̶T̶i̶e̶d̶ ̶W̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶S̶t̶r̶a̶i̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶L̶e̶a̶d̶e̶r̶s̶

The clouds slowly floated through the morning sky above the Wonderbolt academy as a gentle breeze ruffled the feathers of the assembled pegasi, the newest additions to sport the blue and gold fatigues of the Equestrian air force. The mares and stallions stood proudly before the stage as the drill sergeant strode up the steps, flanked by two senior officers. Reaching the podium, she reared up to place her forehooves to either side of the microphone, clearing her throat in the process.

"Mares! Gentlecolts! You know I'm a pony of few words; I've always found actions speak far louder. Today I see before me the ponies that have proven their worth, and that have gained my trust to support my fellow Wonderbolts. You each have demonstrated teamwork, bravery, agility and leadership in these past two weeks; skills you will use as a Wonderbolt," Spitfire announced before pulling her sunglasses off and giving a smug grin to the gathered officers and guests. "So it is with great pride that I give you the newest additions to the Wonderbolts!"

Each of the recruits placed a hoof to their goggles in a salute as a great cry went up from the guests. But none cheered louder than the five mares gathered beside the stage. The rainbow maned recruit near them blushed before Spitfire and her fellow officers returned the salute. Pulling their goggles off, the recruits threw them up in celebration as one of the five mares broke from the group and tackled the blushing mare to the ground.

"I'm just so happy for you Dashie!" Pinkie cried joyfully while wrapping the pegasus in a hug.

"Pinkie, I can't bre-," Rainbow Dash managed to say before the other mares smothered her in a pony-pile.

"We're so proud of you sugarcube!" Applejack congratulated.

"You look simply stunning in your fatigues," Rarity said before giving the outfit a double-take, "perhaps it should be more breathable though..."

"I told you those how-to books would help," Twilight said.

"Um... Excuse me... Rainbow isn't," Fluttershy murmured from beside the group, pointing at the gasping receiver of their congratulations. Fluttershy continued her flustered attempts to get everypony off Dash, before a shadow loomed over her. She turned slowly to meet Spitfire's stern gaze, following it shortly with a nervous gulp.

"Alright you lot, I need to talk to Rainbow Dash," she ordered, getting the ponies to quickly part to reveal the disoriented recruit. Pulling Rainbow back to her hooves and brushing some of the dust off, Spitfire gave her a cursory look before giving an approving nod. "I'll need you to stay for awhile after the fanfare dies down Dash. See your friends off and report to my office when your effects are in order." Giving a curt salute, she turned and walked off with her officers in tow, navigating their way through the celebrating ponies.

The six watched them leave before Rainbow gave her friends an excited hug. "Guess we'll have to hold off the celebration until later. Duty calls!" The balloons that Pinkie had pulled out of her mane gave a sad wheeze after the announcement, until Rainbow tousled her mane with a defeated sigh. "It just means you'll have to set up the party in Ponyville," Pinkie's mood quickly brightened as she looked at her friend with starry eyes, "...and invite everypony." The words had hardly left her lips before Pinkie started to hop around their little herd as she squeed loudly. They watched her for a while before they all had a good-natured laugh at her display of pure joy.

Giving each of her friends one last hug, and asking Twilight to have Spike check on her tortoise, Tank, she escorted them to Pinkie's balloon for the journey home. Even as the balloon pulled away, she could hear the party mare listing off possible party favors between the multiple goodbyes. Feeling pumped by all the fanfare, and even having Spitfire personally ask to see her, Rainbow quickly overtook the other recruits as they headed to the barracks, hoping she’d be finished in time for one of Pinkie's famous parties. It would look bad if the mare of honor was late for her own party, after all.

It took her little time to dismantle her temporary quarters, discreetly placing her Daring Do novel at the bottom of the saddlebag with her belongings on top, before flying off to the academy's command post. Entering the building, she made sure her uniform was in order before knocking on her commander's door. There was a shuffling of paperwork from behind the door before she heard Spitfire call out. "Enter!" Opening the door wide, Rainbow walked into the office, taking note of the two gold and one silver badge sitting on the desk.

"Rainbow Dash reporting in ma'am," Rainbow curtly replied with a salute.

"At ease," Spitfire said, "now I'm sure you're wondering why I wanted to speak to you in private." The blue pegasus felt taken aback by the blunt question. She'd been so caught up in everything that she hadn't given it much thought. "I know you just graduated, but your stats stood out above and beyond that of your fellow recruits, along with your exceptional leadership skills. From the way you and your friends were going on earlier, I'm sure you're eager to go," Spitfire said as she held up one of the two gold badges, "but I'd like to request your participation in a lead pony drill with me and some of the senior Wonderbolts."

Rainbow couldn't believe her ears; not only had she just become a Wonderbolt, but Spitfire was personally asking her to take part in a drill. As a lead pony! She wanted to fly above the clouds and shout her joy to all of Equestria, but the firm gaze of her commander made her think twice. Instead, she tried not to faint from excitement as Spitfire placed the badge in her outstretched hoof.

"It-it's an honor," Rainbow managed to choke out as she held the badge reverently.

"... Are you going to stare at it all day, or are you going to put it on." Spitfire demanded as she pinned the other gold badge to her outfit, tucking the silver one into her front pocket. Startled, Rainbow hurriedly attached it to her front, managing not to stab herself on the second attempt, before hurrying after Spitfire.

She practically brimmed with questions as she trotted behind the fiery maned mare. What would she be doing? Could she get an autograph from another famous Wonderbolt? ...And why were they heading to a secluded warehouse on the border of the airfield?

"Uhm. Spit-I mean, Captain! Wouldn't the aerial maneuvers be easier outdoors?" she asked as Spitfire started to open a side door.

"We always have these drills indoors, it adds some privacy and helps keep the recruits out of trouble." Spitfire stated bluntly as they entered. An odd smell seemed to permeate the buildings interior, something Rainbow was sure she had smelt before.

"I get it," Rainbow commented, feeling a little smug, "you didn't want the others hurting themselves doing dangerous tric..." The words caught in her throat as they left the short hallway and entered the main part of the warehouse. Now Rainbow remembered what that smell reminded her of. It was the smell of sweaty ponies, massage lotion, and pheromones; the kind usually bringing couples ‘closer' during the spring.

"Captain on deck!" one of the five stallions shouted, giving Rainbow a wink as they lined up to make a path. The sixth member tried to rise, between heavy pants and pushing the loose locks of amber hair from her eyes. Seeing Spitfire she started to salute, before staring at Rainbow in shock. The blue pegasus returned the look as she recognized the pony.

"Lightning Dust!" Rainbow finally blurted out, shocked by the other mare's appearance. She still had the familiar arrogance around her; but the leather straps around her wings, the stained recruit uniform and the smudged marks on her face made her seem like a different pony. "What happened... How did you?"

"She begged for another chance to be a Wonderbolt, so I decided you would be needed as a participant," Spitfire explained as she strode past the stallions. Lifting Lightning to her hooves, she pulled the silver badge from her pocket and pinned it to the front of the mare’s uniform, "This ‘recruit' already meets the criteria to be a Wonderbolt, but she needs to learn to follow orders."

"You want me to do what!? I...I..." Rainbow was at a loss for words.

"Dammit!" Throwing the quill against the wall, I angrily eyed the subject of my ire. After days writing and proofreading, the paper filled with carefully selected words still made me want to tear pieces of my mane out. Granted I didn't have much experience, but the concept of an S&M clopfic with the three mares of the Wonderbolt academy had seemed like a good gift for Twilight Clopple on her birthday. At the time.

"Hydra?" Just hearing the voice told me who was entering my impromptu writer's nook as I turned around in my seat. The celestial mare opened the door slowly with her foreleg to make sure she had room to maneuver, especially now that her pregnancy had begun to show. "Is everything alright? I heard you yelling."

"It's alright Eclipse; I- I just can't stand it. After all the time and effort to create a story, it still sounds like a seedy clop. The beginning seems fine, but when I get to the graphic parts... I just draw a blank. The transitions becomes mechanical and dull. The story becomes something unnatural. And I can't find a way to make the characters conform to the type of story I'm writing." Laying my muzzle on the tabletop, I blew on the corner of the story's draft, hoping it would fly away and never trouble me again. Much to my disappointment, and embarrassment, the paper only made it a foot in the air before landing on top of my muzzle.

She must have guessed how depressed it made me, because she decided to lift it off my face and place a comforting hoof on my shoulder. "It doesn't seem too bad... not really my cup of tea though," she said with a cursory look, obviously uncomfortable after reading the more graphic parts. "Haven't you... you know. Written something like this before with that other author?"

"What do you mean?" I asked as her magic encased a scroll from the shelf and placed it on the table.