Chapter 2: The Captain's Home
The thunderous downpour of rain echoed across Ponyville, the sound of a rainstorm kicked off by the weather team just a few minutes earlier. It was the first heavy rainfall of the season, and as such needed to be completely on point. Thankfully for Ponyville, the talented weather team had known exactly what they were doing to get it going. The rain fell evenly across the town itself and the farmlands around, bringing with it a release from the heat of the day.
Landing in front of the weather office, Lightning quickly slipped inside the building, giving her whole body a shake to get the excess rainwater off of her coat. Before letting the door shut, she glanced up at the sky one final time, letting her gaze wander critically over the layout of the cloud cover as well as the speed of the rain coming down. Satisfied that they were both up to the specs the team had been given, she gave a nod and let the door swing closed, finally able to get out of the rain and start drying off.
It had been a full month since she had started working on the weather team, and she had taken to it like... well, like a pegasus takes to their wings. Much of her first few weeks had been spent learning the basics of the facility storage system as well as the weather patterns that they would be using. Rainbow had provided her a plethora of training and learning materials, and she had made sure to pour over them in detail. She didn't have a lot going on other than her job and the weekly trips between Ponyville and Pinegrove, so Dust had ended up memorizing practically every study resource she had been given, especially the information on the town's weather patterns and, in some cases like the farms, highly specific needs.
Putting the knowledge into practice had been a bit more difficult, as they couldn't just set up an entire weather pattern simply to practice on. Lightning's own attempts to practice back at home had been a bit of a mixed bag: unlike Ponyville, the weather in Pinegrove was entirely on the whims of nature itself, and thus much harder to be controlled. Even so, she had managed to get some hooves-on experience with basic cloud types, their consistencies, and how to handle them effectively, which had only made her training period that much easier to get through.
Looking to the team's meeting room on the left, she saw her trainer waiting inside, a pegasus named Cloud Kicker. True to Rainbow's word, the pale grey-blue pegasus had been a bit of a goofball and a sass since day one, but other than Dash she was probably the most knowledgeable pony of the entire weather team. Lightning had admittedly been a bit wary of her at first, partly because she was worried that she might accidentally cross a line before she was familiar enough with the rest of the team to be cracking jokes or pulling pranks. That fear had swiftly been put to rest at the end of her first week when the pair of them had stuffed the leftover fog clouds inside of Rainbow's office. The weather captain had merely chuckled and rolled her eyes as the two had snickered quietly from the side room.
Stepping inside the meeting room, Lighting threw a salute to the other mare. "Rain is self-sustained, cloud cover is consistent, and rainfall speed is within parameters."
Cloud kicked back from the desk slightly, her chair rolling a few inches. "Perfect! Let's update the map and the work chart, and we should be good to go for the day." Grabbing a marker in one wing and an eraser in the other, Kicker hopped up and began to edit the necessary details. "So, this is it then huh? No longer my little fledgling trainee, you're a full-blown weather pony!" With a fake sniffle, she pouted at her trainee. "My little mare is all grown up and making her own weather patterns."
Dust chuckled as she leaned against the table. "Like I could get rid of you that easily." She teased back. "Besides, storm season starts in a couple weeks and I'll still need your help to get certified for handling thunderheads, and hopefully as a lightning wrangler."
"Never a moment to rest, hmm?" Cloud chuckled, tossing the marker aside. "Yeah, if you're interested, we can definitely get you trained up for that stuff. It takes a might longer than what we've done so far, there's a lot of safety rules around it all for obvious reasons. Not only is the handling and manipulation a lot of work, storage of cumulonimbus' is much more complicated as well" She sat back down at the table, pulling the paperwork closer. "You've been picking it all up incredibly quickly though, almost as fast as Rainbow Dash did when she and I first started here. You could go pretty far in weather, if you wanted to."
Before Lightning could respond, there was a knock on the door. "Oh hi Lightning Dust! Hi Cloud Kicker!" Even as she turned around, the bubbly voice told her exactly who it was: Derpy Hooves, Ponyville's resident mail mare. When she first arrived, Dust had been surprised that a single mare handled the mail delivery for the entire town and the surrounding farms. But after watching the mare work, she had been thoroughly impressed with her stamina and the sheer strength it took to carry that amount of mail around on her own. With the frequent letters with Spitfire causing their paths to constantly cross, she and Derpy had become friends quite quickly.
"Heya Derpy," Lightning greeted, "how's the mail going today?"
"It's going great, I'm just about done!" She replied happily, digging into her mailbag. Lightning idly wondered if they were made waterproof or had an enchantment on them to keep them dry, she'd have to try and find a pair like that for saddlebags at some point. "In fact, this was my last stop before going to pick up Dinky from school." Pulling out a letter, she hoofed it over. "And here you go! Have a great day you two!" With a quick wave, the grey mare turned and trotted her way out of the weather center.
"Another letter from Spitfire, eh?" Lightning jumped slightly, not realizing that Cloud had moved to stand beside her. "Gotta say, you have good taste in mares." She teased, waggling her eyebrows. "She's certainly got the looks, right?" She let out a soft oof as Dust gently elbowed her in the side
"Because Celestia forbid two ponies are just friends, Cloud." She said with a roll of her eyes, receiving a gentle nudge of her own in retaliation. The two chuckled as they elbowed each other back and forth several times, before Cloud Kicker finally conceded the battle.
"Well in any case I'm going to head out, enjoy your afternoon and your letter, Dust. I'll see ya next week!" The two shared a hoofbump, before Cloud slipped out into the rain. Flopping down in the nearest chair, Lightning opened up the letter and slipped it out of the envelope.
Hey Dust,
Glad you're almost done with weather training! I never learned much beyond basic cloud manipulation myself, plus whatever misc. stuff we pick up through our stunt work with the Bolts. Super cool that you'll be an official weather pony now, congrats!
We just got back from the west coast, so it's been a pretty dry couple of days going over the show routine, the stuff that worked, stuff that didn't, blah blah blah. It's super useful, don't get me wrong, but sitting down in meetings looking over news articles and conducting interviews is just... I don't like being still for this long. Makes my wings itch.
Oh hey, I know it's a little last minute, but the opening ceremony for the flight museum we were supposed to attend got moved back a few weeks. I think one of the donors for the place pushed their bits back to get some kind of tax incentive out of it. Friggin' stupid if you ask me, but I guess that's for other ponies to worry about.
The point is, me and the Bolts have a free weekend now, and I think it'd be cool if you could come hang out. I wouldn't plan anything tonight, but you'd be free to stay at the guest room I have at my place. I figure then we can hang out during the day tomorrow, maybe grab lunch and hit the Canterlot Gardens or something? Weather here should be pretty nice for that. And then a few of us were going to crash the VIP section at the "Trot Step", we're a bit overdue for a visit there. Dunno if bars or social drinking are your thing, but you'd totally be free to tag along with that. And then I think on Sunday you'll have to grab the train back to Ponyville so you can get back for your weather job?
If not I totally understand, it's last minute. I'll drop my address at the bottom, just tell the stallions at the door your name and they'll let you through, in case you can. Otherwise I look forward to your next letter!
Your friend,
Spitfire.
Slipping the note into her saddlebag excitedly, Lightning poked her head around the door, calling out to the office in the back. "Hey, Rainbow, how late does the train run to Canterlot?"
The train shook gently as it traversed the countryside, working its way towards the city of Canterlot. Luckily for Lightning, it turned out that trains ran practically all day from Ponyville to the capital city, since the town was right along the main rail line. Since she only carried her saddlebags between Pinegrove and Ponyville, she hadn't had to worry about packing or storing anything, and had flown straight from the weather center to the train station. One day she'd be willing to fly the distance between the two cities, but that was still a little out of her range for the time being.
Bouncing on the seat in anticipation, she couldn't quite tell if she was nervous, excited, or perhaps both? It was the first time they were physically meeting since their incident in the cave, after all. Spitfire had enjoyed their correspondence, but what if meeting physically didn't go as well? What if she was super awkward, or said something stupid, or just wasn't as interesting as Spitfire thought? Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Lightning pushed the thoughts away. No, it's going to be fine. You're going to have a good time hanging out with your friend, and nothing will go wrong.
The train shuddered as the brakes began to kick in, slowing it down as they entered the mountain tunnel leading to the station. A few moments later, they came to a standstill as they reached the platform proper. The stress and worry of the visit had prevented her from finding a way to sit comfortably, so she took a moment to stretch out her back and legs while the other creatures began to disembark. She shook her entire body, as if she could simply shake the stress and worry away from her, and made for the nearest set of doors. Stepping out into the station, she looked around to take it all in.
The look of the station caught her by surprise, having never been to Canterlot before. Built into the side of the mountain, it was a colossal, bright marble structure. The ceiling was far above them, stained glass and murals adorning the entire surface wherever she looked. A large spiral staircase led to the roof far above, a landing point for dirigibles and sky carriages that carried creatures from towns and lands far away. With an impressed whistle the mare tried to keep moving, not wanting to block the constant milling ponies all around her. Several murals of the Princesses had been painted along the walls, a bit abstract but still quite recognizable as to which each one was a tribute to. How much they had cost, or how long they had taken, Lightning could only guess. Weaving her way between ponies, benches, and storefronts, she managed to make her way out the doors without incident.
It was a beautiful day in Canterlot, a warm wind blowing gently across the town under the perfectly clear skies above. Stepping off to the side to clear the path, Lightning paused to enjoy the sun for a few moments, letting the rays soak into her coat and warm her nicely. Many ponies joked that pegasi were basically just large cats, and while Lightning never really saw the comparison, she couldn't deny there was something satisfying about just standing, or laying, in the sun's warmth. Especially if she could curl up on a cloud and nap.
As she exited down the steps and into the city proper, Lightning realized she was going to need directions from somepony to get where she was heading. She had never been to Canterlot after all, and the town was quite massive, especially compared to the likes of Ponyville and Pinegrove. Looking down the staircase and around the street, she spotted one of the cities, likely many, mail couriers and quickly crossed the street to reach them.
She approached the dark brown pegasus, waving slightly to get his attention. "Hey, I'm really sorry to be a bother while you're working, but by any chance could you tell me which way it is to the Diamond Plaza?"
Straightening his uniform, the stallion nodded. "Oh, the Diamond Plaza? Yeah it's about a ten minute walk from here, just head down that road," he gestured to her right, "take a left when you get to Canterlot Way, it'll be down there a bit on your right. Big building, name on the front, fancy, impossible to miss. But they won't let anypony in without clearance from one of their tenants, so you better have an invite."
"That won't be a problem. Thank you sir!" With a thanks and a friendly wave she turned and headed off, opting to stay on the ground for the time being. The placement of streets and their signs were geared towards the higher population level of unicorns and earth ponies in not just the town but Equestria as a whole, thus they were placed closer to the ground. This meant anyone on wings who wasn't already comfortably familiar with the city could easily miss a sign and get turned around and lost. She trotted quickly down the street the mail pony had indicated to her, weaving her way through the slower moving groups. While she was still working on building back up her stamina and flight ability, agility was something she thankfully hadn't lost her touch with since leaving the Washouts.
Turning down the road onto Canterlot Way, her steps became slower and quite a bit more uncertain. The buildings along this road were much fancier than the street she had just been on, the amount of bits and clout evident even from the outside of the structures. Shop windows held clothes and jewelry far beyond what Lightning could possibly ever afford, and restaurants had very well-dressed ponies outside to greet their patrons, and likely to turn others away. The looks she received, while not hostile, were at least ones of confusion as to why this pegasus who clearly wasn't upper class was wandering down their street. Dust merely lowered her head, trying to avoid meeting their gaze and picked up the pace again to get out as soon as she could.
It only took her another minute to find the building she was looking for, and she froze in her steps as she looked up at it. While it wasn't as big as many other famous Canterlot buildings, the eight stories still stood out among the mostly smaller buildings that surrounded it. The words Diamond Plaza were emblazoned on the front, and while Lightning doubted the name was spelled with actual diamonds, it certainly looked the part with the pale color and the sheen across the lettering. Standing outside the bright gold-colored doors to her left was a large earth pony stallion, quite a bit taller than Lightning and much buffer. On the other side stood a griffon, just as large as the stallion but the talons and beak made him look far more intimidating.
Taking a deep breath and trying not to visibly shake, she approached the door to the building. As she drew near, the stallion stepped to his left to partially block the front door.
"Sorry miss, but we're only permitted to let residents and their approved guests into the building. I'm sure you understand."
"O-Oh yeah I know that." Dust stuttered, shifting her stance slightly with apprehension. "I do have an invite, her name is Spitfire? I'm Lightning Dust, I think she's expecting me."
Glancing down at a notepad for a long moment, the stallion finally gave a nod and stepped back to the side. "Yup, she gave us your name earlier today actually, said to hopefully expect you dropping by." Opening the door for her, he bowed slightly. "My companion and I would like to welcome you to the Diamond Plaza, Miss Dust. The elevator is straight back against the wall, and the attendant will take you where you need to go. Miss Spitfire is.... floor seven, room three. And we hope you enjoy your time here."
With a sigh of relief, Lightning passed between the two imposing creatures. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate it." Slipping inside as the stallion continued to hold the door for her, she paused mid-stride and let out a soft whistle as she looked over the interior of the complex.
The main hall she had entered was incredibly vast, the ceiling vaulted up several stories above her head. She couldn't be sure, but it looked like it ran the entire eight stories from floor to roof. Statues of the Princesses lined the halls, the space between them filled up with artwork created by highly popular and sought after artists, names that even Lightning was able to recognize. The vaulted ceiling had some abstract mural on it, likely another famous painter that Dust recognized by name only. This was hooves-down probably the most upscale building other than the Princess' castles she had ever looked at, let alone been inside of. Despite the clear amount of bits spent on every square inch, it somehow managed to not quite cross the line into gaudy or tasteless; these tenants had money, and the building was an outward display of exactly how much income the residents living there had access to.
I don't belong here. The doubts began to echo through her head, louder and more insistent by the moment, and she nearly took a step back towards the door. This is too much, this is too nice, I don't deserve to be inside here, I'm not good enough for this, this is so far above me. She felt her breathing quicken, her body shaking harder, and for a moment she even entertained the thought of running out the door, going back to Ponyville and pretending she hadn't gotten the letter in time.
Fighting hard against the instinct, she instead took a long, deep breath. Letting it out slowly, she did her best to calm down and regain her composer. Spitfire had asked her here, clearly she was at least wanted. Giving herself a shake from mane to tail to try and release the spiral of thoughts, she stepped forward and began to cross the soft, lush lavender carpet leading to the elevators. A pair of elevators sat at the end of the walkway, and she slipped inside the open doors of the left one
The inside of the lift, while much simpler compared to the outside entry hall, still felt like it went with the upper class theme of the complex. The carpet inside was ruby red, and equally as soft as the floor she had just left. The walls were covered in cushions of a similar color, the only gap in them to serve for the hoofrail to hold onto. Just inside the door on the left, there sat an older unicorn stallion, operating the mana crystal that served to power the lift up and down. He smiled at her kindly, tipping his red bellhop hat to her and bowing slightly.
"Good afternoon ma'am, so kind of you to visit our fine living complex. What floor can I take you to?"
Lightning fidgeted slightly. I really don't want to stand here and order him around... "Oh, uhm, I'm here to visit Spitfire. I think they said she was on floor seven?"
A smile and another kindly nod. "Indeed she is, she'll be the door marked '3' on the left." He gave the mana crystal in the corner a gentle poke, and with a gentle shudder the magic began to lift them upward. She stood there in silence, shifting from side to side, unsure if she was supposed to strike up a conversation with the stallion or remain quiet. He seemed to catch her gaze, and with a chuckle waved her off.
"Don't worry miss, many of the patrons don't usually chat to me, so I'm quite used to a quiet ride. I don't take it personally."
When the lift finally came to a gentle halt, the stallion reached across and pulled the gate open for her. "Floor seven, enjoy your evening." With a nod of thanks, Lightning stepped through the open gate and set off down the hallway. Like the ground floor, the carpeting here was a beautiful lavender, soft swirls of soft rose-gold splashed across them like waves. The light fixtures she passed were pristine and spotless, and Dust was quite sure they were made out of actual gold. Towards the end she finally spotted the door labeled "3" along the left side. With a nervous, shaky breath, she reached out and knocked gently on the door. After waiting for a moment without receiving an answer, she knocked again with a bit more intensity.
A crashing sound and a very choice string of expletives floated out the door, followed by a familiar voice calling out "Just a second!"After what sounded like a chair hitting the ground, and a scampering of hooves, the door flew open to reveal Spitfire, panting softly as she leaned against the doorframe.
"H-hey Lightning! I'm really glad you could make it out here. I wasn't sure to expect you or not and I had meetings all morning so I sped back here to grab a shower and then I was trying to clean up and then I had to run out to stock the fridge and then I was trying to clean some more..." Her voice trailed off as she brushed a few strands of mane out of her face, a broad but embarrassed smile on her muzzle. "It's good to see you, Dust."
Lightning's stance loosened considerably now that she and the captain were face-to-face, the fear and uncertainty suddenly a very distant memory. "Yeah, turns out trains run pretty late out of Ponyville, so it was pretty easy to snag a ride when work was done." Stepping forward the two embraced tightly for a long moment. She's really warm.
Stepping back and out of the way, the Wonderbolt gestured with a foreleg. "Come on in! Feel free to find a seat and grab it, Luna knows there's enough spots to perch on." Slipping inside, she heard the door click shut behind her and lock.
The living room was a massive open space, chairs and couches and beanbags scattered all over the carpeted flooring. A huge section of wall was taken up by a projector screen, the projector itself hanging from the ceiling towards the back of the room. The entire far wall was covered with curtains, which Lightning assumed meant the length was one massive window, or maybe a series of smaller windows? Either way, it undoubtedly would give a breathtaking view of Canterlot when they were open.
"Lotta seats." Lightning commented. "Get a lot of company?"
Stepping up beside her, Spitfire gave a nod. "As the captain, and the one with the biggest living space, I tend to host any of the smaller hangouts and 'Bolt parties. I don't really mind, they're usually a good time, and even better I don't actually have to travel anywhere after the party is over." The pair stood in silence for a moment. "Feel free to grab a seat, the chairs don't bite." She joked.
"Actually, if it's okay with you, could I snag a shower? I grabbed a quick one after weather duty, but I was worried about catching the train so I only did a real quick once-over."
"Sure, that's no problem. Here, lemme show ya." Lightning followed her a short way down the hall, before Spitfire gestured to a door on their left. "This is the guest bathroom here, it's fully stocked with towels and everything else you need. Shower handle you just turn clockwise to get the water going, further it goes the hotter it is."
The smaller pegasus nodded, giving the captain a grateful smile. "Thanks, I appreciate it."
"Oh!" Spitfire exclaimed. "Before you slip in, you good with pizza for dinner? There's plenty of other stuff I could get us too, if you have a craving. My diet gets to be a little more lax coming home from a show tour, so I tend to splurge a little bit."
Dust rubbed the back of her neck, glancing away. "Whatever is easiest for you, I don't want to be a bother about it. Pizza does sound pretty good, if it's not too much trouble."
With a chuckle, Spitfire gave her a small shoulder pat. "Don't worry, it's no trouble at all. The building keeps a number of staff on hand for running simple errands, perks of living somewhere this expensive. I'll just toss one of them a couple of bits to go get the food for us. Feel free to take your time, holler if you need anything." With that she turned and headed back into the main room, humming a tune quietly to herself. Letting her gaze linger for a moment on the retreating mare, Lightning turned and slipped inside the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
Turning the handle as instructed, the shower sprang to life with a torrent of water cascading down. She fiddled with the handle for a minute to find the perfect temperature, before stepping in under the waterfall. She let out a soft groan of approval as the hot water sprayed against her coat, warming her up as she simply closed her eyes and enjoyed it. She had taken a brief shower after her weather duties, but she had been so eager to catch the train she had only done enough to not look like a disaster. And while she didn't want to spend too much of her evening in here, she wasn't about to completely forego a full, cleansing shower.
Dust closed her eyes as she sat down on the floor to enjoy the moment, the only sound she could hear that of the falling water. Showers were always peaceful, and for most of her life the only moments of quiet and being away from others that she had ever been able to experience. More recently with things having calmed down, and being able to spend time in her quiet hometown, Lightning had found she rather enjoyed a slower-paced, less stressful life. Not always of course, she would forever have a streak of daredevil and competition, but it no longer consumed her as once it had. That, however, led to the question of "what now?" with her life.
Lightning shook her head to clear the thoughts away, not wanting to get lost in them while Spitfire was waiting on her. Reaching out with a hoof she grabbed the container of shampoo, taking a soft whiff: lavender, perfect. Squeezing a healthy amount onto her shoulders and barrel, she set the container aside and began to rub and lather it all across herself from neck to flank until she was completely covered in a light layer of suds. It wasn't that she really needed to get rid of muck or grime or anything, her previous shower had pretty much done that; this was more about making sure she smelled nice for the rest of the evening.
Having coated the majority of her form, she let it sit for just a few short moments before getting back onto her hooves and stepping forward so the water crashed against her back and wings. Eager to spend time with Spitfire she sped through the rest of the washing process, spending just the bare amount of time she needed to make sure every bit of the shampoo and lather were washed off of her body. Reaching up to turn the shower off, she gave her form a vigorous shake to dislodge the extra water before reaching out to grab a towel hanging from a hook. It didn't take long as she kept her coat rather short to be more aerodynamic, which had the added benefit of also being quite easy to dry and maintain. Hanging the towel up on one of the wall hooks, she slipped out of the bathroom and back into the main room.
"Good shower?" Her host asked.
Lightning nodded, rolling her neck slightly. "The water pressure is amazing, Luna I gotta get me one of those back home somehow."
Spitfire smiled, leaning against the counter between the living room and kitchen. "Great to hear. Pizza is on its way, shouldn't be much longer. Can I get you something to drink?" She turned around going deeper into the kitchen, and Dust heard what was likely the door to the refrigerator opening. The captain called out from around the corner "I've got water, lemonade, tea, coffee, juice, think I have a few cans of soda in here too."
Grabbing a seat on the nearest couch, Lightning let herself sink comfortably into the cushions. "Oh, uhm, juice is fine, thanks. Apple juice if you have it, but I'm not super picky." She wiggled slightly to adjust the pillow behind her, resting her head back. "Man, I feel like I could sink my entire body into this couch and not even care, it's just so comfy."
Spitfire chuckled as she made her way out of the kitchen, setting a large cup of apple juice on the side table near Lightning's hoof. "Yeah, these things are great. Too soft for me to sleep on, I'm used to the beds the Wonderbolts provide, but it's great for company and just relaxing on." Setting her own drink on the coffee table on the opposite side of the couch, she trotted away once more. "Should be here in a second, I'll be right back."
Glancing around the room, she noticed the walls were covered with posters of various well-known musicals that had performed in Canterlot over the past two decades. Band posters also dotted the wall, far less in number, mainly rock and metal bands, though she noticed one or two from the yearly Canterlot Symphonic concerts. How many of these were visited by choice versus ones the Wonderbolts had been expected to show up for, she had no way of knowing. Every single one had signatures decorating them, most likely those of the main actors, band members, and lead chairs. One section had what looked like personal photographs, but they were a bit too far away to make out exactly who was on them or where they were from.
"Hey pizza's here!" Breaking out of her visual exploration of the room, she turned to see Spitfire trot back into the room with a pair of very large pizza boxes on her back. "Feel free to have as much as you want, I ordered heavy since I wasn't sure how hungry you were." She set the boxes on the coffee table in front of them.
"Thanks, I really appreciate the meal."
"Like I was just going to let my friend go hungry." Spitfire joked. Each mare grabbed a slice, and dug in with gusto. Swallowing, she leaned over and grabbed a remote from the side table. "Mind if I turn something on? I'm not trying to be rude or shut you out, it's mostly background noise. For me it feels a little weird sitting in silence and eating."
Dust nodded. "Yeah I don't mind, go on ahead." The projector whirring and coming to life, the pair of mares settled back against the couch to enjoy their meal together. As the movie started, Spitfire turned the volume down slightly to make sure the pair could still converse over it with ease when they wanted to.
"So," Spitfire said around a mouthful of pizza, "did all your weather stuff today go well?"
Lightning nodded. "Yeah, we had the first major rain of the season to set up, and it went off without a hitch, so it should be a good start to the farming season. Last day of training for me too, at least for now, so I'll actually have my own workload to take care of every day. And then when it gets into the actual storm season, I'll be going through the safety training to handle thunderheads and lightning and then I'll be fully certified as a wrangler."
"That sounds pretty cool stuff, well done!" Spitfire congratulated. "Are you thinking of doing this stuff long term? Or were you going to try and go back to stunt flying when you got back into shape and trained up?"
Lightning squirmed a bit, looking at the ground. Mumbling quietly, she answered "I... I don't know if I can be comfortable again with stunt flying, after... well, you know. I don't think I'll ever trust myself again like that." She fell silent for a moment, her hoof idly pawing at the couch. "But the weather stuff, it's actually kind of fun, more than I would have thought it would be. I enjoy hashing out the details, setting up the systems, setting it all together in a chain, being on my wings all day without it being so exhausting." She paused, rubbing the back of her neck gently. "It's definitely not what I imagined I'd be doing at this point in my life, but honestly it's a pretty nice gig, and I wouldn't mind sticking around to see where it goes."
Glancing over, Spitfire gave her a warm smile. "Sounds like it's something you really enjoy."
Giving it a moment of thought, the teal pegasus nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah I think I do actually." Falling into a comfortable silence, they continued to watch the movie and slowly make their way through the large amount of pizza. Spitfire was grateful she was able to indulge after her marathon of performances, it was definitely more enjoyable than the usual strict diet she would follow.
"You know," Lightning interrupted her thoughts, "you never really realize how much of the movie is just shots of them running across the countryside your first few times through the film."
"Oh yeah." Spitfire agreed. "Don't get me wrong, they chose a beautiful part of Neighgra Falls and the Crystal Mountains to show off for their world, absolutely breathtaking. It just... aren't there other film tricks for showing off how far they're traveling than just wide sweeping shots of them running across open fields and mountains over and over?"
"Yup." Lightning leaned over to poke Spitfire with a chuckle. "Hey, hey Spitfire, did you know in the second film when he kicks the helmet..."
Rolling her eyes, she playfully swatted at Dust's hoof. "Yes, he's yelling so loudly because he actually breaks his hoof on the metal, we all know." Spitfire let out a chuckle of her own, shoving Lightning back to her half of the couch, the pair falling back into comfortable silence.
Several hours later, as the film drew to a close, Spitfire stood up and stretched with a soft grunt. "I think it's about bedtime for me, you're free to stay up though if you'd like."
Yawn. "Nah, I'm good to crash, especially if you have a full day planned tomorrow. Weather duty we tend to wake up a bit early, so I'm a bit tired as it is." Getting up on her hooves, she followed the Wonderbolt out of the room.
"I mean, I have general plans yeah," Spitfire said over her shoulder, "but it's not going to be time or energy intensive, it's meant to be a nice relaxing time for two friends just hanging out. I was thinking we could sleep in a little bit, head out to this nice quiet diner that we could get brunch at. From there we could wander the Canterlot Gardens until dinner, they're massive I doubt we'll see most of them in one day. After dinner the Bolts were planning to hit a club for a few hours, sort of... not sure 'expected' is the right word, but it's the only one I can think of that works."
"Yeah, that all sounds great. I don't go to clubs or anything often, but I don't mind having a drink or two socially." If she was being honest with herself, Dust wasn't quite sure if the club would be something she enjoyed; from what she knew, it would be a lot of noise and a lot of ponies. Maybe being with Spitfire in a more-secluded section would help though?
Opening a door on their right, Spitfire gestured inside. "This is the guestroom, I think I got everything in there you'll need? Pillows, blankets, sleep mask if that's your thing. If you need anything else, just knock on my door and ask." With a quiet snicker, she shot Dust a playful wink. "I'll try and make sure I'm not in any compromising positions when you walk in."
Lightning tilted her head, taking a moment to parse out exactly what she meant. When it finally clicked, her eyes widened and her cheeks burned red. With a laugh, Spitfire gently bumped Dust's shoulder with a hoof. "Easy to fluster, good to know! Love being able to tease my friends. Have a good night, Lightning, I'll see you in the morning."
As the captain turned and made her way into the room, Dust couldn't help but let her eyes follow after her until the door shut and broke her out of her thoughts and embarrassment. Turning to the guestroom with a grumble, she made her way inside. "Easy to fluster, well two of us can play that game... I think." She mumbled, shutting the door behind her as she flopped onto the bed, wiggling under the covers. Sure, she'd never tried to do that sort of thing intentionally before, but if that's what good friends did, she would absolutely give it her best shot.
Tomorrow was definitely going to be interesting.