Mentor and Student
"Morning, boss!" Shift said, cantering into the post office.
"Bright and early, Shifty!" Post laughed. "Back to being the early riser again, huh? You're certainly in good spirits." Post brought up his paper, the headlines reading 'Wonderbolts Show In Manehattan Coming Up Soon!' on the front pages.
"Well, the visit turned out pretty well..."
"Uh-huh," Post tapped the desk, indicating to the fully-packed saddlebags on the desk. "Back to the usual rounds, Shifty."
"I'll be done in a lightning bolt," he said, throwing the bags on his back. He partially turned away from the reading Post when he stopped. "...say, boss, can I have the afternoon off?"
The newspaper lowered and Post raised an eyebrow. "Why?" He quickly came to a realization as his eyes shot open in response before a grin started to spread across his face, giving a hearty chuckle. "Ohoho... I know what this is about... yeah, take the afternoon off. Hay, take the whole damn day off!" He quickly flipped the paper up to obscure his glee-written face.
Shift blinked. "Uh... what's this about?"
Post lowered his paper again. "Oh, nothing. Usually you don't just ask for another afternoon or day off out of nowhere... unless, you know... you got yourself a marefriend." He whipped the paper back up again, as Shift stood for a moment, the mailpony feeling his face grow hot.
"Hey, that's not--I don't have a special somepony!" The conversation he'd had with his mother pertaining to Spitfire recently brought back a lot of angst-filled thoughts.
"Uh-huh."
"I'm serious!"
"And so am I, Shifty!" Post laughed. "Really, these jokes would stop getting to you if you found yourself a marefriend," he teased. "You're a good stallion, and one buckin' talented flyer... you could use a mare with a nice flank."
"Wh--Post!" Shift said sourly, horrified at the uncouth territory the old stallion had just delved into.
"Relax, relax! I was just joking!" Post laughed again, folding his paper away and leaving it on the counter. "At this rate, you'll take your ironclad bachelor status to your grave!" He turned away, chuckling, as he returned to sorting out parcels and packages for the rest of the day's deliveries. "Yeah, you get the day off. Go finish your deliveries and you'll be free to do whatever."
"That was supremely uncomfortable, and I don't think you should tread there ever again," Shift said matter-of-factly, though he knew that Post always kept reminding him only because of good intentions. He gave a single huff of disbelief, taking to the skies, as Post merely chuckled to himself quietly, shaking his head all the while.
Ponyville was strangely becoming a more common stop for Shift, though the quiet town was usually a final stop for him due to the fact that it wasn't visited all that often for first-class. There seemed to be a lot of packages, most likely souvenirs, for Twilight Sparkle, boasting various postage stamps from lots of places in Equestria, some of them even so exotic that Shift wouldn't have believed they existed if it hadn't been the stamps... and the strange wrappings those packages came in.
As usual, Twilight was again waiting in the post office lobby as Shift entered.
"Hey, Miss Sparkle," he said.
"Oh, hello, Shift," Twilight said quickly. "You wouldn't happen to have a--"
Shift quickly pulled out the box and waved it in front of her face, which Twilight gladly accepted with fervor. "There you go. You've sure been getting a lot of packages lately, huh?"
"Yep," she happily said, examining the banana leaf that this particular package was wrapped with. "My brother's been sending me all sorts of amazing and wonderful stuff from his honeymoon with Princess Cadance. I'll have to visit these places sometimes, they all seem so... interesting."
"Right... speaking of which, have you seen Rainbow Dash anywhere?"
Twilight stopped examining the package on the floor and looked at him. "Dash? What's your business with her?"
"Don't tell her anything about this, but..." he said, leaning towards her ear. "...it's for her Wonderbolts audition."
"Oh, really?" she asked, now curious. "Has she been accepted?"
"Well... no... not yet... but I have a good feeling that she will be." The thought of Rainbow's reaction towards getting her own scheduled audition with the Wonderbolts had been sitting on his mind for a while.
"Oh. Well, if you need her, she's probably hanging around Ponyville somewhere taking a nap in a tree, or at home at her cloud house right outside of Ponyville. She's had a lot of free time recently since the weather teams aren't needed due to clear skies. Seems to be par for the course around this time of year."
"She takes naps a lot?" Shift asked.
"Yes... she does. She only usually does it only when she has free time, but she's otherwise a very loyal and dedicated worker and friend."
"Well, I sure hope she won't slack off when it comes to the audition. That requires some top-notch fitness to perform."
Twilight nodded. "I'm sure the Wonderbolts regimen will be very taxing on her rather... carefree lifestyle. But it's her dream to join, so I doubt she'll have many complaints for too long."
"She has her work cut out for her. I appreciate you telling me where to find her..." he said. "Otherwise I might have had to spend the whole day just looking for her."
"Well, I'm glad you told me about the audition," Twilight smiled. "I'll keep it a secret from her, if it means that much to you."
"Thanks, Twilight. Just... don't spoil the surprise accidentally, okay?"
"Oh, trust me, Shift, you were lucky you ran into me instead of Pinkie Pie. I definitely won't spoil it accidentally, but some ponies can be real chatterboxes." Discounting herself when she was going into detail on magical theory, of course.
He rolled his eyes. "That would have been a nightmare."
Twiilght giggled. "I'm sure it would have been. Well, now, I believe I've kept you here long enough, and I have a package to return to my library with. Have a nice day!" Twilight picked up the twine-wrapped banana leaf package with her mouth and left.
Derpy hadn't been in the office; most of the morning and day shift had another pony postmaster which Shift didn't bother conversing with, so he left. Ponyville, though it was a rather sizeable town, had fairly small town limits, and didn't have too many trees (unless one counted the Everfree, of course), so it wasn't that much of a problem to find Rainbow Dash.
The cyan pegasus had taken up a temporary sleeping spot on a tall tree just outside of town, on the road leading to Sweet Apple Acres. The sounds of her peaceful sleep could be heard around for a while in the center of the dead quiet roads, on top of the telltale sign of her tail swinging every now and then from underneath a bunch of leaves and branches.
Unwilling to pass up this fortuitous chance, he slowly broke into a glide, swinging deftly below the tree's canopy and slowly bringing himself up to the sleeping Dash.
"Mm... I'm... totally the coolest..." she mumbled, giving a small kick of her hind leg before she rolled around to the other side.
Oh, dear. Such carelessness would never be tolerated in the Wonderbolts. So it would be up to Shift to sort her out into proper Wonderbolts audition material.
He'd heard mention, or rather, from what Derpy had told him, of Dash terrorizing the local populace during Nightmare Night by flying around on a cloud and shocking ponies into fear using lightning bolts, and her subsequent comeuppance by being on the receiving end of her own prank, courtesy of Princess Luna. Well, he figured it was time for round two.
He zipped into the air, quickly gathering as many clouds as he could, forcing them all into themselves to create a darkened and water-dense storm cloud, just rife with lightning potential and the ability to literally rain on anypony's parade. Dash would be in for a rude awakening and her first step into becoming a real Wonderbolt.
Though, whether or not they actually adhered to strict training regimens down to the second was beyond Shift. But that was what he worked with for Spitfire, so it would work here, too. A little extra discipline never hurt in the long run, right?
He slowly brought the cloud down on top of the tree, preparing to let out a torrent of water and a crack of thunder that would most certainly wake Dash up from her enjoyable time in dreamland. He leaned over the side of the cloud and saw that her tail was still hanging about, and so he jumped into a float, readying a hard kick into the side of the cloud...
CRACK!
The lightning arced off a branch before slamming into the ground, leaving a small smoldering circle where the bolt had struck. A wall of water poured down into the tree, eliciting a shout of surprise from Dash.
"Huh--what?!"
"Rise and shine, Dash!" Shift laughed. "The Wonderbolts audition's coming up soon, you have free time, and the first thing you do is take a nap?"
"Okay, okay, I get it! Hay, I was having such a nice nap, too..."
"Well, don't expect it to stay that way! The Wonderbolts are all training, all the time!"
"No, they aren't!" Dash responded. "I asked Spitfire about how they worked at the Grand Galloping Gala, and they only spend a certain amount of time every week for training! It's not like they do it every day..."
Shift rolled his eyes: apparently, not even Spitfire was willing to stick with the extremely strenuous training regimen he'd made up for her just for her audition past her induction. No matter, all that was needed was to train up well enough to turn heads at the audition, and let the training handle the rest. Spitfire had easily gotten through the ranks, it seemed, in no small part due to the training regimen... perhaps Wonderbolts training was more of a step down compared to what he had her do?
"Well, it was my coaching that helped her get into the Wonderbolts, remember? I thought it was your life's dream to join them?"
"Well, yeah, it is, but..." The allure of the audition eventually clicked in her head. "Okay, what do you have in mind?"
"I--" Oops, he was still on the clock for his job. "I'll be right back. Won't take longer than a moment, just have to go turn in my shift for the day!" he said, turning and booming away at a speed that nearly threw Dash out of the tree. Sighing, she caught herself and leaped down to the ground, before ruffling her mane back to the way it had been ruffled previously prior to Shift's arrival in Ponyville.
It wasn't long before Shift had returned, minus his saddlebags, and yet another hearty laugh out the door by Post about seeing his 'marefriend' again. There had also been other mailponies in the office during his return, and by the time he was leaving, everypony around was wearing a silly grin on their faces. No doubt that the rumors would be disseminated throughout the entire post force by the time the workday was over.
This wasn't the first time Shift had run into something like this before: usually, they just played it off as one of Post's usual jokes, and by the end of the week, everything would be back to normal. Or so Shift hoped.
"Sorry about that, I had to turn in my saddlebags..." he huffed.
"No problem. So, what do you have in mind, coach?"
He took in a huge gulp of air, turning his head left and right, surveying the flat landscape and forest line around Ponyville. "Right, for starters, perhaps you should get in some stretches."
"Oh... uh, sure." Dash expected something more... harsher, but this was fine, too. She deftly flexed her wings, making sure that all the muscles were accounted for as she watched Shift fly higher into the sky, taking in the whole of the region around them. "Hey, what are you looking for, anyway?"
"Just looking around to see the best course of action..." he called back down. He hadn't used his Coach Mode for a while, but if Dash was to have any hope of making it through... "Hmm, alright, you done stretching?"
"Yeah. Got something in mind?"
"Yep. You. Me. Endurance run. Fifty laps around Ponyville, no stops, no breaks, watch the turns, don't hit other pegasi, and think quick on your wings. If you're half as fast as you say you are, you should have no problems keeping up with me when we hit corners." Spitfire might be entirely correct in judging how Dash would do in the endurance paces...
"Psh, no problem. Just don't cry when I leave you in the dust," she said, nonchalantly waving her hoof around.
"Sure," Shift responded casually, rotating in the air. The last time Spitfire had said that, she'd nearly been worn down to nothing on the fortieth lap while Shift overtook her multiple times. "You want a head start? As your coach, I should let you know that I always have your best interests in mind, and it's in your best interest right now to take that head start." He smiled smugly.
Dash eyed him cautiously, remembering what Shift had said about his wingpower. "Fine. I'll take it. Around Ponyville, right?"
"Yep. And don't worry if you don't know the right route... you'll know what the correct one is when I pass you," he laughed.
"Oh, it's on," she said, zipping into the air and flying along the outskirts of the city. It wasn't long until she became nothing more than a blip in Shift's vision, as he noticed her take a left and follow the perimeter. He gave a quick intake of breath before he shot forward, following in her wake.
"Come on! We haven't even broken forty laps yet!" Shift said. Dash was huffing and puffing as she struggled to continue flying as Shift flew alongside her, leaning backwards as his wings propelled him through the air.
Much to his word, it had only taken less than two laps before Shift had overtaken her, and soon multiple times, as even though Dash could manage to keep up with him at first, Shift's long-time flying had granted him a strength unlike any other pegasi, and the mailpony mentor perhaps even had the equivalent of Applejack's earth pony stamina in pegasus form.
"Hah... just... how many... are we on... right now?" Dash grunted as she continued flapping her wings slowly, still maintaining good speed, but not without severe strain on her muscles.
"We're around... thirty-five? Thirty-six?" Shift wondered out loud. "Come on, Dash, I know you have more in you than that."
"You... sure you aren't... a Wonderbolt...?" she panted, giving a tired glance to her flying partner.
"Nope... but I did coach Spitfire before she got into the Wonderbolts, so there's that."
"You... actually... coached her?" Her eyes furrowed in concentration for a few moments as she strained further to turn another corner. "Wait... how did you... know that I was... going to be at the audition...?"
"Well, I wonder... Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts... I think the better question would be: why wouldn't she be there, hmm?" He did an aerial roll around her, further exasperating the tired weather pony. "You're going to need to be at more than just your top-notch if you want to make it in!"
"I know... that! This endurance run is just so... buckin'... insane!"
"Need a break?" he asked.
"No, I can... how many... again...? Thirty-six...? Aw, buck... yeah... I'll take it."
"Alrighty, then. Let's land there!" Shift pulled into a dive and landed right by the tree where they had started, looking up into the air as Dash followed. She nearly fell over until Shift helped her over to the shade of the tree and slowly set her down into a sitting position.
"Hay... you make it look so easy..."
"Years of practice," he sang. "You did well today... most pegasi aren't even able to break the twenty count before they get worn out."
"How often will we be doing that?" She leaned her head back on the trunk of the tree, glad for having some sort of support for her sore body.
Shift sat down next to her, watching the clear blue skies as some small wisps of cloud floated around. "If I had the choice, we'd be leading up to every training session with an endurance run, but I'd like to get you acquainted with all the aspects of the regimen before we start settling into any routines. Tomorrow, we'll go over technique."
"That... sounds good... anything else?" She flapped her wings a few times. Not even during her more intensive flight days did she ever come close to feeling like her wings turned to mush.
"Yep. You need to think up your own signature move for the audition."
"Wha--really? Will that even work?"
"It worked for Spitfire, and it'll work for you. Don't try to think up something too quickly: have fun with it, and be creative. For you, though, you'll definitely want to work the Sonic Rainboom into it. I mean, don't take it the wrong way, it's a nice skill to have, but the Rainboom's a bit of a one-time trick. Working it into an awesome flight routine will definitely get you some attention."
"That's a lot to do in two weeks..."
"Then I guess we both have it cut out for us, huh?" Shift chuckled. "Oh, and there's one more thing: I spoke with my folks in Manehattan a while back... turns out that my father managed to score me a spot on their list for their prospective recruits audition."
"Prospective recruits? Wait, you're actually applying for the Wonderbolts?" Dash asked.
Shift sighed and shook his head. "No, no, it's nothing like that. Just a misunderstanding on my dad's part... but I asked him if I could keep it, and perhaps give it to somepony else... like a certain Rainbow Dash, for instance..."
"You scored me a prospective recruits audition?" Dash exclaimed. "Uh... wait, what is that?"
"It's like a list for recruits that show great promise and talent for joining the Wonderbolts, and they get some private time with the judges, as well as an extended audition time, so you can just focus on the performance without worrying about spectators or time limits. Apparently, it takes quite a bit of connections or some really good skill to get on the list, and the captain has to be the one to approve it. Spitfire saw my name on the list and gave the okay for my spot."
"And you're... giving that to me?"
He smiled and nodded sagely. "Indeed I am."
"I... wow, that's... that's so awesome!" She hugged him. "Thanks! I promise you that I won't blow it! In fact, I'll try even harder now! I won't let you down!"
"That's the spirit!" Shift said. "I think I may be looking at the next Captain of the Wonderbolts here..."
"Aw, that's nice, but I think you're getting ahead of yourself," Dash sheepishly responded. "I mean, me... being better than the great Spitfire? That's a lot to take in, even for myself. I think just being able to hang around with the Wonderbolts is already awesome enough!"
"Well, one step at a time, yeah?" He patted her on the back. "We're done for today, so just rest those wings, because it isn't going to get any easier from here on out. The audition's in two weeks, remember that!" He hopped to his hooves, trotting away a distance before turning back to her. "Oh, and just making it clear: I'm going to be back here tomorrow. We'll be training every single day until the audition, so eat well and don't sleep late!" He took off to the skies and headed straight back for Canterlot.
Rainbow Dash merely sat and closed her eyes, letting the wind blow through her mane, daydreams of the audition already coming to her mind.
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Here you go.
Fun fact: Every time I write a chapter for this story, I have to take special care that I don't end up spelling Shift's name wrong as a certain profanity that happens to be a replacement for the word 'poop'.
I'm waiting to see Spitfire's face when Dash shows up instead of Shift. Also how long do you plan on this running?
I demand moar.
740604 I'm not really sure, actually. I already have a general idea of how the story progresses (and maybe ends), and I just write the chapters to accommodate for it. It certainly won't be ending in at least four or five chapters, though.
About to go to bed, check Fimfic, read chapter,
740893 That's interesting; to me, a Sonic Rainboom is something that results when any pegasi determined enough reaches a certain speed boundary, it produces a Sonic Rainboom through the magical energies produced (and not something achieved through just speed: the combination of both is what produces the Rainboom).
Though if it really is such a legendary move, and only 'spectra' pegasi are able to perform it, her status and occupation certainly isn't reflective of something so awe-inducing, especially considering that out of every single other pony in Equestria with only one-tone or two-tone manes, Rainbow Dash is the only one with full spectrum mane. If it truly was something so legendary, then she would have most definitely been accepted into a more prestigious group like the Wonderbolts without as much as a second thought.
The title made me think of "Last Night on Earth" by Green Day.
"If I should lose everything in the fire"
"I'm sending all my love to you"
Nice chapter, oh and also MOAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
741059
I'd assume that Cloudsdale has its own mail service. That, and its proximity to Canterlot probably doesn't warrant a lot of first-class mail... would be a waste to do so.
741159 He's not rainbow-colored. I'd like to see the source that references that anypony that performs a Sonic Rainboom has to be rainbow-colored since the only thing it seems to me is nothing but headcanon.
For me, pegasi magic coupled with sound-breaking speeds equals a Sonic Rainboom.
Bravo! I am really enjoying your story, your OC is very fun and just the right balance of humility to showboating. Keep em updates coming.
' "Morning, boss!" Shift say, '
Might want to fix that. Anyway, great chapter, really looking forward to the next one! Keep up the awesome work!
What a fun story to read, hope Spitfire wont misunderstand what is going on with RD and Shift when it comes to that.
For some strange reason, i have this future insight there's going to be a love triangle between shift, spitfire, and rainbowdash
I demand moar though
during the laps around Ponyville, for some reason i imagined Shift flying beside Rainbow Dash in a pose like this clipartillustration.com/royalty-free-image-3372/design-mascot-laying-down.jpg
Post makes me laugh too damn much
Wow man I was expecting this to just be ok...
But i really like your writing stile
Nice job man
I think you know what I need...
static.fjcdn.com/large/pictures/69/34/693496_2781430.jpg
We need more please :D
Judging by the time to chapters were released i suspect a new one soon. 5/5 great job
Are you going to continue this
831266 Yes.
If people actually bothered reading my blog posts whenever I put them up, then these questions wouldn't need to be asked.
Another epic chapter! Awesome job MD, this was great!
Loving how this is going, loving it.