Bullets of Fire

by BlackWater

11 - Changing Pace

So why was the sender's name missing from all of those letters?" Silver Lining asked his companion.

"Because Red Tulip isn't as great as our fans think?" Rapidfire said blandly. They had run into a flier early on in their city-wide investigation and quickly found the true identity of 'Red Tulip.' They were both upset at being spammed by the business but they were also a tad disappointed that it didn't turn out to be a very exciting search. In the end, they just wound up taking a leisurely walk around the city while attempting with varying success to keep from being swamped by fans. They were mostly successful in this, since they both had experience in such matters.

"It can't be legal," Silver continued. "I mean, it's just begging for massive abuse. Anypony can get flooded by advertisements or even...dangerous mail."

Rapidfire sighed. They may not have been out long but it was still a tiring experience. He chose a bistro they were passing by and lead them to it. It was a fancy place but only a few ponies were there. It was ideal since Rapidfire didn't feel like being spotted by a fan. Thankfully, he and Silver were not as easily spotted because of their lower positions within the Wonderbolts. Having Silver Lining around was still a problem with the mares, though. They idolized him more than any of the other stallion members if Rapidfire had any say in it. It was annoying and-

"So what are we going to do about this?" Silver interrupted his thoughts as he waved a red letter he had taken with them.

A dark purple mare walked up to them and, wearing a vest with the bistro's logo, could only be their waitress. "Two? Interior seating?" she asked in a smooth tone of voice that lacked the Canterlot snob but made up for it in corporate drawl.

"We'll take a booth," Silver answered before Rapidfire, who felt like shoving the grey stallion for grabbing the mare's attention. He really didn't want a 'fanisode.'

The waitress, by some dumb luck, didn't recognize the 'Bolt and simply led them through the bistro to a booth near the back. Once seated, they ordered a few drinks and Silver got back to the matter at hoof. "Well?"

Rapidfire took a sip of his soda. "We'll just drop off a notice at the city office. Let them take care of it."

Silver Lining was less optimistic about it but nodded as he did a double-take on his surroundings. He never recalled coming to this particular restaurant but it had a very nice feel. It was bright outside but it was actually quite dim where they had been seated. It was a nice atmosphere so Silver made a brief compliment to his friend for choosing an inside booth.

Rapidfire yawned and lazily stirred up his drink with the straw in it. "Looked okay from the outside," he half-replied.

The smooth grain of the deep mahogany table was oddly warm under Silver's front hooves. He grasped the cup of tea that he had ordered. "Well now we've got nothing to do and the guys have probably run off to do something fun without us."

"Disappointed about Tulip?"

"What do you mean?" Silver asked quizzically as Rapidfire finally looked up from his drink.

The stallion smirked. "You wanted it to be some go-crazy fanmare. Admit it."

Silver Lining grimaced, "Well it would have been more interesting than this."

"Oh I get it! You don't like being around me anymore. Fine then. I'll just leave!" Rapidfire shouted as he nearly threw himself out of the booth. A tear leapt from his eye and soaked the table he was departing. He took two steps away from the table and then looked back.

Both stallions started laughing hysterically.

Silver Lining was almost in tears as his friend resumed his seat. "You do that....so well."

"Oh yeah. I'm rather proud of my moody marefriend routine," Rapidfire joked with a huge grin plastered across his face.

"It's just so...painful," the grey pegasus remarked.

Rapidfire grabbed the dessert menu as if his life depended on it. "What is? Getting blindsided when the mood bracelet is showing the wrong color?"

"You going to make fun of me too?" Silver asked sardonically.

"I'm not poking fun. I'm serious and besides...you were thinking of asking our waitress when she gets off for the day. Maybe try and make it a double date so you don't have to ditch your precious teammate." Rapidfire didn't remove his gaze from the menu as he stared greedily at a chocolate cookie and ice cream special.

Silver was speechless but only for a moment. "How do you know my thoughts?" he asked suspiciously.

Rapidfire didn't pause for a second even as he looked to see if the waitress was nearby so that he could order the dessert. "I don't. I just make a probable guess. I've known you long enough to know your tastes - most of them. I'm just grateful you're a gentlecoat and never cause trouble with your dates."

Silver Lining stuck his head upwards, "I'm the model pony."

"Minus the occasional ego," Rapidfire mumbled under his breath.

The waitress finally started coming back to check on their drinks and Rapidfire took his chance to get the chocolatey prize. Silver Lining started growing a grin but a microsecond glare from his teammate made him think twice. Trying to shrug off the disappointment, he decided to order another of "what he's having."

"Well that took long enough," Wave Chill complained as he dove almost face first into the grass.

"It's everypony for themselves," Fire Streak hollered as he dove once again into the forest near their dirt fort.

The group of four stallions had stretched themselves on the ground after being exhausted by too many games. Fire Streak had started it all once again by asking for Wave Chill's paintball equipment. They considered it a passable bit of fun since Silver Lining and Rapidfire had gone missing. The two stallions only left a note saying that they were out on some mission to save Equestria. The back of the note said "or Silver's psychological safety."

"Not again, Fire," Soarin' tried to yell after his teammate. It was too late but the stallion would soon find the others were not following. "It's not even dinner time and I'm tired."

"Yeah. One paintball run was fun but ten is pushing it," Lightning wheezed. "I didn't even finish healing up from yesterday. Fire's got to be made of pure energy..."

Wave Chill consented. "Except when there's real work involved."

"Speaking of which...?" Lighting Streak prompted as he looked over to Soarin'.

Soarin' just looked blankly back for an awkward moment before stirring. "Oh! Yeah. I think Fleetfoot said we were back on...um...Saturday?"

The other stallions groaned simultaneously. "I can't take Fire for another two days!" Lightning protested.

Wave Chill pointed to their vice-captain, "You're choosing pasttimes from now on."

Lightning dragged his body across the ground until he was within reach of one of their water bottles. He started draining it as Soarin' gave a suggestion for their next course of action. "How about we chill at Apple's?"

"Still lovin' the apple pastries, Soarin'?" Wave Chill nudged him.

"They're the best!" he beamed.

A sound slowly started coming into range of the three stallions. It started in low but the droning soon increased. It was the unending buzz of Fire Streak's complaining as he slowly trotted back to his three "lazy" friends. None of the other stallions wanted to hear it so they mustered what energy they could and started off in the opposite direction - towards Apple's Bakery Lounge.

"Your highness," a burnt red unicorn approached the throne where Celestia was currently seated. It was business as usual for the alicorn, who sighed at this 367th issue that had come up. Maybe she was exaggerating but it certainly felt like she had handled a thousand matters already. The unicorn, one of the many court messengers, gave her the letter summarizing the 'urgent' issue. Apparently, some pony at the Equestrian Postal Service had taken a bribe to send unauthorized mail through the special Royal Post. The Royal was a small subsection of the far greater Equestrian Postal Service and was specified only for certain high-ranking officers. It was to ensure swift delivery of critical messages. However, it was currently being bogged down by mail that was not supposed to be going through it. It was suspicious that the mail couriers hadn't recognized the massive flux in volume. Office bullying was likely to blame.

Celestia summoned one of the other court messengers, as the red unicorn had already taken off for additional work. "Go to the Postmaster and tell him to rectify the situation on pain of investigation. I want the one who made the bribe and the one who accepted it incarcerated until court three days from now. Get reports from all members of the Royal Post regarding the situation. Make sure to tell him who gave the order."

The messenger cringed at the strictness but went off to deliver the message all the same. Even before he left, another messenger - this time a purple pegasus - approached the Princess. There were so many matters to handle that Celestia couldn't afford to be light-hoofed in them. Taking the bribery lightly would only cause more problems in the future. She accepted the next letter and read it. It was another summary of an issue as recorded by the neat pen of the court scribe. Whatever that mare was being paid, it wasn't enough. The alicorn couldn't fathom how she could write these summaries so quickly. She probably had a cutie mark for speedy writing.

This next issue involved a matter in one of the Canterlot performance halls. Celestia recognized it as one that the popular DJ PON-3 frequented. It amazed her, in spite of her years, that the other court members couldn't handle these issues. Why was she being buried in court problems when more important things demanded her attention?

She dictated a response and sent the messenger off. As the next pony approached the throne, Celestia widened her eyes. It was Luna, her sister. "You're supposed to be getting some sleep," Celestia scolded.

Luna's eyes looked every bit as tired as she probably was. "The mayor won't let me," she complained. "The city office is getting flooded with reports about 'Red Tulip.'"

Celestia groaned. "I told him not to bother us when we're sleeping."

"Celly, he said one of the Wonderbolts dropped off a complaint. You heard anything from your new friend?"

"Sh! Don't talk about that here," she whispered to her sister. She gave a thought before she continued, "I haven't heard anything about it. I sent Spitfire off earlier to talk things over with her new...wingmare. I'm not sure when they'll get back."

Luna yawned. "Kay kay," she replied.

Ignoring her sister's horrifying terminology and the nervous-looking court messengers that started lining up into a long column behind her, Celestia just continued whispering. "Were you really trying to sleep?"

"Huh?"

"Lulu...what did I say about losing sleep to play your video games?"

Luna giggled a bit too cheerfully. Clearly she was in the twilight zone of happiness that was only possible after extreme loss of shut-eye. "You said it right this time."

Celestia almost sighed but caught herself since she had been doing it far too much in the past hour. "That's it," her voice raised above a whisper. "Your big sis is going to show you how to sleep!"

Luna's gaming addiction: court issue #369. Celestia ordered one of the court officers, who was also buried in messengers, to handle her line-up and then departed the court room. There were moments when Luna seemed so mature that she could permanently take Celestia's place on the throne. Then there were moments like these. As she dragged her giggly sleep-deprived sister to her room, she promised herself that she would hire somepony to take her place as ruler. Perhaps then she would have the time to properly deal with her sister.

Comments

[Celestias Paladin]

1391485
Remember what Twilight says, "Everypony in town is crazy", course I think Celestia has bit of an excuse, being alive as long as she has is bound to make anypony nutbars, though she is mellow about it.
I retract my previous statement about the EPS, I stand corrected.