//------------------------------//
// Family, Friends, and Relationships 
// Story: Light My Heart Afire 
// by Material Defender 
//------------------------------//

	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...