First card: Truth.
"Who do you have a crush on?" High Winds asked Surprise. She had read the card word for word and Spitfire felt her soul slipping away. What was this? First turn, first card. Surprise was already out of the frying pan and into the fire. Blaze just might have fixed the deck and player positions.
It was growing onwards into the night, though not yet pitch dark outside. Some ponies would consider it evening, but none of the six mares had any concern of the growing darkness. Instead, they snuggled against the pillows and sheets they had situated for their living Tartarus game of tears, shame, and disgrace. The mares downed both chocolatey and fruity snacks with soda as they took the first casualty. Surprise was a good mare...
Her shyness was offset by a strong sense of honesty. The girl just couldn't lie and say she never had a crush. Blaze looked all too much like an elementary school filly who just found she could fly. Spitfire hugged a pillow she had raided from the bed next to her and chewed on the edge. Her fellow female Wonderbolts were seated in a close circle on the bedroom floor, using various bedding for cushions. Even without such things, the floor was covered in rich carpet.
Surprise gave a stutter as her lip quivered. She looked about ready to cry and, as odd as it was in retrospect, Spitfire was the most compassionate mare present. Or perhaps it was just her duty as captain to look after the emotional well being of her crew. After all, emotions directly affect ones physical condition. It's proven by science (or those lame mare mags on the impulse rack).
"Oh, it's not that big of a deal," Fleetfoot butted in. "I've had several crushes and look where they got me," she spread her hooves to take in the other 'Bolts.
They laughed and Spitfire took the chance. "How about I tell you my first crush?"
High Winds sighed, "We all know about your first crush, Fyfy."
Spitfire gagged, "Stop calling me that." Too late she realized that they would only call her that more.
"Yeah, Fyfy. Stormseed was a real winner. Too bad he dropped out of flight school," Blaze sniped.
Surprise gave her captain a veiled smile in appreciation for changing the direction. She knew that T and D was a poor game for somepony like herself but she didn't have the will to take flak from the others for declining to play.
Spitfire, however, was busy reprimanding her callous teammate. "How many times must I remind you, Blaze. That is not something to joke about. He got in an accident and permanently crippled both wings. I will not allow any of your mean humor in this group."
Blaze just gave her sour face she always had when she was scolded - even if it was a light scolding. Spitfire took the cards from High Winds since she was the next drawer. Seeking to reset the mood, she changed the pace. "High Winds, truth. Pick your poison."
Since it as the Extreme Edition, the game rules were a bit different. Opposing players didn't choose Truth or Dare. The drawer chose T or D and had a list of options to go with. All of the choices were cruel....every time. The orange mare wanted to be gracious though and let the other mare make the choice. Spitfire handed the card to High Winds, who read her options with a bit too much confidence. Obviously she chose the least damaging one, which was still pretty harsh. "Most embarrassing moment this week," she declared. "I had to sign an autograph in a bathroom stall. That fan was way too persistent."
Blaze balled while the others merely chuckled. It was a shared pain as they all had experienced similar if not identical situations. Popularity was a blessing and a curse.
Blaze eagerly snatched the deck from Spitfire and gave the mare a glare. Picking a card, "Dare. Spitfire has to go through all of tomorrow with somepony tied to her wings."
Misty gasped while the others simply stared. The maniacal mare had probably chosen the worst thing on the card. "Volunteers?" Blaze asked proudly.
"I'm the one that-" Spitfire tried to explain that she was the one to choose the pony but Blaze just blocked her - claiming it was compensation for averting Surprise's truth about her crush.
The room was dead quiet until Surprise took the bullet, "I'll do it."
Seeing the smile on the white pegasus, Spitfire knew that her teammate was trying to be nice for the earlier favor. Blaze almost threw a fit, though. "That's no fun! Two mares spending a whole day tied together is lame, especially since you're teammates anyways. Choose a stallion!"
"You were the one that asked for volunteers, Blaze," Misty remarked in a deadpan voice. "Besides, a stallion? Seriously?"
"Like Soarin'? Pfft!" High Winds chuckled.
Blaze smirked, "I said stallion..."
"What did I say about mean humor?" Spitfire glared again.
The offending pegasus glared back this time, "You still stressed about something, Fyfy? You've been on a short fuse lately."
"Or you've been on a rampage lately," Fleetfoot offered.
Misty nodded in turn, "I'll second that."
"I just don't want us to have fun at somepony's expense when we don't have to," Spitfire exclaimed with just a puff of pride.
High Winds couldn't help to remark at it though, "That's rather idealistic, you think?"
Misty cut in before Spitfire, "She's the captain, Winds. If she didn't go on about that stuff we'd probably end up as some bad-news delinquent group."
"She has a point," Surprise boldly agreed.
Blaze gaze a deadpan expression as a response, "We are going to keep playing, right?"
"Of course. Who's next to draw?" Spitfire asked.
"Here," Fleetfoot grabbed the cards. "This is ridiculous," she said as she read the card options. "Blaze, when was the last time you wet the bed?"
The girls groaned. "Why no dare?" Spitfire gave a rare complaint.
Fleetfoot apologized, "It wasn't a very good card."
"Ha! I never did. Even when I was a filly," Blaze proudly stuck out her chest.
"That sure sounds legit," Misty grumbled as she took the cards. Blaze, however, was silently seething over the fact that Surprise was the one who drew the cards on Misty. She would never be able to weasel Misty's secret out that way. Surprise was way too timid to do it. Spitfire had denied Blaze's request earlier to rotate the players. It was even a suggestion in the official rules. She wasn't aware that the captain wanted to freeze the player positions to prevent her from drawing a card on Surprise. Direct confrontation between those two mares would not turn out well. Ever.
Misty chose a dare on Fleetfoot as the game continued.
"Why don't we go back to the hote-" Lightning Streak was cut off mid-complaint as Fire Streak continued his split-personality reign of terror.
"Because we're stallions, not sissy mares," Fire Streak sharply replied as he waved a stick around as if it were a scepter. He had found it as they had been digging the dirt fort.
Soarin', for all his lack of sharpness, took advantage of his virtues to pull the group back together. They were sweaty, tired, and it was dark outside. So dark, in fact, that it would be impossible to get back inside the city wall if it were not for Luna's light (some called it the moon). "Hot shower and sleep?" Soarin' asked aloud. The hearty cheers well answered the question.
"But we just finished digging the first underground room - and my throne!" Fire Streak complained.
Wave Chill rolled his eyes, "You and Blaze would be the perfect pair."
Rapidfire, however, was the only one that got the joke. Combined, the stallion and the mare would be the worst prank/troublemakers in all of Equestria. Well...maybe just in all of Canterlot.
"Finally! Not that this hasn't been interesting," Silver Lining added.
"Yeah, we need to go over those room plans again, Light," Wave Chill reminded the stallion beside him. Lightning Streak just nodded. Wave had started what was going to be a stairwell to access rooms further down, which clashed with his own rampways.
Soarin' was not slow on the praise, "Well thanks for the idea, Fire."
"Of course! I knew it would be a blast - and we're not even done yet."
"I don't want to admit being excited about digging a grand hall out of dirt," Rapidfire joked.
The group made their way back to the surface and, though they were all tired, Fire Streak still decided to race back to the hotel. "First in the shower!"
It took no time at all for the others to realize what he was doing and catch up. "I'll beat you out of the shower with your own stick, oatbrain!" Lightning Streak was ablaze with justice.
Soarin' was less violent but no less determined. "I call shotgun!"
The others could only facehoof.
Surprise smiled. She hadn't been doing all that great for a while because her teammates liked doing things she wasn't that into. Some of them had said some pretty nasty things too, but she tried to remind herself that it wasn't true and that it was only a figment of her imagination - poor perspective. In any case, she had reason to be happy now. The captain she had looked up to ever since joining the Wonderbolts had once again proven herself to be her hero. Spitfire was the kind of person she aspired to become. Bold, outgoing, kind, thoughtful, and forceful only when necessary. The orange mare had taken more than one bullet for her in the T and D game and ensured that she would get to sleep on one of the plush beds. Not wanting to have the mare share with Blaze, the captain had taken the command and assigned the "winners" their beds. Blaze got to share the left bed with Misty while Spitfire and Surprise got the right bed. Fleetfoot got to take a sleeping bag with High Winds. The very self-conscious mare was aghast with sleeping in such a manner but had to go with it since she fell through on the last dare.
Spitfire was already well situated under the covers. The other mares had also gotten comfortable but Spitfire actually looked like she was going to nod off. Something heavy seemed to be on her mind but none of them knew quite what it was. Of course, Surprise had no way of knowing that her captain was fretting about how to balance her time with the team and Celestia. Perhaps she was starting to realize she had too many apples and not enough buckets. Whatever the case, Surprise was happy with her friend. Yes, she could call the captain of the famous Wonderbolts her personal friend. She had been with the group for a while but she still shivered at the thought. Perhaps she just never got used to her own position in the star team.
Some of the other mares were talking in lower tones. The mood was settling into sleep so everypony was "powering down." Surprise tried to do likewise as she slipped into the sheets. The bed was so big that it had plenty of spare room for two ponies. Three would be awkward though. As soon the white pegasus' hooves fell in between the sheets, she felt a shiver pass over her. It was a good shiver - the kind that came when first getting into a spa or sitting down after standing for a long time. The sheets were just as plush as they looked and the bed must have been one of the fancy ones with the thirty-button remote because the sheets were already warm from the built-in heater. Immediately, she wondered if it would be possible to replace her current bed she had back home with one of these.
She settled in and brought the sheets up over the tip of her nose so her eyes just barely stayed above them. "Were we going to do...uh...something tomorrow?" Spitfire addressed her in a quiet voice. Her tone carried some amount of concern.
Surrpise turned to face the mare next to her and inadvertently pulled the sheets around her in the process - effectively trapping her mouth beneath the sheets. She replied to her fellow mare but it came out in unintelligible mumbles.
Spitfire managed a tired smile as she reached over and pulled out the sheets from the cocoon-like bundle that trapped her teammate. Freed to get her mouth back out from under the sheets, Surprise repeated, "I think we were shopping...oh, I wonder when we're supposed to get tied together..."
The orange mare sighed heavily. Her energy was failing fast and she didn't really want to do any more thinking for the day. She would have to work something out with Celestia tomorrow. "Okay..." she lazily replied as her eyelids wavered. The warm and soft bed was taking her to the dreamland fast.
"Umm...Spitfire," Surprise started.
The captain, however, was being carried away to darkness as her eyelids finally closed.
"Thanks."
Surprise held onto her treasured smile as she fell asleep. Though they joined together in the world of dreams, they were sleeping on opposite sides of the bed. Blaze snickered when she saw the two mares finally knock out. She was not going to let any of the "Dare time" go to waste. Spitfire had been too much of a snob on her lately. Misty just sighed and turned in bed as she tried to get to sleep, ignoring the more rambunctious mare when she got up.