Chapter 1- The Acceptance Letter
My father lifts me up into the air as I flutter my wings as fast as they can go. The wind blows my mane wildly around my face and caresses my feathers.
"Okay, son, I'm going to let go now. Keep flapping your wings." Dad slowly removes his hooves and I continue to flap my wings.
All I can think about is how I want to make him proud, I want to show him that I can fly. One day, I'm going to be the best flier in Equestria. One day, I'm going to be a Wonderbolt.
Suddenly, I'm floating in the air and I begin to slowly flap my wings so that I don't fall to the ground. My dad is looking up at me with a proud smile across his face and he is giving a look that says: "That's my son, look at him go."
"Daddy, daddy, look! I'm flying!" I cry in glee as I soar through the air.
The feeling is amazing, no wonder so many pegasi love the feeling of flight. It's as if it puts you on an emotional high. I don't ever want to stop.
"Soarin' you should come back down now," my dad says in a firm voice and I immediately obey.
Once my hooves touch the soft cloud I begin to bounce up and down in joy. "Did you see? Did ya, did ya?" I beam as I jump around my dad.
"Yes, I did, you were brilliant Soarin'!" he smiles and ruffles my mane before scooping me up with his wings.
"I'm going to be a Wonderbolt, daddy, just like you were!" I giggle happily.
Dad looks down at me with a warm smile. "Yes you will be, son and I will be there to see your first show. I will be there to see all of your shows."
"Promise?" I ask.
"I promise," he replies and crosses his heart with his hoof.
I stare at the acceptance letter in my hooves as I think back to the first day I ever flew. Who would have known that a little colt like me would've gone so far? I was a late bloomer, in terms of flying. I flew for the first time at the age of six, whereas everyone else had been flying since three or four. Hell, even Wave Chill was flying before me and he's three years younger than me.
Those ten years have gone by so fast. I'm sixteen now and I've graduated from flight school, that's why I applied to the academy. There were rumours that this was the last chance for someone as young as me to apply since they were boosting the age up to eighteen next year, because of that I didn't think I'd be accepted. But the letter before me is telling me otherwise, I did it, I got in!
I fold the letter up swiftly and put it in my mouth before galloping into the hallway to try to find my dad. He's in the sitting room reading the newspaper with a pair of glasses sitting haphazardly at the end of his muzzle. His dark blue mane matches mine but his fur is a greyish colour and his eyes are deep blue. He glances up at me and raises an eyebrow as if to ask why I'm disturbing his precious reading time.
Stepping forward, I hold out the letter for him and allow him to read it. I watch as his face grows from one of confusion to one of joy as he jumps up from his seat and cheers, ignoring the fact that his newspaper fell off of his lap.
"You did it, son! I knew you would!" he grins and brings me in for a hug.
I'm not normally the hugging type of pony but when it comes to my father I don't really care. Wave Chill was always closer to our mum whereas I spent all my time with dad. I think I connected more with my dad because it took so long for me to learn how to fly, so he put all of his time into me. I respect him for that; I know it must have been frustrating being a former Wonderbolt with a six year old son who couldn't fly. Still, he didn't treat me any differently.
My father left the Wonderbolts when my mum fell pregnant with me because he wanted to spend time with his new family. When he left, everypony was going wild about the fact that the great Solar Dust was having a child which would definitely be in the next generation of the 'Bolts. From the day I was born I had the pressure put on me to be the best.
The day I got my cutie mark was when I raced against the Wonderbolt Captain and nearly beat him. I'm not sure if he recognised me since he knew my father well, but if he did then he didn't say anything about it. I had only been flying for just over two years so when I almost won it was a shock to everypony. Who would have thought, Soarin' the pathetic pegasus who couldn't fly almost won against a Wonderbolt.
When I got home after that race my father cried in joy. After years of struggling to fly, I had proven that I was capable in becoming a Wonderbolt.
Today, I'm even closer to it; I cannot wait to see the pride on dad's face when I finish my first ever show. That's why I have to get into the team, not just to achieve my dreams of flying with the Wonderbolts but also to make my dad proud. I want to prove to Equestria that I am the son of a Wonderbolt and I am capable of achieving whatever I want.
"This calls for a family celebration!" Dad announces, a grin spread across his face.
Mum and Wave Chill walk into the sitting room together with a confused look across their face. "What in Equestria is going on in here?" Mum sighs and shakes her head disapprovingly at the two of us.
"I did it, mum! I got into the Wonderbolts Academy, this was the last chance I had until I turned eighteen and I did it!" I grin and present the letter to her.
She smiles as she reads the letter and passes it on to Wave Chill. "Well done, Soarin', I'm so proud of you." She turns to look at Wave Chill. "You'll be next, kid."
Wave Chill frowns slightly; a look of envy fills his eyes. "But I couldn't enter because I was too young, now I have to wait even longer!"
"Don't worry, you're a good flyer, Wave. You'll be up with us in no time at all!" I smile and ruffle his mane.
Wave Chill simply mumbles in reply and stalks up the stairs. I laugh softly as I watch him walk away. I know how it feels: having to wait to be accepted into the team and now he has to wait for five years instead of three. Still, he has a chance to finish flight school and improve his skills. Plus, I can teach him a few extra tricks so that he has a better chance. He doesn't realise it yet, but he's lucky.
Dad and I sit at the table as my mum calls Wave Chill down for dinner. He seems to have cheered up a bit so we all celebrate my achievement.
I look around the table at my family as I think: This is perfect; nothing could go wrong for me right now.