Chapter 1: The Burning Dawn
There he was, tearing through the dense and bone-chilling night air, his pale-cerulean wings moving furiously; his dark-blue tail trailing behind him, paving a road of churning smoke laced with streaks of lightning. And flying nearby was the mare of his dreams. Having performed this routine for the hundredth time here in Manehatten alone, Soairn’ decided to steer his attention over to the beauty flying parallel to him.
The golden-colored pegasus seemed to be set ablaze with her orange and yellow streaked hair whipping in the wind, giving a stunning contrast to the blue and yellow Wonderbolt uniform fitting snuggly around her form.
Soarin’ caught himself reminiscing of a time before she and him became co-captains of the Wonderbolts, back to Flight School when he first met Spitfire. Ever since then he has always had a secret crush on her. The fiery-maned pegasus, however, never seemed to show that she felt the same way, and the pony who is normally cool-under-pressure could not bring himself to find out if she indeed has feelings for him.
The love-struck pegasus could not understand what was stopping him from asking his friend out, even if it was for just one simple date. They had known each other forever; excluding the practices in Canterlot they basically did everything together. They were practically a couple already, Soarin’ thought. The blue Wonderbolt let out a heavy sigh, wishing that he and Spitfire could be together. The experienced flyer opened his eyes and noticed that he was flying alone. He immediately flashed his head to the right and saw his golden partner had broken the formation, her body banking to the right. Realizing he had almost missed his mark, Soarin' quickly returned his attention to the task at hand, his body mirroring Spitfire.
In the blink of an eye the two ponies split off from one another, blasting in opposite directions and eliciting a thunderous roar from the stadium below. Soarin’ corkscrewed to the left while his trail of smoke followed suit. Spitfire broke to the right, mirroring her partner before meeting the blue pegasus in the middle of the arena, creating a smoky hourglass shape in the night sky high above the cheering crowds beneath them.
Soarin’ always loved flying night shows in the Big Apple. From the city’s coliseum the blue pegasus could see the heavily lighted dome of Manehatten in the distance brighten the black skyline. The magnificent city was so bright, that it looked like Celestia's sun was peeking over the horizon early to catch Soarin' and Spitfire's performance. However, for the passionate young stallion soaring below Luna’s glistening night sky, the beautiful and bright lights of the city existed only to complement the stunning golden pegasus to his right.
“You ready for the big finish?” Soarin’ smirked, turning his head to face his partner hovering beside him.
“Just make sure you keep up this time,” teased Spitfire in response, a small smile on her face.
The synchronized pair shot skyward, revolving around one another in an eloquent dance racing toward the stars, sculpting their path of smoke and lightning into one large and brilliant pillar. The skilled flyers continued their ascending ballet, inching closer to the night sky until the ponies below were almost indistinguishable. From their peak, the two Wonderbolts plunged to the ground, spearheading a flurry of fireworks down towards the deafening cheers of the stadium below.
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“Here’s to another amazing show and to the end of a great season!” Soarin’ shouted from the middle of a large arched booth marked ‘VIP’, trying to make sure his voice carried over the powerful thumping bass and ear-splitting electronic music playing in the background.
The Wonderbolts' male captain thrust his arm into the air, a cold wet glass held firmly in the flyer’s light blue hoof. A sweet light-brown liquid spilled over the brim, rolling smoothly down its sides. The other Wonderbolts raised similar glasses to meet Soarin’s own, their voices echoing their captain’s toast before the wild group downed the sweet, delicious nectar.
There they were, all eleven Wonderbolts enjoying an ideal after-show celebration, bathed in the flashing red and blue lights and loud beating music of the club. Blaze, High Winds, Misty, Surprise, and Fleetfoot made up the mares, with Wavechill, Silver Lining, Rapidfire, and the two brothers Fire and Lightning Streak rounding off the stallions. Sitting next to each other in the middle of the booth, splitting the animated group of celebrities, were the Wonderbolts’ two captains, Soarin’ and Spitfire.
“So!” blurted a barrel-chested white pegasus, strands of his long orange mane covering his face, cider seeping from his mouth. “What do you all have planned for our well-deserved break? Because I’m going to be enjoying so-”
“Some good old practice, right?” Spitfire interrupted Fire Streak, staring at the now brooding stallion, her eyebrow cocked.
Both Streak brothers almost choked on his cider upon hearing their captain's words.
“Practice? Really, boss?! We’re always workin’ and practicin’… I don’t think we’ve had a real holiday in like… for-ev-ur!” Lightning Streak wiped his mouth clean with his sky-blue hoof, slamming his now empty mug on the table. The two brothers started to sulk into the black leather of the booth as several other members started to chime in, voicing their dissatisfaction with their golden captain’s statement.
“Do we always HAVE to practice in between seasons?” squeaked Fleetfoot, a slim white female pony hiding in the group, her voice barely audible over the loud drone of the music. “I mean… I think we’ve all worked extremely hard and we know all the routines forwards and backwards, so…”
Spitfire looked over to the meek Wonderbolt and bit her bottom lip, her brilliant orange eyes betraying the thought that a short vacation after such a busy season sounded really nice.
“You know Spits, I think that these kids have earned themselves a small escape. I think everypony here deserves a break.” Soarin’ took another swig of his cider and smiled as he started to lightly nudge his best-friend with his shoulder. “You especially.”
The Wonderbolts had their eyes glued to Spitfire, eyeing her like hawks and fidgeting in their seats, anxiously waiting for their decision-maker to make a decision. As their golden leader started to open her mouth, the entire squad tensed up, their breath hanging in the air like a thick fog. The deep thumping of the bass drowned out as time slowed its passing to a saunter.
“Better answer them fast, because it looks like they’re about to die,” Soarin’ snickered.
“Oh, stop being so melodramatic you guys!” Spitfire conceded. “While I believe we can always improve ourselves, I do agree with Soarin’. We’ve all put in more than enough energy into this season and a nice month-long holiday is in order.”
The music resumed full blast and time returned to its fast-paced march as everypony, save for the two captains just sitting there smiling, jumped up in jubilation, cheering louder than the music.
“Kids these days.” The fiery maned flyer sighed, letting out a small giggle as she turned towards Soarin’.
“What are you talking about ‘Kids these days’?” the blue flyer asked laughing. “We’re only a couple years older than they are.”
The golden mare playfully pushed her blue counterpart as the other Wonderbolts continued their partying.
The night continued on for several more hours, and while the club was still packed with dancing and raving ponies, the ‘VIP’ section was slowly emptying. Most of the team had decided to get back to the hotel, worn-out by the demanding show and the nighttime merriment. All that remained were the Streak brothers hitting on mares at the bar and failing miserably, and Surprise thrashing around like a mad-horse on the dance floor. Then there was Soarin’ sitting somberly in the booth with his thoughts.
“Why don’t I just ask her out already?” Soarin' asked aloud to nopony in particular.
The strapping blue colt sat there staring at a half-filled tankard with his empty emerald eyes, his hoof tracing the edges of the rim. Soarin’ started to sink deeper and deeper into the black leather seat. What was he afraid of? The pegasus thought to himself. If this was any other mare he could easily talk himself into a nice date, but it wasn't just any other mare; it’s the filly he’s dreamed about since they were foals, the only pony he had ever truly felt a real connection with. So what was his problem?
The Wonderbolt’s captain snatched the mug off of the table, drinking what was left before slamming his head to replace the empty spot the mug left behind, letting a drawn out groan escape his mouth.
As Soarin’ continued to wallow in self-pity, Fire Streak and Lightning Streak started to stumble toward the booth, the brothers supporting each other as they closed the distance between themselves and their captain.
“Well lookie what we’ve got here bro!” bubbled Fire Streak, the pegusus’ words barely making it out of his mouth. “Capeetan here has passed out!”
“Ya wanna mess with him?” the sky blue stallion gurgled in response.
“I haven’t passed out,” Soarin’mumbled.
The pair sat in the booth, sliding in right next to their captain, one Streak on each side.
“Aww…" Lightning Streak started, unnecessarily drawing out the word. "What’s got you all down in the dumps boss?” he asked as he stretched his hoof around the sulking blue pegasus.
“Is it because of a filly?” questioned Fire Streak. “A certain mare named Spitfire?” he placed great emphasis on the name.
“Wait, how’d you know?” Soarin’ inquired as he lifted his head from the table.
“Boss, it’s written all over you like… like a… uh...” Lightning Streak's eyes went blank as he started to look off in the distance hoping that the word he was searching for would appear in front of him.
“A-a book!” yelled Fire Streak, completing his brother's sentence.
“Yeah, yeah! Like… li-li… like a book!”
“That obvious huh?” The two brothers had their arms slung lazily around Soarin’s neck.
“Like a book!” said Fire Streak, poking his friend in the chest with his hoof with each passing word.
“So whatcha gonna do ‘bout it boss?”
“I really don’t know what to do…”
“I know! How about you ask her out?!” Fire Streak flung himself into the air hovering wide-eyed.
“I want to, but I can’t… I’m just too afraid…” the blue stallion’s voice trailed off as he dropped his head.
“Okay then… if you’re afraid, ya first need to grow some balls!” Lightning Streak drunkenly lowered his head below the table, “'Cause I ain’t seeing any under here.”
“Then you can ask her out!” Fire Streak remained hovering over the table staring straight into Soarin’s eyes. “Wait, you don’t have a nut-sack?!”
“Calm down will ya? Of course the boss here has pair.” Lightning Streak patted the blue pegasus on the back, his red watery eyes filled with a touch of genuine concern. “Don’t cha?”
“Will you two knock it off for a sec? Seriously, I really like Spitfire, and I want to ask her out… I just don’t know how I should go about doing it.”
“Lucky for you boss! Cause Fire Streak and I will help you practice asking someony out.”
“Yeah, I can tell by your successful escapades over there at the bar that you two are the great with mares.” Soarin’ rolled his eyes. “Plus, I’m not going to just start flirting with random ponies I don’t know!”
“Oh!” exclaimed Fire Streak, “I have a- a... brilliant idea!”
And with that, the pegasus took off toward the dance floor. Soarin’ amusingly watched as the inebriated flyer started bumping and crashing into almost everypony dancing, weaving his way towards a pale white pegaus with a bright yellow mane. After an entertaining minute, he returned to the VIP booth with Surprise.
“So Fire Streak here told me your predicament, Cappy!" the cheerful pony joked, her body bouncing up and down with the beating music. "I thought that you and Spitfire were already an item!”
“Well, no… but I would really like that,” Soarin’ mumbled.
“Yeah, the boss here is having some filly trouble.” Lightning Streak pulled Soarin’ closer to himself before the Wondrbolt’s captain pushed off.
Surprise, still cheerfully hopping to the music, started to chuckle.
“Cappy, I think you’re overthink things!” the partying Wonderbolt bounced on top of the table, sitting squarely in front of Soarin’ “I think it’s obvious to everypony that you and Spitfire already have something, you just need to make it official!”
“He doesn’t know how to do that though,” Fire Streak broke in.
“Although Spitfire may be somewhat of a hard mare to please, she likes you,” Surprise responded, a wide smile appearing under her sparkling eyes. “You can see it, and all you have to do is be yourself and just tell her how you feel!”
“You know, you guys are right!” declared Soarin’ with a determined look plastered on his face. “When we get back to Canterlot, I’m going to ask Spitfire out!”
Chapter 2: A Bright New Day
The next day, after their small celebration at the bar, the Wonderbolts left on the train for Canterlot. Everypony who wasn’t sleeping off a hangover was talking and enjoying the smooth train ride back; everypony save for Soarin’, who was too busy trying to figure out how he was going to ask Spitfire out. As the sun was starting to sink below the horizon, the train had finally reached its destination.
The train slowed to a halt, and not seconds after the doors opened, a white and yellow blur burst out expressing her joy to be back home.
“It’s nice to finally be able to sleep in our own beds again,” Fleetfoot meekly stated as she cantered off the train, bag in hoof, “Well… I’ll see you all later.”
“See ya Fleetfoot, and have a goodnight.” Soarin’ pulled Fleetfoot into a friendly embrace before letting her off.
After the rest of the luggage had been unpacked, and everypony said their goodbyes, Soarin’ found his chance.
“Hey Spits, you’re apartment’s kinda far, and it’s really late,” Soarin’ hesitantly said as he walked over to her, “How about I walk you home?”
“My! Such a gentlecolt.” Spitfire jokingly batted her eyes as she picked up her bag and started off with the blue pegasus into the dimly lit streets of Canterlot.
While the city was usually always quiet and peaceful at this hour, this evening the Equestrian Capitol was especially silent and serene. The dim lights of the street lamps gave off a tranquil ambiance, and for the most part, were empty; save for the two souls leisurely walking side-by-side, enjoying nothing else but each other’s company, savoring the hush that lay gently over the city. The buildings slowly passed them by as the apartment complex came into view, but the two ponies made sure to take their sweet time getting to that front door. However, all good things must come to an end.
“Well, thanks for walking me home,” Spitfire said as she stood in her doorway smiling, “it was nice.”
A slight smile slowly formed on the golden mare’s face as the blue pegasus stood there silent, a blank stare being his only response.
“Are you alright?” Spitfire asked edging slightly closer to her teammate, a hint of discomfort in her voice.
Soarin’ finally responded uneasily as he slightly shook head to wake himself from his daze. The blue stallion stood in place picking at the ground with his hoof, his eyes desperately searching for something, anything, to look at other than the eyes of his crush.
It shouldn’t be this hard to ask somepony on a date, Soarin’ thought to himself. He slowly lifted his gaze, his emerald eyes meeting the golden eyes of the mare in front of him. Nope! This was the most difficult thing anypony could ever do.
The golden pegasus slowly started to close her door as she said goodnight to the frozen pony, her words hanging awkwardly in the air.
Soarin’ quickly and softly stopped the door from closing with his hoof.
“Wait… Spitfire, I was wondering…” Soarin’ started to stutter as he slowly retracted his hoof from the door.
“Yes?”
The male Wonderbolt was starting to tense up, feeling his nerves getting the better of him.
“I was wondering if you’re doing anything tomorrow night- not that you aren’t because- Buck, what I’m trying to ask you is… would you… like to grab… some food?” Soarin’s head was mirroring his thoughts, bouncing back and forth avoiding the point he was trying to get to, “That is, I mean, would you like to get dinner tomorrow night if you’re free?”
Soarin’ quickly shifted his gaze downward, barely rocking back and forth on his hooves, waiting for the horrible sound of rejection.
“Well, I’m busy tomorrow night…” Spitfire started.
Soarin’s body started to droop, his legs started to shake, and his mind started to race; I knew this was going to happen! We’ve been best friends forever so of course it’s-
“But how about we grab some food Tuesday night?” Spitfire giggled as she interrupted Soarin’s wild thoughts, causing the stallion to freeze in place yet again.
Soarin' started stammering, unable to construct any coherent thought, let alone a sentence; his mind trying to grasp on what just happened.
“I’ll see ya Tuesday night then?” she giggled again, turning around, slowly letting the door close behind her.
“Wait!” Soarin’ caught the door, “What time should I pick you up?”
Smiling, the golden pegasus answered.
“Let’s say six.”
The blue stallion was making his way back to his apartment, dumbfounded, when the realization finally hit him straight in the face. He had just asked Spitfire out on a date.
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Tuesday was finally here, and Canterlot was brimming with life; the streets packed with shops and stores and ponies, mostly unicorns with the occasional pegasus or earth pony milling about. Soarin’ was weaving in and out, through the masses, paying no attention to the bustling activity of the city.
One of the upsides to living in such a posh city was that nopony paid him much mind. Without his notable Wonderbolt outfit, he was just another pegasus to these hoity-toity and uptight socialites.
Walking through the streets, Soarin’ was on a mission, repeating his mental checklist for the sixth time.
“Okay, I need to get some flowers and chocolates- because girls like those… right?” Soarin’ continued mindlessly walking, the traffic almost predictable.
“Then I pick her up, and we’ll walk over to the restaurant… Then we’ll…” the blue pegasus stopped to massage his temples, the ponies flowing around him.
“I actually have no idea what I am doing.” Soarin’ looked around and spotted a small bakery. “Maybe some food will help me calm my nerves.”
As the Wonderbolt captain entered the bakery, a small bell rang, alerting the owner. A heavy set unicorn came hustling into the main shop from the back.
“Hello there!” the unicorn bellowed, “The name’s Miller Bran! What can I help you with?”
“You have a nice little shop here.” Soarin’ approached the unicorn standing behind a glass counter filled with various baked goods of all sorts of size and make.
“Why thank you!” The unicorn straightened up showing off an enormous grin, his face beaming with pride. “My wife and I having been running this bakery together for the past twenty years or so, a small family business, which I’m hoping to pass down to my daughter one day! So, smell anything you like?”
Looking around at all the assorted baked goods, the pegasus’ stomach vocalized its sudden hunger.
“Everything just looks and smells amazing! I don’t know what I should get.” Soarin’ was nearly drooling, mesmerized by the food tempting him.
Soarin’ continued to peruse the rest of the shop, taking all the sights and smells in. If the food tasted as good as it looked and smelled, he would probably be knocked into a delicious coma.
“Mmmm… That pie looks delicious; I’d like to get some of that!”
“That will be four bits please.” Miller levitated several slices of pie onto a plate on the counter.
Soarin’ handed the baker the money. “So you said that you and your wife have been running this bakery for about twenty years, meaning you two have been married for quite some time?”
Miller happily answered Soarin’s question with a hearty laugh and a summarized story of his life living as a baker with his wife.
“Sir, I know that this may be weird,” Soarin’ started, “especially coming from a stranger, but can I ask you for some advice?”
“What type of advice we talking?” the unicorn chuckled, which in turn made Soarin’ smile and blush.
“I’m going on a date tonight with somepony special… somepony I’ve known forever, and I really don’t want to mess this up.”
“Ah! Young love eh?” The older pony trotted around the counter to where Soarin’ was standing, “Well my wife and I have been married for quite some time, but we’ve been in love for a lot longer. If you truly lover her and she feels the same way, then just follow your heart, and you have nothing to worry about!”
The unicorn laughed and placed a hoof around Soarin’s neck bringing the blue pegasus into a large hug.
“Thanks,” the Wonderbolt said, returning the friendly hug, “that actually helps me a ton.”
Soarin’ then scarfed up his pie and headed out the door, ready for his date tonight.
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The show pony had never been more nervous before in his life, not even during his first show with the Wonderbolts. When it came to the concepts of love, he was lost.
Spitfire opened her apartment door beckoning the other to come in, before quickly disappearing into her bathroom.
Despite having been in this apartment countless times, the quaint and lightly decorated space seemed almost foreign tonight.
“Sorry,” Spits yelled from the bathroom. "I didn't expect you to be here so early."
Soarin’ only responded with an “I know” and a friendly laugh as Spitfire cantered into the living room.
Soarin’ just sat there, awestruck.
“You look… absolutely stunning!” the stallion stammered, trying to grasp the words necessary to fit the beauty in front of him.
The mare truly seemed set ablaze, looking as if beautiful embers smoldering under Luna’s starry night.
“You ready to go?”
Soarin’ shot up.
“Yes!” The blue pegasus picked up the colorful bouquet of flowers that he set down beside him. “And I brought you these.”
“Aww… Thank you.” Spitfire grabbed the flowers from Soarin’, their mouths coming so close.
It didn’t take long for the couple to reach the restaurant and luckily for Soarin’, who forgot to make reservations, the wait wasn’t that long.
The two pegasi were led through a dimly lit and sophisticated room. The soft drone of light conversation flooding the restaurant as the two ponies found their seats at a small table.
As soon as the two Wonderbolts found their seats, a unicorn came up to take their orders.
“Allo, monsieur, mademoiselle! What can I get you to drink?”
“Could we get a bottle of wine?” Soarin’ responded, slightly caught off guard by the waiter’s thick accent.
After placing their orders, the waiter cantered up to them, levitating a bottle of wine over to their table.
Soarin’ stared, into the eyes and face of what he thought was heaven itself.
“What are you looking at?” said Sptifire giggling, turning around, trying in vain to find the source pulling at Soarin’s attention.
The golden mare turned back around and looked into the eyes captivated by her.
“You remember the first time we met?” the blue pegasus said smiling and leaning onto the table, still entranced with the beauty in front of him.
“You mean when you crashed into me and sent us both flying over the edge of Flight School?” Spitfire exclaimed, bringing several eyes towards them.
Soarin’ grabbed at his sides and laughed.
“Yeah, that time…”
“I’m surprised you even graduated from Flight School,” Spitfire joked.
Soarin leaned back, laughing. “You can’t blame me! Until my family moved to Cloudsdale that was the first time I’ve ever been in the clouds. Vanhoover didn’t have that many pegasi.”
“Everypony there thought you were an Earth Pony,” Spitfire chortled, “You and that shy pony… ummm… what was her name again? Klutzershy?”
“You mean Fluttershy?” Soarin’ corrected, wiping a tear from his eye.
“That’s what I said.”
The two Wonderbolt captains were laughing up a storm, gathering the attention of most of the restaurant.
“No, you called her Klutzershy, you know that name everypony teased her with.”
“Oh yeah… I feel so bad about that, especially since she didn’t graduate with our class.”
“That was almost me if it wasn’t for you.”
“I whipped you into shape though!” Spitfire glowed with pride. “You had all the mechanics and technical stuff down, you just needed a little experience… well, flying.”
The waiter came up, levitating two plates of food.
“Your food.” The pony lowered the plates down to their respective ponies.
“Thank you very much” The two Wonderbolts said in-sync.
For Soarin’, the rest of the evening went perfectly, the two ponies just sat and talked through the night, even past closing; much to the chagrin of the unicorns working there. It seemed that fate had finally decided to give Soarin’ his special somepony.
