Bullets of Fire

by BlackWater

40 - Settling In

She looked out at the crowds. She was the captain of the greatest pegasi team since Commander Hurricane's Typhoon Legion. Or maybe that was just an old mare's tale. In any case, Spitfire was relived to be settled with Blaze since that mare had been the most troublesome in past experiences. She was hot-headed which often led her to bump heads with others. Though Surprise's "accident" was unfortunate, it seemed to have cooled Blaze's jets. Maybe it had cooled all of their jets.

This public performance was not the first for the Bullet. That was tomorrow. Rather, this stage show was just a regular event that the Wonderbolts had in the planning for some time. Canterlot did enjoy its stage dramas. Personally, Spitfire could do without them but she nevertheless acknowledged how valuable such shows were for her own team. They tended to take the edge off the pegasi, breaking up the high-tension high-risk stunt shows.

The announcer pony was on stage, giving the audience the introduction to the story. This time, it was something about the fall and resurgence of Equestria. Typical drama.

"And thus the princess left to defend her subjects, leaving Shadowline to care for..." the announcer continued to script in theatrical style. It just went on and on until Spitfire heard the appropriate cues. "Silence!"

"Shadowline!" the captain called as she glided onto the stage from the left. "I'm sorry! It was my fault! Please take me instead and spare my family!"

"Only if you give your life!" barked an infuriated Soarin' playing the part of Shadowline. He was enjoying the role just a tad too much. "You deserve only death for what you have done! And your family as well!"

It went on to the parts where Blaze and Fleetfoot joined in and begged for mercy. Lightning Streak and Rapidfire cowered in fear to one side as Soarin' began his fight against Silver Lining, who ultimately lost. Misty had a morning scene and the story went on to a rather dreary end. Such was the formula of that variety of Canterlot stage drama. Soarin' was laughing as he exited to backstage along with the others.

"I swear they all blur together," he chuckled.

Spitfire couldn't help but make as quiet a shambling as possible since she was still wearing the chains that were a part of her last costume.

"I don't remember ever being led away into slavery though," she mumbled.

"Oh that was the best part," the lead stallion grinned as he leaned over onto the mare. "My little pegasus slave..."

Spitfire rolled her eyes as Silver Lining cleaned the red paint from his coat and remarked about how Soarin' actually wanted to be an evil overlord.

"C'mon. Who doesn't want to be master of the universe? Especially if it means you can have Spitfire clean your laundry and wash your dishes."

That got him a smack on the side from the captain. He just kept grinning.

"Why do they all have to end so badly?" Silver Lining wondered aloud.

Misty came up to help him with his coat. "I think it's a cultural thing."

"Culture, heh. That seems to be the excuse for a lot of sub-par old plays and books," Lightning Streak complained as he was struggling out of his torn peasant costume.

Blaze was conversing with some of the others across the room so it wasn't until she walked over that Spitfire noticed the mare was in a rather good mood. Only her mood was a reflection of another's. Fleetfoot was walking alongside her with her own smile, which prompted the question.

"Good news?" Spitfire inquired.

"More than good," Fleetfoot whispered as she came up alongside the other orange mare. "Rapidfire and I have been spending some quality time together and he told me earlier this morning that he really likes me. As in 'be my marefriend' likes me," the mare gave an additional but covert squeal of excitement.

Spitfire facehoofed. So much for the "business" relationships.

"And why are you happy?" the captain looked to Blaze.

The mare raised her brows, dropped them, and looked away. "I should be happy for others, right?"

It seemed Blaze still had Surprise's incident on her mind. She was usually more judgmental of others. Perhaps she really was changing.

"All the sunshine in Equestria isn't going to make things right between the two of you. Why do you like each other?" High Winds cut in, walking over to the trio. It was a blunt and simple question that she voiced in a low enough tone only to be heard by the three.

"Well..." Fleetfoot started.

It felt like regular old times with the girls, so Spitfire's mind drifted to thinking that she was rather content with things as they were. Only one thing bugged her still. She needed to visit the hospital after they were done with things backstage.

Perhaps she had been too hopeful once again. Spitfire expected to see Surprise awake but instead found the mare asleep as usual. The pain, at least, was gone from her face. She looked almost peaceful as the captain walked up to the side of the hospital bed.

"Hey," Spitfire whispered to the whitish pegasus. She didn't stir. "When you wake up, there's a lot that I need to tell you. So don't stay asleep for too long, okay?"

As Spitfire brushed her hoof across one of Surprise's forelegs, the unconscious pony rolled a bit in her direction. A sparkle came to Spitfire's eye before fading once again. The mare wasn't about to wake up.

"I'll always be around for you," the orange pegasus said as she got up to leave. "Even when you don't think that I will be."

"Tomorrow?" Misty asked as she shared a single glass of pink lemonade with Silver Lining. They were at another low-key cafe that High Winds had told Misty about. That fashionista sure did get around. And yet it was not a common occurrence to bump into her around the city. Images of High Winds dressed in a ninja costume began to cloud Misty's mind before she shook them away to make room once more for matters at hoof.

"Why not?" Silver Lining asked back in that casual tone of voice he often used with her and nopony else. "Everypony's going to be tired after the performance and it's not like we'll be gone for very long. Lake Till is only far enough to be safe from the crowds. It'll be nice."

"I suppose so," the mare considered with some thought. It seemed like spending so much time with Silver Lining had taken her energy down a notch. It was not really a bad thing but the stallion's more calm life style was indeed different. Shrugging it off as too much thought and not enough action, she gave her okay. "What should I bring?"

"Anything you want to. Though I don't imagine there's anything that you'll really need. I'll bring all of the usual picnic supplies and some extra desserts too," he happily formulated the plan.

"I kind of feel bad for Spitfire though," Misty brought up a more serious subject. "I don't think she plans a vacation anytime soon. She was really close to Surprise..."

"Now, now," Silver Lining waived his hoof in dismissal. "There's nothing we can do about that. Besides," he paused as he suddenly took an interest in a nearby flower pot.

"Besides what?" the mare encouraged when Silver Lining didn't continue.

"Well...nothing," he insisted on dropping whatever it was he was going to say.

Misty was not going to let something so obvious slide. She was interested in hearing anything that the stallion suddenly felt better not to tell. Being an "item" gave her all the reason that she believed that she needed. "Well, everything. What were you going to say?"

Silver Lining looked sheepish at first, took a small sip of the lemonade, and started slow. "You know how there seems to be...well...a love bug in the air?"

"Your talking about Fleetfoot and Rapidfire?" Misty guessed.

He nodded minutely, "It's not just them. I've noticed some couples around the city that just weren't there before and I have a little theory about that. It's got to have some truth to it since even Spitfire seems to have something going on."

"Spitfire?!" Misty spit out the lemonade that she had just taken a sip of. Luckily, Silver Lining had a handkerchief handy to wipe himself off with. "The captain?"

"Well that's the thing. I can't be sure with that mare. I don't think anypony really knows what she feels for who. After all, she doesn't treat other ponies the way most ponies do. Friends, enemies, coworkers. There's just something off about how she acts around everypony. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying anything bad about her. She's just different."

Misty lowered her head a bit in agreement. There certainly was something different about Spitfire. Perhaps it was related to her past but good luck to anypony who wanted to figure it out. From what Misty knew, Spitfire's past was as unique as it was complicated. "So you have a theory?" she decided to get back on track.

"Something like that," he suddenly took on a smile. "You see, Princess Cadance is currently in Canterlot on some royal business. You heard about her special talent?"

"Love, right? It sounds cheesy but it's probably true. I've met ponies with talents far more unbelievable," she mused and then took another drink from the lemonade's heart-looped straw.

"I happened to overhear some Royal Guards talking to each other. I don't think they knew I was passing by," he remarked.

This sounded shady to Misty but she couldn't bring herself to believe that he intentionally eavesdropped on some guards. Such a thing was probably not possible even if it was in the pegasus' nature to do so, which is wasn't.

"They were talking about how Princess Cadance was in an unusually giddy mood last night. Apparently, she said something that indicated she had been practicing some of her wide-range magic," he continued.

"Oh dear," Misty covered her mouth.

Silver Lining grinned again. "I guess you're thinking what I'm thinking."

"But her magic isn't like mind-control, right? It just brings out something that was already there," Misty tried to explain.

The stallion shrugged. "Could be. But who knows? That kind of magic probably gets into heavy philosophy when you analyze the composition."

"Philosophy? Composition?" Misty suddenly countered. "So that's what that book was for. I was wondering why you had that thick tome checked out of the library."

"It's interesting reading," the stallion defended himself. "I thought we might look it over together just for fun. Take it on our picnic."

Finally, Misty gave a giggle. "I suppose it might be fun. Does it list anything related to pegasi?"

"We'll find out," Silver Lining beamed as he went to take another sip of lemonade. He accidentally bumped noses with Misty, who also went to take a drink. Blushing, they both decided to get up from the table and begin their preparation for the next day's picnic.

"You need to stop making losing bets, Lulu," Princess Celestia rolled her eyes at her dark-coated sister. The Princess of the Night was seated across from her, laying upon a cushion in the royal garden. It was a lazy afternoon for the both of them, which didn't happen often.

"How could I resist, Celly? And it was not a losing bet," Luna argued. "Cadance is far too powerful for her age."

"Power has nothing to do with it, sister," the white alicorn giggled. "You simply believe you are older and thus superior in terms of magical ability."

Luna looked away from her sibling and puffed up one cheek in rebellion. "But I am better with magic."

Celestia grew a sudden and dramatic smirk. Luna was so much fun to play with. "Cadance has a husband now. I'm sure it's quite easy for her to use love magic that requires an actual love interest. Perhaps you could prove your ability against her if you..."

"NEVER!" Luna suddenly whipped her head around and shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice, already getting a rosy tint on her face.

Celestia giggled once more. "It doesn't have to be real," the alicorn lied a bit. "Perhaps one of the guards would be willing to be a test subject for a few experiments."

"What kind of experiments, dear sister?" Luna asked, taking on a dark expression that made her look ill.

"Oh, you know. Just a candlelight dinner. Maybe sharing a plate of spaghetti. And then when you are down to the last noodle-"

BAM!

Luna threw her cushion at her sister's face and hid beneath her hooves. "Stop it, Celly!" she begged, obviously blushing once more.

Oh, Luna was indeed so much fun to play with.