Soarin's Shadowbolt Initiation

Soarin had finally had enough.

Despite being a senior member of the illustrious Wonderbolts for many years now, Soarin still felt like his teammates treated him like a newbie fresh out of Flight School. When there was a task or job too miserable for the other Wonderbolt to do, who did they look to? Who was constantly left out of the loop when it came to gatherings or public events, only learning about it after the fact? And who had been so easily abandoned and replaced after he had hurt his wing during the preliminaries for the Equestrian Games?

Him, it was always him. That last one had been the final straw that broke the camel’s back, so once his wing was healed up once more, he decided it was time for him to see if the grass really was greener on the other side and defect from the Wonderbolts for another team entirely.

A team like the Shadowbolts for instance, which was why he was currently standing right outside their Cloudsdale recruitment office.

The Shadowbolts were still a relatively new team, formed only in the last year or so with Princess Luna’s backing. Not much was known about the team due to their relatively secretive nature outside of the fact that their members were a mix of bat ponies and regular Pegasi, and that all of them were just as elite flyers as any Wonderbolt recruit. Surely they would welcome a seasoned flyer like him with open wings, right?

***

“I must say I was a little shocked when you first walked in here, Soarin,” remarked a dark navy coated bat pony mare in full Shadowbolt uniform from behind the recruitment desk. “I mean, a well known Wonderbolt like yourself wanting to defect to our group so willingly? Forgive me if I don’t find that just a little bit suspicious…”

“I know how this must look, miss…” Soarin paused to read the name placard on the mare’s desk. “Miss Ebony Dusk, but I promise you that I’m done with the Wonderbolts. They had their chance to treat me well and they wasted it by treating me like dirt.”

“Really?” Ebony Dusk said with a raised brow. “Well, allow me to be the first to inform you that here in the Shadowbolts we treat all of our members like family. No matter your rank, all are treated with the respect that they deserve.”

“Which is exactly what I’m looking for.” Soaring replied with a smile. “Where do I sign up?”

“Hmmm… “ Ebony Dusk tapped her hoof against her desk for a moment, deep in thought. “I’ll be honest, there’s still a part of me that suspects you’re only here to try and steal our secrets for the Wonderbolts, but I can tell that at the same time you’re genuine about wanting to join our ranks. With that being said, I have a little proposition for you, if you’d be willing to hear me out.”

“I’m listening.”

“Very well. If you’re up for it, I can induct you into our ranks as soon as tomorrow, but you will need to undergo a little… “initiation” first before we officially accept you into the Shadowbolts.”

“I–Initiation?” Soarin muttered with a hint of fear in his voice. “Like… like hazing?”

“Oh no, nothing so barbaric as that! Just a little trust exercise to prove to everypony that you really mean it when you say you want to defect to the Shadowbolts.”

“Oh…” Soaring replied with relief. He had already had to undergo one round of hazing in order to join the Wonderbolts, and one time was already one too many. “Can I ask what kind of exercise you had in mind?”

“It’s mostly having you fitted for your uniform, which are all custom made and very expensive. If you do decide that the Shadowbolts aren’t for you, then you will be liable to reimburse us in full for the bits used to design your uniform. We’ll also require you to sign a binding legal agreement saying that if you do reveal our secrets to anyone, then you will be liable to face severe legal trouble. Does this sound reasonable to you?”

Soarin nodded his head, understanding where they were coming from. Once it became public that he had decided to join the Shadowbolts, he was sure that he would no doubt face some kind of repercussions from his former team. But Soarin had made up his mind already, far too jaded with his previous treatment to care. “Where do I sign?”

“Right here,” Ebony said as she slid a form across her desk towards Soarin. “Take all the time you need to look it over.”

Soarin did just that, carefully reading through the form just be sure he wasn’t agreeing to anything that he would regret in the future. He was surprised to find none of that as he read over the form from top to bottom, finding that it said pretty much everything Ebony Dusk had explained to him already. After reading through it a second time to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, he happily signed his name on the dotted line.

“Well now, that was fast,” Ebony Dusk said with a smile. “Now, today we’ll simply be taking your measurements for your uniform, and we’ll contact you in a few days when it’s complete. Then we can proceed with your initiation in full, and if you pass, then you’ll be official inducted into the ranks of the Shadowbolts. Also, just to let you know, from here on out you will address me as ‘Captain Ebony Dusk', understand?”

Soarin saluted, though he couldn’t keep the joyous grin off his face. “Understood, Captain!”

“My, my, somepony certainly sounds eager…” Slipping the signed form into a drawer of her desk, Ebony Dusk stood up and walked around her desk, gesturing for Soarin to follow as she lead him through a door into the back of the complex. “As I said, we’ll just be taking your measurements for today, so I hope you don’t mind a little poking and prodding.”

Soarin was only partially listening, his attention seemingly drawn by the swaying of the Ebony’s hips as she walked. Normally Soarin was never one to stare at a mare’s behind, but he couldn’t help but notice just how skintight her uniform looked, hugging every curve of her body perfectly. Although… the area around her flanks seemed a little… bigger, like the uniform had some kind of extra padding around the–

“Well, here we are.”

Soarin snapped to attention, a blush colouring his cheeks as he hoped and prayed to Celestia that Ebony hadn’t caught him staring so openly at her behind. Luckily the mare still had her back to him, so he appeared to be in the clear for now.

As Ebony pushed a door open, she called out, “Oh Monsieur! We’ve got a fresh recruit for ya!”

“Oh? How marvellous!” As the pair stepped into the room, they both watched as a pegasus stallion with a mint green coat and a styled orange mane practically pranced around the room until he was standing before them, eying Soarin up and down like one might eye a tasty carrot. “My, my! What a fine specimen you’ve brought me today, Captain! I can’t wait to see how he looks in one of my uniforms!”

“Down boy, he’s not a full fledged recruit just yet. He still has to go through initiation first.”

A look of understanding flashed across the pegasus’s face. “Ah, I see. How foolish of me! Today we are merely taking measurements, Oui?”

“Oui.”

“Excellent!” Without another word, the stallion proceeded to drag Soarin to the middle of the room and onto a stand in the middle of the room. “Now! You stand right there and I will return in but a momento!” The stallion said as he rushed over to a desk and began to rummage around inside.

Ebony tittered as she turned to leave, adding over her shoulder, “Try and keep from breaking this one like last time, ok, Monsieur?” before closing the door behind her and leaving Soarin to his fate.

Once he had retrieved a measuring tape, the pegasus stallion rushed back over to Soarin and began to take his measurements as Soarin tried to stay as still as possible while the other stallion got a bit too close for comfort. “So… uh… Monsieur–“

“Oh, do call me Stratus! Altostratus’s the name. ‘Monsieur’ is but an affectionate nickname my teammates like to use.”

“Nicknames, huh?” Soarin remarked, remembering the nickname he’d been given while in the Wonderbolts, the far less enduring nickname of “Clipper”.

“Oui. Tis not unusual for a Wonderbolt like yourself, no?”

“Yeah, we– wait, you know who I am?” Soarin asked with genuine surprise.

“But of course! Who doesn’t know the famous Wonderbolt Soarin? I am most surprised to see you here of all places. Wanting to test that old saying, ‘the grass is always greener’, yes?”

“A bit… Hey… any chance you could clue me in on what this ‘initiation’ will be like?”

Stratus looked aghast, shaking his head fiercely. “Oh, no no no! Tis a closely guarded Shadowbolt secret, and I will not be the one to spoil the surprise!”

“Yeah, figured as much.”

“All I will say is that every Shadowbolt went through it when they joined up, even moi and the Captain. Tis but a means to gauge your willingness to join our team that has proven effective again and again. Now hold still so I may prepare to craft a uniform to fit your marvellous physique!”

Soarin chuckled nervously as the stallion approached him with an almost predatory glint in his eyes. “Uh… Captain? A little help? Please?” But his pleas fell on deaf ears as he was left to the stallion’s mercy for the next hour.