> How I Met Your Mother > by Smithawits > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Just Can't Catch a Break > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a sunny afternoon in Cloudsdale as many pegasi of all kinds of colors flew, hovered and played in the partly cloudy sky. One of these pegasi included a well liked gray mare with a light yellow mane, crossed yellow eyes, and bubbles for a cutie mark. She was wearing a blue mailmare hat and carrying a bag full of letters. Her name was Derpy. Derpy hummed to herself as she happily flew through the sky towards one particularly tall house that floated majestically on the clouds. The house was three stories tall, had a light blue color, and had a rainbow waterfall that spilled out into a small pond in front of the house that overflowed and dissipated in the air before it hit the ground. Derpy landed near the mailbox, which was several feet from the front door. Suddenly, the front door swung open and a young pegasus colt came excitedly galloping out. The colt had a light blue coat, a rainbow mane, green eyes, and a fiery rainbow for a cutie mark. His name was Fire Spectrum. "Hey!" Fire Spectrum said as he galloped up. "Oh, hello!" Derpy said with a smile. "Don't mind me, I'm just delivering your mail! How are you today?" "That depends on what you're delivering!" "Expecting a package?" "Yeah! Well, not a package; a letter! I've been trying to get into the Wonderbolts Camp!" Derpy smiled and tilted her head. "The Wonderbolts huh?" Fire nodded. "Well...the junior division anyway...But eventually I'm going to be a Wonderbolt!" "Well, you certainly sound confident!" "I'm sure to be a Wonderbolt sometime! I am, after all, the best flyer among my friends, and soon I'll be the best flyer in Equestria! Well...other than my mom and dad of course." Derpy reached into her mailbag. "Well I hope you get your letter soon!" she said as she brought out a small stack of mail with her hoof. "Here you go! Good luck!" With that, Derpy gave the mail to Fire and flew off. Fire, too excited to say goodbye, quickly dashed back into the house; leaving a trail of rainbow fire on the ground; it soon dissipated and burned itself out. Fire quickly searched through the mail, discarding and tossing anything that wasn't for him onto the floor. "Hmm...bill....bill...bill...Ooo! A gaming magazine!" -Fire tucked the magazine under his wing and kept searching- "Nope...coupons...no...Then one small envelope caught his eye. It was addressed to Soarin and looked like a business letter, but it didn't look like the business letters he usually sees in the mail. And it certainly wasn't his acceptance letter. Knowing that his dad would want to see this, he set it on a table and continued looking through the mail. "No..... no...no-Oh come on! Why haven't they replied yet?" Fire kicked his hoof against the floor in frustration, then noticed the magazine in the corner of his eye; slightly partly peeking out from under his wing. "Well, at least it wasn't a total loss." He then trotted up the stairs to his room. Fire's bedroom looked like a tornado had gone through it; clothes, soda cans and empty video game cases were strewn all over the floor; his bed was un-tucked with the blankets bundled and thrown into the corner of the bed. Several posters were starting to peel off of the wall, except for a Wonderbolts poster signed by all the members of the Wonderbolts. Fire tossed the magazine on his bed and shut the door behind him with one of his hind legs. He then ran and jumped as high as the ceiling would allow him, and then free fell right onto his bed, sending the magazine flying upwards. Just before the magazine landed, Fire caught it and started to look through it. "Got that one....terrible game...don't have it...Haylo, got that one....Call of Cutie, got-" Fire was interrupted by what sounded like hoofsteps just outside of his door. He set the magazine a little too close to the edge and went to go investigate. "Hello?" he said as he opened the door, but didn't see anypony there. Fire shrugged and looked back just in time to see his magazine start to slide over the edge of the bed. He quickly dove for his bed, but he was just a second too late; his magazine fell between the wall and the edge of his bed, and landed under his bed. Fire let out a frustrated groan, then crouched down and tried to look under the bed for his magazine, but it was too dark underneath. Looking around, Fire was able to find a flashlight. He clicked it on, put the end in his mouth and started to crawl underneath his bed. When he was younger, he would be able to crawl underneath and hide when he and his sister would play hide and seek; unfortunately, that was several years ago and he has gotten bigger since then. He crawled as far as he could, but then found himself wedged under the bed frame. His hind legs and tail were the only parts of his body that stuck out from the bed. Fire tried to wiggle himself free, but only managed to get himself more stuck. After a few minutes of struggling, he heard somepony giggle. He looked to his left, and saw a young filly pegasus with two big purple eyes staring at him from outside of the bed. She also had a cyan coat, but she had dark blue hair and a paint brush painting a cloud as a cutie mark. “Whatcha dooooin?” the filly said with a smile. Fire spit out the flashlight. “Oh nothing, I’m just-" Fire grunted as he tried to force his way out- "building a bridge here,” he said sarcastically. “Uh-huh, and how is that coming along?” “Oh be quiet.” Fire tried pushing himself back out, but he didn’t budge. “Hey, do you mind giving me a hoof?” “Mmmmmmmm...no. If you got yourself in there, you can get yourself out.” “What!?” “Sorry big brother, but watching you being outsmarted by a bed is just way too entertaining.” Fire sighed and tried to free himself again. “Hey, wait wait a minute, why are you in my room?” “Oh believe me, your room is the last place I would want to be; it always smells like rotten apples in here. Honestly though, what else am I supposed to do when I walk by and it looks as if the bed is eating you alive.” Fire grunted and squirmed to try to reposition himself. “Seriously though,” the filly said, “what are you doing?” “I dropped a magazine and it fell under my bed," Fire said flatly as he started squirming again to get free. "Oh. Why not just move the bed?" Fire stopped and blinked; the simple thought of moving the bed had never occurred to him. "Um...." "You mean to tell me you never thought about moving your bed!?" "Ummm....." "So you decided to crawl underneath even though you knew you weren't going to fit." "Ummmmm....." "All to get some dumb magazine?" "Dumb magazine!?" Fire said, finally able to find his words. "Let me tell you something sis. 'Electronic Equestria' is not a dumb magazine. It has all kinds of announcements and reviews on all kinds of new games coming out, and games that have been out. And furthermore..." Fire's sister rolled her eyes as he went on a rant. As he continued to talk, she glanced over at his tail which was still sticking out from under the bed, and suddenly got an idea. Very quietly, she hovered out of Fire's room and went to her room. She came back a few seconds later with a pink box in her mouth; to her relief, Fire was still rambling about his magazine. She then sat down near his tail and opened the box to reveal all kinds of hair bows and clips. Over the next several minutes, she gently braided Fire's tail, who was too distracted to notice; all the while, she gave short responses to keep Fire talking. She finished braiding just as Fire was finishing up his rant. "And that is why that game is my favorite." "Fascinating..." "Now, could you please help me out from under here?" Gentle quietly closed the box and pushed it to the side. "Mmmmm...sure. I suppose you've suffered enough. I'm going to try to lift the bed a little and you can-" the filly paused as she looked out the window; a smile grew on her face as she recognized a certain cyan colored stallion flying towards the house. "Yes...? I can what? What's going on?" Fire asked. The filly happily galloped out of the room. "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!" she cheered. “Hey wait! Don’t leave me!” Fire called out, torn between getting his magazine, and getting free. “Gentle Breeze, don’t go! Help me get out first!” * * * * Soarin landed on a soft cloud just in front of his house. "Man..." he said to himself as he stretched his tired wings. "Spitfire has really been wearing us out lately...that or maybe I'm just getting old." Soarin paused and blinked. "Naaahh, it's definitely Spitfire." Soarin started walking towards his house just as Gentle Breeze bounded out the front door. "Hi Dad!" Gentle Breeze said happily as she hugged him. "How was your race at the Wonderbolts Derby?" Soarin hugged his daughter back. "It was alright. Fleetfoot won by a nose, again...I don't know how that mare does it. I can easily outfly her when it comes to practice and performance, but she wins almost all the time when it comes to the derby..." "Aww what happened, did my big strong daddy come in second place again?" She said in a joking tone. Soarin blushed. "Um....fourth. It was Fleetfoot, your mom, Spitfire, and then me. Gentle giggled. "Where's mom?" "She's still at the derby signing autographs; I decided I'd come home and see if you two were ok." Gentle nodded. "We are! Nothing much has happened so far." "I see. So anyways, where's your brother?" "Oh, he's trapped in the void that is underneath his bed." Soarin smirked. "He's what now?" "I said he's-" Gentle was interrupted by a sudden, loud crash coming from the house. "It sounds like he got free!" The father and daughter entered the house just as Fire made his way downstairs. "Thanks a lot for leaving me up there to fend for myself sis!" He then turned to his dad as Gentle walked up next to her brother. "Hey dad! How was the derby?" "The derby-" Soarin suddenly noticed Fire's tail and its recent makeover "-went...just...fine..." Gentle smiled and winked at Soarin. "Just fine? You didn't come in second again, did you?" Soarin smiled, too distracted by Fire's tail. "Um....no. However, I do like your new style." "Style?" Fire asked as he tilted his head. "Your tail...." Soarin pointed to his son's tail. Fire turned; his eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight of his tail. "What....why...." He then turned to Gentle. "When did you do this!?" Gentle giggled. "I did it when you were rambling on about that silly magazine! Fire rolled his eyes, "for the last time, its not a silly magazine! Not only is it informitive, but it was started by no other than the famous Button Mash! He knows quite a few things about gaming." He then sat down and started to unbraid his tail. "And now my tail is going to look all girly thanks to you!" "Well I think it's an improvement!" Gentle said excitedly as Fire continued working on his tail. "Sounds like you two have had a pretty busy morning." Soarin said as he started to walk into the kitchen. Fire shrugged "eh...it's been kind of dull. I've been waiting for my acceptance letter into the Wonderbolts Camp, but it hasn't arrived yet." "Maybe it'll come soon!" Soarin said with a smile. "Yeah...although I wish they would hurry up." "Me too." Gentle said. "I'm tired of hearing you complain about waiting for it." Fire shot Gentle a glare and then continued unbraiding his tail. "Oh!" Fire said suddenly. He then called into the kitchen. "Hey dad, something came in the mail for you today. It's on the table here in the living room." "Oh?" Soarin called back. "What is it?" "I'm not sure. It looks kind of important though." Soarin walked back into the living room and opened the envelope. "Oh! They finally arrived!" Gentle tilted her head."What did?" "Tickets for the Golden Waves Beach." "Well at least one of us got what we wanted..." Fire muttered quietly. "What's that?" Gentle asked "It's where your mom and I had our first date, I figured we'd go there since our anniversary is coming up." The two foals had total opposite reactions. Gentle seemed to 'awww' at the thought, while Fire flattened his tongue and stuck a hoof at his mouth, making a 'blech' noise in the process. Soarin couldn't help but chuckle at the two's reactions. "Wait, I thought mom didn't like all that sweet romance stuff." Fire said and he tried to undo a knot that he accidentally tied in his tail. "On the surface, she doesn't; I'll probably embarrass her and she probably won't talk to me for a while, but deep down, I know she appreciates it." "Hmm, where did you say you were going?" Gentle asked. "Golden Waves Beach Resort." "I don't think you've ever told us about that place." Soarin blinked. "I haven't?" Gentle shook her head. "In fact, I don't think you've ever told us about how you and mom first started dating..." "Really...?" Soarin said as he started to think. "I could've sworn I told you at one time..." Gentle shook her head. "You told us about how you and mom met and a few stories after you two got married, but you never told us about what happened in between!" "Oh...well then I'll have to tell you the story sometime." "How about now?" Gentle said excitedly. "Now?" "Yeah! We'd love to hear it! Wouldn't we Fire?" "Huh?" Fire looked up, then went back to working on his tail. "Oh yeah sure....whatever..." Gentle rolled her eyes. "See? We'd love to! Plus, we don't have anything going on, and you should be finished for the day!" "Well...your mom is going to be a while. Sure! Make yourselves comfortable on the couch and I'll join you two shortly! I just need to go put these tickets someplace where your mother won't see them." Soarin left to go upstairs. Gentle smiled then quickly, and forcibly, pulled Fire up onto the couch. "Hey!" Fire protested, his concentration broken. "What gives???" "Isn't this exciting??? We're going to find out about how mom and dad first started dating!" "WHAT!? I don't want to listen to all that lovey dovey romance garbage!" "Then why did you agree to it?" "I didn't agree to it! When did I do that!?" Gentle's expression flattened. "Just a few seconds ago genius. You said 'Yeah sure whatever' then continued working on your tail." Fire blinked, remembering about what he agreed to. "Oh...." "Oh relax, it won't be that bad! I enjoy these stories!" "That's cause you're a filly; fillies like that stuff..." Gentle rolled her eyes. "Anyways Mr. Grumpycloud, you better make yourself comfortable." Fire sat down with a huff and continued trying to unknot his tail. "What did you put in my tail? I can't get it untangled...." "Hey, I turned your tail into a beautiful work of art and you undid it; you must suffer the consequences." Fire sighed. "First my magazine gets lost under my bed, then my tail gets hopelessly tangled and now this. I just can't catch a break today..." > Prepare for Take Off! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. > Crash and Burn > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spitfire stood next to Rainbow Dash in the large hanger, shaking in her hooves. She kept glancing around partially looking for the General and partially looking for Soarin, who had yet to arrive. Spitfire wore her sunglasses and captain's uniform; the medals on her dark blue uniform would occasionally reflect the sunlight that found it's way into the hangar. Rainbow gently nudged Spitfire, which caused her to jump a little. "Hey, relax. Everything is going to go just fine with the General." "It won't be if Soarin doesn't get here soon..." "Don't worry, he'll be here! You know how difficult it is to get into those new outfits." Spitfire didn't seem to hear, and kept glancing around, even hovering a little bit to get a better view. Rainbow rolled her eyes and pulled her back down. "Spitfire, all your worrying isn't going to help. If anything, it will just make things worse for you." Spitfire paused and sighed. "I suppose you're right...but what if-" "But what if nothing. You've gotten this place as perfect as you can get it, now stop thinking about what can go wrong and just focus on impressing the General!" "Giving me the orders now, huh?" Spitfire said with a smirk. "Yes, that's an order!" Spitfire chuckled and looked around one more time. "Still, though, it would make things a whole lot easier if Soarin would show up already. But I guess that's our Soarin right?" Rainbow paused and nodded, slowly fading away into her thoughts. Spitfire was too busy looking for him to notice Rainbow's train of thought fading. "Yeah....our Soarin." Rainbow had found herself thinking more and more about Soarin for quite a while now. The thought of being in a relationship with him made her all giddy inside like that night at the Grand Galloping Gala. Back then, relationships were the last thing on her mind. Her dreams of becoming a Wonderbolt were infinitely more important; now she was a Wonderbolt and a pretty famous one as well. She was now living the life: she had a much bigger house--probably much bigger than she needed--she had fans, and most importantly, she still had her five closest friends that were always there for her. She was living her dream; she had almost everything...almost. During her downtime, when it was just her alone with her thoughts, she discovered that her house was rather quiet and, even though she had her friends, she still couldn't shake this feeling of loneliness. There was Tank to talk to, but all he did was bump into almost everything around him, which Rainbow still found funny. As much as she hated to admit to herself at first, she needed a special somepony in her life. One day, she thought about who that might be; Soarin was the first one to pop up in her mind and it gave her butterflies in her stomach. Over time, her attraction to Soarin grew stronger and stronger until she finally confirmed with herself that she liked him...she really liked him. The only pony she told about her crush was Spitfire. Needless to say, Rainbow was emotional when they talked; she was trying to be so strong and not cry, but she, eventually, broke down. Understand, she was under a lot of pressure. Not only was this her first time opening up about a very serious issue on her heart, but society had put her on a 'tomboy' pedestal. The world saw her as tough; somepony who would never look for a relationship, and if she did, she would more than likely appear to the public as soft, and that would likely lead to ponies speculating that she was also weak. To make matters worse, there was the usual fear of the unknown and the fear of Soarin rejecting her as well. After Rainbow had calmed down, Spitfire assured her that, even if the world did reject her, she would still have the Wonderbolts to back her up and the support of her friends back in Ponyville. At Rainbow's request, Spitfire reassigned her to partner up with Soarin during practices so that they could be closer, and would, hopefully, make it easier for them to talk. The only problem is that Rainbow was too nervous, and whenever she tried to ask him out somewhere, somepony or something would interrupt her. It, also, didn't help that Soarin could be so clueless on picking up on Rainbow's signs. Maybe she could get him alone and ask him then, or maybe she should just blurt it out in front of everypony. However she asked him out, she felt as if she had to do it soon. The anticipation was killing her inside. "There you are!" Spitfire suddenly said, interrupting Rainbow's thoughts. Soarin quickly trotted up to the two mares, panting a little. He was wearing a different uniform than the usual Wonderbolts attire; it was much sleeker and seemed more aerodynamic. It was a dark blue color with black pads on the shoulders, knees, and down the back right, where the spine was, stopping just before the lower back. The uniform zipped up to right under Soarin’s head, making it difficult for him to look down. "Sorry...I'm late." Soarin started to say. "I was trying to- Oof!" Soarin was interrupted by Spitfire shoving a pilot's helmet onto his chest, which he grabbed onto. "Shush! You're here before the general and that's all I care about!" She said as she shoved him away to move further down the hangar. "Now go suit up! She'll be here any second!" Soarin put the helmet on, and left to suit up and get into position. As he was leaving, Spitfire turned to Rainbow. "Is everypony in position?" "Yes, they're all waiting for your signal." "Alright, good." Spitfire said, relieved. Just as she was about to relax, some officers, not too far away, yelled out 'ten-hut!' and saluted; a few seconds later, a Pegasus wearing a uniform, much like Spitfire's, walked past them. Spitfire froze. If it wasn't for Rainbow nudging her, she probably would've stayed frozen. The General saluted the two officers and made her way towards Spitfire and Rainbow; she was there all too quick for Spitfire's liking. The general wore a uniform that was decorated with many medals and had four stars on her shoulders. Her coat was a dark gray, almost like the bottom of a storm cloud, in contrast to her mane and tail which were a bright white, like a cloud on a nice day. Her eyes were a bright yellow and her cutie mark was a tornado. The two mares saluted at the same time. "Ma'Am!" Spitfire's voice cracked. The general didn't seem to notice, and, if she did, she was doing a really good job at not showing it. Rainbow on the other hand, had a difficult time keeping a straight face. Spitfire immediately cleared her throat and tried again. "Ma'am. Thank you for coming today. It's a pleasure to meet you." The General saluted them; once she did, all three mares put their hooves down. "The pleasure is mine Captain. I'm glad to hear that The Wonderbolts are working on expanding a Pegasi's flight capability instead of focusing solely on stunts." "Yes ma'am, the tech we're going to show you today will greatly enhance both of those aspects." "I can hardly wait then; impress me enough and we just might use it in the Royal Guard." The General turned to Rainbow. "Who is this with you?" "Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash, ma'am!" Rainbow said looking straight ahead. The General perked up an eyebrow. "Rainbow Dash? As in the Rainbow Dash? The Element of Loyalty and part of the Council of Friendship?" "Yes ma'am!" Rainbow said, trying to keep a straight face. The General did a half bow to her. "It's a true honor to meet you." Rainbow was completely caught off guard by this. She never considered herself to be important enough for somepony to bow to her, even if it was a simple head-bow. She thought that was reserved for the Princesses, and yet, here was a four-star general actually bowing to her. Thankfully Rainbow still had enough sense to bow back. The General turned back to Spitfire. "Lead the way Captain; whenever you're ready." "Yes ma'am. Rainbow, go get suited up." Rainbow saluted and left to go get ready. When she was out of the General's view, she zoomed away all giddy, unable to hold in her excitement of having a general bow down to her. Spitfire turned and started walking down the hangar. "It's this way, General." As the two walked, Spitfire grew uncomfortable as they walked in complete silence even though the general seemed to be just fine with it. It was much easier when Rainbow was here. Heck, anypony would've been fine, but now it was just the two of them. A four star general that held Spitfire's future in her hoof, and a lowly captain. Eventually, Spitfire spoke up. "So...um....I noticed you have four stars now." The General nodded. "Indeed. I was recently promoted." Spitfire smiled and chuckled nervously. Oh no, she thought to herself, as if three stars wasn't bad enough....how am I ever going to get through this.... "Well, Congratulations you really deserve it!" Spitfire said in an attempt to hide her nervousness. The general only responded with a nod. Spitfire silently praised Celestia as they arrived at a small, simple presentation section. There was a large television: its screen was bright blue and at the center of the screen the words 'No Signal' were shown in white text in a black box. Next to the television was a small movable curtain that blocked a pegasus pony standing behind it. "We're arrived, General. Please stand here and we'll start." The general stood in her designated spot as Spitfire walked to the curtain, then turned and faced the general. "Within the past few years, technology has significantly accelerated. The Wonderbolts have taken advantage of this recent spike and have developed new prototype flight suits that have significantly increased a Wonderbolt's speed, agility, and have also helped significantly reduce the amount of g-force on our wings. These new suits allow us to fly faster and perform tight and impossible maneuvers as if they were nothing, including being able to come to a complete stop almost instantly after flying 100+ miles per hour. General, I would like to present to you-" Spitfire pulled back on the curtain, unveiling the Wonderbolt's most recent advancement in flying "-the Firefly." The curtain was pulled back, revealing Soarin standing at attention with his wings spread out. Soarin wore the new dark blue flight uniform, but along with it, he wore a- * * * * "Hold up!" Gentle Breeze interrupted, again. "Did you say 'Firefly’?” "Yes I did." Soarin said with a smile. "That's grandma's name! Is that where you got the name?" "Mmmmm....maybe..." Soarin said with a wink. "You'll need to ask your mother about that. After all, she came up with the nickname for the tech. The actual name is really complicated and long, and I don't remember what it was called. So Rainbow called it 'The Firefly' and the name just stuck." "Quit interrupting Gentle!" Fire said impatiently. "I wanna hear what the entire Firefly suit looks like!" "Well excuuuuse me..." Fire rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Soarin. "So what did the Firefly look like?" * * * * Soarin wore the new dark blue flight uniform, but along with it, he wore a pilot helmet with a completely black-tinted visor. An oxygen mask was dangling from the side of the helmet so that he could speak, and was connected to a small hose that traveled over his shoulder and into a container that rested on his back and traveled down his spine. It also had two narrow blue lights shining on the top, and a small red handle just above his left shoulder. Though these features were interesting, the most significant feature that caught the general's eye was what was attached to Soarin's wings, lower back, and legs. Soarin's wings were what drew the general's attention. His feathers were completely covered by multiple thin layers of metal that got more narrow as it approached the bottom feathers. The actual wings themselves had collapsible frames around them that started from the both sides of the container, immediately stretched down and joined to his wings, and connected to each other all the way to the tips of his wings. This setup pulled on his wings, which prevented him from closing them all the way. Just behind, and slightly elevated above his wings, were two thrusters; one on each side, and both connecting directly to the container. Both seemed active and ready to fire at a moments notice. Finally, behind each of Soarin's legs were long, thin leg-braces, which were connected to black pads that covered his hooves. Spitfire quickly grew more and more nervous the longer the general took to examine the tech; it was impossible to get a read on her. Finally she spoke up. "What's it like in there?" the General asked. "Well," Spitfire began, "it's-" "Oh, no. Sorry Captain, but I wasn't talking to you." she then turned back to Soarin. "So, how is it? Comfortable? Can you move around at all?" "Yes ma'am." Soarin spoke up. "Although it is difficult to look down." The General smirked. "That's probably for the best when you're thousands of feet in the air. What about your wings? Looks uncomfortable the way it's pulling up on them." "No ma'am. It's fine." "Can you move them at all?" "I can angle them in different directions, but I can’t fold them in." The General nodded and backed up a step. "Well, Captain Spitfire this certainly looks impressive. Now tell me about it's performance." Spitfire couldn't help but smirk slightly when she nodded. "Yes ma'am!" The way she said it wasn't just to obey her superior, there was a tone of excitement behind her words; this was the part where things would get interesting, and this would only be the first part of the demonstration. Spitfire walked over to the television and pushed a button on the side. Instantly the screen went black as it changed channels. As the General looked on, she could see herself staring back on the screen. It took her a few seconds to comprehend what she was looking at, but soon enough, she found the source of what was looking at her. "A camera in his helmet?" "Yes ma'am. With this, we can see everything that the pilot sees and record what happens in the air. That allows us to analyze and study our own flight patterns and improve where needed; and that's not all." Spitfire picked up a remote, pointed it at the television and then clicked a button. Almost instantly, several displays and monitors popped up around the edge of the screen. The top right of the screen had a display of a pegasus with several strategic dots over its legs, wings, back, and head, and a separate display of the Firefly. Right under it was a heart monitor with blood pressure readings, all of which showed normal readings. On the left side of the screen was a long, slender vertical blue line with a 100% at the top, right above that was a small display that read: OXYGEN LEVEL. Just beside that was an altitude display and at the top center of the screen was another small display that read: SCORE: 0. "Thanks to the new Firefly flight suit, we can tell if a pegasus has suffered physical injury. For example: if a wing is broken, or an ankle is sprained, an alert will sound and will appear as a red dot on the pegasus display wherever the injury is. The same thing happens if the Firefly is damaged, except we will be able to tell what's wrong it since it's part of the system. As you can see, the flight suit also monitors heart rate and blood pressure, allowing us to even further analyze a pilot's flight capabilities and limits. Finally, the line on the left side of the screen indicates the pilot's oxygen levels." "And what does the 'score' mean?" "That is just an incentive to help motivate the pilots. During flight, the pilot flies along a guidance line through circles that are projected on the screen in the helmet. The closer to the center a pilot flies through, the more points they get; the one who has the most points at the end of a run gets a prize." "What kind of prize?" "It depends on the number of points. The grand prize is a day of R&R, unless we're on tour or have a show coming up soon." "I see...now what about those braces on his legs. What are those for?" "Those help reduce the force a pegasus feels when they land. For example, if you jumped from the top of this hangar onto the ground, you'd break your legs at the very least. However, with those braces, you could jump and land just fine." The general seemed to be impressed by this. "Really? I must admit, this is rather interesting Captain." Spitfire silently breathed a sigh of relief. "Can you do that from any height?" "No ma'am, they do have a limit, but we are working to get rid of that limit as much as possible. After a few seconds of silence, Spitfire spoke up, eager to get to the next part. "If you would stand next to me ma'am, we will give you a demonstration." The General nodded and took her assigned spot several feet away from Soarin. "Alright Soarin, you're clear whenever you're ready." Soarin turned away from the two officers and crouched in a take off position. Soon enough, the two thrusters on his pack gave a low hum that slowly got louder as they started to warm up. Just as they erupted with a small blue flame, Soarin galloped away at top speed. Within seconds, he was out of the hangar and zooming through the sky. The two officers turned to the television screen just in time to see a birds eye view of the Academy as Soarin flew over it near instantaneous. "Now let me get this straight," the general said while watching the screen. "He can't move his wings at all right?" "Correct. The firefly keeps his wings spread out. All he has to do is angle them differently to change his direction." "And those thrusters are what's keeping him moving?" "Yes ma'am." "It's seems to make flying rather easy...almost too easy. Don't you think?" "Perhaps it does. In fact, Rainbow Dash thinks the same way. It does make flying easier, but it also helps the pilot save energy in case they need to abandon the suit and fly on their own." "Abandon the suit?" the General asked with a raised eyebrow. "Yes ma'am. Every suit has an emergency cord above the left shoulder. Should a malfunction ever occur to the point where the suit is inoperable, the pilot pulls the cord and the Firefly will fall apart around them, letting them fly on their own." "I see." The general nodded and turned her attention back to the screen. Meanwhile, Soarin had flown over the academy again and altered his wings, angling them so that he could fly straight up. He quickly flew up higher and higher into the sky, the altimeter increasing with him the higher he flew. 7,000ft... 10,000ft... Within minutes, Soarin easily broke his usual cruising altitude of 6,000ft. Even though the air around him was rapidly starting to cool, he kept climbing. 15,000ft... 20,000ft... 25,000ft... By now, the air around him was at freezing temperature. A small alert sounded in his helmet and showed up on his HUD, warning him. However, it soon turned off thanks to the suit's built in heating wires that kept Soarin at a comfortable temperature. 30,000ft... 35,000ft... 40,000ft... Another alert went off, this one however was a louder and flashed quickly on his HUD, indicating a higher priority. The air around him was thinning and he wouldn't be able to breathe much longer if he kept flying as high as he was. Soon enough, however, he felt a cool breeze from his mouth piece inside his mask. Soarin breathed in the pure oxygen as he continued to climb even higher. "Unbelievable..." the General said in astonishment as she observed the altitude meter on the screen. "He's leveling out at around 80,000 feet." "Yes ma'am. He's reached the maximum height the Firefly can reach." Soarin glided around for several minutes, and thanks to the camera in his helmet, the two observers on the ground could see everything he saw. They could see the borders of every part of Equestria: The Badlands, The Frozen North, even the endless Everfree Forest seemed vastly small and insignificant at this height. They could even see the very curve of the planet; so many lands still unexplored. Spitfire turned to the General. "If you're ready ma'am, we'll move to the control tower for the next part of the demonstration." The general nodded, and the two walked out of the hangar towards a large nearby control tower. Within minutes, the two were at the top. They stepped out of an elevator and into a large circular room with control panels and monitors surrounding the edge. Large windows made up the walls allowing the ponies inside to see outside. Two Pegasi officers were busy at work typing on the panels, however they stood at attention upon the General's and Captain's arrival. "Captain, all Wonderbolts are ready and waiting." "Very good, thank you Sergeant." The two ponies went back to work after Spitfire saluted back. She then reached for two headsets, and put one of them on, giving the other to the General who copied her and stood just behind Spitfire. After testing the mic out, Spitfire spoke up, "All Wonderbolts, this is Captain Spitfire. Sign in and prepare for takeoff!" One by one, the voices of different Wonderbolts spoke through the headsets, and with each sign in, the pilot's Firefly lit up on the screen as well as their helmet cams. "Wonderbolt Fleetfoot, thigning in!" "Wonderbolt Fire Streak, signing in!" "Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash, ready to fly!" "Wonderbolt Misty Fly, good to go!" "Wonderbolt Blaze, signing in!" "Wonderbolt Rapidfire, ready and waiting!" One of the pegasus officers behind the control panel turned halfway to Spitfire. "All Wonderbolts signed in, and all Firefly's are operational. We are green across the board, ma'am." Spitfire nodded and spoke once again into the mic. "All Wonderbolts, you are clear for takeoff. The sky is yours." A resounding "yes ma'am!" simultaneously came from each of the excited Wonderbolts. One by one, the thrusters on the Fireflies whirled to life as each Wonderbolt attached their mask over their muzzles. "Hey, Rapidfire!" Blaze said over the headset in his helmet. "Try and beat my score this time!" "Ha! Good luck keeping up!" He shot back. "Shut it you two!" Misty said. "Remember, the general's watching, now let's show her what the Wonderbolts are truly capable of!" The Wonderbolts galloped out of the hangar they were in and in just seconds, they were zooming through the sky to meet up with Soarin. Soarin was circling high over a field not too far away from the Academy at 40,000 feet. In a few minutes, the other Wonderbolts were flying next to him. Fire Streak flew next to him and held out his hoof, the two hoof bumped then separated so that they wouldn't collide. Suddenly, Spitfire spoke over the headset. "All Wonderbolts, this is Captain Spitfire. Everything is operational and working perfectly; the Atom Bomb is a go. Repeat: we have a green light for the Atom Bomb." * * * * "Woah, wait a second." Fire interrupted. "The Atom Bomb? What is that?" Soarin smiled. "I thought that would get your attention. The Atom Bomb is the most dangerous trick the Wonderbolts have ever attempted. In fact, it can only be done with the Firefly. What would happen is that, we would pick a large cloud then each pilot would fly around at different angles. Eventually the cloud would morph into a sphere. The end result: a giant atom floating in the sky. It required precise calculations that only the Firefly could give us so that nopony would collide into each other." "That sounds really cool daddy!" Gentle said excitedly. "That's just the beginning. After a few seconds, we would fly away from the cloud, at that moment, your mother would fly towards us at top speed, and then do a sonic rainboom right when she hit the cloud. This resulted in the atom exploding and giving the audience a spectacular show." "That....is....AWESOME!" Fire said wide eyed. "But...why haven't I heard about that trick or the Firefly?" Soarin blushed from embarrassment and squirmed in his seat. "W-Well...there's a reason for that..." * * * * As soon as the green light was given, the Wonderbolts split off into different directions. Misty and Fleetfoot flew down to fetch a large chunk of a cloud and pushed it out into an open part of the sky. They flew away to allow the first Wonderbolt, Fire Streak, to make his approach. He flew right above the cloud and angled his wings so he would start flying around it. Soarin was next. Timing was everything with this trick. One mistake meant months of recovery in a hospital...or worse. Thanks to the Firefly, however, the timing was precisely calculated to the second, and Soarin was able to fly along his path without fear of flying into his teammate. One by one, the other Wonderbolts joined them; next was Fleetfoot, then Blaze, then Rapidfire, then Misty. Soon enough, a giant atom formed in the sky. In fact, thanks to their flying, the cloud began to smoothen out into a perfect sphere. As an added effect, the Wonderbolts' lightning effect made the entire atom look alive. The general widened a little with awe as she gazed up at the giant spectacle, obviously impressed at what Spitfire and her team cooked up. Spitfire looked at her out of the corner of her eye and smiled. You haven't seen anything yet, General. she thought to herself. There was only so much dizziness a Wonderbolt could take; even one who practiced on the Dizzitron for hours on end had a limit they just couldn't overcome. The Atom Bomb always made the pilots exceed their limits very quickly; therefore the trick wouldn't last more than a quarter of a minute at the most before they had to fly away. An alert went off in the pilot's helmets, it was time to break away before Rainbow would hit her mark and cause a sonic rainboom. Each pilot broke away, but as Soarin broke off, he got a perfect view of Rainbow flying towards them. She looked absolutely stunning...too stunning in fact. Soarin zoned out, just briefly, but it was enough of a distraction to send him colliding into Rainbow and several of the other pilots. The two hit with such force, it knocked Rainbow out cold and she started falling to the ground. Multiple alarms went off in the watch tower. "Firefly suits one, two, six and seven are heavily damaged!" One of the Pegasus officers reported. "Firefly suit four has suffered a major malfunction!" "Suit four....that's Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire immediately got on her mic and tried to get ahold of Rainbow. "Rainbow Dash! Come in!" Rainbow was still unconscious. The impact had caused her suit to twist and turn; one thruster was aiming straight down, making her fall faster, and the other was tilted at an angle, making her spin uncontrollably. "Rainbow Dash! Come in!" Spitfire's voice spoke through her earpiece. "Rainbow! Can you hear me!?" 30,000 ft... 28,000ft... 25,000ft... The other pilots were able to recover; their suits were damaged, but still semi-operational. Soarin looked at the altimeter display on his HUD and saw one blip falling towards the ground. His eyes widened in horror as he realized it was Rainbow's blip. He and several other Wonderbolts who got the same idea flew straight down to catch her. 23,000ft... 20,000ft... 16,000ft... The General looked on in confusion and worry; was this part of the demonstration? If it was, Spitfire was doing a marvelous job acting. She would've stayed quiet, but Spitfire looked too good for acting. "Spitfire, what's going on?" Spitfire flinched a little. She just couldn't talk to the general right now. She had to stay focused on Rainbow. "Sorry General, not right now." "This isn't part of the demonstration, is it..." "No ma'am it isn't." Spitfire's tone had a hint of annoyance in it. "Captain what can I-" "Ma'am, I'm sorry but not right now!" Spitfire interrupted. The General was about to speak, when they suddenly heard Rainbow's grunts over the speakers. 15,000ft... 13,000ft... 10,000ft... Soarin and the others were nearly caught up to Rainbow when she woke up. Her HUD was filled with cracks and fizzled on and off making it impossible to read the screen, and something was sending a sharp pain in her wing. Rainbow tried her best to fight off nausea and tried to get her suit to cooperate. She looked behind her and find out what was wrong with her wing. "Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire's voice spoke in her helmet. "Come in! What's going on!?" "My suit is heavily damaged!!! My wing....the frame is pinching it shut!!! I can't open my wing!!!" "Rainbow, if you can't fly, disengage and fly on your-wait!" Spitfire stopped as she saw others blips fly towards Rainbow's. "Soarin, Misty, Rapidfire! Break away! Rainbow is going to disengage!" Misty and Rapidfire looked at each other with uncertainty before they flew away. Soarin however kept chasing after her. If only his suit wasn't damaged, he could get her. He had to get her; this was his fault. He couldn't let her die. Spitfire's voice boomed in his helmet. "SOARIN! BREAK OFF NOW!!!" Soarin growled and forced himself to fly away. "Alright Rainbow, you're clear! Disengage now!" Rainbow reached to her left shoulder for the small red cord. It took a few seconds, but she grabbed it and yanked it with all her might. The HUD display in her visor turned red, and with a loud beep, every piece of metal over Rainbow's body instantly fell to pieces and peeled off her body, freeing her and allowing her to fly on her own. It almost worked perfectly...almost. One of the frame pieces that protected her wing snagged on it and yanked it back. Rainbow continued to fall. 8,000ft... 5,000ft... 3,000ft... As soon as Rainbow disengaged, her suit on the monitor faded. "Firefly suit four is now offline. Disengage successful." Before Spitfire could take a breath through, a new alarm went off; this one was on Rainbow Dash herself. A red dot flashed on her wing, indicating something was wrong. The computer quickly found the problem; Rainbow had dislocated her wing. 1,000ft... The other Wonderbolts were too far away to catch her, and there was no way Rainbow could fly on her own. 850ft... Soarin and the others watched helplessly from above as their friend fell further to the ground. They still flew down in a desperate attempt to grab her. 700ft.... Rainbow tried desperately to get her wing to work but every time she tried, a sharp pain shot through her wing and traveled throughout her back. She was getting scared. It was impossible to tell how close to the ground she was. Not knowing and not being able to plan was what scared her the most. 600ft... Spitfire ripped off her headset and scampered to open a window. She then took off with such force, she left a shockwave behind her that radiated through the control room. 575ft... Spitfire streaked through the sky, flying faster than she's ever flown before. She flew so fast the nearby clouds evaporated when she zoomed past; she might've been able to pull off a sonic rainboom if she flew a little faster. 400ft... Spitfire was able to finally catch Rainbow just a few hundred feet before she hit the ground. Spitfire slowed her speed and flew up, setting Rainbow on a large cloud. Spitfire stumbled next to her; her entire body shaking as massive amounts of adrenaline surged through her veins. "Rainbow.....are.....are you......" Spitfire said, gasping for air. Rainbow could've sworn she had seen her heart beating against her chest. "Are you...alright...?" "I'm fine Spitfire, thanks to you. I think my wing is dislocated though..." Rainbow looked back at her wing. The overwhelmed captain moved in and hugged Rainbow tightly. She was a wreck as she fought back tears of relief and anger. "Ouch. Hey, Spitfire, calm down, I'm fine." Soarin and the other Wonderbolts landed nearby. He was almost as much as a wreck as Spitfire. He opened his mouth to speak but Spitfire got in the first word. "You!!!" Spitfire snapped at him. "What were you thinking Soarin!?" Soarin took a step back. "First you crash into Rainbow, and then you endanger her again by disobeying my orders!!!" Not enjoying Soarin getting yelled at like this, Rainbow spoke up to try and defend him. "Spitfire, it was just a mistake. It's okay, really. I-" Spitfire turned back to her. "Rainbow, quiet." Rainbow obeyed and sat where she was as Spitfire turned back to Soarin. "You're lucky I don't throw you out of the Wonderbotls right now! If you weren't such a good flyer I would!" Soarin flattened his ears and lowered his head. With her mind racing, Spitfire couldn't think too clearly. She took a breath in an attempt to calm down. "You're dismissed, Soarin," she said in a calmer voice. Not daring to say a word, Soarin nodded and flew back to the hanger, followed by the other Wonderbolts. A couple of medics landed on the cloud to examine Rainbow. Spitfire stayed with them, not leaving until they took Rainbow away. * * * * "Sounds like you really messed up dad!" Gentle Breeze spoke up. "Yeah...." Soarin said with a sheepish smile. "Dad, I have a question. These Firefly suits sound really awesome and so does that Atom Bomb trick, but I have never seen either one of those used in your shows. What gives?" Fire asked. Soarin's cheeks flushed a little. "Well, Spitfire went to go talk to the general after the accident. She was really impressed with the Fireflies, but the safety of her troops were more important to her; she didn't want to risk another accident like that happening again. So a day later, Spitfire cancelled the Firefly project, and when the Fireflies went, so did the Atom Bomb." Fire understandably looked disappointed. "So what you're saying is..." "Yup," Soarin said with his cheeks flushing a little more from embarrassment, "your father is the sole reason why the Wonderbolts cancelled the most technological advancement we've ever made."