I trot back into my cabin, where I have my saddlebag waiting for me on the bed. I pack it with various items. Pinkie Pie's care package, my lead pony badge, and a complementary junior wonderbolts uniform hoofed to everypony in the academy. I know, it sounds cheesy; but Spitfire says it motivates us to get to work to get a real Wonderbolts' uniform. My guess is that ponies will most likely do that just cause of this tacky design. No lining or anything, just yellow. Nothing but yellow. A yellow belt is supposed to go before a blue belt, after all. I close the saddlebag and pick it up with my mouth after packing it to put it on my back.
"Nice job, cadet." A yellow mare with a red and yellow fiery mane appears in my cabin. "You just might become a wonderbolt yet."
I take my mouth off of my saddlebag after putting it on my back to look up at her. "Thank you, ma'am. I'll do my best, ma'am."
"You sure have a lot of potential, cadet. If you keep up how you've been doing, we might meet again very soon." As Spitfire takes her leave trotting out of my cabin, I follow her out. I wave my hoof goodbye, then fly off to my cloud home in Ponyville.
Inside, I take off my saddlebag and open it. I place the care package contents on my shelf, my lead pony badge on my desk, then I carefully hang the yellow uniform in my closet. I take some time and smile at the memorabilia I managed to collect for working towards my dream.
"HEY, RAINBOW DASH!" Oh, right. I told Twilight and the others when I would get home, so of course they would've been waiting out for me. I trot over to my door and push it open with my hoof.
I see a group of five excited mares--well, and one semi-excited baby dragon--looking up from the ground in front of my house. Some of them look exhausted from galloping to see me again, but Pinkie Pie still has that same vast energy she's always had.
"I told you all to arrive at Rainbow Dash's home atleast 5 minutes before the time she got here, so you wouldn't have to rush! Don't act like I'M the crazy pony here with my scheduling! You should've listened to me."
I smile at the purple "unicorn with wings" as I fly down to the ground to meet the others. "Twilight, it's fine. I'm just glad you all made it."
"Are you kidding me!?" Pinkie Pie abruptly makes this statement. "Of COURSE we would make it! We had to! You told us when you would get back from the academy, and we all knew that you telling us meant you were expectig us to see you when you did get back, and we didn't want to make you to have to wait and wait and wait and wait for us and dissapoint you, because we're your friends!"
"Uhhh..thanks, Pinkie?" I will never know how that pony does that. I have to remember to ask her one day.
"Um...." Fluttershy catches my attention so I turn away from Pinkie Pie to look at her. "How did it go?"
I smirk a little at that. "'How did it go?' Spitfire basically told me that I'm awesome. She said that she might see me when I get into the Wonderbolts! She has total confidence in my skills."
"I don't know about that, Rainbow Dash. Just make sure you don't let it all go to your head. Although, you do have a knack of doing that." I know she only tells me this because she's my friend, but it's like Twilight thinks I wouldn't have learned from last time. She's treating me like a foal.
"Yeah, maybe I do, but it's gonna be different this time. I promise you, Twilight, all I'm going to do about it is practice to make that actually happen."
"Oh, but you can't possibly be thinking about practicing tonight, are you?" Rarity trots up to me and takes a closer look at my face. "I know you're putting up a brave front, but you did leave the academy a little too early in the morning. Be honest, do you usually get up that early? You probably need some rest, else you'll be a mess for the rest of the day."
I look away from Rarity to the other 4 ponies here, then back at Rarity. "Well, if you say so..but what are the rest of you going to be doing? Will you be okay without me there?"
"Don't you fret, sugarcube." Applejack looks at me reassuringly. "We ain't gonna do nothin' that we can't do without ya, so don't ya worry about a thang."
I look at all my friends and smile. "Right. Thanks, guys. I should go back inside now." I fly back up to my cloud home as I hear my friends wishing me goodbye. By the time I go inside and shut the door, their voices stop.
I sit still on the bed. For some reason, I can't sleep. I look over to my closet, and see my junior wonderbolt uniform. Practice... I think to myself. Practice, and that one word brings an idea to my head that feels silly that I didn't think of it sooner. I get up to bring my uniform down off the hanger and I put it on. I grab my lead pony badge from the academy and pin it on the uniform. If i'm going to be a wonderbolt, I need some field experience, now don't I?
[Chapter1-Practice: END]
It's been about a week since I started roaming the streets of Ponyville, and not much has happened. I mean, how hard can it be to find something going on in Ponyville? There has to be something I can do to test my skills, but what? I fly over Ponyville and land my hooves on the roof of town hall, to get a better look at the city.
"Nothing. Guess I'll just look tomorrow. Again." I get up to fly away, but feel a pressure on my tail. What is it? "Hey, let go of me!" The pony in question responds by taking their hoof off of my tail, almost making me fall off the building. I pull myself back up with my wings and stand back on the roof.
"Who do you think y--" I turn back behind me to see a pony with a purple and black costume. I know that look. That costume. It's that so-called "Mare-Do-Well" who turned out to be my friends working together to show me up that last time I was a hero. I could've sworn they told me they got rid of that costume. So, who is that mare standing in front of me...and why did she revive that costume?
I hear her cape rustle and I look up at a fleeing Mare-Do-Well. "Wait! Don't leave!" I step my hoof out to go after her, but I feel my hoof touch something on the ground. I take my hoof off of it; It was a note.
Iron Bolt,
I wouldn't keep wandering this town if I were you. It's best you be careful and not act too rashly. Remember, you're being watched. Even now. I won't let you out of my sight, I.B.
--Mystiemare
I look back up, but this "Mystiemare" is long gone. "So, is that how it is? You're on, Mystie." I have to wonder if this mare isn't just somepony who isn't one of my friends who just found that costume. Well, sure, I'll bite. If she wants a challenge, I'll give her one. I just need my friends to back me up if I'm gonna go against this mare head-on. I'm sure I can count on them.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash," Twilight says after I ask her at the door of her home. "Princess Celestia is giving me a lot of new responsibilities, you know how it is. I'm sure somepony else could help you."
Well, I can't really blame Twilight. "Oh. Yeah, sure. Thanks anyway." If there's one thing I know about Twilight, it's that she would be more than willing and ready to help us out if she could. I guess next I could ask Fluttershy. No wait, I know exactly how that would go.
Entering a higher-pitched voice, I mock the exact answer I would expect from Fluttershy. "Oh...my. I can't possibly do something as scary as fighting. Wouldn't that be dangerous? You can't seriously expect me to--"
"Uh, Rainbow Dash? What in tarnation are ya doing?" I turn around, and I find Applejack looking at me in a confused manner.
"Oh! Uh, nothing, AJ. Nothing at all." I give off a little laugh at this. I can't believe I was stupid enough to be seen in such a moment. "Actually, Applejack...there's something I wanna talk to you about."
"Oh..well, alrighty then. Shoot, ya know I'll be happy to help out with whatever it is."
Well, it looks like I'm back to square one. It turns out Applejack can't help with my challenge, either. Apparently, Big Mac fell ill and she has to buck all those apples on her own, considering Granny Smith is too old and Applebloom is too young. She promised she won't push herself, though, and I know AJ wouldn't lie about that. So, I guess next is Pinkie Pie....Sigh. I have a feeling this really is hopeless.
I trot into Sugar Cube Corner, and I find Pinkie Pie playing with Pound and Pumpkin Cake as their parents work. Strangely enough, I find Rarity there as well, talking with Mr. and Mrs. Cake. I trot on over to Pinkie Pie and the twins, and I take a seat by them. "So, Pinkie, what's Rarity need from Sugar Cube Corner?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing," Pinkie Pie says with her usually cheerful attitude, as if nothing's odd about that. She apparently notices my confused look, and goes on. "Oh! Well I don't mean nothing nothing. I mean nothing as in she's not buying anything. She has to make up to the Cakes about this luster dust that Sweetie Belle stole from them. She has to pay for it and all that, you know?"
"Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense."
Rarity finishes with her transaction with the Cakes and trots over to me and Pinkie Pie. "Alright, Pinkie Pie. We can--Rainbow Dash? Whatever are you doing here?" Well, I guess now's as good of a time as any.
"Actually, I need a favor from Pinkie Pie, but you should listen to this too, Rarity. You could help as well."
And then I finally get to form my team against this Mystiemare.
[Chapter2-Challenge: END]
