Spitfire groaned as she punched her pillow angrily with one hoof. Sparkfire was out watching the other 'bolts practice, and Fleetfoot was with them. Spitfire shifted her body to look out the window at the practicing pegasi. Spitfire had been ordered by Soarin to stay off her hooves-and wings-until she had recovered from the aftereffects from the healing spell. Though Princess Twilight had done her best Spitfire still found herself weak and unable to do more than stand for a few seconds.
"Ugh. Rapid's being annoying again. I'm gonna have to straighten him out." Spitfire muttered, reaching for her whistle before remembering she wasn't their drill sergeant right now. She was a weak, still slightly injured mare who was their friend, not their captain. Soarin had taken over, making Fleet temporary co-captain.
"Hey sis." Sparkfire said, coming in
"What are you doing here? I figured you'd be running around with your friends." Spitfire said, turning to face her
"Well, I wanted to come help cheer you up, I know you're bored. And anyway, dad was caught, Soarin just got the message from Princess Celestia, so you should be happy!" Sparkfire exclaimed
"They caught him?" Spitfire asked
"Yep. So I'm here to make you happy! Besides, Scootaloo's watching Rumble try to mimic the flight formations, I've done that enough times. Let's play!" Sparkfire explained
"Fine. What do you want to play?" Spitfire asked, sitting up
"How about...Firework?" Sparkfire suggested
"I haven't played that with you since you were six. Aren't you too old to like that game?" Spitfire asked
"I'll never be too old for that game, we made it up together!" Sparkfire said, jumping onto the bed beside Spitfire
"You have a point. Sometimes I play by myself when I miss you." Spitfire nuzzled her little sister and held up her hoof "Should I go ahead and start?"
"Yes!" Sparkfire exclaimed, and Spitfire chuckled, lighting up her hoof and letting the magic rise into the air, then Sparkfire took off and poked it, laughing as the ball of fire explode.
"That wasn't a very good explosion, sorry, it's been a while since I've had someone to make it explode." Spitfire commented as the sparks fell onto the ground
"That's okay Spitfire, now do it again!" Sparkfire cried, and Spitfire laughed, using her wings to conjure the fire this time, the glowing orange orb flew high above them. Sparkfire took off again and touched it with a laugh. Spitfire smiled and made another, and another.
"Alright, I think I need to take a break." Spitfire panted. Creating that much fire had sapped her energy
"Okay." Sparkfire said, sitting down next to her. "What now?"
"Well, Fleet moved her Daring Do books in here after Surprise found them. I'm not really a fan but it's better than sitting here doing nothing." Spitfire suggested
"Great." Sparkfire agreed, jumping off the bed and running to the bookshelf "I thought the bookshelf was fuller than usual. I'm tired of reading your books."
"Hey! I just like reading the Wonderbolt manual and the history of the Wonderbolts!"
"They're good, but I'm tired of only having them to read." Sparkfire explained, pulling a Daring Do book off the shelf
"Which one is that?" Spitfire asked
"Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny." Sparkfire replied, and Spitfire sighed "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Can you just pick another one?" Spitfire wasn't in the mood to read the book Rainbow had been bragging about being in. Spitfire wasn't sure how Rainbow had made it into the book, and her name wasn't mentioned directly so there was no way to prove it.
"How about...Daring Do and the Marked Thief of Marapore?" Spark asked
"Sure, bring it over." Spitfire sat up straighter and let Sparkfire sit down next to her. The sisters curled up together and opened the book.
Surprisingly, however much Fleetfoot described Daring Do as an adventurer with a need for action and excitement, the book portrayed the golden pegasus as a bookworm as well. The typewriter described in one scene was confusing for Spit and Spark, but Spitfire brushed it off as a detail somepony who had read the previous books would think to look for. The two continued reading the book for a while, until Fleetfoot came in
"Hey you two." she greeted, trotting over to kiss Spitfire lightly on the cheek "Oh, you're reading Marked Thief of Marapore, do you like it Thpitty? I know you're not a fan."
"Yeah. It's good, I think I can grow to like the series." Spitfire answered, kissing Fleetfoot back
"Yuck. Mushy stuff." Sparkfire commented, and Spitfire glared at her "Sorry."
"Anyway, how are things going with the team?" Spitfire asked
"Clipper'th one more joke from Rapidfire away from going crazy." Fleetfoot said
"Sounds about right." Spitfire rolled her eyes, then rubbed her temple with her hoof
"You okay sis?" Sparkfire asked
"Yeah, just a headache. I'm fine." Spitfire replied
"What have you two been doing?" Fleetfoot asked
"We played Firework." Spark said
"Firework? What'th that?" Fleetfoot asked Spitfire, who blushed with embarrassment
"It's a game I made up when Spark was little. I used my magic to make balls of harmless fire appear, then she would touch them to make them explode like a firework. She wanted to play it." Spitfire said
"Aww, you're thuch a thoftie." Fleetfoot teased, kissing Spitfire gently on the cheek
"Fleet, I am not." Spitfire protested
"Yes you are sis." Spark said "Remember when I hurt my leg and you stayed in my room all day to cheer me up? Or when I was sick and you took care of me while mom was at work? What about when you-" Spitfire clapped a hoof over her sister's mouth
"Spark, stop." she hissed
"Thpitty, it'th cute. And it'th nice to know you care tho much about the ponieth around you." Fleetfoot said, lifting up Spitfire's chin and giving her a kiss
"I guess." Spitfire sighed "But there was a time where I wasn't nearly as considerate. You remember, don't you Fleet? The Equestria Games Tryouts?"
"That wathn't all your fault." Fleetfoot tried to say, but Spitfire gave her a 'you know that's not true' look "Okay, tho it wath your fault, but you were trying to win Thpitty, our whole town wath counting on uth."
"Yeah. Sometimes I just think Soar and Rainbow forgave me too easily. But Soar is my friend and Rainbow is the Element of Loyalty, I shouldn't expect any different." Spitfire mumbled
"They didn't jutht forgive you for that. They forgave you becauthe they knew it wathn't the real you. It wath who you thought our town wanted to thee." Fleetfoot said
"But, the thing is...the reason I regret it is that...when I did those things, I didn't understand what was so wrong about it. But when Rainbow called me out, I...I realized that I was acting like my father. That's partly why I made sure the Wonderbolt Reserves were formed, and made sure Rainbow would excel once getting in. I needed to make sure that I'd have a friend who could steer me in the right direction." Spitfire confessed
"So...my being on the Wonderbolts is because you needed me?" Rainbow asked from the doorway, Soarin beside her
"No. You're here because of your flying skills. I just created the Wonderbolt Reserves to make sure you had a better chance at getting in. I needed you on the team because of your skill. The fact that you could show me the right way to act was just another reason." Spitfire assured her
"Oh, okay." Rainbow gave a sigh of relief and followed Soarin in the direction of the Mess Hall
"Thpitfire, you are not your father, okay? Nopony thinkth you are, tho don't worry about it. You can get mad thometimeth but everypony doeth. You can control your temper better than he probably can with hith." Fleetfoot comforted
"I know you're right, but...I can still get really mad, and loose control of my anger, and my magic." Spitfire said
"But we're here to stop you sis, you can count on us!" Spark promised
"She'th right. We'll alwayth be here to calm you down. Every thingle one of the Wonderboltth." Fleetfoot agreed, and Spitfire pulled her in, kissing her.