Dash's Secret Diary

Dash's Secret Diary

by Twippledash

Chapter 6: Training

First two months of Wonderbolt training passed, and finally they gave us the weekend off.

And by Celestia's sun-emblazoned flanks that training can be really intensive and exhausting sometimes!

I mean, I practiced a few hours every day even before getting into the Wonderbolts, but now it is on a completely new level; on most days my schedule is filled from early morning to long into evening with just a few breaks in between to get something to eat. Luckily it is not all just flight practice—though that still usually takes majority of the time—but there is also various lessons and some non-physical training. They also have almost as strict discipline as royal guards, which actually makes sense as the Wonderbolts were originally established as Celestia's personal army—and we would actually still serve that purpose if some serious conflicts with foreign countries would arise, though that hasn't happened in centuries. I think they are pushing us trainees to our limits on purpose to see how we manage under pressure, and to show us that being a Wonderbolt is really serious business and not just some hobby.

Our instructor has emphasized several times that we are here on our own accord, and that we could quit anytime we want. Hah, like I was going to ditch my life-long dream of being a Wonderbolt like that just because of a little inconvenience! Apparently not everypony think alike though; one of the trainees couldn't take it and quit just after six weeks of training, so now there is just three of us left.

Anyway, here is an example of a somewhat typical day of our training:

6:00 ~ Wake up
6:05 - 6:15 ~ Short morning flight
6:15 - 6:45 ~ Breakfast
6:45 - 7:30 ~ Warm-up
7:30 - 11:30 ~ Endurance flying
11:30 - 12:15 ~ Lunch break
12:15 - 13:45 ~ Wonderbolt history lesson
13:45 - 15:30 ~ Formation flying
15:30 - 17:00 ~ Stunt flying
17:00 - 17:45 ~ Dinner break
17:45 - 19:00 ~ Autograph writing practice
19:00 - 20:30 ~ Strength training
20:30 - 22:00 ~ Free time
22:00 - 6:00 ~ Nighttime, forced silence

And like I said, that amount of training every day is quite typical. On weekends they were usually slightly easier on us, and we had more time to just hang out and to get know each other better. And I got to say those other recruits seem quite cool, too! But a bit more about that later, and back to that schedule for now.

I'll use that example timetable to go through a few of our daily activities. The first thing almost every morning even before breakfast is a short flight, just to get the blood circulating and to make sure everypony is awake when day's training starts.

Next on the list after breakfast is warm-up. That usually consists of some sports, non-strenuous flying, or something similar to prepare for following training. In this case that is endurance flying, a long distance flight on a steady pace with just short breaks now and then to increase our endurance. Those always last for many hours due to the nature of training; you can't really train endurance by just having short flights now and then.

Next item on the list is Wonderbolt history lesson. Those are actually quite fascinating, even if I don't usually like studying history at all. But if the subject is interesting enough—as it is in this case—even I am willing to learn some history. This training is also quite imperative for all Wonderbolts since fans usually tend to ask loads of questions after each show, many of them falling under Wonderbolt history.

Next two items in that example show two other flight training types: formation and stunt flying. In formation flying we have to fly various flight patters while keeping our formation intact. During those we are often accompanied by other Wonderbolt members to fill our squad, since there is only three of us trainees. Stunt flying is my personal favorite, as we got to try out new stunts and practice the ones we have already learned—so basically the same thing I did every day before joining the Wonderbolts.

And then comes one of the most ridiculous trainings I have ever even heard of—autograph writing. That is exactly what it sounds like; we just sit on place the whole time and write our autographs on pieces of paper, while simultaneously answering the occasional random questions our instructor asks us. That is supposed to simulate real-life situation when the Wonderbolts put on a table for autograph writing. When they do that, there will always be hundreds of fans lined up to get the autographs and to throw in a few words for their idols, so the signing Wonderbolts would have to do practically the same thing as we do during these practice sessions. And that is really way more exhausting than it sounds. I actually feel quite bad for being one of those fanfillies getting the autographs back then; I didn't realize what the Wonderbolts had to go through just to provide a few autographs for their fans.

Anyway, next item in the list is strength training. Unlike endurance flying—which was slightly strenuous flying over a long period of time—the strength training consist of a few short, but very strenuous exercises to strengthen our muscles. That training mostly focuses on wing muscles as those are the ones we use the most, but there is also some training for the other parts of our bodies too.

Finally there was always—or at least almost every day—about one or two hours of free time at the end of the day for relaxation. And then there is eight hours of enforced silence during night to let everypony have a well deserved good night sleep before next day.

I guess that was enough ranting about my daily schedules, but there is something more I'd like to mention here also. Those last two months were the longest I've ever been with the Wonderbolts after all.

I think it would be logical to start with the time I got there on the first day. When I arrived at the Wonderbolt headquarters, Spitfire was already waiting at the door to welcome us new recruits. I was the first one to arrive—I arrived well in advance just in case—but the other three came in soon after I had arrived.

Spitfire took us for a guided tour in the headquarters, and we met a few other Wonderbolts there also, including some already retired veteran members. We were then given a few contracts to sign. The contracts contained mostly the usual stuff like not acting foolishly whenever representing Wonderbolts in public, accepting to be at the Princesses' service whenever needed, agreeing with the Wonderbolts' general rules, and the like.

Next Spitfire guided us to a representative of their official flight suit makers to take our measurements, so they could start working on our flight suits as soon as possible. The suits were finished and given to us by the end of our first week, and from that point on most of the flight trainings we had were with the flight suits on. Despite the skin-tight aerodynamic design, those suits were actually more comfortable than I had thought before. And I look absolutely stunning in my suit!

Anyway, after that Spitfire introduced us to our flight instructor, a sturdy pegasus stallion, who would be working with us through the whole training period—which lasts for a full year, so still ten months to go. He gave us our schedules for the first week; that first day was left without any training so that we could get used to the place and the other Wonderbolts, but rest of the week was filled with lessons and evaluative strength training.

There was just a medical examination left before we got the rest of the day free to relax and prepare for the following day. Nothing much to say about that; we were scrutinized by two unicorn doctors, and once they were sure that none of us had any medical disorders or diseases that would hinder our training, we were free to go.

So I got to know my fellow recruits better that day, and during the next two months too. There were three of them, though one of them already quit two weeks ago as I mentioned before.

First was a mare with light red mane and an off-white coat with just a hint of yellowish tint. Her name was Firestorm. Before joining the Wonderbolts she had been a few years in one of the less recognized stunt flying teams in her hometown Fillydelphia. Her experience of flying in a team really shows in our training; she has been performing in the formation flying sessions almost flawlessly from the beginning, while I still have a little trouble keeping in sync with the others—though I've become much better lately.

Second was Lightning Blaze, a stallion with dark blue coat and an unkempt silvery mane with a light stripe across it. He lives in Cloudsdale and has been attending some competitions now and then, usually winning the first place, or at least getting on some good positions. He tends to boast with his achievements quite much and it can really become irritating sometimes, but when he's not boasting he's actually quite nice and encouraging. I have learned a few really awesome tricks from him, too. As a whole I have come along with him well enough.

And lastly the one who quit already; a mare with light blue coat and short black mane, named Blizzard. I guess I'm not going to see her much anymore, which is actually a shame—she seemed quite nice and I think we could have become good friends if she hadn't left. And she was a good flier to boot, though that was quite obvious since she passed the audition a few months back like we all did. Oh well... I still have my old friends in Ponyville, as well as Firestorm and Lightning Blaze as my new friends. And of course there are the other Wonderbolts, too.

So, the first two weeks were mostly lessons and some strenuous training sessions putting us to our limits to evaluate our initial skills and physical condition. For the rest of that two months the training gradually had less and less theoretical lessons to give more time for actual flight training. By the end our schedules were mostly filled with physical training, with just a few various lessons here and there. Nothing much to say about that—I already produced an example of my typical day.

Most of our training was around the Wonderbolt training grounds at the base of the Canterlot Mountain, just a few minutes flight from our headquarters. Some of our lessons were still in the headquarters though, and that was where our living quarters were also situated.

Well, that's enough about that training for now.

As for my return to Ponyville yesterday, Friday evening... I expected my friends and maybe a few other ponies to welcome me back to Ponyville. I had my flight suit on as I arrived—yes, we were allowed to wear those on our vacation trips even if we were just rookies still—and turned out that I really underestimated the effect that being a Wonderbolt has to other ponies.

I mean, I got quite a warm welcome, not only by my friends, but by a horde of other ponies too. There is a plenty of Wonderbolt fans living here, and seeing me—a former weather mare of Ponyville—being one of them made some of those fans absolutely crazy! Even if they have seen Soarin' around Ponyville now and then lately, I was still crowded by the ponies. Luckily my best friends were there also to help me out and to organize the crowd. And that was when I realized why we have that autograph writing as a part of our training; there were literally dozens of ponies in a line to get my autograph, and writing those was actually quite mechanical work—just like in those practice sessions. Then there were those who wanted to have pictures of them taken with me standing by their side. And all that just because I was a Wonderbolt in my official flight suit!

After the crowd finally subsided, Pinkie dragged me into a "Welcome back, Dashie!"-party she had already prepared in Sugarcube Corner. I didn't inform about my arrival in advance, but somehow she had a fully decorated party with punch, all kinds of snacks, and a giant cake topped with a marzipan figure of me in my flight suit. Though knowing Pinkie I should have been expecting a party the moment I arrived.

Enough writing for now though. I've got friends to hang out with here in Ponyville, and I have less than two days of free time left until I've got to go back to Canterlot. Not that I wouldn't like to be with the Wonderbolts, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss my old friends during those two months; we've had so much good time together in the past that I don't really know how I could live without them.

—Quite exhausted Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash

Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow after finishing reading. "I never really got to ask you about that training, even if I was always around you whenever you were in Ponyville," she said. "But I see you covered it quite nicely here, so I don't have to ask about it now either."

Rainbow smiled and said, "Yeah, and I could have written a lot more than I did. But I also wanted to spend as much time with my friends as possible, so I tried to keep it short."

"Well... I wouldn't exactly call this short," Scootaloo said looking trough the entry, which filled almost two full openings in the diary. "But granted it's not overly detailed either, unlike the entry about your audition from a few pages back," she said and smirked at Rainbow.

"Like I said, I didn't really have time to write this entry to be that detailed even if I would have liked to," Rainbow said. "Trust me, if I had more time off, I likely would have filled at least a dozen of pages just describing those first two months in the Wonderbolts. It was really awesome to finally be able to live my dreams, and to actually be one of those who I had idolized ever since I was a little filly."

She turned her gaze towards the part of the room filled with various Wonderbolt-themed photos and posters, as well as the table containing her trophies. Her lips turned upwards into a smile as she felt like a younger mare for a moment, living those times again in her head—the excitement she felt before, after, and during every show, the feel of air rushing through her mane, the awesome feelings after every successful performance... those were really great times from the very beginning of the training to her retirement decades later.

She sighed slightly before turning her head back towards the table in front of the two pegasi, and noticed the photo album she had brought earlier. "By the way, I have a few photos in that album taken at the beginning of my training, if you'd like to look," she said to Scootaloo.

Scootaloo had been following the elder pegasus' gaze, and she was now looking at the Wonderbolt posters on the wall. She quickly turned her head back and glanced at the album. "Huh? Yeah, sure," she said.

Rainbow turned a few pages on the album and leaned back to allow better sight for Scootaloo. On first photo there were four pegasi in a row, posing to the camera. Those were Rainbow Dash and the three other Wonderbolt recruits: Firestorm, Lightning Blaze, and Blizzard.

"That first one was taken on the very first day right after we had arrived," Rainbow said, looking at the photo. "I'm sure you have seen my pals several times at Wonderbolt shows, but I think I also personally introduced you to them once, didn't I?"

"Yes you did," Scootaloo said. "If I remember correctly, it was right after your very first public performance. Obviously that last one"—she tapped on the light blue mare at the right side of the photo—"wasn't there though, since she quit before that. I didn't actually know anything about her, save for you mentioning her a few times. What was her name again?"

"Blizzard," Rainbow answered. "She had all the necessary skills to become a Wonderbolt, but she just couldn't handle the stress—or at least that is what she said before leaving. I haven't seen her after those few weeks she was with us, save for a few times when I've noticed her in the audience of some of our shows."

"Anyway," Scootaloo said, "I don't know much about the other two either, but at least I know something about them. Mostly they were just two Wonderbolts among the others to me, though."

Rainbow shrugged nonchalantly. "For me they were, and still are, close friends. Then again I usually don't know that much about my friends' acquaintances either, like those Rarity's high society friends or Twilight's academic colleagues. And I bet I don't even know most of your friends down in Ponyville either, despite you being my closest friend out of those who are still alive."

"Yeah, and neither do I know most of your friends you've met during your career," Scootaloo replied.

They fell silent for a moment and decided to look trough rest of Rainbow's early training photos. There were a few pages of them, every one featuring Rainbow Dash, and most had either some of her fellow recruits, or some older Wonderbolts flying with her. In later photos she had her blue flight suit on, covering most of her lighter blue coat and highlighting her rainbow colored mane—Rainbow was right, she really looked quite stunning in her suit. The two pegasi didn't talk much, exchanging just a few words now and then and looking through a dozen or so photos.

Finally Rainbow pushed the photo album aside and said to Scootaloo, "Well, I guess that's enough of that for now. We can check more photos later when they come relevant, but I'd say we move to the next entry now. It's quite short one anyway, at least compared to the last one."

"Works for me," Scootaloo said as Rainbow was already turning the page on the diary.

I'm still in Ponyville, leaving tonight to get back to training. I just wanted to write briefly something about what my friends have been up to during my absence.

Fluttershy is still living in her cottage with Big Mac and their now three-month-old filly Sunshine. The filly has grown quite a bit since I last saw her, and as I suspected, she's been flying all around the place ever since her wings started working just a week after I left. It's actually quite cute seeing her buzz around the cottage while Fluttershy tries to keep up with her, though despite that it seems Fluttershy's been doing just fine in taking care of her. Anyway, it should be up to a few months until Sunshine's flying phase should pass and she'll settle down once again, until she learns to fly properly much later, presumably around the age of ten or so.

I mentioned two months ago that Rarity has been saving bits to buy a new boutique in Canterlot. Well, her business has been running quite nicely; with all the good contacts and retailers already in Canterlot, she had managed to earn enough to afford a small boutique. But she's not content with just any boutique, and is looking for a somewhat larger one with more visibility. To afford that she would still have to save for a few months. She also seemed quite hesitant to leave her friends and Ponyville, having been living here ever since she was born. But she has wanted to live in Canterlot for so long that she'll definitely move sooner or later—probably sooner, I'm actually quite surprised she still lives in Ponyville.

I have nothing much to say about Pinkie or Twilight. Pinkie is still as random as ever, and Twilight is still an egghead. Twilight mentioned that she would eventually move back to Canterlot to have some advanced studies in magic, but that wouldn't be until after a few years. For now she's still living in the library, periodically sending friendship reports to Princess Celestia.

As for Applejack, she won this year's Running of the Leaves—that was a few weeks ago—by a landslide as I was not there to give her competition this time. She's been working on her farm as hard as ever, still living in the farmhouse with Apple Bloom and Granny Smith—Big Mac is also still working on the farm, but as I mentioned he lives in Fluttershy's cottage nowadays. Granny Smith is still alive, though it seems her time to leave is coming soon; she's apparently been getting more and more of her cramps, and her health is steadily degrading. That's not a surprise though, her being the oldest living citizen of Ponyville as far as I know.

And now that I mentioned Applejack, it brings to my mind her regular customer and my fellow Wonderbolt Soarin'. He's still been visiting Applejack almost every weekend, including this one. Even if his main reason to visit is to buy some of his favorite pies, they have become quite good friends too. While we three were there together, we had a few competitions like me and Applejack used to do regularly. At one point I couldn't help but overhear Soarin' complimenting on Applejack's looks. While it may have been just him being a gentlecolt, I'm not going to rule out the possibility that he was maybe hitting on her. It may be quite far-fetched, but hey, they are both single and—as far as I know—straight, so I can at least imagine them being together. And I'm sure Granny Smith would also appreciate another one of her grandfoals finally finding a special somepony.

Well, that about covers it. I have still a few hours before I have to leave, so I'll go and check what my friends are up to now.

—Rainbow Dash

"I know this comes out of nowhere and is completely unrelated to the current topic," Scootaloo said to Rainbow, "but I just wondered why did you put your name to the end of each entry? It's not like anypony else would have ever written into this, right?"

Rainbow just shrugged and said, "I don't really know myself either. I guess it just felt like an appropriate conclusion to sign them with my name. And once I had decided to sign the first entries, I just continued doing that till the end."

"Okay, not that it really matters, just asked out of curiosity," Scootaloo said. "Anyway, back on the current topic." She glanced at the diary before looking back at Rainbow and said, "It seems like you really kept an eye on your friends' love lives. I mean, first you noticed Fluttershy and Big Macintosh before they admitted their love themselves, and now here you noticed Soarin' eyeing Applejack." She smirked at the elder pegasus.

Rainbow flushed a bit. "Fluttershy and Big Mac having feelings for each other was quite obvious; all it took to notice it was to be in the right place at the right time. As for Soarin' and Applejack, it was just a lucky guess. As I have made clear many times, I never really cared about that romance stuff myself, I just happened to notice those is all."

"Yet you seemed to write quite much about it in your diary," Scootaloo said teasing Rainbow. "Are you sure you're not just lying to yourself saying that you didn't care about romance at all?"

Rainbow thought for a moment before answering, "I guess you're right. I think I actually did care about my friends' romantic relationships, even if I never seriously considered being in one myself." She looked aside, a slight blush creeping on her face. "Or, well... To be honest, I did give it a shot once by the end of my school years before even moving to Ponyville. It was just some silly adolescence crush though, and it didn't really work in the end; we went for a few dates and even kissed a few times, but I left him once I found out he didn't actually care about me for who I was—all he wanted was just some filly to screw."

Scootaloo nodded slightly. "Yeah, I remember you mentioning that sometimes before. And that actually brought another question to my mind. Uh..." Her face felt slightly warmer as she contemplated whether it would be appropriate to ask the question she had in mind. "Did you ever... you know..."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Did I ever what?"

Scootaloo let out a short sigh and rolled her eyes. "Oh, what the hay? We're both grownup mares, so why am I stammering?" she said mostly to herself, then turned at Rainbow and asked, "Did you ever have sex with anypony?" Her face flushed red right after asking that, and she added hastily, "Uh, I mean, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. I was just wondering since you never had a special somepony..."

"Oh..." Some red color crept on Rainbow's cheeks once again. She hung her head down a bit, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "No I didn't." She looked back at the younger pegasus and said, "I know it is one of those things that they say every mare is supposed to do at some point of their life, but it was also one of those things I just procrastinated in my life endlessly as I didn't want an accidental pregnancy or anything like that getting in the way of my career in Wonderbolts." She looked away, face still quite red. She cleared her throat once and said, "Anyway, this is getting a bit too personal already. Maybe we should just move on?"

"Well, this whole meeting is quite personal, you sharing your diary with me and all," Scootaloo said shrugging. "But yeah, I think we should just read the next entry already." She turned on the next page of the diary.