Chapter 1: High
It was a bright and sunny day in Cloudsdale. It matched the attitude of a certain little filly. She was eager and excited beyond anypony’s imagination. Because after begging and pleading with her parents, they finally allowed her to attend camp. This wasn’t just any weekly camp for colts and fillies. On the contrary, it was a special camp for pegasus’ and other flying creatures. It was Junior Speedster Flight Camp and it was the young blue filly’s dream to go there. Trotting through the front gates, the little pony was living her dream, and to say the least, Rainbow Dash was excited.
Making her way to the table in the front with a banner reading ‘Junior Speedster Flight Camp Sign In’, Rainbow looked to the ponies on the other side with a bright smile on her face and a bounce in her step, “Hi, I’m here for the flight camp!”
One of the pegasus’ smiled back and nodded, “Excellent, name please?”
“Rainbow Dash!” her enthusiasm was hard for her to keep down.
Looking on a clipboard, the pony replied, “Alright, Rainbow Dash. You’re checked in! Here is your packet with your information for the week. Now just head over to the common area over with the rest of the attendees and you’ll be instructed of what to do next. The welcoming ceremony is about to begin.”
“Awesome, thank you!” Dash said as she hurried over to where she was instructed. She was careful with her galloping, as she didn’t want to lose anything out of her duffle bag, which included some keepsakes from home and a few items that her parents packed for her.
Arriving in the common area, Dash was looking at her new surroundings among the campers of pegasus ponies and other flying creatures such as dragons and griffins. She finally took a grasp of where exactly she was. She recognized where she was because of all the flight training films she watched, the camp was taking place at the Wonderbolts’ own personal air field. It made her even more excited at the thought of being at the same place where Wonderbolts were not only trained, but also selected to fly high up in the sky.
However, Dash was snapped out of her day dreaming when she heard a loud, booming voice.
“Alright, trainees! Line up, front and center!”
No pony questioned from who or where the voice was coming from. All of the campers were quick to line up in a single file line on the clouds. As all faced forward, a white pegasus with a tan hat and shirt stepped before them all and began to pace in front of the campers.
“Welcome to Junior Speedster Flight Camp, campers,” he began, “I am Lee Merry, personal trainer to the Wonderbolts. I am here today to personally welcome you to a small taste of what it means to fly among the ranks of the best flyers in all of Equestria.”
Rainbow Dash heard a mare a few spots over whisper, “This is going to be so much fun!”
This caught the attention of Lee Merry, “Fun?” he quick trotted over to the pony who spoke, “You think this is going to be fun, filly? I hate to be the weight on your wings, but this camp isn’t about fun, it’s about pushing yourself to your limits. It’s about turning your weak spirit into an iron strong bond that will turn you into candidates the Wonderbolts will be unable to refuse.”
’Now that’s what I’m talking about!’ Dash thought with a smirk on her face.
The pony he was talking to was now shrinking back and frightened. Lee backed away from the pony and continued pacing in front of the ponies, “This camp isn’t a vacation, it is for training! I hope you are here for the right reasons, because if you are not, you can leave right now and spare yourself from a week of trial.” The white pegasus continued his pacing and narrowed in on Rainbow Dash. He moved forward and brought his face uncomfortably close to her, “What is your name, filly?”
“Sir, Rainbow Dash, sir!” the blue filly replied. She knew how to address drill instructors thanks to her father teaching her.
“Rainbow Dash? Where are you from?” Lee shouted right back.
“Cloudsdale, sir!” she replied.
“A local, huh? What brings a small little filly like you here? You’re wings don’t seem to be all that strong. Are you trying to make me laugh with that?” his words were insulting to Dash, but she bared with it.
“Sir, no, sir!”
The instructor shouted right back, “Then what brings to flight camp? Is it because your parents bought your way in?”
“Sir, no, sir! I want to become a better flyer! I want to become a good enough for the Wonderbolts, sir!”
Lee backed his head off slightly to scan Dash from her hooves to the top of her messy mane, “Well, that’s a big dream for a small little punk like you,” he turned his head, “And you got yourself no cutie mark. How do you expect to join the Wonderbolts without even knowing if this is something you can do?”
Rainbow Dash answered quickly, “I will try my hardest, sir!”
“You got a lot of guts for a small filly, Dash. Let’s see if you can keep that up,” Lee left the blue pony and moved along down the line, continuing his speech.
Dash took a sigh of relief. She felt proud of herself and she thought her dad would also be proud of her. If she was able to talk her way with a drill instructor shouting at her, it was already a victory for her. Rainbow then returned to listening to the instructor. However, it seemed that he found another target for his shouting.
“A griffin? You’re quite the rarity up here in this area. What’s your name?”
“Sir, Gilda, sir!”
“Gilda? What brings a griffin like you here to Junior Speedster Flight Camp?” Lee looked closely at her.
Without missing a beat, Gilda replied, “To become faster, sir!”
“Faster, huh? What for?”
“So I can push myself to be the best flyer than any pegasus pony, sir!” Gilda’s voice sounded arrogant.
“Well, it looks like we got ourselves the one who will be at the top of the class,” Lee spoke out for all to hear, “Now you all know who you have to beat in every race! I like your moxie, griffin, but we’ll see if your wings can keep up with the words you speak.”
“They will, sir!” Gilda smirked.
Lee Merry continued his speech to the line up of the campers. “Alright, you fresh meat, listen up. You will start tomorrow with your training. You will all be working in pairs throughout the week. You will success as pairs or you will fail as pairs, it is up to you and your partner. You all have been assigned dorms and are paired with your dorm mate, and the details are in your packets. I wish you all the best for the upcoming week, if you survive the week that is.”
With that, Lee Merry flapped his wings and took off from the area. The campers all took out their packets to look at their assignments before scrambling off to the dormitories.
Dash joined the massive crowd to her home for the week. Once inside the dorms, she was quick to find her room. She opened the door, finding the entire room empty save two desks, two beds, two dressers, a window on the far edge of the room, and a door to the bathroom. She quickly claimed the bed near the window and placed her duffle bag on the mattress. She opened the bag, and started taking the items out. A few pieces of clothing were placed in the dresser next to the bed. She then took out a picture frame of her family, her parents and herself, and placed it on top of the dresser.
On top of her next pile of clothing, Rainbow saw a piece of parchment that she had not put in her bag. Grabbing it wither hoof, she took it out and unfolded it. Inside, it read ‘Do your best and have fun at flight camp, Rainbow Dash! We’re proud of you!’ The small letter brought a smile to the filly’s face.
The sudden opening of the door caused Dash to panic and shove her note into the top draw of her dresser with her clothes. She was quick to turn her head and see a griffin in her.
“W-Who are you?” Rainbow Dash was a little shaken up by the griffin’s sudden appearance.
“The name’s Gilda, and it seems I’ll be crashing with you for this week.”