The New Recruit

Ace had the biggest smile on his face as he was carried back to the platform. He knew that what they'd done was impressive, and as soon as Spitfire picked her jaw up off of the floor, she waved him over.

"You've been studying, haven't you?"

Ace nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"You are aware of how dangerous that stunt is, yes?"

"Yes, ma'am. But we practised slower until we were sure we knew what we were doing, ma'am."

"It shows," she chuckled. "Not only did you manage to correctly charge your lightning storm, you managed to do it in record time. I never thought I'd be saying this to an earth pony, but, congratulations, you've set an academy record. And you, too, Peregrine."

Peregrine couldn't hold back his smile anymore. Trusting Ace had paid off for him. He saluted Spitfire without a word.

"Matter of fact, you almost broke two. Keep practising, and you'll manage."

Ace rolled his head to the side. "Ma'am?"

Spitfire nodded. "You now hold the academy record for the fastest thundercloud creation and activation. And also, the second largest lightning strike. Rest assured, you're receiving a passing grade."

"Thank you, ma'am," nodded Ace.

"Return to your place in line, cadet."

Even with this, Ace could still hear the dissent from the other students. There was no possible way that they could claim that they were better than him, and yet they were still murmuring under their breath. Sure, there were a few that were just outright silent, but he definitely caught more than a few scowling at him for daring to show them up.

There was one last test, one which Ace didn't do particularly well on. A mannequin was dropped from above, and they had to catch it out of the air, to simulate saving a fall or jump victim. Ace, having no midair control, was too early, was unable to slow down, and smacked the mannequin's skull against the landing pad with enough force to break it. Not a successful rescue, and the only task he failed through the whole day. But once that was done, it was time for dinner.

This time, Spitfire didn't sit with them. She, Fleetfoot and Soarin were sitting alone, using a calculator to set up everypony's scores, and then rerank them for the new term based on the numbers at the end of this term.

After dinner, they all gathered for the announcements. Several ranks had changed, as neither Ace nor Peregrine were in the same spot. Peregrine, who had been the thirty-sixth most impressive student, was now number twenty-three. Ace, likewise, had seen a sharp increase; the most drastic change of all. He had risen from rank seventy-nine to rank forty-two. While still outside of the golden range, he was still doing incredibly well.

After the ceremony, A lot of ponies went back to their dorms. Peregrine was exhausted, and went straight to bed. Ace, on the other hoof, knew that he had a week with no classes coming up, aside from his kitchen duties. There would be time to rest, and right now, he needed to relax.

Spitfire had the same idea, as she was already sitting in the hot tub when he arrived. She looked up as he walked in. "I don't think I ever apologised to you," she mentioned as he slipped down into the water. "I'm sorry that I dismissed you when we first met."

Ace waved his hoof. "Everypony would have."

"I shouldn't have."

"Don't even worry about it. I'm here now, and that's all that matters."

Spitfire nodded. "I'm glad you're here."

They took a moment to lean back and just enjoy the hot water swirling around them.

"I don't envy you your position tomorrow," admitted Ace.

"How so?"

"After seeing the way I handled that storm, you have to watch three more classes do it the regular way."

Spitfire shook her head. "It'll be the same as every other year. You think I didn't have to watch all of your classmates do it the normal way? With you, it was exciting, but I don't expect that of the other students."

Ace pushed his hoof back over his ear, blushing a bit. "I don't know how I'm going to improve over what we've done..."

"I can think of one way," she smirked. "When you're about to finish, you need to really come down hard. I'd be left speechless; I can tell you that much."

They sat and relaxed a bit longer, mostly in silence, but otherwise chatting about nothing of consequence, until Spitfire groaned and leaned forward. "You know, ponies tend to gossip."

"Oh, I know."

"I'm just bringing it up because they're talking about us again."

"I heard them. It's just jealousy."

"It's more than jealousy." She leaned over his shoulder and shouted towards the door, "You'd be a lot more stealthy if you turned the flash off!!"

Ace spun around to see a camera being yanked from the door as hoofbeats echoed away. "Great. Front page news again."

"I wouldn't count on that," chuckled Spitfire. "After the last lawsuit, any press coverage is going to be minimal. Trust me, they're going to send somepony out to ask questions if those pictures even make it to the press. The reporters are going to be very careful what they say, because such accusations are going to be quite damaging for their reputation if they're not careful."

Ace shrank down. "I don't want to be a media circus act. I wouldn't mind them reporting on my grades, but I don't like being called a cheater."

"Don't you worry," smiled Spitfire, reaching over and wrapping a hoof around his shoulder. "I've been dealing with the press for a long, long time. All we have to do is refute any claims that are false, and take them to court if they're presenting them as fact."

Ace sighed, but nodded. "I think it's about time I went to bed..."

Spitfire nodded. "I think I'll head there, too." After patting his shoulder twice, she climbed up out of the water and started walking towards the locker rooms.

Ace stood up after and followed her, though their paths diverged when they reached the showers. The gym equipment, massage rooms, hot tub, cold tub and pool may have been unisex, but the showers and locker rooms were divided between genders.

When Ace returned to his room, everypony else was already asleep, so he crawled quietly into bed and fell into a restless sleep.