//------------------------------// // The Trials // Story: A New Generation // by QuiteNiceDynamite //------------------------------// The Wonderbolts held a meeting that morning, before the trialists arrived. They all sat around a large table in the mess hall. Rainbow sat at the head of the table, telling the others what to do when the drills began. "Soarin and Rapidfire, I want you two with Group One. Blaze and Firestreak, you'll both be with Group Two. Finally, Misty Fly and I will be with Group Three. There's gonna be thirty trialists tomorrow, and we're splitting them into three groups of ten. When the tests are done, take your group to the mess hall. Then bring me their scores. When I've decided who is passing and who isn't, I'll call them in one-by-one, I want you guys to stay in the hall with them while they wait. Sound good?" The Wonderbolts nodded and muttered their approval, "It's gonna be a long day today, so go and relax for a bit." The Wonderbolts stood up and went back to the barracks to lay down and get some vital sleep before an important afternoon. After they had all gone, Rainbow went back to her office, Gilda was sat in her chair waiting. "Right, G. Later, we're all staying with certain drills. But you're not. I want you to grade just one of them." Rainbow reached for a picture of Scootaloo from a file, she showed Gilda her picture. "She's called Scootaloo, and she's my friend. I want you to stay with her group of ten for the entire duration of the drills. Don't focus on any other Pegasi, just her. If any of them ask why you're always with them, say that every group does, they won't know any different." Rainbow told her friend. "Got it." Gilda replied, "Just the orange one." Rainbow looked sparingly between the parted curtain, "I just hope that she does well." Rainbow paced up and down her office. Gilda was sat in her chair by the desk, looking slightly more relaxed, but still quite anxious. Rainbow Dash knew that Gilda was here to help, and she would value her opinion, but Rainbow would still check on Scootaloo as the day wore on. Gilda stood up, prowling around the office as Rainbow went to sit down. "Don't worry about it, Dash. I got your back today." Gilda promised her friend. "Thanks, G." Rainbow replied. "I'm just worried for her though. Yeah, you're grading her, but I've gotta tell her if she isn't good enough if she isn't up to the grade." Gilda walked to her friend, placing a claw on her shoulder to comfort her, "Dash. It's gonna be fine." Rainbow looked up at her friend. She'd missed her griffon friend and how they really bonded when they were younger. "Don't pass her just for me, though. Promise me that you'll grade her properly." Gilda looked assured, "Dash, I'm not gonna lie to you." "Thanks, I appreciate it." Rainbow replied. Rainbow Dash looked out of the window. The large clock on the barracks had just hit noon. The trialists awaiting Rainbow Dash grew excited, knowing she would arrive any time soon. Rainbow saw Scootaloo waiting. She wasn't talking to any other trialists, she was solely concentrated on the task ahead. Rainbow dash trotted back to her desk and rooted through a draw. A pair of purple-tinted aviator sunglasses lay folded in the draw. They had been Spitfire's, and Rainbow would wear them for her. Rainbow would be the 'Drill Sergeant' today, the role that Spitfire fitted perfectly. Rainbow placed the shades over her eyes, looking seriously at herself in the mirror. Happy with her appearance, she turned to Gilda. They both simply nodded at each other, ready to do their job. Gilda opened the door for Rainbow, and she trotted out across the runway to the trialists. The trialists started to cheer and stomp their hooves in applause as Rainbow Dash trotted towards them. Rainbow's eyes were hidden behind her sunglasses, but her eyes were focused on Scootaloo, studying her every movement and emotion. Scootaloo didn't move, she didn't applaud her or cheer, she just stared her straight back, meeting her steely gaze. Rainbow reached the trialists, with Gilda prowling behind her. Rainbow stood five metres from the trialists, thirty had turned out for the tests today. The crowd continued to cheer her until Rainbow retaliated harshly, "What are you cheering about?!" The crowd fell silent, shocked by Rainbow Dash's different mood, she wasn't normally angry like this. "Brilliant" Rainbow thought to herself. Of course, she wanted ponies to like her, but she wanted Scootaloo to pass, and if Scootaloo was too relaxed, she might not pass the test. "None of you have anything to cheer about! None of you have done anything yet!" Rainbow continued to yell. Gilda and the other Wonderbolts were looking at Rainbow Dash from behind the worried trialists. They all had small grins on their faces, they realised what Rainbow was trying to do. If the trialists weren't in the right frame of mind, they wouldn't pass. "When you've passed today. If you pass today, then you may cheer! Until then, I don't wanna hear a peep out of any of you!" Some of the trialists were shaking in fear at the furious Rainbow Dash. But Scootaloo realised the charade she was trying to pull, the orange Pegasi was completely unfazed by her friends' attitude. Rainbow pointed at a gap between two Pegasi, they both froze, hoping that she wasn't pointing at them. Rainbow then swiped her hoof to the left. "You ten to the left are going with Soarin, Rapidfire and Gilda." The three made themselves noticed to Group One. Rainbow made sure that Scootaloo was in that group so that the griffon could grade her more closely. Rainbow then pointed at another gap and swung to the right, "You're Group Two, you're with Blaze and Firestreak. And any of you left, that should be ten of you, are with Misty Fly and Me in Group Three." Rainbow noticed some of the Pegasi in the ten of her group stiffen a little in fear. Rainbow couldn't hide a little grin, they were really scared of her. "Your Group Leaders will stay with you for the duration of the day. Don't leave your group leaders at any moment unless you are allowed to. If you try to dare and leave your group, it'll be the last thing you do before I crush you like a bug." Rainbow muttered menacingly. "At the end of the day, you'll go to the mess hall and stay there until I call you into my office. Then you'll know whether you've passed or not. Come with me." Rainbow ordered as she walked towards the Dizzatron, she was showing the trialists the drills they'd have to do. Some of the trialists had done them yesterday, but twenty of them were here for the first time. "This, is the Dizzatron. We put you in it one at a time. It's gonna make you dizzy. Very dizzy. You get a higher grade depending on how quick you can recover from the spin-out and land safely." Rainbow heard a small scoff from the crowd of trialists. "WHO WAS THAT?!" Rainbow yelled, her voice echoing around the base. The silence was deafening. Nopony said anything at first, but then they started to disperse, leaving one yellow Pegasi standing alone, her head held low. Rainbow could see the trialist shaking harshly, she wouldn't have been surprised if her knees gave way and she collapsed. "Was it you?" Rainbow asked quietly. Her low tone was almost as severe as her shout a few seconds earlier. The yellow trialist slowly raised her head, "Y-Y-Yes." "So you think that this is a laughing matter? Would you care to give us a demonstration? Or do you not want us all to see how bad you are?" Rainbow asked. "N-No, please." Mumbled the recruit. "YOU ADDRESS A SUPERIOR OFFICER PROPERLY! You have three choices." Rainbow started to hit one hoof into another to emphasize her following points. "You call me; Captain, Ma'am or Your Excellency. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" Rainbow screamed into the recruits face. The yellow Pegasi couldn't have shrunk any smaller. She was literally lying on the ground before Rainbow Dash. "Yes, Ma'am." She muttered, almost silently. Rainbow turned and marched away, muttering angrily, "Good." Gilda let Rainbow trot past her, shooting her a sly wink. Rainbow returned it, happy to have released a bit of inner rage. Rainbow Dash continued the tour around the base. "You've all seen the runway, you'll be having timed speed runs over one-hundred metres. Again the slower your time, the higher your grade." Nopony laughed this time, Rainbow didn't think that any would speak out again after that last drill. "And finally, this is the synchronisation hangar." Rainbow said as she waved a hoof towards it, specifically at the apparatus. "This machine measures how in sync you are with your partner. You won't know your partner until you start the drill, so you'll have to adapt to each others' flying styles. The machine draws two lines, and the closer your line is to your partners, the higher grade you get." After Rainbow had finished the tour, she brought the trialists back to the barracks. "Split into your groups now and go with your Group Leaders. To all of you, good luck." The thirty trialists split into their groups of ten and went to their pre-determined drills. Rainbow looked over to Gilda. She was already on Scootaloo's tail, studying her every move. Rainbow Dash then went with her group to the snychronisation hangar. Luckily for that yellow Pegasi, she wasn't in Rainbow Dash's group. Rainbow didn't have anything against her, but she just wanted to let the others know who was in charge. And she had definitely succeeded in that. The drills and the day swept by for Rainbow Dash. Luckily for her, she could stand there and look imposing, when she was actually very far away in her mind, thinking only of Scootaloo. Also, fortunately for Rainbow Dash, Misty Fly was thoroughly at work, and she could manage on her own. Rainbow felt that she'd only been thinking about Scootaloo for a minute or so, but when she came back to her senses, her group was on their last drill already. "It's a good job I've got these guys to help me. I've been a zombie for the last hour." Rainbow thought to herself. The last trialist in Rainbow's group finished their last drill. Everypony had finished what they were doing, Rainbow led her group back to the mess hall. After they had all assembled there, Rainbow went back to her office. Blaze entered first. He came with a file containing the grades and recommended outcome of each trialist. One-by-one the trialists came in. Some were accepted into the Academy, but most were rejected. Rainbow was genuinely sad about this, she couldn't comprehend what it would have felt like to be told that you weren't good enough. She tried to comfort everypony that was rejected, but nothing she could say could mend their broken hearts. Misty Fly came next, she knew that Rainbow hadn't fully been there today, so she left her the file to Group 3. Again, small numbers of success and large numbers of heart breaks ensued. Finally, Soarin arrived with the file to Group One, Scootaloo's group. As Soarin was walking out of the office, Rainbow yelled after him, "Keep Scootaloo till the end, you know, the orange one." "I know." Soarin mumbled as he walked out. Soarin didn't seem to happy. Had Scootaloo been bad on the drills, or was he just tired? Hopefully the latter. Rainbow quickly went through the nine trialists in Group One, she was working on autopilot, just reading what was written in the file. After she had gone through the nine, she heard a knock on the door. "Enter." Rainbow muttered, not knowing who it was. Gilda walked in, ready to give her report on Scootaloo. "Come on, Gilda. Take a seat." Rainbow told her friend. "Tell me what you saw."