Soarin returned, after hiding his anniversary gift, and pulled up a chair in front of the couch where Fire and Gentle sat.
"Okay, are you both ready?"
"Yes!"
"No."
Soarin turned to his son. "Oh? Is somepony not interested?"
"He said he doesn't want to hear all of the 'lovey dovey romance garbage'."
Soarin raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Is that so, huh? Well then, I'll let you be the judge on how 'lovey dovey' this story is based on how it begins."
"Let me guess," said Fire as he continued untangling his tail. "It starts off with you and mom and some lovey dovey situation."
"Nope."
"No?"
Soarin shook his head. "It starts with me flying."
Fire paused mid brush and glanced up at Soarin. "Really?"
Soarin smiled and leaned back in his chair, knowing he had captured his son's attention. Simply mention "flying" in any topic, and Fire would be instantly interested.
"Really. May I begin?"
Fire thought for just a moment and nodded.
"There were some summer days-" Soarin began "-when the northern winds would shift south and rush over Equestria. This would caused some of the most beautiful weather. It was during this kind of day that I decided to go flying one afternoon while the team was taking a break.
* * * *
"Breathing" -Soarin thought to himself- "that's the key to flying.
Inhale, then exhale.
Keep a constant flow of oxygen.
Inhale, then exhale.
Hold your breath only if you need to.
Inhale, then exhale."
Soarin glided just above the ocean water, carefully rising and lowering with each wave that tried to reach up and touch him; the spray of the sea keeping him cool and refreshed, but his goggles keeping his eyes protected. He looked up and saw a large Cumulus cloud, he altered his course his course and headed for the cloud, still staying near the ocean; he was under the cloud in minutes.
Suddenly, an overzealous wave rose up and towered over Soarin. This would've drenched him, but he suddenly opened his wings, bringing him to a halt; he then flapped his wings vertically and took off, going straight up and avoiding the wave, which crashed back down almost immediately after. Soarin flew straight up, going higher and higher; his slowly tiring wings flapping against the pull of gravity.
100ft...
200ft...
500ft...
Now, Soarin was an excellent flyer; not as good as Spitfire or Rainbow Dash, but good enough to not only make it into The Wonderbolts, but also be second in command of them. However, flying straight up to 6,000 feet will quickly wear out any Pegasus, no matter how good they are.
1,500ft...
2,500 ft...
3,000ft...
He was now halfway to reaching the cloud. His wings started to ache more and more the harder he pushed them.
Soarin smirked. By now, a normal Pegasus would've given up, but he wasn't a normal Pegasus; he was a Wonderbolt and his wings had endured a lot more abuse than what they were going through now. He kept pushing, going higher and higher.
3,500 ft...
4,500 ft...
5,000 ft...
At the 5,500 foot mark, his wings felt as if they were on fire, and were ready to quit on him.
"Inhale."
Soarin took a breath for the last few hundred feet and held it, desperately trying to push his wings as high as they could take him. He finally stopped flapping his wings and let his momentum carry him, which didn't last long. Just as he reached the very bottom of the cloud, his momentum died and for a very brief moment, he hovered in the air right before gravity took over.
"Exhale."
Soarin released his breath just as the front half of his body started to fall; as the rest of him followed, he flicked his tail against the bottom part of the cloud. The massive cloud didn't pay any attention to him, except for a small part that swirled around and evaporated where his tail impacted. He stretched out all of his limbs as he started to free fall.
6,000 ft...
5,500 ft...
5,000 ft...
The cold air completely enveloped Soarin, rushing around his body and legs, and between every one of his feathers; instantly cooling him and his exhausted wings. To him, this was the best time to relax and think; however, the rushing wind, and the constant reminder of the rapidly approaching ground were the only things that kept him from either getting too lost in his thoughts, or falling asleep. As he continued to free fall, he folded his forelegs behind his head, crossed his hind legs, and folded up his wings; it looked as if he was in an invisible hammock.
4,000 ft...
3,500 ft...
3,000 ft...
Soarin glanced over his shoulder. Disappointment flashed through his eyes as it was already almost time to fly again, lest he would smack into the ocean below. Normally, water isn't that dense, but at these speeds, it would be like crashing onto a concrete floor.
It was time. Soarin repositioned and started diving head first towards the ocean, which greatly increased his speed.
3,000 ft...
2,000 ft...
1,000 ft...
Adrenaline start rushing through his veins and, at the last possible second Soarin unfolded his wings, which instantly caught in the wind. One second he was falling with style, the next, he was flying just over the ocean again but this time at a much faster speed.
Soarin could help but cheer excitedly as he just narrowly avoided hitting the water, which was now just a few feet below him. To him, this was flying.
Now understand, he loved performing with The Wonderbolts; it was his life-long dream fulfilled, but after a while, things can get repetitive. That's why Soarin loved these little 'free-style flying' sessions, they rejuvenated his spirit. He could fly however he wanted and nopony could tell him otherwise; he was free. There was no routine to follow or fancy tricks to memorize; it was just him doing what he loved with his special talent.
Soarin was so busy with his thoughts, that he didn't notice his decrease in speed or the wave right in front of him, for that matter. He snapped back to reality just in time to fly directly into the wave; he flew out the other side a second later, completely drenched. Thankfully, his goggles kept any water from splashing into his eyes, but the same couldn't be said for his nose. The salty ocean water splashed right up into his nose and burned in his sinuses.
Soarin emerged from the wave coughing and snorting, trying to get the burning water out of his nose. He was so busy, he almost didn't notice the sudden cliff wall. He stopped, flew straight up again and quickly flew through some low hanging clouds. When he reached the top, the cliff wall ended and he was suddenly hovering above the Wonderbolts Academy.
Still trying to clear his nose, Soarin went in for a landing, but the burning sensation was more distracting. He miscalculated, and ended up crashing muzzle first and sliding to a stop in a patch of grass.
Soarin groaned and opened his eyes to see four cyan colored hooves in front of him. He looked up and saw that the hooves were connected to Rainbow Dash, who was trying to hold back her laughter. Ironically, the burning sensation in his nose disappeared soon after he crashed.
Soarin blushed; partially from embarrassment for crash landing, and partially for another reason entirely.
"Need some help there?" Rainbow asked with a giggle.
Soarin groaned again and stood up, spitting out the dirt as he stood.
Rainbow laughed. "Now Soarin, I know the food here is bad, but if you want to resort to eating grass, you really shouldn't eat the dirt. It's not good for you."
Soarin blushed harder, this time it was from embarrassment.
"Very funny, Rainbow."
Rainbow chuckled then cringed a little.
"Ooo, look like you got a cut on your cheek."
Soarin brought a hoof up to his cheek, then pulled it away, seeing a small amount of blood.
"It'll be fine." Soarin said with a shrug. "It's actually not too bad for such a crappy landing."
"If you can call that landing."
Soarin lowered his ears and blushed again.
"So what were you doing? Practicing some new moves?"
"No, just relaxing."
"Relaxing? By flying? How do you relax when you're flying? I usually just take a nap when I want to relax."
"It's...it's complicated. I just find flying to be relaxing when we're not doing or practicing our routine. So what are you up to?"
"Oh, I was just heading to the Mess Hall for breakfast. Wanna come with me?"
"Sure!" Soarin said with a smile.
Soarin found himself unable to look away from Rainbow as she walked past. He admitted to himself a while ago that he liked Rainbow; he wasn't sure when he first developed a crush, but he knew what he felt was real. Thankfully, he was able to keep his thoughts in check, and when it came to performances, he saw her as a fellow Wonderbolt and not somepony he had a crush on. This doesn't mean it wasn’t difficult at times however; the way her beautiful multicolored mane flowed in the wind, the way her body was built, and even her stubborn tomboy personality were all things that Soarin really admired about her. But, he could never admit that to her. There's no telling what Rainbow would say or even do if he admitted his feelings.
Spitfire was the only pony he talked to about his feelings for Rainbow; soon after he did, she assigned them to be partners during practice until further notice. It was a strange move, but nopony questions the Captain. Perhaps she thought she was helping by having the two stay together. Whatever her reasons, Soarin was silently grateful for his new partner. Hopefully someday he'll be able to admit to Rainbow, but-
"Hey Soarin! You coming or what?" Rainbow called back.
Soarin blinked, interrupted from his thoughts.
"O-Oh yes. Sorry!"
Soarin trotted up next to Rainbow and they both made their way to the Mess Hall.
The Mess Hall wasn't anything too spectacular; it looked just like a normal cafeteria. Most of the Wonderbolts were already sitting down and eating, along with other officers and new recruits. Soarin and Rainbow got in line, grabbed their food and looked around for a place to sit. After a few seconds, they saw Spitfire and Fleetfoot, and started making their way over to them.
Spitfire was sitting at a table next to Fleetfoot. She was about a quarter of a way through her breakfast when Fleetfoot spoke up.
"Okay, I think I got it." Fleetfoot said as she held up a spoonful of shredded hash browns to Spitfire's nose. "Thmell thith."
Spitfire cringed and retreated a little.
"Oh come on Fleetfoot, this food is bad enough without your gross, over the top descriptions of it."
"Calm down Thpitfire, just smell it."
Spitfire rolled her eyes and took a small whiff of the food; she immediately cringed and turned away. No sooner did she sniff, Fleetfoot started talking.
"Thith is what you get when you leave hash browns in a worn shoe after you thoak it in thwamp water."
"Oh come on Fleetfoot!" Spitfire said with a groan.
"And also a thock! A thmelly, worn thock covering them up!"
"Seriously Fleetfoot, how can I eat this now?" she said as she pushed her tray of food away. "Oh well, at least I have my coffee..."
"Oh, the coffee! Wanna hear how I think it’s made?"
"No I do not." Spitfire said flatly.
Fleetfoot snickered just as Soarin and Rainbow walked to the table.
"Hey Rainbow, hey Soarin!"
"Hey Fleetfoot!" Soarin said. "Are these seats taken?"
"Yes, because you two are sitting here." Spitfire said with a smile.
Soarin and Rainbow both set their trays on the table and sat down.
"So how are you two doing?" Spitfire asked.
"I'm doing awesome!" Rainbow said happily. "I practiced and perfected three more of our stunts."
Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "Perfected eh?"
Rainbow nodded confidently. "Uh huh! Just wait until we get back in the air! Speaking of which, when are we going to practice again?"
"Sorry Rainbow, you're going to have to wait to until later to show us. We're practicing the new stunt today; with the new flight tech."
"Awwwww..." Rainbow groaned. "Really...? Do we have to use the tech?"
"Sorry Rainbow, we can't do the new stunt without it. They really help take stress off our wings."
"Yeah...they also make flying too easy..." Rainbow muttered.
Spitfire was about to speak, but was interrupted by an officer approaching the table, carrying a mailbag.
The officer saluted. "Captain, you have a message."
"Oh, thank you." Spitfire took the paper and read it as she took a sip of her coffee. The officer saluted and left.
"Tho how are you Soarin? Lookth like you got a bad cut on your cheek."
Soarin blushed slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a....rough landing is all. So when are we going to-"
Spitfire suddenly perked her ears up and spit out her coffee, all over Soarin's face.
"WHAT!?!?" Spitfire shouted, which caused everypony in the room to stop what they were doing and turn towards four ponies. After a few seconds of awkward silence, many of them turned back to their meals and conversations.
"What's going on?" Soarin asked.
"You know General Twister...?" Spitfire asked, still looking at the message given to her.
Rainbow tilted her head. “Who’s that?”
"Isn't that the three star general in charge of the Pegasus division in the Celestial Guard?" Soarin asked.
Spitfire, who by now was turning pale, nodded.
"Uh-huh...she's coming here. She heard about our equipment and she wants a demonstration....."
"That'th wonderful!"
"It's not 'wonderful' Feetfoot!”
Fleetfoot lowered her ears. “Why...?”
“She’s the most uptight and strictest pony in all of Equestria! She will have my head if we leave a bad impression! Or worse, she could even demote me and kick me out of the Wonderbolts; kick all of us out of the Wonderbolts!!!”
Soarin’s eyes widened a little. “Can she do that? Is that even allowed?”
“You better believe it is! The Wonderbolts may do a lot of shows and performances, but we are still a form of military...and we are all pegasi...”
Rainbow shrugged. “Ehh, big deal. Once she sees my-I mean, our moves, she wouldn’t even think about breaking us up.”
“That’s not good enough Rainbow,” Spitfire said, turning more pale. “She’s a general, a three star general! She could care less about fancy flying, she is going to want results!”
“Well, maybe I could talk to Twilight,” Rainbow suggested. “Since she’s a Princess now, she could keep us from being separated.”
“No.” Spitfire said bluntly.
“No?”
“No! The princesses have much more pressing issues to deal with. Besides, we’re not going to need the princess’s help.”
“We’re not?”
“We’re not! Because I’m going to make sure that we are perfect when she comes!”
“When will she be here?” asked Soarin.
“In two days….”
“Two days? Well that’s not so bad!” Rainbow said, trying to cheer Spitfire up.
“Not so bad!? Rainbow, two days is not nearly enough time! There’s so much we need to do! If only this two day notice would’ve arrived a week ago….”
Spitfire looked up and noticed Soarin’s cut.
“You have a cut on your face!!!”
Soarin blinked.
“Uh...yeah…?”
“You have to get that fixed immediately!”
“Fixed??? You can’t fix a small cut, it has to heal!”
Spitfire suddenly stood up. “Then heal faster!!! I need you all to be perfect!!!”
“Uhh...y-yes ma’am???”
Spitfire sighed.
“Alright, Soarin, I want you and the others to practice with the new equipment; I need you all to perfect your form; got that? Absolutely perfect!. I’ll get the others to clean everything around this place; the hallways, the dorms, the offices, the bathrooms…”
“Spitfire!” Soarin spoke up, “this general just wants a demonstration of the new gear. She’s not here to inspect the place.”
“I’m not taking any chances. I’m going to have this place functioning perfectly even if it kills me.”
“Or us…” Rainbow muttered.
Spitfire blinked.
“What are you three still doing here!? Get out! Go practice!!!”
“But I didn’t get a chance to eat yet…” Soarin complained.
“MOVE!!!”
The trio didn’t waste anymore time and galloped out of the building.
--TWO DAYS LATER--
Soarin sat down and groaned as he massaged one of his wings. “I can’t wait for all of this to blow over…” he mumbled to himself.
Rainbow soon landed next to him. “Hey there Soarin. How are you holding up?”
“By a thread….” Soarin said, then sighed.
Rainbow gently nudged Soarin. “Just hang in there Soarin. A few more hours and this will all be over with.”
Soarin switched to his other wing. “It can’t come fast enough…..”
After a few seconds of silence, Rainbow spoke up, blushing a little. “So uh...Soarin? Do you uh...have anything planned after the general leaves…?”
Soarin shrugged, still focused on trying to ease his aching wings. “Nothing really. Probably going to sleep for the next 1,000 years…”
Rainbow couldn’t help but chuckle a little as her blush grew a little bit deeper. “Well um...I’m not really doing anything. Wanna hang out tomorrow? We can-”
“Hey Soarin! Rainbow!”
Rainbow was interrupted by one of his close friends, and fellow Wonderbolt, Rapidfire flying in.
“Hey Rapidfire!” Soarin called out. “What’s up?”
“Spitfire thinks the General will be here soon. She wants the both of you to get into your uniforms and meet her in the hanger as soon as possible!”
“She wants me there?” Rainbow asked.
Rapidfire nodded. “She said it would be good for the team’s image to have the Element of Loyalty there to meet her.”
Rainbow smirked and puffed out her chest a little.
“Sounds like a plan to me!”
“What about me?” Soarin asked.
“Spitfire wants you to demonstrate the new flight tech.”
“Me???” Soarin said, wide eyed. “I thought we were all going to demonstrate it!”
“We are. But you are going to give the first impression, then we will join later. So...no pressure.”
Soarin sighed, but nodded. “Alright, tell her we’ll freshen up first, and then we’ll be right up.”
Rapidfire nodded, and went to fly off, but stopped after a few feet.
“Oh! Are me, you and Blaze still on for tomorrow night?”
Rainbow perked her ears up.
“Heck yeah we are! We’ll meet up at the pub at our usual time!”
“Cool! See ya there!” Without another word, Rapidfire took off.
“You have plans for tomorrow?” Rainbow said, a small tone of hurt in her voice.
Soarin nodded. “Yup! Just some of us guys getting together and hanging out.”
Rainbow lowered her ears. “Oh….”
“You ok? Didn’t you want to ask me a question?”
Rainbow shook her head. “Nah, it wasn’t important. So, ready to um...get ready? I’ll race ya to the dorms!”
“You’re on!” Soarin quickly took off and zoomed away.
Rainbow, left alone, sighed as she talked to herself. “You can be so clueless sometimes, Soarin….”
She spread her wings as she was about to take off. “But that’s one of the things I like about you…”
Rainbow instantly took off after Soarin, determined to beat him.
* * * *
“Daddy, this story is kind of boring...” Gentle Breeze suddenly interrupted.
Soarin blinked. “It is? Hmm...what do you think, Fire?”
“Well, I liked the first part with you flying, but it’s just been a lot of talk so far….”
“I see. Well, don’t worry, I was just about to get to a good part! Not only does it involve flying, but it’s where things really start to kick off between your mom and me.”
Both foals readjusted their spots on the couch, getting more comfortable. Fire was still working on fixing his tail, but his progress was going much slower than before.