The Calm and the Stormby SpeculoreChaptersRainbow's RecruitKnowing the terrainDay 1 of Training BeginsRainbow's RecruitThe skies are shown to be empty until a streak of rainbow shoots through the air, seemingly making a beeline for a large facility situated above the clouds with hundreds of Pegasi flying about. This was the Wonderbolts Academy, where Pegasi from all over Equestria to hone their skills and become the best fliers they can be. The streak lands on the ground and reveals itself to be Rainbow Dash, a cyan pegasus mare with a rainbow mane and tail as well as a cutie mark depicting a cloud shooting a red, yellow, and blue lightning bolt. Upon landing, she reached into her saddlebag and took out the letter that was sent to her just a day prior. Dear Rainbow Dash, We have a new recruit for the Wonderbolts who passed the trials with flying colors, but we feel that he needs a bit more coaching. So naturally, we thought of you and how you could help him to reach the potential that he has within him. Please come to my office as soon as you can and we can discuss the situation in further details then. See you when you get here, Spitfire Rainbow folded the letter back up and put it away as she walked into the main building of the academy and made her way up the stairs to Spitfire's office. Upon arriving, she knocked on the door and she heard slightly gruff female's voice tell her to come in. As Dash entered, she saw Spitfire, a yellow pegasus mare who's mane was in two different shades of orange and a cutie mark depicting a stream of fire, seated at her desk. In one of the empty chairs was a crimson red pegasus stallion with a blonde mane and tail and a cutie mark showing a fortress wrapped in a tornado. Rainbow Dash eyed the newcomer as she stepped forward and took a seat in the other chair. Spitfire spoke first. "Glad you could make it, Dash. This is Tempest Stronghold, the pony I told you about in the letter." She gestured to the pony next to Dash. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Rainbow Dash." Dash extended a hoof to Tempest, who accepted it and shook it politely. "The pleasure is mine. And please, I prefer Temp. I must say that it is a real honor to meet a talented flier such as yourself." Dash blushed lightly at the comment and cleared her throat before turning to Spitfire again. "Ahem, so. You said that Temp here needed some more training?" Spitfire nodded. "Yep. We're thinking about doing this for a future program. A new recruit is sent to train with a more experienced member for a while and hopefully, they can learn a few things about themselves." Dash nodded as she listened closely. "Well it sounds like an awesome idea! I'd be more than happy to take this guy under my wing." She then placed a wing around Temp's back. "Well I for one am more than pleased to be under the guidance of one such as yourself Ms. Dash." Rainbow blushed again. "Just Rainbow is fine, or Dash if you prefer." "Alright you two, you better get out of here so you can start your training. Dash, I'm gonna give you one moon with this guy. Make sure that you train him well." Spitfire stood as she gestured to the door. Rainbow and Temp walked out as Rainbow Promised to turn Temp into a Wonderbolt worth letting in. The two made their way outside and Dash led Tempest to her cloud home. Along the way, she decided to start some casual conversation. "So Temp, where are you from?" "Just outside Baltimare. It's a very nice area with plenty of activities and attractions to keep one busy. Oftentimes, I would fly around the city and lend my services to those who seemed like they needed it." Temp sounded as if he was reciting a speech that was laid out right in front of him. "Cool. I'm from Cloudsdale and I know just how you feel. I always liked to stick up for the underdogs and help others to be just as awesome as me." Rainbow relayed while performing a few tricks in the air. She noticed that Temp didn't seem too impressed with her quick display. Soon, the two arrived in Ponyville and landed on the outskirts. "Alright Temp. Welcome to Ponyville. It's one of the coolest places to be ever. Let me show you around." Rainbow began trotting into town as Temp followed behind. "But would our time not be better spent training? Commander Spitfire did inform us that we had no more than a moon." Temp recalled. "Hey, don't worry about it. We can start training tomorrow. Besides, I want to introduce you to my friends." As Rainbow and Temp walked further into town, a pink blur suddenly shot out from seemingly out of nowhere and rammed into Temp. While the impact caused him to stagger, it wasn't able to knock him onto his back. "Hi there, I'm pinkie pie. Are you new here? What's your name? How long are you staying? Where are you staying? Do you want to be friends?!" Tempest was showered with questions from an earth pony mare who's mane and tail were in different shades of pink and cutie mark depicted three balloons. Rainbow Dash then pulled the pony away and addressed her. "Pinkie, chill out. Remember what we talked about?" Pinkie giggled awkwardly, but still retained her positive demeanor. "Sorry Dashie. But you know how I get when someone new comes to town. So is he a friend of yours?" Rainbow flew between the two. "Pinkie Pie, this is Tempest Stronghold, but he prefers Temp. Temp, this is Pinkie Pie." She then moved closer to him and whispered in his ear. "I know she seems really weird at first, but you'll get used to her after a while." Tempest nodded and went to shake Pinkie's hoof. "Hello there. Rainbow already disclosed my name, but I can answer the rest of your inquiries. I am new here, I'm staying for the next moon over at RainbowDash's house, and I suppose I would like to have you for a friend." Pinkie noted Temp's hoof with immense glee and shook it with violent enthusiasm. "Awesome! Hey, you should stop by Sugarcube Corner later today. Dash can show you where it is, right Dashie?" Pinkie looked to Dash with expectant eyes. "Uh, yeah, sure, I can show him there." Pinkie smiled and bounced away happily. "Sorry about that. She loves meeting new ponies and making friends." Temp held up a hoof in understanding. "Not to worry. She actually reminds me of some pony I knew when I was younger. She would always look on the bright side of things." He then sighed lightly as Dash shot him a raised eyebrow. "Well then. Shall we continue with the tour?" Temp walked ahead leaving Rainbow to comprehend what he said. She quickly dismissed it as she flew on to catch up with Temp. Knowing the terrainTemp and Rainbow Dash made their way through Ponyville and arrived at the marketplace, where food and material stalls lined the entire street. "Great, we can grab a bite to eat before we get to my place." Rainbow trotted into the amalgam of ponies as Temp followed behind with a minutely confused expression on his face. "Forgive me Rainbow, but I am still confused. Is this a part of our training or..." Temp trailed off and expected Rainbow to answer back. Rainbow looked back and let out a brief chuckle. "Temp, relax. We've got all of next moon to train. This is just a casual stroll through where you'll be staying. After all, what's the point of working out if you don't know the best spots to do it?" Temp looked down in contemplation before determined Dash's logic as sound and continued to follow her. The two continued walking until they reached a stall run by an orange earth pony mare with a blonde mane and tail, three apples for a cutie mark, and a stetson hat. "Howdy Rainbow. Good to see you back. Who's this you got with ya?" The mare spoke in a country drawl as she seemed to know Dash quite well. "Hey Applejack. This is Tempest Stronghold. He's a new recruit that Spitfire asked me to train privately. I'm just showing him around Ponyville before we head to my place." She then turned to Tempest. "Temp, this is Applejack. Her family makes the best apple-products in Ponyville. My personal favorite is their cider." Applejack rolled her eyes as she extended a friendly hoof to Temp. "Nice to meet you Temp. And like Rainbow said, we make the best Apple treats in town. Go ahead, take your pick." Temp accepted the hoofshake and looked at the apple pies, turnovers, fritters, and other apple treats that the stand had to offer. "Very well. I suppose I will have that apple pie and a bottle of juice as well." Applejack put the pie and the juice on the counter as Temp reached into his saddlebags for his bit pouch. He was about to take a few out when Applejack's hoof stopped him. "No need, partner. This is on the house." Temp seemed surprise that this pony was giving her products for free. "But it wouldn't feel right if I didn't pay for my order." "Ah, don't you fret none. Newcomers get free samples. Besides, any friend of Rainbow's is a friend of mine. Go on, take it." Temp looked on with contemplation before shrugging. "Very well. Thank you miss Applejack, much obliged." "No problem, Temp. And please, call me Applejack." Applejack waved goodbye as Temp and Dash walked on. Rainbow saw that Temp was looking at his pie skeptically as they got further away. "What's the matter Temp? Did you lose your appetite?" "No, nothing like that. I am just unable to process why that pony gave away these products to some pony she doesn't even know." "Eh, that's just who Applejack is. She gives free samples of her food to all sorts of ponies if they rub her the right way." Rainbow flew ahead and took point as Temp looked at his food again. After a bit, he decided it was best to not waste good-looking food so he ate the pie and found that it was very flavorful and the texture was smooth as silk. The apple juice was the same. The two spent the next couple hours touring the Ponyville skies while Rainbow pointed out some great flying spots where they could get in some effective training. Soon, they landed on the ground again just outside a building that looked to be modeled after a gingerbread house, with all the decorations to boot. Temp eyed the building profoundly as Rainbow took note and addressed his upcoming question. "I know what you're thinking and yes, it does look like it's made of sweets and no, it is not actually. Come on, Pinkie said she had something for you in here." Rainbow started walking up as Temp snapped out of his trance and followed her inside. Upon entering, they found the place to be almost pitch-black until the lights flashed on, revealing an entire crowd of ponies yelling "surprise" and the room decorated as if there was a party going on. Temp looked around the room in a confused state. "Pardon me, but what is the meaning of this?" At that moment, Pinkie rushed up in another blur of pink as she wrapped her hoof around Temp's back. "Don't be silly, silly. This is your Ponyville welcome party! I throw one for every new pony in Ponyville. After our meeting, I went around town and told everyone that there was a new pony in town and then I decorated Sugarcube Corner, got treats, and made sure that everyone was in place to yell 'SURPRISE'. Don't tell me that you've never been to a party before." As pinkie spoke, she bounced around excitedly and with an upbeat, enthusiastic tone of voice. Temp looked to her and the room with confused awe. "You were able to set up this entire event in the mere span of 2-3 hours?! And you managed to notify every single pony here and get them to attend?! How were you able to accomplish this?!" Rainbow then stepped in. "Don't worry about it Temp. This is just Pinkie being Pinkie. She's always doing crazy stuff like this. It's best that you get used to it while you're here. Trust me, the crazy stuff that happens around her hasn't even begun." Temp looked at pinkie with skeptic worry. He soon decided to put those thoughts aside for the time being and enjoy the party. As he walked by the dessert table, Pinkie approached him again. "What's the matter Temp? You look like you've never seen a cupcake before. Or any kind of sweet treat for that matter." "Actually, that assumption of yours is absolutely correct. I have never had anything sweet in my life." Upon hearing that, Pinkie gasped so heavily that her mane almost exploded before retaining its original shape. "You've never had anything sweet or delicious?! What the heck kind of pony would live such a life?!?!" Pinkie then circled the table in a blur and gathered several plates, each one filled with a different treat. She then grabbed hold of Tempest and sat him down at one of the guest tables and laid out the plates in front of him. "There, now you can try whatever treat you want in any order you want!" Pinkie then flashed Temp a wide grin as he eyed his food. He picked up a cookie and took a tentative bite, letting it sit in his mouth for a moment before swallowing it. "Oh my! This is much better than what I initially thought." He finished the cookie and then went for a cupcake. As he continued however, he suddenly stopped and rose from his seat before turning to address Pinkie. "Thank you for the refreshments Ms. Pie. They were very enjoyable." Temp then walked to the door and stepped out. "That's weird. Usually whenever a pony tries one of Sugarcube Corner's special treats, they at least have a bigger smile than that." Pinkie took Temp's seat and finished the treats that she picked out for him. "Eh, it is getting pretty late. I'll take him home with me and he'll probably feel better when we get to training tomorrow." Rainbow flew out the door and affectionately placed her hoof on Temp's shoulder. "Come on, we'd better get to my place." The two then flew off towards the edge of Ponyville. Soon, they arrived at Rainbow's cloud home and she welcomed Temp inside. They then made their way up the stairs and stopped at the door near the end. "So this is your room. If you need anything, mine is a few doors back. We'll get some breakfast at about 0700 and begin our training at 0800, so make sure that you get plenty of rest." Rainbow bid him good night as she went off to her own room for the night. As she prepared herself for bed, she remembered Temp's behavior at the party and wondered what it was about. However, she soon decided to put it off for now and get some sleep. Temp entered his room and got situated. "My, that was rather close. I nearly compromised my entire progress because of that party." From his saddlebag, he then pulled out a picture frame depicting a younger version of himself alongside two pegasi, one mare and the other a stallion. The mare had his mane and tail in a darker shade, a pinkish-white coat, and a cutie mark consisting of the sun being mostly blocked out by two storm clouds. The stallion has Temp's coat with a deep orange mane and tail and a cutie mark showing two trees bending profusely as if they were in the middle of a raging windstorm. The three of them were standing outside a small suburban-looking house with the older ponies looking with stern indifference while Temp seemed to have a look of innocent indifference on his face. He then placed the picture on the dresser across from his bed. "Just wait mother and father. I will become a son that you can be proud of and look on with confidence." Temp sighed and plopped onto his bed before switching off the light and going to sleep. Day 1 of Training BeginsAs Celestia's sun rose above the horizon, its light shown down on Rainbow Dash's cloud house as a sliver of light slipped its way through an opening in the window shades of a guest room where a certain crimson pegasus was still sleeping. As the light from the sun made its way through Temp's room and onto his face, he stirred himself awake and almost immediately got out of bed to begin his morning routine. As he completed each task, he kept a watchful eye on the clock in his room. He had just finished when he noticed a sweet, yet savory aroma in the air. He looked at the clock and noticed that there was still an hour before he was scheduled to meet Rainbow Dash for their morning training. With that in mind, he decided to investigate the source of the aroma. He made his way downstairs as the aroma became stronger and noticed a thin cloud of smoke emanating from what looked to be the kitchen. Temp walked in and saw Dash at the stove cooking breakfast. Dash saw Temp in the doorway and beckoned him in. "Hey Temp. Just in time, breakfast is almost ready. Just take a seat and I'll bring you a plate when it's done." Temp seemed to have a confused look on his face as he took a seat at the table. A few minutes later, Rainbow walked over to join him while expertly balancing a plate on each wing. She set a plate of pancakes and eggs in front of Temp as well as herself. She then dug into her food while being careful as to not go overboard. However, she noticed that Temp had yet yo even touch his food. "What's wrong Temp? You better eat it before it gets cold." Temp looked at dash and then back to his own food. "Sorry Rainbow. This food does look very delicious, but I'm just not used to having breakfast prior to working out. I've come to find it a waste of time." Temp continued to look at his food with indifference. Rainbow seemed shocked that an important meal was just being pushed aside. "Are you nuts?! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! If you're gonna be training with me, you're gonna have to build up your strength and keep it up too." Rainbow nudged Temp's plate closer to him as she went back to her own breakfast. Temp eyed the plate before finally going into it. He cut up the pancakes, took a bite, and found them to be very delicious. He continued eating, but at a slower pace than Rainbow. Despite that, he still finished his food with a few minutes to spare before training was to begin. Temp quickly went back to his room and put on his wonderbolt outfit before making his way to the door. However, before he could get out, Dash stopped him. "Wait a minute Temp." Temp turned to face her. "You don't need your wonderbolt suit for my training. Go ahead and take it off, I'll wait for you." Temp flashed a look of minor surprise before obliging and changing out of his suit before meeting Dash outside by her front door. The two then left the house and made their way to one of the fields outside Ponyville. Dash led Temp through a few stretches before deciding to start the workout. Temp was a bit puzzled, but he managed to follow along. "Alright, we'll start with something a bit basic. See those clouds up there?" She pointed up to the sky where quite a few clouds were scattered about. Temp nodded. "Okay, bust them all as fast as you can, I'll be timing you. You ready?" Temp nodded and took position to take off. "GO!" Immediately upon hearing that word, Temp shot into the sky and busted one cloud after another. Dash looked up at Temp and then glanced at her stopwatch to see that he was making good time. Seconds later, Temp returned to the ground looking a tad winded as he looked to Dash for his time. "45 seconds. Not bad, but I noticed you were slowing down when you hit each of those clouds. We're gonna have to work on that." Temp looked at the ground as if he had done something wrong. "My apologies Dash. Rest assured, I will be much faster next time." Dash was taken aback by the tone of his voice, mainly with how serious yet apologetic it sounded. "Hey, it's fine. It's only the first day. Let's move on to the next drill." The two walked further about the field and came to an area with trees littered about. "Okay, now it's time to see how maneuverable you are. I want you to make one lap around these trees while weaving between them. I'm gonna time you again and every time you hit a tree, one second will be deducted from your overall time. Got it?" "Yes ma'am!" Temp waited for the signal as he took position once again. "Ready, set, GO!" Temp was off like a rocket once again as he weaved in and out of the treeline while only grazing his wing once on one of the tree trunks. Despite that, he still maintained his speed as Dash took note of the tree he scratched. Soon he landed in front of Rainbow Dash again. "Good, 32 seconds. Looks like your curves are better than your sprints. Might come in handy in a performance one day." Temp looked to Rainbow apologetically once again. "Actually Dash, I grazed my wing on one of the trees. So that means my true time for this exercise was 33 seconds." Rainbow rolled her eyes and look back at Temp. "That's okay. It was only a small graze, so it doesn't count. Besides, you did good on the rest, so I decided to drop it." "But I still made contact with the tree. That means one second should be deducted from my initial time. You can't ignore the standards that you yourself set. That's welching." "Dude, chill out. So you grazed a tree once on a drill, so what? The rest of it was still awesome. I respect you for owning up to a shortcoming, but you shouldn't hold that against you. Now let's just move on to the next exercise." Dash walked ahead as she wondered why Temp seemed to be holding himself to that high a standard. Temp held his head in contemplation before heading off to catch up with Dash. The two eventually came upon the swimming hole. "Alright Temp. This time, we're gonna check out your endurance. You're gonna run around the swimming hole as fast as you can for as long as you can. When you stop, so does the clock and that will be your final time." Temp prepared himself once again. "Very well, let's begin." He flared his wings, but Rainbow stopped him. "Ah-ah. I said 'run' around the swimming hole. No wings allowed for this exercise. If you do use them, the clock will automatically stop and that will be considered your final time." Temp looked at his wings and then folded them up. "Very well. I accept these terms." he retook his starting position as Rainbow readied her stopwatch again. "Okay. On your marks, get set, GO!" Temp was off and galloping along the shore as fast as his hooves could carry him. After a minute, Temp began to slow down as his energy was getting lower. Soon, he found himself barely able to trot and collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. Rainbow stopped her watch and flew over to where he collapsed. "That was great Temp. You clocked in at almost ten minutes exactly." She then pulled a water bottle out from her saddlebags and handed it to Temp. He took the bottle and drank almost a quarter of the water that was in it before handing it back to Dash. "I appreciate the compliment, but my endurance is more often than not much more sufficient than this. I find myself not needing to stop until approximately 20-30 minutes in." Temp panted in between breaths as he rose to his hooves again. Rainbow patted his shoulder. "Well don't forget that you were going full throttle right from the start. Heck, if you hadn't already undergone the training you did, your time would have probably been much worse. Anyway, let's take a few minutes to cool off." She removed her saddlebags and other garments and immediately dove into the swimming hole. Upon resurfacing, she floated peacefully in the center as she noticed Temp hadn't followed suit. "Hey, you coming in or what?!" Temp put his front hooves into the water and found it to be an adequate room temperature. He did remember reading that not cooling off after a workout did lead to various physical consequences. With that in mind, he slid himself the rest of the way in and let out a large breath of relief as his eyes drifted shut. "My. I must say that this water is very lovely. It's almost as if-" Suddenly his mind flashed images of his mother holding him as a foal and his eye almost immediately shot open. In a state of panic, he made his way to the shore and shook himself dry and he panted heavily. Dash quickly joined him and put her hoof around him in an attempt to calm him down. "Hey there, you okay Temp? It looked like you were cooling down and then you suddenly bolted. What happened?" Temp took a few more deep breaths and calmed down before facing Dash again. "Please, forgive me Dash. As I was swimming, I had flashbacks to my childhood. It was rather sudden and unnerving. That is why I acted the way I did." "Hey, don't worry about it. So, what exactly happened? Did something happened when you were younger?" Temp took another deep breath before replying as calmly as he could so as to not make Dash worry anymore. "Actually, I would prefer to not discuss that topic. Perhaps someday, but not today." Dash hung her head in disappointment as she removed her hoof. "Alright then, if that's how you feel. I'll let you talk when you're ready." Temp managed to crack a smile as he looked to Dash. "Thank you Rainbow. I appreciate that greatly." Temp's stomach then grumbled, which caused him a deal of embarrassment. "Hehe. Sounds like someone's hungry. Good thing I brought lunch." She took out two sacks from her saddlebags and handed one to Temp. In his bag was a peanut butter and banana sandwich along with an apple and a protein shake. Rainbow Dash had the same, but her sandwich had pasta and potatoes in it and it looked to be on a different kind of bread. After their lunch, Dash and Temp continued training as they partook in wing-ups, cardio exercises, and more no-wing sprints. Eventually, the day was drawing to a close as Dash and Temp were laying down side-by-side underneath an apple tree. As they rested, an orange earth pony mare with a blonde mane and tail and three apples for a cutie mark walked up to their tree and nudged Rainbow awake. "Hey there Dash, how's it goin' with that new recruit of yours?" Dash woke suddenly as she located Applejack right in front of her. "Oh, it's going fine. (yawns) He's a pretty strong flier, although he's kind of uptight." Applejack raised an eyebrow at her statement. "What do you mean?" Dash made sure that Temp was still sleeping before turning back to Applejack "Okay, get this, I had him do a maneuverability drill in the woods and I said that every time he hit a tree, I'd deduct a second from his time. He got it done, except he tried to get me to deduct a second just for grazing his wing." Applejack didn't seem to comprehend the statement. "Well he did hit one of the trees, so was probably trying to honor the agreement y'all made." "But that's just it. Most ponies would be knocked off balance and suffer a drop in speed, but this guy powered through. Not only that, but the tree he hit actually had some of its bark scratched off." "Whoa! Are you serious?" "Dead serious. There's no doubt in my mind that if he wanted to, he could take out the whole tree if I asked him to." "But you crash into trees when doing new tricks and you walk them off just fine." "That's just it. I might be able to shake off hitting a tree, but it still throws me off. This guy literally scratched some of the bark off and it didn''t even seem to faze him." Applejack pondered for a minute before an idea formed in her head. "Alright, tell you what. Why don't you and Temp come an over to Sweet Apple Acres for dinner tomorrow. I'm sure I can help out." Dash was reluctant to agree, but figured it the best way for the time being. "Alright. It's a deal. But let's try to not be too direct right off the bat, it could get suspicious." Applejack nodded in agreement. "Fair enough. Well, I better take these apples back to the farm. See you tomorrow RD." Applejack waved goodbye and started back towards her house. A minute later, Temp woke up from his nap with a yawn. "Hello Dash. I thought that I had heard voices during my slumber. Were you conversing with another?" Dash had a small look of worry on her face before taking a breath and responding as casually as she could. "Oh yeah, that was just Applejack. She just wanted to know how we were doing. She even invited us over to her house for dinner tomorrow. Don't even bother trying to deny this one, dude. Once Applejack makes a commitment, she will honor it with everything she has." Temp thought about the offer for a bit before agreeing to the arrangement and the two made their way home. They soon arrived and Temp walked into his room and was about to get into bed until he looked at his photo again and sighed. He finally climbed into bed, switched off the light, and went to sleep.
Rainbow's RecruitThe skies are shown to be empty until a streak of rainbow shoots through the air, seemingly making a beeline for a large facility situated above the clouds with hundreds of Pegasi flying about. This was the Wonderbolts Academy, where Pegasi from all over Equestria to hone their skills and become the best fliers they can be. The streak lands on the ground and reveals itself to be Rainbow Dash, a cyan pegasus mare with a rainbow mane and tail as well as a cutie mark depicting a cloud shooting a red, yellow, and blue lightning bolt. Upon landing, she reached into her saddlebag and took out the letter that was sent to her just a day prior. Dear Rainbow Dash, We have a new recruit for the Wonderbolts who passed the trials with flying colors, but we feel that he needs a bit more coaching. So naturally, we thought of you and how you could help him to reach the potential that he has within him. Please come to my office as soon as you can and we can discuss the situation in further details then. See you when you get here, Spitfire Rainbow folded the letter back up and put it away as she walked into the main building of the academy and made her way up the stairs to Spitfire's office. Upon arriving, she knocked on the door and she heard slightly gruff female's voice tell her to come in. As Dash entered, she saw Spitfire, a yellow pegasus mare who's mane was in two different shades of orange and a cutie mark depicting a stream of fire, seated at her desk. In one of the empty chairs was a crimson red pegasus stallion with a blonde mane and tail and a cutie mark showing a fortress wrapped in a tornado. Rainbow Dash eyed the newcomer as she stepped forward and took a seat in the other chair. Spitfire spoke first. "Glad you could make it, Dash. This is Tempest Stronghold, the pony I told you about in the letter." She gestured to the pony next to Dash. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Rainbow Dash." Dash extended a hoof to Tempest, who accepted it and shook it politely. "The pleasure is mine. And please, I prefer Temp. I must say that it is a real honor to meet a talented flier such as yourself." Dash blushed lightly at the comment and cleared her throat before turning to Spitfire again. "Ahem, so. You said that Temp here needed some more training?" Spitfire nodded. "Yep. We're thinking about doing this for a future program. A new recruit is sent to train with a more experienced member for a while and hopefully, they can learn a few things about themselves." Dash nodded as she listened closely. "Well it sounds like an awesome idea! I'd be more than happy to take this guy under my wing." She then placed a wing around Temp's back. "Well I for one am more than pleased to be under the guidance of one such as yourself Ms. Dash." Rainbow blushed again. "Just Rainbow is fine, or Dash if you prefer." "Alright you two, you better get out of here so you can start your training. Dash, I'm gonna give you one moon with this guy. Make sure that you train him well." Spitfire stood as she gestured to the door. Rainbow and Temp walked out as Rainbow Promised to turn Temp into a Wonderbolt worth letting in. The two made their way outside and Dash led Tempest to her cloud home. Along the way, she decided to start some casual conversation. "So Temp, where are you from?" "Just outside Baltimare. It's a very nice area with plenty of activities and attractions to keep one busy. Oftentimes, I would fly around the city and lend my services to those who seemed like they needed it." Temp sounded as if he was reciting a speech that was laid out right in front of him. "Cool. I'm from Cloudsdale and I know just how you feel. I always liked to stick up for the underdogs and help others to be just as awesome as me." Rainbow relayed while performing a few tricks in the air. She noticed that Temp didn't seem too impressed with her quick display. Soon, the two arrived in Ponyville and landed on the outskirts. "Alright Temp. Welcome to Ponyville. It's one of the coolest places to be ever. Let me show you around." Rainbow began trotting into town as Temp followed behind. "But would our time not be better spent training? Commander Spitfire did inform us that we had no more than a moon." Temp recalled. "Hey, don't worry about it. We can start training tomorrow. Besides, I want to introduce you to my friends." As Rainbow and Temp walked further into town, a pink blur suddenly shot out from seemingly out of nowhere and rammed into Temp. While the impact caused him to stagger, it wasn't able to knock him onto his back. "Hi there, I'm pinkie pie. Are you new here? What's your name? How long are you staying? Where are you staying? Do you want to be friends?!" Tempest was showered with questions from an earth pony mare who's mane and tail were in different shades of pink and cutie mark depicted three balloons. Rainbow Dash then pulled the pony away and addressed her. "Pinkie, chill out. Remember what we talked about?" Pinkie giggled awkwardly, but still retained her positive demeanor. "Sorry Dashie. But you know how I get when someone new comes to town. So is he a friend of yours?" Rainbow flew between the two. "Pinkie Pie, this is Tempest Stronghold, but he prefers Temp. Temp, this is Pinkie Pie." She then moved closer to him and whispered in his ear. "I know she seems really weird at first, but you'll get used to her after a while." Tempest nodded and went to shake Pinkie's hoof. "Hello there. Rainbow already disclosed my name, but I can answer the rest of your inquiries. I am new here, I'm staying for the next moon over at RainbowDash's house, and I suppose I would like to have you for a friend." Pinkie noted Temp's hoof with immense glee and shook it with violent enthusiasm. "Awesome! Hey, you should stop by Sugarcube Corner later today. Dash can show you where it is, right Dashie?" Pinkie looked to Dash with expectant eyes. "Uh, yeah, sure, I can show him there." Pinkie smiled and bounced away happily. "Sorry about that. She loves meeting new ponies and making friends." Temp held up a hoof in understanding. "Not to worry. She actually reminds me of some pony I knew when I was younger. She would always look on the bright side of things." He then sighed lightly as Dash shot him a raised eyebrow. "Well then. Shall we continue with the tour?" Temp walked ahead leaving Rainbow to comprehend what he said. She quickly dismissed it as she flew on to catch up with Temp.
Knowing the terrainTemp and Rainbow Dash made their way through Ponyville and arrived at the marketplace, where food and material stalls lined the entire street. "Great, we can grab a bite to eat before we get to my place." Rainbow trotted into the amalgam of ponies as Temp followed behind with a minutely confused expression on his face. "Forgive me Rainbow, but I am still confused. Is this a part of our training or..." Temp trailed off and expected Rainbow to answer back. Rainbow looked back and let out a brief chuckle. "Temp, relax. We've got all of next moon to train. This is just a casual stroll through where you'll be staying. After all, what's the point of working out if you don't know the best spots to do it?" Temp looked down in contemplation before determined Dash's logic as sound and continued to follow her. The two continued walking until they reached a stall run by an orange earth pony mare with a blonde mane and tail, three apples for a cutie mark, and a stetson hat. "Howdy Rainbow. Good to see you back. Who's this you got with ya?" The mare spoke in a country drawl as she seemed to know Dash quite well. "Hey Applejack. This is Tempest Stronghold. He's a new recruit that Spitfire asked me to train privately. I'm just showing him around Ponyville before we head to my place." She then turned to Tempest. "Temp, this is Applejack. Her family makes the best apple-products in Ponyville. My personal favorite is their cider." Applejack rolled her eyes as she extended a friendly hoof to Temp. "Nice to meet you Temp. And like Rainbow said, we make the best Apple treats in town. Go ahead, take your pick." Temp accepted the hoofshake and looked at the apple pies, turnovers, fritters, and other apple treats that the stand had to offer. "Very well. I suppose I will have that apple pie and a bottle of juice as well." Applejack put the pie and the juice on the counter as Temp reached into his saddlebags for his bit pouch. He was about to take a few out when Applejack's hoof stopped him. "No need, partner. This is on the house." Temp seemed surprise that this pony was giving her products for free. "But it wouldn't feel right if I didn't pay for my order." "Ah, don't you fret none. Newcomers get free samples. Besides, any friend of Rainbow's is a friend of mine. Go on, take it." Temp looked on with contemplation before shrugging. "Very well. Thank you miss Applejack, much obliged." "No problem, Temp. And please, call me Applejack." Applejack waved goodbye as Temp and Dash walked on. Rainbow saw that Temp was looking at his pie skeptically as they got further away. "What's the matter Temp? Did you lose your appetite?" "No, nothing like that. I am just unable to process why that pony gave away these products to some pony she doesn't even know." "Eh, that's just who Applejack is. She gives free samples of her food to all sorts of ponies if they rub her the right way." Rainbow flew ahead and took point as Temp looked at his food again. After a bit, he decided it was best to not waste good-looking food so he ate the pie and found that it was very flavorful and the texture was smooth as silk. The apple juice was the same. The two spent the next couple hours touring the Ponyville skies while Rainbow pointed out some great flying spots where they could get in some effective training. Soon, they landed on the ground again just outside a building that looked to be modeled after a gingerbread house, with all the decorations to boot. Temp eyed the building profoundly as Rainbow took note and addressed his upcoming question. "I know what you're thinking and yes, it does look like it's made of sweets and no, it is not actually. Come on, Pinkie said she had something for you in here." Rainbow started walking up as Temp snapped out of his trance and followed her inside. Upon entering, they found the place to be almost pitch-black until the lights flashed on, revealing an entire crowd of ponies yelling "surprise" and the room decorated as if there was a party going on. Temp looked around the room in a confused state. "Pardon me, but what is the meaning of this?" At that moment, Pinkie rushed up in another blur of pink as she wrapped her hoof around Temp's back. "Don't be silly, silly. This is your Ponyville welcome party! I throw one for every new pony in Ponyville. After our meeting, I went around town and told everyone that there was a new pony in town and then I decorated Sugarcube Corner, got treats, and made sure that everyone was in place to yell 'SURPRISE'. Don't tell me that you've never been to a party before." As pinkie spoke, she bounced around excitedly and with an upbeat, enthusiastic tone of voice. Temp looked to her and the room with confused awe. "You were able to set up this entire event in the mere span of 2-3 hours?! And you managed to notify every single pony here and get them to attend?! How were you able to accomplish this?!" Rainbow then stepped in. "Don't worry about it Temp. This is just Pinkie being Pinkie. She's always doing crazy stuff like this. It's best that you get used to it while you're here. Trust me, the crazy stuff that happens around her hasn't even begun." Temp looked at pinkie with skeptic worry. He soon decided to put those thoughts aside for the time being and enjoy the party. As he walked by the dessert table, Pinkie approached him again. "What's the matter Temp? You look like you've never seen a cupcake before. Or any kind of sweet treat for that matter." "Actually, that assumption of yours is absolutely correct. I have never had anything sweet in my life." Upon hearing that, Pinkie gasped so heavily that her mane almost exploded before retaining its original shape. "You've never had anything sweet or delicious?! What the heck kind of pony would live such a life?!?!" Pinkie then circled the table in a blur and gathered several plates, each one filled with a different treat. She then grabbed hold of Tempest and sat him down at one of the guest tables and laid out the plates in front of him. "There, now you can try whatever treat you want in any order you want!" Pinkie then flashed Temp a wide grin as he eyed his food. He picked up a cookie and took a tentative bite, letting it sit in his mouth for a moment before swallowing it. "Oh my! This is much better than what I initially thought." He finished the cookie and then went for a cupcake. As he continued however, he suddenly stopped and rose from his seat before turning to address Pinkie. "Thank you for the refreshments Ms. Pie. They were very enjoyable." Temp then walked to the door and stepped out. "That's weird. Usually whenever a pony tries one of Sugarcube Corner's special treats, they at least have a bigger smile than that." Pinkie took Temp's seat and finished the treats that she picked out for him. "Eh, it is getting pretty late. I'll take him home with me and he'll probably feel better when we get to training tomorrow." Rainbow flew out the door and affectionately placed her hoof on Temp's shoulder. "Come on, we'd better get to my place." The two then flew off towards the edge of Ponyville. Soon, they arrived at Rainbow's cloud home and she welcomed Temp inside. They then made their way up the stairs and stopped at the door near the end. "So this is your room. If you need anything, mine is a few doors back. We'll get some breakfast at about 0700 and begin our training at 0800, so make sure that you get plenty of rest." Rainbow bid him good night as she went off to her own room for the night. As she prepared herself for bed, she remembered Temp's behavior at the party and wondered what it was about. However, she soon decided to put it off for now and get some sleep. Temp entered his room and got situated. "My, that was rather close. I nearly compromised my entire progress because of that party." From his saddlebag, he then pulled out a picture frame depicting a younger version of himself alongside two pegasi, one mare and the other a stallion. The mare had his mane and tail in a darker shade, a pinkish-white coat, and a cutie mark consisting of the sun being mostly blocked out by two storm clouds. The stallion has Temp's coat with a deep orange mane and tail and a cutie mark showing two trees bending profusely as if they were in the middle of a raging windstorm. The three of them were standing outside a small suburban-looking house with the older ponies looking with stern indifference while Temp seemed to have a look of innocent indifference on his face. He then placed the picture on the dresser across from his bed. "Just wait mother and father. I will become a son that you can be proud of and look on with confidence." Temp sighed and plopped onto his bed before switching off the light and going to sleep.
Day 1 of Training BeginsAs Celestia's sun rose above the horizon, its light shown down on Rainbow Dash's cloud house as a sliver of light slipped its way through an opening in the window shades of a guest room where a certain crimson pegasus was still sleeping. As the light from the sun made its way through Temp's room and onto his face, he stirred himself awake and almost immediately got out of bed to begin his morning routine. As he completed each task, he kept a watchful eye on the clock in his room. He had just finished when he noticed a sweet, yet savory aroma in the air. He looked at the clock and noticed that there was still an hour before he was scheduled to meet Rainbow Dash for their morning training. With that in mind, he decided to investigate the source of the aroma. He made his way downstairs as the aroma became stronger and noticed a thin cloud of smoke emanating from what looked to be the kitchen. Temp walked in and saw Dash at the stove cooking breakfast. Dash saw Temp in the doorway and beckoned him in. "Hey Temp. Just in time, breakfast is almost ready. Just take a seat and I'll bring you a plate when it's done." Temp seemed to have a confused look on his face as he took a seat at the table. A few minutes later, Rainbow walked over to join him while expertly balancing a plate on each wing. She set a plate of pancakes and eggs in front of Temp as well as herself. She then dug into her food while being careful as to not go overboard. However, she noticed that Temp had yet yo even touch his food. "What's wrong Temp? You better eat it before it gets cold." Temp looked at dash and then back to his own food. "Sorry Rainbow. This food does look very delicious, but I'm just not used to having breakfast prior to working out. I've come to find it a waste of time." Temp continued to look at his food with indifference. Rainbow seemed shocked that an important meal was just being pushed aside. "Are you nuts?! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! If you're gonna be training with me, you're gonna have to build up your strength and keep it up too." Rainbow nudged Temp's plate closer to him as she went back to her own breakfast. Temp eyed the plate before finally going into it. He cut up the pancakes, took a bite, and found them to be very delicious. He continued eating, but at a slower pace than Rainbow. Despite that, he still finished his food with a few minutes to spare before training was to begin. Temp quickly went back to his room and put on his wonderbolt outfit before making his way to the door. However, before he could get out, Dash stopped him. "Wait a minute Temp." Temp turned to face her. "You don't need your wonderbolt suit for my training. Go ahead and take it off, I'll wait for you." Temp flashed a look of minor surprise before obliging and changing out of his suit before meeting Dash outside by her front door. The two then left the house and made their way to one of the fields outside Ponyville. Dash led Temp through a few stretches before deciding to start the workout. Temp was a bit puzzled, but he managed to follow along. "Alright, we'll start with something a bit basic. See those clouds up there?" She pointed up to the sky where quite a few clouds were scattered about. Temp nodded. "Okay, bust them all as fast as you can, I'll be timing you. You ready?" Temp nodded and took position to take off. "GO!" Immediately upon hearing that word, Temp shot into the sky and busted one cloud after another. Dash looked up at Temp and then glanced at her stopwatch to see that he was making good time. Seconds later, Temp returned to the ground looking a tad winded as he looked to Dash for his time. "45 seconds. Not bad, but I noticed you were slowing down when you hit each of those clouds. We're gonna have to work on that." Temp looked at the ground as if he had done something wrong. "My apologies Dash. Rest assured, I will be much faster next time." Dash was taken aback by the tone of his voice, mainly with how serious yet apologetic it sounded. "Hey, it's fine. It's only the first day. Let's move on to the next drill." The two walked further about the field and came to an area with trees littered about. "Okay, now it's time to see how maneuverable you are. I want you to make one lap around these trees while weaving between them. I'm gonna time you again and every time you hit a tree, one second will be deducted from your overall time. Got it?" "Yes ma'am!" Temp waited for the signal as he took position once again. "Ready, set, GO!" Temp was off like a rocket once again as he weaved in and out of the treeline while only grazing his wing once on one of the tree trunks. Despite that, he still maintained his speed as Dash took note of the tree he scratched. Soon he landed in front of Rainbow Dash again. "Good, 32 seconds. Looks like your curves are better than your sprints. Might come in handy in a performance one day." Temp looked to Rainbow apologetically once again. "Actually Dash, I grazed my wing on one of the trees. So that means my true time for this exercise was 33 seconds." Rainbow rolled her eyes and look back at Temp. "That's okay. It was only a small graze, so it doesn't count. Besides, you did good on the rest, so I decided to drop it." "But I still made contact with the tree. That means one second should be deducted from my initial time. You can't ignore the standards that you yourself set. That's welching." "Dude, chill out. So you grazed a tree once on a drill, so what? The rest of it was still awesome. I respect you for owning up to a shortcoming, but you shouldn't hold that against you. Now let's just move on to the next exercise." Dash walked ahead as she wondered why Temp seemed to be holding himself to that high a standard. Temp held his head in contemplation before heading off to catch up with Dash. The two eventually came upon the swimming hole. "Alright Temp. This time, we're gonna check out your endurance. You're gonna run around the swimming hole as fast as you can for as long as you can. When you stop, so does the clock and that will be your final time." Temp prepared himself once again. "Very well, let's begin." He flared his wings, but Rainbow stopped him. "Ah-ah. I said 'run' around the swimming hole. No wings allowed for this exercise. If you do use them, the clock will automatically stop and that will be considered your final time." Temp looked at his wings and then folded them up. "Very well. I accept these terms." he retook his starting position as Rainbow readied her stopwatch again. "Okay. On your marks, get set, GO!" Temp was off and galloping along the shore as fast as his hooves could carry him. After a minute, Temp began to slow down as his energy was getting lower. Soon, he found himself barely able to trot and collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. Rainbow stopped her watch and flew over to where he collapsed. "That was great Temp. You clocked in at almost ten minutes exactly." She then pulled a water bottle out from her saddlebags and handed it to Temp. He took the bottle and drank almost a quarter of the water that was in it before handing it back to Dash. "I appreciate the compliment, but my endurance is more often than not much more sufficient than this. I find myself not needing to stop until approximately 20-30 minutes in." Temp panted in between breaths as he rose to his hooves again. Rainbow patted his shoulder. "Well don't forget that you were going full throttle right from the start. Heck, if you hadn't already undergone the training you did, your time would have probably been much worse. Anyway, let's take a few minutes to cool off." She removed her saddlebags and other garments and immediately dove into the swimming hole. Upon resurfacing, she floated peacefully in the center as she noticed Temp hadn't followed suit. "Hey, you coming in or what?!" Temp put his front hooves into the water and found it to be an adequate room temperature. He did remember reading that not cooling off after a workout did lead to various physical consequences. With that in mind, he slid himself the rest of the way in and let out a large breath of relief as his eyes drifted shut. "My. I must say that this water is very lovely. It's almost as if-" Suddenly his mind flashed images of his mother holding him as a foal and his eye almost immediately shot open. In a state of panic, he made his way to the shore and shook himself dry and he panted heavily. Dash quickly joined him and put her hoof around him in an attempt to calm him down. "Hey there, you okay Temp? It looked like you were cooling down and then you suddenly bolted. What happened?" Temp took a few more deep breaths and calmed down before facing Dash again. "Please, forgive me Dash. As I was swimming, I had flashbacks to my childhood. It was rather sudden and unnerving. That is why I acted the way I did." "Hey, don't worry about it. So, what exactly happened? Did something happened when you were younger?" Temp took another deep breath before replying as calmly as he could so as to not make Dash worry anymore. "Actually, I would prefer to not discuss that topic. Perhaps someday, but not today." Dash hung her head in disappointment as she removed her hoof. "Alright then, if that's how you feel. I'll let you talk when you're ready." Temp managed to crack a smile as he looked to Dash. "Thank you Rainbow. I appreciate that greatly." Temp's stomach then grumbled, which caused him a deal of embarrassment. "Hehe. Sounds like someone's hungry. Good thing I brought lunch." She took out two sacks from her saddlebags and handed one to Temp. In his bag was a peanut butter and banana sandwich along with an apple and a protein shake. Rainbow Dash had the same, but her sandwich had pasta and potatoes in it and it looked to be on a different kind of bread. After their lunch, Dash and Temp continued training as they partook in wing-ups, cardio exercises, and more no-wing sprints. Eventually, the day was drawing to a close as Dash and Temp were laying down side-by-side underneath an apple tree. As they rested, an orange earth pony mare with a blonde mane and tail and three apples for a cutie mark walked up to their tree and nudged Rainbow awake. "Hey there Dash, how's it goin' with that new recruit of yours?" Dash woke suddenly as she located Applejack right in front of her. "Oh, it's going fine. (yawns) He's a pretty strong flier, although he's kind of uptight." Applejack raised an eyebrow at her statement. "What do you mean?" Dash made sure that Temp was still sleeping before turning back to Applejack "Okay, get this, I had him do a maneuverability drill in the woods and I said that every time he hit a tree, I'd deduct a second from his time. He got it done, except he tried to get me to deduct a second just for grazing his wing." Applejack didn't seem to comprehend the statement. "Well he did hit one of the trees, so was probably trying to honor the agreement y'all made." "But that's just it. Most ponies would be knocked off balance and suffer a drop in speed, but this guy powered through. Not only that, but the tree he hit actually had some of its bark scratched off." "Whoa! Are you serious?" "Dead serious. There's no doubt in my mind that if he wanted to, he could take out the whole tree if I asked him to." "But you crash into trees when doing new tricks and you walk them off just fine." "That's just it. I might be able to shake off hitting a tree, but it still throws me off. This guy literally scratched some of the bark off and it didn''t even seem to faze him." Applejack pondered for a minute before an idea formed in her head. "Alright, tell you what. Why don't you and Temp come an over to Sweet Apple Acres for dinner tomorrow. I'm sure I can help out." Dash was reluctant to agree, but figured it the best way for the time being. "Alright. It's a deal. But let's try to not be too direct right off the bat, it could get suspicious." Applejack nodded in agreement. "Fair enough. Well, I better take these apples back to the farm. See you tomorrow RD." Applejack waved goodbye and started back towards her house. A minute later, Temp woke up from his nap with a yawn. "Hello Dash. I thought that I had heard voices during my slumber. Were you conversing with another?" Dash had a small look of worry on her face before taking a breath and responding as casually as she could. "Oh yeah, that was just Applejack. She just wanted to know how we were doing. She even invited us over to her house for dinner tomorrow. Don't even bother trying to deny this one, dude. Once Applejack makes a commitment, she will honor it with everything she has." Temp thought about the offer for a bit before agreeing to the arrangement and the two made their way home. They soon arrived and Temp walked into his room and was about to get into bed until he looked at his photo again and sighed. He finally climbed into bed, switched off the light, and went to sleep.
