The New Recruit

Ace was used to eating alone by now. At lunch, ponies would move away from him and sometimes crowd other tables so as not to be associated with him. Occasionally, Soarin would pop in when he wasn't taking lunch in his office, and had commented that Ace had his own private table. At dinner, He would still be working in the kitchen, and would be allowed to eat once everypony else had. And then he'd wash the dishes.

Today, though, Peregrine popped in while he was eating at his "private" table. "Didn't want to eat with your friends?"

Ace glanced over his shoulder at the other kitchen students. They were laughing about something, and with the sneer from Blitz, he could only assume it was a joke at his expense. "My friends aren't here."

"Well, I'm here. Am I not good enough to be your friend?"

Ace held up his hoof. "Pardon me. My friends usually aren't here. I think you're the closest thing I have to a friend in this class, and even then, we're not that close. I'd consider us to be more along the lines of colleagues at this point. Good colleagues, but still just colleagues."

"What's it going to take for us to be friends, then?"

"A few more conversations like this, maybe a little bit of confidence, a few extracurricular activities..."

"Gross."

"Not like that!"

From the chuckle Peregrine let out, Ace could tell that he was joking. He let out a chuckle of his own and went right back to his food.

"I'd also say that you exude quite a bit of confidence. That you bothered to come all the way to the academy shows it. And you were pretty confident that your method of cloudbusting would work, and it did."

"I came up with a better method, too, but I'd need your help to see if it would even work in the first place."

"Sorry, but I don't experiment with other stallions."

"Don't be gross."

Peregrine laughed, and Ace smiled. Already, they were doing pretty well.

"Also, that's not what I meant by "confidence." I was using the other definition, where we confide in each other."

"Gross."

They shared another chuckle. Not as big this time, and Ace was hoping they would soon have more than one joke. They couldn't just laugh at the same thing forever.

"Anyway, I should probably mention the reason I came down here. I know you've been working in the kitchens, but I was able to just transfer my old job straight up. I deliver mail. And you received a package." He reached under his wing and pulled out a box wrapped in brown paper. "I'd have left it on your bed, but, uh..."

"Not exactly the safest place if I'm not there to watch it."

"Exactly."

Two days ago, Ace had come back to see his stuff scattered on the floor. He'd been given a hooflocker for personal storage, and since they were expected to act like adults, it wasn't immediately coupled with a lock. Somepony just went in there and rifled through his belongings. He didn't notice anything missing, and hadn't reported it, thinking it was just some jerk trying to mess with him. If it happened again, he'd report it and purchase a lock to keep it sealed, but for now, he was just going to watch and wait.

He took the package and read the label. It was from his dad. He removed the paper to find that it was a book; one he had read a dozen times. "History of the Wonderbolts, Volume Seven. This is, as of fifteen years ago, the latest in a series of books detailing all of the greatest events in Wonderbolts history."

"I gathered that from the title."

Ace shook his head. "This book notes the rise and fall of the Shadowbolts, the incorporation of the lightning design on the jumpsuits, and..." a grin spread slowly across his face, "it contains a quote from the head of the first-year class at the time of its publication."

He opened the book to page one hundred and forty-three, pointing to a short speech that had been recorded for the volume, turning the book so that Peregrine could read it aloud.

"I can think of nothing more noble than to aid my fellow citizens in their time of need. Anypony that joins the Wonderbolt Academy is swearing a sacred vow to do just that. Many of our alumni are currently guarding the princess, while others, actual Wonderbolts, are out helping the common citizen in a number of ways. I am proud to be considered a potential entrant into the Wonderbolts, and would be truly grateful if they would select me."

"Keep going," urged Ace. "A few lines down."

Peregrine read the next few lines in silence, but stopped when he read the next part. "It is unfortunate that we have no unicorns or earth ponies on the force. As much as my best friend, Neighsay, wishes to improve Equestria, he is unable to attend because he is a unicorn. He is going to have to find another way of keeping Equestria safe. Were he a pegasus, though, he'd make a great Wonderbolt."

"That, right there," smirked Ace. "I hold that in my heart. It's not his decisions that hold him back, but his birth. And that's no good. That speech? That made me believe it was possible for me to enter the school if only I could make it through the entrance exam."

"And here you are."

"Here I am."

There was a brief moment of silence as they just kind of sat there, thinking to themselves.

"I guess we're friends, now," smiled Ace, eating a forkful of his chilaquiles. "Or close enough, anyway."

Peregrine just nodded. "I guess so." He flipped to the next page, just kind of glancing ahead. "Whoa..."

"What?"

"The captain used to be hot."

He pointed to a picture of Spitfire when she'd just joined the academy. She smiled more back then, she was a bit more petite, and her mane was softer, smoother, and bigger. She was a lead pony, as indicated by her badge, and standing behind her with a wing pony badge was Silver Zoom. He didn't look too happy in the picture, but Spitfire did.

"Personally, I think she looks better now," replied Ace. "I'm glad she stuck to her beliefs from that speech, though. Without her, I wouldn't be here..."