Ambition and Curiosity

by PinkamenaPictures

Chapter I

Many pegasi take flying for granted, it is something that they do all throughout their lives. To most pegasi flight is a given, a fact of life. However, when a pegasus devotes their life to flight, they can see it for the wonder it is. This creates one of two types of pegasi: they could become too scared to fully experience their gift, or they could push it to its limits. The Wonderbolts placed themselves firmly into the latter category.

Although the Wonderbolts are formed purely of pegasi, the elite flying force was known from Equestria and beyond for their spectacular flight shows. A fair number of pegasi aspire to be a Wonderbolt, but only a select few had the combination of skill, strength, and determination to make it past the trials of physical and mental prowess required to enter their training regiment. However, this only meant that every Wonderbolt truly devoted themselves to being a Wonderbolt, and nopony exemplified devotion to the Wonderbolts quite like Rainbow Dash.

Ever since she was a foal, Rainbow had wanted to join the Wonderbolts. While many pegasi have such a dream in their youth, none have ever had Rainbow Dash’s raw talent. Rainbow performed the mythical Sonic Rainboom while still in flight school, and could consistently keep pace with the best just a couple years later. However, most of her skills were self-taught and rough on the edges due to her leaving flight school early, leading her to be passed over time and again for her dream. She could not help being self-taught, but she could improve to the point where they could not overlook her. So she practised with every spare moment, and eventually, it paid off.

An offer was extended to Rainbow Dash to join the Wonderbolt Reserve, so long as she could pass both a flight and written test. Soon enough, she was a reserve. When she heard that she was to fly in a show as a full Wonderbolt, her dream was steps from reality. After working through a poor first impression at the Wonderbolt Academy and learning to accept her mistakes as tools of growth, her first show as an official Wonderbolt was the greatest day of her life.

The more time Rainbow Dash spent as a Wonderbolt, the more she loved being one. Although sometimes she, as the newest recruit, was given the jobs that nopony wanted to do. Still, being a full Wonderbolt was worth occasionally being the one to do most of the work cleaning up after an event. One thing Rainbow liked about the Wonderbolts was that she was rarely surprised by an assignment. Almost always shows, training, drills, and everything else was clearly posted, and for the most important things an announcement would be made the day before. Although that is not to say that assignments were never sudden.

“Hey, Crash!” Rainbow Dash turned away from her locker to see Midnight Strike walking towards her. “Hope your dress shirt is clean.”

Midnight Strike was a nearly-black grey pegasus with a black mane and tail with a streak of bright yellow running through them. Rainbow had only really met her in passing, but knew that she was a strong flyer and generally fairly laid back.

“Of course,” Rainbow said, mostly unconcerned. She had made sure to follow locker and uniform conduct to the letter after hearing what Spitfire did to the last pony that showed up for inspection with a muddy shirt. “Why? Are we doing another surprise inspection?”

Midnight laughed. “Not quite, it's good actually. There's a retirement party for an EUP higher-up in Canterlot tomorrow at The Art Gallery, and you’ve been chosen to join Spitfire, Blaze, Surprise, and I in representing the Wonderbolts.”

“It's not that I'm not happy to have been chosen, but…” Rainbow started before trailing off.

“But sitting through a Canterlot party is about as much fun as being grounded for a week, but you also have to pretend to enjoy it?” Midnight asked with a smile. “I know. Still, this will be your first Canterlot party as a full Wonderbolt.”

“Anything I should know about being a Wonderbolt in Canterlot?” Rainbow asked.

“Not really, just be polite and don't do anything to offend anypony,” Midnight said as she turned around. “Be ready to leave at sixteen-hundred hours.”

After taking a few steps, Midnight looked back and saw Rainbow Dash wearing a look of confusion on her face. “That's four o'clock.”

“Thanks,” Rainbow said as she rubbed the back of her head with a hoof, her ears folded back in embarrassment.

“See you tomorrow, Crash.”

Once Midnight Strike had left, Rainbow turned back to her locker and took out her dress uniform to quickly inspect it. It was fairly simple in design, a moderate blue button down with yellow striped epaulettes and a gold lightning bolt pin on both ends of the collar, paired with a black tie and silver tie clip. It was unlike anything Rainbow had ever worn before and it could cause some issues with flying, but it struck her as less restricting than a dress.

I guess I’ll find out tomorrow, Rainbow Dash thought as she put her dress uniform back into her locker.

---

This isn't as bad as I thought it would be, Rainbow Dash thought as she flew in uniform towards Spitfire and her group. Not as comfortable as my flight suit. But still, could be worse.

Rainbow Dash set down beside the group, and Midnight Strike greeted her with a nod.

“We're all here, is everypony ready?” Spitfire asked, mostly rhetorically as she looked over them to find the answer herself. Spitfire had a yellow coat with a two tone mane like fire and golden-orange eyes. She was wearing her full captain's uniform, metals and everything, but -like the rest of them -she had not bothered to style her mane due to the coming flight.

While Spitfire inspected each pony's uniform, Rainbow took the chance to do the same. Midnight Strike was wearing the same outfit that Rainbow was, but Midnight had a metal on her chest that Dash did not recognise. Seeing the uniform on Midnight made Rainbow realise why they had chosen the colour they did. Despite the shirt being much brighter than Midnight's coat, it was dark enough to look alright on her. Similarly, it was the darkest thing on Rainbow Dash, but seemed to fit well enough.

Blaze was often thought to be Spitfire’s sibling due to their similar colouring and age, with the same yellow coat and both having orange manes. However, the two mares were not actually related to one another. Blaze’s mane was shorter and pure orange, her eyes were purple, and she was generally a bit sturdier than Spitfire. In fact, many ponies thought that Blaze was male due, in no small part, to her size. Blaze wore the same uniform as Rainbow and Midnight, but had evidently chosen not to wear the medals that Rainbow knew she had.

Lastly, Rainbow Dash turned her head towards Surprise. Surprise had a white coat, a bright yellow mane and tail, and raspberry eyes. To Rainbow’s confusion, Surprise was wearing her flight suit rather than her uniform. While it was not unheard of for Wonderbolts to wear their flight suits to formal events, the facts that Rainbow had been told specifically to wear her uniform and that the others were wearing theirs made her wonder why Surprise wasn't. Before she could ask about it, Spitfire gave the order to fly.

The others were already in the air when Rainbow pulled herself out of her thoughts to take off. Although the others had started flying towards Canterlot, Midnight was waiting for her.

“You alright, Crash?” Midnight asked. “I’ve never heard of you being last in the air.”

“Yeah, just giving you a chance to get there before me,” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk.

“It’s not a race,” Midnight pointed out while they flew to catch up to the others.

“No,” Rainbow agreed. “But it would be fun if it was.”

It was not hard for Midnight Strike to guess that there was something more to it than Rainbow’s excuse, but she let it drop and they flew in silence.

As they flew Rainbow let the question of Surprise’s outfit fade from her mind, and just enjoyed the flight. Even after the countless hours she had spent in the air, there was little she loved more than soaring through the skies. The wind in her feathers and the clouds below her.

The flight from the Wonderbolt Academy to Canterlot was not a difficult one -especially on a clear late spring day -and the Wonderbolts flew at a relaxed pace, knowing that there was no cause to hurry. Although their relaxed was still faster than the pace most pegasi would have flown at. The entire trip only took them about an hour, leaving them half an hour early as they set down in front of The Art Gallery.

The Art Gallery was a large, single story building that Rainbow Dash only recognised as their destination because Spitfire walked up to the doors. As far as Rainbow could tell, there were no signs to suggest that this was a place of business at all. She supposed that Rarity would have called it ‘chic’ or something, but to her it just seemed weird.

The Wonderbolts followed their captain into the Gallery and were met by a large white pegasus with a striped gold mane wearing ornate gold and purple armour. He seemed kind of familiar to Rainbow, but she couldn’t place him.

“Captain Spitfire and her Wonderbolts,” He greeted them formally with a bow of his head, his vibrant green eyes never leaving them. “The EUP and our guest of honour are already here, you can find them in the main hall directly behind me.” He stepped to the side to let them pass, and Spitfire acknowledged his words with a nod before walking past him. Although Rainbow thought it was a bit rude at first, the stallion seemed to appreciate the lack of conversation.

Rainbow Dash followed her group through a set of double doors into a massive room. Numerous paintings were spaced out on the walls with little plaques beneath them, there were circular tables set up throughout the room and one long table towards the end of the room, and there was a stage with a band playing a classical song. However, what Rainbow Dash was willing to guess was the main selling point of the room was its glass ceiling. The high arched ceiling provided most of the light in the room, and must have cost more bits than Rainbow made in a year to put in.

There were ten to twelve other ponies in the room, and all of them were wearing a deep red outfit that Rainbow assumed was the dress uniform of the EUP. Once the Wonderbolts reached the centre of the room, Spitfire and Surprise walked over to a table occupied by two ponies. Rainbow was about to follow when Blaze held out a hoof to stop her.

“Best to let have a minute without interruption,” Blaze walked over to an empty table and sat down before continuing. “Do you know who this event is for?”

Rainbow Dash sat next to Blaze and shook her head in response.

“I do, but I’ve never met her,” Midnight said after joining them. “The EUP’s captain, right?”

“Captain Flame Rose, that’s right. Not only was she the youngest captain the EUP has ever had, Spitfire has been friends with her since before I met either of them. Between the two of them, the Wonderbolts and the EUP have managed to work together better than they have since the Wonderbolts’ founding.” Blaze turned to look at Rainbow and Midnight in turn. “Needless to say that she deserves our deepest respect even in retirement.”

“So if she’s all that, why did Surprise go with Spitfire to meet her? Shouldn’t she have let Spitfire talk to her friend without distraction?” Rainbow asked. Blaze laughed at that, and Midnight also smiled.

“Sometimes I forget how new you are,” Blaze said. “Next to Spitfire, Surprise has easily spent the most time coordinating with the EUP, and is probably good friends with her as well.”

“Why? But shouldn’t that be Soarin’s job as Spitfire’s second in command?” Rainbow Dash was confused as to why Soarin would not be the one to coordinate in Spitfire’s place, and was also trying to reconcile the idea that Surprise would be the one to fill such a role with her view of the mare.

“Probably,” Blaze admitted. “But Surprise has proven to be better at it. And it makes sense that they would want to see how Surprise handles responsibility, given her intention to take over someday.”

“That’s right, Crash. If you’re serious about becoming Captain of the Wonderbolts after Spitfire, it’s not Soarin you’re competing with.” Midnight added.

Hearing that forced Rainbow Dash’s idea of Surprise to collide with the mare she evidently was in Rainbow’s head. Surprise was an excitable mare with energy to rival Pinkie Pie’s, she would joke and laugh with the team and had an air of foalish cheer to her. But she was also a skilled and clever flyer who could adapt to any issue the sky or a situation threw at her. She also came to a formal event for somepony she apparently knew relatively well wearing her flight suit when even Spitfire wore her dress uniform.

It struck Rainbow Dash as she thought about uniforms that she had never seen Surprise without her flight suit in public. She had only seen Surprise without it when she was inside the Wonderbolt Academy or in a locker room after a show, and she always put another one on before leaving. Rainbow realised then that she really didn’t know much about Surprise at all, not even how she earned her callsign of Slowpoke.

“Right,” Midnight said after a minute or two, breaking Rainbow from her thoughts. “I’m going to see if Longshot has finally gotten a proper callsign yet. See ya, Crash. Blaze.” With a respectful nod to her superior, Midnight Strike walked towards a table of EUP members.

The fact that Midnight had not yet referred to Rainbow Dash by her name even once was starting to irritate Rainbow, which Blaze seemed to see in her face.

“I know you don’t like your callsign, but she doesn't mean anything by it. If anything, she’s trying to help you get past the idea that it is an insult by overusing it as your friend.”

Whatever Rainbow was going to say was lost when the main doors opened and Princess Celestia entered with a small group of guards, including the one that greeted them. Who was introduced as the Captain of the Sun, making Rainbow realise that he probably looked familiar because she had seen him near the Princess before. Everypony stood to welcome the Princess, but she quickly made it clear that she was not there to steal the spotlight. It was, after all, Captain Flame Rose’s retirement party.

With all of the guests present, dinner was announced. Rainbow Dash assumed that Captain Flame Rose was the EUP pegasus who took the centre seat of the long table, with an EUP unicorn Rainbow didn’t recognise on her right and Surprise on her left and Spitfire beside the Wonderbolt. Princess Celestia and the large pegasus guard had a table of their own, but the rest had no specific seating. Rainbow ended up sitting with Blaze, two members of the EUP, and a royal guard.

After dinner was served to everypony, a toast was raised to Captain Flame Rose by the unicorn sitting next to her, whom Blaze informed Rainbow was named Radiant Dawn and was the Captain’s successor. Then Spitfire raised a toast, and then Princess Celestia raised a toast. Then, finally, they could eat.

Once the meal was finished, ponies walked around and socialised with each other. The largest group was around Princess Celestia, but there were a number of smaller groups as well. Midnight Strike was talking with two EUP members, one an earth pony and the other a unicorn. Blaze and Spitfire were engaged in what seemed to be a heated debate with members from both the EUP and the Royal Guard. Rainbow Dash was looking around the room for Surprise when somepony approached her.

“Hello, Rainbow Dash,” Captain Flame Rose said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Seeing Captain Flame Rose in front of her, Rainbow Dash panicked a little, trying to remember how the Wonderbolts would want her to act. Rainbow put her hoof up to her head in a salute and tried to sound confident. “It’s an honour, Captain.” That’s polite, right? Rarity and Twilight say things like that.

“I’m not the Captain anymore, you can relax,” Flame Rose said with a smile. “If anything, I should be saluting you; an Element of Harmony and Savour of Equestria.”

“Well, I am awesome,” Rainbow said, more on instinct than anything, and quickly added. “But I wouldn’t be those things without my friends.”

“That’s more humble than I was told to expect from you. Anyway, I wanted to ask you something before somepony interrupts,” Flame Rose said. “Why did you join the Wonderbolts? You were already famous throughout Equestria, and nopony could claim that you weren't doing your part for the crown.”

“Because they are the best,” Rainbow Dash said without any hesitation or doubt.

“Controversial thing to say to former EUP, but I think that I get your point,” Flame Rose said. “To be honest, I was hoping you would say something to that effect. It’s a lot easier to retire when you know that the next generation is not in it just for glory or out of obligation.”

“Why did you join the EUP?” Rainbow asked out of curiosity, but also because it seemed polite.

Flame Rose turned her head and looked into the room at a group of ponies. “Spitfire wanted to be the Captain of the Wonderbolts, couldn’t let her have all the glory.” She laughed as she turned back to Rainbow Dash. “I hear you have similar ambitions.”

Rainbow opened her mouth to respond, but Flame Rose cut her off.

“I don't need to know why, your reasons are your own. I can tell you have a deeper reason for your ambitions than fame. That’s enough for me,” Flame Rose said. “I'll be interested to see if it's you or Surprise that replaces Spitfire when the time comes. I have a clear preference, but I wish you luck nonetheless.”

Hearing that reminded Rainbow of her questions about Surprise, and she started to ask when somepony walked up and began talking to Flame Rose. The Former Captain of the EUP waved a hoof to Rainbow in farewell before walking away with the newcomer.

Rainbow Dash saw a Royal Guard that she vaguely recognised from Queen Chrysalis’ invasion walking towards her. Rainbow decided that it would be easier if she asked Surprise her questions directly next time she had a chance to talk to her alone, and in the meantime she would just try to enjoy her first Canterlot party as a Wonderbolt.