• Published 28th Aug 2012
  • 5,408 Views, 90 Comments

Hurricane Force Winds... - Skyblitz



Spitfire and Soarin's lives are turned upside down with a certain unwanted complication in the form of a foal.

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Chapter 4: Fall from Grace

Chapter 4: Fall from Grace


"Burning lust, soaring high. Temptation rises where virtue dies..."


The sun began to fall in the sky as the afternoon dragged on. Soarin' rode the light breeze that wrapped around the quaint town of Ponyville. The pale blue pegasus lazily hovered above the steep thatched roofs and slightly crooked chimneys, watching the small groups of diverse ponies plod around in the narrow streets. From what he could tell, most of the population were mares, varying massively in colour.

Soarin' slowly fluttered down onto the ground just outside the eastern boundaries, careful not to attract to much attention to himself. Despite being new in the town, he undoubtedly knew he would be recognised as a Wonderbolt. The pale blue pegasus crept up between the narrow alley that ran past two houses, wary of any passing ponies. All he needed right now was space to breathe, and the vast expanse of the open sky offered him no comfort now.

From what Soarin' could tell, Ponyville seemed to be primarily an earth pony town, which made sense considering the vast fields that lay around the central village. The pegasus stallion tentatively poked his head out from behind the corner of one of the houses. His emerald eyes started to scan the market square before him. Dozens of ponies sped this way and that, going about their lives without a care in the world. The sight made Soarin' fume with frustration. Why were they so happy? What did they have to look forward to in their lives?

Soarin's angry musings were interrupted by a loud squeaky voice to his right.

"Hey look everypony, its Soarin'! Soarin' the Wonderbolt!"

Buck...

Soarin's eyes met those of a young filly, her orange mane tied in a little red ribbon. The foal's exclaimation had drawn the gazes of everypony in the market place. Without thinking, Soarin' made a run for it back down the alley. The air suddenly erupted with the excited screams and squeals as the crowd lunged after him.
"Goddess-dammit" the pale blue pegasus muttered. In hindsight, it was a stupid idea to come to Ponyville to escape Spitfire. The whole damn town knew who he was, how the hay was he gonna have time to think if everypony wanted his autograph?

As he reached the end of the alley, Soarin' was greeted by rollings fields of carrots and celery stalks. Seeing no other way out, the athletic stallion leapt back into the sky. He heard the shouts of dismay from the crowd below, and soarin' smirked to himself as he sped away.
Then something flashed in the corner of his eye. He turned...to reveal a second crowd of pegasi chasing after him.

"For Celestia's sake, just leave me alone!" he cried, and beat his wings faster. He knew he could get away easily- he was a Wonderbolt after all. As he began to pull away, the flock of pegasi behind him started to slow, clearly disheartened by the Wonderbolt's rapid departure. All except one...

A flash of a multicoloured mane heralded another unwelcome arrival. Soarin' glanced at his chaser, not thinking much of the audacious pony. However, when his gaze met hers, he almost stopped dead in his tracks. She was cute, very cute. Her fur was of a light cyan blue, and her eyes were rings of bright rose. But by far the most striking of her features was the vibrant rainbow coloured mane and tail. Six distinct coloured whipped behind her as she kept pace with the Wonderbolt, dazzling Soarin' with both her looks and speed.

"Wanna race?" Soarin' suddenly blurted, kicking himself mentally as the words tumbled out. Why the buck did I just ask that? The rainbow maned filly looked at him with a dumbfounded expression on her face.
"Y-you serious?"
This was his chance to say no. His chance to say no and get away from everypony.
"Yeah, why not?"
Buck
"Ohmygoshohmygosh really?"
Soarin' chuckled and winked at her. The cyan pegasus mare suddenly regained her composure, her face turning determined with a hint of mischief. Her rosen eyes narrowed.
"Okay Wonderbolt, show me what you got"
Soarin' couldn't help but laugh. Damn, she's a confident one.

With a sly chuckle, Soarin' dashed ahead of the rainbow maned filly with a single beat of his athletic wings. The wind rushed past his ears as he sped through the afternoon skies. He he this sorted, nopony could beat him save Spitty.

A whooshing sound sounded from Soarin's right, causing the pale blue stallion to turn in confusion. Coming up fast along side him was the prismatic maned filly, her sky blue wings beating in powerful controlled beats. Clearly she was no stranger to this. Picking up the pace, Soarin' gave the young mare a wink as he crept forwards. The rainbow maned filly narrowed her bright rosen eyes with a steely determination. Her wings began to beat faster still, and Soarin' found himself sweating. Damn, she's fast.

It wasn't long before the blue stallion felt the familiar tingling sensation running down his spine to the tip of his tail. he could almost hear the lightning crackling on his flanks. The filly beside the Wonderbolt was blazing level with him, leaving a sparkling multicoloured trail streaming off her tail. Refusing to let his pride be dented, Soarin' turned to the cute mare smiling broadly.
"Still think you can beat me?"
"W-what? Of course I can! I mean, um I think so" the blue filly replied.
Soarin' grinned at her. "Last one to that cloud buys the other a drink", the pale blue stallion cried, pointing a forehoof at a large towering cumculus cloud. The cyan filly stared wide eyed for a moment before returning Soarin's smile.
"You're on!"
Before speeding off to begin the race in earnest, Soarin' turned to the young athletic filly.
"So what's your name?"
"N-name's Rainbow Dash..."


Spitfire wiped her eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time that afternoon. She sat alone in her and Soarin's apartment, Wonderbolt uniform cast aside on the couch beside her. She had returned back from the Cloudesium with Tempest Wind. He had been courteous enough to fly her home and offer what little advice he had on the matter at hoof. it hadn't helped. Sniffing mournfully, the fiery maned mare turned to the glass table next to her and picked up a silver framed photograph. Her heart broke for the hundredth time.

It was a photograph of her and Soar from a flight-show after party a year ago. The corners of her mouth tugged upwards for half a second as she looked upon the comical face that Soarin' was pulling, his wing wrapped protectively around her.
"Oh Soarin', I'm sorry...just, please come back to me..."
The sun had begun to set.

Among the things that Tempest had told Spitfire, something above all others pushed its way to the forefront. The words were almost as shocking as Soarin's sudden departure.

"I understand this is a hard time for you both, but if you and Soarin' reconcile your differences within the next week...I will permit the both of you to come with us to Fillydelphia for the flight show. It would be your last for a while, but I promise that me and the team will give the two of you a proper send off"

Spitfire shook her head slowly. There would be no chance of that. Not when she didn't know where Soarin' was.
"Please soar, come home soon..."


"Is it that serious?"

The doctor nodded his head solemnly, black framed glass resting on his muzzle as he scanned over the most recent x-rays. With a sympathetic sigh the tan coloured unicorn turned to the aging aqua coloured pegasus sitting in front of him.

"The last set of stunts you carried out caused severe stress on your carpal joints and margins. This flight show you're planning next week is definitely not going to happen with the current state of your wings. The harsh reality is I'm afraid, is that you're getting too old for this. You've been in the Wonderbolts since I was a colt, and captained them since I graduated Med School. That's years of your life. With all due respect, I think you need to think about retiring"

Tempest Wind lowered his gaze to stare at the floor. His The two points where his wings bent in the fold were wrapped in white bandages. Surprise had told him to go to the doctor after the last practice session. The two of them were the oldest members in the team, over a decade older than the next- the Streak Brothers. Tempest ran a hoof through his silver streaked mane and let out another sigh.

"I plan to make this show my last. I've already selected a new captain, but whether or not she'll be up to the task will be an issue. Certain complications have risen. I need just a little more time to decide my successor, and I plan to that in Fillydelphia. Doctor, will I be able to perform one last time?"

The unicorn furrowed his brow harshly. "I'm sorry Tempest, but the risk is too high. If a single mistake was made, you could crash. And a crash at the speeds you fly at would most certainly do serious injury to you or anypony else around you. Doctor's orders: NO STUNT FLYING"

The Wonderbolt captain's heart wrenched at those words. It was through extreme assertion of will that he managed to restrain an angry outburst. He had been doing that more and more recently, and this situation with Soarin' and Spitfire wasn't helping his mind either. Grudgingly, the aqua coated stallion relented.

"Fine..."

The doctor gave a firm nod of approval before exiting the room. Tempest sat there in the chair, his heart and mind both broken and fuming with rage. Of course he could still fly, he was captain of the Wonderbolts! Nopony could tell him what to do, only he could decide when it was time to stop. With a slight smirk, Tempest left the clinic. He had some training to do.


Soarin's jaw dropped as he saw the rainbow maned mare whistle past him before landing gracefully on the cloud before her. She had beaten him. She had beaten a Wonderbolt. Him! The pale blue pegasus fluttered down beside the panting cyan filly, his emerald eyes gazing in awe at her athletic body. Rainbow Dash turned her head to meet Soarin's face, flicking a stray lock of spectrum hued hair from her eyes. She smiled broadly.

"How'd I do?"
Soarin' stared at her before laughing, shaking his head slightly. He stepped closer to her.
"Absolutely amazing! You're the only pony other than Spitfire to beat me like, ever. You got tons of skill packed in there, and your control is fantastic. Did somepony teach you?"
Rainbow shuffled her hooves awkwardly as the Wonderbolt talked to her. Soarin' has patient. He remembered how he was when he first met Tempest Wind.

"Errr, nope. Nopony at all, just...practise everyday since when I was a filly" she exclaimed, suddenly regaining a bit of confidence. Soarin' grinned. She seemed like his type of filly. Confident, strong, fast, and had a competitive edge. A lot like Spitfire...

Soarin' drove his marefriend from his mind almost instantly. He was still fuming at her secret keeping, and he wasn't about to let his guilty conscience interfere with a possible friendship with an amazing young filly. Soarin' turned once again to the young mare before him.

"How old are you Rainbow?"
She blushed a little and let out a nervous chuckle before answering.
"Um, s-sixteen...but my birthday's next month"

Soarin's mind processed this new information carefully before shaking such thoughts from his head. Despite the argument with Spitty, nothing justified the brief flashes that just crossed his mind. Rainbow was cute, but...no, he could never do that to Spitfire. Yet still, Soarin' found his tongue saying things which his mind screamed at it to stop.
"So, guess i still owe ya that drink. Know any place with a decent bar round here?"

Rainbow put a hoof to her chin as she thought. "Weeell, theres a really nice bar down by the river called The Three Horseshoes, but I don't think you'd wanna go there...I mean, you're a Wonderbolt!", her eyes widened when she thought of something else, "ohmygosh I just beat a Wonderbolt!" She she leapt into the air and somersaulted twice, squealing in delight. Soarin' couldn't help but laugh. As Rainbow Dash settled, her cyan cheeks deepened to the same tint as her eyes. "Hehe, um...so, you wanna go?" she asked softly.

Soarin' didn't stop smiling as he nodded, a little too eagerly. The young filly beamed wildly, and Soarin' swore she batted her eyes at him as she did so. "Lead the way" he said, trying to remember his commitment to Spitfire as he tore his eyes away from Rainbow's athletic body. Dammit Soar!


The Three Horseshoes was a beautiful little building built on the banks of the Ponyville Canals. The bar was three floors high, two of which were supported by stilts over the water's edge. The basement floor extended out onto a floating wooden patio covered with tables and chairs. The sun had almost fully fallen below the horizon when Soarin' and Rainbow Dash landed at the double doored entrance.

"You sure you don't mind comin' here? Everypony'll recognise you"
Soarin' let loose a smug smile. "I know"
Rainbow giggled, still not quite believing that she was going for a drink with a Wonderbolt. She opened the doors, greeting both of them with a wave of laughter and chatter. Soarin' stepped back as the raucous wave of happiness smashed him full in the face. Ponyville was a small town, so he hadn't expected this many ponies in one place. As he and Rainbow trotted in, he found himself lowering his head. Despite his previous confidence, Soarin' didn't want a repeat of that afternoon.

Carefully shuffling behind Rainbow, the pale blue stallion edged his way up to the bar as the cyan filly sat her haunches down on a barstool. A unicorn mare behind the counter eyed the two new arrivals with a friendly glance that soon turned to a look of utter disbelief.

"Oh. My. Celestia, are you r-really Soarin', f-from the Wonderbolts?" Soarin' almost facehoofed as the entire bar fell silent. he could feel everypony's eyes boring into him.
"Urr, yep...thats me"

"Oh my gosh, will you sign my picture?"
"My foals love you!"
"Can I have a picture with you?"
"Pleeeease can i have your autograph?"
"Over here!"

Soarin' stood up and turned to face his adoring fans. Raising both forehooves into the air, he called for the crowd to be quiet. They complied without a fuss.

"Okay everypony, I will by everypony a round of drinks if you leave me and Rainbow here alone for a bit. How does that sound?" He was answered with a massive cheer. Dammit, thats a few hundred bits I won't get back. As the bar-staff poured dozens of pints of cider, cocktails and Germane-ian beer, the pale blue stallion finally redirected his attention to the cyan filly beside him. Rainbow looked almost pink with blush. In hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best idea to mention her. Soarin' was sure that there would be plenty of questions for her tomorrow.

"Here ya go" said the unicorn as she tossed two cider mugs towards the two pegasi.
"Thanks Bubble Froth" beamed Rainbow. Soarin' winked at the bar maid as he tossed her the last of his bits. he couldn't help but chuckle as she blushed deeply.

"So, tell me about yourself" he asked. Rainbow looked at him with reverence before clearing her throat.

"Um, well I...lived in Cloudsdale until I was seven years old, and err, I'm manager of the Weather Patrols here in Ponyville. I got the only cloudhome in these parts, and I love to fly. I practice every day"

Soarin' raised an eyebrow as he drank his cider. "Practising for what?"
"Um, I...I kinda had this dream that I, um, joined...you, and Spitfire and Tempest, everypony...in the W-Wonderbolts" She gulped down a large swig of her cider before turning away, blushing heavily. Soarin' smiled, not mockingly, but in a tone which showed friendliness.

"Its a great dream, trust me", he said with a wink of his jaded eye, "and with skills like the ones you showed me today, i'm sure there would be an opening for you". The blue filly's rosen gaze locked onto him, making Soarin' feel a little bit uncomfortable.

"R-Really? Y-you mean that?"
"Um, yeah, don't see why not"

Rainbow almost look as if she was about to faint. The pale blue stallion took another deep gulp, draining his mug. Raising hoof to Bubble Froth he ordered a second. Whoever made this cider knew what they were doing. After a few seconds of almost tangible silence, Rainbow's mouth curled upwards into the biggest grin Soarin' had ever seen in Equestria. He stepped back as the blue filly suddenly launched herself into the air.

"BUCK YES!"

Everypony in the room turned to look at the overexcited filly before returning to their business, all however keeping awed gazes on the Wonderbolt in their midst.
"I take it you'll accept then?" Soarin' questioned, smirking heavily as Rainbow performed a miniature victory dance mid-air. Regaining her composure, the rainbow maned filly nodded stupidly.
"Do you KNOW how much this means to me? I mean, ohmygoshohmygosh this is MY DREAM COME TRUE! Oh thank you Soarin'!", she launched herself at him, her forelegs wrapping themselves around his muscular frame, "you have no idea how much this means to me!"

As she pulled away, Soarin' noticed that her magenta eyes had begun to water. Rainbow just stared at him before she suddenly realised what she had just done.
"O-Oh, I'm so sorry, I d-didn't mean t-t-to...um, sorry i just err, I'm so happy" she said with a slight chuckle at the end. Soarin' shook a dismissive hoof at her.

"Nah, its okay. You give nice hugs" he laughed. Rainbow laughed awkwardly before shuffling her forehooves together.

"Um, c-can...we go outside? Theres a balcony upstairs that hangs over the canal. I k-kinda need some air"
Soarin' downed the remainder of his drink before nodding.
"Yeah sure thing, d'ya want another drink?" He didn't wait for her to reply as he ordered a second mug for her and a third for him. This cider was good.


Spitfire jumped as the doorbell chimed through the apartment. Making her way through the mountain range of tissues that stood around her. Soar, is that you? Please let it be you. But Soarin' had a key, so why would he use the doorbell? Spitfire placed a yellow hoof on the door handle and pulled, hoping against hope that it was he coltfriend that greeted her gaze. Her heart sank as the mysterious visitor revealed itself to be Tempest Wind.

"Evening Spitfire, has Soarin' come back yet?" The mare shook her head and sniffed.
"W-Would you like to come in, sir?"
"No need for formalities, this is your home and I your guest. I would of thought we learned that after three years as team mates" the older stallion chuckled. Spitfire managed a half smile and stepped aside. She noticed the dark bruises marking Tempest's wing joints as he walked past into the living room.

The open fireplace was burning with only a few lights on in the massive room. Moonlight shone through the massive window behind the curved sofas, making the modern abode look incredibly cosy and snug. Yet despite this, the Wonderbolt captain noticed the mounds of used tissues.

"So, um...Tempest...what did you need?" Spitfire asked quietly as she trotted up towards the kitchen that overlooked the living area on a raised platform. The aqua coated pegasus turned and shot a sympathetic glance at the golden mare.
"I needed to see if you were alright. And by the looks of things you aren't"
Spitfire gave a forced smile as she poured two glasses of apple juice for herself and her captain.
"I'm okay, just worried. Me and soar have had our disagreements over the years, and we've come through each and every one of them. But..."
"...None have been as bad as this one?"
Spitfire shook her head as she gave Tempest his drink. "I don't know where he's gone. He's never been away for this long without telling me where he is before. I'm worried about him". The aging pegasus sipped the juice before furrowing his brow in thought.

"I don't know Soarin' as well as you do, but I doubt he'll do anything stupid. He's a smart colt, if a little bit goofy. I'm sure he's just frustrated at the whole situation. I mean, fatherhood is a big milestone in a pony's life, especially somepony as young as Soarin', and it was wrong of me to swear you to secrecy on the captaincy issue. If you wanted to tell Soarin' I should have let you. I'm afraid I've just made everything worse. I'm sorry Spitfire"

The yellow mare smiled a little bit before taking a sip herself. "Thank you...but this is between me and Soar, so only we can fix it"
"Indeed, but there was something else I wanted to speak to you about this evening"
Spitfire looked at her captain, puzzled slightly. "What"
Tempest visibly became less sombre and more energetic as she asked. Setting his glass down on the counter beside him, the stallion raised both forehooves in front of him as he spoke.

"Now, as I'm sure you're aware, I'm not getting any younger. And it was for that reason that I decided to give the captaincy of the team to you. But as you can see here", he fanned out his wings to give Spitfire a proper look at the dark marks on his carpal and margin joints, "I won't have long before I'll be forced to retire. That is why i want you and the rest of the team to do me a favour".
Spitfire raised her burned amber eyes in interest. "Anything, I'm sure we could all help. What is it?"

Tempest smiled. "Ever since i first joined the team many years ago, I've always wanted to try out a trick of my own making. I've been meaning to do it ever since I became captain, but I never really got round to it due to the show schedules. I call it The Swirling Tempest"
Spitfire raised her eyebrows. "Sounds fancy, is it a flight move or a display showpiece?" Judging by the name, she could already guess.

"A showpiece, a finale to a great performance. I want to try it at the flight show next week. This will be my final performance, and it would mean the world to me if I could retire knowing that I finally achieved that dream. I know we planned to have the Blazing Stormburst as the final act, but this would be literally a wish fulfilled. So what do you say?"

Spitfire smiled properly for the first time in hours. Her captain looked like a young colt again when he got excited like this. With a nod she answered.
"Of course. It sounds pretty dramatic, what does it involve?"
"Well that was something else i wanted to ask you. I'm aware that you'll most likely say no, but i was hoping you could come out tonight to the Cloudesium. That way I can show you before hoof what I want to do"

Spitfire turned away for a second, thinking whether to leave the apartment or not. She didn't know how long she would be gone, and Soarin' could be back during that time. She would hate it if she missed him. She missed him so much already. But then again, it was already nearly eleven. If Soarin' was coming back, he would be so already. Quickly dashing off to get a pen and paper, Spitfire wrote a brief note to Soarin' explaining her absence. Setting down on the coffee table, she turned to her captain.

"Let's go"


The balcony of the Three Horseshoes was a wonderful place to be. The overhanging patio was suspended over the edge of the water. Hanging lanterns and fireflies were draped overhead of the few rounded tables and chairs on the balcony. Laughter and music could be heard from the inside of the bar and on the lower levels, but up top there was only the night sky above the two pegasi who sat on one of the tables closest to the water's edge.

Rainbow laughed hysterically as Soarin' finished telling her of one of the many humorous stories that seemed to occur at every Wonderbolts after show party. the pale blue stallion clopped his hooves on the table as he drank from his sixth mug that evening. Rainbow picked up her own mug- her seventh. the two ponies smashed the two drinks together.

"To the Wonderbolts!" they both said in unison as they quaffed down the remaining honey gold liquid.

Soarin' smacked his lips as Rainbow batted her eyes at him.
"And soon, you'll be doing all those things with us" he said cheerily, slightly slurring his words. The rainbow maned filly sighed contently as she wrapped her hooves around his.

"When Soarin', when can I join the rest of you?"
"Whenever you like" he answered, the alcohol causing him to not think about what he was saying. Dash giggled and pulled herself across the table until she was inches away from Soarin's muzzle.

"Oh really, well I'm not sure what Tempest would say about that, mister" she said playfully. Soarin' smiled. She was so cute...


Spitfire watched as the aqua coloured stallion before her raced round in a an ever constricting spiral.

From what he had told her, The Swirling Tempest essentially involved the entire team spinning round in an ever tightening series of rings. By doing this, the air pressure would suck in clouds, much like the Tornado Funneling used when transporting water to Cloudsdale. As the flyers grew faster and faster, the pressure of their wing power would literally squeeze the cloud caught within the tunnel of wind. The resulting rainwater could be suspended in the tunnel, until finally all of the flight team burst away in multiple directions, releasing all of the pent up water in the form of a colossal water jet, spearing high into the air like a geyser.

The golden mare watched carefully as her captain demonstrated, watching as he caught a small tuft of cloud within h is small wind tunnel. Spitfire smiled as she saw the water begin to seep out from the piece of white vapour.

But somehow...she knew something wasn't right.


Soarin' look a brief second to glance around him. The night was clear, Luna's stars shining magnificently against the black sky like crushed diamonds sprinkled on a black velvet blanket. The moon was a crescent tonight, and the hanging lanterns above Soarin' bathed the whole balcony in a soft golden light. The fireflies hovered around them looking like magical fairies as they danced lazily around the two drunken ponies.

But soon soarin's emerald eyes were lost in the deep rosen ones of Rainbow Dash. Not realising what he was doing, Soarin' leaned in towards her...


A howl of pain echoed throughout the Cloudesium as Tempest Wind was hurled from the miniature tornado that he had created.

"CAPTAIN! TEMPEST!" Spitfire yelled as her teammate veered off uncontrollably towards the stands. The golden mare brought both her forehooves to her mouth and gasped in shock and horror as the aging stallion crashed into the seats to her left. He landed on his left wing.

A crack echoed throughout the stadium...


Soarin' closed his eyes...and gently, ever so gently, pressed his lips to Rainbow's...


Thank you everypony for your patience, and I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. I will continue this story in full once i have uploaded the next chapter to 'Our Saviour, Our Princess' :)