//------------------------------// // Ch. 7 Wonderbolt Trials pt.4 // Story: The Wonderbolt Academy's New Volunteers // by Jay Watson //------------------------------// Nightflight wanted to be first up again, chomping at the bit to get through this while he still had the stamina. Brightstar and Cloudy Sky were close by, giving him some last words of advice as he got to the starting line and into launch position. “Ready sir.” Nightflight flipped the goggles down over his eyes, trying to block out the excited murmurs of his fellow recruits, still buzzing from Wind Raider’s run. The noise died down, eyes now on him now as he awaited the word. “Go!” Soarin hit the stopwatch timer and off went Nightflight, getting a decent jump off the line. “C’mon! C’mon!” Firebolt watched every move Nightflight made, pulling for him to make it this time, pumping a forehoof in the air. “Smooth…smooth…” Solar Flare watched Nightflight traverse the circuit, passing through the first dozen hoops successfully. He hoped Nightflight had learned something from watching the others try. “I think he’s gonna make it.” Silverstream watched with nervous butterflies buzzing about in her stomach from watching her friend now pass cleanly through each hoop. But Nightflight quickly began to tire, his legs hanging down and his flight not a smooth as when he started. Fatigue was beginning to tax him. Nightflight struggled on. The next two hoops were still up ahead, but he felt his strength draining away. He couldn’t hold up his legs much longer. Through the pain he pushed himself, desperate not to fail at reaching sixteen hoops. Nightflight dug deep for that last bit of strength, making a go-for-broke bid to reach the last hoop he needed. Clang! Clang! He fouled on two hoops in a row, drifting too far to one side and overcompensating when he tried to correct his body position. His goal of the sixteenth hoop was just ahead of him but he was losing altitude, unable to keep his flightpath up towards the hoop. “He’s losing it!” Gallus pointed to the struggling stallion who was about to stall out. Nightflight pulled away and off the circuit, knowing when to give up and avoid injuring himself for no gain. This was the best run he’d could do and he had to accept that, whether he liked it or not. Dang it all to Tartarus! Nightflight silently cursed at himself. He was sure that this was going to get him cut from the trials. He landed not too far from where Rainbow Dash was standing, ashamed to even look at such an accomplished Wonderbolt after failing so miserably. “Good effort, recruit.” Dash wrote down the results in her report, noting details on how he’d performed. Nightflight’s head hung low. “Sorry, ma’am. I failed. I guess I don’t have what it takes to be a cadet at the academy.” His comment got his instructor’s attention away from her record keeping. “What makes you think you don’t have what it takes to be an academy cadet? Just because you didn’t reach a goal on one trial means instantly you’re eliminated?” Nightflight blinked a few times and looked up at his drill instructor, a bit confused by her question. Wasn’t that what Soarin had said at the beginning of this event? “But, I thought if anypony doesn’t reach sixteen hoops, they’re eliminated from the trials. Recruits have to get have to reach a certain number of hoops on the coarse with the shortest possible time by understanding what ratio of wingbeats to bodyweight will be required to-” Hearing the recruit go on and on and on and totally overthinking the trial made Dash chuckle a little. “Huh? What’s so funny?” “You know, you sure sound a lot like a certain pony princess friend I have. You and she both like to overthink a problem or situation. The trials are more than just performance charts and tallied up scores, recruit. It’s also a measure of a pony’s character along with their abilities. Don’t lose sight of that when you’re busy overanalyzing some trial attempt you aren’t happy with, okay?” Dash knew just what to say to help pull a flyer’s confidence up so they wouldn’t be so hard on themselves. It was something she held close to her heart; flying was really thirty percent ability and seventy percent confidence. She wanted these recruits to feel confident and try harder. “Thank you, ma’am. I hope I at least made a good impression on you and the other instructors.” He was already staggering back to his friends, buoyed by the small pep talk and eager to try his luck once more if there was time. Gallus stood apart from his friends and closer to the starting line to watch the next two flyers make their third attempts at going the distance. He would try to study their flights and analyze what they did, wanting to glean every last bit of understanding about how to pass this trial. Nightflight had gotten very close to the goal of sixteen hoops. It had been extraordinary to see how long his strength had held out. The griffon wondered if the two remaining stallions could match or beat Nightflight’s final distance. Even with the cheers and support from the other recruits, unfortunately they ended up scoring the same or worse than in their previous attempts. To continue would require more strength and stamina than either of them had. Stormbringer and Wind Raider helped the last flyer up to his hooves. “You gave it your best shot; guess it’s not enough though.” Wind Raider coolly consoled his pale-red coated comrade, outwardly supportive but not very sympathetic. The recruits watched as Wind Raider held up his exhausted friend and walk him back where everyone stood to watch the remaining flyers take their turn. Stormbringer offered a consolatory wing pat on his comrade’s back as he passed by them, heading for the starting line. This would be his third attempt as he had only gotten a score of fourteen hoops on his second. It was now or never for him. “Ready?” Soarin reset the timer on his stopwatch, watching as Stormbringer crouched down and set his wings in launch position. Stormbringer nodded, ready to unleash that first burst of energy from his wings. “Go!” Stormbringer got a good jump off the line, flapping hard and getting up to the correct altitude quickly to get through the first hoop. He made steady progress through the circuit, making it past the tricky spots that had caused him to foul out the first time. “Go, Storm, go! Go for it!” Wind Raider and a couple of other ponies cheered him on, watching him keep on pace to reach the goal of sixteen hoops. Stormbringer couldn’t help but feel a little excited right then. He’d gotten this far and now was on a roll. But his glee was short lived, for the next difficult part of the circuit was upon him within seconds. He tried to line his body up for the turn but was going too fast and his back end was drifting out. Stormbringer struggled to get his body back into position but the next hoop was upon him and he knew he was going to hit it. “Oh crud!” Clang! His left wing struck the hoop hard as he sailed through it. Now both wings were aching from the strain of flight with one throbbing from the impact. He swore he could see a few drops of blood splattered on the feathers of his left wing. Clang! Before Stormbringer could think about what to do to correct himself, his left hind leg hit the next hoop, throwing his body out of balance and making it unbelievably hard to recover as all that weight strapped to his body made his limbs swing around like pendulums. I can’t take any more of this! He recognized this attempt was going bad and he needed to stop. Stormbringer turned away and off the circuit to land, figuring it wiser than to press on to the fifteenth hoop in this condition. He thought it would be suicidal to try. If there was time, he would have to try again. He’d only tied the score from his second attempt. But quite honestly, after three attempts, he wasn’t sure he could go the distance. Wind Raider was first over to console him. “Tough break, Storm. Maybe there’ll be time for another try at this.” He helped Stormbringer up to his hooves, leading him back to a spot nearby to rest up. “Maybe,” Stormbringer managed to mumble in between gasps of air. His whole body seemed to be throbbing with the pain from this exercise. Gallus was the last flyer to make an attempt. Of all the recruits, he had the worst first run but had redeemed himself with a respectful second flight of fifteen hoops. This time he had something to prove to himself and the other flyers here. All eyes were on him now as he stepped up to the starting line and got in position. “Ready?” Soarin looked over at Gallus as he reset the stopwatch, his hoof steady on the switch. The griffon flicked his wings, getting them set to launch him up. “Ready.” Gallus never took his eyes off that first hoop. “Go!” Flapping his wings with all the strength he could muster, Gallus pushed himself up off the ground, clearing everyone else’s height with the first flap. Off he went, actually managing to kick up a tiny swirl of dust from his acceleration as he launched. I’m going to do this! I’m going to show them what griffons can do! Gallus was determined, willing to push himself beyond anything he’d ever attempted to do. His friends down below watched him fly, urging him on with cheers and whistles. He ignored it, only focusing on the hoops ahead of him and the steady rhythmic thrum-thrum-thrum of his wing flaps in his ears. Eight, nine, ten and eleven hoops he flew flawlessly through, making steady progress around the circuit. He’d listened and learned from all the advice given and could already feel he was performing better than before. It was thrilling to make a good showing for himself and demonstrate his skill at flying. “He’s on track to make it, so long as he keeps his legs up.” Solar Flare watched on like veteran flyer, able to analyze and pick apart another flyer’s capabilities. Silverstream nervously tapped her talons against her beak, fretting as she watched along with the others. “Oh-h-h-h-h, c’mon Gallus! You can do it!” Nightflight nudged Cloudy Sky and inclined his head to one side. Cloudy Sky glanced over to see Wind Raider softly cursing at Gallus, obviously hating every moment the griffon passed through another hoop. “What a jerk,” Nightflight sneered. “Kinda sad, actually.” Cloudy Sky only shook his head and went back to watching Gallus. “He’s got five… now four to go in order to make it.” Firebolt watched along, pulling for him. She felt as anxious about him as she did for Silverstream, wanting Gallus to show his mettle. The beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and face, thankfully blocked from his eyes by his goggles that kept his vision clear. His whole body burned from the strain he was subjecting it to. There were just four more hoops to get through before he passed this trial. Up he flew, getting through the next two hoops but just barely, his belly practically scraping the last hoop as he passed through. “He’s losing altitude at an alarming speed!” Brightstar’s voice went tight at the sight of Gallus faltering so close to the sixteenth hoop. A groan went up among them at the sight of their griffon friend about to lose it all at the end of his run. Gallus pushed on like his life depended on it, refusing to give up. His steady pace had gotten him this far but now it might not be enough. He flapped harder, but didn’t gain any real height. It was taking all he had just to stay airborne. Pitching and rolling to one side, he made his last ditch effort, burning up what little he had left to try with. “He’s going for it!” Firebolt knew he had something left inside, and hoped it was enough for him to get to the end. “Thirty… twenty….” Solar Flare counted down the yards till the sixteenth hoop. “Oh-h-h-h-h!” Silverstream nervously pranced in place, the tension rising within her, wanting Gallus to do well. Nightflight and Cloudy Sky were right next to her, stomping and digging at the ground with their front hooves with excited agitation, wanting their new friend to go the distance. “He’s got a chance.” Nightflight held out hope for him. “It’s going to be close.” Cloudy Sky was not so sure. Gallus nearly flung his body through the sixteenth hoop, just reaching the lowest spot of the ring and giving one last great flap of his wings to propel himself over it. Cla-Clang! Both of his rear legs smacked the edge of the hoop hard and sent his exhausted body plummeting to the ground. Firebolt and Solar Flare ran out onto the grounds, both of them leaping into the air and catching Gallus in mid-fall, preventing him from sustaining serious injury. They got cheers from the recruits for their quick thinking and heroic action. Gallus was almost unconscious, unaware of his rescue and still reeling from the strain on his body. “Wai… wha…? What’s going…?” He felt himself gliding in for a safe landing, a pegasus pony holding him up by each foreleg guiding him in. “That was close! For Celestia’s sake, Gallus, please don’t scare us like that again!” Firebolt looked over at him, relieved he was still awake. “That was an amazing effort, Gallus. I’ve never seen any flyer push themselves that hard.” Solar Flare got him down on the ground, releasing Gallus and now standing with his friends. In a flash, Rainbow Dash was right next to them, worried out of her mind that her student was injured and what Twilight was going to say if he was. “Gallus, are you okay?” Dash quickly and nervously looked over his exhausted frame. He was conscious but still regaining his bearings. “Professor Dash? Did… did I do it?” Gallus’ memory of the entire event was just a blur. Dash couldn’t believe it. Here she was worried about his safety and all he wanted to know was if he’d reached the mark or not. Talk about having the ‘spirit of competition’ in him! “You made it, just barely, but you made it.” Seeing as he was unharmed, she could afford a small congratulatory smile for his success. Gallus weakly returned the smile, proud to have shown his teacher he could get the job done. Soarin checked with the two high scorers from the previous round. “Either one of you want to take another shot at it? You could probably take the lead score for the trial.” He was curious to see if either of Dash’s recruits could best one of the other team members’ recruits. A recovering Wind Raider kept his eyes on the hippogriff and the pegasus stallion who’d stood up to him, wondering what they might say. Silverstream caught sight of Wind Raider looking over at them with a smug smile on his face, as if daring them to take the chance. “I’ll take a second run, sir.” Solar Flare accepted the offer. Silverstream was glad she’d done as well as she had and didn’t feel the need to press her luck. “I think I’ll pass, sir.” Her answer made Wind Raider smile. “Coward.” He spoke the word so softly that only those close enough to him could hear. Stung, she looked back at him, that greasy smile of his getting under her skin. “On second thought, sir, I’d like another shot at a better score.” She wasn’t going to let him get away with the slight. Her friends were caught completely off guard by her answer. And after she’d done so well and was second only to Wind Raider, why should she risk it all? Firebolt was shocked into action. “Hey, Silverstream, what are you doing?” She tried to physically stop her hippogriff friend from getting to the starting line. Silverstream tried to gently push her friend aside. “He’s not going to get away with calling me a coward. I’ll show him!” The hippogriff actually growled, seeing that smug look of Wind Raider. Oh, how she wanted to knock that smile off his face! Now both Firebolt and Brightstar were trying to stop her. “No, c’mon Silver! He’s just a jerk. Don’t let him get to you.” Brightstar didn’t want to see her friend get hurt trying to prove herself when she’d already earned their respect. “You did better than any of us. No one here cares what Wind Raider thinks.” Gallus didn’t want to see her get hurt either, easily reading into Wind Raider’s goading. “Silverstream, don’t be stupid! You’re in already. Why risk your score or the chance of getting hurt trying to outdo some big mouth? There’s no point.” Firebolt thought her friend was being foolish. Silverstream took umbrage. “I’m not being stupid, I just don’t want him to get away with him calling me that.” Silverstream was not about to take the insult lying down. She wasn’t afraid of pushing herself. Solar Flare had been near enough to hear the insult as well. He’d been impressed by Wind Raider’s second run, but what respect he had for another good flyer was quickly extinguished by the mumbled slight. “I’ll go first for a better score, sir.” Solar Flare walked around the three arguing girls, now determined to put Wind Raider in his place. Having scored sixteen hoops did mean he’d met the requirement to pass, but it wasn’t his best. “Remember, Solar Flare and Silverstream,” Soarin began. All the recruits turned to listen. “Any flyer who goes for a higher score after hitting the goal forfeits their first score in place of the new one, even if it’s a lower score or a foul out. You could lose a qualifying run if you take that chance.” The recruits could feel the tension suddenly rise. For a second or two, no one moved or spoke. And then Solar Flare stepped up to the starting line anyway, undeterred. He crouched down and set his wings for launch position, took some deep cleansing breaths to relax himself and flipped the flight goggles down over his eyes once more. He nodded, not taking his eyes off the first hoop. Soarin got his stopwatch ready. “Ready? Go!” Soarin hit the stopwatch, seeing Solar Flare take off with an impressive first thrust, kicking up a serious cloud of dust from launch. Much like Wind Raider, Solar Flare flew flawlessly around the first part of the circuit. He even made the tricky down-up-down height changes from the twelfth to fourteenth hoops look like the easiest thing to do. The cheers grew louder for his attempt, watching him hustle his way around the circuit and clearly not letting up. Wind Raider was watching as well, growing alarmed by how fast and well Solar Flare was doing. “He’s going for it... he’s going for it.” Firebolt could see Solar Flare was not holding back. He was pouring on the speed and taking every turn as hard and fast as he could bear. This could be a yet another record breaker of a trial flight. With every muscle on fire from the workout he was subjecting his body to, Solar Flare pushed on and surpassed Silverstream’s score of eighteen hoops. The weight on his body that felt like nothing to him at the beginning of this run was now causing him to pitch and roll more, his flightpath becoming harder to keep steady. They were mesmerized by the attempt, some not wanting to blink for fear of missing even a moment. Solar Flare looked up ahead, spotting his goal a hundred yards away or so. He could try to glide it; trying to make it through the next two hoops and hold his strength back for the big climb back up to reach the twenty-first. He would do it, if only to silence Wind Raider. Down towards the twentieth hoop he raced, the momentum building with every second as he hurtled towards the ground. At the last second he pulled up, swooping though the hoop at top speed, his legs swinging wide from the pull of gravity on them and just missing the metal surface of the hoop. He soared right back up into the air, straining to get his body in line again. Flying sideways just sapped the strength from him. His friends and a couple of other recruits cheered for him, as he headed for the final three hoops. Solar Flare pumped and pumped his wings, trying to keep his momentum going to reach the high point of the course; the twenty-fourth hoop. It was still another forty or more yards up and ahead of him but it seemed light years away. On through the twenty-first and twenty-second hoops he struggled, flapping so hard he truly believed his wings would break off his body from so much strain. Cla-Clang! Both of his rear hooves clipped the next to last hoop as he just made it through, his strength tapped. The spirit was willing but the body had nothing left to give; he couldn’t flap his wings anymore as the strain was just too much. He turned away off the circuit, gliding back down to the ground with barely enough left in him to keep his wings steady. He too made an unspectacular landing, stumbling to the ground after pushing his body to nearly its breaking point. All of his friends came rushing to his side to help him up, cheering him none the less for the amazing run he’d achieved. None of them had done as well as he and, glancing off to his left, Solar Flare caught the look of red hot rage on Wind Raider’s face at once again being knocked out of the top spot. “Any other flyers still want to take another run?” Even though Soarin was asking all of them, he was really just looking at Silverstream, concerned the hippogriff might injure herself. Silverstream first looked at her friends, then over at Wind Raider and his buddies, seeing them scowling back at her and Gallus for passing the trial. She thought about what Brightstar had said to her. Did she really need to do another flight? Solar Flare had just routed Wind Raider while she and her friends had proven themselves to the instructors as capable flyers. There would be other trials to come in which to show who the better flyer was. None of the recruits spoke up to accept Soarin’s offer. Rainbow Dash was relieved her students were not willing to risk their safety for bravado or reckless glory seeking. “I think they’re done for this trial. They look like two miles of bad road and I doubt they could take another flight even if they wanted to,” Soarin spoke matter-of-factly. He was met with a chorus of moans and groans of weariness in response. Rainbow Dash had to agree. “I think you’re right. Besides, it’s almost chow time so we’d better get these weights off them.” The two instructors were now met with a great collection of relieved sighs from their bone-weary recruits. Some of them still lay prone on the ground, too tired to get up. Dash and Soarin got the weight bands off the recruits and back in the storage box, watching as the recruits all stretched their limbs and flexed their wings, recovering from the rough training they had endured. A bugle call went out over the P.A. system, alerting all in earshot to the time of day. Never was there a more welcome sound to Gallus’ ears then that horn blowing. “That means its break time, right?” He had to ask Silverstream, still not sure what each call was for yet. “It’s lunchtime! That’s the mess call!” Silverstream spoke the magic words they were waiting to hear. Nightflight was the last to get his gear off as his friends started to head off the field and towards the mess hall. “Hey you guys, wait up!” he called to them, kicking off the last leg weight and getting it to land in the storage box along with the other gear. He tried to catch up, his legs still feeling the effects of the weights and making his gait weirdly off-rhythm. Finally alone with Dash, Soarin had to see what she’d written in her notes. “How’d your students do compared to the rest? You think they’re going to go the distance?” She passed him her clipboard. Soarin checked over the notes and scores she’d given each flier. She’d showed no favoritism in her remarks and scoring of performance. He gave her that signature lopsided smile of his. Dash blushed momentarily, but quickly got back to business. “I think Silverstream and Gallus will stick it out for a little longer but I’ll make sure to ask at the end of lunch if they want to continue.” Rainbow Dash was very proud already of how well her students had done, considering they’d had no preparation for the trials at all. The two Wonderbolts threw a salute to their approaching C.O. as she stepped out of a nearby building and made a beeline for them. “Status report.” Spitfire ordered and Soarin handed over the notes from his and Rainbow Dash’s clipboards. Spitfire looked over the notes from her team members. “Hmm, four flyers didn’t go the distance. Not surprised. Looks like your recruit has set the high mark to beat for both groups, Dash.” Spitfire didn’t look up at either one of her team members, absorbed by the stats in front of her. “After chow time, you two are getting the other group of twelve recruits to take through the wind resistance and endurance training. Let’s see if you both get the same results or better with them as well.” They saluted her once more. “Yes ma’am.” Spitfire saluted back and headed over to where Misty Fly and Silver Zoom awaited her, their paperwork in hoof to submit for review. Blaze trotted over to Dash and Soarin as the recruits left the field and headed for the mess hall. “You got a couple of strong flyers there, Dash, I was watching them. But I wonder how they take direction when ordered by a pony they don’t know. Misty Fly and Silver Zoom will have them after lunch. You going to be okay with them out of your sight?” She knew and understood more about Dash’s job at the school she worked at than the other Wonderbolt members. These students were important to her, and Dash was responsible for making sure they didn’t get hurt under her supervision. Rainbow Dash watched her students, along with their friends, walk and chat together as they made their way to the mess hall. For Dash, it was better than she could have hoped for. They were clearly making new friends, as Nighflight and Cloudy Sky now joined them in the conversations. With a clutch of friends like that around them, she felt more at ease, and didn’t want to butt in to their bonding time. “Yeah, I’ll be alright. I’m not worried.” Dash replied nonchalantly. “Really?” Soarin couldn’t believe how easygoing Dash was being. These were students of Princess Twilight’s school. Wasn’t she concerned? “They need time alone and I don’t want to make them uptight by being around them so much. They’ve got some good friends to keep them company.” Both Soarin and Blaze appreciated how Dash approved their selections for this recruitment and how Cloudy Sky and Nightflight got along well with Dash’s students. “Let’s grab something to eat from the clubhouse grille instead of the mess hall.” Dash would rather relax someplace quiet anyway. There was a waiting Daring Do book to catch up on reading and forget about being a drill instructor for an hour or so.