what you can offer to the team, and just being a good enough flier isn't going to cut it if every other applicant is going to be the same physically."

"Oh... I get it... is that how Spitfire passed her audition, with her creative part?"

"Well, I guess so," he said, pouring himself a cup from the refreshments table. "I don't know whether she's performed her signature move since she passed the audition, but let me tell you, it can definitely turn heads. I definitely remember that it did at the audition, and nearly set the judges' booth on fire with her speed."

"I'm a pretty big Wonderbolts fan, and even I'm not sure if I've ever seen her perform her signature move," Dash said. "So, what is it?"

"Well, let's just say it involves a lot of flair, and a bit of pegasi magic that helps Spitfire live up to her name."

"That's pretty awesome... I wonder if I'll be able to see something like that."

"I think she might be willing to perform it, if I ask nicely," Shift said, laughing.

"Hmm, I'll bet she might," Dash teased. "You two sure seem to have gotten closer recently..."

"Is that so...? Well, anyway, we've only started talking a lot more recently... aside from that, her Wonderbolts stuff has been taking up some serious time on her schedule, so we only usually met around once a month or so."

"Hey, there," Spitfire said, walking up to them. "So, I wonder what sort of masterpiece you and Shift put together, Dash."

"Don't you worry, it'll make your jaw hit the ground out of all the sheer awesomeness it has in it. Right, Dash?"

"Yeah!" Dash said. "I totally worked hard on it."

"Mm-hmm," Shift agreed. "And I told her to practice more on it, but the move is so huge and so awesome that it's kind of hard to do it without giving it away to all of Equestria, so she only performed it once to test. You won't find it lacking, that's for sure."

"I'll be the judge of that myself, Shifty," Spitfire said. "Alright, Dash, you're up!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Dash said, returning to the sky once again.

"Remember, this isn't timed!" Shift reminded her. "You can take your time and do whatever you want, just make sure you impress the judges!" He looked to his left at Spitfire. "Well, uh... I hope you're already impressed enough, that is."

"Dash has always been one of those special sort of pegasi, Shifty. I'd probably be lying if I said we haven't been keeping an eye on her talents, but we can't play favoritism when it comes to recruits. Now, priority applicants, however... that's a different story."

"So you're saying she has a higher chance of getting into the Wonderbolts because of this audition I arranged for her?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Spitfire responded slyly. "But you didn't hear it from me." She headed back to the judges' booth and shared a lighthearted conversation with her teammates as she sat down.

Dash began her routine, trailing with a wide thread of rainbows as she slowly worked her way up and around the stadium's circular confines. The growing ribbon produced an iridescent glow within the stadium as the pegasus leading it arced upwards, beginning the climb towards the open-air roof.

"I like where this is going," Fleetfoot said, looking at the glowing cone of rainbow above them.

"Maybe she's doing something different this time around," Soarin' said. "I know she can do a Sonic Rainboom, so--" He was cut off at Dash reached the apex of the cone, cutting off the flow of rainbows behind her and arcing backwards as she broke into the final part of her routine. With a single powerful flap of her wings, she propelled herself with great force downwards, leaving behind a massive shockwave of spreading light that caught the rest of the cone in its wake.

The cone exploded in a shower of pure blinding light, creating millions of falling sparks of shining magic as she flew through it towards the stands. She began to outpace the spread of the motes, zooming ahead and landing in front of Shift and smiling, before turning back to see the results of her routine.

"Wow..." Dash said. She looked back at Shift with a look of surprise on her face. "Is that what it looks like?"

"Yeah..." Shift said, nodding. "Still impressive as always, I see."

"That..." Spitfire appeared out of nowhere, wrapping an arm around Dash. "...was the most amazing thing I've seen in a long time. And trust me when I say I've seen some pretty amazing things; I'm a Wonderbolt, after all. Oh, and that concludes the audition. We have to keep things short for time constraints, but you're the last of the priority auditions we're having this month."

"So... did I make the cut?" Dash nervously asked.

"Hmm..." Spitfire gave an exaggerated expression of thought. "I can't say for sure right now... but I'll clue you in: that move you just pulled is definitely Wonderbolts material. Is it a little routine you and Shift thought up?"

"Nope," Shift said. "It was all her."

"Really now? Well, I'd like to know what that little routine is called."

"It's called the Spectra Meteor. Just, uh, heh, something that I thought up one night. I pitched the idea to Shift and he liked it, and, well... there you go," Dash said, pointedly looking at the fading cloud of glitter that obscured the whole track.

Spitfire gave a nod of approval. "Impressive. Well, Dash, you're one step closer to your dream with this audition. I feel like this one deserves a captain's recommendation..."

"Hey, Spitfire, when are we going to meet that stallion you've been talking about?" Fleetfoot asked, trotting up behind her. "You said we were going to meet him after the audition, right?"

"Actually, he's right here, Fleetfoot," Spitfire said, breaking her embrace on Dash and wrapping her arm around Shift instead. "Here he is."

"Wow... so you're Spitfire's coach?"

"Yeah... uh, hi. I'm Sky Shift. Nice to meet you, Fleetfoot... and Soarin'," he said, giving a nod at the other pegasus walking up to them.

"Sweet, dude. I've heard lots of awesome stuff about you," Soarin' said. "Is it true you helped Spitfire with her signature move?"

"Yeah, it's true."

"What do you do for a living?" Fleetfoot asked. "I mean, somepony as talented as you that can coach Spitfire must have some sort of job lined up for life, right?"

"I guess? I'm a mailpony."

Silence wracked the air as Fleetfoot and Soarin' looked at Spitfire.

"I told you that it won't be anything impressive," Spitfire responded. "He's a mailpony, first-class, and he works at at the Canterlot Post Office. He can make deliveries from Stalliongrad to Appleloosa in less than a half day's time."

"Wow, that's pretty fast," Soarin' said. "Sorry, it just seems a little... I don't know, underwhelming, I guess. Spitfire keeps talking about you like you're larger than life, so I have to apologize for something, uh... less than that."

"No problems with that," Shift said. "I just like the more... quiet lifestyle afforded to me by it. And it pays well enough, so I don't really have anything more than that."

"I can get with that," Fleetfoot said. "Sometimes all this Wonderbolts stuff can be just so stressful, and you just want to get away from it all, and I'm not talking for a day or a week, I'm talking around a couple of months, at most. Just get away from all that crowding, fan cheering, and non-stop paparazzi for a while. Maybe I should be a first-class mailpony when I retire."

"No problems with that since we're always recruiting," Shift said as they all shared a laugh.

"So, let's see him work his magic, Spitfire," Soarin' offered. "Have a little race on an official racetrack?"

Spitfire looked at him. "Sure, why not? Come on, Shift, it'll be just like old days..."

Like Old Days

"Fine," Shift conceded. "Like old days. With all due luck, you won't bump into a lantern this time," he teased.

"Oh, still using that against me, huh?” Spitfire said, laughing heartily. "Well, flier boy, this is my territory. Let's see just how well you do on an official race course... might even be able to knock you down a few levels." With a flip of her head, her flight hood was on in the blink of an eye, and she pulled her goggles over her eyes.

Shift looked at himself, acutely aware of his distinct lack of a flight suit. “Uh, isn’t that cheating a bit? I don’t have a flight suit.”

Giving a teasing look, Spitfire smiled at him. “It’s alright, Shifty, you don’t need to wear a suit to beat me, right? I have complete confidence and faith in your abilities,” she said, holding a hoof to her chest with joking bravado.

“Oh, haha. Okay, fine, I guess we’ll see how I can do without, Spitfire. But like you said, this is your neck of the woods, so I don’t know how well I’ll do...” Shift said, rubbing the back of his head. There was the undertone of amused interest in his voice, giving away his anticipation of facing off against Spitfire at her best.

Soarin’ chuckled. “You know, I’m kind of looking forward to this myself. Ah, if only I had—”

“--a pie?” Fleetfoot finished. “You and your pies, Soarin’... it’s a wonder how you haven’t been kicked off the team yet for gaining too much weight.”

“What can I say? I like my pies, and I like the Wonderbolts. So long as I keep things balanced, as per my agreement with the manager, I get to have the best of both worlds!”

“Oh, my gosh, this is going to be so awesome!” Dash said. “My own coach racing against Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts! I wish I could take a picture so I have proof to show my friends in Ponyville!”

“That can be arranged,” Spitfire said. “Soarin’, you still have the camera with you, right?”

“Uh, of course,” Soarin’ said. “Never got around to leaving it with the manager’s staff. It’s still in my saddlebags. Want me to get it?”

“Definitely,” Spitfire said, wrapping an arm around a surprised Shift. “I want a picture to commemorate this special event: my first victory against Shift!”

“On your terms, I might add,” Shift added humorously. “But it’s fine, I guess you’ll need every single advantage you can get against me, right?”

Dash quietly snickered as she was the only one of the group to notice a blush slightly forming on his face. She had to resist every urge to oust the infatuated Shift and embarrass him as such, but the respect for her coach outweighed her desire to pull a prank on him.

“Alright, Soarin’, you ready now?” Spitfire asked.

“Yeah, hold on. Just let me set this up... and there we go!” Leveling the camera, Soarin’ focused on the pair as Spitfire removed her goggles for the time being, and smiled at the camera alongside Shift. “Alright, you two ready? Here we go... three... two... one...” A bright flash went off and the deed was done.

Soarin’ put the camera back in his saddlebags. “Alright, cool. I can get those developed later, but for now, let’s get this race started. Anyone want to place bets?” he said, winking.

“No gambling on the job, Soarin’,” Fleetfoot said. “You know how much trouble we can get in for that?”

“Okay, fine,” he said, holding a hoof. “Didn’t mean anything by it, but if what Spitfire says is true, I think we’re looking at a race between two of Equestria’s best fliers. And, seriously, who doesn’t want to put a bet on that?”

“No means no, Soarin’.”

“Alright, we’ll just go let them do their race, then.” Soarin’ looked to Spitfire and Shift. “Well, you two... what are you both still here for? Take up your place at the starting line!” He pulled out a flare gun, like the ones that Wonderbolts races always began with.

Spitfire nudged Shift in the side. “Well, come on, Shifty.” She jumped into the air and held a hover. “I can’t win a race if I’m the only one in it, right?” She flew off towards the cloud fields.

“Right behind you!” Shift said, about to take off until he felt a hoof stop him. He looked over his shoulder and saw magenta eyes looking back at him. “Dash?”

“Good luck to you, coach,” Dash said. “In... uh, both of your... endeavors.”

“Both?” Shift asked.

“You know what I’m talking about... lover boy,” she whispered with a grin. Shift’s face flushed as she walked away laughing. “I hope you win the race!” she shouted from her seat.

“Uh... thanks!” Shift said, flying off to the starting line. Spitfire sat on the cloud, watching him circle around as he came in the land beside her. “So, Spitfire, are you ready?”

She laughed. “Ready? I think I might actually be able to win this. Say, despite what Soarin’ said back there... are you up for a wager between friends?”

“Only if it doesn’t involve bits.”

“Sure, I can do that. How about the loser has to buy dinner?”

“That sounds a little too easy,” Shift said. “You sure you don’t have anything... oh, I don’t know, grander in mind?” He stretched, flexing his wings and tensing his muscles, a last minute preparation for the race.

“Well, what do you propose, then? Loser has to do whatever the winner asks of them?”

“Why, that sound a little bit too risky, even for you, Spitfire.” He held a hoof up to his chin. “I’m surprised you aren’t afraid of what your dear friend Shift might ask you to do!”

“Well, I can imagine you’ll want to put me through my paces for old time’s sake, and I know that you won’t try anything... hmm, interesting. I know that you think you’re too good for that,” Spitfire said. “Even if I haven’t seen you all that often, I always have the feeling like you haven’t changed a bit.”

“You’re correct in that regard. And I was thinking about having you cover my mailpony job for a day, just for you to see what it’s like. I know Post would agree to it, and it would be so great to see how you fare pulling my daily routes. I especially want to see how fast you can fly between Stalliongrad and Manehattan.”

“Oh, I’d think I might try my hoof at it...”

“Come on, how long are they going to keep talking?” Fleetfoot said. “I should have brought the megaphone, since they can’t hear us when they’re in the clouds... do we have any signal flags nearby?”

“Nope,” Soarin’ said. “Stored away for when the actual tour season begins. We’ll just have to let the two have their time, I guess.”

Dash sat on the bleachers, trailing her hoof along the ground in boredom. Despite her current situation’s idleness, she was now here, and talking to these Wonderbolts as if they were any regular pony she would pass on the streets. To be able to rub shoulders with her idols like this was great, but the interest for the moment was held on Spitfire and Shift.

“Do you get the vibe that Spitfire has... oh, I don’t know, a thing for that mailpony? For Shift?” Fleetfoot asked, making Dash do a double-take. And here Dash had thought she was the only one to realize it...

“Uh... maybe?” Soarin’ said. “She definitely loves to talk about him.”

“He’s not that bad looking, either...” Fleetfoot said. “I can already imagine him in a Wonderbolts uniform, flying alongside us. He’d probably pick up all the mares. Even more than you, Soarin’.”

“Jealous, are you?”

“I am so not jealous! I mean, I’ve read about mailpony wages, and a first-class mailpony makes a good sum. It would be nice to retire on savings from that job... maybe even settle down...”

“Oh, so that’s what this is about, huh?” Soarin’ laughed. “Thinking about retirement already?”

“Well, no! I love the Wonderbolts, but I just like to think I have the option there... Sure, Wonderbolts retirement pays for a lot, savings and all, but I wonder what it’ll be like when it’s all gone. It’s not like we’re going to be in the Wonderbolts forever, Soarin’. We’ll have to go back to being normal ponies someday.”

“You have a point... so you want to get hitched with an nice stallion, huh?”

“Always with the lack of tact, aren’t you?” Fleetfoot said flatly.

“I’m just saying out loud what we’re all thinking. I hope Spitfire hooks with him; Celestia knows she’s been cutting herself off from more intimate contact these days.”

“Okay, okay, let’s not get caught up in our own little talk about the future here. Are we going to do this race now or what?”

“Hey, are you two ready?” Spitfire and Shift stopped their conversation, now recalling that the very reason they were standing on a cloud was for a race. Their conversation had gone uninterrupted until Soarin’ stepped in.

“Whew, I think we got a little too into that...” Shift said.

“Yep,” Spitfire said, laughing. “Alright, Soarin’, we’re ready! Just count us off and start the race!” She looked at Shift, flaring her wings in an intimidating fashion. “I hope you’re ready to be left in the dust, Shift.”

“Oh, I certainly am. But I’m not going to make it easy for you. Who knows, maybe you just might end up eating my cloud trail again. One lap takes all?” Shift asked.

“As always.”

“Okay! Three...” Soarin’ said. Spitfire narrowed her eyes at Shift, who merely returned an amused smile at her. “Two...” Shift flared his wings, and they stood facing each other for a moment before they took his cue and crouched down into their starting stances. “One...” They looked towards the racetrack before them, each equally focused on winning. “Go!”

They both shot forward, a dark gray and yellow blur, immediately shooting down the first line stretch for the first turn. Spitfire, knowing the course, had the knowledge of the ins and outs of the stadium’s airflow, and managed to pull an early lead on Shift. He trailed just barely behind her, seeing the small circle of the first corner quickly rushing towards them.

He slowed down for a moment, drifting to the right of the lane as he began to break into a wide turn. Spitfire, however, did the same, pulling in right in front of him and quickly flaring her wings as she took the corner with ease, gaining a now-sizeable lead against the mailpony.

Shift only barely managed to regain some of his lost ground. The racetrack was nothing like flying close to the ground; where there had normally been a standard airflow on his routes, the stadium, due to Canterlot’s height on the mountain and the open-air of the stadium, had an airflow naturally tailored to competitive pegasi racing. Despite his experience, this was one of the things he hadn’t had much exposure to. A smile broke across his face: this was new, and perhaps Spitfire really did stand a chance of winning, after all.

A small cloud zoomed by on his right as Spitfire’s form slowly began to shrink in his vision. He kicked into overdrive, pulling his wings in slightly and gaining speed, and was about to catch up until he realized that another turn was approaching. Mentally cursing, his eyes darted off to the left: the turn wasn’t a large one, and it would serve his needs more than enough. He slowed his acceleration and pulled his body slightly sideways.

He stuck his tongue out at Spitfire as she slowed down at the beginning of the curve, he himself taking only a slight speed hit drifting through the turn as she was forced to maintain her current slowed entry. By the time she was able to break out of the turn and start speeding up, their former respective positions at first and second now switched around.

“Not today!” Spitfire could barely hear Shift’s voice over the roar of the winds, but she certainly understood what he was getting at. Even against her own teammates, she could easily outpace them on this track, but Shift still had plenty to throw at her.

“For you, maybe!” she shouted defiantly. Striving with all her might, she slowly began to pull forward again, trailing him through the minor turns on their way to the final stretch of the lap. This was it: she had to win this part, and on the stretch that she knew better than anyone on the team. She was but a pony’s length behind Shift when they entered the last part of their race.

Spitfire’s attempts to catch up to Shift were futile, as anything that she tried was only returned with a move in turn by Shift, denying any attempts to overtake him. If only there were some way to find flaws in his routine, or even to beat him at his own game...

And then it appeared: a slight break in Shift’s stance, as he struggled to maintain his speed in the turbulent positions. He faltered slightly, but it was all Spitfire needed to get ahead. She grinned, taking the lead by a nose’s length and was neck and neck with him as they sped down the lane.

“I’ll... win.... this... time!” she said, gritting her teeth. Her wings felt like they were on fire, having been pushed to limits far beyond what she was used to. The flag poles of the finish line raced past her face... but she could see Shift just out of the corner of her eye, wearing that grin of his, staring straight ahead.

They quickly came to a stop and pulled around, landing on the cloud as they each took their breaths.

“That... was... good...” Shift said, smiling at her.

“So... who... won?” Spitfire said.

“Shift won, Captain!” Soarin’ shouted from below. “By a hair!”

“Damn!” Spitfire said.

“Wow, I can’t believe it was that close!” Fleetfoot said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen any pegasus go hoof-to-hoof with the captain before.”

“That Shift guy can sure walk the walk,” Soarin’ said. “His speed’s impressive! And that turn... I don’t really think I’ve ever seen that move before. I think I’ll ask him about it after the race.”

“Yeah, that move was pretty crazy. And pulling it off at those speeds? Not hard to see how Spitfire got to where she was, if he was in charge of her training,” Fleetfood noted. “I wonder if he’s single,” she laughed in a hushed tone.

“Maybe we could use him as an instructor for the entire team for training, so — wait, what was that last part?”

“Nothing.”

“Hmm...” Soarin’ hummed. “Alright, then...”

Shift and Spitfire returned to the spectator deck to the cheers of the three pegasi waiting for them. Dash was again tempted to clue in Shift on the little conversation that Fleetfoot and Soarin’ had, but decided against it. It wouldn’t do her well to spoil the fun before things became so enjoyable, would it?

“Whew!” Spitfire said, gladly taking a cup of water from Fleetfoot. “That was a good race, even if I lost... I haven’t pushed myself that hard since our last race, Shifty!”

“You mean you Wonderbolts don’t do this normally?” Shift laughed, pouring himself a cup of his own.

“Of course not!” Spitfire took a long drink from her cup, emptying it all in a single go. “When we do our routines, we focus on controlled speed and awesome shows, not flooring it like no tomorrow like you do, Mister First-Class Mailpony.”

“Point taken. I don’t recall our races being so intense, though...”

“Maybe it was the whole official racetrack thing, huh?”

“Totally...” Shift panted. “Sheesh, and to think some pegasi do this for a living... I think I’m fine just pulling my own weight at my mailpony job. So... I guess I won...”

“Yeah... you did.”

“Guess that means you have to take me out to dinner now,” he sang.

“You have to what?” Fleetfoot said.

“It was just a friendly bet!” Spitfire said, blushing.

“Oh, Captain... you should really loosen up more...” Fleetfoot said. “It’s alright, we won’t tell anypony. Go ahead and enjoy yourself. It’s like you said: we’re done with the auditions for today, aren’t we?”

“This should be nice...” Dash said, walking up to them. “Go on, coach, enjoy yourself for today. I guess I’ll just head on back to Ponyville since this is all over...”

“No way, Dash,” Fleetfoot said. “You’re the last of our priority applicants, and you were pretty awesome at the royal wedding. Why don’t you come hang out with me and Soarin’ for today, take a look around the town with us?”

“You really mean it?” Dash said, shocked. “Oh, my gosh, this is turning out to be the best day ever!”

“Well, it’s only just hit late afternoon,” Soarin’ said. “And I could use some pie right about now, so we’ll part here, alright?” he chuckled. “Good luck, Captain, hope you don’t mess up! Come on, Fleetfoot, Dash. The town’s just waiting for us today, and besides, I want to talk with Dash about her Sonic Rainboom, and her routine today.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely going to be talking about that over some late lunch,” Fleetfoot said. “The Sonic Rainboom is some pretty awesome stuff! And that stunt you pulled would turn heads at any show.”

“So there we have it!” Soarin’ said. “Oh, yeah, Shift, if we ever get free time later, you totally have to show me how to do that crazy side-turn thingy you did in the race.”

Shift laughed. “Of course, Soarin’. Whenever you guys have free time.”

“After today, I don’t think we’ll have any until after the Manehattan show. Can you believe it? Biggest one yet, and it’s completely sold out! It’s going to be packed to the brim with tons of fans, and it’ll be one awesome show.” They turned to depart, leaving the racing duo to their own day until Dash stopped and quickly walked up to Shift.

“Good luck,” she said. And with that, she disappeared before Shift could react.

“What was that?” Spitfire asked.

“Nothing!” he quickly responded.

She narrowed his eyes at him, and then sighed. “Really, Shifty... I just don’t get you.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, curious. “Well, I have to admit that in recent years, we’ve sort of fallen out of touch, but before that, we stuck together through thick and thin.”

“I guess I just... well, it’s like we had that conversation before, at Weststratus... about me second-guessing my whole job. I thought on it a bit, and it’s... different now, but... I guess the best way to put it is that you... inspire me.”

“Inspiring...?” Shift said quietly. “Heh, I guess I’ve never really thought of myself as anything more than what I am... what about me is so inspiring to you, Spitfire?”

“Your preoccupation with flying, like so many times before,” Spitfire said. She pulled off her goggles and head and let the wind blow through her mane, watching the clouds in the open sky outside of the stadium slowly drift by. “Simple. That’s what always comes to mind when I think of you. Trust me when I say I’ve had my share of fans and spotlight time, but at the end of the day, sometimes it feels that just talking to my own team feels like a chore. But you’re always there, always willing to listen, even if I just show up out of the blue in the middle of the night.”

“I remember that time...” Shift said. “You wanted to talk about the stress with the Wonderbolts.”

“Yeah, it was really bad around that time. The manager thought I wasn’t performing my best, and he was right: I sort of slacked off, even though I was the Wonderbolts’ star performer, and captain to boot.. Speaking with you just... just kept me down to earth, I guess. Every talk with you only wants to make me try harder. For you. For myself.”

Shift said nothing, merely waiting for Spitfire to continue.

“You remember the time back when we were foals?” she slowly said.

“Well... it depends on what we’re talking about, I guess. What time?”

“That time... we were playing outside of the city. Skillet had just overcooked one of his orders over at Weststratus and practically threw out the whole restaurant so he could vent, so we went to play at the park near the gates of the city. I remember it... it was sunset.”

Shift gulped. He knew what she was talking about, and where she was going.

“There was an open spot where the walls parted to look over the valley, and a tree that sat on top of a small hill looking over it all. We just sat there, looking out over the whole valley, when you asked me...” She closed her eyes for a moment, her mane flowing back and forth as she reminisced. “You asked me out.”

He blushed and looked away, not responding through the embarrassment — and subsequent heartbreak — the aftermath had brought him.

“I know I was a silly filly back in those days, but now that I have the time to think about it... I’d like to give it a try.”

“Huh?” Shift looked at her, surprised. She turned to look into his eyes, her orange eyes aglow with a tint of regretfulness.

“Come on, flier boy,” she quietly laughed. “What do you think I mean?”

“Would you like to go out on a... date? Just you and me, a night on the town?” he asked her.

“Why, yes, Shifty... I think I’d like that.” She moved closer to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, giggling. “Gosh, I didn’t think I’d ever end up so mushy like that, but I guess if it's for you, it's fine. Your looks aren't half-bad, you know?”

“I didn’t think you’d make the move before I did,” he said, sighing. “Now I have to try twice as hard on the date to impress you. And I try to maintain my looks, thank you very much."

“Hmm, you already impress me plenty, Shifty. Just be yourself, that’s all I’m asking.”

“Aw, I’m touched. You want the plain old me? And here, every single mare in Canterlot and maybe even Equestria would have turned me down because I’m too normal.”

“Have mares actually turned down the oh-so-amazing Sky Shift?” Spitfire asked, closing her eyes. “They don’t know how much of a great stallion they’re missing out on...”

“I’m flattered, but I have to ask... why the change?”

“I guess I just realized that I really like you, Shift. You’re handsome, funny, talented, and one amazing flier, but you’re also fun to be around and so down to earth, kind of dense at times when you want to be, and you never want to go to parties, even when I’m the one inviting you.” She opened her eyes looked at him. “But I guess that’s why I love you!”

He laughed. “Why, thank you. I’ve never seen anyone put... well, me so eloquently. And I love you, too, Spitfire.” The prospect of finally being able to say those words made him elated, but he both laughed and lamented at the situation where he’d finally been able to say it.

“We are such a weird couple, aren’t we? I’ve seen Fleetfoot reading romance novels once, and I sort of thought I’d end up the same way: meet my dream stallion, get swept off of my hooves, and we’ll go live happily ever after. But those are fairy tales, and I think what I have now is much better.”

“You don’t say... so, loser buys dinner?”

Holding her soft smile, she jabbed him hard in the side. “Sure, Shifty. But I get to pick where we eat. And I want to treat you tonight, so I’m taking you to one of my most favorite restaurants in Canterlot. I have a feeling that you’ll like it.”

“I feel bad now... you know what, how about I just pay—”

“Nope, a bet’s a bet, Shifty, and I am a mare of her word! Besides, your mailpony wages won’t be able to cover the kind of cost for the place we’re going to.”

“Oh, no, it’s one of those posh restaurants, isn’t it?” Shift asked.

“Don’t worry, the manager of the place knows me, and the Wonderbolts always hosts their little staff parties there. We’ll be able to get a table away from the public areas.”

“What about the paparazzi? Didn’t you tell me that you hated them?” Shift flapped his wings, leaning on top of Spitfire’s head. “I know that some ponies on the streets won’t be able to recognize you out of uniform, as stupid as I think that is, but at a place where the Wonderbolts visit often...”

“I guess that’s a chance I’ll have to take, hmm? There’s risk with that. I like the challenge. But, that comes last. We have the entire day to spend together, lover boy, and I intend to make the best of it. Now shush, I’m trying to enjoy this.”

They sat for a moment in silence, enjoying each other’s company, until Shift broke the silence. “So... ready for our date, Spitfire?”

She giggled. “Ready as we’ll ever be.” She nuzzled him, eliciting a short gasp, making her fall over laughing. “Oh, come on, Shifty! We haven’t even gotten past dating yet, it’s a bit early for you to be squeamish on nuzzling! Besides, now that we’re together, I plan on doing this a lot.”

“Oh, dear. Well, I guess that means I have to get used to it, won’t I?” he laughed, exiting the stadium together with her as they headed downtown.