The old pegasus woke to an empty house. His nose told him the time before he had a chance to look out; the fragrance of fresh morning grass was nowhere to be found.

The realization gave him a moment of guilty, but it was over in a beat. What had he now, if not worthless time to wait?

He shuffled through the large room on his way to the kitchen, paying no attention to the trophies and medals that covered the walls. Those were relics of a bygone age, bringing pain whenever he flapped his wings. He set his mind instead to his breakfast.

His laugh came harsh. Breakfast! And lunch, and dinner! Those were now the high spots of his day…

A knock on the door broke his revelrie. Startled by the unusual sound, he walked to the door, his steps gaining a spring from the unexpected interruption in his dull routine.

“Wonderbolts reporting for duty, General Firefly, sir!”

Firefly fell back, throwing the door fully open; later he would say it was the energy in everypony's voice that blasted it open. Fighting to regain control of his jaw, he looked outside. “Call me a hummingbird, that must be…”

“All three Wonderbolt wings, plus support personnel, sir! Awaiting your orders, sir!” The young General Stormbolt delivered the words with a perfect salute, his face almost perfectly expressionless, though his eyes betrayed his emotion.

“But I didn't call anypony…”

“I did, old friend,” said Celestia, landing in front of the Wonderbolts and interrupting the old general.

“Your highness…”

“Don't,” she said, gesturing for him to raise. “If anypony earned the right to treat me as an equal, you did.”

“Celestia it is, then. Excuse an old pony's foibles, but what in Tartarus is happening here?” he asked, sweeping a wing at the assembled ponies.

Stormbolt stepped forward. “The new Wonderbolts asked to fly with the fabled General Firefly, sir. Would you give us the honor?”

Tears fought for control of his eyes, and he didn't fight back. “I would love to, lads. I truly would. But,” he slowly waved his wings for emphasis, “I can't fly anymore. I can barely glide.”

“This is why I'm here, old friend, if you can let go your distrust of magic for a short while. Would you do it for them?”

The old general looked at the assembled ponies and nodded once, assuming a stoic stance, as if he expected to be bucked then and there. As the gentle glow of magic enveloped him, and he saw the change on his wings, a glowing smile came bursting from inside. “Alright, lads, you rested enough. Double star formation for takeoff, on the move! Stormbolt, take control of the second group. We will give the princess a presentation she will never forget.”

[hr]

“He was right, you know; nopony present could ever forget that show. Firefly went through every maneuver the Wonderbolts ever practiced, conducting them like a maestro. He ended the show by creating a new flight pattern on the heat of the moment, the Icaranian Sun Salutation, and landed with his own wings, giddy like a schoolfilly. That one is still…”

“Your favorite. Twilight told me,” said Rainbow Dash, face nearly glued to the central piece of the stained glass window that told the story of the general, where his hovering form was spreading colored light over all the assembled ponies. “I knew I had seen those butterfly wings before, they are the same Rarity used at the Best Young Flyer Competition. But what happened to the general after that?”

Celestia's smile turned bittersweet. “He passed away a week later, with a smile in his face.”

“Sorry, I didn't want to… Wait, he landed with his own wings?” said Rainbow Dash, looking Celestia in the eyes. “You knew!”

“I knew what, my little pony?”

“That Rarity's butterfly wings would burn away!”

“Indeed I knew.” Celestia's smile spoke of hidden depths. “I could have told the wonderbolts what the true Icaranian Sun Salutation is like; I could have halted Rarity's fall before she passed the stadium; I was charging a teleport even as she approached the ground, though I admit the falling ponies would arrive singed, for I didn't expect her to knock out the three wonderbolts that tried to rescue her.”

“But you didn't. Why?”

“Because, my little pony,” said Celestia with a gentle titter, “it was not my time to shine, but yours. You only needed a reason to pour your all.”