Comet's Tale

Wonderbolts Academy part 1

"It's been two minutes since you've last checked the mailbox," Tippy Tappy said to Soarin, her voice carrying a mixture of amusement and exasperation as she worked on a piece of clothing at her sewing machine. The rhythmic whirring of the machine punctuated her words. "I doubt much has changed in that time."

Soarin paused mid-stride, his ears flicking back at his mother's gentle rebuke. He'd been pacing for what felt like hours, wearing a groove in the cloud floor of their home. "But there's always a possibility, right?" he asked, his voice betraying the anxiety he was trying so hard to conceal. His wings twitched restlessly at his sides.

When he wasn't obsessively checking the mail, he was walking in circles around their modest cloud home, occasionally taking to the air only to land again moments later. The constant motion was getting on his mother's nerves as she found it thoroughly unproductive and, frankly, exhausting to watch.

Tippy Tappy set down the garment she'd been hemming and looked up at her son with knowing eyes. "Soarin, honey, that letter will arrive when it arrives. All this pacing won't make it come any faster."

"I know, I know," Soarin muttered, running a hoof through his wild blue mane. "It's just... this is everything I've worked for, Mom. The tryouts were months ago, and they said they'd send word by today. What if—"

"What if nothing," Tippy Tappy interrupted firmly. "You're one of the finest flyers in all of Equestria, and you know it. That cutie mark of yours didn't appear by accident."

Soarin glanced down at his flank, where his lightning bolt cutie mark seemed to shimmer with nervous energy. He'd earned it during his first aerial race as a young colt, when he'd discovered his natural talent for speed and precision flying. But natural talent only got you so far—the Wonderbolts were the elite of the elite.

At that moment, through the large picture window of their cloud home, he spotted a familiar figure approaching. A stallion with a light cream coat was making his way through the cloud streets, his red mane catching the afternoon sunlight and his light green eyes focused on the mail sack slung across his shoulders. The postal service cutie mark on his flank marked him clearly as today's mail carrier.

The Element of Loyalty practically launched himself out of his house, his wings carrying him with desperate speed toward the approaching stallion.

"Soarin Skies!" he called out, perhaps a bit too loudly. "Do you have anything to deliver to that name?!"

The post pony nearly jumped out of his coat, clearly not expecting to be accosted with such enthusiasm so early in his route. His eyes widened as he recognized the somewhat famous pegasus—being an Element of Harmony did come with a certain level of recognition, even in a city as large as Cloudsdale.

"Ehh... let me see..." the postal worker stammered, trying to regain his composure. He began rummaging through his sack, which seemed to contain an impossibly large number of letters for such a small bag. His hooves moved methodically through the correspondence, checking addresses and names with practiced efficiency.

Soarin hovered nearby, his wings beating rapidly to keep him aloft as he watched every movement with laser focus. Each second felt like an eternity. His heart hammered against his ribs so hard he was sure the post pony could hear it.

"Soarin Skies... Soarin Skies..." the postal worker muttered to himself, continuing his search. Finally, his expression brightened as his hoof stopped at one particular envelope. "Yep! Here it is. To Soarin Ski—"

"Thanks!" Soarin exclaimed, snatching the letter from the stallion's hoof with perhaps more force than necessary before immediately taking off toward his house at breakneck speed.