The New Recruit

Ace stood atop his cloud, his generators primed and ready to go. Soarin had set up two of the five tests, hoping to have at least those two and one more passed before the end of the day. They'd called Spitfire out to watch and judge him, as she'd insisted on it. If she couldn't make it, they'd just do it tomorrow, but there were only a few days remaining before the next term started, and the sooner they were ready, the sooner they could test, and the more likely it was that Ace could attend his extra classes.

"I'm here," announced Spitfire, flying up. "Let's do this."

Ace nodded. On Spitfire's whistle, he and Soarin jumped from their perch. Ace immediately started spraying his cloud path in front of him, weaving through the obstacle course in tandem with Soarin. There were three collision points on the rings this time; Ace went over Soarin the first time with a jump, under him the second time with a narrow slide, then jumped over him again. There was, of course, a string of clouds left behind, but that was part of the plan.

Through the beams, both mobile and static, they made their path using heavy banks at the top, the same with the pillars. To Spitfire's surprise, neither Ace nor his cloud trail touched a single obstacle. He even managed to go upside-down a few times, using his kinetic energy to enact a centripetal force to keep him in the air.

The rotary beams presented a bit of an issue, which was why Soarin had saved them for last. He'd also set them to go vertically, something that Ace wasn't supposed to face for two more months; avoiding obstacles straight up and down. With his hooves generating small clouds, Ace was able to push himself up through the beams in steps, floating upward like a jellyfish.

"And that's time," noted Spitfire. "A little slower than your first run, but there were some good techniques. Not sure why you opted to leave your trail behind; that's going to cost you a few points, but I'm glad we didn't need to set it up to keep you from avoiding obstacles. I don't think you touched a single one."

"I'll tell you why we left the trail behind," grinned Soarin. "Show her, Ace."

Ace saluted and made his way over to the platform on which he began and grabbed the cloud trail. Immediately, he went through the whole course again, not generating clouds, but busting the path behind him. When he reached the bottom, he jellyfished his way back up, then busted those clouds, too.

"That's better" nodded Spitfire. "Looks like you cleaned up your mess."

"And he busted enough clouds to be judged for that test, too," smirked Soarin. "Two tests for the setup of one."

"And I see you also prepped for the lightning storm."

"Yep. Might take a little longer than usual, but we expect the bonus points to make up for the loss."

"I expect so," hummed Spitfire. "Ready?"

"Yes, ma'am," nodded Ace, taking his position.

On her whistle, Ace and Soarin leapt onto the field, employing a pincer formation and smacking their clouds together. Soarin went off to work on the last cloud by himself as Ace charged the others, and when Soarin finished, he picked Ace up and dropped him at the top, displaying a slower version of Ace's opening act. Only, instead of being the Wonderbolts logo, it was Ace's cutie mark; a three-leaf clover. In addition, it had to rain, and Soarin had to activate the wind, but both of those were easy enough.

The field was dark enough when they finished that the electrical arcs lit up the area, illuminating Spitfire's eyebrows, which were raised. As soon as they stopped, however, it was a bit too dark to see. Unless they turned on a few lights, the rest of the tests would have to wait until tomorrow.

Ace and Soarin glided to where Spitfire was, awaiting the results. "That was certainly a good show," she admitted. "How many times did you practise that?"

"Twice," admitted Ace. "In all honesty, though, it's a modified version of something we've practised hundreds of times. Usually, not my cutie mark, but that's a simple change. The hard part was making it rain, and I still can't make wind."

Spitfire jotted that down. "We need to figure out how to make wind with you. By the end of your second year, you're going to need to do this alone, twice, so while we have time, I'd focus in on coming up with a plan."

Soarin planted his forehead in his hoof. "That's right... I forgot about that. We'll work on it, captain."

"Not you, lieutenant. You can make wind. I want Ace to do it."

"Nothing wrong with bringing in a teammate for group study," he argued. "Ace is a Wonderbolt, after all."

"I suppose," she sighed. "I'm really hoping you can come up with something on your own, though, Ace. If you can figure out hopping a cloud and surviving the dizzitron on your own, I'm sure you can manage the wind. You're a smart guy, Ace. If you work on it, I'm sure you'll manage."

"Yes, ma'am," he saluted.

"Now, clean this up. We're done for the night. I'll see you both tomorrow at seven, right here."

"Yes, ma'am," they both saluted.

As she flew back to the admin building, Soarin took a deep breath. "Well, you heard her. I can't figure it out for you." A grin crossed his lips. "I guess I'll just go to the library and see if I can compile a list of books on the subject. I can't think of a solution, but I can set up a path for you and point you in the right direction. You can clean this up on your own, right?"

Ace nodded. "Not a problem, sir."

"Good. I'm putting my trust in you, cadet. Don't disappoint me."

As Soarin flew off towards the library, Ace turned and looked at the field. He'd helped set it up, as part of his practise sessions and for the tests. He'd even helped put it together for his first season practise sessions and Wonderbolts training sequences. It was no trouble putting everything away before going to bed.