Royal Guard Academy

Finally, something exciting.

Tempest sprinted down the straightaway, enjoying the wind rushing through her mane. It's been so long since she's been able to run like this and she was loving it. She had already passed the first two components of the fitness assessment. Push-ups and sit-ups? Pft, those were absolutely nothing. And now she was running. Six laps, a mile and a half. She had to finish it in twelve minutes or less. No problem. She was already on her last lap and according to the big timer at the finish line, she was a little past eight minutes in.

Eagle stood at the finish line yelling to her trainees. “Come on, move it, you all have four minutes and some of you are only halfway done! MOVE YOUR RUMPS!” She looked at Tempest as she galloped down the track. “That's it, Tempest, almost there, come on!”

Tempest poured all her energy into it, practically flying over the track as she ran the last several meters as fast as she could. Then she was leaping past the finish line to a time of 8:34. She moved off the track while one of the other TIs recorded her time, and Eagle waved to her.

“There you go, Tempest,” Eagle said. “Walk around the inside of the track, catch your breath.”

Tempest nodded, breathing hard as she walked in the opposite direction of the runners, staying just off the track so she didn't get in their way. She called encouragement to other members of her flight. Most of them were still running, though a few were done. Nightshade was actually a few steps ahead of her, looking exhausted, but she still looked back and said, “Congrats.”

“Thanks,” Tempest replied. “You too, man you were booking it.”

“Thanks. I like running, there's something really freeing about just running as fast as you can and forgetting all else.”

Tempest nodded, speeding up a bit to walk next to her. “Yeah, it can be kinda fun once you get into it. Exhausting, though.”

“Mhm. But that just gives me a reason to pass out afterward so hey.”

“Can't argue that.”

They walked together, calling to their fellow trainees, telling them to finish strong. Tempest saw Zinnia trotting along, panting with her head down, and ran back onto the track.

“Which lap are you on?” Tempest asked urgently.

“This is... is the last one... I'm so tired...” Zinnia replied between gasps.

Tempest glanced at the clock. “Okay we're at ten minutes but you're almost done. Come on, you can do this! Keep up with me!” She ran faster.

Zinnia complained, but kept up with her. “Tempest, please, I can't-”

“Yes you can, you're already doing it! Just keep running! Almost to the end!”

“Ugh, I really have to pee, please can I slow down?”

“No, you can go when you finish, now hurry up!” Tempest sped up, and Zinnia groaned, but sprinted right next to her. And she kept on running until they were past the finish line.

“There you go, Zinnia!” Eagle shouted. “Thanks for helping her, Tempest!”

“Yes, ma'am,” Tempest replied proudly. She turned to Zinnia, who had stepped off the track and sank down onto her knees. “Alright, get up and walk with me.”

Zinnia winced, pressing her front hooves between her back legs. “I um. Don't think I should.”

Tempest took in her expression, and then her ears laid back. “Oh.” She turned to Eagle. “Ma'am, is there a restroom nearby?”

“Port-a-potties are over there,” Eagle replied, pointing. “But why-” She also saw the look on Zinnia's face, and immediately said, “Get her over there, now.”

“Yes, ma'am.” Tempest helped Zinnia up. “Come on, I'll help you.”

“Thanks,” Zinnia said anxiously. She and Tempest hurried across the track and over to one of the portable toilets. Tempest pulled the door open and let her in, and closed it. She heard a sigh of relief from inside. “Whew, a few more seconds and I might not have made it.”

“Heh, good thing you finished when you did,” Tempest replied.

“Yeah, that could have been really embarrassing.”

Tempest looked over at the track and lifted a brow. “Well. Consider yourself lucky, because a few others have had bathroom emergencies.”

“Oh, really? Ew...”

“Yeah... but it's not surprising, they're constantly making us drink water. And running, well... it kinda jostles your bladder, huh?”

Zinnia laughed. “Haha, yeah...” A few more moments, and then she came out. “Whew. Alright, let's go.”

They walked back over to the track and resumed walking with the others. A good portion of their flight now seemed to be done, but there were some stragglers.

“Come on Lemon, whoo!” Tempest shouted.

Zinnia joined in. “Cumulus, come on, move it! And keep your wings closed, you don't wanna be called out for cheating!”

“Go Blizzard, you got this!”

They saw Calli just starting her final lap.

Tempest ran to her. “Calli, come on, you have one minute! One minute to go a quarter mile! A well trained runner can actually do it in twenty seconds! You got this!”

“Ugh, shut up,” Calli growled.

“I don't wanna hear that, I want to see those hooves moving! Lift them higher!” Tempest ran next to her.

Calli looked annoyed, but nonetheless ran faster.

Tempest nodded in approval. “Got anyone special in your life, Calli?”

“Why?” Calli spat.

“Just answer the question.”

“Well, my mom... I'm doing this for my mom.”

“Okay! Now, imagine your mom's at the finish line! She's waiting for you, she misses you, she wants to give you a big hug!” Tempest saw Calli move faster, and decided to drive the point home. “And there's a vicious goblin next to her, wearing a bomb vest, hugging her. And only you know the code to defuse the bombs!”

“What the fuck!” Calli screamed.

“MOVE THOSE HOOVES AND DEFUSE THE BOMBS, CALLI!”

Calli took off at a hard gallop, and Tempest chased her. They passed the finish line. They were past twelve minutes, but at least Calli wasn't the last from Flight 25.

“There you go, Calli,” Eagle said with approval. “Take a lap, walk it off.”

Panting, Calli started walking, though shot Tempest a dirty look.

“Hey, you finished,” Tempest said with a shrug, walking with her.

Zinnia trotted over to join them, saying to Calli, “That was some serious effort right at the end. Good job.”

“Mhm. Thanks.” Calli's legs were shaking, and she kept her head down.

Tempest scanned the track. Their brother flight seemed to be done. Just a few more mares were running around, along with some from that other new flight that came in with them, but she didn't know any of them. She yelled at them anyway, telling them to go faster, they could do it. She recognized Ruby, and called to her by name. “Ruby! Come onnn!”

Ruby met her eyes and nodded, speeding up.

Once they were all done, Eagle called them all together. “That's all of you. Alright, we've taken down all your scores, and will be tallying them up. For now, head back inside and shower. And don't forget your web belts!”

They went to where the belts were laying on the ground and pulled them on, then trudged single file back toward their dorm. They got to showering, cleaning themselves thoroughly, trying to get all the sweat off. They took enough time for the water to get warm, which was nice. But then the latrine door was slamming open and Eagle was marching in.

“Quit wasting water and hurry up!” she yelled. “Get out and come to the dayroom once you're dried off!”

They called an acknowledgment and hurried to finish washing off. Then they were drying off and brushing their manes before rushing to the dayroom.

Once they were all gathered, Eagle walked up to the board and slapped a paper onto it. “These are your scores for the three components, tallied up into a final score. If you're over 75, congrats, you can already pass the same test that the active duty has to take. If you're below that, you need to shape up. I'll let you all come up here to look at your score. Look at where you're weak. If you need help with cardio, get with those who have high scores for it. If you need help with strength, same thing.” Eagle looked at the paper. “Nine of you passed. The rest failed. If this had been a real assessment, you'd be in some serious trouble. But I've seen worse results from a first assessment.” She moved aside. “Come on, see where you're at.”

They got up and went to see their scores. Tempest saw that she passed with an 87. She saw a lot of ponies struggled with the run. She moved aside so the others could see the page, going to sit down. Eagle waited until they had all checked the scores, then said, “So, hopefully you all see what you need to work on. I expect you all to improve by our final assessment. Anypony got any questions?”

A few of them raised their hooves. Eagle looked around, then pointed at Ocean. “Yes, Ocean?”

Ocean stood. “Ma'am, Trainee Ocean Flow reports as ordered. Do you have any advice for getting better at sit-ups?”

“Yeah. Do more sit-ups. Also, planking. Basically, you need to work to improve your core strength. Anypony else?”

Aurum asked about improving push-ups. Eagle explained that since they wouldn't have access to weights until they can go to the gym later on, they should focus on just doing push-ups as often as possible, and showed them a few different techniques for making them more difficult, so that regular push-ups would be easier in comparison.

“And of course, to get better at running you just need to run,” Eagle concluded. “I'd recommend sprinting as often as you can to increase your speed. And when we do flight PT, you can work on your endurance. Run for as long as you can without slowing to a trot. Do that and you'll find that you're able to run longer and longer without slowing down.”

They discussed exercise tips for a while longer, and then Eagle told them to get started on their afternoon details. They did, working for about thirty minutes before she took them downstairs for dinner.

They were given around thirty minutes to eat, which they took full advantage of, scarfing down as much food and drink as possible. They all felt like they were starving after pushing themselves so hard during the fitness assessment.

Then they returned to the dorm to finish cleaning, and once they were done, Eagle gave them the rest of the night off. She explained where to find the mailbox downstairs, and said they would need to go with at least one buddy if they wanted to drop off letters. Then she checked in with Calli, who was working on the dorm guard schedule. The first two trainees were already assigned to the job. Pine Glider and Spruce Drifter would be working the 1800-2000 shift, and after them would be Sword Dancer and Lemon Breeze. Then Eagle left Ruby to watch after the flight and headed out.

Calli briefly called the flight together to explain who would be covering the rest of the shifts for the night, and Tempest sighed when she found out she'd be working from midnight until 2 AM. She'd barely get to sleep before being woken up again. But it had to be done by someone. Hopefully her partner, Dream, would be nice to talk to.

After that, they were left to their own devices. Tempest looked over her letter to Discord, and talked to Zinnia, who was writing her own letter. Once Zinnia was done, Tempest walked downstairs with her, and they dropped their letters off in the mailbox. They headed back up. There were other trainees around, also going down and up the stairwell to their own duties, and they exchanged short greetings when they passed each other. But finally they were back on the fourth floor and knocking on the door.

Pine slid the window open and gazed at them. “May I help you?”

“It's Tempest and Zinnia, we need to get back in,” Tempest said.

“May I see your authority to enter?”

Right. The entry procedures. Tempest and Zinnia held up their ID cards.

Pine looked at them closely, then looked over at the wall, where there was a roster of all the inhabitants of the dorm. “Checking, two Royal Guard access cards... Tempest Shadow and Zinnia. Verifying, two Royal Guard access cards... Tempest Shadow and Zinnia. Verified. Checking for officers.” She glanced around the hall, but saw no one. “None seen. Please stand clear of the door.” Tempest and Zinnia stepped back, and the door was opened.

“Nicely done,” Tempest said as they walked in.

“Thanks,” Pine replied. She hoof-bumped her sister, then closed the door and pushed the flap back into place over the window.

“So, what should we do now?” Zinnia asked as she followed Tempest to the bay.

Tempest considered, looking around at the others. Then she looked at her watch. “Well, we have quite a bit of time... why don't we all get to know each other?”