Part 1


The pegasus fleet was just waking up for one of their bigger days of the year. They weren't a fighting or defense force, rather a branch limited to perfection and accuracy in entertainment. The Wonberbolts, although not in place to serve too serious a purpose, were popular amongst the ponies of Cloudsdale and all over Equestria.

Soarin rolled over in his bed, stroking his hooves through his ruffed up blue mane. He rubbed at his eyes, after a few minutes and a heavy sigh, tossing the sheets away and felt the cold air of his private barrack against his body. He sat up in bed, breathing out of his mouth and licking his lips. Soarin stretched out a little, then getting up and going to shower in the stallion section of Wonderbolt Academy. Once out and dry, he tossed on his formal uniform, a blue shirt with lightening bolts on each side of the collar, and three golden bars on each of his epaulets. He put on the tie, tying it quickly and not caring how it looked.

Soarin left his room, running into the other stallions that made up the Wonderbolts as he trotted to his office.

"Good morning captain."

"Morning."

Soarin got to his office, sitting down behind his desk, and pulling over his calendar. He brushed at his mane as he read what he would be doing that day, an event planned for the same day every year in Cloudsdale.

"Young Flyer's Competition, Spitfire is simply in love with these."

Soarin rolled his eyes, sitting back in his chair and shuffling through the letters he'd received. Spitfire never loved the competitions, her team of Wonderbolt's could do everything the young fillies and colts were doing, and her team could do it better. Although, Spitfire did like meeting new people and showing her team off, and what better a place to do it than at an event where young, impressionable flyers would all be.

"Another letter from Shining Armor."

Soarin shook his head, placing it off to the side. The previous year at the captain's wedding reception, Soarin had expressed an interest in joining the Canterlot Royal Guard, and Shining Armor wanted a co-captain. Soarin had personal reasons for not wanting to make the transition, even though he himself had been the one to bring it up. Shining Armor had written three previous times, and Soarin could feel his dream growing further away, he still stayed with the Wonderbolts, though.

Leaving the letter on top of all of the papers on his neat desk, he went down the hall towards Spitfire's office. He knocked, and when he heard her signal him in Soarin opened the door. Spitfire was sitting behind her desk, one arm of her sunglasses between her teeth as she tried to read the morning news journal.

"Good morning Soarin, your tie is messy again, you never do that right I swear, all the years I've known you and you've never tied it right."

Soarin looked down, seeing a knot in the black fabric that looked just fine to him. She motioned for him to come around to the other side of her desk. He lifted his chin, smiling as she retied it for him.

"You always do a half windsor, the guidebook says four-in-hoof knot, like that, there you go."

"That's why you're the captain, and I'm the co-captain."

Spitfire nodded as Soarin sat down on the other side of her desk, making himself comfortable and touching at his mane again, rubbing his eyes awake too.

"We've got to suit up to fly to Cloudsdale in a half an hour, is everyone up and ready?"

"Yeah, it's just us and two of the ponies, we're not bringing everyone, never have."

Soarin finished his conversation, jumping into his flight suit and waiting outside for everypony else to show up and be ready. He'd just been standing there for a few minutes, and he decided that his sudden privacy was a good opportunity to have a cigar. He did it not because it tasted good, they didn't, but having a smoke was a good way for him to relax and a hobby. Ever since he was a colt, Soarin had been told it wasn't good for him, but he didn't have a puff too often.

He'd just gotten it in his mouth, about to light it up with it was flicked onto the ground. He looked to his side, seeing Spitfire frowning at him through her sunglasses, his reflection shining back at him in her eyes.

"That's not good for you! It makes you smell like smoke Soarin, you know that."

"Alright Spit, whatever you say. I swear, even when we were young you were my mother; I can't get away with anything when you're around."

Spitfire nodded, knowing that she did have a good grip on her co-captain, considering that they had grown up together in Cloudsdale, and graduated from the academy in the same class, she the top flyer and he the second.

Once they had gathered their group of four that would go to Cloudsdale, they took off, flying in their tight V formation as they went, going just below the speed of sound. Once they arrived, the group slowed, moving to the stadium that had been assembled out of clouds. Soarin and Spitfire sat in the first row of their cloud booth, the two other Wonderbolt's sitting in the row behind them. All four ponies removed their googles, but only Spitfire replaced them with sunglasses.

"Ready for this year Spit? Maybe we'll actually see something original."

"I don't know Soarin, but I do know it's cold up here, you think the weather factory would be a little less... active, especially today."

"I don't feel it."

Soarin was twiddling with another cigar that he had in his hooves, just below the sight of everyone at the stadium. Spirfire snatched it away from him, using the cigar as an excuse to sit just a little bit closer to his side.

"Princess Celestia is right there! There's no way you're doing that now, not here, and not with me right next to you."

"I wouldn't have to if you let me do it this morning, I only have one a month, let me have my smoke."

"Soarin, I'm just looking out for you."

Soarin sighed, nodding his head and putting his hoof around her shoulder, giving Spitfire a short squeeze before letting her go. He smiled to her, taking his cigar back and putting it away where he kept it. They were whispering, so that no one, including their fellow Wonderbolt's, could hear them.

"Don't worry Spit, I can wait a few more days."

She smiled to him, saying thank you and sitting back as the contestants for the Young Flyers Competition began to present themselves. Although they weren't awful, the Wonderbolt's weren't impressed. They weren't the judges, but if they were, no one was winning material as of yet. The pegasus could fly and do their tricks well, but it didn't feel like any of them were pushing themselves, simply doing what they felt comfortable performing.

"Where's number four?"

Spitfire shrugged, and the show went on. At the end, the Wonderbolt's were surprised to see that both contestants number four and fifteen went out together. Spitfire chuckled at contestant number four's wings, poking Soarin in the shoulder as she moved a little closer to him. Soarin was chuckling as well.

"Looks like she's had some work done on those wings."

Soarin nodded, they were pretty wings, but they weren't natural and feathered like everypony else's. As the crowd watched the magical looking pony with beautiful wings, the Wonderbolt's had their eyes on contestant number fifteen. She was blue in color, with rainbow mane and tail, purple eyes and a go-get-em attitude. She seemed to have good ideas, and was definitely pushing herself, but too often she messed up and hit the wall or let her trick get out of control.

"Good job, Rainbow Crash!"

Soaring and Spitfire looked across the cloud stadium at a group of two or more colts, mocking contestant number fifteen, as she had just collided with the wall.

"This mare's got a fan club."

Soarin watched as the less interesting contestant flew very high up, shortly after followed the other. Before he knew it, the contestant who seemed to have work done to her wings was suddenly wingless, and falling past the floating cloud stadium, down to the ground far below.

Spitfire and Soarin stood up with their fellow Wonderbolt's, putting on their goggles and flying down to save the falling mare. Once they came within reach of her, out or panic the mare managed to kick all four of them in their faces and torsos, rendering any service they may have been able to provide impossible.

Spitfire was looking around slowly in a dazed state, seeing that the ground was fast approaching, and her wings weren't spread, no one's were. She heard a loud crack, and then a rainbow like flash of light as a different pony swooped her, the other Wonderbolt's, and the falling mare up, carrying them away from the grass and back up to the clouds. The Wonderbolt's regained composure, sweeping up the wingless unicorn and setting her down in the basket of a hot air balloon, somewhere where she wouldn't fall again.

Spitfire rubbed the back of her neck, coughing to cover her personal embarrassment.

"I was just about to save myself anyway..."

"Yeah, me too."

Spitfire and Soarin both knew they had been taken out of service for just long enough to destroy their mission, and once they both recognized this, they pretended like they had it down pat, and that everything was in their control the whole time.

"That was some good flying kid, what's your name?"

Spitfire called out to the blue pegasus who was talking to her friends near the hot air balloon, and once she heard the Wonderbolt's talking to her she flew over as fast as she could, excited beyond belief.

"My name's Rainbow Dash ma'am, I'm a huge fan!"

"I'm..."

Spitfire realized she'd lost the focus of the mare, as she'd rushed over to Soarin and was drooling all over his hooves. She rolled her eyes, faking a happy smile and a laugh at the sight of a different mare patronizing the affection of her long time love interest.

"Omagoshomagoshomagosh! You're the co-captain of the Wonderbolts! I have a poster of you in my room Mr. Soarin sir, you're like my hero!"

Rainbow Dash rushed forward and gave him a big hug, closing her eyes tightly and smiling, giggling too. Soarin was glad Spitfire had told him not to take his smoke, because if he did, he wouldn't have smelt very good and wouldn't have gotten the hug. He smiled too, rubbing her back and eventually forcing the hug to end.

"Thanks Dash, Dash right?"

She nodded to him, he figured she'd of nodded if he had said anything, she was starstruck and he could tell.

"That was really some good flying, and it looks like the princess wants a word with you."

Rainbow Dash didn't understand at first, but soon she turned to see Princess Celestia standing behind her, beside all of her earth pony friends. After receiving kind words, officially being recognized as the winner of the competition, and also being called the best flyer in all of Equestria by the princess herself.

The prize for winning the competition was a day with the Wonderbolts, a day with her hero and his friends. The Cloudsdale staff took care of all the scheduling so Rainbow Dash could come and visit them at Wonderbolt Academy. Before the Wonderbolts left, Rainhow Dash made sure to get one more word in.

"Hey, wait!"

She flew over to where Soarin and Spitfire were, getting ready to depart with the other two Wonderbolts.

"Thanks for everything, I can't wait to spend a day with you guys, you're awesome."

Rainbow Dash bowed her head and smiled, trying to disguise her blushing cheeks with a quiet giggle.

"No problem Dash, when you come by to collect your prize, we'll give you a really amazing day."

Rainbow Dash said her thank you to everypony else, flying away humbly. She looked back twice. Spitfire was getting annoyed, this mare was far too close to Soarin for her comfort.

"Collect your prize? What's that supposed to mean Soarin?"

"Spit, we planned it out, all the activities we'll do with her when she comes to the Academy, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine... sorry, I'm just missing my sunglasses."

"Here, I caught them during the fall."

Soarin handed them back to Spirfire, who took them into her hoof and then placed them into one of her pockets. She melted to the smile he had, he was always handsome and she wanted him to be here like they used to be. The thought of him expressing affection toward another pegasus really got to her, and as they flew back to the academy, the sun setting behind them, it was all Spitfire could think about.

When they got back, Spitfire got herself ready for bed, lit down and looking up at the ceiling, knowing that her bed was big enough for two, and that the stallion she wanted to be in it with her was just a few doors down the hall.

Soarin had gone outside to take his smoke, but decided against it, going back to his room and leaving his cigar on the nightstand; he'd save it for another day. Across the room on his bureau he saw the letter from Shining Armor, asking him to come and join the Canterlot Royal Guard, the position of co-captain available to him as it always had been. As Soarin fell asleep, he couldn't help but consider leaving the Wonderbolts.


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