Race the Wind

Chapters

Chapter 1: Spark
Chapter 2: Flame
Chapter 3: Fire
Chapter 4: Blaze
Chapter 5: Inferno
Chapter 6: ...Spitfire
Chapter 7: Fanning the Flames
Chapter 8: The Wonderbolts
Epilogue: Memories yet to be made...

Chapter 1: Spark

"Nothing like a bit of healthy competition..."

The summer sun had finally reached its zenith in the vast expanse that was the sky above Cloudsdale. The fiery orb radiated a stifling heat that caused ponies of all ages and sizes to sweat profusely. The white cloud built streets of the wondrous floating city were almost completely deserted, seeing as the intense summer heat wave had driven nearly everypony into their homes for some form of shade. But not two young pegasi foals, one a pale shade of blue, the other a fiery shade of gold. They laughed as they chased each other through the narrow backstreets and alleyways that ran between the cloudhomes. The bright yellow filly giggled as her friend, a colt, almost snagged her flame coloured orange tail with his forehoof.

"Have to be quicker than that Soarin'!" she laughed back to the panting blue pegasus behind her. The colt looked at her with playful outrage.

"What? I got you! Don't even LIE!" he smiled before galloping with a burst of speed towards her. Soarin's hoof reached out again, agonisingly close to the filly's tail, that bounced up and down as she ran away from him, almost taunting him. Just a little more...

The yellow pegasus suddenly launched herself upwards with a single powerful flap of her feathered wings. Soarin' gasped in surprise, barely having time to register the white wall of a cloudhome coming up rapidly to meet his face...SMACK.

Spitfire laughed hysterically as she saw her friend run straight into the wall.

"I can't believe you fell for that! HAHAHA!" she called down to the dazed looking Soarin', rubbing his head hard and struggling to pull himself up. The little yellow filly continued to laugh, she knew her young friend had a very limited attention span. It was one of the characteristics that made up his friendly, goofy attitude, one of the things that made him her best friend. He looked up at her, his smile turned to a look of annoyance.

"Hey, you never said we could use wings!" he protested.

"Never said we couldn't," she answered quickly, gaining a growl of frustration in response. It made her smile even more.

"Well, if we're allowed to fly..." Soarin' muttered as he picked himself up. He tensed his powder blue wings and leapt high into the air. Spitfire gave a look of mock horror and darted off away from her friend.

Soarin' immediately bolted after her. She was fast on the ground, but even faster in the air. Soarin' was hard pressed to keep up with her, and was pushing his wings to the limit even after such a short time. But he knew Spitty, she was a great sprinter - but had next to no stamina. She would slow down eventually, and he would finally be able to catch her.

Sure enough, after a few minutes, the orange maned filly began to tire.

"Getting tired Spitty?" he called slyly.

“You wish", she burst forward once again. Damn. The blue colt used the last of his strength reserves in a final push to catch her. His forehoof inched closer to her tail as he crept towards her.

Just a little...just a li- YES! Soarin' grinned widely as he grabbed hold of Spitfire's tail.

What he wasn't expecting was his friend to come to a dead stop in mid sprint. He smacked straight into her back, sending both ponies spinning through the warm summer air before crashing gracelessly onto a nearby cloud. Both foals were wound around each other- both laughing hysterically. They rolled away from each other and lay on their backs, sweating and smiling as they rested on the soft cushiony cloud. Spitfire leant over to Soarin' and lightly punched him on his foreleg.

"You're gettin' faster Soar, what, you on steroids or somethin'?" she giggled. Soarin' laughed and lifted both forelegs before flexing them.

"Nah, just pure muscle" he replied with a wink. Spitfire laughed.

"Oh really, well you're gonna need a lot more muscle than that if you're gonna keep up with me for long, featherbrain!" Soarin' turned to face her. Her amber coloured eyes showed nothing but amusement and happiness. He had no doubt that his own emerald hued orbs showed the same.

"Hey Spitty..."

"What...?"

He tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"You're it."

Soarin' sighed as he came back to the present. He relished in his and Spitty's foalhood memories. His head was resting on his folded forelegs as he sat at one of the circular booths in the Flight Academy's cantine. Around him ponies his age talked and chattered as they trotted back and forth from table to table. Spitfire was at the water fountain, chatting happily to her friend Fleetfoot, most likely talking about the new colt that had just arrived the previous week. Hurricane, he was called, and he had somehow managed to snare half the mares in the school in his little web of flirting.

Virtually every mare who was friends with Soarin' had fallen head over hooves for the tall, strong and athletic white pegasus. Yes, he was a fast flyer, and yes, he had a 'gorgeous' storm blue mane...and yes, he had a sexy voice (apparently), but Soarin' couldn’t work out why nearly all of his female friends adored him so much. Only Spitfire and Fleetfoot weren't enthralled with Hurricane, as far as Soarin' knew anyway. He lifted his head up as he saw Spitty and Fleetfoot trot over to his table.

"Hey Soar, why you on your lonesome? And whats with the wittle bitty fwowny wowny?" Spitfire teased whilst ruffling Soarin' windswept dark blue mane. Fleetfoot giggled and sat down next to Soarin' on the round seat, drink in hoof.

"Yeah, you look like somepony just sat on your favourite pie. Wassup kid?" she asked cheerily.

Soarin' could help but smile at the mention of pie. He had discovered his strange and slightly concerning addiction to it a few years back, when he and Spitfire had just finished their time at the Junior Speedsters Academy. They had gone out to celebrate, and thats where he had discovered the hidden and glorious flavours within a cooked pastry dish that was pie...his first love. Spitfire fell into the seat on the other side of him, her orange mane falling about her face, framing it beautifully.

"Nothin's wrong guys, just thinkin' about later. We got drilling with Coach Cyclone. Just dunno know if I wanna do it". Spitfire gave a look of mock outrage.

"But you LOVE drilling with Coach Cyclone. Its your favourite lesson of the entire WEEK!" she said playfully.

"No its not! I ha-", he blushed when he realised that Spitty was being sarcastic.

"I know featherbrain!" she laughed and ruffled up his mane again. He liked it when she did that. He liked a lot of things about Spitfire recently, her fiery mane, her smooth relaxed voice, her sparkling amber eyes. Soarin' gave an internal sigh of longing. He had admitted to no one but himself his feelings for his best friend, and planned to keep it that way until the time was right to tell her.

But planning on telling somepony you're attracted to and actually telling them are two very different things.

The afternoon came all to quickly. Celestia's sun was slowly beginning to sink in the sky, and soon everypony began to file away to their afternoon classes. Soarin' flew lazily round the grounds towards the floating sports stadium above the main building of the school. Blue and Silver pennants flew from tall flagpoles that crested the cloud built structure, proudly displaying the Academy's colours. The pale blue pegasus watched as groups of laughing stallions made their way towards the oval shaped track housed within the stadium. He sighed.

Rapidfire, his best male friend, was off sick with the feather flu, leaving Soarin' alone as he entered the cloud built ring. He used to be quite a popular stallion - one of the fastest flyers, handsome, and generally a positive and happy pony. Then Hurricane arrived. Soarin' watched as the tall proud pegasus made his own way to the track, nearly a dozen other colts laughing and joking behind him. At least a third of them used to be Soarin's friends, but now were mere acquaintances thanks to Hurricane. The white stallion flexed his wings behind him as he trotted to the benches at the side of the track, saying something that made all of the colts around him explode with laughter. His dark indigo eyes scanned the stadium until he found Soarin's own green ones staring at him with a passive expression plastered on his face.

"Hey Soar, you ok?" Hurricane called

"Hey...yeah, I'm fine" Soarin' muttered in response. He couldn't tell if the friendly tone in the taller stallion's voice was genuine or secretly mocking him, but he could guess.

"ALRIGHT! Everypony line up now!" echoed a stern, rather terrifying voice from the far end of the track. Coach Cyclone marched towards the group of chattering stallions briskly, a look of permanant anger and frustration decorating his sharp face.

The Coach had a light grey coat and sported a black scruffy mane which was vovered mostly by a white baseball cap. He also had an impressivlely intimidating moustache. A silver whistle dangled around his neck.

"Are you all deaf?", he said with blood chilling quietness, "I SAID LINE UP NOW!"

This time he was heard, and everypony made a dead straight line at the start of the race track. Soarin' hastily joined, and internally sighed as Hurricane pushed his way up directly to his right. Soarin' could smell the cologne emanating from his pristine white coat.

The Coach cleared his throat before continuing.

"ALRIGHT! Now today we're gonna try something different. Instead of watching you group of cripples wander around the track like blind foals, we're gonna have a RACE!", he put extra emphasis on the last word, making sure even the dumbest of ponies understood him, "there will be NO prize for winning, they will be NO praise from me, and there will be NO sympathy for whoever comes last. Is that understood?"

"Yes Coach" the entire class said in unison.

Soarin' allowed himself a slight grin. Racing - finally, after term after term of just jogging and flapping around in circles, now it was time for him to really show off. His excitement was shattered when Hurricane pushed past him, flexing his powerfully built wings and legs. The taller pegasus turned back to Soarin' and gave him a sly smile.

The stallions each took up their positions along the curve of the oval shaped track. Thirty five laps, every lane in use, ten stallions per race. Soarin' watched as his classmates tensed their wings, eagerly awaiting the sound of Cyclone's whistle. The Coach pulled the small silver piece around his neck and brought it to his lips. He blew down hard. The stallions shot away like bullets, hurtling away at breakneck speeds. Soarin' watched as each lap was completed, slowly psyching himself up for when it was his turn.

Lap Seventeen

Lap Eighteen

Lap Nineteen...

Thirty three

Thirty four

Thirty five.

The first group of pegasi veered away from the track as the final colt reached the finish line. The winner of this race was a pony that used to be one of Soarin's friends, a dark blue pegasus by the name of Storm Rider. "NEXT GROUP TO THE TRACK!" came Cyclone's echoing command. Soarin' flew over to his starting line, flexing and stretching his wings before smiling to himself. Again, his excitement was interrupted by a certain blue maned, white coated pony.

"You ready?" Hurricane whispered.

"Are you?" Soarin' retorted with a raised eyebrow. Hurricane laughed and shook his head.

"You're in way over your head buddy, I'm the fastest colt here"

"Oh really, well - you haven't seen me fly have you?"

"Don't need too", Hurricane replied coolly, "I know I'm fastest - second to none."

Soarin' glared at the white pegasus next to him with silent simmering rage. He could be big headed sometimes, but this was just completely egotistical.

"And I'm gonna prove it to you - and her..." Soarin's ears perked up at the mention of 'her', and followed Hurricane's gaze to the entrance of the stadium.
Ms. Horsefeather's biology class flooded into the stands, books in hoof. Among them was Spitfire.

"Bring it on..." Soarin' muttered

Oh dear Goddess...why does she have to watch?

Chapter 2: Flame

"You mess with him, you mess with me..."

Soarin' tensed his wings, raising them into ready position. Hurricane did the same, a coy smile still playing on his lips. It was then that Soarin' noticed how large they were. They were almost a full third larger than his - not a good thing. The blue pegasus began to sweat. He couldn't lose, not when Spitfire was watching. Why in Equestria Ms. Horsefeather's class were watching them race was beyond Soarin', but he knew he couldn't let himself down.

He turned his gaze to his orange maned friend. She smiled back at him and waved. All he could manage in return was a nervous half smile.

Coach Cyclone raised the whistle to his lips. Soarin' snapped his eyes back to the track, breathing deeply and calming his mind. Racing was what he was good at, what he was born to do. No worries.

"Hey Soarin'..."

He turned to Hurricane, barely concealing his annoyance. He jumped as the white pegasus thrust his hoof along the cloud that made up the track. A large puff of fluffy vapour met his eyes, making them water.

"Wha- you cheati-"

The whistle rang out across the stadium. Hurricane laughed and dashed away with a powerful wing beat, catapulting him straight into first place. Soarin' couldn't believe it. The other stallion had cheated...

The blue pegasus sped after the rest of the group, trailing in the mortifying position of last place.

But he was born to fly...born to race the wind.

And what better wind to race than a Hurricane?

With a moment of concentration that came only at flying record breaking speeds, Soarin' funnelled all of his energy into his beating wings, now flapping to the point where they almost became solid blurs. He overtook Blitz, then Comet Breeze, then West Wind... He focused on nothing else but the aggravating white figure of Hurricane ahead of him. He briefly saw an orange blur in the stands as he passed them and smiled.

He wondered what Spitty was thinking as she watched him. He was catching up fast on another pony and banked his wings hard as he veered around the curve of the oval shaped track. He overtook another three ponies in that single maneuver. He couldn't help but smile to himself.

Spitfire watched with intense fascination as the stallions raced around the stadium at astonishing speeds. Ms. Horsefeather's voice could be vaguely heard from the other end on the stands, but Spitfire was entirely focused on the race. Like Soarin', it seemed to be her calling.

"Soarin's catchin' up fast, like, REALLY fast. Did you see that? That last curve? He just overt- look! He did it again!" exclaimed Fleetfoot, almost bouncing in her seat.

"I know, but that Hurricane's still way out in front, look" she pointed a hoof at the blue and white blur that was Hurricane.

He was at least a full lap ahead of the pony in second place, causing all the mares around Spitfire to gasp and coo in delight. She turned her gaze to the other racers. Her eyes widened when she found Soarin'.

"Is-is that Soar? Damn, he's comin' up real quick, I mean REAL quick, like- WHOA" Fleetfoot gasped.

Spitfire just looked on in amazement as her best friend sped up past another three ponies in a single wingbeat, launching himself into second place. Spitfire bit her bottom lip in anticipation.

The air felt like fire around Soarin's wings. His feathers were virtually pinned down by the wind as he sped forwards with blinding fast flaps. He couldn't tell what lap they were on, but he guessed around ten or eleven. Plenty of time to beat that bucker Hurricane.

"C'mon, just a little bit more..." he whispered to himself. The streaming blue tail of Hurricane was inches away from his muzzle. Soarin' briefly thought of reaching forward and grabbing onto it like he had done to Spitty years before...

But thought better of it.

With a final burst of energy, the blue and white pegasi were neck and neck.

"Fastest here are you?"

Hurricane almost jumped as he turned to face Soarin', a tiny smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Yeah, I am, and I'm much better at this than you are!" he retorted. As he did so, he veered straight into Soarin', almost knocking off straight off the track.

"You mule!" Soarin' pushed back, butting the white pegasus with equal force.

He was knocked again in return. The two stallions rammed into each other with burning determination, each trying just as hard to knock the other clean off the track.

It wasn't until Hurricane raised a forehoof and struck Soarin' square on the muzzle did things spiral out of control - literally.

"What the hay was that for?" Soarin' screamed as the numbing pain of the punch began to fade.

"Cuz..."

"Scared I'll beat you?"

"HA! C'mon then, come at me bro!" Hurricane taunted.

Soarin's patience finally snapped. Curving his wings, the pale blue colt smashed into the larger white one, raising both forehooves in the process. One struck Hurricane straight on his nose whilst the other was grasped by Hurricane's own raised hooves. The white pegasus' other hoof slammed into Soarin's lower jaw, tipping him on his back, but still flying furiously. Soarin' clung onto Hurricane's neck as he tipped, dragging the larger stallion down and forcing him to slow. Soarin' headbutted Hurricane hard, causing him to turned away and blink his watering eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry, did that hurt?" Soarin' asked cruelly. He had never acted like this to anypony bofore, but Hurricane was an exception. Never had Soarin' met a more overconfident, arrogant and cheating scumbag than the one he clung onto now.

Hurricane didn't respond, but bit his teeth down on Soarin's ear. The blue pegasus screamed in pain before kicking Hurricane in the stomach with his rear hoof. The white stallion grunted and flipped over, Soarin' ending up on top. Hurricane repeated the same kick on Soarin'...with a resounding crack.

Pain flooded through Soarin's body, making him feel dizzy and forcing his eyes to water. But the adrenaline forced him to stay conscious and return Hurricane's kick with a hard punch near his axillary wingpit feathers. He flinched as he felt Hurricane's forehoof grasp the base of one of his own beating wings.

"Gettin' tired, Soarin'?", the white pegasus twisted his hoof hard. The pain running through Soarin's wing was like fire running through his veins.

"Arrgh, you Goddess da-"

The force of the twist caused the blue pegasus to bank hard to his left, flipping Hurricane on top again. But Soarin' acted before his adversary could do anything, and kicked Hurricane's wingpit again, forcing him to bank the other way. The pair soon began to spiral over and over again, barrel-rolling in the air, all the while kicking and punching each other.

Spitfire stood up as she focused on the two combatting ponies. Her eyes widened with fear as she saw a vicious dark mark creeping across Soarin's ribcage.

"W-what's goin...wha-why?" was all Fleetfoot could manage next to her.

"Dammit, they're not stopping. They passed lap thirty five eight laps ago!" Spitfire exclaimed nervously.

Murmurs of shock and confusing rippled through the crowd both at the track and on the stands as both groups saw what was happening. Spitfire shook and head in disbelief...

"ALRIGHT, STOP THIS NOW!" thundered Coach Cyclone, his fury amplified by the round stadium. With a grumble, he took to the air when he saw that both colts didn't hear him.

Soarin' bucked Hurricane in the stomach as a large white hoof met his nose with considerable force.

"You buckin', coltcuddling, piece of horsesh-", Hurricane was cut off as a light grey missile hurled itself between himself and Soarin', splitting the two from each other with the force of a sledgehammer. Soarin' closed his eyes as the cloudy track met his muzzle hard. Pain rippled through his bruised body as he crash landed at the side of the race track, barely again to make out the equally battered white pegasus who slammed into the ground far to his right.

"What in Celestia's name was that? What in Equestria were you two doing?"

Cyclone shot gazes that could singe clouds at the two beaten and bloody ponies lying on the track before him.

"What in pony's sake possessed you two?". He didn't wait for an answer and turned to the rest of the baffled and silent class of stallions. "Get Nurse Cloudheart, now!"

Two pegasi fluttered away towards the main building of the school. Soarin' groaned painfully.

"S-Spitty? I-is that you?"

"Yeah... It’s me Soar."

The blue pegasus opened his eyes groggily. He was in a bed, surrounded by bare blue walls and a small window at looked out into a dully decorated corridor. He groaned again.

"What happened Soar? Why did you let this happen to you?"

He looked up at Spitfire's concerned face. By the reddy puffs around her glistening amber eyes, he could guess she'd been crying. He tried to sit up. The pain that flared in his lower torso forced him down again. It wasn't until then that Soarin' realised that he was covered in bandages. His left wing was fully wrapped in linen, as were his forelegs, left thigh, and right ear. A massive pad wrapped in softer yet firmer material was wrapped around his chest and abdomen.

"Urrgh, I feel like crap..." he moaned.

"I'm not surprised. Dammit Soar, what happened? Why did you have to go assaulting a stallion who’s clearly much stronger than you? It was a race, a friendly, non-competitive race during a sports class, not the Stalliongrad Derby! I mean, okay... He can be a bit of an ass sometimes, but so can you, so can everypony! Why did you have to go have some deathmatch with him, mid flight too?!" Spitfire asked hotly, leaning in close to her broken friend.

"Hey, I didn't start it! He buckin' cheated at the start line, threw cloud in my face. And when I finally catch up to him, he starts tryin' to push me off the Goddess-damn track!"

Spitfire turned away. It hurt Soarin' more than anything else.

"Y-you scared me..." she whispered.

"Spitty, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but he deserved it! You didn't see him at the tr-"

She left the cubicle room, giving him a tearful glance.

"Don't do anything like that ever again Soar...please...you're my best friend". The door closed behind her, leaving the battered stallion alone in the bare room.

Spitfire trotted quickly out of the medical centre of the Academy and started towards the stadium. She quickly found who she was looking for.

Hurricane, apart from a nasty bruise down the righthoof side of his face and a few minor scratches, was perfectly healthy. That angered the orange maned mare greatly. It wasn't fair that her best friend was still locked up in hospital whilst the bucker that almost killed him walked around bragging and smiling. It angered her even more that that was precisely what he was doing as she approached him.

"...So I kicked him in the ribs really hard afterwards. He cried like a little filly, like, straight away. It was buckin' hilarious, you guys should have seen his fa-", he stopped when he saw Spitfire marching towards him. "Well well, watcha doin' tonight beautiful, come to hear how I wasted that coltcuddler Soa-".

He was silenced by Spitfire's angry hoof, making agonising contact with the bruise from where Soarin' had headbutted him. The stallions around hurricane slowly backed away.

"Don't you dare, you piece of horseshit! Soarin' is my best friend and you have the nerve to come bragging about it to me..." She smacked him in the head again. "You repulse me..."

Hurricane glared at her with fiery indigo eyes.

"What the hay do I care, he's a lying piece of lowlife scum! He doesn't deserve somepony like you as his marefriend, he's a Goddess -damn coltcuddler anyway"

Spitfire could have sworn her eyes literally burned with raging fire.

"He is not a coltcuddler, and he is not my coltfriend. And from what I hear, you're the piece of lowlife scum."

The white stallion's brow furrowed as his own anger began to boil over. He locked gazes with the fiery maned mare and drew his head in closer.

"He doesn't deserve you...he's a weak, lonely turd with no friends apart from you, a mare, fighting his battles for him" Spitfire didn't flinch.

"You ever touch him again, I swear I'll kill you..." she muttered back.

To her surprise, Hurricane laughed.

"I like this one boys, she's a real feisty mare. And she's cute...", he leaned in only so Spitfire could hear him, "...and I'll bet she'll look even cuter in my bed".

Spitfire slapped him across the bruise again. Hurricane winced, but grudgingly smiled.

"Oh I love a challenge..."

"You want a challenge? Meet me in Cloudsdale at sunset near the Rainbow Factory. At the Spectrum Causeway..."

Hurricane raised an eyebrow, "Oh, why?"

"We're gonna race..."

Chapter 3: Fire

Burning spirit, blazing bright. Of one whose heart was born for flight..."

Soarin' stared blankly at the plain ceiling above him and sighed. Some of the bandages covering his body had been removed, leaving his wing and thigh free of linen. But the large binding around his chest and stomach remained. The x-ray results for that section of his battered body revealed that Hurricane's kick had shattered a rib and bruised three others around it. Nurse Redheart had warned that if he had continued to pound that area, bone fragments may have punctured Soarin's left lung.

The thought was harrowing...

On the positive side, Rapidfire was finally out of hospital from the feather flu, and was currently sitting next to the pale blue pegasus.

"Wait, so... He barged into you when you caught up with him?" the orange maned stallion asked.

"Yep..." came the monotone reply from Soarin'.

"You didn't say anything or do anything that may have caused him to do it?"

"Nope..."

Rapidfire grunted with impatience at his friend's lack of response.

"Hey, I'm just sayin', I know what you're like sometimes. You can get a bit overconfident and maybe a be a bit of an ass. I'm just trying to rule out the possibility that you may have said som-"

Soarin' rounded on him.

"You weren't there! So don't tell me what may or may not have happened. The dude's a plothole, and thats the end of it.”

The blue pegasus slumped back onto the bed with another sigh.

Two more days, thats what Nurse Redheart had said. Two more days before he was well enough to leave the dingy building and return to the vast liberating sky.

"Why was it so important that you won this race anyway? It was just a class sports lesson...what made you so damn determined to win?" asked Rapidfire curiously.

Soarin' blinked in surprise. His friend didn't know about his feelings for Spitfire, and the pale blue pegasus briefly thought about telling him.

"...Because the dude's a plothole like I said, and he needed to be beaten," he replied hesitantly.

"And yet you're the one in here beaten bloody..." Rapidfire said, raising an eyebrow disapprovingly. Soarin' couldn't help but smile. He hadn't smiled in a while, not since he had woken up. He turned to the orange maned pony and grinned.

"Glad you're back buddy..."

Spitfire stood patiently at the upper end of the cloudroad that was known as the Spectrum Causeway. It was so named firstly due to its proximity to the Rainbow Factory, and secondly because of the prism shaped street lamps that ran down its dead straight length. The sunlight fragmented on the prismatic lampposts, sending arcs of rainbow coloured lights across the cloudroad, creating archways of glittering colour.

The yellow mare had begun to pace. Despite the hatred she felt for the bucker that was Hurricane, she suddenly felt very nervous. She had seen what Hurricane had done to Soarin' personally, and she had seen his racing expertise. He was fast. Very fast, and Spitfire was doubtful that even she could beat him. The only reason she was doing this was to defend Soarin's honour...

That and because of the off chance she could kick Hurricane's flank into next week.

She turned abruptly turned as she heard laughter coming from the direction of the Academy. She almost growled when the white form of Hurricane crested the clouds. Three other stallions followed him. Spitfire had come alone.

"Hey beautiful!" came the smug voice of the white stallion as he approached with a dumb grin of his face. Spitfire scowled at him. "Still see you haven't changed your mind about me..." Hurricane continued, flexing his wide wings and tensing his athletic body.

As much as Spitfire despised the stallion, she had to admit he was quite attractive. His coat was pristine apart from the injuries that Soarin' had given him, and it clung to his large muscles tightly. His mane was two shades of blue, one dark the other light. His cutie mark was of a swirling blue tornado like icon.

Despite the large bruise running down one side of his race, Hurricane was undoubtedly handsome. His eyes were of a dark indigo, and had an aura of confidence about them.

Had he been someone other than a complete and utter ass, Spitfire would have gladly dated him...

"No, I haven't changed my mind..." she muttered icily.

The white stallion laughed. The other three stallions with him sniggered as well. Spitfire's already pent up anger was beginning to boil over.

"So, you said you wanted to race. Well, I'll say what I said to that coltcuddler Soarin'. You're in way over your head," Hurricane gloated, lifting his chest up high and proud.

The orange maned mare laughed, hiding her insecurity well.

"We'll see about that cripplewings. Here's the deal: First to reach the end of the Causeway wins. If I win, you apologise to Soarin' and admit what a plothole you were him to the rest of the school"

Hurricane smiled again.

"That's it?" he asked, clearly amused. Spitfire nodded firmly.

"Ha!" came Hurricane's response, "Hear that boys, I gotta say how terribly sorry I am to that little foal. I'm so scared that I'll lose" he added sarcastically.

He then locked gazes with Spitfire, indigo battling amber.

"And what if I win... What do I get in all this?" Spitfire didn't respond at first. In truth, she hadn't actually thought that far into the deal. She felt quite stupid.

"I've got an idea" the white stallion suddenly said, suspiciously cheery, "If I win...

You'll be my marefriend."

Spitfire looked at him with utter disgust. "W-what? You've got the be buckin' joking. You're the biggest plothole I've ever met. Why the hay would I agree to that?"

"Because if you don't..." Hurricane's indigo eyes scanned the area around Spitfire. The orange maned mare followed his gaze, and saw that the three other stallions had encircled her. "...I guess we'll just have to have some other sort of fun with you tonight..."

Spitfire turned to him. She tried her best, but fear clearly broke through her mask of confidence.

"You wouldn't dare... I'll call the Sky Wardens. You so much as touch me and I swear I'll tell them." She had begun to back away from the taller stallion, only to be stopped by the forehooves of one of the other ponies. She shook him off and rounded on him.

"S-Storm Rider, p-please... Don't!" she stammered. The dark blue pegasus just smiled slyly. He had been a good friend of Soarin'... Surely he wouldn't.

She backed away again, this time she was seized by the forelegs of a dark grey stallion. She kicked him hard in the muzzle before beginning to flap her wings to fly away.

She howled in pain as hurricane's strong hoof clamped onto her primary flight feathers, preventing her escape.

"Now what do you say, Spitfire... Deal?" Hurricane whispered cruelly into her ear.

The yellow mare bit her lower lip. She would not buckle under his threats, she would not.

But seeing the three other stallions laughing and leering at her filled her again with fear.

"I swear to Celestia, if you touch me again I'll tell the Sky Wardens.

"Go ahead, my dad's the Sky Marshal, and Storm Rider's brother is a Sergeant. Tell them whatever you want. They won't believe you"

Spitfire began to whimper, but quiet enough that Hurricane couldn't hear. Seeing no alternative, the yellow mare sighed.

"Alright... Deal."

The white pegasus let go of her wing and smiled broadly. "Well then, lets get on with it!"

"YES!" Soarin' yelled out in exultation. "Hell yeah! I'm finally getting out of here!" The pale blue pegasus almost leapt out of the bed with joy before being brought back down by the sharp pain in his chest. Rapidfire ruffled his friend's dark blue mane as he grinned hugely.

"That's fantastic! When's the doctor coming?" he asked happily to the smiling nurse at Soarin's bedside.

"He's here now. If fact, he's right here..." she said as a tall dark blue unicorn pony walked into the cubicle. He had cast a cloudwalking spell on himself, and was clearly still getting used to the feeling of walking on them. He wore a white doctor's robe and wore a pair of round spectacles.

He smiled warmly at Soarin' as he entered the room.

"Hello there Soarin', my name is Doctor Tourniquet. I believe Nurse Cloudheart here as told you what I intend to do".

Soarin' beamed and nodded.

With magic, Doctor Tourniquet would be able to heal Soarin's injuries in a scant few minutes. It was by pure coincidence that the Doctor was giving a lecture at the school that day, and when he heard about Soarin', he was more than happy to help.

The pale blue pegasus relaxed his body as he was instructed by the unicorn. He watched tentatively as the long blue horn started to glow with a sky blue light.

Rapidfire had been told to wait outside, but Soarin' smiled to his friend as he saw him staring curiously through the cubicle window. The light across the horn intensified, and he felt his body begin to tingle.

"Now, there will be some discomfort during the process, maybe even pain. If at any point you wish me to stop, just say so" Tourniquet said.

Soarin' smiled.

"No worries Doc, I'll be fine. I survived this didn't I?" he said pointing a hoof at the area of his broken ribs.

The Doctor shook his head amiably in disapproval before closing his eyes.

"I'm about to begin, be ready"

Soarin's body relaxed, but his mind raced. He was finally going to leave the cringy hospital wing and rejoin his friends in the sky. And he could finally tell Spitfire about his fe-

A hot tingling sensation ran up across his chest. Soarin' gasped, more in surprise than pain. he could feel the tissue of his bones reknitting themselves as the doctor's magic raced through his body. It was without a doubt the strangest feeling he had felt in his life. He winced as the first rib fully healed itself, the magic then moving onto the next bruised bone.

"Buck..." Soarin' muttered.

"Please don't use that language around me, sonny." Tourniquet said with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry". Despite the weird sensations rippling across his chest, Soarin' smiled. Just a few more minutes and he'd be flying again.

Spitfire raised her golden wings into ready position. She ruffled her feathers from wingpit to wingtip, making sure that everything was in order. She couldn't lose. She couldn't. She had to do it for both herself and Soarin'.

"Ready Spitty?" Hurricane's voice drifted over from her right. The yellow mare locked gazes with him.

"Don't call me that. Only Soarin' calls me that."

"Well if you're gonna be my marefriend in the next three minutes, I gotta have some kind of pet name for you!" the white stallion replied.

"Heres yours: mule-plot." retorted Spitfire icily. Hurricane laughed again.

"See boys? I told you I like this one" He winked at her.

Spitfire turned away, trying to keep her frustration under control. she had to focus now. Storm Rider's voice echoed out across the cloudroad.

"Three...

...Two...

...One...

...GO!"

Both Spitfire and Hurricane shot away faster than bullets. The yellow mare beat her wings furiously, keeping her focus dead straight in front as the rainbow arches flashed away above her. Her eyes were squinted to prevent them from watering, and her fiery mane was swept back behind her. She was moving so fast that it began to flow and flash like a real flame. She dared not turn to her right, but from what she could see in her peripherals, Hurricane was neck and neck with her perfectly.

Her wings became solid blurs as Spitfire diverted all of her energy into her muscles. Sweat fell away from her brow as she still picked up speed. Inch by inch... She pulled in front of the white stallion.

Almost there...

She could see the end of the Causeway where the cloudroad met the greater city of Cloudsdale. The sun had almost completely disappeared below the western cloudbanks, bathing the city in the glow of twilight. So close now...

Spitfire smiled as she dared a glance behind her. Hurricane had a look of complete and utter outrage on his face, his wings beating furiously in order to catch the orange maned mare. But Spitfire would not let up now, and she continued to fly faster.

It was then that she noticed the heat building up near her flank...

Curious, she glanced behind her...

And screamed in shock as her eyes her greeted by the sight of roaring flames running down her back. Her wings faltered.

Losing balance, Spitfire veered downwards towards cloudroad. The collision was extremely hard, and Spitfire skidded across the rainbow hued clouds before flipping over and landing on her wing, pinning herself down. But the worst pain came when she saw the brilliant streak of blue and white pass over her head like a rocket... Across the finish line.

No... No! Oh sweet Celestia, no!

Hurricane approached her unmoving body with a smug grin stretched across his face. "Well, well, well... What happened there?" he asked arrogantly.

Spitfire couldn't honestly answer. Where in Equestria did those flames come from? Had she caused them, or had Hurricane done something? Either way... She lost... She lost, and... She was Hurricane's...

"No!" I won't be your marefriend, the deal's off!"

Hurricane shook his head disapprovingly.

"Oh no Spitty, you can't do that just because you lost... It’s not fair."

"Buck off! I'll never go out with you, you're a lying pile of cr-" Spitfire stopped when she noticed Storm Rider and the other two stallion approach her from three angles.

She cast her head down, tears beginning to well in her eyes, but she kept them from falling.

"That's better..." said Hurricane quietly, "now come here...". He put his foreleg around her withers. Spitfire batted him away at first with her wing, but soon remembered the others around her. "This is going to be a wonderful relationship" muttered Hurricane evilly.

It didn't work. The tears fell at last. Spitfire cursed herself silently for being so weak, and for letting her best friend down too...

"...Oh Soar, I'm so sorry" she muttered to herself.

Chapter 4: Blaze

"Salted wounds..."

The tingling sensation in Soarin's chest finally melted away has Doctor Tourniquet's horn dimmed.

"There", the dark blue unicorn said with satisfied voice, "all of the bone damage has been repaired, however I recommend you get some rest and relax for the next couple of days. The newly healed tissue will need time to become durable like the other ribs, so I don't think you should leave just yet.”

Soarin' stared at the Doctor as if he had just said that pie was the most disgusting dish on the planet.

"Um, yeah...um, sorry Doc."

Soarin' zoomed out of the room faster than a lightning bolt, leaving the stunned unicorn gaping at the door. Soarin' laughed to himself. He spun round Nurse Redheart and barged out of the medical wing's doors. Rapidfire struggled to keep up with his newly healed friend as he followed him out into the twilight air.

The sun had set, and Luna's moon slowly began to creep above the eastern cloudbanks, bathing the city of cloudsdale in a silvery magical glow. Soarin' spread his feathered wings, breathing in the clear night air with greedy lungfulls. It tasted so pure and fresh compared to the stuffy confines of the hospital wing. Rapidfire hovered up by his side.

"Where’re you goin'?" the grey pegasus asked.

"Um, home? I'm really tired and I might get an early night. You know, rest and stuff like the Doc said..." Soarin' replied, gazing into the main city to locate his cloudhome.

Rapidfire sighed a little bit. Soarin' didn't notice and dived down from the floating Academy to the racing wind currents, his feathers caressing them perfectly.

"You sure you don't wanna stay out?" Rapidfire called from behind Soarin'.

"Why? What d'you have in mind?" Soarin' asked as he looped in the air, relishing in the glorious and liberating sensation of flight. Rapidfire had a sly grin on his face.

"Well, I heard thats theres a new club in Greater Cloudsdale, called Platinum Lace..."

Soarin' laughed out loud. He knew the name, every stallion in the Academy knew the name. The pale blue pegasus turned to his light grey friend and smiled broadly.

"A strip club? Really? Rapid, you dirty old colt"

"Oh c'mon Soar! Nearly every other stallion in the school's been there, and plus, I thought you'd fancy a pleasant atmosphere after yesterday". Soarin' laughed again, still continuing toward his cloudhome.

"And it'll properly shut you up about not having a marefriend. For virtually all of last week you wouldn't stop moaning and moaning and moaning-"

"Alright! Okay, okay. I'll give it a shot..." Soarin' reluctantly said.

He immediately regretted it. Spitfire was the one he wanted. He didn't want some random mare from a sleazy nightclub, he wanted the most beautiful mare in the Academy, probably all of Cloudsdale. He wanted Spitfire...

Rapidfire beamed.

"Nice one Soar. I think its this way..." he said as he veered off towards the centre of Cloudsdale.

Soarin' had never felt so guilty in his life. Even though he wasn't going out with Spitfire at all yet, he felt as if he was betraying her. He sighed bitterly. The more he thought about it, the more he realised a simple truth:

Spitfire would never go out with him if he didn't tell her about his feelings. They had been brewing up for months, and never once had he found the courage to look her in the eyes, those beautiful, beautiful eyes of golden amber, and tell her what his heart felt.

But the events of the previous day flooded back to his mind. He could have been killed...

All at once, Soarin's confident, goofy self came flying back to him. Yes he wanted Spitfire, but Spitfire wasn't going anywhere, right? Why not enjoy the club for one night at least. He'll tell Spitfire in the morning. Yes. He would tell her at school in the morning. But tonight, he needed to unwind, and the pale blue pegasus tilted his wings and followed his friend.

Loud music pumped into the massive dark room as Spitfire sat motionless in a semi circular booth, next to her... coltfriend. She blinked as lasers and strobe and multicoloured lights pierced the darkness at random intervals. Laughter and cheers flooded from the huge crowd at the centre of the room, where ponies- virtually all of them stallions- hollered and wooed at the seductive and barely clothed mares dancing in the middle of a large dance floor on a silver podium. Spitfire cringed.

Hurricane's idea to celebrate his 'victory' was to go clubbing with his friends, and his newly made marefriend. What Spitfire hadn't expected, however, was that he'd have the audacity to take them to a strip club. Platinum Lace the club was called, and the golden mare despised it. All around her, drunk and lust crazed stallions shouted and screamed at the top of their lungs at the - admittedly attractive, Spitfire thought - show mares as they spun round in sexy positions on the polished mirrored poles at dotted the room at random intervals. The entire place smelled of alcohol, sweat and sex, and Spitfire thought she might pass out.

But the next that came to her ears disgusted her even more...

"Hey Spitty, why not have a drink with me and... S-sorry, what... W-was your name, sexxxy...?" slurred Hurricane's drunken voice, his breathed reeking of strong spirits. He gestured to a slim lilac pegasus mare, her foreleg buried within his blue mane.

"Rose Petal, honey," she whispered seductively into the white stallion's ear.

Spitfire turned away in revulsion. A strip club of all places. She knew Hurricane was a plothole, but this was just plain disrespectful. Spitfire leaned back in her seat and waited for the night to be over.

"Stop! How old are you, colt?" asked the tall intimidating bouncer outside the entrance to the club.

Purple neon and white lights glowed above his head, spelling Platinum Lace in fancy curled letters.

"Seventeen" replied Soarin' confidently. The tall stallion before raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Ya know what, I don't even care... go on in, enjoy yourselves" muttered the guard in a voice that showed just how boring his job was. The pale blue pegasus smiled.

"Why thank you good sir!" he said in a terrible Trottingham accent.

Rapidfire laughed and the two stallions strutted into the club filled with confidence.

The atmosphere was one of pure lust as Soarin' and Rapidfire entered the main room. Soarin's eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets when he saw the show mares. They were everywhere, on stallions' laps, on poles, on tables. His heart was pounding. So this is where everyone came to in order to relax. A tingling touch on the back of his neck revealed itself to be the hoof of a stunning turquoise pegasus, her eyes heavily made up and a seductive smile creeping across her face.

"Hey handsome, never seen you here before... and you’re so young" said the mare in a tone of voice that made Soarin's heart pump even faster.

"Name's Sunflower..." the stripper continued, tracing her hoof down Soarin' spine. A quick glance to his left showed that Rapidfire was receiving an equally stirring visit from another light blue mare.

"Ooooh sweet Celestia..." muttered Soarin' as Sunflower's hoof wove its way down his back and up again, "don't stop..."

The show mare laughed and dragged Soarin' by his hoof towards one of the private booths. Soarin' could feel his wings stir into upright ready position against his will, but he didn't care. Right now, all he wanted was some fun. Spitfire would never know, and plus, she didn't know how he felt...

Sunflower straddled Soarin' as he sat completely mesmerized by the mare's erotic movements down his body. Her hoof traced down his chest, sending shivers down the pale blue pegasi's spine.

"So strong for somepony so young..." whispered the stripper.

Soarin' laughed, more out of embarrassment than anything. As popular as Soarin' was before Hurricane had arrived, he had never had that much experience with mares. He remembered dating one light grey pegasus in his second year at the academy, but she had turned out to be quite stupid and generally a bit ditzy. Plus she had really strange eyes...

But this was the first time that Soarin' had ever done anything with a mare before. All of his feelings were mixed in a giant ball of confidence tempered with excitement and nervousness. He felt his wings go rock hard before a certain tingling sensation stirred between his hind legs...

Rapidfire burst into the booth, completely terrifying the young stallion.

"Whoa! W-what the hay are you doin'?" Soarin' asked frantically, falling off the seat in the process.

His friend's eyes widened at the sight of Soarin's erect wings, and the fact that there was a sexy mare still perched on Soarin's stomach. She smiled.

"Why don't you join us, hun..."

Soarin' scrambled to his hoofs quickly, unceremoniously dumping Sunflower off him.

"Um, err, no that won't be happening. Um, thank you..?" Soarin' mumbled before throwing a few bits at the dazed mare.

He and Rapidfire exited the booth back into the main room, where the lighting flashed madly in a rainbow of colours.

"What the hell dude? You can't just come int-" Rapidfire silenced him with a hoof to the mouth.

"Look over there..." he said blankly, pointing a hoof over to the seats around the main dancefloor.

Soarin's erect wings instantly fell limp to his sides. He felt numb, and almost dropped to the floor had he not held his legs firm.

No... No, it can't be...

"I said, don't touch me!" Spitfire yelled as she shoved a drunken Hurricane off her body for probably the hundredth time that night. The white stallion laughed - she really hated when he did that - and started to mumble slurred words that barely made any sense. But the words that Spitfire could make out went something along the lines of "I-want-to-buck-you-you-are-so-sexy". She batted him away again with her wing. Thankfully, only one of Hurricane's friends still sat with them, the other two having gone off with two mares.

"C-commme ON S-s-s-Spit-Spitty, just this onnnce. I pwwomisssse it will be FUN!" the blue maned pegasus belched in between swigs of dandelion wine and Germane-ian beer. He lunged for her again, missing completely and smacking his head against the table. Spitfire shook her head in disgust and left the table - something she should of done hours ago.

But what she didn't count on were the pair of emerald eyes staring at her and Hurricane, tears welling in them.

"Buck..." she whispered.

Soarin' stared - no, glared at her and then back at the drunk form of Hurricane. For the first time since they were foals, Spitfire watched her best friend start to cry...

Soarin' turned and left as soon as he felt the first tear fall. He cursed himself silently. He hadn't cried in years, not since his cousin died when he was a foal. He ignored Rapidfire's frantic questions as he shoved his way through the heaving crowd of ponies towards the exit.

"W-what the buck...?" he thought out loud to himself as he entered the cool welcoming embrace of the cool night air.

He rubbed a forehoof over his eyes and sniffed. He flinched violently as somepony touched him on the shoulder. it was Rapidfire. Soarin' turned away to try and hide his wet eyes, but failed miserably.

"Its okay buddy, I kinda guessed that you liked her, from like, the way you act when you're with her..."

"J-just, leave me... Just... I need some air..." said Soarin' mournfully, and spread his wings into the night sky. Rapidfire didn't follow.

Spitfire came barging out of the club, her fiery mane dishevelled and falling around her face.

"W-where is he..?" she gasped as she was greeted only by Rapidfire.

"He's gone. Can't say I blame him really..."

"What?"

"How could you Spitfire? How could you stab your best friend in the back like this. The bucker nearly killed him, and now you're dating him? What the buck, I mean... Thats low, dude, real low."

Spitfire's amber eyes briefly flared at Rapidfire before calming once again.

"It’s not what you think, or what Soar thinks. Its all just some mistake, really, I can explain, just-"

Rapidfire stopped her.

"Then go and explain it to your best friend." He gestured his head to the swiftly fading pale blue shape in the night sky. Spitfire spread her golden wings and took to the sky after him.

"I'm so sorry, Soar... just slow down..." she muttered as tears of her own began to fall.

Chapter 5: Inferno

"Now I know where dreams lead..."

Soarin' continued to fly. He had no idea where he was actually going, but the sensation of wind beneath his wings always brought him comfort. This was a time when comfort would most certainly be needed. Spitfire...his best friend since foalhood, the most reliable pony he knew...his secret love... He had to be mistaken somehow. Surely he was imagining it, surely that wasn't Hurricane in the seat with her...

But he knew in his heart that what he had seen wasn't a figment of his imagination. Spitty had been there... With him.

"Dammit...why...?" he moaned out loud to himself. He felt a fresh wave of tears creeping through his body, but he refused to let them fall.

Blinking them back, he followed the glorious glowing white orb of Luna's moon. He didn't know why, but the soft silvery glow brought him a sort of serenity that only the wondrous night sky can offer. However, all of Soarin's thoughts stopped, as did he, when he heard a familiar voice echo from behind him.

"Soarin'! J-just wait a sec..." Spitfire yelled tearfully.

Her golden wings beat faster as she saw the flying form of her friend stop. Soarin' hovered there, silhouetted beautifully against the moon, his expansive wings making him look angelic. Spitfire raced towards him, desperate to try and explain. Maybe he would listen...

Her heart dropped when she saw Soarin' dive away from her.

"NO! No, Soarin' please! Just wait... I-I can ex-explain..." she didn't know if he heard her, and if he did he continued to fly away.

The yellow mare veered towards him, folding in her wings and diving like a falcon. But it seemed that no matter how hard she tried, her plea blue friend always seemed to fall further and further away. Desperate, Spitfire spread her wings and beat them hard in mid dive, briefly stopping herself before accelerating towards Soarin' with increased zeal. Her wings beat harder, her flapping become more intense with every stroke.

"C'mon Soar... Just slow down, please..." she muttered under her breath.

Soarin' diverted all of his strength into his wings, causing them to become solid blurs. He didn't care that Spitfire was behind him, he just needed some time alone. He didn't have the heart or the patience the hear the excuses of his best friend. How could she? How bucking could she? His sorrow and shock slowly boiled away into anger and frustration. He squinted his emerald eyes hard, and still picked up the pace. His storm blue mane whipped behind him, yet somehow it never lost its distinctive spikes. His forehooves were stretched out in front of him, his breath coming out in ragged gasps as he began to sweat. Why wouldn't she just leave him alone?

Yet through all of his pain and anger, a tiny little voice in the recesses of his mind kept nagging at him to stop and listen to her. Maybe there was a true explanation. Maybe he had overreacted... There was always a chance it would turn out to be a misunderstanding...

But Soarin' stubbornly pushed the voice away... And continued to fly faster. It was then that the blue pegasus started to feel the tingling sensation near his flank...

"Dammit Soar, just wait!" Spitfire called, her voice thick and cracked from the sobs she had made along the way. Her wings began to push even harder. She hadn't flown this fast in her life, only against Hurricane did she even come close to reaching the same spee- Her flank suddenly ignited in an incandescent burst of orange flames.

"W-what the hay?! Not again..." Spitfire's wings faltered again, slowly her down dramatically.

Panicking, the yellow mare spun round in a frantic flailing of limbs and feathers. It so only then that she noticed that the flames did not burn her... Spitfire looked at her blazing flank and gasped. Her cutie mark- a flaming lightning bolt - glowed fiercely with a mesmerising golden light. It was then that all of Spitfire's memories around her cutie mark came flooding back in a heartbeat. She had been a little filly, in her first year at the Junior Speedsters Academy.

She and Soarin' were in a flying lesson - their first race...

The little yellow filly had blasted ahead of everypony else, all except for Soarin'. They had flown neck and neck for over two thirds of the race until Spitfire had just managed to pull in front by a bare few inches. That’s when it happened. A fiery boom had exploded across the race track, vaporising the clouds that marked the race lanes. Spitfire remembered the indescribable feeling of receiving her cutie mark...

That fiery boom... it was caused by her speed. She quickly stabilised herself. How could she have forgotten? It was the most memorable time in a young pony's life, how in Celestia's name had she forgotten? But something else pushed its way into her mind as well: Soarin' earned his cutie mark the same day, at the same time. Spitfire looked up at the receding form of her friend and gasped.

Soarin' turned behind him. The tingling sensation on his flank was reaching the point of genuine annoyance. The pale blue stallion actually shrieked in terror and flipped out of his flight pattern gracelessly. Lightning rippled off his haunches, interwoven with dark angry storm clouds, leaving a trail of thundering and flashing miniature storms in his wake. Soarin's winged lightning bolt cutie mark looked as if it was on fire.

"W-what the... Whoa... Whoa, AHH Celestia help me!" The powder blue pegasus impacted the cloud with a loud poof. Damn his panicking... Soarin' spat out a mouthful of cloud as he lay eagle spread on the white fluffy pad. His wings ached terribly, and his cutie mark still tingled.

"What the hay..." he whispered in awe.

"Its your special talent..." came a sweetly feminine voice from above him.

His green eyes met those of burned gold. Spitfire landed next to him softly, her own cutie mark smoking- literally. Soarin' stared blankly at her for a second before turning away in anger.

"Soar, listen to me," she put a forehoof on his shoulder, "it’s not what you think, not at all". Soarin' shook off her hoof and turned to face her with pained eyes.

"Oh, it isn't is it? Well do explain Spitty, I'm dyin' to hear this. Go on..." he stated, his emotions all too clear in his voice. Spitfire took a breath before speaking.

"A-after I left you that yesterday at the hospital wing, I went out to go find Hurricane. I told him exactly what I thought of him after he did, well, after he nearly killed you. He just continued to be an ass. So... I challenged him to a race at the Spectrum Causeway."

"Why?"

"Cuz I wanted to prove to him that he wasn't so high and mighty, that he could be beaten by just a regular somepony like you or me. I told him that if I won, he would apologise to you, properly, and admit to the rest of the Academy what a bucker he was" Soarin' tried to open his mouth to speak before Spitfire silenced him with a hoof to the mouth.

"When he arrived, he came with Storm Rider and two other colts I didn't know. But...he then said about what he would get in the deal, if he won. So...he suggested that, if he won, I'd...b-be...his marefriend"

"You what?" Soarin' blurted, "y-you actually agreed to that? Like, what the hell Spitfire..?"

"He threatened to rape me" she interrupted suddenly.

Soarin's mouth froze. His angry eyes gradually dimmed, slowly giving of an aura of rage tempered with disbelief.

"H-he what...?" the blue pegasus asked with a icy quietness. Spitfire turned her head away in shame as tears started to well in her eyes. The orange mane began to sway in the slight breeze, showing her pained face to Soarin'.

His heart broke. Instinctively he wrapped his forelegs around Spitfire's withers and shoulders, his wings curling round to embrace her shaking form. She returned the hug with equal force, sobbing into Soarin's coat as he cradled her. It had been a long time since he had seen Spitty cry, a very long time. But one thing he did remember clearly about every one of those times came to light - he couldn't bear it. He couldn't bear the sight of his best friend upset. During a moment of rare maturity, Soarin' whispered softly into her ear.

"Shhh, its okay Spitty...I'm here...nopony can hurt you now" A single tear rolled down Soarin's cheek and fell into Spitfire's smooth mane.

"I'm so sorry Soar..."

"Hey, hey", he said, turning her alluring face to meet his, her cheeks cupped in his hooves, "what for?"

"I-I lost...I lost the race, and i...I'm so sorry Soar, I swear i didn't mean to, I sw-".

Soarin' silenced her with a kiss...

He didn't know how long he sat there with Spitfire on the cloud, but in that instant of passion, time seemed to slow to a standstill. The almost dizzying sensation of Spitfire's lips against his own caused Soarin's mind to race with every pleasant thought he ever had. But none could come close to the moment he now experienced. Thankfully, he did not feel her pull away, so sat still in stunned silence. After what seemed like an eternity, Soarin' parted from Spitfire, who had a look of sheer shock plastered on her face.

It was only then that Soarin' realised what he had done...

"Spitty...oh sweet Goddess, Spitty I'm sorry, I'm shouldn't have, sorry...I gotta g-", as Soarin' turned away, he felt Spitfire's hoof against his shoulder again. He forced himself to look into her eyes. They were still tearful, and for a moment Soarin' thought he had caused even more upset, but then she smiled. It was the beautiful sight Soarin' had seen the entire world.

The alluring face of his best friend seemed to lift up in happiness and physically shine as her lips parted into a contented, wonderful smile, her perfect white teeth almost glowing in the moonlight. She blinked back her tears, but Soarin' could tell by the way that they sparkled that they were no longer tears of shame or fear - they were tears of joy...

"Soar...I had, no, i-idea. How long...?"

"Months...I've been meaning to t-tell you, but, but, ya know..." Soarin' felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment, and wondered what shade of crimson they were at.

Spitfire stared at him with a glazed expression of joy. Soarin' still couldn't really get his head round what had just transpired. The entire situation seemed so surreal, so perfect.

There they were, two young pegasi sitting on a drifting cloud amidst the starry host of Luna's wonderful night, the full moon bathing them in pure silver shade as they finally admitted their feelings for one another.

Below them, the shining city of Cloudsdale danced lazily across the night sky, the entire town ablaze with street lamps and skylanes, making the entire scene look like a vision of the High Heavens. When Soarin' noticed the view below him, he let out a silent gasp. Spitfire followed his gaze and did likewise. The glittering roads of skystone glowed like the veins of the clouds themselves, spiralling over on another to create an intricate lattice of light lit pathways broken by the mighty buildings and pillars of the city itself.

Both pegasi had been flying all their lives, but never in all that time had either of them seen a view so humbling and beautiful before. Spitfire suddenly noticed the backlit clock of the Cloudsdale Town Hall, its hands locked head together as they pointed both to the numeral symbolising 'twelve'.

"Midnight..."

"W-what? What d'you mean?" Soarin' asked, slightly less focused than usual as the bright lights of Cloudsdale hypnotised him. Spitfire chuckled lightly.

"It's midnight Soar...a new day" She cupped Soarin's heavily blushing cheeks in her forehooves. "Do you know what day it is, Soarin'?" The pale blue pegasus barely managed a shake of the head, so enraptured by Spitfire's touch that he almost didn't hear what she had said. The golden mare smiled.

"Its the fourteenth...the fourteenth of Winter's End" Soarin's eyes widened in surprise when he realised what that meant.

"T-that means today is-"

"Hearts and Hooves Day"

They both said in unison. Soarin's heart was beating so fast he was sure that it would catch fire or something. The feeling in his chest felt like an inferno waiting to break free. Taking Spitfire's hooves in his own, he leaned in close.

"Spitty...w-would, you be m-m-my...V-Very Special Somepony today...?"

The silence that followed was almost tangible, and Soarin' suddenly feared that he had somehow driven her away. All his fear melted when she leaned even closer and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Yes..."

Chapter 6: ...Spitfire

"You watch my back and I'll watch yours..."

The sun slowly began to creep above the eastern cloudbanks, casting a golden orange blanket over the sleepy city of Cloudsdale. Slowly, ponies of all ages started to wake up and began to file away to wherever they were supposed to be. The warm rays of the dawn beat down on Soarin's face as he awoke groggily, pulling his head out of the cloud. At first he had no idea where he was, with nothing but the open sky around him.

"Where... What?" he groaned to himself, still half asleep, but he awoke fully when he felt the soft breathing form of Spitfire beneath his wing. His emerald eyes widened in shock and disbelief, but then he remembered the events of the previous night. His heart began to race again in memory of the magical event that transpired beneath the silvery embrace of Luna's moon. He smiled to himself. He almost fell off the cloud in surprise when Spitfire stirred beneath him, groaning softly as the olden fingers of sunlight touched her delicate face. Soarin' ran a forehoof through her silky flame coloured mane, causing her heavy eyelids to flutter open, revealing the arresting amber rings beneath them.

The yellow mare rolled onto her back and smiled warmly as her gaze fell onto Soarin'.

"Hey Soar..." The pale blue pegasus leaned down and planted a soft kiss on Spitfire's lips, a kiss which she gladly returned.

"Mornin' Spitty, how d'you sleep?"

"Like a foal... Did last night really happen?" she asked dreamily. Soarin' grinned hugely and continued to run his hoof through her mane, a sensation that Spitfire clearly enjoyed.

"Well, I can't be sure, but I think it may have done. Can't imagine why I think so, though. I doubt its got anythin' to do with the fact that you and me are still on the same cloud after, well... sleeping together" he chuckled lightly. His heart melted when he saw Spitty smile, it truly was the most beautiful sight in Equestria, even more stunning than the dawn that radiated around them.

"Do... Do you think Celestia saw us... last night, I mean?" she asked slyly. Soarin' laughed before turning away, blushing like a little school filly.

"Um...I dunno, maybe?" he said before laughing. Spitfire propped herself up on her elbows, turning her gaze to Soarin's strong and toned body. Soarin' noticed this and he blushed profusely again. Spitfire smiled broadly.

"Hey, you weren't that shy last night, as I recall!"

"Ha, um, well, ya know... It was kinda... Well, I couldn't believe it. I still can't really believe that I'm here with you right now." The yellow mare caressed Soarin's rosy cheeks with a forehoof.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Soarin' shifted uncomfortably, his wings drawing in close to himself.

"Cuz I was scared...I didn't want to change anythin' between us. Everythin' seemed so...right. Like, you're my best friend, and I was scared that I woulda kinda scared you off or somethin'".

Soarin' was fiddling with his forehooves awkwardly, a sight which surprised Spitfire. He was so full of confidence usually, so vibrant and fun. But when it came to her, she realised how much he cared. She could reduce him to a babbling, timid little school colt. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"Anyways, I'm glad you... Showed me, last night," she smiled. Soarin's tenseness seemed to slowly ebb away, the blue pegasus gradually becoming his fun loving self once again. "Plus, I think that you should change your special talent. That cutie mark doesn't suit you anymore, I think it should be a nice big heart instead," she giggled. Soarin' glanced at his flank and smiled. The winged lightning bolt shone in the dawn light, casting a reflective streak on the cloud.

"Yeah, what'd you mean by that yesterday? When you said something about my talent?"

"When the lightning appeared before you crashed. That was how you earned that mark Soar, remember? At Junior Speedsters Academy when we first raced each other..." Soarin's eyes widened in remembrance of the day and soon a huge grin appeared on his face.

"Oh, I remember. That was scary," he chuckled.

The pair lay next to each other in a comfortable silence for the next few moments. The serenity of the dawn wrapped around the two ponies, the silence saying more than mere words could ever say. "Soarin' opened his eyes again. it appeared that he had dozed off at some point, so had Spitfire by the look of it. The sun had risen higher now...very high. Soarin' cast his weary gaze to the fiery orb.

"Buck..." He shook Spitfire awake, a bit harder than he meant to.

"W-wha-? Soar what is i-"

"Its almost midday! Looks like we gotta go Spitty, like now!"

The blue pegasus scrambled to his hooves, Spitfire doing the same once Soarin's words had settled in. The two pegasi launched themselves from the cloud simultaneously, both pairs of expansive wings catching the air currents perfectly. Maybe they could make it to school before lunch...

"Where in Equestria have you two been?!" thundered the Academy Headmaster, a tall old stallion by the name of Principal Zephyr. Soarin' and Spitfire glanced at each other, slight smiles pulling at their mouths. They considered silently whether to actually give a blow by blow account to the furious stallion of what transpired on the cloud.

"Um, we overslept" said Spitfire at last.

"Both of you?"

"Err, yeah..." answered Soarin', scratching the back of his head lazily. Zephyr's angry brown eyes widened when he realised what they meant. "Its no business of mine what two of my students get up to after school, but it does become my problem if it means that they fail to show up until after lunch! I'll be sending letters to both of your parents about this case of tardiness!" Soarin' stifled a laughed and Spitfire suppressed a hysterical smile.

The older stallion luckily didn't notice this, and sent the pair from his office with a contemptuous wave of the hoof. When they were outside, both ponies exploded into hysterical laughter. Soarin' could actually feel himself crying with mirth as Spitfire leant on him, almost falling over in amusement.

"D'you think we should have told him?" she asked breathlessly. Soarin' put his foreleg around her.

"I think if we did, he'll probably be dead from shock" he replied, wiping his eyes. The pair began trotting towards the main courtyard of the school, giggling and laughing all the way.

"You two made up then?" came Rapidfire's voice from behind them. He approached the two ponies with a sly grin on his face. Soarin' glanced at Spitfire and then back at his friend, a dumb smile plastered on his face.

"Um, I think so..."

Rapidfire eyed the two pegasi until he realised what his friend meant. His mouth became an 'O' of surprise and his eyes lit up with happiness.
"Wait, you two... Togeth- Oh, sweet Celestia, come here!" he hugged the two stunned ponies fiercely, squeezing the air from Soarin' and Spitfire. "But that’s like, Oh, you guys are so cute! Just wait till I tell Fleetfoot!"

And with that, he dashed off to find the white maned pony. Spitfire looked up and Soarin' and gave him a firm kiss on the lips. Storm Rider saw it all...

"But, awwww come here guys!" exclaimed Fleetfoot as she gave the happy couple a hug of her own, thankfully not as suffocating as Rapidfire's. Spitfire smiled broadly at her friend and returned the hug. Rapidfire trotted over and nudged Soarin' in his newly healed ribs.

"Ow, don't do that!"

"Oh, sorry... Nice one kid..." Rapidfire winked at his pale blue friend, until something not so welcome caught his eye behind Soarin'. "Uh oh. Here comes trouble..."

Hurricane strode into the courtyard furiously. His dark indigo eyes scanned the scene before his angry gaze locked upon Soarin' and Spitfire.

"YOU!"

Everypony in the courtyard stopped and turned to the white stallion, flanked by three other colts. Neither Soarin' nor Spitfire flinched as the raging pegasus stampeded towards them, his eyes almost on fire with rage.

"How, dare you. You ugly whore! You leave me in the club alone, and then fly off to go ruttin' him? You piece of horseshit. You slut! You are MY marefriend, you do as I say! You dare to go to him? You need to be taught a buckin' lesson on respect!"

He raised his forehoof to strike her across the face. It was only then that Spitfire flinched. But the blow never came. Spitfire cautiously opened her eyes, and gasped. Soarin's foreleg was obstructing Hurricane's, both stallions straining to resist the force of the other.

"Don't you touch her..." whispered Soarin' icily, a razor sharp edge in his voice. His emerald eyes were locked in a deadly stare of fury, his jaw set tight, making him look older than he was. The white stallion turned his equally fierce gaze to him.

"What did you say..?"

"I said, don't touch her." Hurricane suddenly burst out laughing, catching everypony off guard.

"Ha! You give commands to me? You stupid mule faced-" Rapidfire smashed his forehoof into Hurricane's muzzle, knocking the taller stallion to the ground. Soarin' shot a glance to his friend, clearly stunned as much as Hurricane at his sudden intervention.

"You threaten my cousin again and I'll cut your wings off, you piece of horseshit," Rapidfire angrily muttered. Cousin? Soarin' always knew that Spitfire and Rapidfire looked a little alike. Everypony had joked about it when they were foals, saying that the two were brother and sister. But Soarin' had no idea that they were actually related. Hurricane scrambled to his hooves and gave Soarin' and Rapidfire a venomous look.

"I'll get you, both of you..." The bell rang out across the courtyard, signalling the end of lunch break. Soarin' groaned. It was drilling with Coach Cyclone.

"ALRIGHT!" rang an all too familiar voice across the stadium. Soarin' silently groaned, Rapidfire most likely doing the same to his right. "Due to events that transpired the last time we did this," - he glared at Hurricane and Soarin' - "we will be doing things a little differently. We will still be doing a RACE, but this time we have a few extra additions to the group..." Cyclone raised a forehoof to the stadium entrance. Everypony gasped.

Into the stadium strode seven magnificent pegasi, their muscular athletic forms hidden by blue skintight suits streaked with yellow lightning bolts.

The Wonderbolts.

The most talented flight team in all of Equestria, the fastest and most daring pegasi in history. They were in the stadium... Soarin' almost fainted. Their captain, a tall and powerfully built stallion by the name of Tempest Wind removed his flight goggles and stared at the class of colts before him. Soarin' stood frozen as his gaze fell on him. The Wonderbolt captain kept his gaze on Soarin' for a second longer than he had anypony else before turning away.

"NOW, our esteemed guests are here to oversee your race. Should anything happen similar to last lesson, those ponies involved will be stricken from the list of those with the chance to join this amazing flight team."

Soarin's heart stopped. Join? The Wonderbolts were here to recruit? Oh, sweet Celestia. Soarin's trance was broken by the sound of a large number of feminine voices echoing from the second entrance to the stadium. The pale blue pegasus turned behind and sighed with a mixture of confusion and happiness. A second class of ponies strutted onto the track, all mares. Spitfire was among them.

Chapter 7: Fanning the Flames

"This is something worth fighting for..."

Spitfire's jaw almost dropped to the ground when her eyes found the seven blue clad pegasi standing at the far end of the stadium. Surely she must have been hallucinating, surely it couldn't be the Wonderbolts... She had to be seeing things. However when she caught Soarin's equally astonished face, she realised how real it was. The Wonderbolts - here! Her heart leapt into the stratosphere in excitement. Fleetfoot had stumbled over her own hooves as she gaped at the sight of the amazing flight team before her.

"A-are those really the W-Wonderbolts?" she said to nopony in particular as she picked herself up. Spitfire didn't hear her. But why were they here? What possible reason could the most prestigious flight team in all of Equestria be doing at their humble little school? Her answer came soon enough.

"Okay everypony listen up! Now you may have noticed our special guests over on the other side of the stadium, and the first thing that I ask of you is that none of you overreact when we go over to join Coach Cyclone's class. Now, the reason for the Wonderbolts being here is one I'm sure you'll all find exciting to say the least - the Wonderbolts are here to find new recruits for their squad" announced Coach Polaris, an athletic lime green mare who was considerably less formidable than Coach Cyclone. The entire class exploded with excited chattering. One pony even fainted...

Spitfire couldn't believe her ears. What flashed through her mind was something along the lines of 'Wonderbolts-Here-School-Recruiting-New-Oh-Sweet-Celestia!!!'. Fleetfoot couldn't force any form of understandable words from her mouth. She started babbling half-words, so high was her excitement. Spitfire gazed over at Soarin' who seemed as dumbfounded and stunned as she did. Rapidfire had a glazed look in his eyes. The yellow mare smiled. If she knew her cousin, he'd most likely be imagining himself in one of their flight suits.

"Okay everypony, follow me!" called Polaris. The class began to file towards Coach Cyclone's class at varying degrees of speed. Some mares trotted over excitedly, clearly eager to impress both the stallions in the other group and the esteemed guests that stood beside them, while others timidly trailed behind. Spitfire practically dragged Fleetfoot to follow her as the white maned pony was frozen in shock. However, Spitfire was greeted by an even more stunning sight - the sight of her colt friend trotting towards her with a huge dumb grin on his face. She couldn't help but laugh as he nuzzled her when he approached. She could practically smell the confidence and trepidation on him.

"You ready?" he asked, practically bouncing on his hooves. She smiled broadly and winked at him, a gesture which she could tell made him melt inside.

"Oh yeah, I am definitely - but I'm not sure about Fleetfoot..." she turned to her friend, who was almost shivering in nervousness and excitement, her eyes widening when Tempest Wind strode past her. Soarin' chuckled warmly.

"ALRIGHT! Everypony I call the name of come and line up at the track!" thundered Cyclone, "Blitz... Cloud Dancer... Tornado... Stormy Days..!" The list went on, until a total of eight ponies were positioned at the starting lines. The Wonderbolts had seated themselves in some of the higher stands of the stadium to gain a better vantage point from which to oversee and judge the race.

"Listen up everypony", called Polaris next to a brooding Cyclone, "the race shall consist of twenty laps, every lane in use. You are not allowed to fly above the set height markers that line the edge of the track. Fifteen feet is the maximum height allowed, so watch out if you're going to try to overtake!" Soarin' and Spitfire took it all in, watching with rapt attention as the first group of ponies readied themselves. All eyes turned to the Wonderbolt Captain Tempest Wind as he raised a forehoof, the crowd below waiting with held breaths.

He dropped his leg -

"GO!"

The first race finished with a surprising result, with the favourite - Tornado - coming in second place to a pony called Sunburst. The rest of the ponies waited anxiously to see if their names were next on the list for Race Two.

"Star Kindler... Neptune... Breezy Winds... Snowmane... Thunderfoot..." Spitfire and Soarin' breathed sighs of mixed relief and disappointment, Rapidfire and Fleetfoot doing likewise.
"GO!"

Race Two was much more eventful than the first, which culminated with Neptune slamming into Thunderfoot at the finish line, calling for a judges vote on the winner. The decision came that Thunderfoot won by a literal inch, much to the annoyance of Neptune, who trotted to the benches swearing and cursing all the way. Soarin' turned to Rapidfire, who was stretching his wings in preparation.

"You ready buddy?” Soarin' asked, barely concealing the nervous edge to his voice.

"Um... No, but might as give it all I got, right?" the light grey pony replied, his anxiety all too clear in his voice. Soarin' gave him a weak smile before slapping him heartily on the back.

"Right... You'll be fine pal, you'll be a Wonderbolt yet". Rapidfire smirked as his suddenly stood up at the sound of Coach Cyclone's voice.

"Whirlwind... Lightning Streak... Rapidfire..." Rapidfire gulped. He turned to Soarin', a look of extreme trepidation glued to his face.

"Wish me luck," he said, managing a strained smile. Soarin' patted his friend on his withers as he turned to leave for the start line.

"Go get 'em!" Soarin' rejoined Spitfire and the still petrified Fleetfoot as Rapidfire raised his wings into ready position. Spitfire waved at her cousin, who only managed a nervous half smile. Soarin's head flashed back to the time when Spitfire had done the same thing to him when on the track. Silence descended as Tempest Wind stood up from his seat once again, his shadow grey mane blowing in the light wind.

"GO!"

The pale blue stallion and the fiery yellow mare watched as the next group dashed from their marks. Fleetfoot watched on in sheer terror, biting the ends of her hooves as Rapidfire sped round the track, currently in third place. All watched as the group of pegasi veered around each other, constantly shifting positions as they banked, cut through or flew straight over each other to gain first place. The entire crowd gasped as Two ponies crashed into each other whilst both trying to overtake the pony in second place. The crash itself caused said pony to fly straight into the mass of tangled limbs and feathers, slamming into the unfortunate pair.

Rapidfire barely managed to twist away from the ball of bodies as they came crashing towards him. He could hear Soarin' and Spitfire gasp as he flipped forwards once more, catapulting himself into second place. Soarin' and Spitfire let out a massive sigh of relief as Rapidfire spun over the collision, now racing towards the stallion in first place. Rapidfire's wings were solid blurs, and both of the watching ponies could only imagine what he must feel like. Rapidfire was always good at acceleration, but lacked when it came to overall speed. Even now the mare in third place was coming up hotly on his tail. And there was only one lap to go...

Rapidfire shook his head as beads of sweat began to fall from his brow suddenly. The Wonderbolts were watching, his friends were watching, his classmates were watching. He couldn't lose this now. With a final push of energy, Rapidfire diverted all of his final reserves into his wing muscles. Feathers began to fall away from his coverts. He had never flown so fast before in his life. The white blue tail of Whirlwind teased him as he veered round the final curve towards the finish line.

"NOOO!"

Rapidfire closed his eyes and pushed harder still. He felt as if his wings were on fire. Slowly, ever so slowly, he pushed ahead... The cheer from the crowd was immense as the third group finally finished. Soarin' and Spitfire hugged each other in exultation as they watched Rapidfire's muzzle cross the line a single inch ahead of Whirlwind's. The light grey stallion crashed into the track after he crossed the line. When he opened his eyes, Soarin' greeted him with an enormous goofy smile.

"Ya did it buddy, you won! YOU WON!" the pale blue pegasus exclaimed whilst hugging Rapidfire's exhausted body firmly.

"Wha-what..?" was all he could manage in response. Spitfire came and hugged him harder still, squeezing the last of his air reserves from him.

"Well done cuz, I'm so proud of you!" she smiled warmly and kissed him on the forehead. Rapidfire, so overcome with this new revelation, collapsed in a tired mass, much to the amusement of Fleetfoot. The white maned mare had finally managed to gain so measure of composure for herself. It was probably the sight of one of her friends winning that had brought her back into sanity.

Race four, however, wasn't such a time for celebrating. Hurricane had powered to victory by a whole lap. Not welcome news at all. The white stallion glared at Soarin' as he came off the track, flexing his wings and spreading them in an attempt to intimidate the shorter pegasus. Soarin' firmly held his ground as the taller blue maned pony strutted away to the benches. Race five didn't bode well either, as Storm Rider had managed to snatch victory with a cunning undertake on the last lap. Race six wasn't very good as well, as one of Hurricane's goons won the final sprint to the finish. Soarin' gulped as the grey stallion trotted off to join Hurricane with a smug grin decorating his face.

"Firefly... Typhoon... Static Charge... Blossom Breeze... Spitfire" All eyes suddenly shot to the orange maned mare. Holding her head high, Spitfire smirked confidently. The names of the other called ponies were names she knew she could easily beat. Soarin' whispered gently into her ear.

"Good luck Spitty" The fiery maned mane smiled at him before winking seductively.

"Don't worry Soar, I got this". She made her way over to the starting line, raising her golden wings.

"GO!"

Spitfire smiled as she beat her wings. The force created by them hurled her straight into first place easily, leaving the rest of her group behind as she veered around the first curve of the track. She could see her friends showing their support by the benches. If her friends supported her and stood by her side, there was nothing she couldn't do...

Spitfire crossed the line a full lap ahead of the pony in second place. The roar of the crowd was almost dizzying. She the yellow mare fluttered to a halt, she was most surprised to find out that a great portion of the cheering was coming from the not-so-timid Fleetfoot. The light blue mare seemed to be caught up in the whole euphoria of her surroundings, causing Soarin' and Rapidfire to keep a certain distance away from her. The sight brought a big smile to Spitfire's face. Cyclone's voice rang out across the stadium once again as the orange maned mare rejoined her friends.

"Silver Dash... Aurora... Fleetfoot..." The light blue mare stopped her cheering dead, her timid and nervous state of mind returning very rapidly. Spitfire gave her friend an affectionate hug.

"You'll be fine. I know you, you're almost as fast as me. Just concentrate on the track, not on the crowd!" she said warmly. She didn't know if her words helped.

"B-But what if I crash or s-somethin'? I've crashed b-b-before, like, what if I do it now? What if I c-come last? What if-"

She was silenced by Rapidfire's lips pecking her cheek softly. Fleetfoot turned to her friend with a completely baffled look plastered on her face. Rapidfire only smiled.

"Go get 'em... I know you can do it" The light blue mare remained dumbfounded for a few moments before her face began to lighten, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She kept her gazed fixed on Rapidfire as she slowly dragged herself to the starting line. Soarin' and Spitfire turned to the smiling stallion as Fleetfoot trotted away.

"What? Like you didn't notice?" Rapidfire asked cheerily to Spitfire. His cousin giggled before shaking her head. Soarin' continued to look flabbergasted until he finally spoke up.

"You like Fleetfoot?"

"Now what in Equestria gave you that idea?" his friend replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He smirked as Soarin' tried to recall any sign that he may have missed of Rapidfire’s interest. Both of the other ponies with him laughed. Spitfire ruffled his mane.

"Oh Soar’, you featherbrain, what are we gonna do with you?" she laughed. Soarin' blushing slightly.

Fleetfoot's wings flapped almost automatically as she banked around the final curve of lap twenty. But two facts still stunned her more than anything else. Firstly, Rapidfire liked her? Like, really? The thought made her all warm and melty inside, and she could feel her cheeks reddening just thinking about it. She had always maybe considered dating him, but he never really seemed to like her in that way. Yes they were friends, good friends, but Fleetfoot had never believed that Rapidfire cared for her as anything other than just that. The second fact that baffled her was the fact that nopony else was in front of her as she darted down the final sprint. She was on lap twenty, that was for sure. But with no other pony in her field of vision, that could only mean... Fleetfoot's face lit up as she crossed the finish line.

"I WON!" She came to a halt as the crowd cheered, her friends leading them in celebration. The little blue mare felt tingly and almost numb. She had won? She had actually managed to fly to victory in front of the Wonderbolts. As her friends came in to greet her with beaming faces, it was Rapidfire who she veered towards. She startled the light grey stallion as she raised her forelegs in a hug, which he gladly returned. She closed her eyes gleefully as she rested against her new love interest's shoulders, his wings coming round to drape over her sweating body.

"Awww, you guys are so good together" Spitfire teased as the pair slowly pulled away from each other. Soarin' couldn't honestly think of a time when he was more content in the world. Everything was perfect. He met the mare of his dreams - something which he still couldn't quite believe was real. His best friends had managed to find love in each other's company, and on top of that the greatest pegasi athletes of all time were here at his school to select new members for their squad, every young pegasi's dream. Nothing could be more harmonious or liberating than being in the company of those who you care about most in the world, during a happy time of excitement and celebration. Soarin's uplifting thoughts were briefly broken by his teacher's stern voice again.

"Comet Breeze...West Wind... Blackwing... Rain Runner... Soarin'...". All of his friends turned their heads to the pale blue pegasus. This was it, his chance to prove himself. Flexing his wings and ruffling his feathers, Soarin' smiled to everypony before turning away. But as the stallion started to trot towards the track, he was spun round by a welcome yellow hoof. Spitfire's lips met his own with a soft feather light touch tempered with passion. As Soarin' gazed into Spitty's unique arresting eyes, he felt his legs become jelly.

She had that effect on him, and he loved it.

"Lets make it a full house" Spitfire whispered, turning her head to the other two ponies, "four out of four". Soarin' winked at her confidently. "Already done" he replied slyly. Her pecked Spitty's cheek as he left. With nerve tingling excitement, Soarin' raised his powerful powder blue wings high above him into the ready position. At the same time he dragged his right forehoof across the cloud that made up the track, lowering his head and narrowing his jaded eyes. With a final glance and smile to his best friends, Soarin' eagerly awaited Tempest Wind's voice.

"GO!"

Like a bullet, Soarin' beat his wings hard, launching himself into second place. He took a quick glance to his left. A yellow mare was hot on his flank, gradually inching her way forward to overtake Soarin'. With a powerful tilt of his right left wing, Soarin' twisted in midair. He rolled directly in front of the sun coloured pony, clearly startling her and blocking her advance simultaneously. Extending his forelegs before him, the pale blue pegasus flapped harder. The black stallion in front of him noted his sudden burst of speed, and repeated the exact same maneuver that Soarin' carried out on the mare.

But the pale blue stallion veered in the opposite direction to the black, flying through the opening caused by the other pony's banking, bringing him into tied first position. The black stallion was slightly smaller than Soarin', and therefore weighed slightly less. The minor difference however was what allowed him to edge in front of the athletic blue pegasus by a few bare feet. Soarin' knew the only way he could compensate was with sheer power, and so diverted most of his energy reserves into his beating wings muscles. After catching up, Soarin' turned to his right, locking gazes with his fellow competitor.

The pony's name was Blackwing, not somepony who Soarin' talked to that often, but always seemed like a nice colt. But judging by the small smirk playing on his lips, Soarin' could tell that this pony wasn't going to let past pleasantries interfere with winning the race. Soarin' liked that...

Mirroring Blackwing's smile, Soarin' pushed ever harder with his blurring wings, using skilled flying as well as force to slowly take the lead from the smaller pony. As the final lap started to come to a close, Soarin' flipped high over Blackwing's dart like form, gaining an expression of awe and amazement from the other racer. As the finish line beckoned, Soarin' turned to Blackwing.

"Good race, we should try this more often."

"Hehe, I'm up for that. You're a lot faster than you look, ya know."

"Well thank you kindly sir," Soarin' said in his abysmal Trottingham accent. Blackwing chuckled as he started to slow down, knowing that Soarin' had already won. The pale blue pegasus smashed past the posts marking the finish line. The cheering was nothing like Soarin' had ever heard before. It was raw, primal and powerful. The pale blue pegasus gaped in awe as he saw the high number of ponies who yelled and cheered for his victory. Were these friends that Soarin' never knew he had? His musings were interrupted by a tremendously strong hug from three ponies at once.

Spitty, Fleetfoot, and Rapidfire heaped their praises on him. They had done it. All four of them had won at their set races. Unfortunately, so had Hurricane and his goons.

The final race of the day ended with the victory of another of the white pegasi's lackeys. But Soarin' was so caught up in the atmosphere of winning alongside his most loved friends that he hardly deemed it important to care. But what came next certainly was important. Tempest Wind stood up tall and proud on the stadium stands, rearing high to gain everypony's attention.

"Hello everypony, and well done. As you all know, we are the Wonderbolts, the most elite of the high flyers in Equestria. And all of you will know how much we demand excellence and perfection in everything that we do. Aerobatics is a hard tough sport, and so we need the best of the best to fly with us. And I can speak for my entire team when i say that we have never been so proud to witness such excellence from ones so young. Despite my next words being very clichéd, I mean every word I say - all of you here are winners. In all my years of flying I have never seen such determination and drive to excel than I have seen today."

Everypony drank in the Wonderbolt captain's words eagerly, hanging on every syllable.

"But these races were done to find the strongest, the fastest, and the most determined of you all... For those are the qualities needed to be a Wonderbolt. I would ask that the eight victors of each race step forward".

Eight young strong pegasi trotted forwards in a line. How fitting that four of them were the greatest of friends. Soarin', Spitfire, Fleetfoot and Rapidfire looked up at Tempest Wind with their heads held proudly, manes of dark blue, fiery orange, snow white and burned golden flowed in the breeze, making the pegasi look like something out of legend. A hush fell over the assembly of ponies as Tempest Wind spoke again.

"But...we have one last test for you all before we can call you Flight Partners." This was a shock, and soon muttering and excited chattering rippled through the crowd. Soarin' shifted on his hooves intently, eager to hear what the final trial would be.

"And only four of you can be accepted..."

Chapter 8: The Wonderbolts

"Lightning strikes and thunder roars. Of one whose heart shines bright as dawn..."

Soarin' lay on his bed grinning stupidly at the ceiling. Stuck above his bed was a promontional poster of the Wonderbolts, the blue and golden silhoettes of the team members standing boldly against the azure and purple stars in the background. The pale blue pegasus let out a little foalish giggle to himself. The sun had long since gone down, and silvery moonlight flooded through his open bedroom window. He still couldn't quite believe what had transpired earlier that day. The Wonderbolts - I'm a candidate! I'm a candidate for the Wonderbolts! Oh my Celestia! was all that seemed to race through his head.

Soarin' couldn't honestly remember the last time he felt so excited, excluding that night with Spitfire under the starry night on the cloud. The blue pegasus breathed a contented sigh as he rolled on his side. He almost screamed with shock when he saw his marefriend's cute smiling face on his windowsill.

"Ahhh! Sweet Celestia Spitty, don't do that! I don't need a heart attack on top of everythin' else". The golden mare giggled and pulled herself up into Soarin's room. She landed lightly on her hooves before trotting over to her coltfriend's bed.

"Didn't know I was that scary Soar. How long you been awake?" she asked as she placed herself next to the pale blue pegasus. Soarin' through off his covers before draping a wing over Spitfire's body, drawing her close.

"I haven't slept at all. How buckin' can I?! I mean, imagine it Spitty... You, me, Rapidfire and Fleetfoot in the Wonderbolts together..." he said dreamily, lifting his forehoof in a wide arc as if pointing to his imagined fantasies. Spitfire smiled and let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah, that'd be amazing. I dunno what I'd do if it really happened, I mean... The Wonderbolts... I still feel dizzy from seein' them face to face today. I've always wanted to fly with them, those... Gods of aerobatics. Ya know what I mean Soar?"

Her coltfriend nuzzled her mane closely, causing Spitfire's heart to melt with comfort. "Yeah I do... I know exactly what you mean". He gently kissed her on the back of her neck, stroking her body with his wings. Spitfire giggled lightly at the tickling caused by Soarin's feathers. As the yellow mare snuggled up closer to the pale blue stallion, she was overcome with a wave of warmth and comfort. Spitfire closed her eyes softly as Soarin' continued to hug her, his lips moving across her cheek until they met her own.

And there the two ponies lay, wrapped in the warm loving embrace of each other's emotions. Spitfire pulled away from the kiss, regretting so as she did. Soarin's face flickered briefly to confusion until Spitfire gave the most powerful smile that the young stallion had ever seen. It wasn't the size of her smile that made it so astonishing, it was... The love that it radiated. Soarin' beamed back a little too quickly, gaining an amused chuckle from the orange maned mare.

"What?" asked Soarin', grinning stupidly at his marefriend's eyes. Those wonderful, wonderful eyes.

"Oh Soar, you featherbrain..." she whispered. She leaned forward and gently, ever so gently, kissed him. Her forehooves traced up beneath his jawline and cradled his slightly confused face. "I love you..."

The next day dawned slightly earlier than usual - well Soarin' thought so anyway. He pulled his face up from his sheets and pillows, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he did so. Spitfire hadn't stayed over that night, but it had been one of the most surreal and perfect moments of the young stallion's life to date. Spitty had said those three words, the words that everypony wants to say sometime in their life to their Very Special Somepony. I love you.

Three incredibly simple yet so powerful words. She had said them... The mare of his dreams said those three beautiful words to him last night. He almost fell out of the bed, so enthralling was the memory that Soarin' didn't really pay attention to where he was putting his hooves. Cursing as he stumbled into his kitchen, the blue pegasus hurled several pieces of general refuse from his fridge as he scrambled to find some form of edible food. Soarin' had only moved into this new apartment two weeks ago after leaving his parent's house.

The rent was cheap, and the apartment itself fairly spacious. Although all the space was now occupied by Soarin's vast collection of junk and leftover takeaway boxes. Pizza boxes littered the living room floor, table and sofa whilst boxes stacked high from when the stallion first moved into the flat leaned precariously along the walls of the hallway, bedroom and kitchen. A large glass wall that looked out over the greater city of Cloudsdale offered Soarin' excellent views of the floating settlement.

After finding some leftover cheesy pizza, Soarin' gulped down his pitiful breakfast with a swig of apple juice before trotting out of the door, racing down the flight of cloud built stairs before leaping out of the front door of his building. The clear morning skies beckoned to him, and the pegasus responded by taking to the air. Soarin' smiled as the wind rushed beneath his wings, carassing each and every feather lovingly.

"Freedom...", he whispered to himself. Among all of the happy times in Soarin's life, nothing - excluding Spitfire - could offer the sense of complete and utter freedom that flight gave him. It was so liberating, so exhilarating, and so pure. Up here in the clouds, with nothing but the free air and the glorious shining sunlight, all the cares of everyday life just seemed to melt away. It was bliss. No more sorrow, no more hate.

No more anger, no more pain.

Just freedom...

Spitfire was only half listening to Fleetfoot's ramblings on nerves, worries and excitement. Her mind was occupied on Soarin'.

"Do you think they'll make us all race again? Or maybe they'll get us to race them. Goddess, I dunno what to do. Do you think they'll yell at me if I fail? I'm not sure about this whole thing. What d'you think?" Fleetfoot babbled to her orange maned friend.

Spitfire blankly turned round before simply replying, "Hmm?"

Fleetfoot let out a grunt of frustration and instead turned to Rapidfire. Spitfire kept her gaze skyward looking for her coltfriend. The ponies had all gathered at the famed Cloudesium of Cloudsdale, a colossal cloud built arena that hovered above the outskirts of the floating city. The stadium was at least five times the size of the Flight Academy's, and could hold hundreds of ponies at once. Large Wonderbolt banners and flags waved in the wind, proclaiming the presence of the famed flyers.

They had all been told to meet here to begin the final trial. While Spitfire was an exceptional athlete, she doubted that even she or any of her friends could stand up to Hurricane's raw physical power when it came to flight. The fiery maned mare shot a glance over to the white stallion, who was thankfully paying them no form of attention on the other side of the stadium. He was surrounded by his usual three goons, Storm Rider, Sky Splitter, and Gale Force. Their laughter was almost painful to Spitfire's ears, but she restrained herself not to go into full confrontaion mode. She was the better pony.

Thankfully, the blue winged form of Soarin' finally crested the clouds, the sun shining at his back. Spitfire beamed hugely as her coltfriend landed beside her gently. The events of the previous night were still fresh in her mind, when she had said those three wonderful words to him.

"Hey Spitty, miss me?" Soarin' said lazily as he nuzzled her cheek tenderly. Spitfire kissed him on the lips briefly, her smile causing Soarin' to mimic her grin. "Well somepony's happy to see me" he said as Spitfire leaned her forehead against his own.

"You're over twenty minutes late Soar, you had us all worried for bit". The pale blue pegasus looked over Spitfire's shoulder. Rapidfire and Fleetfoot were locked firmly together in a loving embrace whilst chatting happily away.

"Yeah... Everypony seems so tense" he chuckled. Spitfire ruffled his mane as the tall intimidating form of Tempest Wind strode towards the two groups of chattering ponies.

The Wonderbolt captain was clad in his flight suit, but had the hood lowered. To Soarin's surprise, he had a aqua coloured coat. Soarin' had always thought it some was form of grey.

"Welcome everypony. I'm sure you all know who I am already so I'll skip the introductions. First, let me start by saying well done to you all for making it this far. It shows that you have the courage and the determination to excel in the art of flight, and that you have the potential to surpass all of your peers. However, like I said at your stadium yesterday - only four of you can be allowed to join the team. If it were up to me, I'll take you all on. But due to the price of taking on new members and available placements, four is the maximum that I can allow within our ranks. But enough talk. Time to show you what you face..."

The eight pegasi followed Tempest Wind into the skies above the Cloudesium. The Wonderbolt leader circled round the ring shaped building once before climbing high into the upper clouds. What greeted them was a sight that took Soarin's breath away... It was a race track, but not one bound by lanes and oval shaped arenas. The track wove and twisted around cloudrings and slaloms, all set at random intervals on multiple levels of height. The course was well over a mile long by Soarin's guess, and extended far into the blue yonder.

Multiple cloud platforms dotted the side boundaries of the track, and upon each of the a single member of the Wonderbolts stood tall and proud.

"As you can see, this isn't your average race track", Tempest Wind declared as he directed everpony to the large cumulus where the starting line was set, "Along the edges of the course, the team watches your every dive, swoop and twist, watching for any imperfections in your flying. Speed is not the only contributing factor here, you must also be agile".

Soarin' understood why. The Wonderbolts were not a race team, they were master aerobats - and that required alot of tricks, flips and twists in order to make a good show, all of which had to be done in perfect harmony with each other.

"Oh boy..." muttered Rapidfire nervously. Soarin' put a foreleg around his friend's shoulders in some small effort to calm him down.

"Don't worry buddy, we can do this. Just uh, focus on the track... Or something... Um,” Soarin' facehoofed as he realised just how pitiful his comforting skills were. He wouldn't make a very good leader at anything.

"Okay everpony, so you all know the basics. The race will start in half an hour. Feel free to have warm up flights if you want," Tempest Wind said before leaping off to join his own team members. It didn't take long for Hurricane to start up an argument.

"I would say good luck, but, you're gonna lose anyway, so why buckin' bother?" the white stallion chuckled as he whipped the end of his blue tail against Spitfire's flank. Everypony rounded on him in a heartbeat.

"Don't you dare touch me, you lowlife mule!"

"Do that again and I'm gonna knock your teeth out!"

"Oh, are you? Well I'd like to see that, cripple wings!"

"Shut up, you leave him alone!"

For good half a minute the immediate area descended into a verbal battle of egos. Not even Hurricane was stupid enough to cause an actual fight in the presence of the Wonderbolts. But Soarin' was...

"You Goddess-damn piece of crap! Why can't you just leave everypony alone, what the buck did we ever do to you in the first place?" The pale blue pegasus ranted at the white one. Hurricane raised an eyebrow and chuckled to himself.

"Why, you cheated on the start line that day in the stadium. You threw cloud in my face just as we start-". Hurricane was silence by a hoof to the mouth.

Not even reeling from the blow Soarin' gave him, Hurricane returned the punch with one of his own, but was stopped by Soarin's other foreleg. Hurricane continued to press forwards, knocking the smaller pegasus on his back flat against the cloud. "You buckin', coltcuddling piece of crap!" yelled the white pegasus loudly. Soarin' kicked him hard the chest, knocking him off onto his back. As Soarin' moved in to finish the fight, a dark blue wing made contact with his face hard. Storm Rider struck again, this time with a forehoof, battering Soarin' over the poll. The dark pegasus was stopped by both of Rapidfire's rear hooves smashing into his jaw.

"Goddess-dammit, Soar stop it! Rapid, stop it! You'll get us all kicked out!" screamed Fleetfoot as she dragged Soarin' by the shoulders away from the rising Hurricane. The white stallion was stopped by Gale Force, who unfortunately received a punch round his own muzzle for his actions. Spitfire stood before the white stallion, her wings raised in an aggressive stance, her feathers ruffling making her look predatory. The steel glare that she gave Hurricane actually caused him to stop for a moment.

"Spitty, don't. Don't go near him, not after what he did" Soarin' called as Fleetfoot continued to drag him away. Hurricane's ears stood up as he heard him.

"Now what did I do now?" he asked sarcastically.

"You threatened to rape her, you ass!" Soarin' screamed as he battled Fleetfoot's hold. The entire cloud fell silent. Everypony other than Soarin', Spitfire and Hurricane had looks of sheer shock plastered on their faces. "Don't make those faces you mules, I know you were there too!" yelled Soarin' to Storm Rider and the others. Rapidfire spoke in a voice so cold it almost seemed to make the sun dim.

"You... What?" he whispered to Hurricane, who tossed his blue mane from his face to meet Rapidfire's cold glare. The white stallion smirked slightly as the other pegasi's eyes burned holes through him.

"Did I? I can't remember, can you Storm... Nah neither can - oh wait! I remember now, yeah, yeah... I did. Shame really, I kinda wish she almost hadn't accepted the deal we made. She looks so buckin' hot," Hurricane gloated. Rapidfire started towards the white pony, fiery vengeance clearly on his mind. As the light grey stallion marched towards Hurricane, he was stopped by a golden feathered wing.

"Spitfire, let me through. He deserves everything that's co-"

"I know... Just, don't. Not here..." muttered the orange maned mare grudgingly. Her cousin still continued to try and push past her until Fleetfoot put a comforting foreleg across his withers and pulled him back.

"I'll kill you... I swear to you" he whispered icily at the smirking stallion before him. Hurricane nodded in sarcastic understanding as the fuming golden maned stallion was dragged backwards.

Soarin' fixed his jaded eyes upon his friend. What he wouldn't give to see Rapidfire's promise come into fruition. The rest of the half hour passed in tangible silence.

The tension was almost physical, like the actual pressure around them had rose. Soarin' was amazed that Tempest Wind or the other Wonderbolts hadn't noticed the minor war that transpired on the cloud. The Wonderbolt leader returned with three minutes to go before the allocated start of the race.

"Okay everypony, its almost time. I take it you're all prepared." Everypony gave brief nods of agreement. "Good, so lets get started".

Each pegasus stepped up to the start line side by side. All ponies were to race together, and the race was only a single run through the course. Soarin' suspected it was because of its sheer length. He turned to his left and smirked as Spitfire winked at him. To his right, Rapidfire and Fleetfoot gave single nods of encouragement. All they had to do was stay ahead of Hurricane and his thugs. That, and somehow pull of several minor aerobatic moves whilst racing at high speeds. Soarin' gulped. He didn't know any aerobatic tricks other than simple things like loops. Deciding to deal with each obstacle when he came to it, Soarin' raised his wings into ready position.

He saw Spitfire ruffling her feathers, checking for any faults. Rapidfire stretched his quickly, warming up the muscles. Fleetfoot stood there like a petrified statue. Tempest Wind circled over them twice before settling on a high drifting cloud. Raising his right foreleg up, Soarin' tensed every muscle in his wings and legs. This was it...

"GO!"

With all the strength he could muster, Soarin' beat down hard with his pent up wings and pushed back off the cloud with his rear and fore legs. As the wind rushed up to meet him, his wings almost began to beat on their own accord. The feathers rippled as the air currents swept over them with a fury. The pale blue pegasi's mane stayed in its seemingly permanent wind swept spiky position as Soarin' reached the his major obstacle on the track: a massive near vertical dive.

"Oh sweet Celestia..." he whispered to himself as he folded his wings close to his barrel, bending them like a falcon. With a small flick of the tail, the blue stallion dived with breathtaking speed. In his peripherals Soarin' could make out Spitty, just ahead of him by a bare few inches. He would have turned his head all the face to face her as she flipped to her right, spinning like a bullet as she stooped. Aerobatics, right...

Soarin' thought as he came up with a ridiculous idea. Silently saying a prayer to the Sun Goddess in case he died, Soarin' simply let all his strength drain away until his body was limp. He wings gradually unfurled, slowing him down considerably. His legs were starting to flail, but still the pegasus did not reassert his strength. Let gravity do the work. Soon, his body began to reach terminal velocity - a speed faster than anypony could dive at. Slowly, Soarin's free falling form inched in front of Spitty's.

Hazarding a glance to his left, Soarin' laughed as he saw Spitfire's dumbfounded face. His smile soon infected her as she broke out in a wide grin, shaking her head slightly. Soarin' guessed Rapidfire had a similar expression plastered on his face. But the sight which greeted Soarin' next gave him a feeling of cold satisfaction. Hurricane was actually struggling to keep up with them, his white wings folded in as close as they would go without actually being tucked away. But their larger size betrayed him, and they were picking up far more air resistance than Spitty's.

Soarin' smile as he turned his gaze forward again. He almost shrieked as the track suddenly raced towards his face as the dive zone ended sharply. Quickly channelling all of his strength back into his muscles, Soarin' beat his wings incredibly hard, actually causing an audible boom as he re-caught the air currents. The pale blue pegasus shot before the other racers like a bullet, throwing himself straight into first place.

Spitfire gasped as she saw her coltfriend zoom past her as the dive ended. She let herself smile at what he had done. She actually remembered a time when they were foals. Soarin' had come up with this stupid but exhilarating idea of seeing what it would be like to fall out of the sky like a stone before quickly zooming back up. The Soarin' Showdive he called it. The yellow mare chuckled as she curled her left wing, flipping her onto at side, her right wing raised high as she glided lazily on her side, her wing looking like a shark fin. As she righted herself, she almost cursed as she saw Storm Rider somehow launch himself into second place, Hurricane disturbingly remaining in fourth.

Powering her wings to the point of them almost becoming solid blurs, the yellow mare gradually began to edge forwards until she was neck and neck with the dark navy blue pegasus.

Storm Rider turned his face towards the fiery maned mare to his right and scowled heavily. Spitfire gave him a cold hard stare. The stallion started to move towards her quickly, intending to ram her. Reacting rapidly, Spitfire flipped high above Storm Rider and rolled over him, end up on his left. The baffled stallion was so transfixed by Spitfire's amazing aerobatic display that he never noticed the large metal pole he was about to fly into. With a resounding crack, the dark blue pegasus smashed into the first pole of the slaloms that now littered the track.

Expertly gliding to her left and right, Spitfire veered around the metal poles with ease. Rapidfire and Fleetfoot joined her, both handling this obstacle easily enough. Soarin' doing likewise up ahead. The next obstruction however was much more interesting: Two dozen hoops scattered on various clouds at random intervals on multiple levels of height. Spinning as she climbed higher towards the first hoop, Spitfire saw from the corner of her eye a large white and blue shape heading straight for her. The yellow mare barely had time to flip out of the way of a clearly vengeful looking Hurricane. The white stallion set his indigo eyes on her and rounded towards her again.

Spitfire twisted round as she arced through the second hoop. The larger stallion on her tail gracefully followed, following her every turn and glide as he followed her through the hoops. Diverting most of her strength into the bases of her furiously beating wings, Spitfire managed to power through the third and fourth loops, forcing Hurricane behind her. Suddenly hearing a loud thud echo behind her, the orange maned mare hazarded a glance to her rear. Sky Splitter had tried to knock Fleetfoot off the course and failed in the process, smashing into one of the hoops. The bruised pegasus now trailed in last place next to Storm Rider as Fleetfoot zoomed far ahead of them.

Spitfire quickly did a small loop in the air before diving through the fifth ring. Soarin' was just a few metres ahead of her, but she kept a respectable distance from her coltfriend as to not distract or surprise him. She knew Soarin' kind of zoned out when it came to high speed racing, and Spitfire wasn't about to break that moment of concentration. However, that all changed when Hurricane barrelled past her golden form and knocked her to the left. The white stallion simply gave her a scornful stare before launching himself into second place. Spitfire doubted that the plothole would pay the same respect for Soarin' that she did.

"You complete ass..." she whispered under her breath, and flapped her wings all the harder as they spun through ring number six.

Soarin' dived through the seventh hoop with ease, the wind rushing beneath his wings. The race seemed to be going his way so far, and he damn well intended to keep it that way. Until a certain unwelcome sight loomed in his peripherals.

"Hey coltcuddler!" Hurricane yelled at the top of his lungs in Soarin's ear. The pale blue pegasus faltered severely, his perfectly balanced wings suddenly jerking out of position as his flaps became erratic. Nopony interrupted him when in the racing zen mode he often drifted into. Nopony!

"Hey plothole, enjoying the race?" Soarin' called back as he looped upside down through the eighth and ninth hoops, buffeting Hurricane with his wing-blast. The white stallion dived through to regain joint first with Soarin', his expansive white wings hitting Soarin' on his side as they opened out again.

Soarin' briefly considered ramming his full body weight against Hurricane in retaliation, but thought better of it. Nopony wanted a repeat of that day at the Academy's track. He could do this, of course he could. Why couldn't he? He was better than Hurricane, and he had the determination to win this.

Bring it on...

Funnelling all of his strength reserves to his wings, Soarin' leapt through the tenth ring before doing three barrel rolls in the air. Hurricane responded with a triple loop before zoomed through the eleventh hoop at almost the exact same time as Soarin'. But the pale blue pegasus was considerably lighter than the white, and that weight difference was what kept Soarin' a bare few feet ahead of Hurricane. If he could somehow keep this up, the race would be fine.

A flash of fiery gold heralded the arrival of Spitfire, the agile mare coming in on the other side of Hurricane. The white stallion was trapped with Soarin' on his left and Spitfire on his right. "Buck you two, this race is mine!" thundered the white pegasus angrily, and beat his wings ever harder, pulling out in front of the smaller ponies by a few feet. It was then that Soarin' realised that there were no more obstacles in sight. This was it. The final sprint to the finish. Hurricane's sheer strength was keeping him ahead of Soarin' and Spitfire for a long time, and nothing the other two ponies seemed to do could compensate for the taller stallion's pure unadulterated speed.

But then Soarin' had an idea... A crazy, insane, stupid idea... But it could work...

"Spitty! Our special talents! Remember?" Soarin' called out to his right. Spitfire barely heard him over the rushing wind in her ears, and furrowed her brow.

"What?"

"Our talents! Use them!"

Spitfire's eyes widened in realisation before a sly smirk crept up on her mouth. She winked at Soarin', and soon began to channel all of the energy needed for aerobatics into the final sprint, Soarin' doing likewise. The energy and strength filled Soarin's wings, and soon his feathery limbs were complete solid blurs. Soarin' extended both his forehooves in front of him and squinted his emerald eyes, with his head low and his mane and tail whipping furiously behind him. A small smile began to surface when the pale blue pegasus felt a tingling sensation run down his back and onto his flanks. He quickly glanced towards Spitfire, who now had tiny flickers of flame igniting were cutie mark.

The winged lightning bolts on Soarin's flanks began to glow and spark with static charges. This was it.

"Hey Hurricane! Hey, look at me you plothole!" Soarin' laughed. The white pegasus quickly threw him an angry stare, that immediately melted away into a look of confusing and quite frankly, fear. The white stallion said nothing, but only mouthed words that looked like something along the lines of "what-the-buck". Soarin' turned to Spitfire. Both gave each other nods of agreement. With a blinding burst of speed, both pegasi rocketed forwards.

Behind them blazed trails of golden sparkling fire and thundering angry storm clouds. Hurricane gasped in shock more than anything, and his precise and controlled wing beats suddenly became unstable. Spitfire zoomed past the white stallion first, a look of satisfied retribution decorating her face. The blazing fire that stream behind her lapped at the primary wing-tip feathers of the white stallion beside her.

"Ahh dammit, you Goddess-damn mule!" roared the blue maned stallion furiously. Spitfire only winked at him mockingly and soared away from him, taking the lead. Soarin' next zoomed in close to Hurricane, a plan already forming in his head. As the pale blue pegasus leaned in close to the white one, Hurricane snapped his gaze back to the stallion that he had made the serious mistake of crossing. Soarin' had a smug look plastered on his face.

"Ya know what Hurricane, this race is ours..." he said pridefully, inclining his head towards the fiery mare ahead of them. The white stallion remained silent, but instead started to veer towards Soarin' quickly. Looks like he was willing to have a repeat of that day at the track. But Soarin' was quicker. As Hurricane leaned in to ram him off the track, the pale blue pegasus rose high above the intended blow, arcing high and gracefully over Hurricane, who only had a look of terrified awe on his face. "See ya later featherbrain, I've got a race to win" Soarin' chuckled.

Hurricane suddenly made a lunge to grab Soarin' left wing, but with a powerful wing beat, the smaller stallion leapt forwards with a mighty boom. Thunder echoed throughout the sky, shaking the slaloms and hoops all the way behind Soarin'. The furious storm clouds roared with pent up energy, and lightning crackled and flashed within them. As Soarin' made the final move forwards, that pent up energy exploded outwards with a fury. A dozen lightning bolts leapt from the depths of the storm clouds trailing behind Soarin' and struck Hurricane full in the chest.

The blow was quick, but enough to destabilise the last of Hurricane's energy. The white stallion howled in pain before crashing head first into the white cloud built track with a poof. The pale blue pegasus laughed hysterically as he raced up quickly alongside his marefriend. Spitfire gave him a wonderful beaming smile as the two of them crossed the finish line together. As the two ponies zoomed past the posts, both immediately veered upwards, flying alongside each other as they climbed higher and higher into the sky. With some unplanned, unspoken command, both ponies separated from each other as they reached their zenith. Soarin' flipped onto his back one way as Spitfire mirrored him perfectly.

The result was an amazing heart emblazoned in the sky made from burning flames and thundering storm clouds.

As all the ponies lined up together, Tempest Wind gave the two young pegasi at the far end of the line a long look before smiling briefly.

"This is it everypony. You've made it this far, and you have all done extremely well. Go from this experience feeling proud of yourselves, knowing that you had the power and the agility to make it this far". Soarin' puffed his chest out slightly at hearing those words. "But, I said to you at the start of this entire endeavour that only four could be chosen. And we, the Wonderbolts, have chosen four".

The other members of the infamous flight team stood behind Tempest Wind, masks up but clearly smiling broadly beneath them. One of them stepped forwards, an athletic mare with a wispy ice blue mane. In her forehooves she carried a bundle of material. Soarin' almost leapt in the air with joy. Our uniforms! Oh my Celestia, oh my Celestia, this can't be happening!

Tempest Wind picked up two of the neatly folded flightsuits and turned back to the line of exhausted ponies. "It is my honour and privilege to welcome Rapidfire and Fleetfoot to our ranks!" The two ponies almost fainted with disbelief. Well, Fleetfoot did anyway. Rapidfire tentatively stepped forwards, gently nudging Fleetfoot with his wing. The white maned mare slowly followed her coltfriend up to the tall proud Wonderbolt captain. He handed them their uniforms softly, as if they were made of glass and could shatter at any moment. As soon as the two dumbstruck pegasi said their thanks and returned to the line did Tempest Wind glance at Soarin' and Spitfire.

"Never before in all my years of flying have I ever seen such a display from ones so young" declared the captain proudly, "and it is my honour and privilege to welcome Spitfire and Soarin' to our ranks!" Soarin' didn't move at first, but soon regained his composure and walked slowly with Spitfire up to the one pony they had all pinned their hopes and dreams on. Tempest Wind handed them their flightsuits with equal delicacy, and patted Soarin' on the shoulder as the young stallion looked at what he held with reverence.

"Well done kid," whispered the captain. Soarin' couldn't think of what to say. The entire Wonderbolt team suddenly started clopping their hooves together and stamping them on the cloud in applause, welcoming their new teammates warmly. The four best friends, the four lifelong friends, stood there baffled.

This was it. Their dreams had come true.

Gale Force, Sky Splitter, and even Storm Rider grudgingly started to clap as well, not daring to show such disrespect in front of the Wonderbolts. Hurricane however, simply glared at the group of beaming ponies with unadulterated resentment, remaining silent and still as everypony around him celebrated.

Soarin' locked gazes with him, indigo battling green. The unspoken conversation between them said more then Soarin' ever realised, and Hurricane broke the staring contest first.

But nothing about that even mattered anymore. This moment in time is what mattered most now. Their dreams had been fulfilled. And nothing in the world would change that.

No more sorrow, no more hate...

No more anger, no more pain...

Just bliss

Epilogue: Memories yet to be made...

"Two hearts, two souls, who light the sky. Of ones who were born to love and fly...

Three Years Later

"Ahhh, Goddess-dammit... Buck... Spitty! I need help!" called Soarin'. His marefriend came trotting into the changing room, a resigned smile on her face. She giggled and shook her head slightly as she watched Soarin' try and fit his wing through the holes on the flightsuit. One thing she would say about the uniforms: they were incredibly tight, and quite frankly didn't leave much to the imagination.

"Oh Soar, you featherbrain. Come here, let me see if I can -". She grabbed the fold of lycra-like material and tugged it as hard as she could around Soarin's large feathered limb. The wing finally popped through, albeit with Soarin' cursing all the way through the process.

"Ahh, thanks Spitty. Ya know, we should really do something about the uniforms, they're way too tight" he said ponderously as he struggled to stretch the hood over his face. On the other side of the room, Rapidfire was having trouble doing up his zipper, despite the help that Fleetfoot was giving him. The other team members strutted around in various places around the room. Lightning Streak was chatting with his brother, Fire Streak. And Surprise was talking intently with Tempest Wind.

The older stallion now had streaks of grey lining his dark blue mane, and faint bags could be seen beneath his eyes. The Wonderbolt captain was getting old, Spitfire knew. And she honestly doubted how much longer he could keep up with his younger, fitter teammates. Last training session, he was the slowest of the entire flight team, but nopony would dare say so to his face. But Spitfire could tell that the captain knew about his deteriorating condition. She would sometimes catch glimpses of him preening his feathers with a forlorn expression, and sometimes he could stop what he was doing in order to stretch his legs and joints.

Spitfire doubted it would be a great length of time before the older stallion would retire from his flying days. It was a great shame, Tempest had been their friend and mentor for three years, ever since that amazing day when she, Soar, Rapid and Fleetfoot were all accepted into the Wonderbolts.

"Okay everypony, show starts in two minutes!" came the excited voice of another team member, Gusty. The yellow maned mare cantered into the changing rooms, flightsuit already on perfectly. Gusty was a relatively new member of the team, only joining roughly six months ago. In that time she had already proven herself a dedicated and skilled aerobat, as well as an exceptional athlete. In a strange way, Gusty reminded Spitfire of herself when she was younger.

The constant hum of the crowd above them sent shivers done Spitfire's spine. She had performed in dozens and dozens of shows and performances before, but the orange maned mare always got a nervous feeling just before going out. Tempest had told her that that was a good sign. It showed her that she wasn't egotistical on her abilities, and nerves can help a pegasus pull off some of the greatest displays of aerobatics in all of Equestria. But there was something very special about this particular show - or rather, its location.

For the first time since they joined the ‘Bolts, Spitfire, Soarin', Rapidfire and Fleetfoot had returned back to their old Flight Academy's stadium.

The buzzing crowd above them were young fillies and colts, eager and ready to see the greatest flyers in Equestria perform for them.

"Hey", said Soarin' cheerily, "no need to be so shaky". He wrapped a pale blue feathered wing around Spitfire's withers comfortingly. Spitfire always loved it when he did that. It made her feel safe. She turned her amber eyes to lock with Soarin's own orbs of stunning jaded green. Soarin' often told her how dazzling her own eyes looked, but until now she never really saw just how loving his were. She managed a small smile.

"I know, I know, its just that... It’s been three years since we were last here. I can't believe its been that long Soar. I don't wanna let everypony down when we perform in our old training grounds again. This place is kinda special to me. Its the place where we managed to prove ourselves as potential Wonderbolts!"

Soarin' nodded. He understood. With a small chuckle, the pale blue stallion nuzzled her neck warmly, causing Spitfire to giggle like a filly.

"Thirty seconds everypony!" yelled Gusty excitedly.

As Soarin' turned to follow a laughing Rapidfire and Fleetfoot out of the changing room doors, Spitfire grabbed his shoulder with a forehoof. As he turned round, she gave him the most passionate, loving, warm kiss she could muster at this point. As she pulled away, Soarin' simply smiled at her.

"C'mon Spitty, lets go get 'em!"

The End