//------------------------------// // The Flame // Story: Dynamic Soarin' // by BlazzingInferno //------------------------------// Soarin couldn’t have asked for a better day off. The sun was high in the cloudless sky, the temperature was mild, and a light wind was at his back. According to every map the rocky terrain far below was called the badlands, to him it was the perfect place to get away from it all. Today it was just him and the skies; no fans, no duties, and no distractions. He swooped over a familiar rock formation and dropped down into his favorite spot, a flat area nestled between huge boulders and a cliff’s edge. As his hooves touched the ground he took a deep breath of the dry air and listened to the howl of the wind. The valley beyond the cliff was always windy, and yet there was never so much as a breeze in this little alcove. “Well well, look who’s here.” His smile faded. “What’re you doing here, Spitfire?” “Same thing you are.” He looked over and saw her spread out on a blanket. She’d traded her Wonderbolts uniform for a pair of sunglasses and a bottle of tanning lotion. She was almost never out of uniform, at least not in public. The sight of her glossy gold coat, fiery mane, and rippling muscles was as gorgeous as it was rare. Few ponies would ever see her like this. If only he wasn’t one of them. “Do you really have to do that here?” She tilted her sunglasses onto her forehead. “Do what?” “Catch a tan in my spot.” “Hey, last I checked this was our spot. We found it together, we share it.” “That was back when there was an ‘us’.” She scowled and rolled onto her stomach. “Let’s not do this again.” He shook his head and found a patch of shade on the far side of the clearing where, thankfully, he couldn’t see her. If only he’d brought a blanket of his own, then he could take a nap or something. He’d come here to fly but now, with her around, he was stuck pretending to enjoy sitting on the rocks while his day off slipped away. Why did she have to ruin everything? From here he could see an even less welcome sight; their old scoreboard. The overhanging boulder providing him with shade was covered in hoofwriting, and the white pebble that served as chalk was still waiting on a small outcropping. Everything was just where they’d left it the last time they’d been here. Not that they’d done much writing that time, of course. “Can you believe the scoreboard’s still here?” “There’s a reason they call this the badlands.” “I still think we should make the cadets do a drill or two out here, it’d toughen them up a whole lot faster than flying laps around the academy.” “That’d be great, right up until one of them smears their face all over the cliff wall.” “Eh, I think the advanced cadets could handle it. I’d bet Rainbow Dash could…” His mouth snapped shut and his eyes quickly followed. He could’ve named any other cadet and it would’ve been fine. Already he could hear her sunglasses clattering to the ground and the bottle of lotion rolling away. A moment later she was standing in front of him with clenched teeth on display. “Don’t ever talk to me about her, not after–” “After what? Nothing ever happened with her or anypony else and you know it!” “You were always checking out other mares, even when I was standing next to you. Why don’t you fly back to Ponyville and ask Rainbow out right now?” He threw up his hooves. “For the last time, I wasn’t checking her out. I never checked anypony out while we were dating. Maybe if you’d stop harping on me about it you’d understand.” “Oh I understand perfectly: you’re the top stallion in the Wonderbolts, you can have any mare you want, and you love it.” “All except the captain, apparently. You’re always watching other pegasi, I never gave you a hard time about it.” “That’s called talent scouting.” “And that’s exactly what I was doing! Just because you’re the captain doesn’t mean you’re the only pony who can spot pegasi with skills.” “How about those cheerleaders at the Equestria games tryouts? Were you just ‘scouting’ them too?” “Hey, that was all Fleetfoot’s fault; she kept saying ‘pose for the crowd’, ‘pose for the crowd’, ‘pose for the crowd’. So what do I do? I shoot the crowd a smile, wind up in the hospital, and you try to kick me off the team just so you can get one step closer your precious mares-only club.” She backed him against the wall and spat words at him. “I don’t care who’s on the Wonderbolts, so long as they’ve got their eyes in the game and follow my commands.” “So why’d you you let Rainbow Dash into the reserves? Why’d you want her on the Cloudsdale team for the Equestria games?” “Stop talking about her! If you could’ve kept your eyes off her for one minute…” “Oh please. You know you didn’t have anything to worry about. Besides, her ego’s even bigger than yours.” “You’ve got us both beat there, every little thing you do is just to show off.” “You know I’ve been gunning for a promotion, how else am I supposed to do that if I don’t impress the great Captain Spitfire?” “And you know if I give you one it’ll look like favoritism. Fleetfoot’s been after my job for years, if I start handing out promotions to my special somepony the Earth Unicorn Pegasus Guard will be all over me.” They glared at each other for a moment. Nothing ruined a day off like a well-worn argument. Finally he looked up at the sky. “You know what? You can have this spot and the Wonderbolts too, I’m out of here.” “Good. Why don’t you take an extra day off and go see Rainbow Dash? Or go pick up somepony else along the way for all I care.” “That’s not what I meant. I’ll turn in my uniform first thing in the morning.” “Wait, you’re quitting the Wonderbolts? You can’t do that.” “Sure I can, you’ll never have to worry about my ‘wandering gaze’ ever again, you won’t have to worry about seeing me at all.” She stomped her hoof on the ground. “I’m not letting you quit.” “I don’t think you can stop me.” She glanced at their scoreboard above. “Want to bet on that? How about a little race and wager, just like old times?” He raised an eyebrow and followed her gaze. Their old score was tied at six to six. The tie-breaker race, number thirteen, always sounded a little too unlucky, especially with such a dangerous sport. If he really was going to leave the Wonderbolts, what’d he have to loose? “You’re on.”