"Thank you, everypony!" Surprise shouted over the raucous applause, taking a few bows. "It's been an honor!"
A mare with a red-orange coat hovered over to her, rustling through her wallet. "No, I have to thank you. You put a smile on my sweet filly's face, a smile that she so desperately needed." A warm smile spread across her face as she pulled out several bits. "How much do I owe you?"
"Well, certainly not that much..."
"Please, take it." The mare gently placed the bits in Surprise's hoof. "I insist."
Surprise looked at the bits. She had enough to last her for the rest of the month, and it certainly couldn't hurt to have more, but this much for some simple twists and turns? Surely the performance she put on didn't have that much value.
Still, she took out her own pouch from under her wing and put the bits in it. She was too tired to argue. "Thank you, Red Sky."
"Miss Surprise, Miss Surprise!" Red Sky's filly, who had the same coat as her, rushed over and skidded to a stop. "You were so awesome up there! Showing all those clouds who's boss and- and that yellow...that yellow-"
"All right, all right. Don't get too excited." Surprise gently ruffled the filly's mane. "I'm glad I could make you happy. Keep smiling on, you hear?"
"Yeah!"
Surprise said her goodbyes to the duo, as well as the rest of the family, and took to the skies.
It was incredible how much her services were needed. Ponies came to her more often than she came to them, which rendered the meaning behind her name pretty moot. Through her endless supply of joy, she had gained some notoriety in Cloudsdale as being one of the happiest ponies in the aerial city, but she chose to remain humble about it. Doing stunts for other ponies was more of a side job if anything else, a way to make sure she kept a roof over her head and good food on the table. And she enjoyed it, really -- but she couldn't stop thinking about if ponies suddenly didn't want her anymore. The job wasn't stable. She needed something on a full-time basis.
She knew that, but yet, she hadn't looked for a new job in a long time.
She furiously shook her head to dispel the thoughts, knowing she wouldn't get a good night's sleep if she lingered on them. All she wanted to do was go home and relax.
"Hey. You. You're Surprise, right?"
The gruff voice made the white-furred mare stop. She looked around for its source, but couldn't find anything.
"Above you, slowpoke."
Surprise glanced up. A pony with yellow fur and a mane and tail of fiery orange was descending, steadily flapping her wings as she fixed her with a smirk.
"Wait." Surprise blinked. "You're...Spitfire!"
"That's my name, don't wear it out."
Suddenly, it clicked. Surprise was talking to an actual member of the Wonderbolts. Who had come down specifically to see her. Her heart began to race, wondering why such a prominent figure was singling her out, especially since she had only seen a few Wonderbolts shows before.
"U-uh...well...I'm-"
"Surprise, yeah, I know." Spitfire said. "Look, I saw what you did for that filly and her family. You've got some moves, don't you?"
A blush crept into Surprise's cheeks. "Um...yeah." She cleared her throat, in an effort to stop her stuttering and start speaking with confidence. "I've been doing stuff like that for a long time. I love making other ponies happy."
Spitfire slightly tilted her head.
"Ah, but I'm not a professional or anything. Not like Rainbow Dash, or...you guys. I just do simple tricks."
"Hm. You're not the flashy type, huh?"
"No. There are some ponies who want tricks like that, though. And I do my best to please them." Surprise sighed. "But you can't please everypony."
Spitfire rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. If I had to take a shot of cider for every time somepony's yelled at me, Soarin', or anypony else for what we do in our shows, I'd be either one hell of an alcoholic, or dead."
Surprise couldn't help but chuckle at that. It was meant to have an edge of awkwardness to it, but came out surprisingly genuine, as though she was laughing at a friend's joke.
"Hey." Spitfire said. "Answer a question for me."
"Huh?"
"Do you ever practice your stunts? Or practice new ones?"
It had been so long since Surprise had decided to have a go at a new stunt. Flying was just so natural to her that she hardly needed to think about what tricks to do and how to do them. They were purely spontaneous, which sometimes ended in a pulled muscle or a head-first crash into a cloud. Still, it felt like there was only one answer to both of those questions, and she didn't want to ruin the conversation by giving the wrong answer, but also knew that lying was out of the question.
"Admittedly, no. I like to stick to the basics."
The frown on Spitfire's face expressed disappointment. Spitfire knew that much. She could feel sweat beginning to form on her forehead.
"But maybe I should! Sure, you can't please everypony, but if I learned all sorts of new moves, I could impress even more ponies and make even more of them happy!"
Spitfire's whole body seemed to ripple from the sigh she gave. "Okay. I can tell you're nervous. Which, given who I am, is understandable. So I might as well cut right to the chase." Her eyes bore into Surprise's own. "I'm going to propose an offer."
Surprise tried to push down a thick ball of saliva that had formed in her throat, while giving a single nod to Spitfire to allow her to continue.
"Under normal circumstances, ponies apply to the Wonderbolts Academy. Some are accepted and made trainees, and from there, we decide who's Wonderbolt material and who's not. But for you, I'd like to make an exception." Spitfire's frown turned into a small smile. "Let me take you under my wing. You'll train under me personally, and placed into the Reserves when I deem you fit enough."
All Surprise did was hover there with her mouth open, trying to absorb what Spitfire was telling her.
"Hey, slowpoke, did you hear me?" Spitfire waved a hoof in front of the other mare's face. "I'm offering you a chance to be in the Wonderbolts. With me as your personal teacher. You want in or not?"
How could she just drop news on me like that? So suddenly? Is...is this right? What does she see in me? The questions whirled around in Surprise's mind as she stared into Spitfire's determined eyes. It almost unnerved her, if it weren't for her standing confusion as to what was actually going on.
"Um...I know this probably isn't an option, but can I think about it?" she asked. "It's just that this is all so sudden. Why me?"
Spitfire snorted. "Did you really just ask 'why me'? When we're in a place where everypony knows you for your stunts?"
"But my stunts aren't even anything big or flashy! What the Wonderbolts do is far more advanced. You guys train to perform your stunts. I just do what comes naturally. A-anypony can do a flip in the air or bust a cloud. I'm nopony special."
"You're missing the point, slowpoke. You don't think the Wonderbolts would have gotten where they are today without somepony believing in them and their ability to do better, do you?" Spitfire jabbed a hoof into Surprise's chest. "You have potential. Potential to show the world what you can do, while also making ponies happy. All you're doing now is limiting yourself. Playing it safe. Not trying anything new." She thrust her face into Surprise's own until they were touching noses, her expression twisting into a scowl. "And if you keep going down that path, your fame will quickly run out. You'll be outshone by a pony who can do the same thing, but better and faster. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?! HUH?!"
A fearful Surprise backed up, shaking her head while also stammering and holding her hooves up as a plea for Spitfire to show her mercy.
Spitfire, for her part, heaved a sigh. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." She crossed her front legs. "But I meant every word. You might be comfortable in the life you're living now, but I won't let your abilities go to waste. I want to utilize those abilities for the Wonderbolts. After all, we don't do what we do just for our enjoyment, but for the enjoyment of the ponies who come to see our shows."
Surprise nodded in understanding. "I see."
"It's rare for me to scout out ponies myself, you know. But I think you'd be perfect for the Wonderbolts." Spitfire said. "If you want to think about it, then that's fine. Just let me know by the end of the week, got it?"
"Got it." Surprise eyes widened. "Wait! Before you go, uh...where can I find you?"
Spitfire gave a knowing smirk. Just as Surprise was about to ask her to elaborate, she soared off in the opposite direction, making Surprise's mane and tail billow in the sudden rush of wind.
Suddenly, Surprise felt even more fatigued than before. She wasn't sure if it was because her wings were getting tired, or if it was because of the stress that came with Spitfire's offer. Either way, she decided to head home for some rest. She could think about the logistics of it all later.
She couldn't stop thinking about it.
Her, being a Wonderbolt...it all sounded so absurd. What Spitfire explained to her made sense, but at the same time, she just couldn't wrap her head around it. Was she really hindering herself? Could she really do more to get others smiling?
...Were there really other pegasi out there who would do the same job as her? Maybe out of jealousy, or because they idolized her?
The more she paced around her apartment, the more she began to see the contrast between her and the Wonderbolts. They were showy, and she was sure a lot of them loved to brag. She...wasn't. Bragging about her achievements wasn't really her. She liked to be humble. And if she joined with the Wonderbolts, she probably wouldn't fit in.
The only thing that kept her from fully committing to a "no" answer, though, was visualizing the upset expression of Spitfire in her mind. She could almost hear the hot-blooded mare screaming at her, wondering why she would decline such a generous offer, telling her that her job would end up being worthless down the line.
But that's the thing, isn't it? This isn't meant to be a career. I started doing this as a side job. Being a Wonderbolt would provide me with much better income, in addition to making other ponies happy. But I would be an outsider. I'd just hold them back with my personality.
She flopped down onto the couch, burying her face into the cushion and letting out a groan. "Why does this have to be such a hard decision?!"
In truth, a small part of her knew that it wasn't as hard of a decision as she was making it out to be. She was a pony with a side gig just trying to make ends meet, and her future had practically been laid out for her by Spitfire in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If she didn't go for it, she would regret it until the day she died.
A couple knocks on the door made her lift her head up. Slowly, she slid off of the couch and made her way over. "Who is it?"
"Wild Breeze."
The name sounded familiar, but for some reason, Surprise didn't connect the dots until after she opened the door and saw the tall muscular stallion in front of her. "Oh! Wild Breeze! Yeah, you...uh..."
"You're five minutes late."
"Um..." Surprise looked at the clock on the side wall. "Oh! Ponyfeathers, I completely forgot! I-I'm so sorry!"
Wild Breeze smiled. "Don't worry about it. Blue Horizon asked me to come check on you, just to be sure."
And thank Celestia she did. I've been thinking about this whole Wonderbolt offer so much, I haven't even checked my book!
With a mental note stored away, Surprise returned the smile, though it was a little shaky. "S-sorry. I received some, um...shocking news yesterday that I've been trying to process. But don't worry!" She held up a hoof. "I'm more than willing to do some tricks for Little Blue."
"Oh, thank goodness. She's been down in a rut lately. I hired you in the hopes that you could try and bring a smile to her face."
"Of course!" Surprise winked. "I'll be right there. Meet me at your place."
Wild Breeze chuckled. "All right. See you in a bit."
As soon as the door closed, Surprise rushed right to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face, then zipped to the kitchen to drink a glass of the stuff. She forced herself to push Spitfire's offer to the back of her mind for now -- after all, she had a few more days to think it over, and lots of ponies to cheer up in the meantime.
And with each pony she helped, she found herself getting closer and closer to an answer.
Right at sunset, when everypony was winding down for the day, Surprise emerged from behind a tall tree. She was a little upset that Spitfire somehow knew of her ability to suddenly appear in a chosen area at a moment's notice, but it wasn't like everypony in Cloudsdale was stupid. Blissfully unaware, perhaps, but not stupid. Spitfire must have seen her enough times to really think about how she could go to the homes of so many ponies in the span of a day.
But that wasn't the main issue. Right now, she was on a mission, and she knew exactly where her destination was.
"Hey, Surprise! Heard your little speech earlier today! You're quitting?"
Pfft. Of course I'm not quitting, silly. Think of it as me moving up the ranks.
Any other questions that were thrown her way by any other pegasi fell on deaf ears. Surprise continued forward, up the stairs and into the unfamiliar building.
Suddenly, she began to regret her ability not taking her directly to where she needed to go. A feeling she couldn't quite describe pulled her in the right direction, so finding the destination wasn't a problem, but by the time she got to the staircase leading to the hallway she was looking for, she had resorted to flying because her hooves began to hurt.
Standing behind the door that bore a picture of Spitfire's cutie mark, a good chunk of Surprise's confidence petered out, like somepony had decided to let some air out of a balloon for all of five seconds. She knew what her answer was, but something about this room felt intimidating. Maybe it was an authoritarian thing.
Her hoof raised, and she gave five quick knocks.
"Who is it?"
"I-It's Surprise!"
"Ah. Come in."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Surprise opened the door. Her eyes widened at just how small the office was, though the numerous Wonderbolt paraphernalia on the walls and cabinet shelves certainly made the area check out.
"So." Spitfire put her pen down and gazed at Surprise. "What's your answer?"
Not even a "hello" or a "how are you doing?" Seems Spitfire isn't one for formalities most of the time. But that's perfectly okay.
"I accept your offer, and would love to join the Wonderbolts."
After all, as my personal teacher, it's just something I'll have to expect from her.
The smile Spitfire gave in response remained in Surprise's head for the rest of the day.
Author's Note
As far as I can tell, there's no FiMFic tag nor canon backstory for Surprise (and very few individual personality bits), so I sought it fit to give her one.
I also don't know enough about the military to know if "captain takes potential recruit in and personally mentors them" is an actual thing that happens (and no, Googling didn't bring up anything), but feel free to throw the book at me. I'm all for getting educated. 
To read more entries to the contest, go here.
