Raindrops stifled a yawn as she shifted around on her chair at a desk that had clearly been used for years as she toyed with a quill on the desk, watching Soarin and Blaze standing at a chalk board that had various words on it up front talking.

“We may be some of the fastest flyers in all of Equestria, but we do more than flying. We spent most of our time in a classroom learning about the history of Equestria and the Wonderbolts along with different flight patterns and maneuvers,” Soarin continued and pointed at the chalk board. “You each have books that I expect to be studied. There will be tests. I asked Corporal Blaze to assist me today.”

Raindrops examined the mare briefly as Blaze sat down on a desk and crossed her hindlegs as she stared back.

“I have a question,” the green stallion raised a hoof.

“Yes?” Soarin glanced at him. “Ask away. This is a learning environment.”

“Do you guys help with our studies? I’m kinda dyslexic so reading is hard,” he admitted and some ponies snickered.

“Quiet,” Soarin and Blaze both gave them flat looks. “As for your question, yes I will Whiplash. At least he had the courage to ask his question unlike you all. See me after.”

“Thank you,” Whiplash gave a nod and Soarin gave a subtle nod back.

“Who can tell me who was the first leader of the Wonderbolts?” Blaze asked as she glanced at her own book.

“Uh Firefly, right?” Blueberry Fluff called out and she nodded.

“Yes, nice work,” Blaze turned to Soarin and the two had a conversation purely based on facial expressions as the others watched curiously.

“You all study the books while Blaze and I talk in private for a moment,” Soarin announced and the two stepped into the hallway, shutting the door gently.

“What do you think that’s about?” Whiplash whispered and Raindrops shrugged as she started to read. Half of this she didn’t even know happened. She always did like history in general. “Hey.”

“I have no idea. Not my business. Probably some Wonderbolt drama,” Raindrops answered as she licked her hoof and turned a page.

“Maybe. Names Whiplash. What’s yours?” Whiplash glanced back at her as he examined her head to hooves.

“Raindrops. Technically my full name is Sunshower Raindrops but everypony calls me Raindrops. It’s what I like.”

“Gotcha. You don’t sound like your from Cloudsdale. What accent is that?”

“Ponyville accent. Most of us have a countryish sound to our voice. Except a certain few that moved there, of course like Shoeshine and a couple others. Thunderlane is one of em.”

“I see.”

Raindrops shifted back to continue reading and propped her head up with a hoof as Dizzy gave her a few glances at her between reading with a raised eyebrow.

“Huh, strange,” Dizzy muttered to herself. “Very strange.”

Dizzy winced slightly as she continued doing push-ups alongside Raindrops and a few other ponies as Spitfire trotted back and forth, occasionally shouting at a pony.

“Fix your form,” Spitfire nudged Parasol. “Stretch your hindlegs out more and it’ll be not as difficult.”

“Yes ma’am,” Parasol breathed out as Spitfire patted the red faced mare on the back.

“Keep an eye on them. Twilight wants to speak to me,” Spitfire gestured to Blaze who was standing nearby with Fleetfoot watching. Blaze didn’t necessarily know why Spitfire was making her take part in general in the trainings but she did know Spitfire had a lot on her shoulders so she supposed she might as well help out when she can. Spitfire did help her a lot, as a sister and boss.

“I got you,” Blaze nodded as Spitfire trotted over to a purple unicorn Raindrops didn’t recognize but she did recognize the green mare she was with.

“Wallflower?” Raindrops muttered with a confused expression as she watched Spitfire greet the two and a short dragon as the four all laughed about something and Spitfire folded her sunglasses up, placing them in her front pocket. “A dragon?”

“What is Wallflower doing here?” Cloudkicker asked as she and other pegasi from Ponyville gave the green earth pony stunned looks.

“What is a unicorn doing here is the more important question. This is for pegasi and there’s a dragon,” a stallion grumbled and Fleetfoot gave him a dirty look.

“Wanna say that again? It’ll be the last thing you ever do,” Fleetfoot warned quietly as she knelt down in front of him and pointed a hoof in Spitfire’s direction. “I’ll have you know those are my friends. And three of the four helped save Equestria when Nightmare Moon returned so show respect. And Spike is a harmless dragon. Am I understood?”

“Yes.”

“Good. As punishment for your outburst, your fellow recruits will have to do fifty more push-ups. Next time don’t open your mouth,” Fleetfoot announced and the others groaned as they each glared at him.

While Raindrops and the others were equally angry, they were more confused about how Wallflower of all ponies helped save Equestria.

“What’s up Twilight? Hey Spike and Wallflower,” Spitfire nodded at the three and gave Spike a hoof bump. “How’s it going?”

“Just checking on how you’re doing over here. We haven’t seen much of you this week,” Twilight answered and glanced at Fleetfoot and Blaze overlooking a group of ponies in matching blue and yellow uniforms doing push-ups. “You’re having Blaze help?”

“Mhm. I’m grooming her for a potential leadership position in the future so I’m giving her more responsibilities,” Spitfire explained. “Soarin said she did well in the classroom.”

“Oh boy,” Spike groaned as Twilight grinned widely. “You said classroom.”

“You should totally let me help teach in the classroom. I have notes and I can read on all the Wonderbolt history and whatever else you teach,” Twilight grabbed Spitfire’s face with her hooves and Spitfire reminded the other two watching of a fish more than a pony.

“I suppose I could use some more help,” Spitfire mused and brushed Twilight’s hooves off her face. “Especially from somepony who focuses a lot on studying herself.”

“Just show me the source material and I’ll get all of them in shape,” Twilight promised and Spitfire chuckled dryly.

“I’ll take your word for it. I’ve had outside help before from Sunset and a few royal guards. Let’s go to my office you three,” Spitfire paused to look at Wallflower sheepishly hiding a plant behind her with an innocent smile. “Fine, the plant can come too.”

“Yay,” Wallflower danced around on her hooves and froze as she looked back at the ponies doing push-ups staring at her.

“What’s wrong?” Spike asked and the other three followed her gaze.

“Nothing,” Wallflower mumbled and Spitfire narrowed her eyes slightly as Wallflower lifted a foreleg slightly. “Can we go now to her office? Please.”

Spitfire nodded and unfurled her wings to block Wallflower from the other ponies view as she ushered the earth pony inside with Twilight and Spike following at a slower pace.

“I know you lied back,” Spitfire whispered in Wallflowers ear as the earth pony jumped. “I expect the truth later.”

“Okay,” Wallflower sighed and Spitfire lowered her wings to fold them at her side. “Uhm why aren’t you guys down there? Why do you have two buildings?”

Wallflower gestured out the cloud window to the small grey dot below the cloud miles away.

“This one is for training. Can’t really do flight trainings on the ground after all,” Spitfire chuckled and lead the ponies and dragon to her office. “We used pegasi magic to keep it in this one spot. Use it for Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus too. But don’t worry, I got over half the Bolts down there doing their normal duties. Surprise, Wave Chill etc. Only a couple are up here to assist if necessary.”

“Oh,” Wallflower scratched her head with her hoof before setting down her plant in the corner, tall cactus next to a dark locked cupboard with bottles of various different liquids of all colors. “What’s that?”

“Alcohol,” Spitfire answered without turning from her spot as she stared out the window. “Some of the higher ups I meet like the colonel and a few royal guard captains like to drink during our meetings. Wind Rider is one such pony. He may not be a member anymore but he still likes to visit occasionally.”

“You’re friends with Wind Rider?” Twilight raised an eyebrow as Spitfire shrugged. Even Twilight knew who the stallion was. Wind Rider was one of the most well know Wonderbolts for setting many records. Spitfire herself had broken a lot of them.

“Friend is too strong of a word to be honest. I’d say acquaintance is more accurate and mentor. He taught me a lot. He was the Captain before me,” Spitfire explained and turned around to sit in her chair. “I kept it professional as I always do. It’s difficult being in charge.”

“Why? You seem to do it well,” Spike commented and Spitfire smiled slightly at him as she rubbed his head spikes with a hoof.

“Thanks buddy. It’s more complicated than you think. I have to be in charge of an entire team of fliers and occasionally have to pass out punishments. That usually includes yelling loudly to get the point across. I have to be strict with all of my teammates, no matter who they are to me. I’m harder on Blaze because she’s my sister.”

“So you just yell all day?” Spike asked curiously and Spitfire shook her head with a chuckle.

“No she doesn’t. Sunset has told me a few stories. A good leader knows when to raise her voice and when to be there for the ponies around her as a friend and moral support,” Twilight answered and Spitfire nodded in agreement.

“She’s right. Knowing when to be a boss and when to be a friend is a good skill to have. Someponies react to kinder words better than loud yelling. A good leader knows how to recognize that, analyze the situation and react accordingly. It’s what a lead pony does,” Spitfire explained to the dragon as she smiled again.

“And I take you were a lead pony?” Wallflower asked as she adjusted the cactus slightly as Spitfire laughed.

“Me? Oh hay no. I was a wing pony for Storm Clash,” Spitfire answered with a smirk. “He was a good pony. Miss him every day.”

The other three looked at each other as Spitfire sighed wistfully and stared at a picture on her desk of a stallion.

“There was a slight miscalculation in a stunt back when I was still a sergeant and he lost control, plummeted to the ground and well, you can figure out the rest. I originally tried to convince Blaze to not because that’s when she was talking about taking the exam. I really didn’t want the same to happen to her. Put a lot of things in perspective for me. I went overboard with being protective of her and Sunset for a few months after,” Spitfire picked up the picture and sighed again.

“You were really close I take it?” Wallflower asked and Spitfire nodded.

“Yeah you could say that. He was a good pony. Definitely didn’t deserve to go out that way but most ponies never do deserve to die how they do. At least he went out doing what he loved to do. I wasn’t there that day. I sprained my wing and was forced to sit it out. Who knows, maybe if I hadn’t been injured I coulda saved him. We will never know,” Spitfire put the picture back and stretched her forelegs out with a a yawn.

“I don’t think you should beat yourself up over it if it wasn’t your fault,” Spike commented and climbed into the chair next to her.

“I’m not. Just something I think about every now and again. Intrusive thoughts and all,” Spitfire answered and patted his head. “Thanks though little guy.”

“Anytime.”

The four sat in silence as Spitfire continued searching through her desk, the other three watching as she set down a few books and Twilight’s eyes lit up again.

“This is the complete history of the Wonderbolts. This is my personal copy so please be careful with it,” Spitfire warned and Spike laughed.

“This is Twilight we’re talking about. If she could marry books, she would,” Spike chimed in with a grin and Twilight shot him a look.

“I would not!”

“Would too.”

Spitfire and Wallflower both watched with bored expressions as the other two went back and forth before Wallflower coughed into a hoof.

“Are you two done yet?” Wallflower asked flatly.

“Yes,” Twilight answered with a blush. “Sorry. You were saying?”

“Nothing. We really need more plants in here,” Wallflower mused as she trotted slowly around the room.

“Why?” Spitfire asked with a sigh before pointing at the cactus. “And why in Equestria a cactus?”

“Because it’s like you.”

“I’m sorry?” Spitfire raised an eyebrow as Wallflower snorted.

“It’s like you,” Wallflower repeated and stood on her hind legs shakily to gesture at both Spitfire and the cactus. “Outside, it’s prickly like you can be. But cacti are surprisingly resilient and grow in harsh conditions. They can also live up to one hundred and seventy five years. Cactus’ also don’t grow their first arms until they are between seventy five and one hundred years old. So it suits you. Because you’re stern and scary on the outside while strong on the inside.”

“Huh,” Twilight mused as she stared at Spitfire thoughtfully. “She’s right.”

“It’s part of my special talent. I can automatically know what plant best suits a pony just by spending ten minutes with them. Like for example, a bonsai tree best suits Twilight. It represents peace, balance, harmony, and luck. They can also symbolize friendship, loyalty, love, and respect, and are often given as gifts to friends and family. It suits all six of us in a way,” Wallflower explained and crossed her forelegs with a shy smile. “And for High Winds, I’d give her a Strelitzia. It represents freedom and as a pegasus who can fly anytime she wants, it suits her well.”

“That’s actually cool,” Spike commented and Twilight rolled her eyes at the wide smile he gave Wallflower as Spitfire snickered behind a hoof. “What would you give me?”

“Hmm,” Wallflower tapped a hoof against her chin briefly. “Freesia. They are often considered a flower of trust and can be given to somepony to show that you trust them completely. But I’d probably give them to all my friends.”

“Oh.”

Twilight patted him on the head as Wallflower turned around and sighed as Spitfire raised an eyebrow.

“So you’re gonna finally be honest and tell us how you know those ponies down there?” Spitfire asked as Twilight’s eyes flicked between the two.

“What is she talking about?” Twilight asked and Wallflower rolled her eyes.

“I never really had many friends as a filly. Or well, any really. I had my sisters but that’s about it. Anywayyyy, I recognize those ponies from Ponyville. They used to be on Rainbow Dash’s weather team clearly. Raindrops, Cloudkicker, Merry May, Sprinkle Medley and White Lightning are really good at making it rain. Especially Raindrops,” Wallflower nervously tapped her hooves against Spitfire’s desk. “They are okay, I guess. I never really socialized in Ponyville. In all honesty, I usually just was invisible and stayed to myself. My sisters did everything for me really, like ordering at restaurants and such.”

“That sounds awful,” Twilight wrapped a hoof around Wallflower as Spitfire tapped a hoof on the desk before grinning widely that made Wallflower shudder internally. She didn’t necessarily want to know why she was smiling at her like that.

“I have a feeling you’re gonna be a great help. Tell me everything about them please.”

Wallflower eyed Spitfire before glancing at the clock and shrugging.

Wouldn’t hurt, Wallflower decided with a smile.

Author's Note

I decided to give each character links to songs that I feel suit them.

Spitfire: https://youtu.be/fgmpWkUcpjo?si=CfU66TvyQFnfKMt8

Sunset (and Silverspeed): https://youtu.be/Rs38lKxmtI4?si=YprfdxhxS7fVeAur

Wallflower: https://youtu.be/kXYiU_JCYtU?si=myK2b7wk9H9n4AQV

Watermelody: https://youtu.be/qbZ6aaaYTbE?si=8nnIn0Rfr5cs-Ou7

High Winds: https://youtu.be/_FbV-Rdc6cY?si=BcDYwyX89GzwbOie

Twilight: https://youtu.be/JREouTHpyJE?si=ca3hn-n_ZNRT_suX

Spike: https://youtu.be/TfIdYyM4bXo?si=3st35iqwpDhgtISl

Blaze: https://youtu.be/oouFE51HcqM?si=4HQA23qgjzBzrOiT