It was late in the afternoon at the Wonderbolt academy. Young pegasi recruits were out in the yard, running drills, practicing tricks, eager to push themselves above and beyond their limits to grasp that coveted place in the Wonderbolt's ranks. Graduation was next week, it was then they would find out who amongst them had been chosen. Everpony was trying desperately in a last minute attempt to win some extra points with Spitfire, who would ultimately decide who would be next to wear the famed blue flight suits, and who would go home with no choice but to try again next year.
Only one place was ever up for grabs, one place for the dozens that turned up. The Wonderbolts did not take on recruits every year and that information only served to heighten the tension. No one was a shoe-in, no-one was guaranteed a place.
There was one pony who was particularly nervous. Rainbow Dash sat on a chair outside Spitfire's office. She'd been there for most of the day. Waiting. Not a word had been spoken to her by anyone and the pressure was beginning to take its toll. On the outside she was eerily calm, like a guard stood at her post. On the inside she was a veritable maelstrom of emotions. Sheer terror and excitement stood at opposite ends of her psyche, stretching it thin, and her entire body had gone numb. Or maybe that was from sitting down for too long? She couldn't tell. She was too busy imagining what was going to happen.
Sure she'd missed a training session or two, at the start. You spend months sleeping in and it takes a while to change cycles. They wouldn't hold that against her right? Or the time she'd accidentally crashed into Spitfire's office? She helped patch up the hole and said she was sorry literally a million times. Then that whole mess with Lightning Dust...
So many questions and no one to ask. Rainbow Dash came to the only conclusion she could think of.
They're going to throw me out.
Her reasoning made her want to cry. Her pride wouldn't allow that though. What if somebody saw?
Okay Dash, you can do this. This is Spitfire right? Even if she throws you out. You're not going to beg, you're not going to hit her, and you are most definitely not going to cry. You're a big girl now.
Her internal struggles were interrupted when she heard the door to Spitfire's office open. The mare herself came out, still wearing those ridiculously large aviators.
"Rainbow Dash, inside. Now." She said coldly. Rainbow visibly deflated.
Oh yeah. Definitely getting kicked out.
Rainbow Dash stood in the door frame and watched as Spitfire walked slowly and sat down at her desk, crossing her hooves in front of her face. She looked back at her over the rim of her sunglasses.
Her tone was emotionless and biting. "Are you coming in or not? And close that door behind you."
Rainbow jolted upright and carried out her command. Hastily she shut the door behind her and sat on the opposing chair.
Spitfire pulled out a clipboard. Her eyes scanned down the page and she glanced up to see Rainbow fidgeting nervously. She placed the clipboard in a draw in the desk and returned to staring Rainbow down.
"So." She said, taking long pauses between sentences. "Rainbow Dash. Once again, we're here in my office. Now why do you think that is?"
"I-I-" Rainbow stuttered. She cleared her throat before trying again to answer. "I don't know."
"I know you don't know, I am asking you why you think you are here."
"I did something?" She asked dumbly.
Spitfire nodded. "Oh yes, you did something. Something that has left me no other choice. I am going to say to you what your actions have forced me to say." She began thinking over and over. What had she done? What had she done? Did they find out it was her who had put itching powder into her bunkmates training suits? Or that she'd secretly been sneaking food from the mess hall. Impossible she'd left no trace. She panicked when she noticed Spitfire straighten up and remove her sunglasses.
Oh Celestia here it comes.
"Rainbow Dash." Rainbow steeled herself. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and waited.
"Congratulations. You passed."
"I knew it, I'll just go and pack up my- Whhhhhhaat?!" Rainbow's jaw unhinged. Had she just heard that right?
"You. Passed."
No, no she'd most certainly heard that right. The sly smile on Spitfire's face pretty much confirmed that.
"You mean, really?" She squealed.
Spitfire nodded. "Yes, out of all the recruits that have applied this year you are by far the best I've seen. Your top of your class in formation flying, your stamina puts even some existing Wonderbolts to shame and your loyalty and respect prove to me that you are ideal Wonderbolt material. Even if you are prone to a few pranks." She said with a wink. Rainbow beamed and squealed with delight. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd done it! She was part of the Wonderbolts! She could picture it now the adoring fans, the stadiums full of ponies chanting her name. Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash!
"There's just a couple of things we need to sort out first."
That quickly dissolved Dash's fantasies. She deadpanned as Spitfire slammed a ridiculously large book onto the desk.
"First, your Wonderbolts manual. Here is everything you need to know and what is expected of you as a Wonderbolt. It covers everything from Aviation to the Zeeman Effect."*
Rainbow groaned, she tried to pick the book up, but it was so heavy it require both of her hooves just to lift it off the desk. "Aw man, Wonderbolt homework?"
Spitfire shrugged. "Well admittedly the first two thousand pages are a bit dry. But don't worry you don't have to read it all right now." She added with a smile.
Rainbow sighed with relief, she let the book fall with a loud thud and pushed the offending tome as far away from her as she could. Spitfire reached into her desk again, this time producing a quill and a piece of parchment. She slid both over to Rainbow.
Rainbow scanned over the page quickly, it was a veritable wall of text using language she didn't really understand.
A contract.
"What this for?" She asked as she turned it this way and that, trying to make sense of the jumble of words.
"This is a legally binding document stating that you will not under any circumstances, divulge any information about the Wonderbolts that you learn both during and after your service." Spitfire said seriously. Then in a lighter, friendlier tone she continued. "Basically, it's to say that you won't give away any of our trade secrets, not to the press, not to your friends, not to some random stranger you meet at a bar whilst drunk. The princesses you can tell, but only if they ask."
"So I sign this and I'm a Wonderbolt right?" Without waiting for a response Rainbow dove for the quill and scrawled her signature.
"Heh, almost rookie. You still have a couple of things left to do." Spitfire pulled the signed contract away. Rainbow shot her another look as if to say "Oh come on."
Spitfire chuckled. "Sorry there is a process to this thing you know. First thing we have to do is the initiation."
"Initiation?" Rainbow didn't like the sound of that too much. It sounded like a fancy term for hazing. She'd had more than enough of that at Flight school, wherein the first week she had to endure other members of her 'clique' making her drink rainbow fluid, making it rain in her dorm room while she was asleep and having to recite the flight school chant on command, backwards. Being young and stupid she did it to try and fit in. Now older, and hopefully a little wiser she was less than eager to put herself through anything like that again. Still her curiosity was piqued and if this was what she needed to do to get into the Wonderbolts then so be it. No pain, no gain.
"What kind of initiation?"
"Oh it's simple really, a ceremony of sorts where you get a chance to bond with each of the Wonderbolts, myself included on a much more... personal level." Spitfire purred with a wink, though the gesture was seemingly lost on Dash. "First things first, you have to get into your initiate uniform." She pointed to another door to one side. "You'll find it in my changing room over there, big blue and yellow box, you can't miss it."
At the mention of uniform Dash's eyes lit up. This was it, her very first Wonderbolt uniform, well first official one anyway. The knockoff Rarity made for her was nice but this was her chance to wear the genuine article. Without a second thought she zoomed through the door, the draft she created slamming it shut behind her. Spitfire shook her head with a smile, as she heard the prismatic pegasus eagerly digging into the chest.
A few minutes passed before the door creaked open just a crack. Spitfire could see a cyan muzzle poke round. "Er Spitfire, are you sure this is a uniform?" Rainbow asked nervously. Her voice was shaking and her early enthusiasm seemed to have evaporated.
"What's the matter?" Spitfire replied, smirking. She knew precisely why Rainbow was being so hesitant but she still tried to feign concern. "Come on, let's have a look at you, got to make sure everything fits."
"O-okay, but I'm not too sure about this."
As Rainbow pushed the door open, Spitfire got a full view and she liked what she saw. The uniform was your basic Wonderbolt's flight suit, with a few minor alterations. First of the golden bolts of lightning that crossed the suit were a bright silver, the sign of an initiate. The tight material hugged Rainbow's lithe athletic form, hugging every curve and showing off the toned muscle beneath. The darker blue also offered a nice contrast with her coat. The reason for Rainbow's concern however wasn't what was on the costume, it was what wasn't on the costume. There was no flight mask or goggles for one, but that was no cause for concern indoors. What had Rainbow so frightened was that the entire back section, from her tail base down to her flank, was missing. It just wasn't there. The back of the suit also included an attachment similar to a crupper, pulling the dock of her tail up and away, leaving her totally exposed. If anypony were to be behind her right now, they would have seen everything. Trying to take control of the situation and regain some of her former pride, Rainbow struck a pose in the revealing outfit.
"H-how do I look." She said with an awkward grin
"Oh sweet Celestia." Spitfire whispered, subconsciously she licked the corners of her mouth. She shook her head. "Excellent, looks like a perfect fit. Come sit back down. I imagine you have some questions."
"Er yeah." Rainbow's suspicions were increasing. She felt like she already knew what this initiation entailed. Spitfire poured herself and Rainbow Dash a drink from a hipflask she had produced from her desk.
Man she has a lot of stuff in there.
Rainbow was very cautious. She been drinking before, it wasn't a low alcohol tolerance that had her worried. The prospect of being hazed, the scantily clad outfit and that weird look Spitfire kept giving her were more than enough to set off warning bells. Fearing her own glass had been spiked somehow, she waited for Spitfire to take a sip and place her glass back on the table. Rainbow then made a show of switching it with her own. Spitfire smirked but said nothing. Instead she drained the amber fluid from Dash's glass in a single gulp, before refilling it from the flask. Certain that Spitfire wouldn't spike her own glass and then drink from it, Rainbow felt brave enough to manage a polite sip.
Hmm, a brandy. Not bad.
"Now then, let's talk." Spitfire said. "First of all, what do you already know about the Wonderbolts?"
"Is this a trick question?" Rainbow asked. Spitfire shook her head. "Fine, I know the Wonderbolts are the best of the best pegasi. Their speed means they are often the first response to danger, and they also use their talents to put on shows and races for the public." Rainbow closed her eyes as she began to speak from memory. "The Wonderbolts have six members, Soarin, Slipstream and Rapid Fire, the three stallions. And Fleetfoot, Misty Fly and yourself, the three mares of the group."
"Seven actually." Spitfire corrected. "Provided you pass initiation."
Rainbow winced at the further mention of the initiation, though her pride swelled as Spitfire had just compared her to a real, actual Wonderbolt. She was about to become a real, actual Wonderbolt.
"Anything else you can think of about our ranks?"
"Er yeah, no I mean. Er... I got nothing." Rainbow scratched the back of her head, smiling sheepishly.
"Well allow me to give you a neat bit of trivia." Spitfire said. "When the Wonderbolts were founded it was strictly mares only."
"Really?" Rainbow said, Spitfire nodded.
"Yep. After Commander Hurricane retired a few years after the founding of Equestria, his eldest daughter, Commander Maelstrom succeeded him and founded the Wonderbolts, putting herself at the helm. Whilst tribalism had all but died out, Maelstrom was one of the biggest sexists ever to command Equestria's forces. She reasoned that mares were automatically faster than stallions."
Rainbow had never heard this story before, she was so interested that she'd actually forgotten about her outfit for the time being. "Why?"
"Well her reasoning sounded plausible. Mares were deemed to be faster, as it appeared that they would produce less drag. The uniform was nothing more than a helmet back then, not the tight fitting, aerodynamic piece of engineering we wear today. Because stallions had their little 'addition' downstairs, Maelstrom thought it made males less aerodynamic and therefore slower. The theory was actually widely accepted, it was only in this past decade or so that some researchers over in Canterlot bothered to check and found out that Maelstrom was full of manure."
"Wait so stallions were considered slower because of their-" she couldn't bring herself to say the word, so merely pointed between her legs.
"Yep, stupid right? But get this, the Wonderbolts still followed this old tradition. I bet you may not have known this but Soarin is actually the oldest member and is in fact the first, ever, male Wonderbolt. The only reason he's not captain is because he's much better at following orders than he is giving them."
Rainbow was gobsmacked. "No way! So wait, what happened?"
"Now we get to the good part." Spitfire said with a lusty gaze. Rainbow Dash felt her hind legs quiver, from fear of course. "You see, equality laws required that the Wonderbolts began training male recruits, none of them ever made the grade of course but to remove suspicions they always made sure to set up the best stallions with well paid jobs in other industries, like mail delivery or weather control. Then Soarin signed up." Spitfire paused to take another sip of her brandy. "The captain at the time was a delightful mare by the name of Celerity. Charming woman, invited me over for lunch once." Spitfire's eyes glazed over for a moment with nostalgia, she quickly shook her head, now was not the time to start daydreaming. "Anyway, old Celerity took a liking to our Soarin. Back then it wasn't considered 'right' for a teacher to jump her student, still isn't thinking about it. But that didn't stop her seducing him. Oh yes, Soarin was barely out of his teens, hormones running rampant, she had him wrapped round her hoof. The problem was the other Wonderbolts. They would never accept a stallion into their ranks, even if the stallion in question was as quick if not quicker than most of them. Despite being approved by the captain."
Rainbow was focusing intently on Spitfire, hanging of ever word, as Spitfire paused to top up both of their drinks she took the opportunity to ask, "So if they wouldn't let him in, what happened? He's a Wonderbolt now right?"
"Our Celerity did something frightfully clever. Rather than talk them into letting Soarin join, she tried to talk them out of following tradition. Now you should know it's not easy for someone to just let go of tradition. Instead Celerity proposed a new one. She pitched it well, not giving any explicit details. A final test, an initiation the same one that you now face. Designed to test a initiate's mental and physical stamina whilst also bringing the team closer together. She claimed it was inspired by the blood oaths griffons are known to take." Rainbow nodded, Gilda had actually mentioned something about them, the blood oath involved cutting the palms of both participants, and then for them to shake, allowing their blood to intermingle. By sharing blood in this manner a griffon declared the other participant as a member of their own family. It was a sacred tradition, even if it was a little gross. "Eventually the other bolts figured it out and they were outraged. It cost her her captaincy. Celerity wasn't disheartened though. She had Soarin meet and befriend the other 'bolts under the guise that, she'd given up trying to get him to join and just wanted him to meet his idols. Then she just had to wait for that 'special' time of year." Spitfire laid back in her chair with a smirk. "From the look on your face, I think you've pretty much figured out what the initiation involved."
Rainbow's face turned beet red. The costume, the alcohol, the sultry look which Spitfire was giving her even now. "S-so to join the Wonderbolts, I have to..." Rainbow gulped, doing a very passable imitation of Fluttershy. "Have sex with you?"
"Hmmm...well." Spitfire leaned forward until she was whispering right into Rainbow's ear. She lay one hoof on her shoulder, and slid it down her back as she spoke. "Not...just...me..." Spitfire's said huskily. Rainbow shivered, her ears perked up when she heard the sound of rummaging behind her, coming from the changing room.
"Don't be nervous, you have a choice, we always give potentials a choice." She pulled a metal container out of her shirt pocket. Flipping it open she presented it to Rainbow. "When you drank that brandy, you unwittingly digested a special chemical of ours."
"What!?" Rainbow shouted, she stared at her glass before hurling it across the room, it shattered into pieces when it struck the wall. She turned on Spitfire, glowering angrily.
"Nothing poisonous I assure you. And no it's not a roofie or anything like that. Remember I drank it as well. It's a special muscle relaxant, zebrican in origin. Tailor made to help paralyze certain muscles in the body, and to stop recruits freaking out when we tell them about the initiation. You can still walk, talk and fly fine. In fact it's something of a performance enhancer, you'll find your stamina lasts much longer than normal." She pointed to the changing room door. "Whilst we've been talking, the others have been getting ready. Behind there are your idols, your fellow teammates, the Wonderbolts. All ready to test you to your limit, and to welcome you into the gang." She pushed the container a little towards Rainbow, whose eyes had gone wide and had started breathing a little erratically.
"Take the blue pill, and this will all be over, it'll clear the chemicals from your system, and I'll take it as your final refusal. You can walk out of here and I'll sign some papers to ensure a pegasus of your calibre will have a nice cushy job for the rest of your working life. However take the red pill, and you agree to participate in the initiation. It's stop you from picking up a foal, on your journey to heaven and back." Spitfire stood up and walked over to the changing room door. "So what'll it be Dash?"
Rainbow gulped again. Her eyes were fixated on the pills before her, she was too stunned by what she had just heard. She'd been drugged. The Wonderbolts had drugged her! Why wasn't she angrier? Was this part of the effects?
Then the more difficult question. Should she go through with this? It was just sex wasn't it? She'd had sex before, but not with a mare, and never in a group. Did this make her a whore? She was being asked to give her body, in exchange for the one thing she'd wanted ever since she took her first, hesitant wing beats.
"Spitfire?" Rainbow asked.
"Yeah?"
"I'm, I'm not too sure about this whole thing. I mean drills are fine, even those boring flight mechanics tests I could manage. But is this really necessary?" Spitfire scowled at her, but her expression quickly became one of sympathy when she saw Rainbow's shoulders slump.
"Hey come on rookie, cheer up." She sat down beside her. "I know it's kind of scary but trust me its fun! I had to go through it too you know." She bumped into Rainbow playfully. "Look, you might be the initiate here but behind those doors you are the one in charge. You set the pace, and we won't ask you to do anything you aren't comfortable with."
"But I mean, what if I fail? And how can I look you guys in the face afterwards knowing what we're about to do?" Rainbow whimpered.
"Come on, where's that spirit of yours gone? There is no pass and there is no fail here, you just have to participate and that's enough. As for looking the guys in the face, let's put it this way. They had to do it too. With other guys. Man was Slipstream pissed when he learned about that part." Spitfire chuckled and even Rainbow managed a small smile.
"I want to be a Wonderbolt, Spitfire, so very much."
"And you will be, stop worrying, this doesn't make you a whore, this doesn't make you easy so put those thoughts right out of your head. Instead." Spitfire snaked a hoof in between Rainbow's legs, rubbing up the inside of her flank. "Picture this, six wonderful pegasi, who want nothing more than to please you, who are at your every command." Rainbow inhaled sharply as Spitfire's hoof passed over her more sensitive flesh. "Doesn't that sound like fun? Come on, there's no way you haven't thought about it just once is there? Why not let go of some of that tension. Training is hard, I can't think of a better way to unwind after a hard day's flight. You've earned this." The blue mare couldn't think straight. The heat welling down below growing with each passing second. Spitfire stopped her ministrations long enough for her to gather her senses, and when she looked down again, she saw Spitfire holding the pills.
"So Rainbow, what'll it be?"
