Spitfire knew she had to get up. 12:00pm was rolling around and she had to lead the two stallions to the special training meadow. On the other hoof, Soarin's wing feathers were bringing back memories she had forgotten as she had tried to convince herself that her past was bad and her new rich life was better. Now she would be content to just lie on the floor with Soarin' embracing her. It wasn't a relationship that any other pony would understand. That was why it had become a problem in the first place.
Everypony would just assume that they were romantically involved. But that's not what they shared. Maybe that kind of love was something that could happen in the future but what they had back then and had once again now was just simple friendship. Deeper and more caring than most but friendship all the same. Soarin' had always stood up for her and she had always been there to help him in return. It was a friendship that could only be forged by the fires of desperation that they had endured together in Las Pegasus and then later in similar cities.
"I'm really ashamed of what I've been the last few years," he spoke into the calm silence that had fallen like snow over them. "But I'm not going to be that way again. I've decided what I want and I'm going for it."
"And what is that?" Spitfire whispered from beneath his wings as she looked up to his face above hers.
"The pegasus that keeps you alive," he laughed gently.
The mare laughed in return. She hadn't been in serious trouble since the alley days but she enjoyed the thought anyhow.
"Whatever you say, Shiner."
"Ugh," Soarin' groaned. "You don't have to start using that name now."
The mare wasn't going to let it go, however. His own nickname for her was kind of embarrassing so she felt the need to return the favor.
"I'm starting to remember why I called you that too. You'd get a shiner every time you had to beat off the local gangs. Thinking back, it happened quite a bit. It's kind of incredible how you managed to do it."
The stallion rolled his eyes.
"They acted all tough but they were mostly wimps. There was only one pony that actually got to me. Ironically, it was a mare. I didn't know any of their names so I just called her Bruiser," he recalled.
"And I thought you were always talking about some huge stallion," Spitfire laughed.
"Hey!" Soarin' complained. "She was a really nasty fighter. And she always kicked for the eyes."
The captain sighed.
"I was so weak back then. I didn't even help you."
"No way," Soarin' countered. "I didn't let you because you needed all of your strength to do the street shows. It was how we paid for our bread."
The smile returned to the mare's face but only because she remembered how much they had been a team.
"We really did kill everything that made us who we were. Just so we could live in luxury. Is that why the others don't talk about their pasts either? I kind of wonder if any of the others are like us...going through the motions and pretending like there's nothing under the surface."
"None of that," Soarin' stopped her. "They live how they choose to. Same for us."
Spitfire nodded. She really did need to get up. It was probably already 12:00pm since the two of them had been laying on the floor for so long. It was easy to loose track of time with the old Soarin'. Shifting, she got to her hooves and the stallion had to let her out of his hold.
"It's going to be hard getting to sleep tonight," he remarked as they made their way to the door. "I'll be thinking of the old cardboard that I fixed up to make our 'sleeping quarters.'"
"That's definitely something I'd rather leave in the past," Spitfire grinned. "It was Tartarus when it rained."
"Hey," Soarin' once again complained. "I was the one that got rained on, remember."
It was true. He always gave her the best side of the shelter and caught any other drips with his wings. Celestia, where would she be now if he hadn't been around to give her the will to keep living?
"I'm sorry," she spoke again as they exited his room and made their way into the hotel lobby. "I've treated you like dirt for so long. I just didn't realize it because the change was so gradual."
"I told you to stop already. We both tried to bury it and remake ourselves into ponies we were not. And it's not like we were the only ones back then. I wasn't always there for you. It was only after you recruited me for your team. Remember Low Line?"
"How could I not?" Spitfire joked as she failed to spot Fire Streak among the sparse occupants of the lobby. She looked to the clock and noted there was still some time before noon. "He was the typical Wonder. There one week and then gone the next. But he did have a louder mouth than the others. He'd go on and on about how much attention you gave me when he would get soaked on rainy nights."
"The nerve too. I even built him his own cardboard shanty," Soarin' shook his head as he took a seat with the captain on one of the plush lobby sofas. "Not that I was a saint. I admit I was a little full of it."
"A little? You refused honest jobs because you thought they were 'boring.' And then you joined my pathetic little group because you thought it was interesting."
"And I kind of thought you were hot," Soarin' smirked.
"Did not. I was a dirty alley cat," Spitfire countered.
"You were an angel in disguise," he returned.
A pause held before they both laughed. Neither of them was really serious about the whole matter and the relaxed manner of the reminiscing was putting them at an ease they hadn't felt for a long time. It was the kind of ease that meant they were no longer worried about losing face or wondering what others thought about them. And that was when Fire Streak showed up.
"Tada!" he exclaimed as he practically burst into the lobby. He didn't even have his hooves on the floor, as he was hovering a hoof above it with his wings. "Ready for action, captain!"
They had to get to training now but Spitfire knew that she would have more fun than usual with it. Surprise and the others were fun enough on their own but she would be training with Shiner now and that made it all appealing in a way she hadn't thought of before. And slowly but surely she was letting go of the fear she had been hiding away. The fear of losing the fame and fortune. It felt like she could tackle anything now.
As it turned out, the only thing she could tackle was Fire Streak. He was so bursting with excitement that he kept using the ignition move to spray flares of fire in random directions. He occasionally sustained the fire...by catching the flames on his mane or tail.
"Fire Streak! How many time do I have to tell you to stop?" the captain scolded the stallion as she tackled him to the ground again and quenched the fires that had caught in his mane.
He wouldn't stop giggling like a foal.
"This is just so ridiculously awesome," he laughed. "I love fire!"
Soarin' shook his head as he watched from the side. Fire Streak indeed. Teaching him the Bullet ignition might have been a hazardous decision but it was done and they needed his skill. If only he could be serious about it for more than five seconds.
Surprise was standing opposite of him and she was giving him an odd look. It was as if she was unsure about how to act with him. Well, she always had been shy around everypony. Spitfire might be the only one that knew her very well. The other two Elites, Misty and Silver Lining, were already engaging in post-training stretches nearby.
What it came down to was this: six Wonderbolts had learned the Bullet ignition maneuver and they had reached an average of four-hundred fifty wing-ups per pegasus. One week of strength building and they would be ready for the first practice run. It felt almost unreal for Spitfire. She had gotten used to the Bullet being a distant goal and now she had a full team assembled and was almost within reach of it. And then there was Soarin' and Surprise. They were two ponies that were super close to her but both for very different reasons. They both knew a different version of her and she would have to reconcile them.
But Fire Streak needed to calm down first.
"Sorry," the stallion finally apologized as Spitfire got off of him. "I'll try not to cause an accident."
"As long as I don't have to keep saving you from third-degree burns," the orange mare stated in exasperation. "Misty and Silver Lining are finishing up but since I had to teach you two the ignition," she gestured to Fire Streak and Soarin', "we'll be starting our routines now."
Surprise came up alongside the captain and steeled herself.
"Are Soarin' and Fire Streak going to be the third pair?" she inquired softly.
"Yes. Now take a spot and start. There's no magic to building muscle. Well," she caught herself awkwardly, "not really."
There were few words beyond that as each of the Wonderbolts had to focus their energy on the exercises. No breath was available for idle chatter and it was another forty minutes before they conversed again during the stretches.
"How long will we practice before we hold an event for the Bullet?" Surprise questioned as she sunk into another stretch alongside the captain.
"It depends on how practice goes. Anywhere from a few days to a few weeks," she answered.
Soarin' grinned at the orange mare that was positioned opposite from him on the grass-covered ground.
"I'm hoping for just a few days," he added.
Fire Streak was squinting up into the sun and he seemed to be wondering about something. The moment passed and he looked back down at the other Wonderbolts.
"I just can't wait for practice. It's basically the same whether we do it in front of a crowd or not, right?" the fire-maned stallion enthused.
It was true enough, Spitfire admitted. It should be fun to do even in practice. After all, it would be a sudden burst of speed great enough to ignite flames. What kind of pegasus wouldn't get a kick out of that? But it was Surprise who turned out to be the unconvinced one.
"It's easier without the crowd," the pale mare softly stated with a sheepish tone.
Soarin' just shrugged as he finished another stretch and got to his hooves. It was wind-down time for everypony.
"You've still got some catch up to do, don't you, Fire Streak?" Soarin' teased on a whim.
But the other stallion saw the bait and didn't take it. Instead, he made his own remark.
"You like messing with me, don't you?"
Soarin' widened his eyes in mock shock.
"No," he said sarcastically. "It's fun because I know you just won't up and quit," the blue pegasus explained.
Fire Streak slammed a hoof as a gesture of "I knew it."
"You don't like quitters?" he asked on a similar point of whim.
"I just don't like ponies that don't finish what they start," he said with a grin. And he really did feel that way. Maybe that was why he was happy to stay second to Spitfire. She was a Firefly that never stopped half-way.