The stale tale of Cake, the dumbass!

“Floor it? Floor it!”

Cake waited in her dorm with the window open for the pegasi to return, hopefully with the uniform, as Violet prepared Shining for his night away from home base.

“Look bro, this is a chance every other stallion would be dying for a chance to get!” said Violet.

“I- I know, I know! It's just… I already- I don't…” Shining mumbled, getting quieter with every word until Violet cut him off.

“Quit the shit… you’re not gay, are you?”

Shining shook his head. “No… no… it's just I don't want to be… to be like you!” he exclaimed. “Wait, I mean, I don't want to be a playcolt like you are.”

“So, you’re gay?” asked Violet again with a smug look on his face.

“Can you shut up?” said Dilly. “He doesn't want to be a dumbass meat head, is what he meant.”

Suddenly, A blonde pegasus flew in from the open window and laid the uniform, still in its plastic wrap, into Cake’s lap. “See you later” was all she said as she winked at Shining on her way out. Cake quickly ripped open the plastic and got to work putting it on while Shining began to take deep, audible breaths.

Cake trotted into the bathroom and began to look herself over in her uniform, it was a perfect fit right down to the tie she had around her collar. She thought about how proud her mother would be to see it on graduation day in a few months. Dilly just shook her head as she remembered doing the exact same thing with her brother when they had received their uniforms prior to entering the academy.

“Cadet squadrons one through six report to the gym immediately,” said a young stallion over the intercom. The small room began to quickly jump up and leave as Cake panicked and took off to leave with them.

Once inside the gym with all the other Cadets they were placed into rows by height, the tallest were in the front and shortest in the back. This placed Cake in dead last, making her confidence shrink.

Cake looked around the gym, taking it in and trying to distract her negative thoughts of being a filly in a room full of soldiers. The roof was completely made of glass, standing about fifty to seventy-five feet tall, by her estimates. There were these odd blue spheres around the walls that glowed and pointed to the floor that was made of an odd concrete with large cracks that felt like it had been withered away over the years. It felt very odd to her in such a pristine, state of the art, facility. Soon a senior blew their whistle and the cadets began to jog along the path in a square. Slowing down for the sharp right turns.

Dilly was in the middle watching Shining in the front trying to keep up with his row while already beginning to start wheezing, her brother was one row ahead of her keeping a steady pace before she turned around to look at Cake. She couldn't help but laugh as the stubby mare was running at full sprint just to keep up with the pack.

“FAZE 2!” shouted an earth pony stallion who had longer legs than any other pony Cake had ever seen. She was so distracted she didn't have her eyes on the track which made her trip and fall face first onto the now soft grass where once hard concrete had been. As she came to she could see the floor around had changed to that of a rolling field with small holes and hills.

Cake picked herself and continued running. She could feel a small blaze beginning to form in her lungs as the taste of iron came into her mouth. The world became just a slight bit blurrier as she continued to run around the track. She was losing speed fast, the pony in front of her went from inches, to feet, to meters away. Her row was looking back at her shaking their heads.

“Cadet, if you do not pick your hooves up I will make you!” shouted one of the squad leaders. A short unicorn mare, not as short as Cake but definitely smaller than the average guard. Cake wasn't sure if she should have said ‘Yes ma’am’ or some other rank so she just ran as fast as she could. She couldn't hear the chatter of the other cadets anymore over her own beating heart and deep breaths. But she could make out the shape of Shining armor falling behind. He was 2 rows back now and struggling just as much as her.

The seniors watching began to move around, getting into squares on the floor that lifted them upwards. The unicorns began to focus their magic as the same long legged stallion let out another announcement. “FAZE 3!”

The once square shaped track transformed into a rectangle that covered the entire gym, the floor was now ultra soft and white. The pegasi were having a field day running now, along with a single unicorn who seemed oddly at home on the white cotton candy clouds. The rest of the cadets were struggling to run, in just a few seconds the rows were gone as the pegasi ran so much faster than their comrades.

Numbers began to appear above the foals, starting at zero and going up once they crossed an invisible line. “Once you get to fifteen, leave the gym through the double doors and go into the cafeteria,” said the long pony.

After her third lap cake had slowed down to a very light jog, she was surprised to hear a familiar wheezing when she turned to see Shining beside her. Struggling to walk on the clouds. Cake was small and the lightest pony so she had an easier time, since her hooves did not sink into the clouds. She enjoyed how her hooves didn't hurt as much with the softer texture under them. Shining was another story, he began to skip which made him sink more and take longer, he tried to walk slower like Cake which was worse.

Cake was thanking the Princesses she was no longer in dead last as Shining struggled. She felt pity for the stallion, better to let the one you expect to be the weak link come in last than the stallion in his prime. The mare debated in her mind on what to do and decided light teasing would work best.

“Now you don't wanna be beat by a mare do ya?” Cake said, gasping for breath

“I've been beaten by many mares. It doesn't bother me,” Shining replied. Cake began to feel even more pity for the young stallion.

“Well you don't wanna be beat by me, it'll look terrible on your record!” was the best comeback Cake could make. Soon she had eight laps under her belt and Shining was trailing her.

There were only a quarter of the cadets left in the gym, many were close to done unlike the pair. But the seniors were watching the duo like hawks. With their ears up obviously listening in on them and their banter.

“I don’t think it’ll matter much to be honest, I've seen some chubby guards,” quipped back Shining.

“But have you seen any chubby guards with statues built of them?” replied Cake

“Now that you say it I-... I haven't.” Shining was now looking at the holes behind him and how they would slowly puff back up and how long it took, soon a smile covered his face as he had an idea. Soon the stallion began to skip in a wild way, he would put his hooves together to create a large hole and then jump forward and repeat, he would do this again and again and would loop around before the holes could fill. This doubled his speed and he quickly passed Cake again.

Cake was now on lap ten while shining was on thirteen, when she tried to repeat his strategy she was much less effective since her lighter weight ment the clouds would reform before she could lap back to them, and she wouldn't dare risk getting into Shining’s holes and slowing him down.

Worst of all, Cake’s joints were giving out. They, much like the rest of her body, were now an inferno. She was drenched in sweat and could barely move. She was fighting the urge to call it a day and cuddle up on the clouds as she kept dragging her hooves through them. Now it was just the two of them. Shining had stopped his new technique due to fatigue in his own bones and was finishing his last lap in a brisk fashion. Cake could barely see a thing with all the sweat that had dripped off her brow and down into her eyes. The seniors were all focused on the stallion. He turned just before he got to the line and looked at Cake pulling herself through the thick silky waves.

“Come on Cake, you don't want to be beaten by a nerd!” he said, encouraging the mare

If only Cake had the ego to hear him with the blood rushing through her ears. She could see his silhouette and got the wrong idea of what the stallion was doing. She thought he had already passed the line and was resting for a moment.

Shining didn't give up, he continued to try and get Cake to move faster. He went back a few feet and began to press down the cloud so the mare wouldn't have to practically swim through it all. Cake was grateful but worried that the seniors would have a problem with this, but they didn't seem to care, many were just staring down at them.

With Shining’s help, Cake was able to pass the finish line, just barely, and the two shared a hug in friendship. Even though Cake had sold out Shining for the uniform he was still willing to help Cake and the mare did not soon forget this. Together they walked to the cafeteria and sat down at the table. Each cadet was given a large glass of water and an apple to eat as lunch. They all sat quietly and only a few talked. Cake sat at the same table as the rest of their squad and chugged down her water and passed out on the table.

“Did she finish?” was all Dilly could say

Shining nodded his head and finished his food. Violet levitated Cake’s apple slowly away and swapped it with his own, already eaten apple. While nopony was looking.

“Didn't see you after the clouds showed up,” said Shining to Violet

“I uh, got behind one of the big guys and just rode off on his success,” replied the colt.

Dilly rolled her eyes. “You know, I never did care for running on clouds, always got my hooves wet”

“Earth ponies love wet hooves, puts them in the mood.” said Violet as he finished Cake’s food. Dilly gave Shining her apple with a wink which the young stallion didn't pick up.

Soon the cadets were told to go back to their quarters. Cake was barely able to limp into her own bed when they got back and she didn't move or say anything for the rest of the day. Even when Shining left to fill in his end of Cake's deal. And when the moon rose she was already in a deep slumber.