//------------------------------//
// Hearts on the Wing 
// Story: Storm on the Horizon 
// by moguera 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 19: Hearts on the Wing

"What?"  Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion as she leaned back away from Fleetfoot's angry glare.
"You heard me!" she snapped, "It's all your fault that we couldn't finish this assignment properly.  We had everything under control.  But you just had to butt in didn't you?  You couldn't keep your nose out of someone else's business and then the Captain decided we had to spring our trap to save you.  Thanks to that, everything's all messed up."
"That's not true," protested Soarin', gesturing to the captured tribalists, "At least one of these ponies has to know where the artilleryheads are.  Spitfire decided to spring the trap because this would be our best chance to capture everypony at once.  That was something we weren't even sure we could do until Rainbow Dash gave us this opportunity."
Rapidfire was nodding in agreement with Soarin', but Fleetfoot ignored them both.  "I know you think you're some sort of hero Rainbow Dash, swooping in to save the day.  But you don't get it.  You screwed up and now we can't complete the task the Princess assigned us.  What is she gonna say when we come back and tell her that we jumped the gun with a full battery of highly destructive weapons still on the loose?  You think you're Wonderbolt material when you mess things up this badly?  I knew the Captain was full of ma-"
Rainbow didn't slap Fleetfoot.  Nor did she punch the pale-maned mare.  Instead, Rainbow decked her, hitting her so hard that Fleetfoot was sent sprawling across the cloud floor of the arena.  "Shut the hay up!" she snapped, "I don't give a flying feather about your little perfect record or whatever it is that you're flying off the handle about.  The ponies of my town are looking to me to save their livelihoods and their lives, which were in danger because, apparently, you didn't want to do your damn job unless you could wrap everything up with a nice pretty bow.  Well too bad!  I didn't even know the Wonderbolts were involved.  But even if I did, I would still be here because it's my responsibility as weather manager of Ponyville.  So shut up and quit pretending the world revolves around you."
Fleetfoot coughed and spit out a little blood before glaring up at Rainbow.  "You don't belong in the Wonderbolts," she spat, "The only reason you're even in the running is because Soarin' wants to mount you."
Rainbow froze.  "What?"
"You heard me," snarled Fleetfoot, "You're pathetic and the only way you'll ever get into the Wonderbolts is on your back."
Rainbow raised her hoof angrily.  Behind her, Soarin' and Rapidfire tensed, not sure if they even wanted to stop her.  Instead Rainbow lowered her hoof.  "You're despicable," she hissed, "If this is the kind of pony they let into the Wonderbolts, then I don't want any part of it."
With a snap, her wings opened and, before anypony could stop her, Rainbow Dash was a multicolored streak in the sky.
"Rainbow!" cried Soarin', looking after her.
A  snort from Fleetfoot drew their attention.  "So she booked it 'cause she couldn't handle the truth.  Just what I'd expect from..."  Her voice died as a shudder passed through her body.  Looking over, Fleetfoot's eyes widened as she realized the feeling's source.  Soarin' was glaring at her with a rage so powerful that it was almost a tangible force.
"Fleetfoot..."  Soarin's voice was calm and clear.  It also chilled the mare's bones like a draught of ice water.  "...Not. Another. Word."  He calmed when Rapidfire laid a hoof on his shoulder.
"Go after her," he said, smiling encouragingly.
Soarin' nodded before throwing a small, but still icy, glare at Fleetfoot.  "The Captain will hear about this when I get back.  It may end up that you won't have a place on this team anymore."
With that, he spread his wings, hurtling after Rainbow, his own cloudy contrail fading into the distance.  Fleetfoot was left lying on the Cloudeseum floor, looking around in confusion as she saw that Rapidfire and the other Wonderbolts who had been within earshot of the conversation were all glaring at her.  Fleetfoot's ears went back when she realized just how much trouble she was in.



The cloud bed was soft, that much Dawn knew.  He was too tired to think of much else.  Even the pricking sensation as the needle pierced his skin was barely noticeable.  Rolling his eyes over slightly, he saw Spitfire's head bobbing as she swiftly and expertly guided the needle, sewing closed the deep cut on his shoulder.  Tying off the thread with ease, she set the needle down and turned her attention to the smaller and shallower lacerations that dotted Dawn's body.
"You're gonna be a hit with the fillies when these come off," she commented as she applied bandages to the cuts, "You're pretty lucky to get manly scars like this without most of the baggage that comes with them."
Dawn snorted slightly.  "I have plenty baggage of my own already."
That drew a chuckle from the fiery mare.  "I'll have to ask about that someday.  I'm pretty sure that this isn't the last time we'll meet.  Heck, one day we might even be colleagues."
That raised Dawn's eyebrow.  "You mean a Wonderbolt?"
Again, Spitfire chuckled.  "I meant as a Knight."  She paused for a moment.  "Though I wouldn't mind if you became a Wonderbolt either."
Dawn's sleepy eyes blinked.  "A Knight?"
Spitfire tilted her head as she looked down at him.  "You don't know about us?"
"My Master mentioned the Knights once, with a great deal of respect I might add.  But I never learned anything about you before he passed.  Anything else I've heard is mere rumor and speculation."  He yawned.
Spitfire gave him a tender smile as she patted his unwounded shoulder.  "Get some sleep kid.  We'll talk some more when you wake up."
Dawn didn't even have the presence of mind to nod before his world dropped away.  Seeing that he was sleeping soundly, Spitfire stepped away from him and towards the balcony that lead out of the Wonderbolt Headquarters.  With a beat of her wings, she was in the air and bound for the Cloudeseum.
"After all," she said, "I've still got work to do."



Rainbow Dash hurtled through the sky, not caring where she went, except that it was away.  Her heart and mind were awash with feelings of hurt, anger and confusion.  How could she say that?  Is that really true?  Is Soarin' the reason I ever got anywhere with the Wonderbolts?  Does Soarin' really like me?  That last question actually made her heart skip a beat before she mercilessly crammed it down.  She didn't want to think about Soarin', not after everything that had happened.  The last thing she wanted was to be reminded of him.
It was too bad that nopony had bothered to inform Soarin' of that.
"Rainbow Dash!"  Rainbow gasped and looked behind her, her cerise eyes widening as she saw Soarin' closing in behind her.
Her eyes narrowed into a glare.  "Stop following me you jerk!"  Turning her head forward, Rainbow poured on the speed.  Her stomach growled angrily, reminding her that she had skipped what had been supposed to be her last meal before her execution, which meant that she hadn't eaten a single thing since the previous day.
By now, they had flown clear of Cloudsdale and were in the open skies surrounding it.  A few stray clouds hovered here and there, but none posed any real obstacles.  There were no buildings, pillars or plazas for Rainbow to whip around, no alleyways to hide in, nothing that she could use to conceal her course and escape.  Out here, there was just her and Soarin'.
She decided she could lose him well enough anyway.  Without the slightest warning, Rainbow went into a barreling corkscrew that carried her down and away, before pulling out into a high-speed loop that pulled at her body and made her wings feel like they were about to snap off, before snapping into a level flight.  Glancing behind her, she growled when she saw that Soarin' had not only stuck with her, but had actually managed to close the distance between them.  With a snarl, she launched herself into her next set of maneuvers.
Holy horseapples! thought Soarin' in stunned awe as he beat his wings desperately to get closer to Rainbow, And this is what she's like when she's running on fumes.  I wouldn't stand a chance if she'd actually had breakfast this morning.  Rainbow Dash's strength and stamina, even after the rough couple of days she had just been through, were incredible.  And considering that Soarin', second-in-command of the Wonderbolts, was having difficulty keeping up with her in her present state, there was only one conclusion he could come to.  This mare was born to fly.  In spite of himself, Soarin' felt an admiring grin creep across his face.  And she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
With those thoughts in mind, the Wonderbolt grit his teeth and pushed himself harder, struggling with all his might to keep up with Rainbow as she pushed herself through another series of punishing twists, turns and dodges.  Looking back, Rainbow noted that Soarin' was still behind her and had closed the gap even further.
I know what'll shake him, she thought with grim good humor.  Pulling into a hard climb, Rainbow ascended into the sky at a speed most pegasi would consider a dive if she had been doing it in the other direction.  With each beat, her wings pushed her further and further into the brilliant blue, Soarin' still dogging her every inch of the way.  As she reached the peak of her climb, just as ice crystals were beginning to collect on the leading edge of her wings, Rainbow turned in a tight loop and angled downwards.
Soarin' followed her, but gulped when he saw what she was after.  She's not that desperate to get away from me, is she?  Still, he pushed himself hard to try and keep up with her as Rainbow Dash went into a plummet, Soarin' gliding along in her slipstream.  Up ahead, he could see the distortion in the air forming the shape of a mach cone, getting narrower with each passing second.  Uh oh, he thought with a gulp, If she pulls a Sonic Rainboom when I'm this close to her, she's gonna knock me outta the sky.  And then an even more troubling thought occurred to him.  Can she even do it in her current condition?
If Rainbow Dash failed the Sonic Rainboom now, the resistance of the air snapping back would launch her back and away from her original trajectory, possibly out of control.  Soarin' didn't like to think of what might happen if she couldn't recover in time.  She had to be pushing herself to her absolute limits just to do this much.  Reluctantly, Soarin' pulled back and away from Rainbow, his mind running the numbers as he figured out how to best position himself should the worst happen.
Rainbow was no longer paying any heed to the stallion following in her wake.  The entirety of her focus was on pushing through the barrier and executing her signature move.  She wasn't even entirely sure why she wanted to do it anymore.  Her world had narrowed down into a tunnel that was solely focused on the world ahead of her, nothing else intruding.
But the strain from earlier that day and the lack of sustenance were taking their toll.  Rainbow's wings were burning and tremors were running back and forth across her body as she tried to maintain the thrust she needed to push through the barrier.  Ahead of her, the mach cone was narrowing more and more as Rainbow neared the threshold.  Just a little bit further...
But it was too much.  A twitch, either by fatigue or hunger, Rainbow neither knew or cared, threw off her wingbeats.  Her thrust faltered and her momentum wasn't enough to keep her going.  Rainbow's flight slowed to an abrupt halt as the resistance became too much for her.  The mach cone snapped back, launching her back the way she had came with an alarmed cry.  The world spun around Rainbow as she desperately tried to regain some sense of stability.  But her wings had reached their limit and she couldn't correct her flight against the forces of her own tumble.  Her normal procedure would have been to not fight directly against her tumble, but ride it out into a series of loops to play out the excess momentum.  But her head was becoming muddled and foggy with fatigue.  Rainbow Dash couldn't muster the coordination to save herself.
Damn.  I guess I don't belong in the Wonderbolts after all.  As that thought ran through Rainbow's mind, she suddenly felt a pair of forelegs around her, wrapping the mare in a gentle embrace, a powerful chest pressing itself against her back.  "I've gotcha," Soarin' whispered into her ear as he used his wings to steady them both, hugging her to his chest as he corrected their flight and directed them back towards Cloudsdale.
Rainbow wasn't certain if she wanted to struggle free of the stallion, or return his embrace.  The only thing she knew was that she was too tired to do either.  She went limp as Soarin' coasted down towards one of the small clouds dotting the city's outskirts and came in for landing, skidding to a stop on his back with Rainbow resting on his chest.
For a moment, they simply lay there, panting as the exertion of their flight came back to haunt them.  Rainbow's body was absorbed by the rhythm of Soarin's heart, as it pounded through his chest against her back, rapid, powerful beats lulling her into a sort of not-sleep as the world faded slightly.  Her mind was lost in a haze as she went through the events of the day.
Finally, Rainbow reached the presence of mind to roll over on Soarin's chest so that she was now looking him in the eyes as she rested on top of him.  A part of her felt a little giddy about how comfortable the position felt.  Soarin's arms hadn't relinquished their grip either, as though he was afraid that she might bolt the instant he loosened his hold on her.  As she came face to face with the stallion, Soarin's wings extended and wrapped themselves gently around her, pulling the sky-blue mare closer.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep up with you?" he gasped.
Rainbow frowned, trying to phrase the question in her heart.  "Soarin' did you-"
She stopped as Soarin' held a hoof up to her mouth.  "Fleetfoot was lying earlier.  You know better than anypony that you deserve to be on the Wonderbolts.  Spitfire knows too.  Don't you ever believe otherwise."
"Was she lying about the other thing?" asked Rainbow, prompting Soarin' to blink in confusion as he wondered what she was talking about, "Do you really like me?"
Soarin's smile widened and his eyes narrowed slightly as he leaned his head up and pressed his lips gently against hers.  Rainbow's eyes fluttered and then began to drift closed.  The kiss was simple and chaste, but conveyed a world of emotion better than any number of words.
After what seemed like an eternity, Soarin' pulled away.  "Does that answer your question?"
Rainbow Dash froze with a stupefied expression.  Soarin', the second-in-command of the Wonderbolts, one of the most skilled fliers in all of Equestria, a stallion she had admired and even crushed on, had just kissed her, practically shouting his feelings to the heavens.  Her brain briefly shut down as she tried to process the feelings whirling around her chest.  Slowly, Rainbow closed her eyes and fought down the storm of emotions.  When she opened them again, her cerise orbs glittered in anger.
"You. Stupid. Frustrating. Stallion!" shouted Rainbow as she smacked her hooves against Soarin's chest, putting all her frustration and anger into each syllable.  Fortunately, thanks to her fatigue and hunger, Rainbow's assault was weak, so Soarin' was in no danger of harm.
Instead, he seemed to be chuckling in amusement.  "I'm sorry," he said, "It's been a long, hard day for you.  Just relax Rainbow Dash."
With an angry sigh, Rainbow collapsed against him, her breath tickling the hairs of his coat beneath his flight suit as she rested her head on his chest, the sound of Soarin's heart once again threatening to lull the rainbow-maned pegasus into a stupor.  Slowly, she turned, her rosy eyes meeting Soarin's emerald ones.  "I'm still mad at you," she declared, her eyes twinkling mischievously, "Oh...and I like you too."
Soarin' chuckled and held Rainbow tighter against him.  For a little while longer, they simply clung to each other.  Soarin' almost felt as though he was about to drift off to sleep himself, until the peace was disturbed by a low rumble emanating from Rainbow's stomach.  Soarin' laughed as her blue cheeks turned red.
"Come on," he said, rolling her off him so they could both get up, "Let's go get you some lunch and we'll talk.  I'll buy."  He paused as a thought occurred to him.  "Can you fly right now?  Or do I need to carry you?"
Rainbow extended her wings and flapped them weakly.  "I might be able to," she admitted, "But since you're the one who got me all worked up and worn out, I'll let you take responsibility."  She smirked at him.
Soarin' grinned and turned around to let her climb up on his back.  "My mother raised me to be a gentlecolt," he said as Rainbow settled down between his wings.  Rainbow only gave a catlike purr as she nuzzled into his mane, forcing a laugh out of the stallion as he took to the sky.



"You..." said Spitfire as she subjected Fleetfoot to her sternest glare, "...are in a heap of trouble."
"But Captain!" protested Fleetfoot, "How can you side with that mare after her amateur meddling caused us to fail."
"We didn't fail," snapped Spitfire, "We didn't accomplish all our objectives, but that's something you have to learn to live with.  And it's certainly something you don't get to blame Rainbow Dash for just because she doesn't happen to be omniscient."
Lifting her head, Spitfire looked around the Cloudeseum, watching as the last few defaulters were hauled away.  It was going to be a busy few weeks at the magistrates' offices in Canterlot as they worked to process this lot.  This had to be one of the biggest stings in Equestrian history.  Spitfire had never dared to dream that they would be successful in a capturing all the leaders of the conspiracy.  And to think, all of it was because Meadowlark had been desperate to indulge her childish desire to take revenge on Rainbow Dash.
"If anything," she said, "Rainbow Dash did us a huge favor.  She drew all of our targets into one place and allowed us to nab them all at once.  I honestly don't see what you're getting so worked up about.  Compared to this, finding those artilleryheads is going to be a piece of cake."
"You would say that," Fleetfoot snapped, "After all, you're more interested in helping Soarin's squeeze get in than you are in getting the job done."
Everypony in earshot froze, their eyes fixed on the confrontation.  For a moment, Fleetfoot stood proud and tall, certain that she had made her point in such a way that could not be refuted.  The air began to grow warm, then hot.  And then, Fleetfoot found she could no longer breathe.  The force of Spitfire's presence descended on her like a hammer.  She could barely muster the strength to look up into Spitfire's face as the fiery mare (literally in this case) glared down at her.  It wasn't a full transformation, rather flames licked across her body and rolled off her wings.  The clouds at her feet hissed into steam, billowing around them.
"I'd be careful about what insinuations you make Fleetfoot," said Spitfire, her icy tone belying her appearance, "I certainly hope you'd be more careful about what you say when you call my judgments into question.  I don't care that Princess Celestia was the one who recommended you.  If I find that you've been harassing Rainbow Dash without good reason again, you're out.  The same thing'll happen if you start acting insubordinate again."
Spitfire released her magic, the flames dying away, the force of her presence no longer keeping the terrified Fleetfoot pressed against the floor.  "You're on probation now," she said, "So you'd better shape up.  Got that?"
Fleetfoot could only just barely make an inarticulate squeak and nod.  Spitfire didn't give her another glance as she turned around, preparing to leave.  As she did so, her eyes caught a flash of green and orange.  Looking over towards one of the exits, she saw a familiar-looking mare staring at her, eyes wide with fright.
With a sigh, Spitfire turned and started walking towards Lightning Dust, the most encouraging smile she could muster adorning her face.  Considering what she had just seen, Lightning showed a great deal of courage when she didn't bolt on the spot.  Instead, she cowered away from Spitfire as she walked up.
Lightning's body contorted into the smallest ball she could manage.  She still cringed as Spitfire reached out and rested a gentle hoof on her shoulder.  "Sorry you had to see that," she said softly, "It's okay.  I'm not going to hurt you."
The gentility in Spitfire's tone worked its magic and Lightning slowly uncurled and looked up at her idol's face, memories of her expulsion from the Wonderbolts Academy still fresh in her memory.  Spitfire had been upset then, but that was nothing compared to what Lightning had seen her turn on Fleetfoot only a moment ago.  Taking some solace in Spitfire's gentle manner, Lightning stood up and faced her.
"Come on kiddo," said Spitfire, gently draping a wing over Lightning's back, "Walk with me.  We've got some things to talk about."



Rainbow Dash leaned back with a satisfied yawn, patting her stomach, looking at what had been her final plate of hay-fries.  Soarin' favored her with an amused look after surveying the stack of empty plates on the table.  Rainbow was clearly making up for lost time and meals and was taking advantage of the Wonderbolts' mess at their headquarters.
"You know," she teased, "When you said you were buying, I figured you were taking me out to an actual restaurant."
That got a chuckle out of the stallion.  "I would have, but the city was shut down for the day, remember.  Luckily, our staff have special permission to ignore those kinds of orders, particularly when we're getting ready for a major deployment, like we were today."
For a moment, Rainbow stared silently at the table before looking back up at Soarin'.  "So..." she said uncertainly, "What do we do now?"
Soarin' shrugged.  "Part of that's up to you," he admitted, "I wasn't really planning things out and I never wanted you to find out about my feelings the way you did."
"How long have you felt that way about me?"
Soarin' blushed and looked down.  "For a while now.  I mean, I really thought you were a really cool mare when we hung out after the Best Young Fliers Competition and when we met at the Gala.  But it was only really after I got to hang out with you at the wedding that I realized how much I liked you."
"Then why did you wait so long?"
"I wanted to wait until after you joined us," explained Soarin', "I didn't want you to worry about a relationship when you were going through the admission process.  And I didn't want you to think that there was or would be any favoritism, so that you could be sure that you hadn't gotten in on anything other than your own abilities."
Rainbow leaned against him, gently rubbing her head against his neck.  "That's sweet of you," she admitted, her heart fluttering.  Then she paused.  "So you liking me has nothing to do with whether or not I get in."
That got another chuckle out of the stallion.  "You don't have to worry about that," he said, "In the end, Spitfire's the one who gets to make the final call.  And she's been pretty sure about you for a long time."
"Really?" asked Rainbow, her cerise eyes eager.
"Yep," agreed Soarin', "I think it was the Sonic Rainboom that clinched it for her.  You should have heard her when your application for the Academy came in.  The way she talked about it, you going through the Academy was just checking off another box on the list in her eyes."
"Um isn't it that way anyway?" asked Rainbow, "I mean, you go to the Academy and you're a step closer to being a Wonderbolt, right?"
Soarin' shook his head.  "Not necessarily.  You might not realize this, but not everyone who makes it through the Academy makes it into the Wonderbolts.  In fact, most don't.  Even ponies who graduate at the top of their class, like you did, don't always make it in.  In a lot of ways, the Wonderbolts Academy is essentially an amped up version of Flight School.  Its main purpose is to teach the ponies who go through it advanced flying skills that can help them whether they make it into the Wonderbolts or not."
"Then why bother with the Academy at all?" asked Rainbow, shaking her head in confusion, "What's the point if it doesn't have any bearing on you getting into the Wonderbolts?"
"I never said it didn't," replied Soarin', "The reason Spitfire oversees the training herself is so that she can get a good long look at the candidates.  When she's observing them, she's looking for more than just skill and ability.  That can always be polished.  You could break every record in the Academy (in fact, I think you did), and still be lacking the qualities that make a true Wonderbolt."
"Like what?"
"Integrity for one thing," said Soarin', giving her a light nuzzle, "And you showed that you've got that in spades.  Integrity, dedication, an unwillingness to give up and, most importantly, a desire to do the right thing and the judgment to understand what the right thing is."
"If that's the case," said Rainbow, suddenly feeling quite somber, "Then how did Lightning Dust get as far as she did."  She didn't feel any enmity towards her former partner anymore, but Rainbow had always wondered how Spitfire could have allowed and even encouraged a pony to be so reckless.
Soarin' winced.  "Yeah, that wasn't her finest moment.  Unfortunately, what it boils down to is that Spitfire is still just a pony.  She can make mistakes and...she can get complacent.  After looking over more Academy sessions than I can count, it's easy for a pony to think she's seen it all.  She was fairly certain she had a good reading on all the cadets by the time you guys had finished with the dizzytron, so she just let things slide and didn't watch you guys closely enough.  By the time she'd realized what was wrong, you had already left your badge on the desk and walked out the door.
"Spitfire beat herself up for weeks about that.  She was horrified that she'd failed her cadets and you especially.  I hadn't seen her so upset and angry in a long time."  Soarin' shook his head.  "She was disappointed in herself for letting you down."
Rainbow smiled a little.  "I guess everypony makes mistakes sometimes."
"That they do."  Rainbow and Soarin' looked up in surprise to see that Spitfire and Lightning Dust of all ponies had just walked into the mess hall.  The older mare led her young companion to the counter, where the two of them both got mugs of coffee before they came to sit down across from Soarin' and Rainbow.
"So..." said Soarin' after a moment, "What's the situation?"
"I 'talked' to Fleetfoot about her outburst," said Spitfire, a brief flicker of anger crossing her face, "If she's smart, she won't shoot her mouth off like that again."
Rainbow leaned away from Spitfire surprised by how angry she seemed at what Fleetfoot had said.  She also noticed that Lightning shivered when Spitfire had been talking.  Apparently the confrontation had been pretty unpleasant.  "Why was Fleetfoot so worked up about this in the first place?"
"Artilleryheads aren't something we can afford to take lightly," explained Soarin', "The batch you saw in the weather factory was the second of two.  The first one was shipped out over a month ago, but we have no idea where.  That's why we'd been waiting for so long, to wait for the enemy to finish those clouds so that we could find out where they'd been sending them.  Those things are beyond dangerous.  The dozen already out there could easily wipe a small town off the map or seriously wreck a major city.  Casualties could be in the thousands."
Rainbow gulped nervously, imagining a cluster of the ominous clouds raining lightning down on Ponyville.
"It's a serious problem," Spitfire agreed, "But not one we aren't prepared to handle.  Things were still uncertain even if they had gone the way Fleetfoot had wanted them to.  We honestly don't know what kind of contingencies the tribalists set up to prevent exactly the kind of thing that we were going to try.  The clouds could have been split up after they had left the factory and gone to different destinations to keep them from being rounded up at once.  Or the second batch could have been sent to a different location altogether.  There were, and still are, a lot of variables in play."
Resting her elbows on the table, Spitfire pressed her hooves together in front of her chin.  "The real reason Fleetfoot was so upset was because she feels we let the Princess down."
"Princess Celestia?" asked Lightning, looking up from her coffee, "Why?"
"The Princess was the one to give us this assignment," answered Soarin', "When we started investigating and found out about the artilleryheads, she made finding them a top priority.  The plan to infiltrate the tribalists by pretending to defect so that we could do that was Fleetfoot's idea."
"And it was a good one," added Spitfire, "But we obviously made an oversight.  The water used to make those clouds was supposed to be going to the towns in the Cloudsdale Distribution Zone.  Frankly, I'm amazed that nopony came to Cloudsdale sooner to find out why the drought had been dragging on.  Your arrival, Rainbow Dash, basically told us we'd been dragging our hooves too much on this.  So we decided to act on the opportunity you gave us and nab the entire conspiracy in one fell swoop."
"But Fleetfoot was seriously upset that we didn't accomplish what the Princess asked of us," said Soarin'.
"Why is that such a big deal?" asked Rainbow.
Spitfire shook her head solemnly.  "There are two ways to get into the Wonderbolts.  What are they?"
Rainbow tapped her chin for a moment.  "Lets see.  The first way is to accrue flight experience through civilian agencies, like the Weather Service, and then apply to the Academy.  And then..." she shrugged, "I'm honestly not sure.  You'd said you'd come to me when it was time to take the next step."
"That's right," agreed Spitfire, "Do you know the second method?"
Rainbow was shaking her head, but Lightning answered.  "Through the Guard right?"
Spitfire and Soarin' grinned and nodded.  "That's right," she said, "Getting in through the Guard isn't easier than the civilian channel.  If anything, it's harder.  I need Wonderbolts to be...flexible in ways that don't really suit the mentality of your typical guardspony.  Only ponies who can showcase that are allowed in.  First, they have to work their way into the Royal Guard, either through promotion from one of the City or Town Guards or through direct application (which is really tough).  Once they do, they need to serve for a specific period of time.  And even then, they only have a chance if they get a direct recommendation from either the Captain of the Royal Guard or one of the Princesses."
"That's how Fleetfoot got in," said Soarin', "Princess Celestia personally recommended her.  She got Spitfire's approval and she's almost never done wrong by us.  But whenever we do things at Princess Celestia's behest, she gets...overenthusiastic.  I've always thought it might be that rigid Guard mentality reasserting itself.  But after today, I kinda wonder if there's something else going on."
"Well that's neither here nor there," said Spitfire, her expression becoming cheerful, "We've had a long day and it's barely half over.  So now we're going to talk about what's next."
Rainbow and Lightning were left blinking at the sudden change in topics.  The two young mares shared a confused glance.  Soarin' simply chuckled at his captain's antics.
"You can leave processing the prisoners to us," said Spitfire, "We're also going to see to the breaking up of the artilleryheads in the factory so that those clouds can be repurposed for storms.  Thanks to us, the towns in the distribution zone are overdue."
"That's great," said Rainbow with a relieved sigh.  She would be able to return to Ponyville with good news.  It was even better, considering that no one she cared about had gotten badly hurt...
Abruptly, Rainbow's head snapped up, her eyes wide, wings flared, "Oh horseapples!  Storm Front and Dawn!  I forgot about them!"
"You don't have to worry about the kid," said Spitfire without the slightest visible reaction to Rainbow's outburst, "He got a little banged up in his fight.  But he's okay otherwise.  He's actually sleeping it off in my room now."
"Um," Lightning Dust ventured, "Your stallion friend already headed back.  He said something about letting everypony in your town know that things turned out alright."
"Whew."  Rainbow's head sagged and her wings drooped as she visibly relaxed.  "Thank Celestia.  I don't know what I would've told Fluttershy if something happened to Dawn."  She threw a mock glare (but one that did not lack for intensity) at Soarin', who could only grin sheepishly at her wordless admonishment.
"What happened?" he asked as they turned their attention back to Spitfire.
"Well, I showed up at their fight and that Perlin guy booked it.  I didn't want to leave the colt alone in his condition, so I decided to let it go for now."
Soarin' raised a skeptical eyebrow at Spitfire's explanation, clearly sensing that there was more than what the Wonderbolts' Captain was saying out loud.  However, the look she gave him clearly told him to drop the subject.  Wisely, he kept his mouth shut.
Spitfire looked around before deciding to resume.  "Anyways, here's what's happening."
She pointed decisively at Lightning Dust.  "You are going to reapply to the next term at the Wonderbolt Academy.  We'll see if you've learned your lesson."  Lightning nodded slowly and solemnly.
Next, she fixed her gaze on Rainbow Dash.  "You are going to head back to Ponyville and let everypony there know you're alright.  Your friend might be reassuring them, but they'll feel a whole lot better to see you in person."
Finally, she fixed her gaze on Soarin'.  "And you...are granted two weeks' leave.  Congratulations."
Both Rainbow and Lightning blinked in confusion before staring at Soarin', who was grinning like a foal that had just been given the entire cookie jar.  Spitfire chuckled at their confusion.  "I'm sure you could think of ways to spend that time, like hanging out with your new fillyfriend.  I assume you cleared the air with her."
Lightning's gaze flitted to Rainobow as her cheeks turned bright red, prompting a laugh from Spitfire and Soarin', the latter wrapping a reassuring wing around her back.  Rainbow looked between them and sighed with resignation before leaning into the pale blue stallion's embrace.
"You two?" asked Lightning Dust incredulously.
"Soarin's had a thing for her for a while," explained Spitfire in a feigned whisper, "But he wanted to wait so that it didn't mess with the admission process.  But seeing as Fleetfoot blew the lid of the whole thing, it looks like he just went ahead and told her."
"Oh," said Lightning a little sullenly.  She certainly felt a little jealous to see her old partner and rival form a connection like that.
"Don't worry," Spitfire explained, "She doesn't get any special treatment..." she paused to wink at Lightning, "Or are you a little jealous?"
"Naw I'm not that jealous," huffed Lightning, "I don't go for stallions anyway."
"Really?"  Spitfire's wing reached out to lightly brush Lightning's side.  "Neither do I," she whispered coyly.
Lightning Dust's cheeks flushed brilliantly as she whipped her head around to stare at Spitfire.  The older mare only responded with a mischievous grin and a wink before turning back to the conversation.  "Now then, any questions?"
"What about Dawn?" asked Rainbow.
"He's going to need to rest up a little," answered Spitfire, "And I need to talk to him a little more.  I'll come by and drop him off tomorrow, if that's okay with you."
"Yeah," said Rainbow, raising an eyebrow.  She wondered what the Captain of the Wonderbolts wanted to talk about with Dawn Lightwing.