"You sure you want me to help you out at the academy captain? I mean...all things considered, you are the captain." Rainbow Dash asked Spitfire.
"I want these cadets to meet you, all things considered. Besides, I need a second pair of eyes in case something like what happened with Lighting Dust happens again." Spitfire said, putting one of her arms on Rainbow Dash said.
"That makes sense." Rainbow Dash said, smiling.
"Besides, I do wish you had told me about the whole thing from your past. Though, your still keeping your wonderbolt nickname. Just...try to to look at it as us making fun of you from now on." Spitfire said.
"Understood captain." Rainbow Dash said, saluting. Spitfire smiled.
"You just be you and I'm sure things will work out." Spitfire said.
"Right." Rainbow Dash said.
Meanwhile, a pegasus stallion finished putting on his Wonderbolt Cadet uniform and was soon out in the academy field a whole 10 minutes early.
"This is going to be awesome! Time for a storm warning." The Stallion said.
The other cadets were coming out just as Spitfire arrived on time with Rainbow Dash.
"Huh...there's something new." Spitfire said. The Stallion was in awe, and Rainbow Dash thought that he was in awe over Spitfire.
"Oh my gosh..." The Stallion said quietly.
"Someone decided to be early today huh, cadet?" Spitfire said to the stallion.
"Part of my philosophy is that if your not early, your late ma'am." The Stallion said with a salute. Spitfire couldn't help but chuckle.
"I like your gumption, but that doesn't mean your going to be getting any special treatment, you got that cadet?" Spitfire asked.
"No ma'am!" The Stallion said.
"Also, you might want to lose the glasses. Most aren't designed for the kinds of things that Wonderbolts are known for doing." Spitfire said.
"Mine were custom made for high flying high speed action ma'am. I can barely see without them...ma'am." The Stallion responded.
"We'll just see about that. I know exactly what we're going to do first: The high speed obstacle course. We'll see just how those glasses of yours hold up." Spitfire said. She went over to Rainbow Dash. "Cleary, this one thinks he's some kind of show-off. Keep a special eye on this one. I have a sinking feeling, we could be looking at another Lightning Dust here." Spitfire said, whispering to Rainbow Dash.
"I'm on it, ma'am." Rainbow Dash said.
Throughout the entire obstacle course, while most of the cadets had a hard time with it; in fact all of them were failing badly which Spitfire expected to happen; the stallion however was acing it like it was nothing. And that shocked Spitfire and Rainbow Dash both. They both knew just how difficult the obstacle course was supposed to be, and here this guy was acing it first try.
"Okay, now I'm super worried." Spitfire said.
"Same. I don't know if I like this guy." Rainbow Dash said. Surprisgly, the stallion's glasses held up very well.
"See? I told you my glasses could handle it, ma'am." The Stallion said.
"Okay, I'll give you the fact that your glasses can stand up to the things we wonderbolts can do, but I'd prefer it if you wouldn't wear them while your at the academy." Spitfire said.
"But...I can barely see a thing without them, ma'am." The Stallion said.
"We'll just see about that." Spitfire took the glasses off the stallion. "Now, go run that course again." She said.
"My glasses! Please give me back my glasses, ma'am!" The Stallion said.
"Run the course first." Spitfire said. The stallion sighed and went off, but started running into things left and right.
"...What the heck?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Okay, is this guy blind or something?" Spitfire said, before putting on the glasses herself. "...GAH!" She said before quickly taking the glasses off. "Well if he's not blind, he's got terrible eyesight at the LEAST!" Spitfire said.
"I need my glasses!" The Stallion grabbed his glasses. "Please understand ma'am, these are prescription glasses that were custom made for high speed flying. I can barely see without them." He explained.
"Geez...how bad is your eye sight to need glasses?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"P-please don't make any jokes about it..." The Stallion said.
"Wasn't planning on it. Just...before we proceed any further, I need to know just how bad your eyesight is." Spitfire said. "And that's before I sign off on letting you wear those things." She added.
"Yes ma'am." The Stallion said. Spitfire and Rainbow Dash went off to the side.
"Guy got pretty defensive over needing glasses. I really hope the wonderbolts have an anti-bully policy because we certainly don't need any of that stuff here." Rainbow Dash said.
"I couldn't agree with you more. And in fact, bullying at the academy is strictly forbidden; any cadet caught bullying another cadet is dishornably discharged from the academy. Same goes for the wonderbolts; the nickname thing is not meant to be a bully system though. I'm just glad you understood that and let me know about that whole thing. Which is why I promise not to use it unless you do something super embarrassing to the wonderbolts." Spitfire said.
"That's fine by me captain." Rainbow Dash said.
"...His eyesight is what?!" Spitfire said, a bit later after the stallion who had glasses on was checked.
"I'm not going to lie to you; mister Rob Snowden's eyesight is pretty poor. He can barely even fly straight without prescription glasses. It's why I recommend that you let him keep his glasses. Otherwise, he'll be at a sever disadvantage to the others." The eye doctor said.
"Why would he wand to join the wonderbolts with such poor eyesight?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"As you know, the application for the wonderbolts has a question that asks for the reason behind wanting to join the wonderbolts." Spitfire said. "When filling it out, Rob Snowden had written that he wanted to join to further push his limits and show what someone like him can do." she said. "I'm only just now realizing what that meant exactly. He wants to push his limits despite his normally terrible eyesight. I guess we'll see where he ends up after the first cut." Spitfire concluded.
A few weeks pass, after more tests on the cadets, it was time for the first cut. Rainbow Dash remembered this all too well. It was the time Lightning Dust was kicked out because of what happened.
"Hmm? What's this?" Spitfire asked as she looked at the list of cadets and the crowd. Everyone was there, even Rob, but there was someone...missing.
"I see it too. Where's Cream Fly?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I'm not sure..." One of the cadets said.
"She was at her bunk last night, ma'am." Another Cadet said.
"I'll get her!" Rob said and rushed off.
"Hey! Ugh...Rainbow Dash, make sure you go get him." Spitfire said.
"I'm on it!" Rainbow Dash said and went off after Rob. She soon found him just standing outside the room. "What's wrong? Aren't you going to go inside?" She asked.
"I've...I've felt this before...this chill..." Rob said. "Whatever is beyond that door...it's not a pretty sight..." He added. His voice just full of dread suddenly.
"Coward. How do you expect to get in the wonderbolts if--" Rainbow Dash said before opening the door. Suddenly, she saw Cream Fly...and she was hanged. "Wh-wh-what the...what in Tartarus..." Rainbow Dash said.
"I...I knew it..." Rob said. "Suicide..." He added. "Not again...not this again..." He said shaking.
"Hey...hey what's up?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"This...isn't the fist time...I've encountered a suicide." Rob Said. "Check her room...there's a suicide note there unless someone took it." He added. Rainbow Dash gulped and checked, easily finding the note in question just as Spitfire arrived.
"What in Celestia's name...why is Cream Fly hanged?!" Spitfire exclaimed.
"It's...suicide..." Rob Snowden said.
"It's true, there's a note and everything..." Rainbow Dash said.
"What in Equestria would cause her to go off the deep end like this?" Spitfire asked.
"Bullies no doubt." Rob Snowden said. "Not again...please not again..." He said.
"I'll...stay here with him. You go inform the others." Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah. He could use that support." Spitfire said and left.
"...You mentioned this wasn't the first time you've encountered a suicide right?" Rainbow Dash asked. Rob nodded.
"I had a best friend once. Way back when I was just a young colt. We were best friends and he supported me. If not for him, I probably would've also taken my won life because of bullies. I was made fun of a lot not just for having bad eyesight but for...another reason. Something I don't really advertise much. One day, he didn't come to school. So, I volunteered to go to his house since I knew exactly where it was from having sleepovers with him from time to time. When I approached his house, I suddenly felt this...agonizing chill running through my veins. It was paralyzing. Not daring to go inside, I called 911 and asked them to check it out for me. When they did, they found that my best friend had committed suicide. And that explained the agonizing chill I got from approaching the house." Rob Snowden explained.
"So...when you got to Cream Fly's door...you felt the same chill when you approuched her room's door that you got back then, didn't you?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yeah. It was the same agonizing chill. I've always been sensitive to temperatures, but something about the air as I approach a place where someone committed suicide...it makes me get this agonizing chill. These weren't the only two instances. The funniest thing about my cutie mark...I got it when I had encountered a different dose of death from these suicides. When I encountered that death, there was this burning sensation I could feel coming from the door. Just like before, I called 911 as soon as I could, and they thankfully were able to clear me from being accused of the murder." Rob Said. "Yes, that's right...I encountered a murder. Suddenly, news spread about the whole thing, about how I had managed to encounter a suicide and a murder and somehow; without even setting foot into the places where they happened, I just...I just knew." He added. "Seems my special talent is that I can sense when someone has been killed; regardless if that's because of a suicide or because of a murder." Rob concluded.
"That's kind of awful, but you seem so...normal otherwise. Your an alright dude after all, I guess." Rainbow Dash said. "I really hope you get in the Wonderbolts; I'm rooting for you." She added. Rob suddenly gasped.
"That means a lot. Thank you." Rob Said.
Rob managed to make it past the first cut easily, and even passed the test to get into the wonderbolt reserves with flying colors.
"Rob's really coming along. The brass feels like in a few months if he keeps this up, their thinking about letting him become a full fledged Wonderbolt without someone from our current squad getting the boot." Spitfire said. "Which is good, I'd rather not have to think about replacing someone." She added.
"He seems very talkative and very approachable too. I think I'll try and talk with him some again today. He's just...I don't know. There's something about him that I just can't quite place." Rainbow Dash said.
"Sounds to me like someone's got a crush, but then again, Soarin was saying the same thing when I asked him for his input on Rob. This stallion is something special if he can get a wonderbolt to have a normal conversation with him." Spitfire said. "...I do need to look into getting some prescription goggles for the dude though." She added.
"I'm gonna head off now." Rainbow Dash said and went to find Rob.
"Oh hey. It's Rainbow Dash." Rob said. "It's good to see you. So very good." He added. "I'm hoping that when I become a proper Wonderbolt, you and the rest are ready for a storm warning." Rob said. "...That's not a threat by the way, that's just my own personal saying." He added.
"Heh heh...your kind of easy going. Didn't think I'd meet someone so carefree like me." Rainbow Dash said.
"I try to keep on a brave face. I've come a long way from where I've been. I was bullied a lot as I grew up, and to top things off, my father passed away not too long after my first birthday. Considering my...other condition...it's a miracle I didn't suddenly become a walking time bomb." Rob said.
"Well I know about your poor eyesight. But what other kind of condition could you have?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"It's...personal. I don't like advertising it. I don't want to tell you because I'm worried. I'm worried that if I told anyone, I'd suddenly be treated different. So I can't tell anyone. At least not until I'm a proper wonderbolt. I want my special condition to be kept a secret until I'm a full fledged wonderbolt. Because I don't want anyone to treat me differently just because..." Rob Said. He then tried to leave, only to be stopped by Rainbow Dash.
"Listen here, I'm a wonderbolt, and if there's something your holding back, I will tell Spitfire your holding something back. So spill: What is it your so worried about telling others that would make them treat you different?" Rainbow Dash asked. Rob sighed.
"Promise me...promise me you won't laugh." Rob said, nervously.
"It'll have to be funny to actually make me laugh." Rainbow Dash said.
"Okay...here goes..." Rob Said. "The truth is, Rainbow Dash, that, while I do have poor eyesight...my mind is...also wired differently then normal." He added.
"Your not a robot, so, what the heck are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"What I mean by my mind being wired differently is that I think differently then a normal pony. It's because of my other condition." Rob Said. He sighed. "Rainbow Dash, I'm autistic." Rob said.
"...Wait...your...your actually serious with me, aren't you?" Rainbow Dash asked, suddenly realizing what Rob really meant.
"Yeah. I am. I don't advertise it because I don't like being treated differently. I'm not different then you. I'm not different from anyone. The only thing that seperates me and the normal pegasus is that my mind works in ways you could barely even fathum. But when you look past the fact that my mind works differently then the majority, then you start to see that, I'm not different. Sure my mind may be wired differently then a friend's mind, but that doesn't change who I am as a person. In my mind, it doesn't matter. No. It SHOULDN'T matter. Autistic or not, I'm not any different then you or captain spitfire or the wonderbolts, or the reserves, or any of those cadets who didn't make the cut." Rob Said.
"Whoa whoa whoa...slow down there..." Rainbow Dash said.
"Oh...oh crap...I did it again..." Rob said. "Sorry...just one of the many quirks I have from being autistic." He added.
"Hey, it's cool. Your cool okay? The fact that your here in the reserves, prooves that your right: Your not different then me despite your disability. And if anyone tells you otherwise, you just let me know. I'll make sure they won't make fun of you for just being you." Rainbow Dash said. Rob gasped.
"Th-thank you..." Rob suddenly hugged Rainbow Dash. "Thank you so much..." He added.
"Heh...it's okay..." Rainbow Dash said.
"Autistic?" Spitfire asked for confirmation a few days later.
"That's what he said. But...that's not who he is. He doesn't advertise it because he's afraid of being treated different. He wants to be treated like anyone else. I guess I can understand why: He wants to prove that anyone can be a wonderbolt; even an autistic person. So...don't mention this to the brass. He wants to come out on his terms and his terms alone." Rainbow Dash said.
"That's fine by me it's just...wow...that stallion...is that really his motivation? If so wow...he must've been through a lot more then I thought..." Spitfire said. "Still, keep an eye on him. I'm still worried...but to a different degree then before." She added.
"Yeah. I know what you mean. If word gets out about him being autistic, the cadets who got cut will be upset and then there will be an outcry." Rainbow Dash said.
"I know. Let's keep a lid on this." Spitfire said. "When Rob is ready to spill his secret to everyone else, then we wait for him to be ready. No sooner." Spitfire said.
A few months later, Rob was soon intergrated as a fulltime wonderbolt. And he couldn't be happier for it too. The other wonderbolts found him to be easy to talk to, and soon, it was like him being autistic didn't matter in the slightest. Even after Rob came out and told everyone, they still didn't treat him any differently, it was like him being autistic didn't even matter.
It was on a particular day that Rob was in the lunchroom with Rainbow Dash after a hard workout routine.
"Your something else you know that right? You've gone above and beyond what anyone could think was possible for someone like you." Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah. I've always been someone who likes to go beyond my limits. I want to keep going though. I want to keep pushing. The only true limit is the one in your mind after all. And I want to keep going." Rob said.
"Heh heh...you know, I feel like I've grown really close to you over this time. I don't think I've ever found myself getting with a stallion until you." Rainbow Dash said. That made Rob gulp.
"Um...do you...mind if we go somewhere private. There's...something else you need to know." Rob said.
"Okay. I don't mind." Rainbow Dash said, smiling. Whatever it was, it had to be big for something like this. Soon, the two were in a private room. "Okay, what is that you don't want pu--" Rainbow Dash said before Rob suddenly kissed her on the lips.
"Sorry...been holding that back ever since the academy. I wanted right then and there to tell you but...I've always sort of...had a crush on you. Because I feel that you exemplify a lot of the things I include in my personal philosophy. But I held that back. Because that's just wrong. And I didn't want you to think me as any sort of creeper." Rob said.
"Well...guess I don't have to ask you if you want to be special someponies with me. Because I think I just got your answer." Rainbow Dash said. Rob gasped.
"You mean...your not...turned off by that whole thing?" Rob asked.
"Not at all. It took a lot of retrain but, I'm actually glad you did. Besides, I actually got to know you for you. Just like I'm sure you got to know me for me. And that's more then anything." Rainbow Dash said.
"That...that right there...that's what I'm talking about." Rob said. "That's part of my philosphy too: Getting to know someone for who they are instead of what they are. Because what someone is does not define who they are. It should never do that." Rob said.
"Heh heh...guess we do have a lot of personal similarities then. That'll make this easy won't it?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yes; yes it will." Rob said.