Shift stood before himself in the mirror, turning his head to see if he'd groomed himself appropriately for the visit to his parents. Well, just this one day, and then he would be hassle-free for another year, right? He slicked back his mane, trying to make sure he didn't leave any unsightly clumps. Satisfied with himself, he nodded and walked downstairs.
The sun shone clearly through his dining room window. He could see several of the other early riser mailponies working, delivering their mail to various locales within Canterlot. Post had given him a good deal of time off already for this visit, although he had a sneaking suspicion that the aged supervisor wouldn't be too against the idea of giving Shift the entire year off, if need be.
He walked outside, looking into the sky, watching the early morning blue skies be tinged with a touch of orange, and a little gray from the wisps of clouds that swirled around the landscape. Locking his door, he curtly stuffed the key in his travel vest and began his preparations to take off: this time involving a bit more focus than most due to the nature of the visit. He shook his head quickly, bringing his mind up to speed as he felt the cool morning mist bite at him. With no further hesitation, he took to the skies, veering for Manehattan.
As he cruised high in the skies above the green lands, he felt a rising calm within him. The sky, much as it had been when he first started flying, was his ever-present companion, a haven high above the ground and the clouds, where he could just simply just think. The clouds and sunlight greeted him for stretches of flying as he quickly began his slow descent as he passed over the city of Manehattan.
The city, to any untrained pegasi, would have been completely impossible to navigate, due to its winding streets and close-knit buildings. The only points of reference were places like the aerodrome, the post office, or the park, and even then, direct addresses could be a pain to reach. Shift didn't have much problem, however, as he clearly remembered his parents' residence: a small two-story building on the corner, just three blocks down from the park.
He quickly dove into a spiral as he prepared to land. Normally, pegasi aren't usually allowed to fly in the skies above cities since a work license was required in order to do so, but Shift had his mailpony license. He liked being able to fly over the cities at any time he wanted to, and there was always little traffic to deal with since only workers used the skies.
He quickly checked his appearance again, ignoring the minor glances from the bustling ponies on the street behind him, before walking up the small set of stairs to the plainly painted white door. Waiting a moment to collect his nerves, he raised his hoof to knock, hoping dearly that his father wouldn't answer the door... he sighed and gave a quick three taps.
Rose Petal opened the door, smiling at the sight of her son. "Oh, Shift! Please, come in!"
"Hello, mom. I take it things have been well?" He hung up his travel vest on the nearby hangar, turning to his mom as she quickly dusted off the porch before stepping back inside.
"Yes, things have been fine, as well," she laughed. "How are you, Shift? Have you had any troubles, any problems, at home?"
"Nothing that I can't deal with myself," he said. "So, is... dad... ready to go out?"
"He'll be down in a moment. We already have a reservation for the restaurant planned out in advance. You liked the Sunshine Afternoon Salad, right?"
"Yes, mom," he joked. "That's the one I like. I also like having my drink served in a cup with a bendy straw and my strawberry sherbet served to me in a plastic bowl with the royal guard toys I liked so much."
They heard the sound of hooves tapping against the wooden stairs, and before long, the profile of Signed Pages stood at the top. He and Shift met each other's gaze, and it was if the air around the house had suddenly become deathly cold. It wouldn't have been too far out of the situation to say that they were practically staring daggers at each other.
"Shift," Pages said.
"Dad," Shift responded.
More silence for several moments until Rose decided to give a nervous laugh, clearing her throat. "Uh... let's head out now!"
"Sure."
"Yeah."
The response had come at the same time, and it was hard to tell who had said what, but Shift decided to break off the staring contest before the situation became dangerously volatile.
"Well, let's not keep ourselves waiting, shall we?" He opened the door for his mother. "Wouldn't want us to end up hungry now, right?" His father trotted down the stairs and out the open door as Shift held a straight face, before giving the house a final closing glance. His mother locked the door and then they were on their way to the restaurant.
"So, Shift, has anything interesting happened lately?" Rose asked.
"Oh, you know, the usual. Just running first-class mail across Equestria. It's surprising how many ponies actually use first-class mail: I can usually stay out for the better part of a day just delivering!"
"I'm sure you get a lot of time to do what you love to do, dear. I can imagine there's plenty of time for flying between cities." Shift's mother was walking in the center of their group, separating him and his father, and most likely for good reason. Pages listened to the conversation with detached interest as they continued down the city street.
"Yeah, I get lots of time, actually. It's nice to be able to see... well, everything. I think I'm one of the few ponies in Equestria who can say that he can literally visit every city there is through his own effort."
Rose laughed, sharing in her son's enthusiasm for flying. "So, a year away is a lot of time. Break any new records lately?"
"Not recently," he smiled. "If only somepony would do a delivery from Stalliongrad to Appleloosa, then things would be a lot more interesting, but nopony has done that yet..."
"Mixing business and pleasure again, I see," Pages said.
"Not like you'd even know how to do that in the first place," Shift immediately retorted.
"Please, you two, not here of all places..." Rose whispered to them. They had been earning more curious glances from other ponies around the street. The restaurant was within viewing distance right now, so it was probably for the best to not instigate something where they would happen to be at for a while.
As usual, not wanting to be the one ruining the mood, Shift conceded. "That's fine. Now let's something to eat. I'm famished," he said, fighting against his urging nature to accentuate the last word to spite his father's more proper form of speech.
"I agree," Rose said. "Oh, look, and they're having a deal today, lowered prices on everything on account of the Wonderbolts show coming up next month! Isn't that fantastic, dear?" she asked Pages.
"Very smart. Trying to build up more customers so they can hold them over when the show comes, perhaps even spread through word of mouth and get even more paying customers in." Shift nearly cringed at the way his father casually initiated business talk. In his youth, he'd actually liked it, but as the years went by, it eventually became one of the many factors in Shift's rebellious attitude, most notably for being less dad-like and more... cold.
"Indeed, dear, but hopefully there won't be too many inside! I hope they still have a table available." Shift had to admire his mother's ability to defuse almost every precarious situation that his father put them into. It was most certainly a skill she had nearly honed to an art over their years of marriage.
"How's life in Canterlot? I assume you're still in contact with old Keeper there?" Rose laughed. They had found a table, an empty one, near the corner of the restaurant. It was a little bit hard to hold a conversation with the din of the packed tables around them, but noise was never really one to deter Rose from making small talk.
"Yeah, he actually still runs Weststratus, believe it or not," Shift said. "I even spent some time with old Skillet there just a few days back. You remember him, right?"
"Oh, yes," Rose laughed. "He was always the odd sort. His food is amazing, but he can certainly be... eccentric, at times. I know you spent some time apprenticing with him for a while."
The waiter stopped by and delivered their drinks: water for Rose and Shift, with a small glass of wine for Pages. Shift gave a courteous nod before the waiter bowed his head and returned to his duties.
"Yes, I did," Shift continued. "It's surprising that he even remembered that I liked making those cheese-and-spinach sandwiches. I definitely had weird tastes back then when I was a colt."
"You did well with him," Pages interjected. "You did make Weststratus' most iconic dish, after all... the Canterlot Medley Sandwich." Shift raised an eyebrow at his father's comment: that had been such a long time ago, and it was because he had been hungry and decided to mix together a random hodgepodge of ingredients and some sauces and slapped it between two pieces of toast.
Skillet had found him in the process of eating it and demanded a bite from it himself, and from that, history was made. Shift had opted to not be given credit for the work, instead wanting it to be credited to Weststratus as a whole. It soon became the 'worker's sandwich' as it quickly caught on with ponies all over the city. It still amused Shift that the whole reason why Skillet had picked him up as an apprentice was not for his cooking skill, but rather his spontaneity with making some of the most random and interesting foods; something that Skillet apparently loved to do himself.
"Indeed, dear," Rose said. "Our little Shift has grown up so well! He's arguably the fastest pegasi in Canterlot! You've seen his performance evaluations, right? It's a wonder how he hasn't been promoted to office manager yet!"
"Mom, Post still holds that job," Shift said.
"Oh, really? That old stallion's still sitting at that desk, reading the newspaper every morning! Really, and here I thought you were one-of-a-kind, Shift," Rose laughed. "Post's had that job for years now, don't you know? Always keeps saying that he's fine with doing all that sort of thing, much like yourself. It pays nicely and he gets to enjoy quiet mornings, he told me. He even called it his pre-retirement retirement!"
"I guess that explains why we get along pretty well."
Pages cleared his throat. "Now on to the matter at hand..."
"Sure, dad, what did you want to speak about?" Shift had to choose his words carefully now, lest he end up in another argument. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to say much, since the waiter showed up with their food. The salad would be useful in stuffing his mouth so all he would have to do is nod or shake his head, or shrug.
"I know we've had our difference in the past..." he began. Shift looked at his mom, who merely gave a worried smile and a quick shrug. "...but I would like to let you know that I still love you as a son, and as a father who wants to see his son happy, I want you to be successful. I know how much you love flying in the sky, and I'd like to talk to you about finding a job pertaining to that."
Shift swallowed a mouthful of greens. "Dad, we've been over this already... I'm fine with my mailpony job. I don't need something that makes me more bits, and I'd rather not have to deal with more of your... clients, either." Most of the job offerings that his father had put forward for him had involved dealing with ponies as equally dense as his father was. Most scoffed at Shift's wanted preference for just sticking with a job they thought was 'the bottom rung of the ladder'.
"I know, I know," Pages quickly reassured. "I just thought you might want to try for something different this time around, so I took the liberty of asking for a few things here and there..."
"Please, dad, don't tell me that you signed me up for another job posting without telling me again." Shift hated it when his father did that: it was usually done without his permission, and Shift hated not being in control of his life.
"Don't worry, it's nothing of the sort. It's a job that involves primarily flying, lots of air time, and lots of traveling."
"Traveling?" There usually weren't many jobs that had 'traveling' as part of the description... and those that did were usually already taken by other ponies who were usually more qualified to fill in other qualifications for the job than he did. "Just what kind of job are we talking about here?"
Pages cleared his throat, and then smiled. "Well, son... I took the liberty of signing you up for an audition with the Wonderbolts!"
Shift held a neutral face, but inside, his mind just shifted into overtime. Him? Wonderbolts? Audition? Was that why... that was what Spitfire was asking him about: about whether or not he had 'something else' going on! As the Captain, she was the lead judge for the auditions! She knew about this! She'd seen his name on the roster! He could feel his heart sink as continued thinking on it further.
He had never told his father that he hated being in the spotlight. Could Shift really fault him for not knowing something that he'd only told Spitfire? His heart and mind were in turmoil as he tried to think the most proper response to the situation, over his instinctive cries that this was a blatant violation of his personal rights and his absolute distaste of being seen in the public eye.
"...and, really, it was something amazing!" Pages laughed. "Here, I was, literally speaking face-to-face with the manager of the Wonderbolts! He said he'd heard of me before, how I kept all the Cloudsdale weather teams afloat by cutting through all that paperwork, that he'd repay me for keeping the city afloat! It was the most amazing coincidence ever, I tell you!" It was rare that Shift ever saw his father as happy as he was now... and he actually resented the idea of actually ruining the mood.
"That's amazing!" Rose said. "You never told me about this, dear..."
Pages winked at her. "I wanted to make it a surprise." He smiled back at Shift, who had merely taken to sipping his drink very, very slowly. "The audition is coming up in two weeks, son, so maybe you can take some time off work and really spread your wings! And not only that, it's a really special audition: you're considered a top priority applicant, so you get your own personal appointment with the judges and extended demonstration time with them! You don't even have to show up to their general audition since the applicant auditions take place before them!"
"Really, dear, this is amazing! Can you imagine it? Our son, a Wonderbolt?" Rose cheered.
"And I know he's got more than enough talent to knock those judges out of the park!" Pages laughed. "So, son, what do you think?"
Oh, Celestia help him.
"I think it's... a nice gesture..."
"You... don't seem to be as excited as I thought you would be."
Shift sighed, deciding to take the direct and honest route about this. "Dad, I don't like being in the spotlight. In fact, I actually hate it. If I ever had the nerve of being able to perform in front of hundreds of ponies, being a Wonderbolt would have been the first job I would have taken."
Pages raised his head, about to say something, but then sat back, thinking over his son's response before slowly nodding. "I... understand, son. It's your choice, but... hay, this is going to be awkward to take back..." He rubbed the back of his head.
"No, you don't have to... actually... I have an idea." Shift remembered that he was going to ask Rainbow Dash to coach her in preparation for the Wonderbolt auditions. If she could have more than just getting in with the rest at the general auditions... "Could you... change the name you signed on it?"
"Well, I don't think it'll be too hard, son. What do you have in mind?"
"I... I have this friend, see... she's a really competitive pony, and she loves flying, and she loves the Wonderbolts. She actually told me that she wanted to join them someday."
"I can tell where this is going," Pages laughed. "So you want me to sign her up for it instead of you?"
"Oh, is our little Shift finally getting into a relationship? Perhaps you two are closer than I thought, to want to do something like this for just a friend," Rose giggled, a sentiment that even Pages shared.
Shift could feel himself blushing. "No, it's not like that, mom! Gosh, you two are just... okay, nevermind! Dad, do you think you can put down 'Rainbow Dash' on the roster in my place?"
"Oh, dear!" Rose put a hoof to her mouth. "Her? She's the one you're trying to get in? Oh, Shift, you're making this so much more interesting than you think... To think you'd end up with the winner of the Best Young Flyer competition!"
He rolled his eyes. "I told you already, it's nothing like that. She's just a friend that I had already planned on coaching for the auditions. If she can have more than just a single audition, it would be much appreciated."
"That sounds a bit strenuous, don't you think? Shift, have you ever coached anypony before?" Rose asked. "It's going to take a lot of work to do so...."
"I think I can handle it. After all, I did coach Spitfire before she got into the Wonderbolts, after all."
"Oh, Spitfire, that nice little filly from down at Three Block Way in Canterlot? She was always such a sweet girl, even if she did get into trouble often," Rose said. "Wait... you mean her? Spitfire? As in... Spitfire... the Captain of the Wonderbolts... that Spitfire? You coached her?"
Shift nodded happily. "Yeah, and you won't believe how long it took for her to perfect her audition move. Really, if I hadn't pointed out that she kept spinning too quickly, I think she would have been seriously hurt! Her Sunbolt was always a bit unstable like that, I suppose, but like I kept telling her: technique! It's all about the technique."
Pages roared with laughter. "Well, I can't say that I can complain if my son trained one of the best Wonderbolts out there! Really, after the... um..." he cleared his throat. "...the incident with the flight camp, we'd thought you stopped talking to her altogether. I'm glad to see that wasn't the case."
"Yeah. We still stuck together, even after she came back from Cloudsdale. Really, dad..." Shift leaned his head in, giving Pages a wary eye. "...what's gotten into you? You're... different."
"Your father had a little epiphany recently," Rose said. "Something about him being not enough of a dad, which is something that he only realized after he properly retired and we had our little talk, hmm?" she asked Pages, leaning into him with a sly grin.
"Yes... well... son... I know we've not always been on good terms, but I'd like to say that I'm sorry. Right now. If you'd accept... that is." He looked away. "I know that won't make up all the times I've been... you know... but I hope we can mend our relationship."
"Indeed," Rose said, wearing a smile that would best be described as terrifying to any married stallion. "See now, dear, was that so hard?" she said, hugging him while Pages blushed. Shift had severely underestimated his mother's ability to keep his father in check. "Really, you can both be so stubborn sometimes..."
Shift's gaze switched between the two as they casually engaged in playful conversation, sipping on his drink. Really, who actually ran the family at this point was anypony's guess right about now.
"Shh, your father's asleep in his study," Rose said, closing the second-floor door. Shift had left to visit the Manehattan Aerodrome in advance before the show, and stopped around town to pick up some supplies on behalf of his father, as well as delivering a few letters pertaining to the favor discussed earlier.
They'd actually had an open heart-to-heart following their conversation at the restaurant, and had cleared up their misunderstandings for each other. It would seem that once his father hit his retirement phase, he began to realize, with some more... direct hints from his mother, that maybe Shift just wanted to live his life without having to work towards a weekly deadline much like he had.
"So..." The two entered the kitchen, where Rose began to make two cups of hot chocolate. "...any... mare problems recently?"
"No, mom, nothing of the sort." He sat down at the table and looked out the window. The sun was just beginning to set now.
"Oh? You're in your prime age right now, Shift. You should really consider putting yourself on the market."
"Post has said that to me so many times already..."
"Then I guess he has more sense than you do at the moment. Really, you're not doing yourself any favors just locking yourself away in your own job and your own hobbies. Not even the Wonderbolts have such an obsession with the sky like you do." She began pouring the hot chocolate into two mugs on the kitchen table, before bringing the pitcher away towards the stove.
Shift said nothing, merely pulling the mug towards him and taking a small sip.
"Shift..." Rose said. "Your father's concern with your job had more than one... for him, it was about the money, about you trying to live as comfortably as you can... obviously, money doesn't mean happiness for you... but for me, it was about trying to get you out... meet others, make friends. I know you love your job, and you love the flying, but it's so horribly... isolated, and we want to see you happy... and not alone."
"Mm-hmm," Shift responded. "I'm just... having some problems with that, really..."
"Oh, no... this is about... that again, isn't it?" She stared down into her mug. "I'd thought you'd gotten over it..."
"I know, but it's just... gosh, I've been infatuated with her for Celestia knows how long..." He rubbed his nose, now unusually aware of every little twitch and action his body made, nervous to be speaking about this.
"Have you ever asked her? Again, that is."
"Not since that time long ago."
"You should just let it go, Shift... perhaps you won't be able to... be with her... and I know she's practically the spitting image of the mare of your dreams, but... it's not healthy to hold on to such a thing for so long..." Rose whispered.
Shift lowered his head as he stared at his reflection at the brown shimmering liquid in his mug. When he was young, his mother had found him at home one day, locked in his room, but strangely without an argument with his father prior to slamming his door. She'd checked on him only to find him sobbing into his pillow, unwilling to speak for quite a while... it had taken hours before he finally came forth with his problems.
He had a crush on Spitfire. At the time, it just seemed to be a silly foal's crush on another, usually the kind of elementary things that children grew out of by the time they went to flight camp, but Shift had been serious... no, more than serious, almost dedicated, to being Spitfire's special somepony. When he'd asked her one day, she turned him down, and that broke his heart.
Rose was sure that Spitfire wasn't really aware of what she was saying during the time, but the damage had been done: Shift was reluctant to talk to other mares after that, especially Spitfire, and compounded with his increasingly solitary lifestyle, he eventually became a loner. Rose was actually distraught at hearing that most of Shift's current acquaintances were only ponies that he'd met while he was younger, like Skillet or Keeper, or just coworkers, like Derpy and Post. He was socially starving himself, almost unconsciously so.
Shortly following his confession, he turned to the sky, finding the only source of confidence and pride he had in that. He eventually recovered, seemingly grown out of his crush phase, but now Rose saw that he only hid it further, not out of mind, only out of sight. He could talk to other ponies again, but the thought of what had happened during those days still held with him.
"I... I'm not giving up," Shift whispered.
"Hmm?" Rose had been thinking, as well, only stirring at hearing her son speak.
"I said I'm not giving up. I'm going to ask her again. After the performance next month. I'll ask for some time alone with her, and then I'll just... I'll confess to her. Again," he sheepishly added.
"Shift..."
"So how come dad took my response well?" he asked, changing the topic. "The dad I knew would have flown straight into a little tirade about how I'm under-performing again. What gives?"
"Simple," Rose said seriously. "Last year, after your previous visit, I had been completely fed up with the way your father treated your decisions. Normally, he wouldn't be so hostile, you know, he's actually a very caring pony. But... it was like he sort of lost his way. Like he forgot that you were his son, not his protege. I had a serious conversation with him about that, and he... he saw sense."
"Just like that?"
Rose smiled. "Yes... just like that. At that time, it was as if the stallion I'd fallen in love with came rushing back to me, and he'd... he'd been less than happy about what he'd done. You would be surprised at his offer today and how long it took him... he started working on it as soon as we'd finished the conversation around this time last year. Despite any misgivings he may have with your decision, I think he's happy over your choice to give such a chance to somepony else."
"Yeah... I don't like flying in a group. Too much... work."
"I figured as much, but we thought you'd might like it nonetheless."
"I do... though I guess I appreciate it in a different way. I'm sure Dash will probably faint when I tell her about this. Private audition appointment with the judges as a top priority applicant... really, when did they start doing that?"
"Usually it's just one or two every recruiting session, even then, not many of them make it in. It's usually reserved for those with exceptional flight talent, and they have to be checked off by the captain before they make it on the list."
"The captain..." Shift laughed. "Well, I guess I know how I got on there. Great... now Spitfire thinks I'm serious about joining the Wonderbolts."
"You can just play it off as your father's interference," Rose laughed. "I'm sure she'd understand. How is she, by the way? Have you been speaking with her recently?"
"Been speaking with her a lot more recently, actually. Just been getting into the races like we had when we were young."
"Not hurting yourself or knocking over lanterns again, I wager?"
"No, nothing serious this time. Just racing around the corner watchtowers at neckbreak speeds," Shift said sarcastically, earning a shocked look from his mother. "It's okay, it was just a one time thing. We're both accomplished pegasi, mom, no need to worry about it." He looked outside, seeing the sky turn dark. "I think it's best I leave now. Give my best wishes to dad."
"I will," she said, walking to the door with him. They gave a final hug before Rose kissed Shift on the forehead. "Good night, my son, and be careful. And no flying around watchtowers!"
He laughed. "Good night, mom."
"And the whole business about waiting for the mare of your dreams... really, you and your father have much more in common than you'd think..." she said, before closing the door behind her, leaving Shift to ponder what she had just said.