“Hustle it up, newbies! We don’t have all morning! Move it! Move it!” The captain of the Wonderbolt team ordered, tapping a forehoof impatiently for them to join him. The entire group of some forty or so recruits ran or took to the air, hustling over so as to not keep their instructor waiting. They cluster together in front of the Wonderbolt captain who stood in front of the bulletin board.
Soarin snorted with annoyance at the stragglers who were holding up the proceedings. “Quiet down and listen up ‘cause I’m only going to tell you newbies once!” His voice carried over the group but some were not listening as they were still chattering amongst themselves. “Quiet down back there!”
The six or seven of the newest recruits realized he was aiming the comment right in their direction. A yellow stallion nearby shoved the other two stallions that were still talking and got them to quiet down. Half of the recruits were now glaring right at them, annoyed at the delay.
“Sorry.” A pale green stallion with a white mane apologized, aware they were the problem.
“Now then,” Soarin could finally start. He pointed to the three lists posted on the board in front of them all with a forehoof. “Here is the schedule of events for this morning; both recruits groups will have free flight practice time for working on first solo and first lead & wing pony duo flight routines. Every pony should be ready to fly when they’re called. Be sure to have your routines written out and ready for submission; solo flyers first up and then the duo flyer routines. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!” The crowd of recruits barked back.
His eyes passed over the faces of the recruits, all of them wearing looks of determination. “As some of you may be aware, today marks the halfway point of the trials. You should be proud to have made it as far as you have. In the past, many have been eliminated by this juncture. That is why,” Soarin looked over the heads of the front line of recruits to look at those standing further back, “I want to see every recruit here putting the maximum effort into their routines. If you were waiting for the moment to show us what you have, this is it.”
A small wave of excitement passed over the recruits, each of them eager to show their stuff. “Your routines should coverthe essentials of precision flight you have learned from your solo flight trial while incorporating more advanced flight exercises. Scoring will be based on execution of your routines as well as difficulty of maneuvers performed. Are there any questions to what you need to do?”
No flyer raised a hoof or talon in response. This seemed to please the Wonderbolt team captain, giving them a quick nod of approval.
“Good! You newbies get going with your practicing; I or one of the other instructors will be over shortly to monitor your progress.Dismissed.”
The flock of flyers all headed out for the open field, wanting to get the maximum flight time in to make each of their routines the best possible. Soarin watched as they did, noting both of Rainbow Dash’s students hadn’t pulled out of the trials, as he had thought she would have done after learning about the altercation this morning. He turned away to rejoin the meet & greet that was still underway.
That’s pretty impressive of those two; sticking it out in spite of having to deal with some butthead recruits giving them flack.I think I underestimated those two’s determination to see this through. Dash certainly picked out some amazing flyers for this year’s trials.
TheWonderbolt captain had a thought just then, the pace of his step slowing as he pondered more.
Hmmm…I wonder what Commander Spitfire has in mind if both of Dash’s students should go the distance?
He’d reviewed the scores as well as the personal notes from his fellow teammates who have instructed both the griffon and the hippogriff over the past two days and it was an intriguing litany of observations. The notes covered their flight skills as well as cognitive skills to understand the complex mechanics of precision flight, clearly demonstrating they could keep up with the curriculums of their respected designations of lead or wing pony classes.
But Soarin would think more about that later. He had a whole morning of posing and smiling and autographing pictures to do for the guests. Not that he minded the duty; it was all part of the distinguished position as a Wonderbolt. But to face the fans so early in the morning was tough, to say the least. Unlike some of his fellow Wonderbolts who could so easily put on that ‘show time’ face and plow through a meet & greet, Soarin found it a little tougher at moments like this. He would try his best to be cordial and accommodating, even if his mind was really on Dash’s students.
=====*****=====
“After our trials this morning, all of us have to go on the Dizzatron for more endurance training and after lunch today there’s listed some kind of ‘special training session’ we’re taking part in. It doesn’t say what exactly the training session is about, though.” Firebolt told them as her friendswho stood right behind, listening to her reading of instructions.
“Any idea what it might be?” Gallus looked to the other BFFs, they being more familiar with the workings of the trials.
“Maybe it’s another flight test? Or maybe more classroom time?” Nightflight knew the academy wanted the best and suggested it would be something to help differentiate the great flyers from the average ones who’ve lasted this long. Things were getting tougher for them to do and he anticipated some of the recruits to get cut from the trials. Not every ponywas going to make it.
“They’ll tell us when we need to know so for now, I’d say let’s get practicing.C’mon, Silverstream.” Firebolt didn’t give it another thought, turning away from the bulletin board and headed out onto the field with the other recruits. Silverstream and the othersfollowed, moving past the other recruits who were milling about, all getting sorted as to what to do next. Some were busy with flexing their wings and stretching out muscles in preparation of flying, all the while discussing their routines. Others took to the air; swooping, soaring and diving in and out of the airspace above the field, limbering up and getting the blood flowing in preparation of today’s workout.
The two volunteers listened to the banter between some of the pony flyers with each bragging about how good their routine was going to be at impressing the instructors and how they were sure to score at the top.
Several stallions were challenging one another to quick sprint flight races from one end of the field to the other and back, each claiming they were the fastest. It was something of a revelation to Silverstream just how driven these ponies were at getting into the academy.
“Hey, I wanna see just how fast that griffon is!” One of the stallions from the newer group of recruits was looking for a challenge and, seeing Gallus standing there, believed he had an opponent he could beat. Gallus turned around to see who it was calling out to him. He didn’t recognize the pony standing there with a cocky look on his muzzle, quickly deducing he must be from the second recruit group. Gallus wasn’t one to shrink away from a challenge anddecided to have some fun with this pony.
“Oh, I could show you but I don’t want to embarrass you so badly in front of everyone here.” Gallus felt on top of his game; confident and a little cocky, casually looking up from admiring the sharpness of his talons and barely acknowledging the challenger’s presence, an amused smirk on his beak.
“Oh, ho! So the griffon’s got some hot wings, does he?! Let’s find out if knows how to use them!” Another stallion hooted from close by, listening to the boasting between his friend and the griffon.
“Let’s see what you got!” A third stallion, a pale yellow one, rather insistently tugged at Gallus’ foreleg to go with them, wanting to see if the griffon’s boasting was real or just hot air.
“Alright,alright! You don’t have to rush me. I can take on three at one time without-”
“Why don’t we make that four!” Nightflight announced, up for a challenge as well. Having watched Gallus fly plenty of times, he was eager to try himself against the griffon, believing he had the speed to keep up with Gallus.
“Sweetie, are you sure want to do this? I mean, what if you pull a muscle or something.” Amber Haze had caught up with her partner and his friends, overhearing her beau and fretted over his rather rash decision. She knew he was fast; there wasn’t anything to prove by racing.
“Meh, it’s just for fun. Besides, I like a good race to wake me up in the morning; gets the blood flowing and the mind focused.” Nightflight gave her an assuring embrace with his left wing, planting a small kiss on the side of her muzzle and putting her at ease.
Nightflight hadn’t had a real chance to challenge his friend since first meeting him. Gallus being partnered with Solar Flare meant they spent the vast majority of the study time together and practicing. They’d talked at mealtimes about their flying but never having the chance to try, up till now. This was a friendly challenge for him to fly along with Gallus and get some feel for just how fast his griffon friend really was.
“Hey, the more the merrier, right?” Gallus was cool and in control, repeating the same line he’d heard Nightflight use. “Hey, Solar, you-?”
“No thanks, I’ll just watch.” Solar Flare only smiled and politely demurred from the offer, choosing to reserve his energy for the trial. He followed after Gallus, Nightflight, Amber Haze and those three stallions from the other recruit group out onto the field to watch the action.
“Oh, um, ex… excuse me,” a gentle female voice got Firebolt and Silverstream’s attention away from watching the fellas heading out onto the field. Stepping into their view from the collection of pony bodies nearby was a mare with a light green coat with black mane and tail, her gray eyes looking about them, as if anxiously searching for someone.
“Are you looking for one of our friends?” Silverstream recognized her as one of her recruit group members and from the tournament last night but couldn’t recall her name.
“Hey, weren’t you with-” Firebolt started to recall something from yesterday as well.
“My name is Rainsong; I was working with Brightstar yesterday. I spotted her in the mess hall with you and the rest of your friends.”
Firebolt and Silverstream looked about them, suddenly realizing their friend was notstanding there. “Hey, wasn’t… wasn’t she right here just a second ago?” Firebolt scanned the field, bringing a forehoof up to her eyes to block the sunlight. She could have sworn Brightstar was with them the whole time. Silverstream had to think back for a moment.
“She was with us when the instructor came over. I could have sworn she was standing next to Solar Flare when walked over to read the bulletin board. You think she went to the meet & greet?”
“No way; and miss practice time or a trial? Maybe she just had to go to the little filly’s room before getting started.” Firebolt knew the most logical answer was probably the right one.
“I hope she comes back soon. I do want to get started on our routine. I’m still shaky on some of the transition points between some of the moves.” Rainsong hoped this was so, that Brightstar was only using the latrine and would be rejoining the rest of them.
=====*****======
Cloudy Sky and Razzle Dazzle scoured the field more, moving among the flyers on a quest to find one pony in particular. Time was of the essence as practice time was finite and every pony had to be ready. Cloudy Sky kept looking in every direction, desperate to find her.
“Hold on, Cloudy. I want to look at this.” Razzle Dazzle paused to talk with her partner, Whirlwind, seeing him gingerly displaying a colorful butterfly that had landed on his wingtip to another mare that was standing nearby, watching him.
Cloudy Sky didn’t realize Razzle Dazzle was no longer behind him, too engrossed in finding the pony he was in search of. When he did turn around, he found himself standing alone, losing his partner along the way somehow. He then caught sight of her; Harmony Blues, standing with that same white mare with the gray dapples on her flanks talking with her. It was that same girl he’d seen Harmony Blues spend almost all of last night at the tournament with and spotted them eating breakfast together. He trotted over to them both, smiling.
“Hello, Harmony. Are you ready to start practicing together?” Cloudy Sky was as bright and upbeat as any pony could be, getting partnered with such a talented flyer like Harmony Blues. But his heart sank when he heard Harmony Blues introduce her friend to him.
“Cloudy Sky, this is Snowblossom, my wing pony. She was in the infirmary with a bad stomach for the past couple of days but she’s feeling better now.” Harmony Blues could tell he was heartbroken by the wounded look in his eyes. Not just because she knew he had a little crush on her but also that he no longer had a partner for the trial.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Cloudy. I really hope you do well on today’s flight regiment.” Snowblossom was genuine with her hopes for his success as she stuck out a wing to shake with him. Mechanically, he responded, not sure if he’d heard Harmony Blues correctly.
“But… I thought we were working so well together yesterday. We made a good pairing.” He was desperate not to lose her as his partner. He needed a good lead pony to work with so that had a chance to pass the trial. Harmony Blues tried to smile but she felt like she was betraying him by what she had to say. She had to be honest with him, it was only fair.
“Well… yes, we did make a good pair for a quick and fun flight. But, I need to have a partner to make a great pairing with for this trial. It’s really important for me to be selected to attend the fall semester and I need to score well. You can understand, Cloudy, can’t you?”
Cloudy Sky swallowed down that hard lump of disappointment from the back of his throat, trying to not let on how upset he was at that moment. He’d heard her loud and clear; he wasn’t a very good flyer and why would a great flyer like her want to partner with him? He’d known she was way out of his league from the start. It was pure chance he got to be partnered with her. His chances of getting into the academy suddenly felt much slimmer.
“Oh, sure, I understand. I’m sure I can find a new partner for today’s trial.” He tried to put on a brave face and pretend not to be concerned when in fact he was actually frightened he wasn’t going to find any lead pony to partner with. “I’d better go and check with some of the others and see if they’re free. I’ll see you later.”
He hurried away, almost too quickly, telling Harmony Blues she’d hurt him by not being his partner. She didn’t mean to wound him like she had but what choice did she have? This is a competition to get accepted, after all, and she had her plan to follow. Failure was not in those plans.
She reasoned this out to herself, justifying why she did what she did. But that still didn’t mean she didn’t feel any less of a heel for doing it.
“Well, it’s done with. Let’s go practice; we need to be ready for our turn and before I have to go get caught up with the second recruit group.” Snowblossom got Harmony Blues’ attention away from the departing Cloudy Sky, pulling at her foreleg and getting her lead pony to move.
“Sure.” The word limped out of Harmony Blues’ mouth, following after Snowblossom. The blue mare privately made it her mission to sit and talk with Cloudy Sky at lunchtime, somehow try to make amends for her actions. For now, she had a routine to plan out with her wing pony.
Cloudy Sky wandered among the other flyers of the group, asking if any of the any lead ponies were without a wing pony. Very quickly, he discovered that every lead pony already had their wing pony selected as he watched more of the recruits head off into the sky to practice. He spotted Gallus, Nightflight, Amber Haze and Solar Flare, heading back from the sprint race Gallus was challenged to. It must have gone well for the griffon as he and Nightflight were smiling. He headed over to talk with them.
“He clipped you when going around the pole like that. You should’ve called him out for it.” Solar Flare pointed out as a witness of the race and the questionable move used.
“Nightflight was right on my tail and I wasn’t going to let that punk get by me on the inside turn because ‘blue-boy’ over here,” Gallus gave Nightflight a playful shove, “wouldn’t back off.”
The navy blue stallion laughed some. “That guy was so desperate to get by; all speed and no finesse in the turns! You had him covered, Gallus.”
This had been great fun for both Gallus and Nightflight; never having the chance to compete against one another. Nightflight proved to be more than capable of staying right up with Gallus’ flying, no matter what the griffon had tried to do to shake him off during the race.
“Beating the three of them was enough; just pointing out what one of them tried to do would only have angered them more.” Gallus proved to be the quickest among the four of them, darting and weaving in and round them and getting across the starting line first. Solar Flare had seen the disgruntled looks from the ponies that got beat, guessing his griffon friend probably did the right thing and not spoken up. Brightstar was hustling over to where they stood together
“Hey, guys. What’d I miss?” Brightstar saw how the guys were all smiles at the moment, making her curious.
“Gallus just shut down a couple of recruits from the second group who challenged him to a race. He blew their feathers off, none of them stood a chance to beat him for sheer speed.” Nightflight was exaggerating a little, getting to brag a bit about Gallus and cheer on his friend. Nightflight was impressed with Gallus’ speed, finding him much quicker than first imagined.
“And I missed it?!” Brightstar seemed annoyed at herself. “I should’ve waited a few minutes more before running off to the bathroom! I would’ve wanted to see him fly.”
The BFFs watched Cloudy Sky shuffling over to join them, seeing the downcast look he wore.
“Cloudy, what’s wrong? Where’s Harmony Blues?” Solar Flare thought his friend would have been long into his practicing by now with his lead pony. Cloudy Sky’s ears drooped some when having to explain why he was without a partner.
“She’s over there.” He pointed her out to them. She was standing with Snowblossom and some of the other recruits from the second group, talking together and limbering up. “Harmony’s reunited with her original wing pony partner; she said I wasn’t a good enough flyer to partner with.”
“Oh, Cloudy, I’m sorry. That’s so unfair of her.” Amber Haze genuinely felt bad for the youngest BFF member, aware how important it was to have an effective partner for the trials.
“Not cool in my book.” Nightflight grumbled while looking over at the blue mare in question that was doing warming up exercises.
“I ought to give her a piece of my mind for doing that.” Brightstar had believed Harmony Blues to be a friendly and capable pony for Cloudy Sky to be partnered with. This was her friend getting unduly blind-sided.
“I’m sure some other lead pony is without a partner, right?” Gallus expected Solar Flare and the others to back him up, but instead watched how his partner suddenly became distracted with something on his mind.
Solar Flare, tapped his bottom jaw with a forehoof, recalling something he’d read earlier in the week. “Hey, Cloudy, was this pony’s name Snowblossom by chance?”
“What the-? How’d you know?” Cloudy Sky’s head jerked up, looking up at Solar Flare when hearing the name come from his friend’s mouth. He thought Razzle Dazzle was the amateur mind-reader among them.
“It was one of the names I recall reading on a roster the other day of which recruits were out of the trials. Silverstream, Firebolt and I went to see one of them off from the infirmary.” Solar Flare hadn’t met the other two recruits that had dropped out for one reason or another at the beginning of the trials. “I guess Snowblossom wasn’t in as bad condition as the medics first believed.”
“Wait, so, now there are too many wing ponies?” Gallus thought he had counted twenty flyers as of yesterday since everyone had been paired up.
“I don’t have a lead pony for this trial. What do I do?” Cloudy Sky looked to Solar Flare and Brightstar for an answer, unsure of what was the right thing to do just then.
“I’m not sure but your best bet for now is to just keep practicing what you’ve learned so far and wait for one of the instructors to get here.” Solar Flare really didn’t know what advice other to give, all of them were here to practice until called on. Brightstar did give some insight about the trials to Cloudy Sky.
“It’s not an uncommon occurrence at the trials, Cloudy. Sometimes the recruits get shuffled around between partners in order to keep every pony paired up.” Brightstar wanted him to feel sure and not worry too much about this snafu. Things like this often get sorted out quickly enough by the instructors.
“It not a big deal, Cloudy. Commander Spitfire and the other instructors will get you partnered up with some pony so don’t let it worry you.” Nightflight sounded sure of his reasoning and gave Cloudy Sky a reassuring smile.
That makes sense. They’ve been doing this a long time so they must have had this happen before. The instructors will know what to do. Cloudy Sky reasoned it out in his head.
“I think we’d best get going ourselves. Time is not on our side.” Amber Haze reminded them and they all nodded.
Rainsong finally caught up with Brightstar who was standing with her fellow BFFs, relieved to find her lead pony.“Oh, thank Heavens you’re still here!” She was a little breathless with her relief, fearing she’d lost her partner.
They were about to break off into their flight pairs and get started when from out of the cluster of recruits standing apart from them flew Wind Raider and Stormbringer, launching into the air above the activities field, warming up for their trial with some expert flight moves. The background chatter stopped as most of the recruits watched the two most experienced flyers in the group put on a small demonstration.
For the recruits of both groups, it was like watching real Wonderbolts flying overhead. The speed and precision in which Wind Raider and Stormbringer did each flight move,as well as slipping in one or two aerial combat moves they’d learned while fighting as volunteers in the defense force of Canterlot left the recruits speechless. If Wind Raider and Stormbringer wanted to squash any doubts about just how good they were, they did. After completing the quick show of moves and making a near-perfect textbook landing right in front of them all, the two veterans saw it had the desired effect. Both of them could see the disheartened looks and the dumbfounded expressions of the other recruits for having to go up against a routine like that.
“Oh, wow.” Some pony muttered out loud.
“Geez! How are we going to top that?!” Another recruit bemoaned. Others were suitably impressed and somewhat intimidated by the brief performance of Wind Raider and Stormbringer, seeing these two had clearly brought their ‘A Game’ to the trials and weren’t fooling around.
“C’mon, Cloudy, you can practice with us.” Gallus got Cloudy Sky to stop looking back at Wind Raider and Stormbringer as the three of them headed out onto the field, not wanting his friend to feel intimidated or discouraged by those two older guys who had drawn some other recruits around them in admiration.
Cloudy Sky tagged along with Gallus and Solar Flare, taking to the air and practicing the small number of moves he understood how to do by himself. Solar Flare, wanting to give Cloudy Sky every chance to practice, landed and instead instructed Cloudy to fly together with Gallus who would act as Cloudy Sky’s lead.
Grateful for the guidance by the seasoned racer was offering, Cloudy Sky made sure to pay close attention and do as instructed. Gallus, for his part, took it easy leading Cloudy Sky with a few quick moves he took him through, making wide sweeping turns, large loop-de-loops and slow twisting turns of his body for Cloudy Sky to follow along.
Even as he was concentrating on following Gallus’ lead, from his peripheral vision he saw the other recruits were airborne and working hard at perfecting their routines. They all seemed to be doing much harder tricks, tapping into their flight experience from the time spent at flight competitions or from steady work experience from employment with the Weather Bureau.
It was time well spent. Getting the opportunity to fly together with Gallus and have a seasoned racer like Solar Flare point out anything he needed to work on was priceless. Solar Flare watched them come in for a landing with Gallus making sure not to come in too fast or steep of angle, making for an easier landing for his wing pony. They landed nice and easy, Solar Flare making sure to give praise for the effort.
“You’re on top of it, Cloudy. You were nice and steady flying alongside Gallus.” He gave a reassuring pat on Cloudy Sky’s withers.
“You were following right along the whole time. You’re a better flyer now then when you were doing your solo routine just the other day. Trust me, I can tell. I was going faster this time and you didn’t lag behind at all.” Gallus wanted Cloudy Sky to feel confident. He could not help but remember what Professor Dash had said in class back at the School of Friendship.
“Flying is thirty percent ability and seventy percent confidence.”
Razzle Dazzle and her lead pony came in for a landing not too far away from him, both of them pantingfrom the workout. They trotted over to see them.
“Oh, hi guys! How’s it going?” Razzle Dazzle was bright and cheery sounding, a smile on her face like always.
“Cloudy is really impressing us with his quick pick up of some new flight techniques I’ve introduced him to. I think he’s going to do alright this morning.” Solar Flare made sure to praise the youngest BFF member for his diligent effort and clear advancement of flight skill. Like Gallus, he’d seen the marked improvement in Cloudy Sky’s capabilities.
“I’m trying my best to follow Solar’s instructions and Gallus has been a great lead flyer to work with too.” He looked behind his colorful friend to see a familiar stallion from their recruit group standing slightly back from her. “How’s it going with you two?”
“Actually, it’s pretty good, Cloudy. I was a little unsure if Razzle Dazzle was going to handle the routine I had come up with at first. But she actually fixed a few mistakes in mine I didn’t see and now it’s going to be great. Tough break there at losing your partner so unexpectedly. My heart goes out to ya’.” Whirlwind offered his earnest condolence to the hard luck youngster.
“Thanks, Whirlwind. I guess the instructors will know what to do, so I’m trying not to worry. It’s cool that Razzle Dazzle is a good match for you. I know she’s really talented.” He mustered a brave smile, pleased to see his friend was having a good go with a lead pony that was a close match in flight skills.
Brightstar, Nightflight and their wing ponies came over to check in with the youngest BFF member and his trainers.
“Hi, Cloudy. How are you doing with Solar and Gallus? Keeping up okay?” Brightstar wanted to be sure he was not being overwhelmed by the regiment Solar Flare and Gallus had him flying.
“It’s not too much for you, is it?” Nightflight, too, wanted to make sure Cloudy Sky was able to keep up.
“Like I was just telling Razzle Dazzle and Whirlwind, I’m keeping up alright. This is all still very new to me and I have to get comfortable with it, that’s all.” Cloudy Sky assured them he was on track and not faltering.
“You want to try flying with us? It might help with you getting comfortable with a different flyer. Never know what the instructors might have in mind.” Whirlwind was willing to try and help out a little. He liked Razzle Dazzle and thought her cadre of fellow recruits were okay, especially with how well Gallus seemed to be performing with Solar Flare. And other than that foursome of troublemakers who had it out for Gallus and Silverstream, every pony else in the group got along fine with them.
“Maybe for a little while; just to try. I know every pony has lots of work to do for their routines and can’t spend too much time with me.” Cloudy Sky felt a little guilty for taking away from his friends’ practice time. They were way more talented flyers then he was and he felt like a drag on their schedule. But his friends would not hear of it.
“We’ll make time for you, Cloudy. It’s important to us to see you pass today’s trial.” Gallus assured him with a pat on the back and an easy smile.
“Absolutely! We’re in this together, right guys?” Razzle Dazzle rallied them to get behind helping Cloudy Sky once more.
“Just say the word, Cloudy, and we’ll help out all we can.” Brightstar would not let her friend down, offering any help he might need.
Cloudy Sky looked about his fellow BFFs and their partners, seeing how willing they were to help him. He reached out to give Gallus, who was standing right next to him, a huge hug of thanks and squeezing a bit of breath out of the griffon.
“You guys are the best!” He blurted out, getting a bit emotional. Gallus looked predictably embarrassed by the display of genuine affection as Razzle Dazzle piled on.
“Yea, group hug of support!” She crooned as she then proceeded to squeeze both Gallus and Cloudy Sky tightly, loving the moment of comradery.
“Aw-w-w-w!” Amber Haze teased a little, heartened by the moment of true friendship between the three of them.
“Can’t you feel the love?” Rainsong made a little fun of the sweet moment.
“You know what? I think Gallus has a new best pony friend. I’ll bet any pony here they can’t guess who it might be!” Brightstar got to take a good-natured poke at Gallus, a little payback for his calling her Twinkles this morning. Whirlwind and Solar Flare stifled their laughter as best they could.
“Oh…. whatever!” Gallus rolled his eyes a little, enduring the awkwardness.
=====*****=====
Misty Fly, giving a last smile and hoof-shake to the guests before parting company, made her way over to the activities field to resume the duty of running the trials. Tucked under her right wing was the latest score sheet of the recruits due to perform their first duo flights. She and the other team members were pleased to read how most of the recruits they’d selected were performing so well, proving to Commander Spitfire that she and the other instructors at the academy could help her; act as recruiters and free their C.O. from the duty.
From off to her left hurried over Angel Wings, carrying a clipboard in her hooves as she flew to land right in front of Misty Fly. She saluted her superior.
“Ma’am, here is the medical release from the on-duty physician for one of the recruits that was previously listed as out. They are rejoining the trials.”
Quickly Misty Fly read the form, clearing the recruit of any problem for returning the trials. She saluted Angel Wings back and added the form to her clipboard’s sizable bulk of paperwork. “Very good. Carry on.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Angel Wings returned the salute and headed back to her post as Misty Fly readied the paperwork for getting the recruits paired up and routine submissions done. Several recruits saluted her as she approached, already anticipating of getting into formation for inspection. Misty Fly let loose a terrible screech from her whistle, alerting the rest to return to the ground and get lined up for instructions. She was pleased to see how fast the score of recruits moved and stood at attention for her, ready.
“At ease, newbies.” Misty Fly pulled out the clipboard and flipped to her recruits’ roster, walking past them and not looking up from her paperwork. “Recruit Snowblossom?”
“Yes, ma’am!” The silvery-white mare with the gray dapples standing next to Nightflight spoke up, still a few recruits down further from where Misty Fly stood. The Wonderbolt instructor stepped closer.
“This medical release says you’re fit to return to the trials.”
“Yes, ma’am. Apparently, I was struck with just a severe case of gastritis and not something more serious as first diagnosed by the medical staff.” Snowblossom’s eyes kept flicking over to look at that pink mare with the bright blonde mane and tail that was looking off in another direction, not caring to listen.
“You’re going to have to make up a lot; wind resistance training, endurance testing and your solo flight as well. You believe you able to complete all that in the time we have today?” Misty Fly didn’t think it was possible. There were just too many recruits to get through and a limited amount of time and airspace to get it done.
Snowblossom was resolute. “Ma’am, I will join the second recruit group for the two missed training sessions and would request to have my first turn on the Dizzatron and my Paired Flight routine today to count for both attempts, in order to catch up with the rest of my recruit group. When called, Harmony Blues and I,” she stole a quick glance to her left to her partner, “will be the first pair up to fly, ready to go.”
This certainly raised the hackles on the Wonderbolt instructor who rechecked this recruit’s file, hearing gumption clearly in the way she spoke. Satisfied with what she’d read, she flipped the file back closed and addressed Snowblossom again.
“You realize you’re putting all your flight scoring on just one routine and your cumulative Dizzatron score up to now on one attempt. If you crash out of either, it could prevent you from advancing. Do you understand this, recruit?”Misty Fly thought it foolish to attempt so much in so little time, but it wasn’t against any specific rule.
“Yes ma’am, I am.” There was no uncertainty in Snowblossom’s voice. She meant every word she said, standing there stoically and determined to do what her fellow recruits thought too risky.
Yes, it was very chancy, but daring and certainly challenging at the same time. It was stuff like that which separated the exceptional flyers from the average ones.
“I will submit your request to Commander Spitfire. For the rest of you,” Misty Fly addressed all the recruits, “I hope all of you are warmed up and ready for today’s trials. I want all lead and wing pony teams lined up in front of me so I can record the pairings for your scoring.” Misty Fly held up over her head the clipboard for all of them to see. The score of recruits quickly moved to line up as requested while the newer arrivals doing their solo flights stayed in their place. Misty Fly addressed them next.
“Solo flights must be submitted to your instructors no later than oh-nine-hundred thirty hours this morning. Any questions?” She looked over the two dozen recruits who were due up first for the morning’s trial, none of them speaking up with a question.
“Your recruits return to your practice for now. Another instructor will be along soon to collect your submissions. Dismissed.”
The recruits saluted her and were heading off into the air or back on the field to wait their turn, now having more room to fly without the first group occupying the same airspace.
The pairs lined up, ready to get started, all but Cloudy Sky. He waited at the end of the line, embarrassed that he didn’t have a partner and hoped this Wonderbolt instructor knew what to do. Finally, it was his turn.
“Where’s your partner, recruit?” Misty Fly saw the gray stallion standing alone, believing his partner to be off somewhere.
“I don’t have a lead pony, ma’am. There aren’t enough.” Cloudy Sky watched as the instructor took a quick headcount.
“…Eighteen… nineteen… twenty… twenty one.” She pointed to Cloudy Sky last, coming up with the same answer. She rechecked her clipboard, going through the roster.
“We need a lead pony to volunteer to fly two trials today; we’re short one lead flyer for this wing pony. Who can help us out?” She looked over the group, waiting.
The lead ponies of the recruit group looked among themselves to see who would act first to help out. Silverstream heard the call and was about to step forward when she felt someone holding her back by her foreleg.
“Wait, where are you going?” Firebolt gave her a rather strange look, confused by what her partner was doing.
“Cloudy needs our help; he’s our friend and I’m going to help him.” It was so obvious to the hippogriff. It’s what friends do for each other. She didn’t understand why Firebolt was stopping her.
“That’s nice you want to help, but we have to concentrate on our routine today, remember? We’re going to be the best duo in this trial, remember?” Firebolt emphasized her tone, making sure to get her point across. It made Silverstream pause, remembering their talks at mealtimes about being the best pair at this trial.
“I will, ma’am.”
Gallus was the first to step forward, without hesitation, seeing his friend standing without a partner. When the griffon glanced over at Cloudy Sky, his pony friend was grinning, excited to potentially have him as his official partner.
Misty Fly rechecked her clipboard, running down the list of names. “It’s Gallus, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.” The griffon stood proud and tall, ready to help.
“Says hear you’re classified as wing pony. Sorry, but fellow wings can’t act as leads for a trial flight.”
Gallus pressed his insistence, trying to appeal to his instructor’s logic. “Begging you pardon, ma’am, but all Cloudy Sky has to do is demonstrate he can follow another flyer in formation. It therefore shouldn’t matter who is leading him. If the flight is for his score, then who the lead flyer is really doesn’t-”
“I’ll volunteer ma’am!” Solar Flare quickly stepped forward, adverting a possible bad scene with Gallus openly contradicting the instructor in front of the other recruits. That was a serious no-no to do at the trials, even for a ‘volunteer’. Good recruits listen and follow instructions.
Not to be outdone, Nightflight was the next one to step forward. “I’ll volunteer too.” He gave Cloudy Sky a quick wink and nod, assuring the youngest member that he was willing to help. Amber Haze took a few steps forward as well to stand next to Nightflight, silently supportive of her beau and his circle of friends.
Once again, Silverstream took a step forward, intending to volunteer. Once more, she felt someone pull her back by her foreleg, more strongly this time. She turned to see it was Firebolt still restraining her.
“Stop, Silver, what are you doing?” There was an intense look of displeasure her eyes, upset by Silverstream’s intention to help. She held firmly onto Silverstream’s foreleg this time, insisting she not move. This was most confusing to the hippogriff. Why was Firebolt preventing her from helping Cloudy Sky? Solar Flare and Nightflight were so why shouldn’t she?
“Cloudy needs help. He’s our-”
“Look, Silver,” Firebolt gave a small exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes a little at her naivety, “Cloudy’s sweet and he’s got a heart the size of all Equestria with the desire to get in to the academy but let’s face the truth here, he’s not good enough to get in.”
This was shocking to hear her friend talk like that. Cloudy Sky was their friend! Silverstream’s beak fell open, reacting to what she’d just heard, making it quite clear she didn’t like what her wing pony said. Firebolt laid it out for her, smiling flatly.
“C’mon, Silverstream, let’s be honest about it. If it wasn’t for all of us working and training like mad to get Cloudy even somewhat ready for that solo fight of his, he would never have gotten through it. It’s a miracle he’s even gotten this far. Think about it for a second.”
Silverstream found the flying regiments challenging and could keep pace with the top flyers in the group like Firebolt, Solar Flare or even Wind Raider. But Cloudy Sky could barely keep pace with the regiment. He was struggling with every aspect of the trials. There hadn’t been a single topic of study or flight exercise he hadn’t been able to do on his own.
Firebolt watched how Silverstream’s expression change, seeing there was truth to what she said; about the past three days worth of workouts they’ve endured and how challenging it’s been for all of them.
“But… but… Cloude-e-e-e!” Silverstream whined softly and still pulled at Firebolt’s restraining hold, feeling like she was abandoning her friend at the very moment when he needed his friends the most. Yes, she and Firebolt made a great team; an exceptional team. But did that mean they had to act so cold and not even offer to help? This, to Silverstream, seemed very selfish.
Firebolt gave a small shake of her head, a touch of sadness now tainting her green eyes, as if to say ‘Even with Solar Flare or Nightflight’s help, it’s not going to make a difference. Cloudy’s not going to pass the trial. We need to focus on us.’
Firebolt liked Cloudy Sky as a friend. He was sweet and polite and a great ear to bend when getting to tell him of her flight competition exploits. But her hippogriff friend was forgetting something important about these trials; it was a competition to get in to the academy and that meant only the best flyers were going to move on. Firebolt was her partner, not Cloudy Sky.
The weight on Silverstream’s heart was too much. She was betraying one of the tenants she’d held tightly to since attending the School of Friendship, taught to her by Professor Dash.
Loyalty. She recalled what she told Cloudy Sky in front of his family just before they ate breakfast this morning.
“You’re my good friend, Cloudy. I wouldn’t trade your friendship for all the gold bits in world for it.”
She forcefully pulled free from Firebolt’s hold. Silverstream took two more steps before she felt, a stronger restraining foreleg holding her back once more.
“Silver! Stop!” Firebolt hissed angrily at the hippogriff, her lips pursed tightly together and now a flash of anger burned in those same green eyes. “Why are you jeopardizing my chance to-”
Silverstream cocked her head, catching what Firebolt said and who then suddenly caught herself, forgetting to whom she was speaking with and quickly reframed her words.
“-our chance to get a great score. Why are you risking it for us both?”
Brightstar looked from the corner or her right eye to see Rainsong clearly edging forward, as if suggesting they should step up as well. Both of them overheard the tense exchange between Firebolt and Silverstream over whether or not to volunteer. Brightstar got the hint.
“I will volunteer as well, ma’am.”
Misty Fly was a bit surprised to see three leads stepping forward. “Uh, I only need one lead pony to volunteer.”
“Can I choose my lead pony, ma’am?” Cloudy Sky was so relieved to have a choice between three fellow BFFs.
“Please do. We need to keep things moving along.” Misty Fly anxiously awaited his selection so she could submit the forms to the C.O.
Cloudy Sky turned to face his friends, now having to choose one of them as his lead. In his heart, Cloudy Sky wanted to fly with Solar Flare and Gallus but knew they had big plans for their routine and didn’t want to be a distraction for them. It was much the same feeling about Nightflight and Amber Haze. He’d caught glimpses of their workout this morning, seeing them fly some very challenging maneuvers that were sure to impress every pony. Not to mention it was something of an open secret among the recruits that they were an ‘item’ and that would make working with them feel a bit awkward for him, as if he were interrupting their private time together. Cloudy Sky came to what he thought was the most logical choice of the three.
“Brightstar, will you be my lead pony?”
The yellow mare with the aqua-marine mane and tail seemed humbled by the soft spoken request. “I’d be honored to be your lead, Cloudy.”
The instructor was just glad that a choice was made and she could get the forms submitted. Misty Fly scanned down the roster of pairs and found the recruit’s name and her wing pony partner.
“I’m going to submit you as his new lead pony. Your partner doesn’t mind?” She turned to look next at Rainsong concerned there would be competition for the lead pony’s attention and flying time.
“No, ma’am.” Rainsong understood the situation and was happy to accommodate her lead pony’s friend. “I’m sure Brightstar is more than capable. She’s a really strong flyer and I’m confident she can handle taking another flyer under her wing.”
That corny joke elicited scattered chuckles and moans from the other recruits. Even Misty Fly smirked at the pun. Cloudy Sky was looking forward working with Brightstar more closely like he’d done with Gallus and Solar Flare this morning. She was schooled about flying, a ‘by-the-book’ pony and a military brat to boot. If there was one flyer in his group who knew exactly what the Wonderbolt instructors were looking for in a recruit, she would know. Maybe she could even help him tackle one or two harder flight moves he wanted to do too.
“Your name?” Misty Fly scribbled down some additional notes on her roster before looking up again.
“Cloudy Sky, ma’am.” Misty Fly added the name along with Brightstar as his lead pony. Angel Wings arrived just as she was finishing the entry to the roster. The Wonderbolt reservist saluted her superior officer.
“Ma’am, Commander Spitfire requesting the roster of recruits for their flights this morning.”
“They’re signed in as pairs. There is a medical release form Commander Spitfire has to sign off for one of the recruits who is returning to the trials.” She passed Angel Wings the additional forms, who then snapped a quick salute to Misty Fly and took off back to the main office building to deliver the paperwork to their C.O.
Once more, Misty Fly addressed the group of flyers. “I want each lead pony to get their notes and textbooks from the barracks and report back here; you will begin planning out your flight routines for submission. Captain Soarin or I will be supervising this morning’s trial so any pony with lingering questions, come speak with us. I want the rest of the wing flyers to continue practicing. Dismissed.”
The recruits saluted her, and then all the lead flyers hurried back to the barracks to gather up the learning essentials while their partners took to the air to keep warmed up and ready.
Nightflight, Brightstar, Silverstream and Solar Flare were swift with their retrieval, gone for perhaps two minutes and then waiving in their partners once they were back on the field. The BFFs huddled together for a last pow-wow before pairing off to get started. Rainsong, Whirlwind and Amber Haze joined them, partnered with Brightstar, Razzle Dazzle and Nightflight respectfully.
“You sure you want to switch partners, Cloudy? It’s not a big deal if you wanted to stick with Gallus and myself.” Solar Flare wanted to be sure his young friend was comfortable with his selection of lead pony.
“I’m sure. Working with Rainsong and Brightstar as a team will be different for me; that way I’ll be able to get comfortable with any partner I might get paired with.” Cloudy Sky felt sure about his choice, believing was playing it smart.
“How are you going handle all that work? I mean, are you going to create two routines?” Silverstream wondered how a flyer even as good as Brightstar was going to tackle this job.
“I just might have them perform the same routine with me. It’ll limit the moves I can plan out but let me concentrate more on Rainsong and Cloudy’s flight skills and making sure they pass the trial.” Brightstar was already thinking ahead of how to maximize her training time between her two wings and what she should limit the flight moves to.
Silverstream had to admit to herself that even though she would have liked to have been Cloudy Sky’s lead, she didn’t have the forethought like Brightstar did in figuring out how to handle two wing pony flyers in so short amount of time.
“I suggest we not dilly-dally any longer; time is slipping and I don’t want to be unprepared when they call us.” Rainsong urged them all and they got down to business, all of them splitting up into their pairs andbegan planning out what to do.
=====*****=====
Eyes were buried in text books and notes as the conversations focused on the duty of creating a great routine to fly. In spite of the great aspirations lead ponies might have had at authoring an attention grabbing flight routine for the instructors to score, study-time and limited flight-time to work though the ideas was forcing hard choices for all of them. The dropping of flashy or needlessly complicated moves for simpler routines with two or perhaps three more challenging flight moves were quickly adopted.
Brightstar put her plan into action for her two wing ponies. She started with a few quick flights with each one, trying a smattering of various flight maneuvers of various skill levels in order for them to build up familiarity of flying with her as well as test what their limitations were.
Much like Solar Flare had with Gallus, Brightstar instructed Rainsong to fly as Cloudy Sky’s lead, so as to work him up with several specific flight moves she and Rainsong could do but he could not. This would increase the pool of flight moves she could choose from that would fulfill the trials requirements and push her wing pony’s abilities a little more.
Brightstar watched from below, pleased by the quick progress of the two. Rainsong made sure to keep the speed manageable for Cloudy Sky to follow along, watching his familiarity and confidence increase with each flight. He still needed help but, selecting from the moves he could successfully do, Cloudy Sky was on his way to performing sufficiently for the coming trial.
“C’mon, Cloudy, follow me!” Rainsong shouted to the gray stallion behind her, leading him up though a series of slow turning vertical corkscrews.
“I’m right behind ‘ya!” Cloudy Sky yelled back, staying just off to Rainsong’s right wingtip, spinning around just like she was. Even though he knew this was serious work and he was going to be scored on a routine, it felt more like fun flying then a workout to him.
“Big ending, Cloudy! Here we go!” Rainsong went for one of the harder moves Brightstar had wanted him to learn; a double-twist loop. She picked up the speed a little making sure he had enough momentum to complete the loop.
Up and up into the sky he followed after Rainsong, completing the second body twist as he reached the apex of the loop and then back down in an easy sweeping arc to land on the ground next to Rainsong, only stumbling a little bit as he did. Cloudy Sky was hopping up and down on his hooves, ecstatic.
“I did it! I really did it; a double-twist loop!”
“See? You can do it! You just needed a little practice.” Rainsong knew what he was feeling right then; that rush of first success when trying a new maneuver. It took a bit of effort on her and Brightstar’s part to help him along but he got it. This was one of her favorite moves to fly too, and managing to impart the nuance of it to Cloudy Sky successfully made her excited for him.
“Can we put this move in the routine, Brightstar, please? I got it right this time and I know I can again! It’ll make the routine better.” He insisted, almost pleading with her to agree. If there was a chance to do something new and push his flying skills more, he wanted to try.
“If there’s time, we’ll see whether or not we can incorporate it into the routine I have thought out for you.” Brightstar was cautious but willing to entertain the idea of adding this flight move. Cloudy Sky’s excitement was bubbling over.
“Ye-e-e-s-s-s!” He thrust a forehoof up over his head triumphantly. It made Rainsong smile to see him so psyched up for his trial. She had a good feeling about today for all three of them.
=====*****=====
“That wasn’t necessary, you know. It wouldn’t have been that much of an issue for me to help Cloudy.” Silverstream complained to the pony walking next to her, annoyed by how the situation unfolded with Cloudy Sky and ultimately resolved itself. Firebolt gave an exhausted sigh with her going on with this.
“Look, it’s over with, okay? Cloudy’s got a lead pony, it’s one of us so everything’s cool. Can we please move on the task at hoof?” Firebolt couldn’t understand why her lead was continuing with this. There were more important things to focus on today. “Oh and, by the way,” she stopped, turning to her left to address Silverstream, who also stopped to listen, “did you have a routine planned out for us yet?”
Was it her imagination, or was there just the slightest edge of sarcasm tainting Firebolt’s words? Silverstream ignored it, but had to make a confession instead.
“Well, Brightstar helped me get started but I don’t have-”
Firebolt held up a forehoof to stop her from saying more, momentarily startling the hippogriff.
“No routine planned out? I got us covered.” Firebolt gave her a wink and quickly looked about the area, making sure no pony was looking their way, especially the instructor. Silverstream watched as her wing pony carefully slip out from under her recruit jersey several sheets of notebook paper, all riddled with diagrams and notes of some kind.
Firebolt quickly took from Silverstream her notebook and textbook, slipping the papers into the front pages of the notebook, as if to suggest these came from Silverstream and not her.
“Check these out.” She flipped open the notebook, displaying a completed solo and duo flight routines, carefully plotted out in sequence and timed. Silverstream recognized the solo routine; it was the one Firebolt had talked about and then flown for her trial. Silverstream picked the sheets of paper up, noting the look and feel of them. It didn’t look like something recently written.
“Are these-?” Silverstream stopped when looking up at her wing pony, seeing Firebolt wearing a rather mischievous smile on her moth. It was as if for a moment, she did not recognize her friend.
“I’ve been keeping these safe for quite some time. What do you say we get started?”
Silverstream read over the flight plan that had been so meticulously and expertly created, trying to understand it as best she could. The selected tricks, the time plotted out between each move, detailed right down to how many body rolls they were to do for the big finish then land together on the ground in perfect synchrony.
“But, I thought I was supposed to create the routine.”
“There’s no need to; I’ve one ready. You can just copy it fresh and put our names on it and then submit it to the instructor. Trust me on this.” Firebolt made it sound so simple and straightforward, completely disregarding the lesson of the trial.
“But… this is cheating.” Silverstream logically objected. This exercise was supposed to show she understood the lectures and reading material in order to write a successful routine. This was undermining the whole point of this assignment and trial. She believed they were going to sit down and work together on this, as a team.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Firebolt played innocent, as if Silverstream was suggesting some foreign concept to her. “It’s about being prepared and passing the trial with a great score, Silverstream. And with this routine,” she pointed to the papers her lead was holding in her talons with the prepared flight routine, “we’ll do just that. That is unless you want to spend most of the morning time trying to figure out just what to fly and in what order, or we can get started right now before every pony else and get twice the practice time. It’s your call. I mean, you are the lead flyer after all.”
Silverstream took some offence. “Are you saying I can’t plan a routine to fly?” But Firebolt was deadpan serious, understanding the implication she was making on her friend.
“Never. We’re friends and you know I trust you. But given the time constraints, I’m just being sensible. Let me ask you,” Firebolt took the handful of papers back and laid them on the ground once more, “do you know what velocity or what angle we need to be moving at in order to set up the first moves of our flight routine? How many seconds should the stall-turns take for us to fall over backwards in synchrony? How many revolutions should we do when descending from the stall turns?”
The questions caught Silverstream off-guard, trying to recall what she’d written down. Her mind suddenly raced to try and recall.
“Uh, well, I think… when we start out it was supposed… to be…” She trailed off, unable to recall what she’d come up with her first attempt from the night before when working briefly with Brightstar. The numbers and figures swirled before her mind’s eye, a jumble of mathematical equations and pictures of pony bodies in various positions of flight that she remembered from the textbook examples. Silverstream rubbed the side of her head, drawing a blank. When she looked over at Firebolt, her wing pony was smiling flatly at her, making her point. Silverstream knew she was fast and agile, but she had to admit to herself that she didn’t have one important piece to being an effective lead; the training for and experience from flight competitions. Competitors like Firebolt spend their lives learning and studying how to go fast along with the math and science that entails winning. It’s why so many recruits have that as some part of their profile.
This wasn’t how Silverstream wanted to do this. Here was her wing acting like the lead pony instead of her designation. When she looked about the activity field around her, there were only two pairs of flyers aloft and working on their routines while everyone else had their faces buried in their textbooks and notes, trying to come up with some idea of what to do while keeping an eye on the clock.
Silverstream kept looking between Firebolt’s eyes, the pile of learning materials on the ground and the completed flight routine papers her wing was holding onto. She did want to score well today and she did want to make a good impression on the instructors too, wanting to show her skills and make professor Dash proud of her accomplishments. Not to mention really stick it to Wind Raider and his crew and show them up. What better way to get back at them then to score higher then all four of those miserable ponies?
“I… I’m not sure about this.” Silverstream began to waffle, conflicted about doing as instructed versus ‘bending the rules’ by using Firebolt’s flight routine and possibly finishing on top of every other flyer by doing so. Her weakening of resolve must have been written on her face because Firebolt went in for a cheap and easy shot to get her on board.
“Uh, correct me if I’m wrong,” Firebolt looked up and away, tapping her lower jaw with a forehoof while recalling, “but didn’t you tell us during yesterday’s lunch conversation that Gallus once cheated at some kind of scavenger hunt one of your teachers was having you participate in? You weren’t upset with him for doing that and never gave it a second thought. He trusted you.”
It was that spellvenger hunt student counselor Starlight Glimmer had arranged for them; Gallus had spied on where one of the items they were looking for had been hidden by Headmare Twilight’s assistant, Spike.
That was true, she hadn’t called out Gallus for his duplicity when he confided in her and she’d never revealed it to anyone else at the school. Having her recall that little fact had the effect Firebolt desired.
“Al… alright. Let me just copy it over.” Silverstream pulled out a pen and began to copy over everything on the pages including the calculations for each move. It took only ten minutes to get it done and they put both their names at the top of the page, ready to submit it. Silverstream looked down at her handiwork, worried that she didn’t understand even half of what she copied down and hoped she wouldn’t be questioned about it.
“Cool, now you’re thinking like a winner. We can spend all our time getting it right. Let me show and explain what to do,” Firebolt took the lead, getting here friend up to speed on the terms and computations of what they were to do. Much like Brightstar, she knew the subject deeply, but because of the time restriction and the breath of subject that was part of this lesson, Firebolt skipped much of the whys of their routine and solely focused on the how to fly portion.
====****====
“…and then we’ll go into a figure-eight move, crossing over at the midpoint three times by fourty-five seconds and then come in for our landing at just about one minute’s time.” Solar Flare finished the last sketch and calculation for their routine in his notebook, showing as well as explaining to Gallus what he had in mind for them to fly as a duo.
The griffon looked over the notebook handed to him, not really sure what he was looking at or understanding what all the notations of their body movements meant, but trusted Solar Flare to know what to do.
“You think I can do these moves? I’ve never seen them before.” Gallus was a little unsure, reading over the notably more intricate flight moves and how closely they were linked together. He once again flipped through the textbook, reading up on what moves Solar Flare had selected from the later chapters, especially when it came to the timing of each move.
“I wouldn’t have selected them if I didn’t think you could handle them.” Solar Flare laid a forehoof on Gallus’ shoulder, a confident smile on his mouth as he assured his griffon friend he had the skills.
Gallus looked up into the sky above them, watching Crimson Sky and Sunglow working out together, making it look so easy by the precise way the two of them turned and twisted in a display of aerial finesse that had him feeling a little intimidated. Solar Flare knew what to say, seeing the tiny glimmer of self-doubt appear in Gallus’ eyes.
“Tell you what, while you get some flight time getting familiar with these moves, I’m going to work out the timing sequence for each one and watch you from down here and guide you through the routine. Cool for you?”
Gallus nodded. “That’ll work. Just don’t get too upset with me if I mess up a lot getting these new moves down.” Solar Flare only laughed a little, his smile growing.
“That’s what practice time is for, Gallus. So we mess up bad here and not during the actual trial.” Solar Flare quickly made another copy of his routine, rewriting out just the flight moves and leaving out any calculations or unnecessary notes, giving Gallus what he needed to get started.
“This will get you familiar with the routine. Just break down the eight moves into two groups of four; the first four are from the requirement list of moves; certain moves that incorporate flight fundamentals we need to demonstrate capability of and the second group of four moves are ‘free choice’ to do, trick moves that we can impress the instructors with and nail a great score.”
Solar Flare was very careful and complete with his directions. “I’ll bore you with the mathematics part of it in a bit if you want, but right now I just want to get you familiar with flying the ones you haven’t tried before. We’ll work on linking them move together once you’ve got a handle on each.”
“Right!” Gallus took off into the air, clutching the sheet of notes in his talons tightly and enthusiastic to get started. It was at this moment when he realized it; the reason why he’d chosen to stick it out, rather than step away as Professor Dash had offered.
Well, I wanted to show all these ponies that a griffon could fly just as good as they could, so I guess I’m gonna have to put my wings were my beak is and get this done for Solar.
There was no backing out now as Solar Flare was counting on him to ‘step up’ and be the wing pony he believed him to be. The griffon knew he had to give it his best;better than his best effort to stake his claim as a top flyer here.
====****====
The recruit pairs continued to work away, planning and plotting out flight plans while taking quick buzz flights for solving how to string together the moves into a cohesive presentation. It was not easy for them. Some of the flight pairings were scaling back their extravagant and awe-inspiring plans, finding the time constraint to practice the tougher moves or reworking drafts of overly complex move were simply eating up too much of their time.
Tensions starting to run high between several pairs as the voices and tempers began to rise with the critiques becoming sharper and more forceful. Working under such pressure was bound to cause friction. While they were all, for the most part, friendly with one another, the intensity of the exercise was straining those relationships to the point of some snapping back in rebuke of a cutting remark.
Misty Fly first came to the aid of Windflower and Blue Streak, calming their fraying nerves as she helped settle the heated disagreement.
“Every time we fly, she doesn’t stick to the timing for each move; she keeps changing it on the fly and doesn’t know what she’s doing!” Bluestreak pointed a wing accusingly at his lead pony, who was also pointing right back at him, accusing him of his problem.
“I do not! It’s your fault; you keep speeding up and slowing down and can’t fly the routine at a steady pace!”
Misty Fly spent a good ten minutes getting the two to settle down and refocus on what the problem was. She had these two demonstrate the problem by ‘walking’ through the routine on the ground in front of her, Misty Fly got them to stop at the critical point and see the issue they had.
“Do you see his body position relative to yours in the lead up to this move? What do you think is the causing problem?” She would not say, wanting the recruits to see what she saw.
Windflower suddenly saw it; why Blue Streak was out of position, realizing the problem was not him. “I… I didn’t take into account I was doing this move as a duo and not as a solo flyer.”
Misty Fly was pleased to see the young mare spotted the mistake. “So what does that mean you have to do?”
“I need to give him more time to get into position before going into the double back loop.” She felt a flush of heat come to her cheeks, embarrassed for having missed an obvious mistake like this.
“See?! I was right! I said so from-”
“Quiet!” Misty Fly cut Blue Streak off, not allowing him to ridicule her. “Both of you; listen up.”
The instructor addressed the wing pony first, speaking with calm authority. “This isn’t about who’s right and who’s wrong. This exercise is about teamwork and problem solving together. Don’t forget that.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Blue Streak could not help look away in reaction to heradmonishment, feeling bad for disparaging Windflower like he had in the heat of the moment.
“Lead pony,” Misty Fly’s attention turned to the sunny yellow mare next to the stallion, “it’s your duty to listen to your wing if they are bringing up a valid issue with the routine. Investigate all possible reasons for the problem before you start making accusations. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Windflower couldn’t look at her partner just then, embarrassed for acting so thin-skinned and get defensive with Blue Streak. She had to be the better pony. He was counting on her.
Windflower looked up at Blue Streak, trying to save some face. “Sorry for not listening like that. Still friends?” She had a suitable shade of scarlet on her cheeks for having acted so childish. That easygoing smile came back to Blue Streak’s mouth, unable to hold a grudge against her.
“Apology accepted, still friends.” He gave her a nod with his accepting and the tension between the pair was gone.
“Good. You two get back to work. You’ve still got a couple of hours left.” Misty Fly was glad to get them back on track and working together. She stayed to watch them take off again and retry their routine.
No sooner had she settled that hot spot, another flared up. This time it was Sunstrike and Morning Glow; more voices being raised in frustration of some pony not getting maneuvers down correctly or quickly enough.
“Oai vie, here we going again!” She grumbled, hearing the voices carrying over from the other side of the field.
======*****======
She ventured over to one end of the field to observe more closely how the lead pony and wing griffon were getting along. Approaching, she overheard the way the ‘lead’ was speaking with his ‘wing’. The lead pony made clear examples to follow and when given an ‘I don’t get how…?’ or ‘Wait, I thought that…’ kind of response from his wing, the lead would demonstrate the point of contention, flying and explaining what to do and making sure his partner understood fully.
She stayed long enough to watch the two make a brief flight of the three moves they were working on as part of their routine’s sequence. Misty Fly made notes to her observations:
Recruit pair number Four, Lead Pony & Wing Griffon; excellent communication between partners, Lead showing exceptional patience when explaining proper flight techniques, Wing demonstrating eagerness to listen, learn and then apply in flight training together.
Misty Fly slipped away from the pair and sought out Rainbow Dash’s second student volunteer, believing it would be much the same with their partner. They were easy enough to find, the red-yellow mane and tail of the hippogriff’s wing pony made them easy to pick out of the four pairs of flyers currently in flight. She watched the pair in question execute a series of rolling loops, each keeping their proper body positions while flying at great speed. The duo of pony and hippogriff returned to the ground and was greeted with hoof-bumps and congratulations from the other recruits who’d watched them while resting up, impressed by the speed and precision in which they flew at.
This is what she and her fellow Wonderbolt instructors had been hoping for; seeing the pony recruits getting along well with the volunteers. The fact that most of the recruits had warmed up to them and seemed welcoming was encouraging. She wondered just which one of those ponies who were standing there talking with the hippogriff might be the spy sent from Central Command. If one of them was, at least it was a good impression they were getting by the positive responses. After only the briefest of rests, the two she was interested in observing were right back in the air, working on their routine again.
Misty Fly made more notes in her records as she watched:
Recruit pair number seven; Lead Hippogriff & Wing Pony; demonstrating great compatibility of working together and interacting well with other recruits. Both showing impressive capabilities for each respected position; Lead’s selected moves demonstrate clear understanding of performance flight principles and practices, Wing able to easily keep time and push Lead on towards greater performance.
As she went about watching the other recruit pairs fly, she could not help but feel more sure and confident about whatever pony from Central Command that was here to watch the trials would undoubtedly be reporting back more good news about Rainbow Dash’s volunteers then any bad news about some scuffle this morning in the barracks. The worry faded more into the background as she kept watch on this group.
=====*****=====
“Good effort! Good effort!” Rainbow Dash gave kudos to the exhausted pink and white mare who managed to get through fourteen of the twenty-one hoops during her first endurance trial, passing by in front of her on the way back to her group of recruits.
“Thank… you!” She wheezed, completely out of breath and her wings drooping and dragging alongside her.
Rainbow Dash bit down on her lower lip, trying not to smirk at the young mare’s condition, finding it a little amusing. She jotted down the score and some quick notes on herscore sheet, keeping track of how many recruits to go. Hyacinth Dawn, one of the spotters during this trial, came over to speak with her.
“They still have to do their second attempts and I think it must be getting close to time for the second group flight pairs to turn in their assignments.” Rainbow Dash had lost track of the time, so busy this morning with the meet & greet and then getting the second recruit group through their paces of the testing as well. Soarin came over to join them. He flipped his pocket watch out from his chest pocket to check the time.
“They’ve got another fifteen minutes; I’m sure Commander Spitfire will be out here to take a look herself at the flight pairs and maybe check on some of the submissions.”
Soarin knew it wasn’t enough time to get through all the second recruit group’s second attempts at the endurance test before their C.O. came out to gather the work from the recruit group in question. He, like Rainbow Dash, was eager to see how they’d done with the written portion of the day’s assignment.
Fleetfoot, Rainbow Dash’s second spotter for this workout, came over to talk with her teammates too. “Hyacinth Dawn and I can handle this recruit group if you captains want to check in on the first recruit group.”
“We know you’re concerned for them, Dash. I’m sure Commander Spitfire won’t-”
“No,” Rainbow Dash quickly cut her team captain off with a shake of her head, aware of what they were offering her. It was in the best of intentions they would want her to supervise the recruit group with her students participating. “I don’t want to check-in on them, like some overprotective guardian. If I start poking my nose into their progress, they’ll think I don’t trust them to handle themselves if trouble arises, like as if they weren’t going to use any of the friendship lessons I or any of my friends taught at Twilight’s school.”
Soarin placed an understand hoof on her withers, giving her a gentle smile. “We understand, Dash. We just want you to feel free to supervise your students as much or as little you want. You know all of us are behind you and your two students.”
Rainbow Dash looked up at her team partners, all smiling and nodding at what their captain said. They were on board with her and pulling for her students just as much as they were for their own recruits. It warmed her heart to know her Wonderbolt teammates were so willing to accommodate her and she gave a smile of genuine gratitude.
“Thanks, you guys. That means a lot to me.”
=====*****=====
The morning hours waned as the recruit group continued to labor over their routines, working and reworking what they thought would make for a competent showing of flight skill. Some, like Firebolt and Silverstream, were well on their way to completing their assignment and having it ready for submission. But there were a few pair who were still struggling with the written portion of the work, spending too much time arguing and reworking the assignment rather than compromising and getting on with the flying.
Nightflight, Amber Haze, Solar Flare and Gallus were resting on the ground after their practice flights, watching Silverstream and Firebolt finshing their routine. The duo of pony and hippogriff flew in at a steep angle, slowing up their speed together with practiced synchrony and landed at the same time close to where their friends stood watching. With such a perfect landing like that, Firebolt let loose a cheer in celebration.
“Waho-o-o-o! Now that’s the way to fly!”
Ca-clack! Ca-clack! The two girls struck their hind hooves together with Silverstream letting loose a screech of joy at having performed so well with her partner. It startled her friends, causing one or two of them to jump.
“Oops, sorry about that.” She giggled a little at herself, forgetting where she was for a second and getting her friends laugh a little too.
Firebolt was burning up inside with excited anticipation of the coming trial. “We are so going to get the highest score today!”
“That was impressive; you two know your stuff.” Amber Haze appreciated the performance the two of them just finished; having watched them move between each move like it was as natural as breathing.
“That was great!” Solar Flare was very impressed with his fellow BFF’s routine. “That variation of a double inverted loop was really something to come up with, Silverstream. I didn’t know you’d read on ahead in the text book to come up that move for your routine.” She and Firebolt were doing flight maneuvers that hadn’t been covered in lecture time yet.
“You must have been sneaking off somewhere to read when we weren’t looking, right? I know I didn’t show you any of those moves you just did.” Brightstar was very impressed by how much more advanced Silverstream’s understanding of performance flight principles had grown in so short a time.
It was exactly the thing Silverstream dreaded confronting; being asked about what she was flying. Her wild enthusiasm was dampened slightly by the query. Before she could answer, Firebolt jumped in.
“Oh, I got her up to speed with the later chapters. She caught onto the topics super fast and only needed some help with the math from me to come up with the routine like she did.”
Silverstream’s enthusiasm was dampened a little more, well aware that what Firebolt said was a half-truth as best. She had only received the most cursory introduction to the material in question with Firebolt. But when asking about one detail or another of what was being told to her, she was rebuffed with ‘It’s not important right now’ or ‘Just focus on how to do the moves, the math stuff will just slow us down’ by her partner who skipped most of it and only explained what was necessary to perform each move. She had no idea how any of those moves they just did were conceived or formulated.
She was spared any further questioning when she spotted Commander Spitfire and another Wonderbolt instructor approaching; making the rest of her friends look in the same direction to see what she was looking off at.
“You think practice time is up?” Gallus looked to Firebolt and Solar Flare for an answer, uncertain. To him it still felt pretty early to start flights for scoring.
“Probably, we’ve been working for a while now.” Solar Flare checked the sun’s position, approximating to the best of his skill.
The other recruits soon landed when spotting their C.O. approaching with one other Wonderbolt instructor. The shriek of Misty Fly’s whistle cracked the air, alerting any remaining airborne recruits to their duty to get on the ground and into formation quickly. Before either the C.O. or the team captain got to the recruit group, they were all standing in formation.
“Atten-tion!” Wonderbolt Soarin ordered and the recruits snapped to attention as Commander Spitfire stopped to turn to face them and speak.
“At ease, recruits!” She commanded, pulling the clipboard out from under her right folded wing to reread the information she needed to clarify. “Recruit Snowblossom, recruit Harmony Blues, recruit Brightstar, recruit Rainsong and recruit Cloudy Sky; front and center!”
The five recruits hurried forward and saluted her. “Yes, ma’am!” They bark out and awaited her instructions. Spitfire first stepped up to Snowblossom and Harmony Blues, still reading the information off the paperwork.
“You’ve submitted a request for your trial this morning to count twice; for your missing solo flight from yesterday and the paired flying today, correct?” Commander Spitfire only glanced up at Snowblossom briefly, making sure she was speaking to the right pony.
“Yes, ma’am. I requested to have the paired flight routine to count for the solo flight I missed yesterday as well my turn on the Dizzatron today to count for my first attempt too. I have completed my wind resistance and weighted obstacle courses earlier this morning with the second recruit group.” Snowblossom made her intentions clear to her C.O. as well as her fellow recruits, getting their attention by how sure she sounded of herself.
Commander Spitfire flipped through the stack of records to find Snowblossom’s file, flipping open the manila folder to read the highlights. This recruit had an extended internship time with the Cloudsdale Weather Bureau along with a record of several flight competition wins to her name. It was respectable, if not noteworthy of a resume.
“Solo flights for the second group are scheduled to go first this morning; you can make up for the lost time and catch a break by not putting all your scoring one just one flight.” Spitfire looked over her sunglasses at the recruit, curious at what the answer was.
Snowblossom was grateful for the offer but lagging behind was not in her plans. She would keep up, even if it meant risking it all. “With all due respect, ma’am, I’ll take the risk to push on ahead and make it count for both. You won’t be disappointed with the routine we have planned out.”
All but the most confident and sure flyers present thought this was too risky; one flight to decide two grades? As if the trials weren’t hard enough!
Commander Spitfire cocked an eyebrow, looking over the top of her sunglasses at the recruit in front of her, hearing the confident words and determined look in the eyes of this mare. She looked just to Snowblossom’s right to see Harmony Blues standing at attention. Both of these two mares seemed pretty sure of themselves.
“Alright,” Spitfire returned her focus to the clipboard, clamping her pencil in her teeth to scribble down the notes, making the changes. She flipped the pencil out of her mouth and caught it behind her right ear, amazing the young flyers with her novel trick. “I’ll allow this but honestly, newbies, your routine had better be good.” Both Snowblossom and Harmony Blues saluted their C.O., pleased.
“Yes, ma’am!” The duo stepped back into their place in the formation, privately elated by the allowance made. Commander Spitfire moved down the line to the next group of flyers, reading the names again and looking over the trio of ponies, discovering to her horror, something terribly amiss with the situation in front of her. She had to play this cool and not let on she knew who it was in front of her, casually rechecking her paperwork.
“Recruit Brightstar, you’ve submitted a request this morning to fly as lead pony for two trials, correct?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Brightstar was cool and calm; the perfect words on the tip of her tongue to perfectly explain her intentions. Out of the corner of her right eye she could see Cloudy Sky standing at attention, his chest a puffed out a little with pride and confidence, ready to impress the instructors. She did all she could to prevent herself from grinning at the sight of him.
“Who is you current wing pony, recruit?” Spitfire flipped back to the roster that had the pairs signed up, confirming her worst fear.
Rainsong spoke up. “I am, ma’am.”
Spitfire felt her stomach tighten up. This smallish gray stallion that had somehow ended up without a lead pony for his trial was now affixed to another flight duo. This had to be remedied immediately; getting him paired with whom she thought would showcase the best that the academy had to offer. From reading their submitted records, she knew who this pony should be partnered with. She looked past the three recruits in front of her to the others standing in formation just behind them.
“Which pairs of flyers are ready for their trial if it was held right now?”
Two recruits eagerly pushed forward; one of them was the one she was expecting, being that he had the most flight experience of all of the recruits here.
“We are, ma’am!” Wind Raider announced as he and Stormbringer were primed and ready. They’d spent nearly every second of time this morning getting ready. Here was their chance to set the bar so high than none of the other recruits, including the two half-breeds, could touch them. Wind Raider had crafted a great routine; blending his fighting experience into the various flips and loops that made up most flight routines. They were loose and limber, ready to go.
“Good. Lead pony,” she made a nod to Wind Raider and he took a step forward, believing he was getting called out for his exceptional flight skills and was smiling in self-congratulations.
“Here is your new wing pony partner. Since you and your selected wing pony are ready for your trial, you can spend the rest of the morning working with another flyer for his trial.” Commander Spitfire pointed to Cloudy Sky, shocking Wind Raider and Stormbringer as well as Cloudy Sky’s friends, with her proclamation.
“Wha-a-a-a-a-t?” Cloudy Sky actually staggered on his hooves, as if hit by an actually body blow, hearing what the C.O. had just decided for him.
“But… but… Commander, why me?” Wind Raider was flabbergasted by this blindsiding, watching their C.O. scribble more notes in her ledger. Once more, she flipped the pencil out of her mouth to catch it behind her right ear.
“I’m ordering you to, and isn’t this exactly what a legacy recruit should be demonstrating; a willingness to help out a fellow flyer in need?” She was sharp at getting her point across clearly and in front of the other recruits.
She’d read some of the notes left by the other instructors about this particular recruit; ‘very skilled at flying; scores consistently in top rankings; difficult to direct at times’. She would make sure only the most qualified flyer was to be paired with this spy for this particular trial, not to mention give this recruit the opportunity to showcase his leadership skills he honed out in the field.
“But… but… but…?!” Wind Raider stammered, flustered by this sudden new duty and furious at having to expend precious time and energy with a flyer he knew wasn’t worth it. Commander Spitfire snapped the files on her clipboard shut, annoyed by bellyaching.
“Dude, chill!” Stormbringer reached out to hook his left foreleg onto Wind Raider’s right foreleg, giving him a quick shake, warning him.
Wind Raider snapped out of his sputtering, trying to get a handle on this situation thrust upon he and Stormbringer. He couldn’t jeopardize his chance now; not when he was more than half way through the trials. If he wanted to move on to the next phase of the trials, he was going to have to endure getting stuck with the worst flyer in the recruit group. Slowly, he brought up his right wing to salute her properly, obeying his superior officer like a good soldier he learned to be out in the field.
“Yes… ma’am!” The words, taught and measured, made sure to convey an unwavering understanding of his new assigned orders.
Cloudy Sky looked over at his friends, silently begging them for help. It was too much for Silverstream to stand idly by and she rushed forward from the formation. Firebolt reached out to stop her but missed hooking Silverstream’s foreleg this time. Seeing the hippogriff moving forward, both Solar Flare and Nightflight did the same, wanting to protect and help their fellow BFF.
“Commander Spitfire, I would like to volunteer to be Cloudy’s leady pony.” Silverstream spoke first, getting the C.O.’s attention. Solar Flare followed on her hooves.
“I would like to volunteer as well, ma’am.” He stood right next to Silverstream, willing to risk the workload if it meant keeping Cloudy Sky safely away from Wind Raider.
“I would too.” Nightflight joined with them, seeing Cloudy Sky’s look of fear at getting paired up with the brusque pony. Even if he’d never flown with Cloudy Sky, he could still help his friend out.
“Commander, I’ve been Cloudy Sky’s partner during practice this morning and know how to work with him. I would ask you reconsider and assign me as his lead pony for this trial.” Brightstar was not to be outdone by her friends, stepping forward and stating she facts as to who should act as Cloudy Sky’s lead pony.
Cloudy Sky felt very lucky right then to know his friends were there to back him up. Surely the C.O. could see that he had his friends there to help him. There was no need to get Wind Raider involved. There were four lead ponies volunteering now.
But Commander Spitfire was unmoved by the display. “It’s admirable all of you want to help but I’ll stick to my selection. You four step back in formation.” She passed off the clipboard to Soarin, who would be in charge of this important trial, before addressing the recruits as a whole.
“Commander, I must insist-” Brightstar pressed her luck, not willing to accept the decision.
“Do you have a problem following orders, newbie?!” Spitfire was getting very annoyed by this back-talking and wasn’t having any of it. She’d made her decision, whether they liked it or not. Gallus and his friends were rather surprised by Brightstar’s uncharacteristic moment of defiance. Surely she would’ve known what the reaction to her insistence would be. A moment of silence hung heavy in the air just before the mare recruit answered.
“No, ma’am.” Brightstar slunk back into her position in the line, unable to help Cloudy Sky. Spitfire quickly jotted down some more notes on her ledger, making Brightstar nervous at what might be recorded of her actions. The C.O. addressed the recruits once more.
“At eleven-hundred hours, all recruits will assemble to submit their final routines for evaluation for their solo flight trials and duo flight trials. Once all submissions are in, scoring will begin for solo routines first with paired routines immediately following. Any questions you might have, directed them to your instructor; Wonderbolt team captain Soarin. Dismissed.”
The recruits saluted her and she returned the same, turning away to head back to her office, done with the morning’s duty and needing to get back to compiling the recruit’s scores for posting by lunchtime. Angel Wings was to give her briefings on the two group’s progress throughout the day while she was busy with the paperwork and her team was getting the meet & greet materials put away again.
All of Cloudy Sky’s friends congregated around him, as if to shield him from Wind Raider and Stormbringer. They saw the angry snarl on the black maned pony’s mouth, sending a cold shiver down Cloudy Sky’s back as he could only guess what in store was for him. Stormbringer was just as irate about the whole situation, losing out on a relaxing preparation time before his performance with his lead pony. Instead, he had to assist Wind Raider waste time trying to help Cloudy Sky.
Solar Flare moved to the fore, speaking for all of the BFFs. The bad blood between them from this morning was simmering just below the surface. “Look Wind Raider, let’s get one thing clear. Commander Spitfire chose you to be Cloudy’s lead, so the rest of us expect you to fulfill her order; help Cloudy pass this trial.” He scowled hard right back at Wind Raider. Silverstream and the others all closed in rank behind Solar Flare and leaned in more, glaring hard at the two troublesome instigators.
Slowly, there appeared a greasy smile on Wind Raider’s mouth as a delightfully malicious thought bloomed in his head about this situation. His eyes narrowed too, a dark and mischievous gleam appearing in them.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure to,” Wind Raider then turned to face a very afraid looking Cloudy Sky before continuing, “help him!”
“Yeah, help him!” Stormbringer caught on to his partner’s intent, seeing how upset the hippogriff and her friends were becoming about this.
Gallus growled at Wind Raider, not fooled by what the pony was inferring, or any of the other BFFs. He was up to something rotten and all of them feared for Cloudy Sky’s safety.
“Is there a problem over here, newbies? Why are none of you practicing?” The awkward moment between the flyers was broken up by the Wonderbolt captain who came trotting over, seeing them standing about.
Wind Raider answered first, loudly. “No, sir! No problems here, sir!” He looked over at Cloudy Sky, now standing between Gallus and Solar Flare, trying to hide. “Let’s get moving, wing pony! We don’t have all morning!”
It sounded more like an order then a request and Cloudy Sky obliged, leaving the relative safety and security of his friends and into the black void of uncertainty at going with Wind Raider and Stormbringer.
They watch as Cloudy Sky walked away from them with those two terrible ponies that didn’t look back at him. Cloudy Sky looked back at his friends, silently pleading them for help. After that nasty trick Wind Raider had pulled on Gallus in retaliation for his misspeaking last night, the friends worried about what kind of lead pony Wind Raider would act like.
Silverstream was very upset by this. Cloudy Sky was still very green and needed a patient partner he could trust.She and Gallushad worked very closely with him and understood how he learned. If he was nervous or confused, Cloudy Sky would forget basic things and progressively get worse the harder he tried. She was also not blind to the real fact that patience or understanding was something Wind Raider probably did not keep a deep stock of.
Time was finite this morning and the pairs of flyers had their jobs to do; practice flying until called. Nightflight and Amber Haze moved off to an area with Razzle Dazzle and Whirlwind, wanting to re-fly parts of their routines specifically.
“C’mon, Sliverstream, let’s get back to practicing. There’s nothing we can do about it so best try to put it out of your mind.” Firebolt, too, was apprehensive about Cloudy Sky’s situation. It was a terrible turn of luck but she was hoping her friend could stick it out and make something of a performance for himself. She tugged at Silverstream’s jersey sleeve, getting her friend to stop watching Cloudy Sky walk away and out of earshot.
Reluctantly, Silverstream did as she had to, despite the sinking feeling in her heart right then. She was Firebolt’s partner and there was work to do. Silverstream didn’t know how she was going to do it but she had to put this moment away and out of her mind for now. She had to focus on the flight routine created by Firebolt and get her part down solid. Her wing pony was counting on her.
It infuriated Gallus’ to see Wind Raider take advantage of the situation. Helping Cloudy Sky was undoubtedly the last thing Wind Raider was thinking of doing. He dug his talons into the ground, clawing at the dirt, feeling powerless to help his friend who was going to get hurt. Solar Flare knew a distracted wing griffon was not going to be an effective partner. He needed Gallus to focus on their work.
“C’mon, Gallus. We’d better re-fly the routine a few more times. We need to get the timing better for the figure-eight move as the big finish.” He tried to corral the griffon along with a wing around Gallus’ shoulders, gently pulling him away.
“He’s going to kill Cloudy, Solar.” Gallus’ imagination went to the grimmest outcome possible as to what Wind Raider would do, still watching Cloudy Sky follow gloomily after his assigned lead pony.
“We’ll stay close enough to keep an eye on the three of them. If we see any funny business, we’ll get the instructors to stop it.” Solar Flare didn’t trust those two anymore than Gallus did.
“Or maybe I’ll stop it!” The griffon gave a low grumble and punched his left fist into his open right talons, scowling. Solar didn’t want that; he did not want to see his partner ejected for fighting. He’d set a poor example of keeping cool this morning with his altercation with Wind Raider and regretted his short-sighted actions.
“Like I said, we’ll keep an eye on them. Don’t do anything rash, okay Gallus?” Solar Flare led his wing griffon away to another part of the field where they could practice and watch for now.