From Here to Home

Many ponies stood outside the schoolhouse, Flitter being one of them. There wasn't much space by the outside of the door, most of the ponies waiting for the foals would stay a bit too close to it. She leaned against the white picket fence, not wanting to get too close to all the other ponies and the noise they created.

I wonder how Cloudchaser's doing...

The bell rang, and kids crowded along by the inside of the door. As it opened, a swarm of foals scampered out as if they were fleeing from a dreadful air of boredom.

Flitter rose to her hooves and leaned her head over the other ponies, looking to see if Rumble was ready to leave. She spotted him talking to another colt, he had a gray coat and a cutie mark that was of a fork and a knife. Can't say I've seen that before. Must be my sister's real cutie mark. Rumble gave him a hoof bump before walking away, his smile fading as he left the building.

“Over here, Rumble!” Flitter called out to him. Rumble turned his head and scrambled towards her voice. “So, how was your day?”

“It was fine,” he shrugged. She had a hard time believing it, as the foals around him seemed to be enjoying themselves. Even he seemed pretty happy on his way outside of the schoolhouse.

“Who's your friend?” she asked as Rumble walked to her side.

“That's Truffle Shuffle. He's a cool guy.”

“Well, that's nice.” She petted his mane lightly, causing the other foals to glance at him. Flitter stopped when she noticed them watching. “Oh...” Rumble pouted at her, turning away from the view of the other children. “Sorry?”

He shook his head, sighing in disapproval. The green saddlebag he was carrying swung with the motion. She could hear the books and papers loosely shuffling around in it.

Flitter put a hoof over her mouth, tilting her head. “Your bag's a bit low on you.” Rumble's eyes widened as he noticed the mare getting closer to him. “Here, let me get that for you.” She bit down and adjusted the strap, propping the saddlebag high on Rumble's body, tight and neat. “There you go, nice and proper.” She instinctively pet him once more, just as her sister would pet Thunderlane's mane.

She heard some snickering from behind her, as Rumble blushed intensely. Then it came, a full chorus of laughter from the kids. Flitter could have sworn she heard some grown voices joining in.

“Alright, settle down everyone.” Flitter turned to hear the voice. Upon this, she could see some of the kids still snickering, as well as the purple earth pony making her way out of the building. Flitter breathed a sigh of relief, unlike Rumble, who frantically shook his bag off. He circled around it, trying to loosen the fabric strap once more.

The rose-maned pony approached Flitter, who tilted her head at the distressed colt. “Excuse me, are you with Rumble? His sister, maybe?”

“Just a friend,” she chuckled. “One sibling is enough to put up with.”

“I can see why.” She turned to Rumble, still sprawling at his bag. She extended a hoof out. “I'm Cheerilee, I teach here.”

“Flitter.” She smiled and shook the hoof. “How does the troublemaker do?”

“Rumble does quite well. His grades are consistent, and he gets his work done fast.” she said. “It's always good to have a student as hard working and excitable as him.”

Flitter rolled her eyes, nervously chuckling. “He hasn't been too excited to see me.”

“He probably is, kids are odd like that.” Cheerilee raised a hoof off of the ground, waving it for Flitter to come closer. She whispered when she was close enough. “And he has quite the 'tough guy' persona going on too.” Flitter grinned upon hearing it, watching Rumble wrestle with his bag. “At least at school,” she said.

She nodded as more ponies started clearing out of the area, spilling out onto the roads back home. It got quieter, save for the sound of Rumble finally getting his bag down to good height. He weaved into it, standing up on his hooves and walking back to Flitter.

“Having fun?” Flitter asked. He looked up to her for a moment, shaking his head.

“I suppose I shouldn't keep you any longer,” Cheerilee said. “Oh, and I do wish your brother good luck. It's something I would be very proud of.” She ruffled Rumble's mane. Flitter sighed, noticing that Rumble didn't protest to Cheerilee doing it. “Well, it was nice talking to you, have a good day now!” she trotted back to the schoolhouse.

“Have a good one,” Flitter waved as the door shut. Rumble patted her leg, motioning for them to leave.

“Of course, let's get going.” Flitter settled for a brisk trot away from the schoolhouse. Rumble distanced himself from her as they made their way back home. After getting tired of walking on the uneven grass, he brought himself back to the road by Flitter's side once they were far enough from the schoolhouse.

“Man, this sucks.”

Flitter turned her head down to the colt beside her. “Come on, don't say that.”

“But it does,” Rumble pouted. “It sucks. Everypony's gonna be laughing at me for days.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know that makes you lame?” she asked. “It sure didn't when I was your age.” He tilted his head at the thought of that. “I'm sure you'll be fine after all, 'tough guy',” Flitter grinned, noticing her comment at the end made him shy away. “Hey Rumble, are there any girls you got your eye on?”

“N-No!” he shouted, blushing as Fitter laughed. “Stop that!”

“Alright, I guess that was enough. I can see why Cloudchaser does this stuff.” Flitter smiled as they continued along the dirt road in silence. For her, it was a nice place with lush grass and a quiet atmosphere. The quiet to Rumble was no more than awkward silence.

Better than having her embarrass me again like that, he thought. He couldn't blame her, though. Ms. Flitter would only try to help, or at least that's what his brother would say.

“Hey, it's pretty nice that you've got a cool teacher and all. She knows you're proud of Thunderlane. Do you talk about him a lot?”

“I don't do that stuff,” he said. “That's not me.”

“Come on, you can tell me what's on your mind,” Flitter said. “We're friends, right?” he sighed, looking away. “It's alright. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to.”

“Okay.”

The two continued walking as the schoolhouse faded from their sight. Flitter worriedly looked at the absent-minded Rumble next to her. “I'm not bothering you right now, am I?”

“Nah, it's alright.”

“That's a relief.” she sighed, brushing her mane out of the way. “I almost got the feeling you didn't like me being around, or anything.”

“Well, sorry,” he said, feeling slightly better. Flitter raised an eyebrow upon hearing it. Coming out of Rumble's mouth, it was pretty rare. “For making you upset earlier,” he added.

Flitter smiled from the sentiment. “It's alright, Rumble. That's very mature of you.”

“No, really,” he said, wanting to change the subject. “I guess I do talk about big brother, sometimes.”

Flitter saw the dirt road dispersing into cobblestone as they moved closer to the body of Ponyville. Maybe Rumble wanted to get back home earlier to be left alone, but she still wanted to know more. “Well, that's nothing to be embarrassed about.” She looked back towards him, taking a deep breath. “After all, he's been away for a while.”

“Well, I think it's just 'cause I miss Thunderlane,” Rumble said, looking to her pink hair bow, back to his bag, thinking of everything Flitter would do. “And you're not like him, so I guess...”

“Hey, of course I'm not.” Flitter slowed her walk. The houses were in view, thatched roofs lining across the air. “Nopony's going to replace your brother, I just want to do my best to keep you happy.” He nodded. “I'm sure that's what Thunderlane wants too. Does that sound about right?” He nodded once more, kicking the dirt in front of him.

“So, what do you say?” Flitter stopped and trotted closer to the gray colt, staring at the ground. She held a hoof out. “Friends?”

“Yeah, sure.” He looked away, softly shaking the hoof. He tried to fight back the grin that had surfaced. “Just don't do that stuff to me in public again.”

Cloudchaser flapped her wings steadily, feeling stitches in her stomach from all she ate the night before. A red-faced Snowflake strained along behind her, sweat dripping from his short mane. The last ring of cloud they passed gave them a feeling of satisfaction. Their work had been done, and the academy had surfaced into their sights.

Snowflake's eyes widened as he saw it, and he picked up the pace to get back on solid ground. His lead pony chased after him, getting back to his side. Spitfire wouldn't be too happy to see them out of order. Cloudchaser breathed a sigh of relief as she was the first to touch her hooves on the ground. Snowflake quickly followed, struggling to catch his breath.

“Fifty, thirty-nine. An improvement for both of you,” she heard. Spitfire wrote some numbers into the sheet on her wooden clipboard. “Especially Snowflake.” Cloudchaser looked towards her wing pony. He was staring at the ground as his sweat dripped onto it. She butted him in the rib, causing him to look up towards their drill instructor.

“On your way, then,” Spitfire moved a foreleg out. “Remember, weight room at five. Don't be late.”

“Yes ma'am,” they said in unison.

Cloudchaser cantered along the runway, only slightly fatigued from the flight. She enjoyed the feeling of her hooves holding her weight up, rather than her wings for the long, casually paced flight. Snowflake's breathing steadied, still loud as he followed Cloudchaser.

“You alright?” she asked.

“Y-Yeah. I'm fine, I think.” His face remained red, wings limply hanging along his body. “How about you?”

“No big deal, since I only had to keep up with your pace.” She noticed her partner frown. “Oh, my bad. But hey, weight room soon. You know what that means!”

“Yeah, I guess I should be excited,” he said. Once more did he take in a large breath of air, exhausted from the recent cardio session. “I thought you ate too much yesterday, or something like that.”

Cloudchaser looked down to her slightly larger stomach. “Hey, it's not like I puked...” She grinned. “Yet. That means I'm doing it right! You really should have taken my advice, you didn't eat too much.”

“Oh, right!” Snowflake's eyes widened as he tried to remember if he ate enough carbohydrates. He tried to think of anything else, but he could not remember any more than the two ordinary plates. “What if I start loading today? Too late?”

The lead pony stopped to pat Snowflake on his back. She stepped aside to the grass, as Snowflake left the runway to join her. “Sorry man, you'll get stitched up like me today. Don't try that.” She noticed his lip quivering. He panicked quite easily, especially in an intimidating place like the Wonderbolt Academy. “Hey, who knows if I really needed to load in the first place? You'll be fine.”

“I-I hope so,” he said.

“Yeah,” she chuckled. “And once we're done this, we finally get to go back home! Maybe not for long, but still... Home!” she squealed. Snowflake thought she said more, but whatever noises followed that were indecipherable to him.

“You seem pretty excited.” Snowflake raised an eyebrow at the gushing mare. “I understand, I want to get back home too... Can't wait to see Chocola-” he stopped himself short, looking flustered at the ground.

“Chocolate?” Cloudchaser asked, invoking a sigh from the large stallion. “Chocolate's an awesome teddy bear! Man...” She chuckled to herself, flipping her mane back. “Don't you worry, Flitter told me she's keeping him company while you're gone.”

Snowflake sighed. “Can you stop that, please?”

“Oh, come on!” Cloudchaser punched him in the shoulder. “Hey man, why you gotta be so embarrassed? I got cutesy things too! Like, I have this yellow, stuffed parasprite. I call him Guppy!”

“Guppy...” Snowflake nodded.

“Only difference is I'm a girl, and you've got like, two hundred pounds on me,” she chuckled, noticing him roll his eyes. “Come on, man. You know I don't take this stuff seriously, lighten up!”

“Can we please change the subject?” Snowflake asked. He rose to his hooves, turning to the runway. In the distance he saw three figures slowly getting closer. What a relief...

“Hey, the other guys are coming!” He pointed, eager to get rid of the unwanted attention. Cloudchaser fluttered next to him and stared in Spitfire's direction. She walked closer as Snowflake reluctantly followed.

She could see the three touching down on the runway. Thunderlane and his wing pony, Raindrops were the first to settle on the ground. Rainbow Dash limped slightly behind them, stumbling across the end of the runway. “Hang on, she's done already?”

Snowflake shook his head. “They probably cut it short. Look at her.” Her expression was that of one in pain. He could tell that perhaps she regretted coming out to practice today. Even Spitfire had allowed her to take that day off. Of course, she wouldn't be the one to protest when Dash just had to say she'd participate anyway. Nobody would.

Thunderlane and Raindrops made their way back, and Rainbow Dash stayed behind with Spitfire. Cloudchaser looked towards the injured pony, rubbing her left wing from the beating it took. Yep, not the smartest idea, Dash.

“In case you're wondering,” Thunderlane spoke as he fluttered towards Snowflake. “I didn't ask to take her with us. Can't have a crippled pony flying so high by herself. Safety first, I guess.”

“Wasn't so safe when you had us create that tornado,” Raindrops said, prompting her lead pony to roll his eyes.

Cloudchaser took her eyes off of Rainbow Dash and brought her gaze to Thunderlane. “So how'd it go? Are you wheeling her yet?” She smiled. Watching him blush like that never got old.

He was quick to shake his head. “Please, please don't start this,” he sighed.

“Wheels,” she coughed out, later making revving sounds to further embarrass Thunderlane. Snowflake giggled along, much to his displeasure.

“I don't know.” Raindrops shrugged. Thunderlane was glad she didn't join in on Cloudchaser's idea of 'fun'. “All she really did on our flight was complain. She's not too happy about that wing, and with the cross-fit.”

“What about the cross-fit?” Snowflake asked. He shied away when he remembered his time for it. “I mean, didn't she do really good?”

Raindrops flapped her wings, heading towards the signboard by the runway. “Not good enough, she told us she's being beaten out by Lightning Dust.” The others followed along, flying along the empty runway. The ground was free from all the equipment they had used yesterday. All of the groups must have taken the cross-fit shortly after them.

They set down on the grass in front of the wooden signboard. The four scanned their eyes over the new sheets, nailed to the signboard. Snowflake pointed his hoof to the sheet below their own to catch their attention.

GROUP 4 CROSS-FIT TIMES

20:46     Lightning Dust

24:52     Hasty

26:02     Sunny Seeds

26:35     Lily Spring

28:15     Helium

28:34     Fleet Feather

28:42     Kettlebell

30:14     Clearwater

“Roids, calling it.” Cloudchaser browsed through the times of the other cadets. “Hey look, nopony else from there's beating me!”

Thunderlane shook his head. “It's not roids, just hard work. Enough to beat out Dash, I guess.”

“I don't see what she's so mad about.” Raindrops flipped her cyan mane, looking back towards the mare in the mare in the distance. “Lightning Dust isn't even that far ahead.”

“And some of us have it a lot worse...” Snowflake frowned. He looked back at his own times, in comparison with the other cadets in his group.

GROUP 1 CROSS-FIT TIMES

21:02     Rainbow Dash

24:17     Cloudchaser

25:12     Thunderlane

26:50     Raindrops

27:59     Flowershine

28:43     Snowflake

29:35     Milky Way

Thunderlane winced, patting Snowflake on his back. “Sorry, bud. Must have been the laps Spitfire made you do. Trust me, you had it harder. We just had to do box jumps.” He wasn't sure how close Snowflake was to believing him.

“So, she's only behind by maybe twenty seconds.” Raindrops shrugged, pulling her eyes away from the sheets. “Is she really that determined to catch up to her?”

“Come on,” Thunderlane said. “You know how much she used to brag back at home. How's she gonna brag coming back, when now she knows about ponies like Lightning Dust?” He sat himself down on the grass, leaning his head against the leg of the signboard. “Now apparently, I'm the problem. Even though Dust was already beating her before the tornado happened.”

“Well, we have our own problems, right?” Snowflake beat his hoof against the board. “Rainbow Dash doesn't have to worry about making the cut...” The others nodded.

“Well, she's probably just really grumpy,” Cloudchaser said.

“You think?”

“I'm just saying, she just needs somepony to let her know she's got nothing to worry about!” she said. The other cadets looked to her, none willing to help. Cloudchaser chuckled, turning to Rainbow Dash who had started walking towards the mess hall. “Fine, I'll get her off your back, Thunderlane. Cloudchaser's got it in the bag.” She rubbed his mane once more, before taking off and giving him some much needed space.

“Down,” Spitfire called out, lowering her hoof. She had taken a seat directly in front of the power rack, having a clear view of the pony squatting.

Thunderlane bent backwards, the barbell descending as he did. Two spotters standing outside of the rack held their hooves under the bar, in case something were to go wrong. Thunderlane reached the bottom of his squat, holding his position for Spitfire to speak.

“Rack.”

He pushed off on his thighs, easily moving the barbell up to a good height. Once he had it under control, he stepped forwards, mounting the barbell back onto the rack. He stepped away, walking back to the crowd of cadets behind the rack.

“Nicely done,” Milky Way held a hoof out for Thunderlane to shake. He was slightly puzzled when Thunderlane hoof-bumped it instead.

“Nothing much, we're only at like...” Thunderlaane paused to count the metal plates on each side of the barbell. “Three fifteen, about.”

The weight room was only half-filled. The only other cadets there were those working out in their free time. Even those ponies were short in numbers, since the mandatory training was taxing enough on the cadets. Nevertheless, it had filled Snowflake with much relief, and the gym with much noise.

“Flowershine, you're up.”

She nodded as her wingpony patted her on the back. She trotted towards the bar, standing up to let it rest across her shoulders.

“Down.”

Flowershine's legs quavered. She was arguably the lightest of the group, besides maybe Rainbow Dash. The spotters got ready to catch the barbell as she made her way down. Upon reaching the bottom, she let out a grunt, nearly losing her balance as she strained to hold herself in place. Once she heard Spitfire speak again, she let out another yelp, shakily pushing herself back up. The cadets clapped their hooves for her.

“Nice.” Cloudchaser widened her eyes. “Didn't think she could handle it.”

“Yeah. Can't take off too quickly without strong legs,” Snowflake commented. He looked back to check out his enlarged quadriceps.

“Alright, none of you failed three fifteen.” Spitfire said, writing on her clipboard once more. “We're moving it up ten pounds then, same order. Let's get going.” The two stallions at the sides of the barbell nodded, starting by removing the ring bearings from each side of it.

Cloudchaser looked around, seeing that Rainbow Dash was outside of the group's space, paying attention to her own little world. She pulled Thunderlane a little closer, still not at all sweaty from the squats. He was a sprinter, he did them all the time. “By the way,” she whispered to him. “I think I got Dash off your back.”

“Really?” he smiled towards her. He pulled her in for a quick hug. “Thanks Chase, I appreciate it.”

“No problem,” she kept her eyes ahead.

The stallions placed a five pound plate on each side, rolling the bearings back onto the ends. Milky Way was the first in order, already approaching the bar. He watched as Spitfire let her arm down, squatting the extra ten pounds on his already tired legs.

“Rack.”

“Told you she'd trust me.” Cloudchaser smiled. “Mostly 'cause I saved her life.”

“Yeah, that you did.”

Milky Way grunted, trying to lift the barbell back up. Once it clicked into his mind that it was out of his league, he bent forwards, letting the barbell crash down on the rails of the power rack. The spotters were slow to act. Milky Way sighed, keeping his head down as he made his way back towards the group. Snowflake patted him on the back in consolation.

Dash was quick to trot up the bar, waiting to for Spitfire to give her the signal. She couldn't impress anypony with her wing, but the least she could do was show that she wasn't weak. Not for her weight, at the least.

“Oh, right.” Cloudchaser spoke again, getting Thunderlane to bring his eyes back to her. About Rainbow Dash... I might have said you were trying to get with her.” He noticed him grit his teeth, narrowing his eyes at her. “Might have.”

“You didn't.”

“Think she feels a bit guilty about lashing out at you now,” Cloudchaser chuckled, watching her manage the weight with some struggle. “What did I tell you? You got some mad wheels.”

“For the last time, I'm not into her,” Thunderlane sighed, shaking his head.

Cloudchaser rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. I still did just what you asked.”

He noticed Rainbow Dash trotting back towards the group, having completed her squat. “Hey, nice work,” he said to her. Dash shyly nodded, trotting back towards the other side of the group.

“See?” Cloudchaser butted Thunderlane in the rib. He didn't bother to look back at her. “It worked!”

“Yeah, because this is much better...”

Spitfire broke the awkward silence, having leaned over to see the cadet in question. “Next, Snowflake.” He looked towards Cloudchaser for approval, who waved him onwards.

Thunderlane peeked his head outwards. He saw Rainbow Dash look away upon noticing him. “Cloudchaser, seriously.”

“Yes?” she sang along.

“Please, never do that again.”

Blossomforth walked across the field with Flitter and the gray colt who held a ball in his mouth. It wasn't as sunny as she would prefer, but she liked hanging out with them anyway, especially with the shy colt who had come along for once.

The grass along the expanse had been cut perfectly, Ponyville had a knack for making places look pretty. They headed towards the playground in front of them. It was very colourful; very appealing to the children of the town.

“Here we are,” Blossomforth said, fluttering towards short plastic slide. “It's been a while since I've been to one of these.”

Flitter made her way closer to the playground, scanning her eyes over the vast area. “It's a lot larger than the one at the schoolhouse...” She looked back to the Rumble. “Lots of things to do here, what do you want to try first?”

He dropped the football from his mouth, letting it pivot along the ground. “That one, the swing!” He pointed towards it, as he ran towards it.

Blossomforth giggled and dashed towards the swingset, seating herself next to Rumble. She barely fit into the small canvas seat. “Push me too, Flitter!”

She rolled her eyes, joining the two. She pushed Rumble first, and then Blossomforth, who was unsurprisingly heavier. Rumble flapped his wings in excitement, seeing the mare next to him swing herself higher.

“So Rumble, let me know about you,” the white-coated pony said. “How's school going for you?”

“It's boring.”

“Apparently, writing assignments are boring enough for him not wanting me to see it.” Flitter smirked, pushing Rumble higher into the air. “Hey, what was that about, anyway?”

Rumble looked away to where neither Flitter or the friend he didn't know could see him blushing. “I-I don't want to say it.”

“Come on.” Blossomforth poked a hoof at him from one swing to another. “It's probably really smart, or nice, or both!”

Flitter smiled, though neither of them were facing her to see it. “We're friends though, right? You can tell me.”

Rumble rolled his eyes, spreading his wings and flying as he pushed off from the metal chains holding the swing seat. He flipped himself over the metal bar of the swingset before landing. Blossomforth marvelled over the athleticism shown from somepony so young. Then again, she knew from the track that his brother was a very fast sprinter.

Rumble took small steps towards Flitter. He pulled at her leg, getting her to bend closer to him. He whispered to her ear, “It's about Thunderlane.” Blossomforth instinctively tried to listen in on it, unsuccessfully. Flitter brought a hoof to her mouth as she wondered what he would write of.

He removed himself from the blue mare, sighing. “Cheerilee called it, 'Somepony Special'. I handed it in already.”

Flitter grinned, momentarily looking to her puzzled co-worker. “Aww.” She walked closer to Rumble, who edged away, knowing what would follow. She pulled him in for an unwanted hug. “That is so sweet!” He shook himself off once Flitter put him down. “Feel better? Telling me wasn't so hard.”

“Telling you what?” Blossomforth worriedly asked. “What is it? I want to know.”

Flitter opened her mouth, but Rumble was the first to speak. “It's nothing.”

“Well, can't tell you now,” Flitter said, ruffling Rumble's dark gray mane. “I'm a good friend like that.” He cheerfully nodded.

“I didn't keep secrets when I was young!” Blossomforth crossed her eyes, pouting. “Well, it's alright.” She walked across the soft grass towards Rumble. “So the swings are done, what's next, buddy?”

He looked towards the ball he had dropped on the ground. “Catching?”

“Ice cream!” Blossomforth shouted, throwing her forelegs into the air.

Rumble nodded, throwing the football over to Blossomforth. “Yeah, that first.”

“We're already here, though.” Flitter noticed the looks of disapproval in two pairs of eyes across from her. “Well, alright... Only if you guys are having fun.”

The other two cheered for the upcoming ice cream, briskly trotting back from where they came. Flitter happily tagged along.

“Man, today is awesome!” Rumble fluttered into the air momentarily.

Flitter tilted her head as she looked towards him. Does he not remember what happened after school? Oh well, that's even better.

“You know what else would be awesome?” Blossomforth asked. “If you could beat me there.”

“Are you kidding? Sure I can!” Rumble grinned. He paused momentarily, zipping into the air as Blossomforth slowly paced with him, taking it easy to give the colt a chance at winning.

“Come on,” she looked back to Flitter, still on her hooves. “You're in this too!”

Flitter sighed, reluctantly taking to her wings. “Fine.” She laughed as the two sped up towards Rumble, straining to fly as fast as he could. Blossomforth sped in front of Rumble, taunting him. It was going to be a long day, one that she enjoyed.

Cloudchaser would really love to be here right now... I wonder how she's doing.

Her stream of thought broke when Rumble pulled Blossomforth's wing, sending her to the ground. She was quick to tackle him, the two laughing as they playfully shoved each other, forgetting about their 'race'.

It can wait.