The New Recruit

Spitfire stamped the last page and gathered up the stack of paperwork, slipping it into a manilla envelope. Today was boring, but she had to finish it up so she could send it out. She needed the pages returned to keep the food coming into the academy. She'd like nothing more than to go out and enjoy the chill in the air, spread her wings and go for a nice, long fly, but now she had to fill out the forms to requisition parts to replace the treadmill that had broken down, plus a new air pump for the whirlpool tub, and then there was a hose on the refrigeration unit that was starting to wear down... That was going to suck up her next two hours, at least. What she wouldn't give for a distraction right now...

And just like that, there was a knock on the door. As relieved as she was, and desperate for conversation, she had to compose herself and look stoic. "It's open!"

The door popped open and in walked one of her graduates.

"Rainbow Dash. How long's it been?"

"About two days. We had lunch, remember?"

"I do. Come, sit."

Rainbow walked up to the chair and spun it around, sitting backwards with her arms crossed over the back. "You busy?"

"Just some paperwork," sighed Spitfire. "I think I'm starting to fuse to the chair, I've been sitting here so long."

"Yeah," chuckled Rainbow. "I bet you're ready to go stretch your wings for a bit. Or even just your legs."

"Too true. But, I also have to finish this before the end of the day."

"Fifteen minutes," swore Rainbow. "I just want to see that student you're so proud of."

Spitfire snorted. "Ten minutes. And what luck for you, he's on cloudbusting duty today."

Rainbow looped in the air and bounded to the door. "Well? What are you still sitting there for? Let's go!"

Spitfire stood up, then started to hover. Her back legs were so stiff that walking was out of the question, so for the first minute at least, she had to fly until her blood was moving correctly once more.

The two flew out to where the recruits were busting clouds and took a look around. "What's this guy look like?"

"Well, he has no wings. You find the pony that has no wings, and that'll be the earth pony we're looking for."

"Har, har... seriously, where is he?"

Spitfire pointed. "Right there."

Ace was standing on a small cloud in the middle of his working area. His lead pony, Peregrine, was lobbing clouds at him from the edge, and he was busting them pretty effectively, while not breaking the one beneath him.

"He's real," scoffed Rainbow. "I don't believe it."

"He's right in front of your eyes. I'd recommend you start believing."

Rainbow just stared for a bit, then shook her head. "This is... This is good news, I think."

"You think?"

"Well... yeah."

"Walk me through your thought process."

"Well, I'm thinking of this filly back in Ponyville..."

Spitfire pursed her lips. "You're going to want to pick your next words very carefully..."

"She's a pegasus with stunted wings. It's a birth defect. She can't fly. I've taken on the role of an impromptu older sister, and I do my best to see her dreams come true. Only problem is, her dream is to fly with me. I don't know how--... She's going to find out. This is big news. This kind of information is going to come out. I mean, it already did, but it's going to come out again, just truthful this time. And there's going to be official stuff, and pictures of him, and media coverage, because him being here is such a stunt. No way she's not going to find out..."

"What's your point?"

Rainbow took a deep breath. "When she finds out... When, not if... I don't know if it's going to be an inspiration that even without wings, she can fly, though I have no idea how, or if the fact that there's an earth pony that learned how to fly before she did will crush her spirit into tiny shards of broken dreams."

"Probably the first one," assured Spitfire. "I'd put a hoof on your shoulder, but ponies are watching. Pretend to be tough."

Rainbow turned to look at her, seemingly upset by her words. "What makes you so sure?"

"Easy," answered Spitfire, looking off to the side. "You're going to be the one to tell her."

"And just how is that going to make any difference? It'll probably just make it worse!"

Spitfire sneered. "It'll be better because you're going to ensure that it's the first one. You're going to show her that an earth pony is training with the Wonderbolts. You're going to tell her that Ace of Clubs worked very hard, filled himself with determination, and despite the fact that reality spat in his face, he kept pushing until he met his goal... Kind of."

"Kind of?"

Spitfire sighed. "He wants to be a Wonderbolt. Of course he does. Earth ponies can't be Wonderbolts because they cannot make their way to the academy. He can't train with us, so he can't be a Wonderbolt. Well, he's training with us. Look."

Rainbow looked down, and he was being lifted from his cloud perch, giving it one final kick. He'd busted every cloud in his section, and his team was the fifth to finish, leaving seven more still working.

"If he is among the worst, then the fact that he just made the top half wouldn't make sense. He's clearly putting in the effort, thinking his way through his problems, and building solutions. He's giving it his all." She took a deep breath. "Tell ya what. I'll send him to Ponyville if he fails or drops out. Perhaps he can teach your filly friend a thing or two about flight. Perhaps you'll learn a little something, too..."

Rainbow Scoffed. "Seriously?"

"You laugh, but watching him perform has been enlightening. I've seen a lot of ponies fly, and never have I seen anything quite like him..."

A smirk crept across Rainbow's face.

"What?"

"You like him..."

Spitfire was not impressed. "I can still make you fly laps, you know."

"That won't stop your heart from fluttering," teased Rainbow.

"Let's see," snorted Spitfire, putting her whistle between her teeth. "A hundred laps?"

"I'll give ya two-fifty!" shouted Rainbow, flying off toward the flight course. Spitfire knew she was good for it, too.