//------------------------------// // 29 - Finals // Story: Soaring on Little Wings // by tom117z //------------------------------// Wonderbolt Academy Little Wing was… a little nervous. Scratch that, she was terrified! She was stood out on the airfield of the Wonderbolt Academy, standing to attention alongside several other stone faced, and yet undoubtedly equally terrified, pegasi. They were all in the reserve uniforms that had been provided, and there were far fewer of them than when they had started their training previously. Any pegasus who didn’t have the ability required to be in the bolts, was out. Any pegasus who couldn’t shake that bad habit of ignoring every single order, was out. Any pegasus who flunked the written exam with a bold zero percent mark rating, was out. Little Wing felt lucky that she wasn’t in any of those three categories, though the others had assured her it was down to her determination and skill. She sure didn’t feel like it even if that was the case, and her fears remained unabated to that very day. The day that would make or break their careers, the final test. Over the course of their training they had been taught coordination as a team while in the air. The Wonderbolts had tried to drill discipline into their heads, having their commands be carried out to the letter. The recruits, who had made it past the initial stages, had been taught how to effectively dogfight against other fliers. They had been taught how to combat those on the ground and run through various scenarios a Wonderbolt might one day encounter. This ranged from simple wild weather to hostile encounters. The Wonderbolts may perform, and many uninitiated ponies might have seen them as only meant to do just that, but the Wonderbolts were EUP first and foremost. And now they had one final test to carry out, and passing it would mean initiation into the reserves. They had to perform for the Wonderbolts themselves. Something big and flash, and something that would equally show off all of the skills they had learnt. This meant not only showing off their aerial acrobatics and flashy tricks, but they also had to incorporate their combat skills into the mix. Worse still, the Wonderbolts gave them absolutely no advice on how they were to do this, even Rainbow Dash had been completely tight lipped, even though it blatantly killed her being unable to assist her little sister in any way. But alas, the details of the performance were being left to the recruits themselves. They had to come up with the moves, the choreography, and then implement them as a perfect team. Any pegasus who let the others do all of the work, was out. Any pegasus who didn’t pull through for the team on the big day, was out. If the performance itself was unanimously awful and poorly constructed, then they were all out. But that was the worst-case scenario. Little Wing and the other recruits had poured their hearts and souls into the coming show, each of their dreams being within reach and yet so fragile. All who had reached that point were determined and hopeful, and none wished to fail at the finish line. They had met frequently, to the point where Little Wing had taken a few days off work at the factory, discussed their options and practiced like no tomorrow. Occasionally she swore one or two of the Wonderbolts would sneak a look at their progress, but if they were they made sure to never be caught. Whether they had or hadn’t was irrelevant, however, as the day had come. A small gallery had been set up for the audience to sit in, all of the main Wonderbolts alongside trainers and even a few actual reservists were sitting in to watch what would either be a spectacle or a tragic flop. The recruits were all lined up in front of the audience, trying to look as stone faced as possible. Little Wing’s eyes trailed across each one. The reservists were chatting idly amongst themselves while waiting for the show to start, the trainers were going over their records and notes, while the Wonderbolts themselves sat quite stoically as they looked back at the young fliers, even Surprise managed to keep a straight face. Well, except for Rainbow Dash. Little Wing’s elder sister shot her a smile that was attempting to be encouraging and yet failed to hide her own nerves. Rainbow Dash very much wanted Little Wing to succeed, and was failing to hide that fact quite thoroughly. Scootaloo, sitting to Rainbow’s left, gave the cyan mare a small glance before looking back at the recruits. The orange pegasus may have been hiding her feelings a lot better than her sister-figure, but Little Wing could still see a twinkle of hope in her eyes. “Well then, ponies,” Captain Spitfire finally spoke, giving them all a critical glare. “You made it to the finals, congratulations. Bet you feel special, don’t you?” Little Wing knew where this was going… “Well you’re still not!” Spitfire bellowed. “You are ONE, and I mean ONE step away from earning that feeling. You get through today, and you can feel like that all you want as you will be a Wonderbolt! But you mess this up, and you can run along home and think about where your life went so terribly wrong!” Little Wing loved Spitfire’s speeches, so inspirational! Spitfire didn’t miss the brief smirk on Little Wing’s muzzle. “Something funny, recruit?” “No ma’am!” Little Wing answered in practiced uniformity. “Wrong!” Spitfire rebutted. “You’re still on the ground, that’s certainly funny to me! So get you flanks in the air! Impress us! And maybe you might just make the cut.” “Yes, Captain!” the entire line of recruits said simultaneously, each giving her a smart salute. Then, with but a shared glance of confirmation, they all bent their knees as one and kicked off into the air. With visible trails left behind them, the pegasi swirled into the air while staying in sync, twirling high into the sky until the watching Wonderbolts were but tiny dots far below them. They were in a circular formation, equal distances apart and all hovering in place. They remained there for a moment, looking between one another and nodding to indicate their readiness. And then they dived. Little Wing crashed onto the sofa, every single muscle in her body screaming for a very, VERY long holiday. “You could just sit normally instead of diving on it, you know,” Misty Gust commented as she sat on the edge of the seat by her marefriend. “I’d think you’ve done enough of that today.” “Don’t judge me!” Little Wing retorted jokingly. “Ugh, I could sleep for a few years. Maybe more. I don’t know…” Little Wing and Misty Gust were located in the living room of their shared home. The house they had decided on was located towards the outer edges of Cloudsdale, despite Misty’s initial talk of getting somewhere closer to the centre. It was a small flight away from the house of Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles, but was still in the same general area. The area was quiet and relaxed, only a few other homes in the vicinity and with plenty of empty space to practice aerial manoeuvres. Really, the young couple had both agreed on its perfection for them. The house itself consisted of two floors and an attic. The bottom floor contained a spacious living area, a small storage cupboard and a nice enough dining room/kitchen area. Up the stairs was a bathroom and two bedrooms. It wasn’t quite so large as the home of Little Wing’s parents, which had three bedrooms and two extensions that made good trophy rooms, but it was peaceful and cosy. All in all, Misty Gust and Little Wing had both found themselves quite happy to live there. “So… how did it go?” Misty asked gently, stroking Little Wing’s mane. “You’ve been talking about the performance for weeks, I would’ve thought you’d come home grinning like a filly.” “Oh, I wish,” Little Wing muttered. “I think we did alright. I mean, there was that one near collision halfway through, but it was narrowly avoided. Boy, it would have been a disaster had that happened!” “But it obviously didn’t.” “Yeah, but Spitfire would have still noticed it!” “I don’t think they’ll fail you for something that nearly happened, and ultimately didn’t. Especially something like that, it seems pretty minor all things considered.” “Maybe…” Little Wing groaned. “I just hope we did good enough.” Misty rolled her eyes, giving her marefriend a nuzzle. “I’m sure you did, you’re such a worrywart when it comes to the Wonderbolts.” “Of course I am! It’s my dream!” Little Wing retorted. “And they were all watching!” “And I’m sure they thought you were awesome,” Misty said encouragingly. “So, when you get into the reserves, what’re you going to do then?” “Heh, you really believe I’ve gotten in, huh?” Little Wing asked sheepishly. Misty gave her a boop on the nose. “I don’t think the mare I love has the ability to fail even if she tried. No matter how over the top she can be.” Little Wing blushed, sitting up and allowing Misty to shift over a little closer. “I’m not over the top… Just… you know…” “I’ll find a dictionary, your picture will be next to the definition.” “That’s not fair!” Little Wing protested. “You work at the library, you could probably just glue my face in!” “And it is soooo tempting!” Misty teased further. “But alas, I don’t think the library itself will agree.” “It probably wouldn’t go down well,” Little Wing agreed with a laugh. “Uh, anyway… What was the question again?” Misty just smiled patiently. “When you get into the reserves, what then?” “Oh, right…” Little Wing scratched her mane. “Well, it’s not like being a reservist is a full-time job. I’ll have to wait until I’m in the main team for that.” “You sound pretty sure that’s going to happen Miss ‘I Just Hope I Did Good Enough’.” “Ah, shaddup,” Little Wing replied with her tongue stuck out defiantly. “But anyway, I’ll have to keep working at the factory for the time being. At least I won’t be leaving Silver Breeze and Dad high and dry just yet. And, well, I’ll just have to keep working hard.” “How hard is it to get on the main team anyway?” “Hard,” Little Wing replied with a small shiver. “I’ve got to keep sharpening my skills, get myself noticed by Spitfire and the others. That way I’ll be placed high on the list, preferably right at the top. That way I’m the first one they try and call when they need somepony to fill in for an absent member. And then when one of the Wonderbolts leaves the team for whatever reason, I’ll be the one they select to fill the gap.” Misty frowned. “But then what happens with those lower on the list?” “They got called in order if the one above them is unavailable for whatever reason,” Little Wing explained. “And then if something BIG happens that required a lot of wings, then the entire reserve can be called in. But that apparently hasn’t happened in years, not since this big centaur stomped around the country.” “Tirek, I know about him,” Misty replied, sighing as she leaned into Little Wing. “Sounds like lots of hard work and physical activity. Give me a good book any day.” “Nerd,” Little Wing said jokingly, returning that earlier boop playfully. “I’ve seen how you geek out over Daring Do,” Misty shot back with a small predatory smirk. “Blame my sister, she introduced them to me,” Little Wing retorted, waving a hoof of dismissal. “And you never complain when I ask you to read with me…” And so the blush returned. “Well, that’s different. It’s with you…” “Softy.” “I’m not soft!” Little Wing proclaimed indignantly. “I’m a soon-to-be Wonderbolt!” “And a very soft one,” Misty stated, not letting up for a second. Little Wing huffed. “You’re the worst, you know that?” “Yes, yes I do,” Misty Gust said with a large grin, before patting Little Wing on the shoulder and rising from the seat. “But that aside, I’m thinking that we go out for dinner tonight. To celebrate, hm?” “Fast food or fancy?” Misty shrugged. “Whatever we’re hungry for. We can just hunt around for a place.” “Eh, I can roll with that,” Little Wing agreed. “Something big and greasy, I feel like I could use it after today.” “Big and greasy it is then!” Misty Gust sang, cantering off upstairs to get herself ready. Little Wing just shook her head, smiling to herself. The Wonderbolts… Misty Gust… Things were good for her. For every off day, times like this generally overshadowed them by a long mile. And she could see nothing that could put a damper on it.