After lunch that day, Rainbow sat at a table. A pen was held in her mouth and she stared at a roll of parchment. The speedster missed her friends, and, remembering her promise to write, began drafting a letter.

Dear Everypony,

I’ve arrived at the academy. Spitfire’s training regime is not to be taken lightly. Though, I can handle it. There’s seven other cadets and she’s been running us ragged to toughen us up. I’m still here for another three weeks but I miss everypony. I long to see my friends, co-workers, and more! Don’t worry. I’ll continue to be awesome and blow Spitfire’s mind with my flashy moves and radical style. When I return to Ponyville, I’ll be twenty percent cooler. Pinkie, be sure to update me on all the things I’ve missed while throwing me a welcome home party. Fluttershy, we're getting together for lunch when I return. Applejack, be sure to brew some fermented cider to celebrate my homecoming. Rarity, since I miss you, and you’re a great friend, I’ll swallow my pride. Spa day? Twilight, keep being an egghead. I jest. I tease you often, but I do respect all you do. Continue studying. I don’t say it often, but I am grateful for your friendship, everypony. See you in a few weeks!

Your Friend,

Rainbow Dash

After she put the rolled-up parchment into the outgoing mail box, Rainbow Dash marched with determination towards Spitfire’s office. She was anxious and eager to find out why the drill sergeant had elected to make her a wing pony.

Spitfire knows my skills. Heck, I saved her, Soarin, and Rapidfire from plunging to their doom nearly two years ago in the Best Young Flyer Competition. Doesn’t make sense to put somepony with my awesomeness as a lame wing pony.

En route to her destination, Rainbow was plagued by constant intrusive thoughts in her mind. The speedster was resolved to comprehend Spitfire’s decision. She took a left after the barracks. Walking another two minutes, Rainbow found the building. It was identifiable from the large letters that bedecked its outer side stating it was the Captain’s Office.

One of Spitfire’s assistants stood guard by the front door. Dash approached the stallion and vocalized her business. The stallion nodded and opened the door. Waving her forward with a flick of his hoof, Rainbow entered.

She found Spitfire sitting dutifully at her desk. The Wonderbolts Captain was stamping her hoof on Wonderbolts memorabilia to autograph it. Her expression was stoic. Rainbow observed for a moment to watch Spitfire repeat the action half a dozen times.

The drill sergeant raised her head and held eye contact with the cyan pegasus. After she facilitated Spitfire raise an eyebrow in a tacit manner, the speedster broke the silence.

“Permission to enter ma’am?”

Spitfire looked down and completed another three hoofstamps before dully replying.

“What is it, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow didn’t waste a moment. She hastily stepped inside the office, and, with urgency in her voice, pleaded her case to the yellow pegasus.

“I had the best time on the dizzitron. Only six seconds.”

“And?” Spitfire replied lethargically.

Another two hoofstamps were administered by Spitfire. Rainbow watched the meticulous repeated pattern.

“And you made me a wing pony!” Dash replied angrily.

In the middle of a hoofstamp, the Wonderbolts Captain paused. She raised a hoof to her orange shades and took them off. Furling the temples down, she glared with irritation at the brazen speedster.

Rainbow gulped at the expression. Spitfire appeared outraged and Dash tentatively took a wary hoofstep back.

Oh crap. She looks pissed.

Spitfire leaned forward on her desk; her hooves pressing together comfortably. She regarded Rainbow with a mixture of ire and sternness.

“Because I believe you and Lightning Dust will be an unstoppable team. Do you disagree?’

Rainbow’s muzzle contorted in an ‘o’ shape as she rapidly mulled over the query.

“Yes ma’am. I mean, no ma’am. I mean…”

Dash quickly sighed before looking with an expression of tenacity at the yellow pegasus.

“We’ll be an unstoppable team, ma’am.”

From behind her desk, Spitfire gazed stoically at Rainbow Dash.

“Then what’s the problem?”

The two mares held eye contact for a fleeting moment before Rainbow answered the question. Glowering briefly, but feeling determined, Rainbow gave her candid opinion. She spoke succinctly and to the point.

“I think that I should be the lead pony, ma’am.”

Spitfire scoffed at the notion. She raised an eyebrow and stared with dubiety at the bold pegasus.

“And I think Lightning Dust likes to push herself a little harder than you do. That’s why I made her lead pony. Understood, cadet?”

Rainbow was floored. Her ears flattened before lowering dejectedly to the sides of her cranium. She opened her muzzle to retort a rejoinder, but all she could muster was a pithy response.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” Spitfire stated dully.

Dejected, Dash trotted out of Spitfire’s office. Spitfire followed a moment later. The cyan pegasus sluggishly ambled the path back to the airstrip. She stood on the tarmac and joined her teammate, Lightning Dust. Both mares looked at each other for a moment before Lightning Dust smiled and held up her golden lead pony lapel. Rainbow smiled affably to her teammate, but Dash felt crummy.

Spitfire stood in front of the duo and addressed the cadets. Her demeanor was fierce, commandeering and booming. She instructed the throng of ponies that they’d be divided into two teams and participate in a flag hunt.

“Whoever finds the most flags of the opposing team’s color will win.” Spitfire said.

Rainbow and Lightning put on their goggles to prepare for the task at hoof. Both pegasi were eager to showcase their abilities and prowess to the Wonderbolts Captan.

“This is for training purposes.” Spitfire explained. “This is not recess. Lead ponies and wing ponies must fly together. If any pair splits apart, they will be immediately disqualified. Am I understood?”

Rainbow Dash raised her fetlock to her temple and saluted the fierce Captain.

“Yes, ma’am!” All cadets said concomitantly.

“Then let’s go!” Spitfire declared.

The yellow pegasus blew harshly into her whistle to start the competition. Both teams immediately kicked off the tarmac covered airstrip and took to the skies.

After a brief conversation to ensure both were ready, Lightning and Rainbow, in synchronized precision, propelled themselves forwards at high acceleration. They scoured the landscape for any red flags. As they flew, Lightning Dust took erratic turns and movements seemingly at every corner. Rainbow followed the pattern.

“You spotted any flags yet?” Lightning Dust groaned.

“Not yet.” Dash replied.

Rainbow looked down and located a red flag in the crevice of a large crack in the ground. She excitedly pointed it out to Lightning Dust.

“There’s one!”

“Good eyes!”

Both mares descended towards the object. The pair of pegasi ponies were approaching the fissure at rapid speed. Rainbow noticed and urged Dust to slow down.

“We’re both not going to make it at this speed.”

Dust waved a haughty dismissive hoof before arching her body at a perfect 180 degree angle. The sudden shift in angular momentum caused the turquoise pony to enter the aperture without difficulty.

However, Dash wasn’t so lucky. Because of Spitfire’s ruling that the lead pony and wing pony must fly closely together, she didn’t have enough time to angle her body to avoid a large wooden branch sitting atop the hole. With a shriek of pain, Rainbow felt two feathers dislodge from her appendage.

They lowered themselves into the chasm and Rainbow watched Lightning Dust eagerly clutch a red flag in her hooves. The team returned to the airstrip and Lightning Dust stood proudly in front of Spitfire.

The yellow drill sergeant noticed the pair and announced the two had found the first flag.

After Lightning dropped the flag at Spitfire’s hooves, Rainbow fell to her haunches for a brief respite. Her attention turned to her injured wing. The speedster softly grazed it with a hoof as Lightning ran towards her.

“Come on. Let’s find some more!” Lightning Dust urged.

Rainbow winced while clutching her wing. She felt a sharp pain course through it.

“Sure. Just give me a second.”

Lightning Dust ascended ten feet from the airstrip and looked at Dash. She chided the rainbow-mane pegasus.

“Oh, you’re fine. It’s just a scratch. We’re burning daylight here.”

Rainbow stared dumbfounded at Lightning Dust’s claim. Her head shifted towards Spitfire.

The brilliant gold pegasus raised an eyebrow while scanning Dash with a gaze of incertitude.

RD looked back at her teammate and tried to appear robust. Flapping her wings warily, she replied.

“Y-yeah. Right behind you.”

Dash joined Dust back in the sky to hunt for flags. The pegasi combed the environment carefully. Within half an hour, Dash and Dust had won the competition, having found eight flags to the two found by Bulk Biceps and Cloudchaser.

Spitfire announced the end of the competition and all ponies landed on the runway. She instructed them to return to the mess hall and they complied.

It had been twenty-seven days since Rainbow’s tenure began at the Wonderbolt Academy. While being a wing pony felt shameful, Dash tried to make the best of it. Her resolve to prove herself never faltered.

She received another chance at ten that morning. Spitfire had instructed the cadets that their next task was to showcase their cloudbusting skills.

Finally! This is what I do in Ponyville for work. Cloudbusting should be a breeze!”

Rainbow felt extremely confident. She flew in sync alongside Lightning Dust to perform Spitfire’s assigned assignment. The duo soared through the sky, jovially bucking all cloud types. Cumulus, status, altocumulus, and cirrus clouds disappeared due to their pegasi magic.

One of Spitfire’s assistants was keeping a tally of each team’s progression. Dash peeked at the scoreboard and noticed herself and Lightning Dust were leading by an impressive fifteen tallies.

Both punched a pair of cirrus clouds and the assistant chalked another two marks on the chalkboard. Lowering their altitude, they barreled a small assemblage of ten altocumulus clouds. Rainbow Dash skillfully weaved through five; her bristles sliced them in half. Lightning Dust pinballed herself along the other five and kicked the tufts to make the clouds disappear.

Flying in sync again, Dust spoke to her teammate.

“I have an idea on how we can literally blow away our competition.”

Dash craned her head to the right and gawked at the other cadets. All were doing their own preferred method, though none would reach the score she and Lightning held. Rainbow noticed this and voiced her displeasure.

“But we’re already way ahead.”

Lightning Dust rolled her eyes at the ripost and Dash felt a piercing scowl.

“Are you in or not?” Dust brashly asked.

Lightning Dust likes to push herself a little harder than you do. That’s why I made her lead pony.

Spitfire’s earlier words reverberated in Rainbow’s head. The speedy pegasus squinted her magenta eyes in determination. With a fortitudinous amount of sitzfleisch, combined with an overwhelming urge to prove her fierce tenacity, Rainbow nodded.

“I’m in!”

“Great! Then follow my lead.”

The two teammates angled their bodies upwards and flew in harmony to a listless cirrus cloud. Both pegasi flew with rapid acceleration in an elliptical pattern. After several seconds, a twister began to form from the impetus. The tornado began to suck in a few clouds as it bore through the skies.

Rainbow and Lightning were able to control the tornado by consistently flying at top speeds. The cyclone continued to efface the agglomeration of clouds in the vicinity. Things were ordinary for a fleeting moment before Lightning cried out in dismay.

“I can’t control it!”

No sooner had the words left her muzzle did the turquoise pony shoot out of the tornado’s eye. The centrifugal force was too much for Dash to handle too. Like her teammate, Dash was whisked out of the eye.

The tornado moved of its own volition, powered by the kinetic energy from the two pegasi’s impetus. It traversed through the grounds, ripping up the tarmac and destroying clouds.

Delirious from the impact of her body landing roughly on the grass. By pressing her hooves down, Dash wearily looked at the twister. Horrified, she watched as it engulfed a familiar purple balloon with a floral pattern.

The cyclone spun the balloon at a rapid pace until the rope on the hot air balloon snapped. The momentum caused the occupants of the balloon to quickly cascade downwards.

Rainbow, realizing the screams of the five ponies in distress belonged to her best friends, shrieked in terror.

“No! This isn’t happening!”

Quickly responding to the misfortune, she steadied her equilibrium and soared hurriedly to the scene. Passing the other cadets, Rainbow relayed what was occurring and employed them to assist her endeavor.

“Best friends. Falling to doom. Can’t fly. Help me. No kersplat.”

The speedster kept an observable keen eye on the direction the five mares were plummeting. After taking a shortcut through a small cavern, Rainbow found a bundle of cumulus clouds and speedily aggregated them into a tight compacted mass.

Her friends shrieked in despair as they plunged, but Dash’s makeshift cushion acted as a trampoline. After stopping their descent, the clouds sprung the ponies upwards and caused them to shriek again.

Luckily, sans Lightning Dust, the other cadets sprang into action. Each pegasi carefully caught the plummeting ponies. Thunderlane clutched Rarity protectively. Twilight was held by Blossomforth. Cloudchaser grabbed Fluttershy. The unknown stallion clasped Applejack under her forearms. The unknown mare seized Pinkie Pie the same way. Bulk Biceps caught a plummeting package that fell from Pinkie’s hooves.

All ponies returned to the ground and Rainbow galloped towards her best friends. She stared at each of them with worry and relief.

“Are you girls okay?”

After assuring the speedster that they were hale, Twilight and Applejack hugged the cyan mare.

Rainbow nervously stared down at the weary form of Pinkie Pie. The mare twitched as Rainbow called her name, before turning her head to gaze at her friend.

In dramatic fashion, tears welled inside of the pink pony’s eyes. She reached up and grabbed Rainbow around the neck. Staring into the magenta irises of her friend, Pinkie spoke.

“You remember me!”

Rainbow blinked in confusion before replying.

“Well, yeah. Of course I do!”

Pinkie jumped up while cradling her hooves around Dash’s nape. The speedy pegasus put a hoof under Pinkie’s back to hold her aloft.

Dash turned to her best friends and asked what they were doing here. Applejack mentioned they intended to bring a care package but were unaware their friend would be in the midst of a twister drill. Rainbow gently put Pinkie down until the mare stood erect.

“That. Was. Awesome.” Lightning Dust cheered as she joined the other cadets.

“Awesome?” Rainbow challenged. “Are you fucking serious?”

Her best friends gasped at the unfiltered colorful language. Dust raised an eyebrow, but it didn’t deter the speedster. Her aggression of Lightning Dust’s reckless actions erupted and she lay into her teammate with a barraged rant of her past behaviors.

“You made me clip my wing. You have no cognizant awareness for the protection of fellow cadets. You unleashed a tornado that nearly demolished my best friends.”

“Yeah? And?” Dust replied blithely.

Rainbow had to stop herself from tackling the turquoise mare on the spot. She continued her philippic rant.

“And, I get you want to be the best. So do I. But you’re going about this in the wrong way. You’re showing blatant disregard for the well-being of other ponies. That’s beyond reckless and downright careless.”

“Well, The Wonderbolts don’t think so. After all, that’s why Spitfire made me the lead pony and you the wing pony.”

Dust smirked and poked a hoof into Rainbow’s midriff.

With a heavy sigh, Rainbow admitted her teammate’s words carried veracity.

“You’re right. She did.”

Glaring at Lightning Dust, Rainbow noticed the mare give her a satisfied smirk. Dash ignored it and turned on her hooves, striding towards Spitfire’s office. She told her best friends that she’d return shortly.

A few minutes later, she pushed the ornate purple door open with a hoof. Spitfire was sitting at her desk. The Wonderbolts Captain gazed up at Dash. Rainbow didn’t ask permission before ambling inside.

Surprised at the lack of protocol, but choosing to quash it, Spitfire regarded Rainbow Dash with scrutiny.

“This better be important, Rainbow Dash. You’re supposed to be up in the air busting clouds with your partner.”

Rainbow came to a halt two feet from Spitfire’s desk. The cyan mare gave a respectful salute to the yellow pegasus.

“We’re done with that, ma’am.”

“Already?” Spitfire gawked. “That’s an academy record. Explain your methods.”

Steeling herself, Rainbow regarded Spitfire with reticence for a moment. Then, she decided to be curt and honest.

“Well, ma’am. That’s why I’m here. Lightning Dust decided to use a tornado.”

Rainbow watched as Spitfire put a pensive hoof to her chin. There was a silence that lingered for several seconds before Spitfire spoke once more.

“A bit excessive for cloudbusting. But, judging from your time, it was obviously an effective tactic.”

Shocked by the drill sergeant’s dismissive attitude, Rainbow leapt forward and slammed her cyan hooves on the desk. She glared irritably at Spitfire. Their snouts were nearly touching. Rainbow’s words were bitter, accusatory and venomous.

“Yeah? Well that effective tactic nearly took out my best friends!”

Dash backed up and stared skeptically at her idol.

“No disrespect intended, ma’am. But there’s a huge difference between pushing yourself to surpass your limits and just being reckless.The former showcases intention to improve and be the best pony you can. The latter shows blatant disregard for the care of others and viewing them as insignificant.”

Rainbow gazed darkly as Spitfire silently scrutinized her.

“And if being a harebrained daredevil is what gets rewarded around here... If recklessness denotes the appraisal of a possible Wonderbolt, then I want no part of it anymore!”

Spitfire, in her usual auster attitude, shrugged off the lecture. Instead, she simply asked Rainbow Dash what her point was.

To accentuate her emotions, Rainbow grabbed the wing pony badge from her chest and slammed it on Spitfire’s desk.

“I quit!”

The announcement stirred Spitfire’s demeanor and the Captain goggled in bewilderment from the outburst.

Before the drill sergeant could reply, Rainbow trod through the office and out the doorway. With irritation, she bucked the door shut. The clamored sound pervaded the hallways. In disbelief over what had just transpired, the audacious mare looked sheepishly and with slight contrition for her behavior. However, she walked back to the barracks while hanging her head lowly.

It took less than five minutes for Rainbow to pack her saddlebag. She stuffed the items she brought from Ponyville before making her bunk. Taking a crestfallen look around the housing room, she sighed in melancholy. Then, with determination coursing through her, she returned to the airstrip.

Standing next to her best friends, Rainbow chomped the strap of her saddlebag in her muzzle and yanked it tightly. She gazed at her fellow element bearers and told them she had just quit.

“You did what?” Applejack asked.

“But being a Wonderbolt was your dream!” Rarity sputtered.

Dash shook her head and replied. “Not anymore.”

Twilight leaned towards the cyan mare and placed a gentle supporting hoof on the speedster’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, Rainbow Dash. We all know how much this meant to you.”

Applejack sauntered to her left side and embraced her. Twilight, Dash and Applejack were silently suffering through the awful moment.

Sensing the lugubrious mood, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity joined their other best friends to console their favorite speedster.

“So, what will you do now, Dash?” Pinkie asked.

“I don’t know, Pinkie. I had my heart set on this since I was a filly. To realize that I gave up my dream has me shocked. But Spitfire’s lack of concern is something I can’t work under.”

“Rainbow Dash!” A booming voice shouted.

Dash whirled around and noticed Spitfire was headed towards her. She immediately glared in ire at the drill sergeant.

“How dare you storm out of my office without giving me a chance to respond!”

Rainbow inched forwards, closing the gap between the two pegasi. Her cyan hooves clenched in frustration at the sight of the Wonderbolts Captain.

“You wanna respond, Spitfire? My face is right here. Go ahead and say what’s on your mind.”

Twilight, trying to ease the tension, attempted to push Rainbow’s chest away from Spitfire’s frame.

“Easy, Dash. I know you’re upset, but disrespecting an Equestrian military Captain is-”

Spitfire yelled at the studious unicorn to be quiet.

Dash glowered at the discourtesy and interposed herself between Twilight and Spitfire. The speedster scowled at the brilliant gold mare and raised a threatening hoof towards her.

“Hey! You don’t get to talk to her that way. Mind your tongue!”

Spitfire’s assistants took a step to intervene, but Spitfire held up a hoof. They paused and remained observant. Meanwhile, Spitfire lowered at Dash.

“Listen to me carefully, Rainbow.”

“I won’t hark to any disrespect for me and my friends or temerarious praise for Lightning Dust’s antics. So just sh-”

Spitfire tackled Rainbow to the ground. The older mare pressed her hooves firmly on the cyan pony’s shoulders. Using her chest, Spitfire pinned Rainbow down.

Her friends looked surprised at the ostentatious display. Before they could act, Spitfire spoke.

“You were right. The Wonderbolts are looking for the best fliers in Equestria. Though, being the best should never come at the expense of our fellow ponies.”

Amazed at the sudden change in mentality, Rainbow remained silent.

Spitfire stood erect and offered Rainbow a hoof to assist the cadet to return to her hooves.

Rainbow gratefully accepted and gaped in astonishment while Spitfire continued.

“It’s not about pushing ourselves. It’s about pushing ourselves in the right direction. You’ve demonstrated your capabilities in that aspect.”

Spitfire gestured with a hoof and her two assistants stepped aside. Lightning Dust was behind them and the drill sergeant leered at the turquoise pony. The Captain grabbed the lead pony lapel pinned to Lightning’s flight suit and tore it off. She pointed a hoof in the opposite direction.

Taking the hint, Lightning Dust turned and began walking away.

Spitfire regarded her with irritation and spat out icily.

“You’re dischar-”

“No!” Rainbow Dash interjected.

Both Lightning Dust’s and Spitfire’s ears pricked at the sudden interruption. Rainbow’s friends stared silently at the exclamation but didn’t intrude.

Spitfire performed an about face and leered at Rainbow.

“Come again, newbie?”

Rainbow hastily attempted to pacify the situation. She saluted the Captain respectfully before elucidating her reasoning.

“Ma’am, no disrespect here, but you’d be making a big mistake. I’ve been her teammate since you initiated the wingpony and lead pony dichotomy, so I have authority to share my thoughts on the matter.”

Spitfire raised an eyebrow. The mare was intrigued by the reasoning and gestured with a hoof to allow Rainbow to speak.

“Thank you, ma’am. Lightning Dust is absolutely a reckless daredevil who has a penchant for disregarding safety and overlooking the well-being of her fellow cadets. Unquestionably, she is a loose cannon and a dangerous pony, especially when she gets a crazy impulsive idea.”

Lightning Dust opened her muzzle to interject but Dash prevented it by raising a hoof.

“However…”

All ponies waited with baited breath for Rainbow to continue. Gazes shifted between the throng in attendance.

“She is one of the best fliers I’ve ever seen, ma’am. I beseech you to not kick her out. While I’m unfortunately aware of her mishaps, it’d be a huge mistake for you to disbar her and not utilize her prowess and aptitude, ma’am. Lightning Dust isn’t incorrigible. She merely has a terrible mentality and lacks the morals and righteous principles that I do. Ma’am, I believe wholeheartedly, that, under your expert tutelage, Lightning Dust would become further adept and adopt our ideologies. You just said The Wonderbolts are looking for the best fliers in Equestria. You also said it’s about pushing ourselves in the right direction. Adapt Lightning Dust and show her how to properly be a Wonderbolt, ma’am. I implore you to give her a second chance.”

Lightning Dust gasped as Rainbow defended her.

Spitfire flickered her attention from Rainbow Dash, to Lightning Dust, and then back again. Then, she reached into her vest pocket and pulled out a gold lapel. She stuck it to Rainbow’s flight suit and the object glistened brilliantly in the sun.

“That. Right there. Just solidified you as a lead pony, Rainbow Dash. You’re definitely no wing pony. You’re a leader.”

Rainbow, in a flabbergasted stupor, beamed excitedly at the Wonderbolts Captain. She flapped her wings vigorously, repeatedly shouting words of disbelief and amazement.

Spitfire chuckled and turned to Lightning Dust.

“She just bought you a mulligan, Lightning Dust. Wait for me in my office. We have a lengthy discussion ahead.”

Lightning Dust saluted Spitfire and gazed with gratitude at Rainbow’s defending words. She thanked the speedster for her interjection.

Rainbow gave her a tacit nod and watched Dust walk in the direction of Spitfire’s office.

Spitfire put a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder and regarded her with affection and respect.

“In light of what has happened, I’m ordering you to take a three day respite, Rainbow Dash. You’re free to return home and do what you wish. However, I expect you to return punctually. Friday, November 17th at nine in the morning. You’ve more than earned this breather, Rainbow.”

Amazed at the generosity from the Wonderbolts Captain, Rainbow saluted Spitfire and spoke words of appreciation.

Trying to save face for her sentimentality, Spitfire barked in Rainbow’s face and demanded the cadet get out of her presence.

Dash smiled from the jest and bellowed happily.

“Yes, ma’am!"

Author's Note

Enjoy another installment. Scootaloo and Dash reunite in the next chapter. That's all I'll hint at.