My Little Pony: Nine Elements

Book 3

Written by Brandon Nell, Rachael Ravens, and Blake Hawkins

Chapter 7: Wonderbolts Academy

Two days had passed since the camping trip to Winsome falls. On that particular day, Spike and the other Guardians of Harmony were having a picnic by Rainbow’s mailbox, which was situated under her cloudominium. Rainbow had told them of some exciting news and were waiting for a visit from the mailpony. Spike had a curious look on his face as he looked up at Rainbow’s home.

“How does your mailbox work?” he asked. “Surely your cloudominium can’t stay in one place all the time. Wouldn’t the wind blow it away?”

“Without pony influence?” Rainbow asked.

“Why not?” Spike asked. “Aren’t there dragons that take care of the weather in Chineigh?”

“At least that’s what Mina told us,” Twilight said. “Of course, seeing it directly would help, too.”

“How it works is actually a bit more complicated than that,” Rainbow said. “It starts when-”

“Ah!” Pinkie yelped with impatience. “Can’t that mailpony get here sooner?! We have to know for sure if Rainbow made it into the Wonderbolts Academy or not!”

“Ah know yer eager ‘bout this, Pinkie,” Applejack said calmly. “But, ‘long as we’re waitin’, we may as well listen ta Rainbow’s explanation ta Spike. It’ll help ta pass the time n’ the mailpony’ll get here when he gets here.”

“What if the mailpony’s a she?” Fluttershy pointed out.

“Er she,” Applejack said. “Regardless o’ which, the mailpony’s got a job ta do.”

“Can I continue, please?” Rainbow asked.

“Yes, go ahead,” Fluttershy said politely.

“Where was I?” Rainbow asked as she tried to remember her train of thought before Pinkie derailed it.

“It starts when,” Rarity said.

“Oh, yeah, thanks,” Rainbow smiled. She cleared her throat. “It starts when making the clouds of the house’s construction. They’re packed really densely, making them heavy enough so that wind won’t blow them away, but, still light enough to float above the ground.”

“Fascinating,” Spike nodded. “Though, I have another question. Why keep your mailbox on the ground? Aren’t most mailponies pegasi?”

“Usually, yes,” Rainbow said. “But, in Ponyville, there’s only like two or three mailponies that are pegasi.”

“I see,” Spike said. “Thanks for the explanations.”

“Where’s that mailpony?!” Pinkie said. “Is Derpy on the job again?!”

“She’s on a different shift,” Rainbow said.

“How do you know?” Pinkie asked. “Did you join the mail service in the last five minutes?”

“Pinkie,” Spike said. “Remember the lesson about jumping to ridiculous conclusions.*”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said. “The clear answer is that she and I spoke recently and she told me about that.”

Spike quickly pacified Pinkie by shoving a donut in her mouth. “That makes sense,” he said.

“I also had it arranged here because I know you’re afraid of heights,” Rainbow said. “And even if you weren’t, you can’t fly yet unless you’re on a pegasus pony’s back or something.”

“I appreciate that,” Spike said. “I may overcome that fear eventually, but, for the time being, I’d like to keep my feet on the ground.”

“I’m glad to see you’re taking this so easily,” Rarity said. “I would think you would be a little bit nervous with anticipation about the message.”

“It seems Pinkie’s more nervous,” Twilight said. “And she’s not even joining the Wonderbolts. Not that she’d be able to with her inability to fly, of course.”

“It’s because I’m not really nervous,” Rainbow said. “Spitfire and Soarin both know that I have good flying skills already, so, it’s highly likely that I’ll be accepted into the Academy. Remember when I pulled off that Sonic Rainboom when Rarity was falling to her death?”

“How could I possibly forget?” Rarity said with a sheepish blush.

“Well,” Rainbow said. “Spitfire told me that her mom’s been looking for me since I pulled off the first Sonic Rainboom over twelve years ago.”

“That’s incredible,” Twilight smiled.

“Come to think of it,” Spike said. “Weren’t we all there for that?”

“I guess it was out of our earshot,” Fluttershy said.

“No,” Spike said. “I can remember we were all in the presence of Princess Celestia and the Wonderbolts when that happened. That’s when we first learned that I’d grow wings when I got older.”

“Huh,” Applejack said. “Guess it was so long ago we forgot. But, Twilight’s comment is still true that it is incredible.”

“If they were looking for you so long,” Pinkie asked. “Why didn’t they let you join right then and there?”

“Because that’d be illegal,” Rainbow said. “You have to be 18 or older to join the academy. I forgot to apply until last month.”

“Ah,” Twilight said. “That would make sense.”

At that moment, an earth pony stallion wearing a blue postman uniform walked up to the mailbox.

“I got a letter for a Miss Rainbow Dash,” he said.

“That’d be me,” Rainbow said.

He then gently gave Rainbow the envelope, picking it up with his mouth. Rainbow, lacking opposable digits, gave it to Spike. He used his claw to open the envelope as if it was a letter opening blade. He then took the paper out of the envelope and unfolded it.

“Here you go,” Spike said as he handed it to Rainbow before he actually read it.

Rainbow looked over at the letter and her eager expression lowered into a distressed one. “I didn’t get in…”

All but Applejack gasped in shock.

“She’s buckin’ with us,” Applejack said flatly.

Rainbow turned the letter over, showing the checkmark written in green ink.

“Way to spoil the surprise, AJ,” she said with lighthearted annoyance. She was immediately assaulted by one of Pinkie’s bone-crushing hugs.

“I knew you’d get in!” Pinkie squealed happily. “I’m so so so so happy for you!”

“CHOKING!” Rainbow strained. “NOT BREATHING!”

Pinkie, hearing this, let go.

“Congratulations, Rainbow,” Twilight said happily.

“I better get going,” Rainbow said. “I’ll be away for a week.”

“Don’t forget to write,” Pinkie said.

“I’ll try,” Rainbow said. “Though, I’ll be pretty busy learning new things there. I’ll keep in touch when I can. Oh, Fluttershy, could you take care of Tank while I’m gone?”

“Of course,” Fluttershy said kindly.

Rainbow then put on her saddlebag and gave her friends a caring goodbye hug. She then flew off towards the Wonderbolt Academy.

“Pinkie,” Spike said. “Don’t go checking the mailbox every five seconds.”

“Yeah,” Applejack said. “Rainbow’s only now makin’ her way up ta the academy n’ she can’t very well write a letter n’ fly at the same time. She tried once n’ she wound up covered in broken glass.”

“It’s true,” Fluttershy said.

“I’m certain Rainbow will be able to write when she gets the chance and we’ll wish her well in our own way,” Rarity said. “Though, now that we know the official answer, what shall we do now?”

“Hey, didn’t Pinkie have something in the oven?” Spike asked.

Pinkie yelped. “My muffins!” And she dashed off in a pink blur.

Meanwhile, Rainbow made her way to the academy. Wonderbolts Academy wasn’t like most buildings in Cloudsdale. It didn’t reside atop a cloud. It was situated on its own floating slab of land, complete with a runway for take offs and landings. The academy itself lay a ways back from the runway and all sorts of hoops, windsocks, and other associated props were scattered around the perimeter.

“This looks way better than in the brochure,” Rainbow said with amazement. She noticed Thunderlane and Cloudchaser among a few other Ponyville pegasi. “Hey, Thunderlane. What’s up, Cloudchaser? I didn’t know you guys also applied to be students here.”

“I couldn’t believe it, either,” Thunderlane admitted.

“Say, where’s Flitter?” Rainbow asked.

“Foalsitting Rumble,” Thunderlane said. “I’ll have to have a few dates with her to make up for the week away.”

“Can’t wait to see what we’re going to learn though,” Cloudchaser said optimistically.

Suddenly, there was a sharp whistle in the air.

“Whoop,” Rainbow said. “Sounds like initiation is about to begin. Let’s go.”

All pegasi present stood at attention as Spitfire trotted out. The young sergeant had shed her flight suit in favor of a dark blue jacket with the Wonderbolts’ logo stitched onto the left side. It was decorated with yellow and red buttons. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses with dark purple shades and bluish-green frames. Around her neck rested a whistle, tied with a red string. And it was now possible to see her Cutie Mark: the profile of a stylized phoenix.

“Atten~TION!” Spitfire said in a voice like a drill sergeant. “So, you all think you have what it takes to be a Wonderbolt, do you?”

“Yes, ma’am!” all the pegasi said in unison.

“Well, let me tell you,” Spitfire said. She then suddenly pressed her muzzle against another’s muzzle. “You DON’T! Because if you did, you would be a Wonderbolt already! But, if you follow our instructions, you’ll learn to sharpen your strength, agility, and prowess! So, still think you have what it takes to be a Wonderbolt?”

Cloudchaser felt a bit weak in the knees, but, plucked up courage.

“N-no, ma’am!” Cloudchaser said.

Spitfire then trotted up to Bulk Biceps.

“How about you, big guy?” she asked. “You think you’re hot stuff?!”

Bulk, instead of answering with words, whimpered uneasily. Rather than press further, she stepped up to Rainbow. While she knew what the prismatic-maned pegasus was capable of, she knew she couldn’t show favoritism. Her mother never showed her any, why should she be any different? “You look like you’re pretty sure of yourself, don’t you? But, I bet you’re secretly the worst flyer of this bunch! You’d probably quit after the first day and save yourself the embarrassment.”

Rainbow knew Spitfire was refusing to show favoritism despite witnessing what she’s capable of and as such didn’t flinch. “I’d never quit, ma’am! I’m not quitter!”

Spitfire laughed. “That’s what they all say. We’ll see if you’re all talk.” She then trotted to the next recruit. This one was a light turquoise pegasus mare with brilliant gamboge eyes, a mane and tail of brilliant amber with brilliant gold stripes, and a Cutie Mark depicting a white lightning bolt with three stars (two orange, one yellow). “And how about you, missy? Bet you couldn’t fly past the first flagpole without getting winded.”

None of the other pegasi were prepared for what came next. “Try me, ma’am!”

“Oh, what was that?” Spitfire asked, turning her attention to this pegasus.

The pegasus mare maintained a straight face as she repeated, “Try me, ma’am. Let me show you what I can do.”

Spitfire raised an eyebrow at this. “Oh, so you want a chance to prove yourself, huh? You’ve certainly got guts, I’ll give you that.”

“I’ll do way better than her,” the pegasus said, gesturing to Rainbow. “Trust me, I’ll be happy to show you what I’ve got, ma’am.”

What was that about? Rainbow asked herself.

“Well, if that’s how you want to play,” Spitfire said. “Just remember that you brought this on yourself, missy. Now, give me 500 laps around the track! All of you!” She ignored the moans and groans from the other pegasi (except for Rainbow Dash) before saying, “NOW!” She blew her whistle sharply and the pegasi flew straight up in the air.

Spitfire watched the cadets as they flew lap after lap around the academy grounds. Unsurprisingly, most of them could barely manage two hundred and fifty laps without getting winded. But, she could see at least two pegasi who showed no signs of slowing down. They were definitely worth keeping an eye on. She’d expected this much from Rainbow Dash, but, seeing another pegasus on the same level was definitely a surprise. Had she looked a little closer, she would’ve noticed the turquoise pegasus giving a few resentful glares at Rainbow Dash.

“You’ll have to stop for a rest at some point, Dash!” said the turquoise pegasus in a snarky tone. “Your mommy and daddy aren’t here to cheer you on!”

“Do I know you from somewhere?” Rainbow asked curiously. “You look vaguely familiar.”

“You should,” said the pegasus. “You know me more than you think.”

At last, the end of the exercise drew near as the drill sergeant barked out, “Lap four-hundred and ninety-nine! Don’t give up now, recruits!”

Rainbow and this pegasus didn’t give up. Instead, they gave it everything they had and finished the last lap. They then flew back down on the runway.

Spitfire’s smile faded ever so slightly. “Hmm, well done, you two. The other recruits could stand to learn a thing or two from you girls.” Then she declared, “You’re dismissed for now.” And she trotted away to check on the other recruits.

“So, for a refresher,” the turquoise pegasus said. “Name’s Lightning Dust.”

“Hmm,” Rainbow said. She started to have a faint glimmer of recognition. “Oh, yeah. I think we competed a few times in the advanced courses of the Junior Flyers’ Club.”

“When you weren’t napping two hours a day,” Lightning Dust said.

“Hey,” Rainbow said. “I do enjoy napping every now and again, but, I work hard, too.”

“At pranking, maybe,” Lightning said. “But, even then, you went for easy targets like that freakishly tall filly because they didn’t need as much effort.”

“Hey,” Rainbow said harshly. “I matured a lot since then! Looks like you haven’t. You’re spitting petty insults at me.”

“Unlike you,” Lightning said. “I actually put work into what I do. Those Sonic Rainbooms you pulled were total flukes. A slacker like you shouldn’t be able to do them.”

“I’ll show you that I do deserve to be here,” Rainbow said.

“Is there trouble over here?” Soarin asked, walking up to the two mares.

The two mares immediately straightened out.

“Nothing’s wrong, commander, sir,” Rainbow said.

“Yep,” Lightning said. “Everything’s a-okay, sir.”

“Then, why is it none of you are at the mess hall?” Soarin asked.

“Oh, uh,” Lightning said, trying to make up a lie. “We were just on our way there when we thought we saw something zoom by. It was probably a bug or something.”

“Uh, yeah,” Rainbow said. “We were thinking that we could fly faster than that bug we saw. We’ll go to the mess hall now.”

On their way to the mess hall, the mares silently glared at each other.

Some time later, all of the cadets were wearing specially-designed flight suits in the signature Wonderbolt colors of blue and yellow. Spitfire stood in front of a purple curtain and spoke to them. “Okay, newbies. Time for your first lesson. And it’s an important one at that,” she cleared her throat. “Now, the Wonderbolts are the fastest, best precision flyers in all the known world. But, spin-outs can still happen. And when they do, a Wonderbolt must be able to recover quickly to avoid an accident. Fast Clip, the curtain.”

Spitfire said that last part as she turned to a pegasus stallion and gave him a nod. The stallion, whose name was Fast Clip, nodded back and unveiled what was hiding behind the purple curtain. It was a large spinning wheel device.

“Behold the Dizzitron,” Spitfire said. “True to its name, it is going to make you dizzy, and I mean very dizzy! Your task is to try and recover from your spin and fly as straight as possible. Once you’ve recovered, you’ll need to come in for a smooth landing. And don’t worry, if you do wipe out, we have a net to catch you. But, of course, a wipeout won’t get you a good score. You will want a good score.” She then pointed to one of the cadets. “Why don’t you go first?”

“Me?” the mare gulped.

“No, I mean the three-legged pegasus,” Spitfire said. “Of course you!”

The nervous cadet stepped up. She flew up and was strapped into the Dizzitron. Once she was securely fastened, Spitfire gave the order for Whiplash to turn up the machine to a medium speed. Slowly, the machine started to whir and spin the pegasus around, but, gradually, the speed began to pick up. Once the cadet was at a dizzy speed, Fast Clip pressed a button that launched her high into the air. She did her best to recover and fly as straight as she could. She ended up skidding on the runway.

“I’m okay~” the cadet said in a dizzy voice.

Spitfire checked her stopwatch. “Fifteen seconds. Not bad for a first timer. You got a name?”

“Meadow Flower, ma’am~” the mare said after shaking off her dizzy feeling.

“Back to the line, Flower,” Spitfire said.

She walked back in line as Spitfire ordered.

“Okay, who’s next?” Spitfire asked. Rainbow and Lightning raised a hoof each. “Rainbow, I saw your hoof first. You go next.”

Rainbow flew to the Dizzitron. She was securely fastened in and the Dizzitron was turned on. She spun around and when she was released, she was able to recover and land very quickly.

“6 seconds?!” Spitfire gasped. “That’s an academy record!”

Rainbow went back to the line.

“Okay, Lightning Dust,” Spitfire said. “You’re up.”

Lightning Dust flew straight to the Dizzitron. “Set this thing to max speed!”

The other cadets gasped in surprise at Lightning’s boldness.

“You sure about that?” Spitfire asked. “This thing’s never been tested at max speed before.”**

“Trust me, ma’am,” Lightning said with an air of cockiness. “I can handle it.”

Spitfire could tell Lightning wasn’t going to back down and reluctantly obliged. So, she gave the order for Whiplash to turn the Dizzitron’s power up to maximum speed. He then activated the machine and the Dizzitron started at ludicrous speed. “Release!”

Lightning Dust was released and she was laughed into the air. She was able to recover and then she came in for landing. Spitfire checked her stopwatch.

“Six point five seconds,” Spitfire said. “Almost as good as Rainbow. You weren’t kidding when you said you had guts, Lightning.”

Lightning Dust couldn’t believe she lagged half a second behind Rainbow, but, went back in line to avoid making a scene.

“Next!” called Spitfire.

One by one, pegasi tested their limits on the Dizzitron, which was set back to its regular speed. Some were able to succeed, others unfortunately wiped out. None had come close to Rainbow’s time. Once the last recruit had taken their turn, Spitfire blew her whistle. “Listen up, recruits! For the rest of camp, you all will be working in partners; one is the lead pony, the other is the wing pony. So, if you have any problems with that, you can either take it up with me or keep your mouth shut. Good luck, all of you. Your results as to who will be partnered with you will be posted tomorrow morning on the mess hall bulletin board.”

When she turned around, Rainbow and Lightning glared at each other.

“I may have been point five seconds off of your time,” Lightning growled. “But, I am lead pony material.”

“We’ll see who gets lead pony,” Rainbow said.

“Yes, we will,” Lightning said. “And when we do, I’ll make sure to straighten you out, Wing Pony.”

Neither noticed Soarin overhearing them. The stallion made his way to Spifire’s office while she was doing paperwork.

“Spitfire,” Soarin said. “I have some news to report among the recruits.”

“What is it, Soarin?” Spitfire asked.

“It seems Lightning Dust is bullying Rainbow,” he explained. “Lightning is claiming to be a lead pony and is using this as an excuse to push Rainbow around.”

“I can tell she’s envious of Dash,” Spitfire said. “Kind of like how we were of each other back when we were cadets trained by my mom.”

“That’s true,” Soarin said. “Though, we eventually grew to be close acquaintances and we put our own differences aside. I have a feeling this isn’t going to be the case in Lightning and Rainbow’s case.”

“And the rules say that official Wonderbolts like us can’t get involved in rivalries between cadets unless civilians are put in danger because of said rivalries,***” Spitfire said. “We’re the highest ranking Wonderbolts in the academy, so, that rule applies to us.”

“Right,” Soarin said. “All the same, I’m going to keep my eyes open on those two and step in if there’s actually any serious trouble.”

“Good idea, Soarin,” Spitfire said.

“I better get back to it,” Soarin said. “I’ll see you again if I need to report any more noteworthy news.”

“Just make sure not to report between 3:30 and 4:00 again,” Spitfire said. “That’s my shower time.”

“Right,” Soarin said with a slight blush. And with that, he left Spitfire’s office.

The next day, the mess hall bulletin board displayed the names of the cadets who are lead ponies and their respective wing ponies. The cadets glanced over and buddied up with their respective partners. Rainbow trotted in.

“You get paired with your coltfriend?” Rainbow asked Cloudchaser.

“Looks like it,” Cloudchaser said happily.

“So,” Rainbow said. “Who’s my wing pony?”

“Uh…” Cloudchaser said uneasily. “You’re the wing pony.”

“What?!” Rainbow said as she checked the board. “Lightning Dust is my lead pony?!”

Lightning Dust smugly stepped up.

“I told you I had what it took,” Lightning said smugly. “A slacker like you will never be a lead pony.”

Rainbow wasn’t pleased with the arrangement and knew there was one place to go if she wanted it changed. She knocked on Spitfire’s office door.

“Come in,” called Spitfire.

Rainbow stepped in. "I had the best time on the Dizzitron!” she declared. “Only six seconds! Only Lightning Dust came close and even on the highest setting, she couldn’t beat me!”

“And the sky’s blue,” Spitfire said. “Your point is?”

Rainbow was slightly taken aback by this. “The point is, I should have been chosen to be the lead pony!”

“I made you wing pony for a reason,” Spitfire said. “Look, you know I can’t show favoritism. Not even to my coltfriend, Soarin. I have to treat you the same as any other recruit, no matter how well qualified you may already be.”

Rainbow took this information in. She didn’t like it, but, she did have to concede. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she said.

“Look, you’ve proven you’re good at giving orders,” Spitfire said. “But, there’s more to being a Wonderbolt than that. You have to be good at taking orders, too.”

“But, aren’t you consistently the leader of whatever group you’re in?” Rainbow pointed out.

“Not always,” Spitfire said. “Back when I was a cadet, my mom assigned me as Soarin’s wing pony. I spent the last five years working my way up to the position I have now.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Rainbow nodded. “Okay, I’ll be a wing pony. Though, could you have paired me up with somepony other than Lightning Dust?”

“I did think about it, but, she displayed the kind of bold confidence we need in the Wonderbolts,” Spitfire explained. “And I believe that together, you and her will be an unstoppable team! You’ll inspire the others to pick up the slack if they don’t want to get left in the dust. Or do you not believe that?”

“No, ma’am,” Rainbow reluctantly agreed. “I’ll try and suck it up then.”

“Good,” Spitfire said. “Now, get out of my office and don’t bother me unless it’s important.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rainbow said as she left the office.

A little later, it was time for the first exercise of the week.

“Alright, rookies,” Spitfire ordered. “We’ll start with a flag hunt. We’ll split you up into two teams: red and blue. Whoever finds the most flags of their opposing team’s colors wins! It’s as simple as that.”

Lightning Dust polished a gold, lightning bolt shaped badge she wore on her flight suit that served as indicator of her lead pony status. “Try to keep up, slacker. Just listen to my orders and we’ll win it.”

Rainbow fumed in silence.

Together, Rainbow and Lightning were on the blue team. Meadow Flower seemed excited. It would certainly be much safer than being on the Dizzitron. “This is going to be fun,” she smiled.

Spitfire immediately cut in. “Oh, you think so? Well, think again! This is for training purposes to practice your search and rescue skills! Lead ponies and wing ponies must fly together at all times. If any pair separates for any reason, they will be disqualified without excuse. Teamwork is key in this exercise. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am!” the teams said in unison.

“Good,” Spitfire smiled. “Remember, you’ll be on the clock. The faster you find your flags, the better your team’s score will be at the end of the week. Red Team, Blue Team, move out! Go!” She blew her whistle.

The pegasi recruits then flew off to find their opposing team’s flags. The partners flew side by side with enough distance so their wings wouldn’t crash into each other, but, with enough closeness so they wouldn't be out of sight.

“Ready to win, slacker?” Lightning said.

“If you’re going to be my lead pony,” Rainbow said. “You’re going to have to stop calling me slacker. We’re going to have to respect one another if we’re going to win, okay?”

“At least I know you won’t slow me down like some of those other pegasi,” Lightning said.

“Less chatting, more scouting,” Rainbow said. The two searched for red flags.

“Keep your focus up, everypony!” Spitfire called.

“You find any flags yet?” Lightning asked Rainbow.

“Not yet, but-” Rainbow started, before she saw something red fluttering in the gorge. “Wait, I see one down there!”

“So,” Lightning said. “You’re good for something after all.”

“Ignoring that,” Rainbow said. “Let’s go down together and-”

“Hey!” Lightning snapped. “I’m the lead pony, and I give the orders!” She dashed to the flag.

“Hey, we’re supposed to work together!” Rainbow said flying after Lightning. As they got closer, a thought occurred to Rainbow. “I think we better slow down. I don’t think we can both fit through the gap at this speed; it looks pretty small.”

“You need to be fast to be a Wonderbolt,” Lightning said.

Rainbow groaned and reluctantly followed. But, as Rainbow expected, both pegasi ended up getting stuck in the gap. Lightning pushed harder, freeing herself and kicking Rainbow’s right wing on the way through.

“Ow!” Rainbow yelped in pain. “Careful!”

Lightning ignored her and flew up once Rainbow got through. She then grabbed the red flag.

“Lightning and Rainbow have captured their first flag!” Spitfire called in a megaphone. “Blue team takes the lead! Better pick up the pace, red team!”

Lightning was ecstatic, especially since she'd just been praised by Spitfire. As such, she didn’t notice Rainbow holding her injured wing.

“Hey, Lightning,” Rainbow said. “Do you think we could take a break? My wing is hurting pretty badly.”

“That’s just typical,” Lightning said. “You’re just making an excuse to slack off as usual.”

Reluctantly, Rainbow had to fight through the pain. “On second thought, my wing is okay.”

Rainbow had never met a pony as competitive as her that was so single-minded. She was beginning to understand how others felt about her own competitive attitude. When all of this is over, she thought to herself. I’m going to try and be less braggadocious towards my friends. Wait, am I using that word right?

She didn’t notice that Spitfire could recognize her injured flight pattern.

Hmm, Spitfire thought to herself. Maybe Soarin had a point about Lightning Dust being trouble. It looks like her main concern is proving she’s better than Rainbow. If it weren’t for that damned rule, I could nip this in the bud.

Fortunately for Rainbow Dash, her hurt wing wasn’t anything too serious. A quick bandaging and she was out of the medical tent in record time. “Just take it easy for the rest of the day and you’ll be fine,” was all she’d been instructed.

“Thank you, doctor,” Rainbow said respectfully.

“See, wing pony?” Lightning said. “You need to work through the pain. For you, just working would be a start.”

“If you went through what I went through this afternoon,” Rainbow said. “You’d be singing a different tune.”

Lightning scoffed. “What could you have possibly gone through? Not enough naptime?”

Rainbow groaned and stormed off. “Forget it.” Does she care about nopony but herself? I should tell Spitfire about this! No, this isn’t worth reporting. I’m the only pony who got hurt.

It was getting late, so, the recruits were turning in for the night. Rainbow thought she could sleep off the concerns, even if she did have some trouble sleeping because her wing was still sore.

I may have been reckless, she thought to herself. But, she takes it to another level. She didn’t even care that I got hurt. Well, maybe she’ll try to change her tune after a good night’s sleep. If not… Well, I can’t bear to imagine what might happen to anypony else.

The next morning, they were ready for another training exercise. “Today we’ll be doing our famous air obstacle course. That includes flying through the clouds and past all our weather machines. The object of this exercise is to work on your precision flying under extreme circumstances. Just like before, you’re to fly together at all times. And don’t worry about winning. It’s not a race. Precision is what matters, not speed. Now everypony, get on your marks!” The recruits got in position. “Get set… go!” Spitfire blew her whistle and the recruits took off through the obstacle course.

Naturally, Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash got out to an early lead. But, it didn’t last long before they found themselves flying behind other recruits (thanks in part to Rainbow not flying at her best). And Lightning Dust soon grew impatient as the two found themselves forced to flow at a considerably slower rate of speed. Normally, they could’ve flown around, under, or over them, but, with the flight path restricted, that wasn’t an option.

“Come on,” Lightning shouted. “Pick up the pace!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Rainbow said. “We can still impress Spitfire with our moves.”

“You may be onto something here,” Lighting said. “You’re right. I can impress Spitfire with my moves!”

“Uh, don’t you mean we can impress Spitfire with our moves?” Rainbow asked.

“I know what I said,” Lightning said as the two intentionally looped around to give the pegasi ahead of them more time to increase their lead.

“Don’t forget,” Rainbow said. “Spitfire said this wasn’t a race.”

“Well, it’s about to be one,” Lightning said. And Lightning was able to pick up the pace.

But, soon, the pegasi came to a cloud dark and heavy with rain. The wind picked up as rain began to fall. And it seemed like the ones in front were slowing down even more than they had been before. And it only served to make Lightning Dust complain. “What are they, a couple of snails? It’s just a little weather! It’ll take forever for them to get out at this rate.” Just then, lightning flashed and thunder clapped. And as it did, the pegasus mare with a turquoise green coat got an idea. “Come on, now’s our chance to pass right by these slowpokes!” And she zoomed ahead without waiting for a reply.

Rainbow had to reluctantly fly off to catch up. But, as she passed by each pony, she apologized to them. Is this how bad I was at the Running of the Leaves?

Spitfire hadn’t seen what happened in the cloud and only knew Rainbow and Lightning were the first to exit. “Not bad, you two. And in record time, too! It takes a lot to impress me, so congratulations on surpassing my expectations. It seems I made the right call partnering you two up.” She looked through a telescope. “Seems the other partners need to catch up.”

Rainbow Dash felt tempted to speak up right at that moment, but, one look from Lightning Dust was enough to make her decide otherwise. After all, nopony had gotten seriously hurt.

“I better go up and sort things out,” Spitfire said, adjusting her sunglasses. “Why don’t you two hit the mess hall early?”

“Fine by me,” Lightning Dust said.

“Sure,” Rainbow said reluctantly. “Thank you, ma’am.” She then turned to Lightning Dust. “That was very dangerous, Lightning Dust.”

“So bucking what,” Lightning said, rolling her eyes. “Nopony got seriously hurt. It was their own fault for being so damn slow. Imagine if I was a Wonderbolt and there was an emergency. Slowpokes would drag us down and make us late. If somepony was counting on me, that would be a problem. Really, though, I can’t help that I’m better than anypony else here and we all know not everypony here has the chops to be a Wonderbolt. Only the best of the best make the cut, right?”

While Rainbow didn’t agree with Lightning’s attitude, she couldn’t think of anything to argue. “Yeah, I guess.”

“See?” Lightning said snarkily. “This is the kind of crap that makes me the leader and you my wing pony. So, stop the griping and let’s get some grub like Spitfire said.” She was quick to warn, “Oh, and if you had any thoughts about telling Spitfire, I’d reconsider. I heard about you complaining to her about being my wing pony. Talking back to the captain is a big no no from what I’ve been told, especially if it’s not for a good reason. So, if I were you, I’d keep my mouth shut. Nopony likes a complainer. And even if you’re a slacker, I’d hate to see you get kicked out when you’re the only pony who’s at all on my level.” And she trotted off to the mess hall, seemingly unconcerned with anypony or anything.

After lunch, it was time for another training exercise. This time, instead of Spitfire giving the details, it was Soarin. This caught the recruits by surprise. He was wearing a midnight blue jacket with a black tie. He had on his flight goggles not unlike the way Spitfire had been wearing her sunglasses. And he too had a whistle, though, this one was hung with blue string instead of red string.

Thunderlane was the first to speak up. “Where’s Spitfire?”

“She’s busy with other matters,” Soarin said. “She wishes not to be disturbed until after 4:00.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” Thunderlane nodded.

“Anyway,” Soarin continued. “You all will be cloud busting. We brought in a lot of clouds and you all have to clear them away.”

“A cloud busting exercise?” Lightning Dust questioned. “What does that have to do with being a Wonderbolt?”

“It’s to show how well you can communicate with your partner as a team,” Soarin explained. “Teamwork is the most important part of being a Wonderbolt. It’s not always about yourself. If you don’t learn how to work together, you won’t get a very high score and your chances of joining the Wonderbolts will plummet. This isn’t a race either and you have plenty of time to bust the clouds. Any questions?” Nopony said anything. “Good. Now get going!” He blew his whistle and the pegasi elevated upwards to the clouds.

The teams fanned out, each taking up an assigned section to clear away their own patch of clouds. Some kicked them away while others used their front hooves and Bulk Biceps even used his teeth to bite into the clouds as though they were cotton candy. Of course, Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash quickly pulled into the lead. Rainbow had plenty of experience with cloud busting, so this exercise was right up her alley.

“Looking good so far,” Soarin said as he watched over the teams. “I can tell Rainbow has experience with this.” Knowing his appetite, Soarin soon became hungry. So, he turned his attention to Whiplash, who was observing with a clipboard. “Keep your eyes on these recruits please. I’m going to get a pie.” Soarin then flew off.

Almost as soon as Soarin left, Lightning Dust got a rather impulsive and rash idea. But, to her it sounded like a good one. “Hey, wing pony,” she whispered to Rainbow Dash. “I’ve got an idea on how we can literally blow the competition away.”

Rainbow was already feeling skeptical. “We’re already farther ahead than the others,” she whispered back. “We don’t need to do this.”

“That’s just like a slacker,” Lightning said. “The rules never said we had to restrain ourselves if we had a better way of doing things. So, are you in or out?”

Rainbow hesitated for a moment, but, she remembered what Spitfire had said. This must have been what Spitfire was talking about. And if Spitfire thought it was okay, then, it was okay for Rainbow, even if something inside her told her it wasn’t okay. “I’m in!”

The pegasus mare with a brilliant amber mane and tail flashed a smile so big it looked like it could’ve fallen off her face if such a thing were possible. “Great! Follow my lead! This’ll practically guarantee we become Wonderbolts!” Then she started to fly around in a circle, and Rainbow Dash followed her. The two proceeded to whip up a massive tornado right in the middle of the academy grounds.

But, as the tornado slowly started to spin of its own accord, there was trouble. “I can’t control it!” Lightning said.

“You don’t have a way to control this thing and you thought doing it was a good idea?!” Rainbow shouted in disbelief.

Before either pony could say or do anything else, the vortex launched them out of the cycle and the tornado spiraled out of control. Soarin was finishing off his pie when he saw the tornado.

“What the hay?!” Soarin sputtered. “Everypony, look out!”

The other recruits saw the tornado and quickly escaped the vortex. That was when Soarin spotted a hot air balloon rising through the clouds.

“Oh, crap!” Soarin said. He then made his way to a microphone. “Calling all Wonderbolts, we have a code red!”

Rainbow recognized the hot air balloon. She also recognized who was in the basket.

“Oh, no!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Not my friends!”

Without waiting for anypony to tell her, Rainbow immediately sprang into action to rescue her companions. Spike was hanging on for dear life onto Twilight’s side. Applejack was the first to notice the imminent danger.

“Uh, Spike?” she said a bit nervously. “‘Member when ya said comin’ here might not be such a good idear?”

“Y-yes,” Spike trembled.

“Well, ya may not want ta see how right ya were!” Applejack said.

Spike and the five mares yelled in fright as the tornado was approaching them. But, at rapid speed, Rainbow grabbed onto the balloon basket and tugged on the string that allowed them down. Spike was still screaming with his eyes clenched tightly shut as he held on tightly to Twilight.

“Spike?” Twilight said soothingly.

Spike stopped screaming at once and opened his eyes. “Huh?” he said. “Are we dead?”

“Thanks ta Rainbow, we ain’t,” Applejack said in a grateful tone.

“And don’t worry, Spike,” Rainbow said. “The academy’s on a floating slab of land.”

“Oh, thank Celestia,” said Spike, breathing a sigh of relief. “It’s close enough to solid ground that I’ll take it.”

“I wouldn’t recommend getting too close to the edge to look down, though,” Rainbow said. “It’ll make you dizzy.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Spike said.

“So,” Rainbow said. “What are you guys doing up here, anyway?”

“Pinkie here,” Applejack said. “Was worried ya’d ferget ‘bout us by now when ya didn’t send no letter n’ decided ta send ya a care package.”

“Why would she think I’d forget about any of you after only a few days?” Rainbow asked. “You stayed away from Ponyville for a whole week and still remembered us when we went to find you.****”

“That’s what I said,” Spike said.

“And the only reason I wasn’t able to keep in touch was because I was having some complications here and didn’t have the motivation to put pencil to paper,” Rainbow explained. “Or, more appropriately, one big complication.”

“We didn’t know you’d be in the middle of a tornado drill or anything like that,” Rarity commented. “We were told the skies would be clear.”

“I was scared enough coming here,” Spike said. “That tornado didn’t help. I’m more afraid of heights than ever now.”

“I don’t blame you,” Rainbow said. “And I’m sorry. I’m partially to blame for this mess, but, that’s what comes with being a wing pony instead of a lead pony.”

“How’d you get the lead pony to agree to that?” Fluttershy asked.

“Who said she came up with the idea?” Lightning said, after she recovered from the tornado spinning. “That slacker’s not smart enough to think up an idea like that.”

Rainbow groaned. “Spike, everypony, this is my lead pony, Lightning Dust. Lightning, this is Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, and you kind of remember Fluttershy.”

“Ah yeah,” Lightning said. “The freakishly tall bed-wetter that you defended from bullies and your favorite target for pranks because you didn’t have to put in much effort.”

Fluttershy blushed with embarrassment at the reminder of her own little accidents when she was a filly.

“Don’t think you can act so high and mighty,” Rainbow said. “Do you realize what would’ve happened if I hadn’t jumped in?! My friends would’ve plummeted to the ground! They could’ve been killed! What’s worse, you gave Spike mental scars!”

“So, what?” Lightning said snarkily. “Fluttershy could have saved herself by flying, couldn’t she? And that dragon will be too scared to try and hurt innocent ponies. And if he were to die with the rest of these ponies, it’ll be one less dragon to worry about!”

The other recruits (especially the ones from Ponyville) could hardly believe anypony could be so callous to such a young creature regardless of species.

“Besides,” Lightning continued. “They weren’t, so, what’s your problem? We wiped out all the clouds, didn’t we? And besides, civilians aren’t supposed to be on academy grounds without permission. It’s really your friends’ fault for disobeying that rule and coming here in the first place. An accident like that was bound to happen sooner or later.”

“The sad part is,” Spike said. “She’s not exactly wrong.”

“Shut it, lizard boy,” Lightning said, unaware that other Wonderbolts were approaching.

“Y-yeah…” Pinkie said sheepishly. “S-sorry guys…”

Rainbow’s frown only deepened. “You don’t get it, do you?! It seems you only care about yourself! Ever since we’ve been paired up, you’ve constantly been putting others in danger just so you can show off! You made me clip my wing during the flag hunt! You made the other cadets wipe out on the obstacle course when nopony was around to help them! And now of course, there’s your out of control tornado that endangered my friends! What the tartarus is wrong with you?!”

Lightning seemed to be nonchalantly picking her ear with her hooves. “Is there a bathroom break between here and the point?”

“If anypony knows what it’s like to want to be the best, it’s me,” the rainbow maned pegasus responded. “But, the way you go about it is all wrong. Your desire to push yourself all the way isn’t bold, it’s reckless! Keep this up and somepony will get hurt, maybe even you!”

“Oh, please,” Lightning said, rolling her eyes. “I know my limits. So, I lost control of the tornado. So, what? Accidents happen. Even to ponies who actually train instead of napping two hours a day. You have to take risks to be a Wonderbolt. That’s why they put me in charge! It proves that I’m better than you and those Sonic Rainbooms were total flukes.”

“No,” said a voice from behind Lightning Dust. “That was why I put you in charge.”

All turned to see Spitfire wearing only a towel.

“Ah!” Lightning gasped. “Spitfire?! What are you doing here? You weren’t supposed to be here until–.”

“I had to cut my shower short when I saw that tornado,” Spitfire interrupted. “I was preparing to spring into action when I saw Rainbow save those civilians. Now that I know you’re responsible for it, I realize I made a mistake putting you in charge.”

“Yeah?” Lightning said. “Well, I’m still in charge and that’s going to stay.”

“Listen here, Lightning Dust,” Spitfire said. “You can fly fast enough to scare ponies crapless, you can put on a flashy performance, but, if your motivation is proving you’re better than somepony, don’t care about the consequences, or have prejudice against others, you’ll never be a Wonderbolt while I’m sergeant. Not a damn chance.”*****

“But,” Lightning said. “Isn’t pushing your limits what the Wonderbolts are all about? Why should I hold myself back just because you said so?!”

“For one thing,” Spitfire said. “I’m the highest-ranking Wonderbolt here while you haven’t even graduated from the academy yet.”

“And we don’t just flaunt our talents,” Soarin said as he walked up to Lightning Dust. “We may be elites, but, that doesn’t give us an excuse to be reckless or careless. Especially when civilians are involved.”

“Endangering civilians is bad enough,” Spitfire said before gesturing to Spike. “But, endangering kids is crossing the line.”

“Do you realize you’re talking about a dragon?!” Lightning snapped.

“I don’t give a damn if he’s a purple polka-dotted monkey laying eggs on a bicycle!” Spitfire said. “As far as I’m concerned, a child is a child. Species is completely irrelevant.”

Spike couldn’t help but feel touched at Spitfire’s words.

“Disregard for civilians,” Spitfire said. “Regardless of species or age, will not be tolerated in the Wonderbolts while I’m in charge.”

Lightning took all of this in. At first, she didn’t know what to say. Suddenly, she got very defensive.

“Yeah?!” Lightning snapped. “Well, if this is the way it has to be, then, I don’t think I even want to be part of this stupid academy anymore. I’m way too skilled in flight to deal with dragon-kissing losers!”

“Fast Clip, Whiplash,” Spitfire said. “Hold her down!”

The two pegasi restrained her with their collective might. Spitfire stepped up to Lightning.

“You have one more chance to get your crap together,” she said sternly. “Buck it up and you’re out of here. After this, it’s clear that you’re no lead pony. You are hereby demoted to wing pony.” She took Lightning’s badge.

“What?!” Lightning snapped. “There is no way I’m taking orders from that slacker! I’m fit to rule and you know it!”

“I’ve been getting complaints from other cadets about your behavior,” Spitfire said. “Since the first exercise, I’ve been hearing quite a few mention how concerned they were about the way you’ve been acting.”

“They’re jealous,” Lightning said. “They can only wish they could be as talented as me. Besides, nopony’s gotten hurt yet.”

“So, you don’t deny that you ignored your wing pony’s injury during the flag hunt?” Soarin questioned. “You don’t deny that you knocked the other contestants out of the way during the obstacle course? And you don’t deny using a tornado for cloud busting even though you had no reason to do so?”

“Of course not!” Lightning said. “Like I said, nopony got hurt. It was pure bad luck that balloon showed up when it did. And in each case, I set a record, just like I almost did on the Dizzitron, which I had set to its maximum setting I might add. That was something nopony else did and it’s what made me a lead pony.”

“It’s too bad you said that, Lightning,” Spitfire said, shaking her head in disappointment. “It’s just as I feared. I had hoped that making you a leader would get you to realize that being a Wonderbolt is a big responsibility. It’s not always about yourself. You have to think about others, especially when you’re the one others are depending on to lead the way or give them guidance. Seems like I gave you too much credit.”

“But, isn’t pushing yourself all the way what it takes to be a Wonderbolt?!” Lightning complained. “Why should I hold myself back for the sake of others?! They should all be inspired by my example and do better, then, they won’t get left in the dust!”

“As I said,” Soarin reiterated. “That’s not how we do things.”

“Since nopony got hurt, I can’t justify kicking you out for no reason,” Spitfire said sternly. “However, if you stay, you have to start over. As such, you’re still being demoted to wing pony.”

“Never!” Lightning snapped. “I’ll never accept orders from somepony beneath me! Only the best of the best deserve respect, and anypony who can’t keep up isn’t worth bothering!”

“Then, you leave me no choice,” Spitfire said. She grabbed Lightning’s lead pony badge and ripped it off the uniform. “You are stripped of your rank and hereby dishonorably discharged. Pack your bags and go home! Your reckless attitude will get somepony or somedragon killed!”

Soarin immediately moved to grab Lightning’s hoof. “What a shame you had to drop out like this. You had potential.”

“You’ll regret this!” Lightning said. “All of you! Someday you’ll see it my way! Playing by the rules just gets you left behind.” And soon, she was out of sight.

“AJ,” Rainbow said to her friend. “Level with me. Was I that bad at the Running of the Leaves?”

“Compared ta what we just saw,” Applejack answered. “Ya were pretty bad, but, she was far worse. Ya at least had the decency ta apologize.”

“Well, one takeaway from this is that I won’t be so braggadocious to you guys,” Rainbow said before looking to Twilight. “Am I using that word right?”

“Yes, but, I’m glad you’re taking those steps, Rainbow,” Twilight said.

Rainbow then turned to Spitfire. “Why didn’t you try to stop Lightning sooner with all those complaints?”

“The rules say that official Wonderbolts like us can’t get involved in rivalries between cadets unless civilians are put in danger because of said rivalries,” Spitfire explained.

“I’m also sorry,” Pinkie said sadly. “If I hadn’t come up with the idea for us to visit you here, none of us would be put in danger, especially not Spike.”

“Normally,” Spitfire said. “Civilians aren’t allowed here without permission. However, in light of recent events, I’ll make an exception just this once.” She then turned to Rainbow. “I want to apologize to you, Rainbow. We should have realized that Lightning was trouble and took action immediately. You did raise a lot of good points about the difference between pushing yourself and just being reckless. I was wrong about you. You’re no wing pony, you’re a lead pony. If you still plan on staying in the Wonderbolts Academy, I would like to make things better by partnering you up with a different wing pony.” She gave Rainbow the lead pony badge.

Rainbow was silent for a moment, her mouth agape with surprise. When she did find her tongue, she eagerly said with her noticeable rasp, “Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh!” Her wings flapped eagerly. She then regained her composure and said, “Thank you, ma’am. I won’t let you down.”

Spitfire smiled. “I don’t think you will,” she said. “Now, I better get back to my shower.” And she headed off.

“Are we not going to talk about how she handled the situation like a professional while wearing nothing but a towel?” Spike asked.

“Prolly not,” Applejack said. “Most o’ us don’t normally wear clothes no how.”

“Hey,” Rainbow said. “How come Spike’s not shivering?”

“I cast a spell on him to keep him warm at this height,” Twilight said.

“Oh, that’s good,” Rainbow smiled. She then turned her attention to Soarin. “Excuse me, Soarin, sir. Do I have time to open my care package before I head back to the exercises?”

“Well,” said Soarin as he gestured to the mess the tornado made. “We need to clean up the mess, so, go ahead.”

“Okay,” Rainbow said. “After I see what’s inside, I can lend a helping hoof.” She then picked up the care package. Aside from a few dents and dings, it was mostly still intact. She unwrapped the package and opened the lid of the box. Confetti was launched out. “Only you could have a confetti trap in a package, Pinkie,” Rainbow said with a chuckling smirk. She saw a cake with ‘Please remember us,’ written in frosting. “You got it,” winked Rainbow. “I couldn’t forget you if I tried.”******

Pinkie happily hugged Rainbow and the others joined in.

End of chapter.

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter.

*It's a callback!

**Idea courtesy of The Background Conquerer. Also Spike being at the picnic.

***The reason the Wonderbolts didn't get involved sooner.

****Another callback!

*****Quote by me.

******Revelation of the care packages contents courtesy of The Background Conquerer.

If you liked this chapter, feel free to contact me via private messages if you'd like to help make future chapters.