The Curvature of Fire

The cold, burnt smell of Autumn– it was always something that Soarin enjoyed during that time of year. The breeze was pleasant, and the air was fresh. But most of all, he loved the amber colours of the leaves and the fiery texture they gave off. The stallion always loved to take strolls down the park along the ground many years ago. It made him smile, trotting past the fields he once used to fly around with his parents as a colt. He didn't understand why he liked the colours of Autumn so much, but perhaps it was just one of those things he never really wanted to work out in his head.

Today, though, he wasn't near any of those fields. Cloudsdale didn't really have much when it came to Autumn. It always made Soarin a little curious as to why. He’d always longed to see those colours like he did as a colt. Of course, with his job, he rarely ever got the chance to go to ground level and usually missed out of experiencing Autumn anyway. The gray clouds and floating buildings of his city were beautiful in their own way, but it eventually got old for some pegasi.

However, Soarin wasn't going to be brought down anytime soon this Autumn. The stallion seemed to have a beat in his step as he trotted down the fluffy, white road towards his new office. The uniform he was proudly wearing with a grin attracted a lot of attention. The stallion had barely taken it off since the day he’d been given the honor to wear it, though he had washed it before coming to work today.

Soarin had a specific dream ever since he was a young colt. Becoming part of what made his city so unique and so popular, it was everypony’s dream to be in that position Soarin was in right now. The smile on his face could only grow wider as he rounded a corner towards a very famous icon; somewhere only few ponies ever got access to. A large gate loomed over the entrance to the aerodynamically shaped building as Soarin made his way towards it. He stopped just before the gate, which read the words: To Protect and to Fly. He smiled at the quote- something he’d memorized since he was small. His heart only swelled in pride as he breathed in a thick lungful of air before making a step towards the two guards that patrolled the gate.

“Gentlecolts, may I have access to this fine building?” Soarin asked proudly displaying his uniform.

One guard gave a look to his counterpart before turning back with a smirk. “Buck off, kid; this isn’t a place for clowning around.”

Soarin was a little taken back by the statement, “Hey! I work here now, don’t you see the uniform?” he asked pointing to the garment he was wearing.

The other guard chuckled. “Son, we had a small rainbow-maned filly come up to us about an hour ago doing the same thing. I suggest you turn around and waddle back to your mother,” by now both guards were trying to contain laughter.

Soarin sighed. He wasn’t expecting this. After all, he was a young stallion now, who rightfully earned his new job. With disappointment, he was about to turn around when a voice interrupted him.

“Hey Soarin, can you believe it’s finally happening today?” a voice shouted excitedly as the stallion and guards turned around to see a golden pegasus trotting up to the gate, wearing an identical uniform to Soarin. The only difference, however, was that this mare was wearing a cap over her head.

As she trotted up to the now smiling stallion, the mare removed the head piece to her uniform, and shook her head, revealing her spectacular golden-orange mane which seemed to shine against Celestia’s sun.

“Oh my– I mean, hey Spitfire,” Soarin responded, his smile turning slightly sheepish as he tensed up at the sight of the young mare whom he had known since his time in the Wonderbolt Academy. “I know! It’s like a dream come true,” he added excitedly.

Instantly, memories of Soarin’s time at the Wonderbolt Academy came to his mind. His colthood dream of becoming a Wonderbolt was never more real to him than when he was accepted into the academy just a few months ago. That was where he met Spitfire, a young mare who quickly took over his thoughts.

“You know, Soarin, ever since I first met you at the academy, I somehow knew we’d both make it to the full squad,” Spitfire said cheerfully with her bright eyes.

Soarin gulped as he thought of how to respond. He nervously held in his words in order to not say anything too cheesy. But he took even longer to respond as a gust of wind blew in their direction. Spitfire’s mane blew in the wind. The sight of her golden hair blowing sideways reminded the young stallion of a time when he was down on the ground, when the Autumn leaves would dance in the wind around him.

Not only was Spitfire a beautiful mare, she also had a very endearing personality. She was always determined and outgoing, and Soarin knew from day one at the academy that she was destined for greatness. When he found out that she was accepted into the Wonderbolts’ first team, it came as no surprise to him. But when Soarin also received his acceptance letter, well, his dreams came true that day, for many reasons.

“Um… yeah,” the stallion responded, his voice a little more shallow and high-pitched, compared to how he was speaking to the guard stallions. “I had no doubt you were gonna make the team. But when I found I made it, that was just so awesome and unexpected.”

“Oh, don’t be so modest, Soarin,” Spitfire teased, flicking her tail as she trotted by. She walked towards the stallions guarding the entrance to the building. As she did so, a few strands of hair from her tail lightly glided across the stallion’s cheek, causing him to shiver.

“Spitfire, reporting for duty!” the golden mare said confidently to the guards.

One of the guards pulled out a sheet a paper with a list of three names on it.

“Spitfire? Yep, you’re on the list,” the stallion on the left said. “Go right on ahead. The captain of the Wonderbolts is waiting upstairs.

With a grin from ear to ear, with nervous excitement, Spitfire went through. Soarin tried to follow closely, but he was stopped by the hoof of the guard on the right.

“Whoa whoa whoa,” he said sternly. “We didn't say you can go in!”

“But, but,” Soarin replied, visibly upset. “I’m Soarin, and I also got accepted to the Wonderbolts!” he responded defensively.

The stallion who was holding up his hoof, blocking Soarin’s path, lowered his hoof. “Yeah, I know. Just giving ya a hard time,” he said jokingly after he saw Soarin’s name on the list. “Go right ahead.”

Soarin could barely contain the smile on his face as he took his first few steps into the Wonderbolt Headquarters. The large complex held many statues of past and present Wonderbolts. A large fountain shaped in the word ‘W’ was the centerpiece of the complex and caught Soarin’s gaze as his eyes widened.

“Hey Soarin, come on! We need to go!” Spitfire shouted from the other end of the main room of the complex. Soarin smiled and spread his wings before taking off, following the mare into the building, startling a few ponies as they flew up a flight of spiral stairs, the two of them laughing as they reached the top floor of the magnificent building. When they landed, they noticed an antarctic mare leaning on the wall of the hallway.

“Took you two long enough,” the mare said with a smirk as her violet eyes scanned the two new Wonderbolts trotting up to her.

“Hey Fleet,” Soarin said happily trotting up to the mare as the pair bumped hooves. Soarin had known the mare for a while now, the two loved to tease one another. However, their friendship was a lot deeper than most ponies would expect it to be, as the two of them knew each other since they were in school together. Spitfire was a year older, and went to a different school, so they only met her when they all joined the Wonderbolt Academy at the same time.

“So, you guys ready for this? I got here only a few minutes ago and I’m already getting myself all giddy. I’m sure Cheap-Shot here’s been peeing his uniform,” Fleetfoot said, turning to the stallion in question, who blushed slightly in embarrassment as she playfully hit him on the shoulder.

“I've been ready for a while now, but that isn't changing the excitement,” Spitfire interrupted with a smile. Soarin was about to speak up when a door nearby swung open, revealing a large stallion. His muzzle adorned an iconic moustache that all three new Wonderbolts had first seen at their first ever Wonderbolt shows. The stallion kept a serious face on for the ponies before a small smirk formed on his lips.

“So, you’re the guys taking over Alpha Squadron?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

Spitfire gulped and righted herself in front of the current Wonderbolt Captain as did Fleetfoot and Soarin. “Y-yes, Mr. Severe Wind, I’m Spitfire and this is Soarin and Fleetfoot,” she said pointing to each pegasus as she introduced them.

"Of course I know who you are!" the stallion responded. "After all, I have to weigh in with who graduates from the academy!" The stallion smirked at their responses before opening the door into his office, “Why don’t you all come on in? There’s some things we need to discuss before you become part of our team.”

The three new Wonderbolts nodded before they gingerly made their way into the office. They quickly noticed two mares occupying the chairs in the office. One was a pink mare with an electric blue mane and two lightning bolts adorning her flank of the same colour. Beside her sat an orange mare with a jet black mane and a flaming comet on her flank.

“I’m certain you must know Firefly and Star Flare,” Severe Wind stated as he closed the door behind him. Again the three new Wonderbolts nodded. “Well, let's get down to business, shall we?” he said trotting over to his seat behind a cloud desk.

“So, I’m assuming you're all pleased with becoming Wonderbolts?” he asked, chuckling slightly. "What am I kidding, you must be on top of the world!” he said happily.

“That’s putting it lightly, sir,” Fleetfoot said, barely able to contain herself, Soarin and Spitfire not doing much better either.

“Well, I have your results here from the academy,” he said, taking the folders in his hoof. "I reviewed all the reports and discussed it with your instructors. So... question is, are you going to be replacing the three of us? Or will you be forming the reserve team?"

It was at this point now that Spitfire’s heartbeat started to speed up. Soarin felt like he was going to die right then and there and Fleetfoot felt like she’d just finished a marathon. They all wondered what this meant, because they had all originally thought that they were going to be main Wonderbolts right away. However, they thought about the whole thing with much excitement, and now reality started to come in. The three of them all sat nervously as they awaited their new positions to be announced.

“So... the three of you are going into…”