The life of a yet another colt who wants to fulfill his dreams of becoming the fastest pony in Equestria
After watching a Wonderbolts show with his best friend as a colt, Windstream longs to become the world's fastest and most acrobatic flier. After hurting himself and losing his friend, Windstream becomes lost, but is brought back to it after his dad enrolls him into a flight school where he trains under his idols and makes a new friend.
“Wooooooaaaaaaahhhh!” Two blue pegasi colts look to the sky in wonder as they witness the acrobatic prowess of the celebrity flight team known as the Wonderbolts. One of the colts was baby blue with a gray mane and an unmistakable yellow streak. The other, a sky blue colt with a pink mane. Both had faces encompassed in awe of the spectacle before them. Little did those blue colt know, that show would go on to change the course of both of their lives forever.
“Dad, I want to learn how to fly like those guys!” The sky blue colt told his father, enthusiasm plastered on his face. The events of the day had been tiring on the older stallion who was in desperate search of some rest.
“You know son, the only way those stallions and mares are able to do all those tricks for such a long time is by getting some rest and it’s getting pretty late. Why don’t you go lay down and get some sleep yourself so you can have just as much energy as the Wonderbolts!” The comparison to the Wonderbolts left a gleam in the little colt's eye as he leapt up, rearing for his room.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” The older stallion questioned in a tone meant to indicate that the colt was, in fact, forgetting something. The stallion raised an arm and the baby blue colt jumped into his father’s arms to wish each other a good sleep.
“Good night Windstream.”
“Night Dad!” And with that parting exclamation, the aspiring Wonderbolt ran off to his bed to rest up and begin his journey towards his destiny.
In front of the school the next day, Windstream’s father walks him to the front door, the excitement from the night before still showing in the young pegasus’s expression and body language.
“I know you’re still worked up from the show yesterday but you have to remember to behave in school today, okay?”
“Okay Dad.” Windstream had always been a sort of troublesome student. While not being an outright nuisance he always did have a tendency to disrupt the class by talking about flying. Sometimes with the teacher before lessons, sometimes with students during lessons, and sometimes completely derailing the flow of a lesson altogether just to focus on flying. Not the biology of a pegasus, not the correct way to fly against the wind, not even the basic rules of what not to do while flying. It would just be endless blatherings about how cool it looks, how fun it is, and how he’s gonna be the fastest and strongest flier one day. It’s even gotten to the point where his constant tangents had landed him with a note home from the principal for multiple flying based disruptions of class a day. This landed him in some hot water with his father for a few days which resulted in him being punished from practicing flying for a week which subsequently drove Windstream up the wall. This memory made his father shiver. He knows that today Windstream will be especially talkative. The boy had just been to his first ever Wonderbolts show and he’s fully aware that it’ll be all he talks about all day. He’s just hoping it doesn’t land him in some more trouble because he can’t afford to deal with a bored, punished, mini flier loose in his house for the second time in a month.
“Windy!” A voice comes from the play yard, it’s a softer and higher voice than Windstream’s own. Both Windstream and his father look over to see the small blue colt they had seen just last night at the Wonderbolts show.
“Coby!” Windstream shouted much louder.
“That show last night was amazing! Thank you for inviting me! You too Windstream’s dad!”
“No problem champ!” The stallion uttered with the tone of comfort and confidence that made it sound as if the little colt was his own. To some extent, he almost was. Cobalt spent most of his time at their house to the point where he’s basically family, closer with them than most normal families are to their cousins. He’d usually come over to do whatever Windstream had planned on doing that night, whether it be video games, playing music, or watching a scary movie, he’d be by Windstream’s side while doing it. More often than not however, he’d be caught outside cheering Windstream on in his practices to get faster. While Cobalt is as much of a Wonderbolt’s fan as the next pony, he wasn’t exactly the flying or competitive type so he’d leave most of that to Windstream. Windstream does enough flying for the two of them anyway. Windstream’s poor old dad wouldn’t be able to handle having two inexperienced and crazed fliers being loose in his house, they’d tear the place apart!
“Let’s go out to the playground so I can practice some tricks!” Windstream exclaimed.
“Tricks?” Cobalt questions. Windstream has always focused on speed, never tricks so this new way of thinking caught Cobalt way off guard.
“Heck yeah! After seeing that show yesterday, I’m totally pumped to try and learn some tricks and be just like the Wonderbolts!” Windstream’s ecstatic expression was enough to quell any confusion or concern welling up in Cobalt’s mind.
“Okay!” Cobalt yells with a new found sense of invigoration.
Windstream’s dad overhears this brief interaction but before he has the chance to intercept the two and warn them to stay safe they dart off and down towards the playground.
With minor concern for his son’s safety, Windstream’s father turns to leave the school yard, rationalizing in his head that the school staff would be able to keep him from doing something he shouldn’t. Deep down however, he knows he’s just attempting to fool himself.
“Check this out!” Windstream shouts down from about ten feet up in the air. It was barely high at all but with this unknown trick he’s about to try to pull off, it made Cobalt extremely nervous. Cobalt was always the type to be conscious when it came to Windstream’s reckless stunts. It sort of balanced out Windstream’s chaotic nature, but sometimes his concerns just weren’t enough to keep Windstream out of trouble.
“Be careful Windy!” Cobalt shouts up. His words of concern fell on deaf ears as Windstream got into position for whatever crazy trick he was about to attempt. With a zip that caused Cobalt whiplash just by watching, Windstream took straight up into the sky. Eagerness and confidence showed in his expression, almost matching the growing anxiety showing in Cobalt’s. Once he reached high enough into the air, Windstream tucked his wings in going into a high speed nose drop. Cobalt’s heart sank. Plummeting down to the clouds of the school yard, Windstream relished in the breeze hitting his face. He didn’t have very long to relax though as the ground was closing in at an alarming pace. Windstream’s wings stretched out in one smooth motion, the wind catching just in time to keep him from smashing into the cloud below. Cobalt’s excitement came rocketing back in a wave of relief, cheering on Windstream harder than he did for the show the night prior. Windstream looked back to meet his friend's gaze but before he could lock eyes with the sky blue colt he felt a smack to his chest that completely trumped any pain he had felt before up until that point. Cobalt’s excited expression turned into horror as he raced over to his friend lying flat on the ground. Windstream looked up from his daze to see his friend’s face and the lumbering height of the school house wall that he had just, so graciously hit. He went to lift his hoof to calm Cobalt before feeling a sharp pain in his foreleg he had never felt before. With a shout of pain that sent Cobalt into the air out of fear he had come to the realization Cobalt was dreading. He had broken his leg.
After he had broken his leg he was tended to by the school nurse and sent home on account of his injury. His father showed up to the school after being retrieved by a pegasi messenger alerting him of his son's injury. He was clearly upset when he arrived, that much was obvious. Before he had left the yard, the last thing he said to Windstream was to behave and now he was laying in front of him on the nurse’s office cot with a broken foreleg. But although his father was mad, he also showed concern which helped to lower Windstream’s feelings of guilt a little. It wasn’t all anger. Cobalt was also there to tell his father exactly what had happened to him. He didn’t need to be there since both Windstream and the nurse were fully capable of recounting the day’s events and was actually given detention for refusal to show up to class. He didn’t care though. He wanted to see to it that Windstream’s dad knew the story from his perspective which was admirable in Windstream’s eyes.
After that Windstream and his father arrived at the Cloudsdale hospital where they diagnosed the fracture with fancy doctor speak that he couldn’t understand and didn’t care to either, all he knew was that his leg was broken and he needed a cast. After the cast was put on it was advised that he stay off his hooves to avoid further injury which was all fine since he was a pegasus and a damn good flier. The second stipulation is what really got to him. He wasn’t allowed to do any rigorous flying exercises that could worsen his fracture. This meant no speed training and no acrobatics training for two whole months. This information hit Windstream harder than the school yard wall. He tried to argue with the doctors that he could get better sooner, on their way home he tried to convince his dad that he could still do tricks just fine. His father wouldn’t budge. In fact, his arguing made restrictions on him even tighter. Outside of school, he was not allowed to leave the house unless under adult supervision and in school he was to be monitored attentively by the yard supervisors all to make sure that he wouldn’t try to sneak in any tricks that could get him hurt again until his leg was fully healed. He understood exactly where his dad was coming from and it totally made sense but it didn’t make Windstream any less angry. His house and school had just been turned into supermax prisons, all because of one, stupid mistake. On the bright side, he still had Cobalt to keep him company while he was working on his recovery journey.
Most of his time at school had been spent talking to Cobalt from then on, often about flying. It was all Windstream could think about while being kept from flying himself. His brain and body craved the blood pumping excitement that he felt that day before he hit the wall. After school, most days Cobalt accompanied him and his father home to play some video games or listen to music and waste away the seemingly endless and agonizing days that were counting down until his release from his homely prison. On the days when Cobalt couldn’t escort Windstream home, they’d play games online over the Haystation. This was never really common before but started to become a trend two or three weeks after Windstream’s accident. He’d show up less in person and more online. About four weeks into his recovery and Windstream started going days without seeing him online at all. He confronted Cobalt about this when he saw him in person at school but he’d always brush it off by saying, “It’s just family business. Nothing to worry about,” but Windstream was worrying. A lot. Soon after the inquiry, Cobalt started distancing himself in person too. Then it started to become a question of whether it was himself.
“Is it me? Am I driving him away? Was it something I said? Does he feel guilty about my accident?” These were all concerns that he had brought up with his dad who, at that point, was also getting to be a little concerned for Cobalt. He knew it couldn’t be his home life because his parents were super sweet and gave him a ton of freedom. Maybe it’s an issue with other friends? A source outside of school? The passing of a relative? His father was just as lost as he was. In a feeble attempt to help assist his son to not feel guilty he offered that maybe he just found other friends which just resulted in a bigger feeling of inadequacy and the development of some other feelings too.
Showing up to school the next day he spent the day completely ignoring any of the few attempts made by Cobalt to spark conversation. His father’s talk with him the other day had Windstream completely sold on the idea that Cobalt had found other friends and was dropping him to hang out with them. All during lessons and lunch he wouldn’t so much as look Cobalt’s way. He wanted to be as petty as possible and make Cobalt feel guilty. And it was working. Recess swung around and Cobalt gathered the courage to confront Windstream off to the side of the playground where none of the other colts and fillies were playing.
“Windy.”
No response.
“Windy?”
Windstream tenses.
“Windy!”
“What!” Windstream turns around with a yell that alerts some of the other ponies on the playground and some of the guards stationed out there to watch over him. Cobalt flinched back at his response, noticing the flared out wings and menacing expression on his friends face, clearly showing that something had been bothering him,
“Is everything okay? Did I do something wrong?” Cobalt whimpered out these words in a voice almost inaudible over the screams and laughter of the playground ponies.
“Is everything ok! Did you do something wrong! I don’t know, does ignoring your best friend to go hang out with other ponies sound wrong to you!” The emotions were coming out in full force. Ponies were staring now but he didn’t care. For the first time in his life he had felt pure betrayal and unadulterated anger. He was at a low point in his life, trapped inside of his house, prevented from doing what he loved, and being completely ignored by his best and only real friend. He had nothing left to lose so he went all out.
“Ignoring you? I’m not ignoring you.” Cobalt muttered out in confusion at these heinous accusations. “You know you’re the only friend I’ve ever had.”
“If that’s true then why haven’t you been on Haystation, or come to my house, or hardly talk to me anymore in school!” Emotions were soaring in Windstream’s head and it took all of his restraint to not fly away in that moment and never look back.
“I’ve been busy! You’ve been the one ignoring me!” Cobalt bit back, a bit bitter. This caught Windstream off guard which showed in his expression but he quickly regained his offensive position, wings flared in blatant anger.
“What could you possibly be so busy doing that you don’t have time for your best friend anymore!” Windstream’s composure was breaking and tears of rage and sadness began welling up in his eyes which he forced down.
After this question Cobalt’s fight left his body. Tears began to form in his eyes and he dropped onto his haunches sitting and staring at his now furious best friend for a mistake he had made. This erased all of the anger from Windstream’s face, his ears falling back with a look of concern plastered across his face.
“I’m sorry,” Cobalt whimpers out in yet another inaudible tone, “I’m sorry!” The second time he had basically screamed, yet again catching the playground ponies’ attention. Quiet sobs turned to wails in those short seconds as Windstream was caught in an emotional twister of confusion, sadness, anger and jealousy.
“I’ve been packing!” He shouted through his cries.
“Packing? For what?” Windstream asked this question knowing exactly the response that came next. He was hoping it’d be different. Any other response would be better. But what came out of his friend's mouth next was exactly what he had expected.
“I’m moving.” Cobalt’s wails have quieted to a more manageable tone but the sobs were still uncontrollable.
“What? Where?” Windstream asked through stifled sniffles as if he didn’t expect the response he got.
“I don’t know.” His friend's voice was reaching the softer higher pitches again while his eyes had begun streaming.
“When?” Was the only word Windstream was able to muster before he could no longer speak past his cries.
“I don’t know.” Cobalt said. Except he did know. He knows exactly when.But he had made it a point to not tell him. He wanted to let him be happy and not burden him with the move. This was exactly why he had been distancing himself. He was so desperately trying to spare his best friend’s feelings, but in the end, his attempts to fade out of Windstream’s life brought out even worse feelings than the ones he was trying to avoid. The thought of this hurt him more than Windstream would ever know.
The two teary eyed colts cried and hugged each other in the field by the playground for what felt like an eternity. Recess would soon end and the two would return to class together, side by side, no words spoken between the two of them. In class, neither of them interacted with each other or the teacher. With obvious distress on their faces the teacher chose to avoid them as to not stir any emotions but it didn’t help that some of the students were chatting with each other about what had happened in the school yard.
After school Windstream’s dad swung by to pick him up but noticed the obvious signs of sorrow on his son’s face. He’d attempt to inquire and lighten the mood but none of it worked. His father got the hint and let him be the rest of the way home.
“You wanna talk about it bud?” His father spoke in a somber tone to try and match his son’s mood.
“No dad.” Windstream responded in a hushed monotone voice.
“Is it about Cobalt?” His dad prys a little further. Walking in the direction of his room, all he offers is a little nod as a response to his fathers question before shutting the door behind him to avoid any further interrogation. Windstream’s dad is left alone to sit and ponder about what his son could have possibly experienced at school to put him in this state but nothing comes to mind. With no way to reach a conclusion on his own he decides to get a nap in an attempt to clear his mind. Unfortunately for Windstream, come nightfall he is left unable to sleep.The events of that day played over and over in his mind, the guilt of his accusations, the sadness of his best and only childhood friend leaving for a far off unnamed land, and the claustrophobia of being stuck inside his house, unable to leave for at least two more weeks weighed on him, preventing him from getting any meaningful rest.
The days following, Windstream and Cobalt wouldn’t talk. The guilt Windstream felt and the lie that Cobalt spoke left them both unable to muster the courage to talk to each other. There were occasional waves exchanged in the halls or glances at each other from across the table at lunch or in class but there were no words and no smiles. Then, one day when Windstream arrived at school, he wasn’t there. Cobalt wasn’t there. He could’ve easily reasoned in his head that he was sick or just didn’t want to go to school and just stayed home instead but in his gut, he knew. But it wasn’t until he got home that it was confirmed. Cobalt had swung by his house while he was at school and dropped off a letter for his father to deliver to him when he returned. His father chose not to read it. He assumed based off of the look on Cobalt’s face and the fact that he chose to write a letter and not tell him in person that it was private so when Windstream walked through the door, he was greeted by his father with a gray envelope in his mouth. Windstream grabbed the envelope without so much as a greeting or a thanks and walked into his room, closing the door behind him, leaving a concerned father in his wake.
He sat on his bed for two hours listening to the most emo tracks he could gather. Up to this point a lot of those songs had been helping him through the motions so he had held out hope that maybe they’d make this letter any easier to read. Finally, he decided to rip open the letter.
“Dear Windstream. I want to apologize for the grief I caused you. I couldn’t do it in person, I’m no good at goodbyes. I didn’t mean to make you believe I didn’t like you anymore, I just didn’t want you to hurt when I went away. I wanted you to stay just as confident and happy as you’ve always been but I messed up. I hope you can forgive me.Don’t forget to message me on haystation. Love, Cobalt.”
He stared at the letter for a minute. It’s funny, it was shorter than he’d expected. They’d known each other practically since birth and he couldn’t even find a way to take up half the letter. He put the letter back inside the envelope, stuffed it into the bottom of his nightstand drawer, and got in bed to sleep. He needed to get away from reality and sleep would be just the way. November fifteenth, that was the day that a twelve year long friendship from childhood ended. The next day he blocked Cobalt on Haystation. He couldn’t handle facing the things he had said in the schoolyard that day, and those memories weighed on him a lot in the months following.
Getting his cast off didn’t even feel like an achievement without Cobalt around to be excited for him and the world became dull and unforgiving for the months following. His grades began getting worse as he completely alienated himself from any potential friends for the rest of the year. All this time spent alone was spent practicing flying. Tricks and speed training was his life for the rest of the school year, it was his motivation to keep going. After he finished up fifth grade with extremely low grades his father knew he had to do something to shift Windstream's focus and he knew just what to do. He enrolled Windstream in a flight camp for junior speedsters much to Windstream's surprise. He thanked his dad and was sent off to camp later in the summer, where soon, he'd make a name for himself and change his destiny.
“Get up maggots! Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two, three, four!” Windstream shot up out of bed at the sound of the gruff, gravely voice of the mare standing in the doorway to his barracks. All the colts in the room began shuffling around in their beds making cheap efforts at getting up to stand to attention. Windstream couldn’t say he was faring much better, he had just spent his first ever night away from home bar a few sleepovers with Cobalt every now and then. This was different though, he knew he wasn’t going to go back to his dad’s house. Not for a long time. The thought of this wracked his brain and robbed him from getting any real sleep. Snapping back into reality, Windstream quickly realizes that all of the stallions in the room were standing at attention for their new drill sergeant. All except him. He soon made another realization when he looked straight ahead to see the drill sergeant now towering over him, looking down on him with a cold grimace. Windstream snaps to his hooves, putting his muzzle comically high in the air as if trying to brush off the fact that he was the only pony not standing at attention just a second ago.
“We don’t have time for slackers here,” her gruff voice said demeaningly, “If you can’t handle these living conditions then you’re not fit for flying with the best you understand me?” Her eyebrow raised strangely in sync with the completion of the question.
“Y-Yes Ma’am!” was all Windstream could think of under the pressure.
“Now get in line!” She orders, visibly displeased with the response given. As he stepped into the line, Windstream recognized a couple snickers from other colts in the room which causes him to put his head down and blush in shame.
“We will be meeting in the mess hall at 0900 hours to assign partners. We are going to test your skills as individuals, and then we will test your skills as a team. We want to be able to chart a course for progression and need to get a basic understanding of your abilities, attitude and responsibility when it comes to flying. If you are late, then may Celestia have mercy on your soul.” And with that final, menacing statement, she evacuated the barracks, assumedly to go give the same terrifying speech to another batch of newbie fliers.
“I think that last part was meant for you Dash.” One of the colts next to him said, nudging Windstream’s arm. It was still strange to him, being referred to by his last name. What was even stranger was the sense of familiarity about the drill sergeant. The yellow and orange mane, the intense and gravelly voice, it felt like he’d seen her somewhere once, maybe on tv. He didn’t have much time to think about it however, 0900 was coming in fast and he had to get his flight gear on.
Arriving at the mess hall, he seemed to be the first to arrive, at least when it came to the colts. On the other side of the room, some fillies had already shown up and had been put in a row.
“Over here newbie.” The unmistakable voice from earlier beckoned him, pointing to a specific spot on the floor.
“Good to see you’re actually on point this time. You’ll be the start of the line, all colts that filter through afterwards will be set behind you, don’t lose your spot,” her voice was so demanding, so familiar, “The filly across from you will be your partner for today’s project.”
Looking across the room Windstream locks eyes with the pony he was just partnered with. A gray filly with a noticeable hot pink mane and deep purple tail. Her hooves were multi-colored to match her mane and beautiful yellow eyes that matched his own. Once he breathed in all of the details of his new partner he tore his eyes away from her and waited for the rest of the cadets to filter in for the day's challenge to begin. Once most of the ponies were accounted for, they’d all be moved to a field outside with a lifted podium which the sergeant would soon take her place on.
“Today’s testing will consist of three trials! You will do them twice! Once with, and once without your partner!” The sergeant spoke loudly into a megaphone to give the instructions to the sea of pegasi that Windstream was currently a part of.
“The first part will be a speed test! We will mark how fast you can take off, your top speed, and your speed control upon landing! The second part will be an acrobatic formation test! You will be given a choreographed formation of varying difficulty and will be tasked with completing it to the best of your ability! You will be graded on accuracy to the choreography and will be given extra points depending on the speed! The final trial is a cloud busting contest! You will be timed on how quickly you can bust an allotted number of clouds!” The crowd digested all of this information for a moment, preparing themselves emotionally for the trials to come.
“And since it’s a contest we decided to test your drive and see how you fare with a reward on the line! The fastest overall time when it comes to the team trial will be allowed an extra hour of uninterrupted rest in our spare barracks!” The crowd erupted into cheers of pure joy. After waking up so early today it seemed that no pony wanted to be forced to do it again. It was a little funny in a way, how excited ponies could get over some sleep.
“To demonstrate to you how these trials should go, I’ve called in my own team so you can all see how real professionals pull them off!”
Ooos and ahhs wave over the crowd as they each witnessed the spectacle before them, a spectacle that helped Windstream connect the dots in his head on who the mysteriously familiar drill sergeant was.
In a moment of realization and excitement he screamed, “It’s the Wonderbolts!” which was surprisingly audible over the roaring applause and cheering coming from the crowd for the Wonderbolts’ arrival. This meant that their drill sergeant had to be none other than the leader of the Wonderbolts herself… Spitfire! Why hadn’t it registered in his head sooner! He had just been to one of their shows earlier this year and she’s the practically the easiest one to identify! Maybe it was because of how nervous he was because of her outlash that morning or because he had just never seen her out of her official Wonderbolts outfit but the why didn’t matter now, all that mattered is that the Wonderbolts were here! And Spitfire is his flight sergeant! And best of all, he was about to get a Wonderbolt’s show and he had front row seats completely for free!
The Bolts zipped and soared overhead, demonstrating great skill and precision as well as showing off exact knowledge of their flight patterns, being sure not to collide midair while also making sure to mirror each other exactly. Three Wonderbolts in their own section of air, three more parallel to them. They dashed towards each other, switching sides with each other before doing three backflip loop the loops in a row. The pegasi below all stamp their hooves on the floor in wonder. One bolt from either side takes a dive, straight down to the ground, a trick Windstream had attempted not even a year prior, and one he’d recovered from only months ago. The ponies watch, stricken with awe, as the first pair of ponies pull up just before nose diving into the clouds below, then the second pair, then the third pair. They all meet up in the middle after their daring trick for one last hurrah.
They call on volunteers for their last trick, waving up three different ponies. One an unfamiliar filly. Another, a colt Windstream vaguely recognized as a member of his barracks. The final, his own partner, the pink mane’d filly. Each of them flew up to join the Bolts with varying levels of confidence. Windstream’s eyes were fixed on his partner who went up to join Fleetfoot. She was beautiful in her confidence and the way she flew, yes, but he was also interested to see how she’d fare in this next unknown trick. Each pegasi spoke to the Wonderbolt accompanying them for a brief moment before getting into a stance, as if ready for battle. With the blow of Spitfire’s whistle, all six of the ponies began their slow ascent into the air until their momentum slowed down enough. At this point the three rookies hit a standard backflip. However, mid-flip, the rookie pegasi took the hooves of their respective Wonderbolts who flew directly over them and launched them down, giving them extra speed that they wouldn’t have been able to reach normally without being in a ridiculous free fall. Each Wonderbolt, as if internally connected, spread their wings at the same time in order to slow themselves in for a landing where they’d each slide into a power stance, posing victoriously before the volunteers manage to join them at their own pace.
The crowd stamped with cheer Windstream hadn’t heard in some time now. As the pink mane’d filly joined him in the crowd Windstream glanced at her with a smile on his face which she’d return with a cocky smirk of her own. Windstream’s heart bumped a little but he made nothing of it as he was too worried about the amazing show and roaring crowd. The cheers of the masses were interrupted with the sound of Spitfire’s commanding voice over her megaphone once more.
“You newbies have one hour to limber up and get your act together!” She screamed over the mega phone with a volume that made Windstream’s ears feel like popping.
“First team up is blue and pink over here!” She shouted again pointing a hoof at the two little ponies at the front of the crowd. Surprisingly, this call to arms didn’t draw too much attention to them as most ponies were still internally freaking out about the show, Windstream included.
“Break!” Was all that Spitfire had to shout before the crowd of ponies scattered like a chaotic mess, akin to a Changeling hive. Windstream and his partner quickly moved to a quieter and more open area to practice and introduce themselves.
They didn’t even find a spot before he began speaking, “That was amazing what you did up there! Must have been the best experience EVER flying with the Wonderbolts!” he said with a tinge of jealousy in his tone. “The name’s Windstream! Nice to meet ya!” He stated with a hoof outstretched.
“Moonshine. Moonshine Flitter.” She said, shaking his hoof without a second thought. “And yeah, it was pretty cool, I was awesome wasn’t I?” She began in an almost taunting manner.
“You bet Celestia you were!” Windstream wasn’t shy about letting his excitement shine through and she realized. He looked like he had just had the world’s greatest birthday wish come true, and he wasn’t even the one who was up there with the Wonderbolts!
“You’re a pretty big fan, huh?” She asked, already knowing the answer.
“Uh, duh! Who isn’t?” Windstream said in a way some ponies might’ve found offensive. It didn’t bother Moonshine though. In fact, she liked the enthusiasm. She herself is familiar with the feeling.
“I feel you man. I have that same excitement for space. That’s why I’m here!” This statement caused Windstream to raise an eyebrow in confusion, “What correlation does Wonderbolts flight camp have with space travel?”
Moonshine was quick to respond, “The ability to know your own body, weight and ability to maneuver yourself helps greatly in the traversal of space! That and the Wonderbolts have some pretty mean zero G simulators.” She stated matter of factly.
“Wait so did everypony know this was a Wonderbolts flight camp?” Windstream asked, yet again confused.
“Yeah? It said so on the flier that our parents signed.” Moonshine said, helping him put the pieces together.
“So dad must’ve known and signed me up as a surprise! But paying for this must’ve cost a fortune!” Windstream’s realization gave him a newfound respect for his father and a big smile on his face.
“Well we should probably get going on these moves if we ever want to impress the Bolts. We’re going to be the first ones up so we don’t have time to emotionally prepare or fix our plans off the other ponies mistakes so we have to make this opener the best damn show anypony will ever have the honor of witnessing!” Moonshine’s speech bolstered Windstream with confidence that they’d do amazing at this project, not that he needed anymore. With that speech, the window for introductions had closed. Now, it’s time for practice.
An hour came and went and the time for demonstration had arrived. Windstream could tell by the stillness of the crowd that many of the pegassi there had lost their edge and become anxiety ridden. Windstream remained unphased however.
“Remember newbies, this is your first showing of skill. This won’t leave a mark on your permanent record or dictate how the Wonderbolts view you in any way. This is purely to mark where your abilities are, and where we need to go with your specific training moving forward.” Spitfire’s tone was more relaxed than usual, as if she was trying to quell the fears of the many nervous pegassi standing before her, and for some it worked. But as the first filly stepped up to be tested, Windstream could see in her face that Spitfire’s words of encouragement didn’t seem to work on Moonshine.
Stepping up to bat, Moonshine stood nervously on the runway. Thoughts of discouragement were racing through her mind, “What if the Wonderbolts are unimpressed? What if I mess up and all of the other ponies laugh at me? What if I fail so badly that I get sent home!” Spitfire was raising her hoof, a signature move right before the starting whistle. Her head began to feel hot with anxieties, she told herself in her head, “This is what you need to do if you want to get into the Equestrian Space Program. Like it or not, I HAVE to do this and I have to do this right,” and with a glance at Windstream who gave an affirming smile, the whistle blew and she was off.
Having tested with speeds reaching up to eight wing power, an impressive score for a young flier, nearly matching that of a full grown pony, Moonshine knew she had the speed portion in the bag. She zipped with precision speed into a steep incline, reaching up to the higher clouds above. From there she dipped, strafed and bounced off of them, topping the showing off with a couple backflips for some extra agility points. Now came the hard part, following the choreography.
During her hour of testing, she was repeatedly looking at the step by step guides for her choreography she was assigned. Windstream kept trying to convince her she had it down but she was unsure and that feeling never felt more prevalent than in this moment. She couldn’t stop to think though, she just had to commit.
She went into a nosedive where she’d do five spins before pulling up about fifty feet from the ground. Once realigned, Moonshine gathered her thoughts before heading into a triple helix spin, a more complex move that even had Spitfire impressed as she used a pen that was tied to her neck to write down on a clipboard. Next she had to do a one eighty backflip to face the other direction before ascending slightly and then sharply diving down coming into a landing that could only be described as heroic. The landing must have sent some shock through her legs however since she visibly quivered and almost lost her balance.
“Very nice job,” Spitfire spoke to the filly that had just landed beside her, “Next time lean into the landing so it’s not so hard on the legs.” Moonshine nodded, clearly marinating on the words of advice she was just given.
Turning to the crowd Spitfire announces, “Next up, Windstream Dash!” Walking up to the runway, Windstream gives Moonshine a firm hoof bump.
“You did great out there.” He says with a smirk as if he knew she could do it. “Thanks, no just don’t mess up yourself.” She said with a smirk to match his. With their minor interaction of mutual respect out of the way, Windstream was next up and ready and more confident than ever. With the smirk still on his face and his haunches in the air, the whistle blew. Spitfire’s mane was blown back by a whopping twelve wind power, even better than the speed of most full grown pegassi! Not looking back he climbed altitude effortlessly, speed was never an issue and he wasn’t afraid to show it off. Once he reached right under the clouds high above he hit a few flips, barrel rolls, spins and helixes, some moves he had practiced a little back at home after Cobalt left.
While by the clouds above, he grabbed one and spun it, rubbing it while it was spinning as if he was a potter working on his latest masterpiece. Spitfire was squinting from below, he had gone way too high up. She’d have to dock some points for not following the height restrictions and review the cameras she’d placed on a few clouds in case of a scenario like this in order to properly grade his choreography. Upon finishing up with his cloud, Spitfire could clearly see now what he was holding, a thunder cloud, roughly the size of two work horses. Her heart sank. She saw this happen with a cadet once before, hubris turned dangerous with a lack of caution. She immediately took to the sky, megaphone in hand, screaming to Windstream to come down but he was already in motion and knew exactly what he was going to do. The crowd was blown back by the speed of their sergeant’s lift off leading to everypony’s full attention to the scene above. Everypony was enthralled, excited even. Everypony except Moonshine. She had spent most of her life studying flight and knew immediately that things would end badly. Clouds are full of hot, scattered and volatile molecules that react near instantly when disturbed and if Windstream was about to do what she thought he was going to do then she fully understood why Spitfire reacted so quickly.
Windstream tossed the completed gray cloud down below him, letting it coast to a stop midway between him and the crowd below. Spitfire’s screaming was becoming audible now but was still distant, it was enough to make him turn his head however. Seeing Spitfire approaching him with urgency he choked up, something was wrong, he just knew it. Was his choreography that bad? Was he slower than he thought? He couldn’t let these thoughts ruin his first ever test and showing of talent. Still staring at Spitfire through her rapid approach, he recovers his confidence, pride returning to his face. Restored to his former self, he gave Spitfire a wide smile that probably would have melted the heart of even the most lowly of ponies. With that final gesture of acknowledgment, he turned his attention back down towards the cloud and dived.
Using his wings, he pushed himself into hitting the fastest speed he could before tucking his wings to his back making himself as aerodynamic as is possible for a pony. Tears began streaming from his face with pure speed as the cloud approached. He could hear the cheers of the crowd become more and more audible the faster he declined. Spitfire watched with faith that her student would be safe as he disappeared, engulfed in the cloud. The crowd below fell silent.
Entering the cloud,he felt a burning sensation overcome him. A feeling he had never quite felt before. It was subtle at first but became scalding within milliseconds. Just as quick as he entered the cloud burst to a cacophony of ooos and aaas. The ponies hardly got to finish their exclamations before the colt who was just inside that very cloud came hurtling towards the ground at a speed faster than he had entered with a trail of pure electricity now showing in his wake. Moonshine immediately leaped from her seat and over towards the falling blur.
She had prepared for this moment. Through space exploration many things could possibly go wrong and things could always come crashing down. Without a second thought, she darted across the field, everypony else stuck to their seats in shock. With only a split second chance, she’d have to catch him at the exact point in time or else she’d fly past, or miss him entirely. With expert precision she snatched him out of the air, only a few meters off of the ground. Everypony cheered and stamped their hooves.
Moonshine didn’t respond to the attention, instead focusing herself on Windstream who was completely unconscious. Her heart stopped as she checked his chest for a pulse. A heartbeat, but it was faint. Medics were on top of her in seconds, loading Windstream onto a stretcher and checking her for any possible damages to her forelegs from the impact. She knew she was okay and basically had to shoo the medics away to get them off her. She did feel something though, a lingering shock through her body. Residual electricity from the cloud.
“This shouldn’t be possible.” She was visibly baffled looking at her own front hoof. “If he still had electricity in his body by the time I caught him he shouldn’t have had a heartbeat at all.”
Moonshine was awoken, as per usual, by Sergeant Spitfire. It had been days since the entry test. Since the accident. The sight of watching someone she had met just hours before had her unbelievably shaken up. She knows everyone was safe in the end thanks to her, she was even gifted a medal in honor of her bravery, but the thuds of a barely beating heart was enough to stick with her through the long cold nights in the bunks.
After shakily forcing herself out of bed Spitfire approached her, a stone cold expression on her face, “You are requested in the infirmary.”Moonshine gulped heavily as she looked to the bedside at her medal of honor, hoping not to receive bad news about her new friend.
She had visited Windstream in the infirmary every day since the incident, stable but unconscious. The nurses said he should wake up within a couple days time and be back to his normal self but all Moonshine could think was, “What do they know? They’re just some field medics, they aren’t a viable enough source for information on a pony in a coma!” The fact that the Wonderbolts Flight Camp wouldn’t hand Windstream over to medical professionals left her worried sick. On a few of the visits she had recognized a pony, similar in color to Windstream with a look of distress on his face. He was an older pegassi. Probably his father. Whenever he would show up she would make a fast exit. She didn’t want to confront a man she was never introduced to whose son was stuck in a coma for who knows how long.
As she approached the infirmary, she put a hoof to her chest in an attempt to gather any ounce of courage she could muster, to little avail. With what little confidence she had fleeting, she forced herself to the door of the infirmary and pushed it open to be greeted by two cheery nurse pegassi, a stark contrast to the stone cold demeanor she had experienced from spitfire just moments before.
“Moonshine, so glad you’re here!” One said in a voice so cheery that it almost sounded demeaning.
“I was requested?” Moonshine responded seriously, trying to break the strangely happy tone from the nurses voice in this otherwise dreary infirmary.
“Oh yes you most definitely were!”, she replied. “But not by us, by him.” The nurse turned to reveal Windstream lying in bed, a little groggy from the painkillers but otherwise totally fine. It was as if he’d just passed out for a few days. One thing did stand out however, the single yellow streak from his mane had now become a lightning bolt pattern traveling from the front of his head to the back of his neck, a strangely symbolic representation of his horrific encounter with death itself.
“Heard you caught me in mid-air, sounds pretty sick.” Windstream said in a labored breath.
“I can’t believe you’re alive!” Moonshine said with renewed excitement. “You went straight through that cloud of lightning and you don’t even look like you have a mark on you!” Looking around Windstream realizing what Moonshine was talking about, there were no burn marks or even scars at all.
“Well would you look at that.” He said as he crawled out of bed to get a better look. Upon stepping off he felt a piercing shock through his foreleg, as if a tiny bolt of electricity zapped him from the hoof up. He winced before putting down his other legs and successfully getting out of bed. He took a minute to acknowledge the pain knowing that while there was miraculously no harm done to the outside, he still felt the after effects of pure lightning on the inside. He looked around after easing up to see Moonshine hitting him with the most intense stare he’d ever witnessed, accompanied with her hoof outstretched pointing directly at him.
“Everything okay over there?” He asked semi-sarcastically.
“Your flank.” She said with awe in her voice. Windstream looked down to see it clear as day, his cutie mark, a couple wisps of air.
“Looks like that cloud left a mark on me after all!” He spoke fast, saying the joke as fast as it came to his head. He looked up to meet a completely unamused Moonshine.
“Sarge is gonna want a word with you y’know.” She said, breaking the awkward silence of a joke gone wrong. Windstream winces at the thought of it.
“Come on, let’s reintroduce you to the other members. Make sure the lightning didn’t fry your brain.” Moonshine waved him over with him following in toe.
On their way out of the infirmary, they meet Sergeant Spitfire, visibly displeased with fiery eyes locked on Windstream.
“Private Flitter, head to the mess hall. Breakfast is on and you’re missing it.” She said in her ever demanding voice. “Private Dash, with me to my office. I need to have a word with you.” Heeding their sergeant’s demands, the two ponies parted ways, both looking back to each other with equally worried expressions.
Approaching Sergeant Spitfire’s office, Windstream’s walk slows to a crawl with the nerves he had developed on the journey. He had been disciplined by principals and guidance counselors before with no issue, he’d always been one to make a mistake trying a new trick or speak out of line in class but this was different. Flight camp was all he ever wanted and his father gave that to him, and with the Wonderbolts no less. Now he’s about to be chewed out by one of his heroes after failing a stunt before their eyes. What’s worse is that while they approach, he can see what looks like the back of his father’s head through the window sitting in Spitfire’s office.
“Keep moving.” Spitfire says without eye contact. Approaching the door, he could tell he wasn’t going to receive any warm welcomes back to consciousness. At least not from her.
The door opens, slowly as Windstream sees his father’s head flick around in a look of concern which quickly shifts to relief upon seeing his son finally awake.
“We need to talk about your son’s reckless behavior.” Spitfire announced, not allowing a chance for greetings. “Within the short time he’s been enrolled he’s managed to stir up the most havoc I’ve seen at this flight camp for quite some time! The last pony to cause this much trouble for me was booted from the Wonderbolts reserves! Tell me why I shouldn’t treat the kid the same.” Spitfire said with soul piercing confidence.
Windstream’s father turned to his son, his ears folded back, and head turned down with tears streaming from his hidden eyes.
“Was this other pony given a second chance?” Windstream’s dad inquires with some seriousness to his voice.
Taken a bit aback by the confidence of this otherwise sweet looking father she replies, “Yes she was but her antics didn’t ever send anyone into a coma.”
“But did she put anypony in danger?” He asked quickly. “Did Windstream put anyone else in danger?” He followed up.
“He didn’t, but the showing off could easily snowball into another Lightning Dust given enough time!” She spoke with concern, as if remembering back caused her fear, or maybe guilt?
“But he’s young, he just graduated the 6th grade, you still have the time to instill the responsibilities that come with being able to fly acrobatically or professionally that I never could. You can use his youth as the mold to make him into a stronger and more disciplined flier so that you don’t create another Lightning Dust.” His words were strong, spoken with conviction. They were also the last hope to keep Windstream in the flight camp he worked his haunches off to afford.
Spitfire thinks silently to herself for a minute. This is the first time Windstream’s seen her even think about a decision she’s made since he entered the camp, the sight was enough to clear up his tears in anticipation. After a minute or two her face changed into one more confident, she had made her decision. Windstream lowered his head once more, waiting for the dreadful words to leave her mouth that would dispel him from the camp forever. The words that would change his destiny and leave him with nothing but a dead dream. But the words never came.
“After careful consideration I’ve decided to leave Windstream enrolled at our camp.” Windstream’s eyes lit up, his head lifting and forehooves fidgeting in little stamps. “However, during flight training he is to be monitored at all times by our top student to ensure that another stunt like this will not happen again.” The words were hurt but ultimately bounced right off the skin knowing that he gets to see another day inside of the camp.
“Your words are convincing Mr. Dash. Let’s just hope that the trust I have in your words doesn’t steer me or your son here wrong.” She said with a glare at Windstream. “If he messes up one more time, one more visit to the infirmary from another dangerous stunt and he is out of her immediately, you got that?” She asked, demanding a response.
“Yes ma’am!” Both colts spoke out in unison.
“You may head to the mess hall Private Dash. Your breakfast should be waiting. Take it and meet up with your new guardian, you should know her.” Windstream tilted his head, lifting one ear in confusion.
“Your former partner Private Flitter will be the one overseeing your flight activities from now on.” She stated.
“Moonshine?” He thought to himself. “Since she’s top of the class she should be able to handle herself and keep an eye on ol’ Thunder Clash over here. Now go on and hurry or you’ll miss warm ups.”
With the nod of his head and a departing hug with his father, Windstream galloped his way out of Spitfire’s office and made his way straight to the mess hall.
Later that day, around nightfall, flight lessons had finally let up for the day leaving a beaten down Windstream in its wake.
“Oh Celestia, that’s probably the most I’ve ever worked my wings in one day!” Windstream belted as he and Moonshine began to head towards the showers.
“That’s what you get when you miss five whole days of flight training for your elongated nap.” Moonshine responded snidely.
“Speaking of, I wanted to talk to you about that. Follow me.” Windstream shifted directions from the showers heading towards the barracks instead.
“I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to head to the barracks till we freshen up., they don’t want us stinking the whole place up. It’s bad enough as it is with us being teenagers and all. Especially after the day you’ve had.” Moonshine began rattling off reasons for not straying from the pack.
“It’ll be fine, we’re not going in to the barracks.” He said with a sly smirk. “I just wanted to catch up on what I missed since we didn’t really get that great of a chance to talk today.” Moonshine looked at the showers in reluctance before looking back at Windstream.
“Okay. Fifteen minutes, tops.” She agreed, however reluctant.
“Great, then follow me.” Windstream lifts off his hooves and begins flying towards the barracks with Moonshine following suit. They take their seats on the slanted roof of the barracks and take a look out to the setting sun for a brief moment of desperately needed reprieve.
“Has she been this rough on you guys all week or is this just punishment for my ‘elongated nap’?” Windstream started with his ever present tinge of sarcasm.
“I think she’s been leaning us into it, I didn’t really realize how much more intense it’s gotten since the first day until I heard you crying about it.” Moonshine responded insultingly.
“Ouch. I guess that’s deserved. I did make you an unwilling look out for basically the rest of your time here at camp.” Moonshine noticed a bit of guilt shine through, a little surprising coming from him.
“Well, I think I’d call myself less of a look out and more of a babysitter.” She said with a chuckle. Windstream reciprocated a small laugh himself before becoming serious.
“Really, I’m sorry I’m putting you through this. It wasn’t my intention to completely change your entire flight camp experience with one trip. I know you’ve been super chill about all this but I just want you to know I really do feel bad.” The guilt had been written all over his face now and there was no way Moonshine could joke her way out of it.
“It’s okay dude, really. It’s no big deal. You’re honestly the most fun pony I’ve worked with so far. I’ve worked with some of the other fillies and colts but none of them had the passion or the sense of adventure you do.” She said with the smallest hint of admiration.
“Aw, that's the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about me.” Windstream puffed his chest out with pride. He looked over to Moonshine but she had her eyes glued to the sky, the sun now being fully set and the stars becoming visible.
“That same sense of adventure is dangerous though.” She made eye contact with Windstream, her expression solemn. “You could’ve died Windstream. When I caught you, your heart was barely beating. For a minute, I thought I was holding a corpse. Even after finding out you were still alive, I wasn’t sure if you’d stay that way. I visited the infirmary every day to make sure you were okay. That you were still alive. They’d told me you were stable, that you’d wake up in due time but I didn’t believe them. I didn’t trust them. All I could remember was that feeling of holding your unconscious body and thinking you were gone. Please promise me you’ll never put yourself in that kind of danger again. Please.” Moonshine’s eyes were watered up to the point where she looked like she’d burst into tears in any second.
“The nurses told me that you had been the one to catch me and that you had been at the infirmary a couple times while I was out but I had no idea-” He caught himself trailing off into a different conversation and when he looked into Moonshine’s eyes he saw that this was not what she had wanted to hear. “I promise.” He said in total seriousness. “I promise I’ll never do something to put myself in serious danger again. I will never put you or anypony else in that type of pain ever again.” As he finishes this he looks up at the stars, remembering another friend, one who he’d also caused a lot of pain. He raises his hoof to his face to realize that his eyes were beginning to water too. He looked over to Moonshine, the tearful expression on her face turned from that of distress to one of happiness.
“Thank you.” Was all she could say before reaching in to hug Windstream with him returning it. They sat for a minute before both turning back to look at the stars.
“You must’ve felt badass cutting through the sky to catch me though huh? I could only imagine-” He started, undercutting any serious emotion either of them had left.
“Stop it!” Moonshine chuckled before interrupting herself. “Sweet Celestia! Look at the sky, it's pitch black! We should be in our bunks by now!” Windstream flicked his head to the moon creeping itself up the sky before flicking it back to Moonshine with panic in his eyes. Without speaking, both the ponies took off in a race to the showers, so they could both head in for their well needed rest.