Another day. Another impossible day. Well, in all fairness, impossible was usually a word meaning "highly improbable but definitely possible." In that sense, it was impossible for Spitfire and Surprise to reach 250 wing-ups after another week and that was precisely what they did. It was also at that point that Celestia ordered without dissension that both mares use the special stretching exercises to their fullest extent. Both lead mares were now posing awkwardly as they stretched their wings and back legs just a tad past their natural limits. The royal garden was like a second home and the feel of its cobblestone, dirt, and grass was comforting against their wings.
"I recall you saying something about the 250..." Spitfire commented to the alicorn.
The Mare of the Sun replied in kind, "Once you reach that point, you will start having muscle issues without the stretching. The tendons can pose a particular problem."
"So if we didn't do these weird routines..." Surprise questioned out of curiosity.
"Your muscles would swell, you'd look like a mutant tomato, and you would be in pain everyday for the rest of your life," Celestia answered.
Now the white pegasus was sorry she asked.
"Mutant tomato?" Spitfire chuckled. She almost slid forward and panicked at the thought. She could very well tear a muscle if she slipped wrong in her current position. Celestia noticed and advised her to fix her sitting stance to prevent this.
"Any more performances coming up?" the ruler asked lightly.
"As usual," Surprise answered first and let her captain explain. She knew the details better anyhow.
Spitfire breathed in deeply and started drawing her limbs back in. "We have an all-team race coming up. It's tomorrow."
Celestia nodded. Of course, she knew about it and was asking more for the sake of conversation. She was, however, curious as to the captain's predictions. "How do you think each of your members will place?"
The alicorn took to her cushion as the two pegasus mares wrapped up the routine and sat near her. Spitfire was pretty comfortable in her estimations. She knew her team as well as she needed to and, of course, much more than that. "Me and Prize will take top two on the flight section. I suppose she might even top me for first," the orange mare nudged her companion. Surprise grinned with pride. It was less for her physical ability than it was for her friend's confidence in her.
"Soarin' might be next but I wouldn't be shocked if Misty knocks him out for third. She's been training quite rigorously."
Celestia nodded as she shifted on the cushion. The feel of the plush fabric was almost as sleep-inducing as a sunny spring afternoon.
Surprise was silent as she listened to the captain go onward. For the flight part of the race, she predicted that Wave Chill would be last. "He talks big sometimes but doesn't always live up to it," she commented.
"...and the sprint?" Celestia asked sleepily.
"We won't do as well as the others. We've trained our wings this whole time so we aren't as strong in the legs as some of the others. I'll say Fleetfoot and Rapidfire are likely suspects for first with Lightning Streak and Fire Streak behind them..."
When Spitfire finished her analysis, she finally noticed that the Princess was nearly asleep. She looked over to her wingmare, "That boring, huh?"
Surprise rapidly shook her head. "It was...fascinating. I never really thought to rank the others based on their individual abilities..."
Celestia began snoring very faintly - almost unnoticeable.
Surprise blushed, "Well...maybe it was...a tad too...detailed?"
There was an moment of silence and Spitfire barely stifled a laugh. "Yeah, I don't really give a muffin about that stuff. She asked...that's all. Maybe we should let her sleep..."
"She is the Princess," Surprise agreed.
With that, they both headed out for the private bedroom that Celestia had designated for them. It was really less of a bedroom than it was an entire house enclosed within the palace. It came in handy when neither of the mares had any matters to return to outside of the castle or even Canterlot.
The lead 'Bolts decided to save their practice runs for later in the day and stay longer at the palace. The exercising had worn then down so they both felt like relaxing in a plush room for a while. It was certainly more enjoyable than trying to babysit the Streaks. They were likely in one of their tussles at that very moment and the thought of it was sour to the captain.
Two card games of War later, Spitfire's face made contact with her Ace of Spades. She was so close to winning but the exhaustion had taken it from her. Surprise wasn't doing much better. Still, she managed to get a blanket over her friend and get back to her own bed across the awkwardly large room. What kind of pony would want a bedroom this big, she wondered. And that was the last thing she wondered before slipping under her bed sheets and turning out like a light.
It was many hours later that Spitfire awoke. She scrambled up even as her eyes were opening. "Who won?!"
There was only the soft sound of a breathing mare. It would not be noticeable if it weren't for the completely dead silence that hung over the room. The lighting was low. When Spitfire looked over to the window, she nearly jumped out of her coat. It was late and they had a practice run to do!
She rocketed out of the blanket, which she didn't recall putting over herself, and zipped over to Surprise's bed. The sheets covered the pillow and only the tip of a nose was visible from under the covers. Spitfire ripped the sheets off and the slumbering mare sprung to full-awake. "Wha-?!"
"We have practice!" Spitfire exclaimed.
Surprise stared blankly for a second, still starting the mental cogs after being in happy-fun dream land. She gasped when her mind came up to speed. She also sprung from her bed and the two mares started out the door.
What, or who, they met in the hallway was quite unexpected. Princess Luna was passing by from her nearby room and regarded the two pegasus with a smile. In fact, she even snickered. "Sleep well?"
Spitfire was at a loss at first but managed to regain her composure. She didn't often see the dark mare or speak to her so it felt different than conversing with Celestia. "Yes. Perhaps too well. We have an engagement," Spitfire motioned to Surprise next to her.
"As did my sister. I'm sure she appreciated the nap, though." Luna kept the mysterious grin.
The two mares hadn't a clue as to what the mare of the Night was letting onto, so they said their quick and cursory farewells and continued on their way. Luna finished her own little chore and then returned to her sister's bedroom. She had moved the white alicorn there after finding her asleep - deep asleep. Apparently, the water that her sister had been drinking was an excellent solution for sleeping powder. Now we'll see who needs sleeping lessons, the younger sister thought.
The sun had gone down quite far and there were lights lit along the track to brighten the twilight hour. It was still usable, so the two mares went through their warm-ups and practice runs. Flying was hardly a challenge but the running felt more difficult. Surprise looked over every once in a while to the mare running next to her. Technically, the race was a free-for-all and there was no such thing as a two-pony "wing" and yet...neither of them was vying for the advantage. Either they didn't have the drive or, more likely, they were more interested in a friendly run than a competitive one.
If it was against their own team members, both mares had enough confidence in their abilities to keep the practice sessions tame. Spitfire was almost at a trot rather than a run. Her wings were folded up nicely against her sides and, having tired of the Wonderbolt suite after their flight practice, displayed a coat of pastel orange. The shade of the color had been altered by the glow of the waning sun.
In that one moment, Surprise thought about where she would be in a year or five. She never dreamed of being lead wingmare like she was now and that had been only a month ago. Or was it two months? Whatever the case, her future was a great big question mark. It was no different than the mystery of her mastering the Bullet maneuver. Would they ever be able to do it? And that was hardly to mention any of the other Wonderbolts. Would the entire team be able to reach that goal?
"Prize?"
Spitfire's voice snapped the off-white mare back into reality. She had drifted to the side of the track while she had been mentally distracted. Spitfire had stopped ahead and was beckoning the mare to join her again. "Sorry!" the wingmare squeaked as she trotted back up to Spitfire's side.
"Something on your mind?" the orange pegasus tried to ask lightly as they resumed their pace.
Surprise had to think about precisely what it was she wanted to say. What had been on her mind? Just saying something like "the future" was far too vague. "You," she decided to throw out.
"Me?" Spitfire inquired with a laugh. "You mean you were thinking how awesome I am?" she continued with a joking grin.
"No. Well not that your not awesome!" Surprise caught herself in a confused reply.
Spitfire continued in a gentler and softer voice, "This about the future?"
"How did you know?"
"Because it's also what I was thinking of. But why me in particular...?"
Surprise said nothing for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. The two mares made the turn at the end of the track and started once again to the other side. The sun was lower.
"Fire...what do you want for your future?" she finally answered with her own question.
Spitfire almost blurted out something trivial but caught herself. Was the question a trap? Certainly not if it was from the mare next to her. "Hmmm," she mused. "I've always loved flying and doing stunts so I thought I was living my dream when I made it to captain. I guess I never thought beyond that. Well, before I actually was captain anyway..."
The white mare remained quiet as she let her friend talk. The pace they were at gave them both a bit of bounce with every step and she could see Spitfire's deep orange wing feathers wave up and down with the motion.
"I don't really know what I want for the future. I don't look far enough ahead, I guess. It's scary to think of settling down with a family. Not to mention that I haven't met anypony I'd call a...'special somepony'..."
Surprise gawked. "Not even on our team? What about Soarin'?"
Spitfire giggled. "You sound like one of our fans, Prize. Honestly, he's just a teammate. I trust him a bit more than the others but that's probably because I know him more."
"Mm," was the white mare's only acknowledgement. She couldn't really say anything on the matter since she didn't have anypony she could call "special." Of course, she liked her male teammates and thought that some of them were even nice but not to the point of wanting to get involved. That prompted her to think exactly what it was she would look for in a significant other.
"You're kind of the same, right? I'm guessing by the look on your face," Spitfire sighed.
"Uh...yeah..."
The orange captain slowed her pace to start the wind-down. "I don't think it's a bad thing. I mean we both have plenty to do these days and it's what we want to be doing. I haven't felt the need for any romance - not yet anyway."
Surprise lifted her head from its downwards gaze and looked over to her friend with a worried expression. "But isn't it something we have to deal with?"
The captain sighed again. The entire conversation was out of her "zone" to begin with. Surprise's worries were understandable but they were also exasperating. "Look, Prize. You can't have other ponies telling you what you need to do with your life. You're the one that calls the shots. If you don't feel like you need to do something then just don't do it."
"But I saw something that mentioned mental health and-"
That's when Spitfire stopped completely and faced her friend head-on. Surprise took notice and stopped as well. "You've been reading those...magazines, haven't you?"
Surprise blushed but it was more from nervousness than embarrassment. She had indeed been reading some magazines relating to daily life and health. She knew Spitfire hated them and often called them "sensationalized trash." The lead mare was not without her opinions on matters. Surprise, however, enjoyed them and thought the advice was usually sound. She was now almost regretting bringing the subject up in the first place.
"Let me ask you something, Prize," Spitfire more stated then asked. The white pegasus just nodded quietly with a bit of fear. "Are you happy right now?"
The question took her off-guard and she had to keep from answering "no." She wasn't happy with the uncomfortable situation she was in at the moment but Spitfire was asking for a more overall answer. "I guess so."
"Have you wanted something more than what you've been getting? I haven't forgotten that look on your face when you finally got comfortable with being my wingmare."
Surprise let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She knew what her friend was getting at now. The twilight hour was quickly diminishing and the stars began to shine brightly as the mare made her reply. "I am happy and, no, I haven't felt like I've been ignoring something. The magazine's are the ones making me feel that way. That's what you were going to say, wasn't it?"
Spitfire frowned. "Pretty much. I just don't want some stupid magazine to make you feel depressed, that's all."
"That's all?"
The captain nodded, "No hidden motive."
A quick and quiet moment passed and Surprise hugged her friend. Spitfire just smiled and returned the gesture. "Thanks," was all the white pegasus said softly.
"Hey," Spitfire remarked in return, "what are best friends for?"