I remember the first time I saw the Wonderbolts. I was with my father and I was a young pony, so young that I didn't even remember what my father looked like,and my mother? I never knew my mother. All I remember was being at sweet apple acres in an open field on my father's back at a Wonderbolts performance. There was constant mumbling before the show,then a loud voice overcame the mumbling and a loud voice then said,
"Fillies and Gentlecolts. It is with great pride and honor that I present to you. Coming straight from cloudsdale. The fabulous Wonderbolts!" At that instant there was a boom in the sky and three Wonderbolts bolted through the sky above us and all I could hear over the crowd cheering was a whoosh right over the crowd and and left their infamous lightning trail after they bolted past us. My dad then looked and said to me,
"Well son what do you think about the Wonderbolts? Pretty cool group of ponies huh?" I just nodded and thought,"wow how amazing it would be to be a Wonderbolt!" The bolts then worked around the sky, performing acrobatics and daring stunts leaving the audience in total awe. After the show I made a vow to myself that,"I,soarin, will become one of the best Wonderbolts and every pony will remember my name as one of the best flyers in all of equestria ever!" That was when I was still a naive pony and thought there wasn't gunna be any drama or issues in the academy.
When I finally decided to go to the wonder point academy to try my best to become one of them. I have to admit, I was nervous. Word had gotten out that the Wonderbolts were looking for ponies to join up with them but they only had limited spots and could only recruit one day, which was today. I felt so nervous and and so many pegusai were coming to try to capture a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity such as I. When I arrived at the academy it was packed, there were ponies all over waiting for the captain to come out and give us the introduction and what the requirements were on becoming one of those magnificent flyers. Every pony was asking questions like what were we going to do or what is going to happen and if they were going to make it. Then we all heard a loud, demanding voice yell out,
"ATTENTION!" And every pony stood straight in lines with heads coaxed up and looking straight forward. Then, after every pony was in formation, a single Wonderbolt came out and was walking through the space in between the ponies. She had a collar light blue shirt on and a blue tie. The front of the shirt was decorated with metals all over. I recognized some of the metals, best flyer award, most daring tricks award, and the accuracy ribbon. Given to any pony who can perform any stunt with little to no errors at all. She had two pins on the collar, symbolizing that she was a captain. She then stopped about the in the middle of the crowd, cleared her throat and said,
"It's nice to see all these pegusai went out of there way and come here today. If my sources are correct, about one hundred and fifty of you came out today to give it your all and try to become one of the best flyers in all of Equestria, a Wonderbolt." All the ponies just looked at each other, then back at the captain. "My name? That's not important right now. What is important is that you know you will be given a series of challenges and you are to complete them with the best of your ability. Any questions?" Every pony was silent. "Good now let us begin! Follow the instructor and he will take you to the locker room where you will get your flight suits and goggles to start your training." We then moved along right behind the instructor. We went into a corridor with lamps on the roof that led to a doorway. Once we all entered through the doorway, it was a huge room full of flight outfits and goggles. The instructor then said,
"Go ahead and get one set of each and meet with the captain outside for the first challenge." When I put on that suit and goggles, I felt so amazed about how awesome it looked. It looked so glorious. The flaring blue and gold mixed with the bolt on the back of the suit. The suit demanded respect and nothing less. When I looked at myself in it I couldn't help but smiling and happiness overwhelmed me. I then proceeded outside and continued to the first designated area to want for challenge one.
"Let's do this!" I thought to myself. "Let's show them how much you deserve to be on this team!" All the ponies were finally out and then the captain came out with a whistle around her neck.
"For this first challenge, you are to take off when I blow the whistle and maneuver your way around an obstacle course up ahead and and when you finish, fly straight up to the finish line where I will be waiting. The only thing is, the obstacle course is a forest and you have to find your way out to the finish with good reaction time and amazing speed." We all heard the whistle and every pony bolted off the starting line! We were all going equally as fast then the forest came into sight and we all bolted straight into it. I heard a couple of ponies behind me hit trees and fall onto the ground. I was ducking and dodging as much as i could. I had determination to charge forward into the forest. I had practiced agility before and the forest wasn't really a problem for me.
"Come on faster! Don't let the trees slow you down, you gotta be able to work in sticky situations like this!" Said the captain from up above. We all continued forward. I finally got through the forest and all I needed to do was dart straight up and I would be done. I could hear ponies right behind me and I rushed upward but I saw two other ponies pass me at the finish line. I got frustrated at the fact that I knew I could've done better. I had preformed copious amounts of training for this but it still didn't get me first place.
"Good work ponies. Not the best, but credit is where credit is due." Said the captain as she walked by. I was breathing hard but managed to smile because I got somewhat complimented by the captain even though I knew I could've done better! After the other ponies finished, we went on the challenge number two.
"For this challenge, you must run the bolts track. But there is a catch, you must complete the track and beat the time one of the Wonderbolts will set right now as soon as I am done explaining." Said the captain. After the Wonderbolt was done, the time to beat was 1:30:00 flat! We were all shocked by that because normally it would take a pony two minutes or one forty five if your lucky. I started to get more nervous about this challenge. The bolts track is an amalgamation of sharp turns, elevation changes, curved corners, and hairpins! We went on the track in groups if five so there would be little to any interference with the ponies so they could get the best possible times. I waited until my name came up and I walked up to the starting line with four other ponies. I looked at the fastest current time and it was 1:31:29. I glared at the first turn and kneeled down to get ready for the whistle. The moment it went off we all dashed to the first turn. We entered the first turn around the same area and I managed to work my way up to first place. My agility training was really paying off. I kept at it turn by turn, corner by corner. The weird part was...I felt like I was having fun. I felt at peace and that nothing could bother me. I was gliding through the track like it was nothing.
"I feel.....like I have raced this track more then once." I said to myself. I kept at it until I saw the finish line then I went as fast as I could and the instant I got past the line, I turned to see what time I got. Sure enough my name was there: Soarin 1:29:32! I was filled with joy. I triumphantly marched off the course and sat down and just kept looking at my time in immense pride. When every pony finished my time stayed in top! Only one other pony came close to beating my time was a pony named Rainbow Dash. She got 1:29:55. I had to know who she was but I wasn't paying attention to anything at the moment.
"Fancy wing work you did in there, impressive if I don't say so myself." Said the captain to me as she walked by
"Thank you captain." I replied and I smiled as she left. When we got to the third challenge area, the captain was on a cloud above us.
"For this challenge, you must impress me with any trick you can successfully pull off and I will give you each individual scores based on your performance." The captain said. You could see that we were all getting very nervous about this challenge. Every pony was thinking of a trick to do to impress the captain. I already knew which trick to pull off. It was the infamous bolts rampage. It is a double backflip in view of the sun, then a descent and right as your about to hit the ground you do a sharp turn, ricochet off a cloud, and stop right in front of the audience, in this case, the captain. I knew it would work to impress her. It was at this challenge where I met my competitor of the last challenge, Rainbow Dash. She went right before me and did an absolutely amazing stunt. The captain gave her an eight.
"Great stunt. I loved it!" I said to her as she went by. I smiled as she went by and she smiled back. I then went out in front of the captain.
"Name?" Said the captain.
"Soarin" I replied.
"We'll go ahead. Impress me." She said to me. She had a clipboard and a pencil. The board had names and numbers right next to the names. I then swallowed my nervousness and took off upwards at breakneck speeds. I then proceeded into the double backflip and all the crowd could see was my shadow in view of the sun. I then darted straight down and kept going until I got so close to a tree on the ground, I felt the leaves on my hooves. I took a sharp turn right, then up and ricocheted off a cloud and stopped right before hitting the captain.
"Nice choice on the rampage, but it could use some improvement." Said the captain while looking down at the board. I looked at the number she put down. It was a seven. I flew back to my seat and felt disappointed with my performance. I knew I could've done it with better precision.
"But I guess what's done is done." I said to myself and ended with a sigh.
"Don't be too sad, I liked it." I looked up and saw Rainbow Dash standing in front of me. I smiled and she sat next to me.
"How are you so amazing with stunts? I mean you were amazing out there!" I asked her.
"It was nothing really, just something I made up while training for this whole thing." She replied. I still felt a little sad about my performance, but she helped to cheer me up and I felt better.
"My name is Soarin, and you?" I said to her as I cleared my throat.
"Rainbow Dash." She replied in a happier tone.
"Glad to meet a pony like you, I really hope you make it." I told her.
"Thanks same goes to you, uh soarin is it?" She replied. She then got up and left to talk with other pegusai. I had to admit, I liked meeting her. She was a very kind Pegasus, yet a competitive one like me. There was something about her that just felt reassuring too. Something like everything would be alright while I'm around her. After the third competition was over, every pony had ten minutes to rest and relax. I decided to talk with Rainbow more because she was the only Pegasus I knew there. We just talked about our backgrounds and what we like and stuff like that until we were called back for the last challenge. For the last challenge we had to be in groups of two so naturally I partnered up with Rainbow Dash.
"For this challenge, you are to do a double performance in sync with your partner as much as you can while me and two of my colleagues grade your performance." Said the captain. I peered over at Dash and we both looked a little confused on how we were going to do this. But we both decided that I was going to do my best to follow her moves while being right next to each other. It was a risky tactic, but we had to manipulate it and make it work. The other pegusai were having as much of a dilemma as we were. They weren't doing so good and I started feeling more nervous the more ponies I saw go up. Then finally it was us up.
"Names?" Said the captain.
"Rainbow Dash and Soarin." I replied. They all wrote down something on their clipboards.
"Proceed." Said the captain. We looked at each other and she took off and I closely followed on the side. She started off with a backflip then proceeded into a series of sharp turns and dives and it was becoming a problem for me. It was hard to keep up and I couldn't really tell what she was going to do next. But at one moment, I looked at her and she looked back at me and I looked into her eyes and something just...clicked. I can't tell what it was, but it was something amazing that's all I know. I felt my nervousness and my mistakes vanish. Then, I could really show my potential. I could see her moves before she performed them. I did every exact move she did and we were in sync to the point that it looked like I was her shadow. Then we both split to different parts of the sky and we did the exact same moves, but in different parts of the sky and ended with us both looking at each other in front of the judges and we were both breathing hard but smiling. I looked over at the captain and her goggles were down and her mouth was open. They all put down a ten for us both! Me and Dash high fived each other and laughed as we sat down to watch the other ponies to go. When the other ponies finished, we finished first! That was the last of the challenges and every pony was exhausted.
"Alright every pony, you can go to to the locker rooms and leave the goggles and suits. The challenges are over and the winners will be decided tomorrow, so don't be late. You are dismissed." Said the captain. She then flew away with the clipboard and and went into the captains quarters. I went to the locker room and I took off my goggles and suit and I could hear all the ponies talking about their performance in the challenges. I couldn't find Rainbow Dash, so I decided to just call it a day and go home. I could start to feel the tiredness affecting me because of the adrenaline I was feeling during all the challenges, I wasn't feeling tired but I could feel it now. So I just went home and fell asleep because that was all I wanted so far, was sleep and nothing more.
I woke up and felt extremely sore, to the point where It hurt just to sit up in bed. I looked at the time and it was already 9:55! We were supposed to be there to hear from the captain at 10:00 AM! I quickly got out of bed and rushed to get myself ready. I got out of my house at 9:57 and I was rushing to get there.
"Oh I really hope I make on time! So stupid of me to not set an alarm!" I said to myself while I was flying as fast as I could to get to the academy. When I got there, I made it just as the captain came out of her office. I stopped In the middle of the crowd and I was breathing hard, but I still was there to listen to what the captain had to say. I couldn't see Rainbow Dash anywhere just yet.
"Alright ponies. After seven excruciating hours of challenges yesterday, and a whole night of decision making, I have a list with our next ten Wonderbolts." Said the captain. "They way it is formatted is that there will be nine normal positions where you are a regular Wonderbolt, and there is one hot seat position that I had created." We all looked at each other and were confused. "The hot seat position is the one I thought was the best Pegasus in this whole try out. They get the privilege of starting as a lieutenant in the Wonderbolts and will be my wing pony." said the captain. We all were blow back by that statement.
"But wait, why would you want a Pegasus that you don't even know to be your wing pony and lieutenant if you could just chose a pony that is already a Wonderbolt before this whole thing happened?" I looked over to see who said that, it was Rainbow Dash. She walked up next to me while she asked that question.
"Great question recruit. You see unlike the normal chain of command as you explained, I wanted a pony that I know nothing about because I want raw technique that hasn't been refined by me yet, and in order to get such raw technique, I needed to find a Pegasus that is already good, but has a technique in flying that isn't mastered like mine." Said the captain. It made sense in a way to me. By the looks on the other ponies faces, it looked like it made sense to them too. "That answer your question recruit?" She asked dash.
"Yes ma'am." Rainbow replied.
"Good, now lets get this started then." The captain said. We were all very nervous and so was I. I was sweating and I could feel the nervousness and I could just hope that I was on that list. "I will announce the first nine, then the hot seat winner." Said the captain. She then cleared her throat and began reading off the names. "Rapid fire you are first." Everypony looked at her and she walked up and the captain gave her a medal and a sheet of paper that had her name on it and the hoof print of the captain. "Congrats." Said the captain and she walked off to the barracks proudly. "Next is star flare." Said the captain. She ran up, got the paper and medal and ran into the barracks happily. "Next is fleetfoot." She flew up, took the paper and medal, saluted the captain, and flew off to the barracks. "Up next, we have nova." He flew up and got the paper and medal and ran to the barracks with a smile on his face. "Next up is hurricane." He came up, got the paper and medal, saluted the captain and dashed off to the barracks. I was getting more nervous the more names she called. "Next is sonic boom." He dashed up to the front and took his medal and paper and, like the rest, went off to the barracks. She called the next four and I wasn't any of them. I became extremely nervous. Me and rainbow were standing right next to each other and I had a feeling the hot seat belonged to her.
"This isn't good, that means even if one of us gets in, it'll only be one." I said to Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah I know." She replied. We both got nervous.
"And not for the hot seat winner, whom which will become my wing pony and lieutenant of the Wonderbolts is......." Everyone got a little closer and it was silent, you could hear the wind in your ear and no one dared to make a sound. The captain looked at the list one more time and said, "Soarin." Everypony stared at me and I just stood there in complete shock. I then shook my head and flew up there to get my medal, but the medal was a golden one, unlike the others and along with my papers, I got a light blue shirt like hers and a dark blue tie and two small medals were on the collar and they symbolized being a lieutenant in the Wonderbolts.
"As for the rest of you, thank you so much for sacrificing your time for us and I'm sorry if you didn't get what you expected." Said the captain. I looked for Rainbow Dash and I saw her leaving the crowd and getting ready to fly away. I put my stuff down and bolted over to where she was.
"Hey don't be sad, I'm really sorry you didn't make it. To be honest I think you deserve to be on the bolts more than me." I told her. She looked over at me and you could see the jealousy in her eyes. It was sad to watch her hopes be crushed right there.
"It's ok go ahead and have fun with the Wonderbolts, you deserve it." She responded in a saddening tone. I felt horrible by this time.
"Here let me make it up to you or at least make you feel better by taking you somewhere to eat later today? What do you think?" I asked her. I know it was a stupid question to ask that after what had happened but I wanted to make her happy somehow.
"Thanks, but I think I'll just leave right now." She responded.
"Come on, it's the least I can do for you." I said to her. As I had said that, I reached for her hoof and held it with mine. She looked up at me and I could see a somewhat smile appear on her face for that brief moment.
"Well...ok then I guess, but only if you promise not to talk about the Wonderbolts unless I bring it up ok?" She said to me. I nodded in agreement and I let go of her hoof and smiled at her.
"Ok see you then I guess." I told her.
"Ok goodbye for now Soarin." She said. She then flew away and I turned and flew into the barracks. The other nine ponies in there were talking and all happily relieved and, to be honest, I was too. We no longer had to prove anything to anyone for training.
"ATTENTION!" Said a Wonderbolt and we all stood in order and were saluting the captain as she walked in.
"We'll Fillies and Gentlecolts, you made as Wonderbolts. Now this doesn't mean you get to relax from now on. There are a set of mandated rules to follow and should be followed strictly since you are now flyers of Equestria. No more fooling around with each other. We are a team and henceforth will function as a team and nothing less. From now on you are to live in the designated barracks we provide. In flight, the wingpony is to always stay with the lead pony under any circumstances. The lead ponies will be chosen by me tonight and we will begin training for our first event tomorrow in the morning. My name is spitfire and I am the leading captain of the Wonderbolts. Is that clear?" She said
"Yes ma'am!" We all responded in unison.
"Any questions?" She asked.
"Yes ma'am, what is our first event?" Fleetfoot said.
"Our first event is in one week and it is at the Grand Galloping Gala. So you have this week to train with your wingponies and make sure your performance is solid. Soarin you are my wingpony as I explained earlier." She said. I saluted her and nodded to let her knew I understood. I couldn't believe our first performance was going to be at the gala! Out of all places, the gala! Princess Celestia herself will be watching our opening performance! That is big time pressure! To top it off, I'm being a wingpony of our captain! I was feeling very nervous, but at the same time I felt pride because Celestia was going to watch me preform!
"You can feel free to go home tonight, pack all your things and tomorrow, you will officially move onto the base and begin flight training for the gala. You will get your flight suits and goggles tomorrow." Said the captain. "Go ahead, you are dismissed."
Spitfire said as she walked over and looked out of a window. We all saluted her and exited the barracks. That kind of shocked me that we had to live at the base, but the Wonderbolts does require dedication and talent. I walked outside and waited at the entrance of the base to see if Rainbow Dash was to come back so I could at least try to make her day a little bit better. At first, I couldn't see her anywhere then, I heard a voice.
"Hey Soarin, over here." She said. I looked up and she was flying above me and had a smile in her face. I smiled back and flew up next to her.
"Hey, so you ready to go? I'm starved and could really use something to eat." I told her. She nodded and we both flew off to eat at a restaurant. When we got there, I could still tell she was disappointed of what happened earlier today.
"So, how was that stupid meeting with the captain?" She asked. I could tell she was mad still, so I didn't really want to answer.
"It was....boring for the most part. Not as good as I thought it would be. But let's get off that subject." I told her.
"Ok then I agree, but I really don't mind it anymore because after thinking about it, I guess I really don't care." She replied. She had a smile on her face, but I could tell she wasn't too happy, so I tried to make her happy.
"Well, can I ask you something? If its alright with you?" I said.
"Sure go ahead." She replied. I looked up at her and cleared my throat.
"When we did that duel performance, did anything feel...weird or off to you when we looked at each other? I mean did something like click when that happened?" I asked her. I was nervous to ask her this because I thought I was crazy to ask her this because I'm pretty sure it only happened with me. She looked at me weird, leaned back a bit, and looked at her hooves.
"Well actually, I kind of...did to be honest. I felt like I could go all out and you would be able to keep up no matter what. But how did you know I felt like that?" She said. It shocked me that she felt the same way I did. I thought it was only me, but it wasn't. It happened to us both.
"I only ask because, well, it happened to me too. When I looked into your eyes, I felt like any move you pulled off, I could do in sync. I could see your moves before you did them in a way." I responded. We both looked at each other and I could tell, I was starting to blush. She was too but she quickly turned away.
"Yeah, that was pretty amazing I guess." She said. For the rest of the time at the restaurant, we were laughing and telling stories about each other and I could tell her mood was generally happier, which made me happy. By the time we were leaving, she was happy and so was I.
"Well I guess I should get going, I have to pack my stuff for the move in tomorrow. Also got a big day too." I said.
"Yeah I guess you should go because you have to have as much practice for that gala of yours huh?" She asked. That reminded me of the gala and the stress I had to put up with.
"Yeah haha the gala...and what not. Speaking of that, I was...well wondering if you wanted to maybe...go to the gala?" I said nervously. I was almost shaking in a way. She looked at me and I just smiled. I could tell I was easily blushing.
"I wish I could go, but why would a mare like me go without a stallion to take me?" She said. She looked at me and I swallowed, or at least tried to, my nervousness.
"Well, I could be that...umm stallion after we are done with the performance if you would let me?" I said. I have to admit, I was never this bad at asking a mare out before, but this time, it was bad.
"Well I'll have to see what I'm doing that day. I mean I usually am busy." She replied. I just looked down a little but and nodded.
"But for the most part, it's a yes." She said as she smiled. She then hugged me out of nowhere and flew away. I was just standing there with my eyes wide open and my face was red and I just started laughing as I left to my house to start packing.
--------------------The next morning
I was already packed and ready to leave to the base. I had my lieutenant shirt and tie on. My shirt looked blank compared to spitfires shirt, but I still love my shirt. I was ready to leave, and this time I was going to make it there early. When I arrived, everypony was there and we all stood in a line and waited for the captain to come out.
"Well there you are, recruits. Since I need to show you where your living quarters will be, might as well take a tour around the base so you know what's here." She said. She then started walking and we saw what was on the base. "We have an airfield, gym, mess hall, officers club, barracks and locker rooms, tower, and high command quarters." Spitfire said. We all looked around. The base was huge! You had Wonderbolts in the air at all times, and the tower could spot them all and accurately tell who was who and know where they were going. We were all shocked. The place was pretty big and the living quarters was big too. There were about seven to ten houses on the base. I walked over with the other Wonderbolts too the living quarters, but the captain stopped me.
"Woah, where are you off to Soarin? You are a lieutenant, you live in the high command quarters." She said to me. I was shocked. Spitfire turned me around and there it was, there were about three to four houses and they were huge!
"I...I get to live in one of those?" I asked her. I was shocked to hear her say yes. I just walked over to the house and was still in shock that the Wonderbolts had better houses then the one I used to have! I walked inside and it was a two story house with all the bells and whistles. It was very luxurious. I had ample amounts of food in there along with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. I had so much and didn't really need it, and...I...loved it!!!!! I jumped on the bed in the master bedroom and was just laughing.
"Wow this is just....jaw dropping that I get a house like this to live in forever!" I said to myself. I had forgotten that we need to report for training, so I took off my lieutenant shirt, and put on the infamous flight suit and goggles. I was amazed that I have the suit and goggles to keep and I have become a Wonderbolt. I then ran off and got to the designated meeting spot. We all saw spitfire coming and we saluted her.
"At ease bolts. We've got work to do." She said. We all put down our hooves and waited for her instructions. "Everyday you will report here at eight A.M. Sharp! We will then run training exercises everyday until the gala. Now time for the lead and wingponies. The lead ponies between all of us are as follows: rapid fire, fleetfoot, and me spitfire. The wingponies are the rest of you, now who you decide to go with is all your choice. Soarin come on, your with me. Time for some training." I looked over at her, then back at the other pegusai, they were all getting in groups and I followed spitfire. A million thoughts were running through my head at that moment. I tried to clear my mind and listen to what we had to do.
"What is our procedure captain?" I asked her. She stopped and looked back at me.
"We will do our main fly by with the lightning clouds and you and I will break off and do the bolts hearts out move and proceed to the main floor of the gala where we get acknowledged and ponies see us and after that, we leave the center stage and get into our gala apparel and just enjoy the rest of the night." Spitfire replied. To be honest, it didn't sound too hard to me. Mostly just a night of relaxation and fun, but I didn't know what the bolts hearts out move was. I had never heard of it and, to my knowledge, had seen it in action either, so that would explain the reason why I thought it was easy.
"Doesn't sound too hard, if I may say so captain." I said to her. She looked back at me with a smirk.
"Just wait kid, when you do the actual stunt, you'll be wishing you never had to do this stunt." She replied. I felt a little nervous when we both got ready and we did a fake fly by so we could have an accurate practice and right as we finished the fly by we went right into the stunt. The stunt required both of us to fly straight up and right as we get to a certain altitude, we both separate and do one half of a heart so that they both connect and right as our "heart" connects, fireworks are shot up into it. The trick sounds simple, but I can't stress how hard it actually is. You have to know when to fly up and what altitude to start your half of the heart. I had a week to master it so I think I could handle it. After the practice on the first day I was tired, but I wasn't too tired. We ran through the same thing about five times on that day and just as I left the mess hall, still in my flight suit, I was in for a surprise.
"Hey, Soarin." Said someone. I looked to my right and I saw Rainbow Dash. She flew up next to me and hugged me.
"Hey Dash. What are you doing here?" I asked her. I was actually happy to see her right now because after a long day of practice, I needed someone to relax with.
"I was just in the area and decided to stop by. Nice flight suit, by the way." She replied.
"Thanks and that's cool. Hey while your here, you want to hang out for a bit at my house here on base? I could have some other Wonderbolts come over so I can introduce you to them." I said. I wanted her to stay over for a while only because I felt like unwinding at my house talking to someone. She nodded her head yes, and she followed me to my house. When we got there she was in total shock that I had a house that big just for being a Wonderbolt. Her reaction was the same as mine.
"I called over fleetfoot and Rapidfire to come meet me here, so they will be here in a couple of minutes." I told her. She looked at me and was happy, you could tell because her face lit up when I said that.
"Hey thanks for all of this. I would have never guess I would personally know a Wonderbolt and he would let me see his house on the base and invite other Wonderbolts to talk with me." She said to me. While she said that, she walked up to me and hugged me, for a while too. I could tell although I was a Wonderbolt and she wanted to be one, that she was actually grateful for what I had done for her. After the hug, the day sort of passed by and all of us had fun laughing and telling stories about our first day in training while Rainbow Dash listened. When the night was over, I walked Rainbow out and she told me she had an awesome time. I was exhausted so I decided to call it a night that night and anticipate what would come the next day.
The next couple of days were the same. Meet up with spitfire, we'd do practice and warm ups, then we would go off and do our individual performances. By the end of the week, I had the bolts heart out nearly perfected and spitfire knew it. She was still wanting me to work out the details by the time it was a day before the gala, this time we did it with a crowd and I still was pulling it off precise. Spitfire insisted that I continue and we do it again even though I was doing it to the best of my ability so far. I still listened to her though because I knew we had a job to preform and I had to be sure I wasn't going to mess up at the actual gala.
"Soarin your doing it pretty well, but just make sure your doing it perfect." She said. I was pretty sure I was, but she wanted me to try better, so I did.
"Yes captain. I'll try harder captain." I told her. She just nodded and we went at it again. I quickly followed and we tried it another fifteen times that day, making it a total of seventeen tries that whole day. It was tiring and I went to my home and called it a night. That night I was thinking about Rainbow Dash and what she was going to wear at the gala, or even if she was gunna go. I really had hoped she would because I would hate to do a big performance and then not have her there to be happy with me. That would be bad, but I had a feeling she would be there to have fun with me at the gala.
-----------------------next day
We were all trying to rush in last minute practice time because the bolts had to be at the gala one and a half hour earlier than the rest. We had about two hours before that time and the six of us who were going and performing were still trying to practice a little more. We had our flight suits on and the goggles. The only thing that was going to be different was that there would be an announcer, and you know the princess would be watching us preform but we didn't let that effect our diligent training.
"Alright ponies! You have twenty minutes to get ready for the gala meet up here after that and we take off to Canterlot." Said spitfire. I decided to go and pack my lieutenant shirt and tie, also my two lieutenant pins that go on the collar for after the performance. Everypony was doing there own thing to get ready. I was tempted to go see if Rainbow Dash was getting ready, but I knew I wouldn't have the to do that. I just had a snack and waited outside with spitfire. Her and I got a chance to speak and she said Wonderbolts that preform at the gala get a medal that you can put on the shirt. Spitfire already had three.
"Alright times up! Is everypony here that is going?" Spitfire yelled out.
"Yes ma'am we are ready for departure!" We all said in unison. We then followed spitfire up in the air and flew to Canterlot. It wasn't too far away from the base, just in case they needed us for an emergency, we would be right there on call. We flew for a good fifteen minutes and then we went under the could layer and saw Canterlot Castle. It was absolutely amazing seeing it from up in the sky. As we got closer, you could see the ponies rushing around everywhere, hurrying to fix up the Castle to look nice and prepare for the ceremony. When we came down, we arrived at the center carpet where everypony would arrive and walk down. The announcer there ran us by the procedure.
"We wait until there are a good enough amount of ponies there, we then wait for the announcer to say his introduction and just as he says our name, we zoom over the crowd and do our moves that signal the start of the gala!" Spitfire said. We all looked at each other and knew we would get it down easy. We then started setting up our stuff and got ready as the night progressed. Some ponies were already arriving. I was looking for Rainbow Dash while also getting ready for the performance. I was keeping a steady eye on which ponies were here and if she had arrived yet. She had not arrived yet when spitfire called us in for a talk.
"Alright Wonderbolts! This is it! This is the night we preform our best for Celestia. Where we show the crowd what it's like to be a true flyer of Equestria! Where our admirers look at the sky and see those infamous blue and yellow suits and yell and scream for us to do what we do best. All that training and all that hard work will pay off now! Instead of being down there with the rest of the ponies, your up here and each and every one of you is going to fly your hearts out in this performance and everypony will cheer our names and forever remember this night. So lets give them something to remember! Come on pegusai we can do this!" She said. While she said this, we were all huddled together. We were all pumped up and we could hear the announcer.
"Fillies and Gentlecolts, it is with great pride and honor that I present to you, the opening act to the Grand Galloping Gala! Coming straight from Cloudsdale, The Fabulous Wonderbolts!" At that instant I had a flashback as me as a child watching on my fathers back the ponies fly over my head and now, I was the pony flying over head, I was going to be someponys hero to look at in the sky and will forever remember. At the same time the announcer finished his announcement, we all did the fly by and we could all hear everypony's scream and yell. We flew over them all and we all stayed looking forward then I looked over at spitfire and she nodded at me and the other bolts and we broke off and I continued with spitfire forward. We then sharply turned up and started the bolts heart out. We could hear all the ponies below us screaming and yelling, and to be honest I loved the attention. After flying fast upward, we reached the altitude we needed to be and at that instant I heard spitfire yell go and we both backflip end over in view of the moon and our lightning trails created a perfect heart! Just as we stopped the heart, fireworks shot up and filled it with red explosions. I looked back at it and was amazed I could do something like that. We all then flew one by one in front of the front doors of the Castle and, while everypony was going inside, we were there to give them autographs and stuff like that.
"Wow can you believe all this publicity?" I said out loud as we were rushed by a bunch of ponies to get autographs and things like that. I had my goggles down around my neck and was signing things for all these ponies. I was having so much fun! The gala was open but, we were all far too busy with the fans. I was trying to look around for Rainbow Dash but I couldn't find her at all. I was starting to think she didn't show up.
"Hey spitfire, can I go out into the gala now?" I asked her.
"Huh? Oh yeah go for it kid. You've earned it!" She replied. She was full of nothing but fans all around her and so was I, so I signed some more stuff while trying to look for Rainbow. She was no where in sight, so I finally decided to look around. I went into a restroom and changed into my lieutenant shirt and tie and went out into the gala looking like that. When I passed the Wonderbolts again I didn't think any of the ponies would notice me.
"Hey Soarin here take this! You earned it!" Said spitfire. She went over to a small table behind the Wonderbolts and threw me a medal and pin, along with blue aviator sunglasses I put on the sunglasses and put the pin and medal on my shirt. I felt proud now and I coaxed my head up while walking through the neatly decorated halls of the Castle. I kept on my search for Rainbow Dash but I couldn't quite find her. I looked in the garden, in the ball room, near the VIP section, and in the front of the Castle. Nothing. I finally just decided to go out in the garden and sit there. I had my head on a table and just kept signing.
"I meant for that performance to be seen by her, what's the point If Dash didn't see it? She isn't coming Soarin so just give up." I sad to myself. I just signed again and looked at the table. I really did feel sad because I wanted her to see me perform and me flying my best. I just sat there, alone and when I looked around, all the other ponies had another pony to share this night with, but not I.
"Hey Soarin! It's me!" When I looked up to the sound of the voice, there she was. She looked more beautiful then ever before. Her dress was a rainbow of colors, literally. She looked absolutely amazing! That's all I could say about her. She ran up to me at that table.
"Hey, wow you look very beautiful!" I told her. She blushed and looked away for a couple of seconds, then looked back up at me.
"Sorry I am late, one of my friends was taking a while so I had to wait up until she was ready. You look really good yourself too." She replied. I just looked at her in amazement on how good she looked.
"It's ok as long as you are here now. So I'm assuming you didn't see our performance?" I said. She looked down and just shook her head in sadness. I put my hoof on her chin and raised her face up so we were looking at each other again. "I really don't mind if you didn't see the performance, as long as your here, then I am happy and this night just got a whole lot better with you here." I told her. She smiled and her and I got something to eat. While we were eating, I was telling her about the performance and how well we did. She just listened and laughed when I said a joke or two.
"Hey you wanna go inside in the ball room?" She asked. I looked at her and nodded. We both went into the ball room and we slow danced to two songs. Then I told her I wanted to go outside. We both went back out to the gardin and were talking to each other.
"The show was amazing, I wish you were there to see it Rainbow." I told her. She looked at me in amazement when I told her about the tricks we did.
"Wow sounds like you guys really had fun! Too bad I didn't see it." She said. I reached and softly took her hoof with mine.
"Look Rainbow, the thing that kept me going in the academy and all throughout practice was the hope that you would see the performance and even though you didn't, I was still happy to see your beautiful self here today with me. I was really happy when I saw you run toward me. Before that, I felt sad and I thought you weren't going to come after all." I told her. I was starting to get closer to her.
"Well soarin, to be honest, I was telling my friends to hurry up so I could leave and see you guys perform, but we didn't get here on time. But when I saw you sitting there on that chair, I was overwhelmed with happiness and ran toward you." She said. She was getting closer to me too. We were both getting closer to each other. I was starting to get nervous.
"In all this time, I had to think about it and well...I had to know what was causing this sense of relief when I am around you. It's like-" "We both feel safe around each other and are sad when we are apart." We both said together. We looked up into each others eyes, "Rainbow Dash, I-I love you." I said to her in a soft tone.
"Soarin, I love you too, ever since I first met you, I knew I would." She said softly as well. She was getting closer to me and we both looked at each other and slowly, our heads got closer and we both closed our eyes and kissed. For both of us, it was and truly still is to me, a night I will never forget.
