Stormy Skies
Chapter 2: First Weeks are Killer
“Everypony, up and at them!” A voice called from the darkness. Light flooded my eyes as the instructor flipped on the lights to our barracks. I groaned, pushing myself off of the tiny bed that was to be my home away from home for the next several months. I stretched out, cracking my wings slightly.
“Oh, that feels better,” I said, sighing. The instructor trotted up and down the lanes of beds, making sure that everypony was up. After she was done, she placed a clipboard at the front of the barracks and blew sharply on her whistle. Everypony stopped and looked right at her.
“Alright, everypony. Your assigned squads are listed on this here clipboard. You're expected to be on field immediately after breakfast. Breakfast starts at eight sharp, and ends at nine,” she barked. A hoof shot up in the air from one of the other mares, an ice blue pegasus with a white mane. The instructor looked a little perturbed at answering questions, but nodded anyways.
“Umm... what time is it now?” The mare asked sheepishly. A few of the others facehoofed.
“It's six-thirty. Set your clocks, ladies. You're gonna be getting up early from now on, so deal with it,” the instructor shouted. “Shower and get to breakfast, chop chop!” I blinked, grabbing my things as I filed in behind a few of the other mares headed to the bathroom. I managed to get lucky to snag an open stall, flipping on the water and sighing as I pulled all the tangles out of my mane. I yawned loudly. I hadn't exactly slept well on my first night after having been separated from Thunderlane.
My mind latched onto my coltfriend and I smiled. I wondered idly how his first night had been after we'd checked in too. We'd gotten in a bit late, but still had gotten plenty of time to eat in the mess hall and get the grand tour of the place that all new trainees get when they arrive.
I turned off the shower, grabbing my towel to dry myself off when I heard a few of the other mares in the shower room giggling and talking amongst themselves.
“Did you hear? I heard she showed up this morning, bright and early,” one of them said.
“Really? Wow... that's so cool,” another said. I stopped, smiling at them.
“Who you guys talking about?” I asked, breaking just slightly into their conversation. One of the mares, the one I presumed had been telling the rumor, looked up at me. She was a fiery red pegasus with a silvery mane.
“You didn't hear? Rainbow Dash joined the Wonderbolts Academy! She's here!” She said. I blinked.
“Rainbow Dash? Really? She never said she was applying for the Academy,” I said, trying hard to remember when my illustrious boss had ever mentioned such a thing. Then again, this was Dash we were talking about here. Despite how much I loved working for her, sometimes she could be abrasive enough to discourage socializing with. Apparently I must have said something the mare hadn't expected because she looked shocked.
“You... you know Rainbow Dash?” She said. I blinked again, before nodding.
“Yeah... I'm from Ponyville, she was my boss on the weather team,” I said. “Why? She's just Dash.”
“She isn't just Dash, silly filly. She's the greatest flier in all of Equestria!” One of the other mares said. “She's gonna blow us all out of the water and get to Wonderbolt status first.”
“Oh? Is she now?” A voice said from the next set of lockers down. The mare drying off there tossed the towel she had been using onto the bench. She had a light sea green color with a electrically charged light orange mane. She carried a fierce look on her face. The three groupie mares nodded at the same time, thus confirming their status as fan-girls of my erstwhile chromatic boss. The other pegasus snorted. “Well, just wait until this Academy gets a load of me.”
“And you are...?” I said, raising an eyebrow.
“Name's Lightning Dust. Remember it, you'll be seeing it in lights one day,” the sea green mare replied. “Now, if you'll excuse me... a champion must have her breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day after all.” She trotted off, leaving the four of us looking after her, dumbfounded. I sighed.
“She is right about one thing. Sorry girls, I'm off to breakfast myself,” I said, making my way out of the shower room. I dropped my things off at my bed and grabbed my flight suit, sliding into it with careful practice. As a recruit, we were instructed that any time that we were not in our barracks or in the shower to wear our flight suits. They were part of our official school uniforms, and not only that they represented something greater than just a piece of material. In order to be at the Wonderbolt Academy, you had to be a Wonderbolt, not just look like one.
I took a quick glance at the clipboard before leaving. I was scheduled to be at training field one, wherever that was.
I trotted out of the mare's barracks and headed towards the mess hall. Once I arrived at the bustling building, I quickly scanned the crowd for Thunderlane. The stallion was sitting at a table in the back, munching on a breakfast of oatmeal and apples. I grabbed my own tray and plopped down next to him.
“Hey there,” he said, giving me a quick nuzzle. I smiled. “How'd you sleep?”
“Terrible,” I confessed. “But I'll get used to it. Hey, did you hear the news?” The stallion took a gulp of his orange juice, nodding.
“Yeah... it's all anypony's talking about. Rainbow Dash finally getting into the organization. It's a big deal,” he said. I frowned.
“I wonder why she never said anything about it. She knew about us applying for here,” I said. Thunderlane shrugged.
“You know how Dash can be sometimes. Living too fast all the time does some funny things to a pony's brain,” he said. I chuckled.
“You're spot on there,” I said, taking a bite out of my apple. “Did you see where you're scheduled?”
“Yeah... training field one,” Thunderlane replied. “You?”
“Umm... I'm in the same field,” I said. “Hmmph. What are the odds of that?”
“I don't know, but I'm certainly happy. Sounds like we'll be on the same squad practically,” my coltfriend said. I grinned widely at him. My grin dropped when a shadow loomed over the table. I looked up, seeing the strangest looking pegasus I'd ever seen. He was massive, white, and bulging with muscle. His wings looked too small for his large frame. I nearly wondered how he could even fly. His cutie mark, clearly visible from where he was standing, was a dumbbell. His flight suit was extremely tight on him. He coughed, getting Thunderlane's attention as well.
“May I... May I sit?” He said, his soft voice catching me off guard. He also had a thick accent that didn't sound base Equestrian. Well... ponies do come from all over to train here, I thought. Still... he felt very familiar, like I'd seen him before somewhere. Thunderlane nodded and the oversized pegasus took a seat next to him. He looked down at his food, taking a bit out of his own apple, but otherwise stayed quiet.
“Hi there,” Thunderlane said, catching the white stallion's attention. “Name's Thunderlane. This your first day?” The other pegasus nodded. Thunderlane didn't press, but continued to speak. “This here's Cloudchaser, my marefriend. It's our first day too. What's your name?”
“Snowflake,” the large pegasus said quietly. “My name is Snowflake.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you, Snowflake. You look really familiar, like we know each other already. Where are you from?” I said, smiling softly. Snowflake regarded me for a few seconds.
“I am coming from Ponyville,” he said. I blinked, my mind kicking into overdrive as I realized where I knew the stallion from. He was the stallion who was there during the Tornado Duty who spent all his time going around and yelling “YEAHHH” all the time!
“I thought you looked familiar,” I said. “You're a lot quieter than I assumed.” Snowflake looked away for a moment.
“That was... not good time,” he said softly. “I was in... bad times. Did bad things. Trying for better now.”
“Well, you're on a good start, Snowflake,” Thunderlane said. “If you'd like, we can be your friends. Better to navigate this whole thing with friends, than without, am I right?” The monstrously large stallion nodded quietly.
“I would... I would like,” he said finally. My curiosity getting the better of me, I decided to ask about his accent.
“Your accent... it's very lovely. Where are you from originally?” I asked. Snowflake shifted in his seat.
“I am being from Stolno'grad,” he said, looking like he was having some trouble getting all the words out. “You know as Stall-ion-grad.”
“Oh, Stalliongrad. That's pretty cool,” I said. Admittedly, I knew next to nothing about the far off country, but I could at least hopefully make the large stallion feel a little more comfortable. I was about to say something further, but then a bell rang out. “That sounds like the end of breakfast. We should get to our fields. Snowflake, where are you at?”
“I am in Field number one,” the massive pegasus replied. I smiled.
“Well, you can walk with Lane and I then,” I said, as my coltfriend and I placed the uneaten contents of our trays in the trash and set them up for the dishwashers to take. We started trotting off towards field one, and I smiled. With Lane in my group, and a new friend in the form of Snowflake, things were never better. How could they possibly get worse?
**************************************
We arrived at the field first, lining up along the concrete 'field' that comprised of the center plateau of the Academy. A few of the other recruits joined us and I was pleasantly surprised to see Raindrops, another Ponyville acquaintance, show up. Our instructor was nowhere to be seen. As I wondered who it was going to be, I saw her.
Lightning Dust flew up, finding her place at the end of the line, a smug look on her face. She stood at attention much like a soldier. I rolled my eyes. Somepony was a little too determine, it seems. I mean, I wanted to be a Wonderbolt, but even I didn't have the kind of dedication. Just as I thought we were done and everypony accounted for, a blast of cyan and rainbows exploded in our vision. I blinked. Rainbow Dash?! I thought as the chromatic mare landed on the strip. She spotted me and waved, stopping over to take her place next to Lightning Dust. I waved back half-heartedly.
“Well, lookie what we got here,” a sharp voice cut across the silence. We snapped to attention immediately as our instructor walked up onto the strip. I nearly lost my breakfast when I realized that we were going to be trained by none other than Spitfire herself. The fiery mare wore a pair of shades and was dressed in her finest uniform, a fair change-up from her normal Wonderbolts attire. It had been Spitfire who'd recommended that I try out for the Academy in the first place after the whole Tornado Day debacle. She was flanked by two uniformed assistants who said nothing as their Captain made her way to the end of the line.
“Bet y'all think you're Wonderbolt material, don't ya?” Spitfire called out as she started up the line. I looked straight ahead and shouted along with the rest of the squad.
“Yes, ma'am!”
“Think you got what it takes to be an elite flier?” Spitfire challenged. She was getting closer to me.
“Yes, ma'am!”
Spitfire stopped right in front of me and scoffed.
“Well then, let me be the first to tell you... You don't! If you had what it took to be an elite flier, you'd already be a Wonderbolt!” She shouted. She glanced right over at me and trotted right up into my personal space. “Still think you're something special?”
“No ma'am!” I called out, gulping loudly and trying not to faint. Spitfire grinned, stepping up next to Snowflake. The Wonderbolts Captain looked up the Stalliongrad born pegasus up and down without even a hint of fear. Snowflake looked like he was ready to fall over himself, a squeamish expression all over his muscular face.
“Ya think you're hot stuff?” She said. The burly pegasus sunk to the ground underneath Spitfire's terrifying glare. Seemingly content, she made her way forward and stopped at Rainbow Dash. Grinning, she started in on her. “You look like you're the worst flier in the whole academy! You're probably quit after the first day!” Rainbow kept looking forward, a determined expression on her face.
“No ma'am! I'll never quit, ma'am!” Rainbow replied, puffing out her chest for extra effect. I had to hoof it to her, she was pretty impressive when she wanted to be. Spitfire nodded, making her way to Lightning Dust.
“Ha,” she said. “What about you? Bet you couldn't fly past the first flagpole without getting winded?” Lightning Dust puffed her chest out too and grinned wryly.
“Try me, ma'am,” she replied. Spitfire's eyes widened a bit.
“What's that?” She asked. Lightning Dust grinned even more.
“Let me show you what I've got, ma'am,” she said. Spitfire nodded, mulling over her words for a second.
“Ah, you want a chance to prove yourself, huh?” The Captain said.
“Yes, ma'am!” Lightning Dust called back. Spitfire stepped back and grinned.
“Well then, now's your chance. Give me five hundred laps,” she said. “All of you!” I blinked as the others in the squad began to moan. Spitfire snarled under her breath. “NOW!”
I spread my wings and began pumping hard along with the others around the sky track laid out above the field. I definitely knew now that I did not want to be on the receiving end of Spitfire's aggression. I pushed along hard, but not too hard so that I didn't wind myself. No matter how much I'd trained in the past year, five hundred laps was still pretty hard. Thunderlane soared alongside me, while Snowflake trailed behind. Despite his mass, he was a fair flier, and I was impressed.
Of course, Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust took up the front of the pack. Somehow I saw them either becoming rivals, or friends, or both. It was hard to tell. Dash was a good pony, and I had already seen enough of Dust to know that she wasn't somepony I actually wanted to associate with. Unfortunately, seeing as she was on my squad, that was inevitable.
I flew hard until I heard Spitfire yell out that we were finally at four hundred and ninety nine laps. I looked ahead, seeing Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust kicking it into high gear and zooming far ahead to come in for a relatively safe landing in front of Spitfire and her two assistant instructors.
“Five hundred!!!” Spitfire called out. “Not bad... for a couple of newbies.”
I landed myself with a screech, sighing. I certainly wasn't breaking any records, but I did fairly well. Not as well as Dash, but nopony could pull that off, except maybe this Lightning Dust mare. Thunderlane landed right next to me as we watched the two lead mares saunter off towards the mess hall. I guessed that when you finished five hundred laps like they did, you earned yourself a break. Spitfire glanced at the rest of us.
“Alright, newbies. You want to be like the best, then you've gotta train like the best! I want you all to give me twenty wing-ups, and then trot around the track for forty laps!” Spitfire roared. I groaned, causing the fiery mare to glare right at me. “Cadet Cloudchaser, I'd like to speak with you. Follow me.” I cringed, resigning myself to following after her. She was the Captain after all. We made our way across the field and into her office, which was in the farthest building from the barracks. Spitfire motioned to the seat in front of her desk. She sat down, pulling off her shades. I took a seat, hanging my flight goggles around my neck.
“You wanted to speak to me, ma'am?” I asked softly.
“Cadet, I have to say, I'm not sure how both you and your coltfriend ended up in the same squad, but I need to have your full cooperation that you won't let that compromise your commitment to the team,” she said. I gulped loudly.
“Ma'am... With all due respect I didn't even know we would be in the same squad until this morning,” I said.
“Point taken, I'm going to have to talk to the schedulers about that little mishap,” Spitfire said. “Does that mean we're not going to have a problem?”
“No ma'am. I'll... I'll do my best to keep my commitment to the Wonderbolts, ma'am,” I said. Spitfire nodded.
“Excellent. Now... get out there and finish up your laps. It's nearly lunch time, you don't want to be late for the mess hall,” she said. I saluted and took my leave, heading back towards the field. It was going to be a long couple months.
**************************************
I groaned, feeling utterly sore as I climbed into my bed. My wings howled in pain and I sighed. The week had been completely insane, and I hadn't had much time to do more than crawl into a comfortable sleep every night. Everypony was feeling the same, other than Dash and Lightning Dust, of course. The monochromatic mare and her rival were topping records all over the Academy.
I'd been doing okay at most of the exercises, but wasn't breaking the kinds of records that Rainbow had managed. The chromatic mare was nowhere to be seen. I guessed that her lodging was elsewhere, given her status as an Element of Harmony.
I sighed, laying back in my bed, noticing Lightning Dust strutting up the line on the other side of the barracks, finding her way to her own bed. Raindrops plopped down in her bed next to mine. After finding out we were on the same squad, the yellow mare had managed to get her accommodations relocated. She groaned loudly as well.
“You too, Dropsy?” I said, smiling.
“Yeah... I feel like I've been run through the ringer and then back out again,” she said, rubbing one of her wings gently. “Spitfire's been really riding us hard. I've heard from a few of the other recruits... none of the other instructors are as strict as her.”
“I know,” I said quietly. “It's almost like having Rainbow and Lightning Dust in our squad is making her go crazy on us.”
“You got that right,” Raindrops replied. “So... you and Thunderlane, huh? I mean, I'd heard around town, but that was only rumor.” I blushed fiercely.
“Yeah. For over a year now, actually,” I said, wondering just why Raindrops hadn't heard about it. I mean, she'd been on the same weather team as I had. I shrugged, sighing. “Although, since we started here... I haven't had much time to really hang out with him.”
“That stinks,” Raindrops said. “Well, I'm gonna hit the hay I guess. Night.”
“Yeah, night,” I said, turning over in my own bed and allowing my eyes to close. Sleep came momentarily, carrying me away to the land of my dreams.
I was flying, flapping my wings harder and harder as I tried to outpace the storm. Thunder clouds rumbled all around me, and I glanced up to see bolts of lightning arcing out of them. I panicked, heading up, hoping to get above the torrent of rain and wind. Every time I tried, my wings locked up and I dove further downwards.
I was lost. There was no two ways about it. I was going to lose myself in the storm. It raged on, getting closer and closer. And this time there was no Thunderlane to save me. Another bolt of fiery lightning flew past my right side, and I nearly lost it right then. My flight suit felt tight against my coat as the surging waters threatened to soak me to the very core.
Where was everypony? I couldn't even see the Academy. I couldn't see anypony. My squad had disappeared, and so had Thunderlane. He was gone. And I had been the one who'd caused it.
I was about to let the storm take me, to remove me from this world when a glimmer of light appeared in the darkness. I put my hoof up, wondering what it was. The glimmer disappeared just as the storm caught up with me, sending me hurtling to the depths below...
I awoke with a start to the instructor's cries and fell to the ground next to my bed. I sighed as I pulled myself up and started getting my morning routine together. The dream, no the nightmare, I'd had was so vivid, so real. What did it mean? I didn't know, but I knew that it scared me.
I took my shower in relative peace and made my way down to the mess hall. Thunderlane and Snowflake were sitting in our usual table. They waved me down, and I trotted over to them, trying to put on a happy smile.
“Morning,” I said, taking my seat. Thunderlane placed a hoof on the table, which I gratefully accepted.
“Hey. You feelin' alright? You look like you didn't sleep too well,” he said. I nodded.
“I'll be fine, it's nothing,” I said. “So... what do you think Spitfire has planned up for us today?”
“I hope nothing too crazy,” my coltfriend said, chuckling. “You sure you're alright?” I rolled my eyes.
“Of course, I've gotta get used to this if I want to be a Wonderbolt,” I said. I glanced over at Snowflake, who was busy milling through his oatmeal quietly. “How about you, Snowflake? You look pretty tired yourself.” The muscular pegasus smiled briefly.
“I am doing fine,” he said softly. I flashed a smile back at him. Over the course of the week, while I'd like to say that we'd become better friends, in reality we'd just noticed how generally quiet the overtly large pegasus was. It was a very sharp contrast from how I remembered him during Tornado Duty.
“That's great,” I said. To be fair, I really liked Snowflake. He was a fair flier, and he was serious about wanting to be a Wonderbolt, just... quiet. We continued to eat in relative silence until the end of breakfast bell rang. We filed out towards our assigned field, wondering what insanity Spitfire was going to unleash on us that day.
Insanity, thy name is Dizzitron. I'd heard rumors abounds from other recruits about it, but I'd never actually seen the thing... until now. Spitfire was waiting for us on the strip. Behind her was the most un-Celestia thing I'd ever seen. It was a giant wheel attached to a spinning device, with a chair/harness sitting off of it. Spitfire grinned as we filed into line.“The Wonderbolts are the fastest, best precision flyers in the world,” Spitfire called out. “But spin-outs can still happen. And when they do, a Wonderbolt must be able to recover quickly.” She pointed at the giant wheel. “This... is the Dizzitron. It's gonna make you very – I repeat – very dizzy. Your task is to try and recover and fly straight again, as soon as possible. Once you have recovered you must come in for a smooth landing. Now, who's first?”
One of the cadets in our group gulped loudly. Spitfire turned.
“You, you're up,” she said.
“Me?” The cadet replied shakily.
“Now!” Spitfire shouted. The cadet squeaked and made her way up to the harness chair and strapped herself in. Spitfire grinned. “Ready?”“Yes, ma'am!” The cadet said. Spitfire nodded at the instructor working the controls of the device.
“Go!” She called. The instructor flipped a switch and the giant wheel began to spin around, the hapless cadet attached to it looking like she was ready to lose her lunch. “Release!” The cadet spun out of the harness, flying through the air towards a bank of clouds. As she reached them, she came to her senses and flew lazily back to land on the strip, her eyes rolling around but otherwise safe. Spitfire looked down at her stopwatch.
“Huh. Fifteen seconds. Decent, but I wouldn't go writing home about it! Who's next?” She said. Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof, acknowledging her willingness to take on the Dizzitron. Spitfire grinned. “Alright, Rainbow Dash. Let's see what you got.”
“Yes, ma'am!” Rainbow said as she loaded herself into the harness.
“Okay, go!” Spitfire shouted. The Dizzitron went into its motions again, hitting a critical point of speed before the captain shouted for its release. Rainbow shot off like a rocket, turning out of her spinout immediately before zipping back onto the strip. She landed with a screech and a grin on her face. Spitfire's glasses nearly dropped off her face as she looked at her stopwatch.
“Six seconds? That's an academy record,” she said. Rainbow Dash strutted proudly to the end of the line where the first cadet was laying.
“You made it look so easy,” the cadet said. Rainbow grinned, puffing her chest out.
“I make everything look easy,” she said. I rolled my eyes. Typical Rainbow, I thought as I watched Lightning Dust take her turn at the monster.
“Ma'am, can you put the Dizzitron at maximum speed? I wanna push my limits,” Lightning Dust said.
“You sure about that?” Spitfire said, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, ma'am,” the seagreen mare said. Spitfire nodded at the instructor.
“You asked for it,” she said as the instructor cranked up the speed on the Dizzitron. The device started, spinning even faster and faster. Soon we couldn't even see the mare, only a greenish blur that zoomed away from the Dizzitron. Lightning Dust sped out of the spinout with practiced ease, landing on the strip. Spitfire certainly looked impressed at the display of athleticism.
“Six point five seconds! Not bad,” Spitfire said. Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash gave each other a wing slap.
“Oh yeah!” They said. Spitfire glared, the two mares catching her eye and stepping back into line. She looked up and down the line, finally resting on me.
“Cloudchaser! You're up,” she said. I grimaced determinedly, sliding my flight goggles on as I strode towards the Dizzitron. I slipped into the harness, getting myself internally pumped for the coming trial. Spitfire grinned and I gave a nod, indicating that I was ready. The machine started, beginning its vicious spin around and around. I tried my best to keep my focus, finding it increasingly difficult as the wheel got faster and faster.
I didn't even hear Spitfire shout for the wheel's release. All I felt was my body lurching out of the harness and zooming through the sky. I breathed deeply, counting the seconds until I could feel myself regaining some measure of control over my wings. Spreading them, I let the wind currents carry me all the way down to the landing strip.
“Twelve seconds! Pretty decent, Cloudchaser,” Spitfire said. “Take your place at the end of the line. Snowflake, you're up!” I grinned, giving Thunderlane a wing slap of my own before I took my place behind Lightning Dust. The seagreen mare glared at me for some reason.
“Not bad, newbie,” she said. “Not bad at all.”
“Umm... thanks?” I said, feeling very confused. Was she actually trying to compliment me? Lightning Dust glanced over at Spitfire, making sure she was occupied with the several attempts it took to get Snowflake into the Dizzitron's harness.
“Just watch yourself, newbie. I'm going to rule this squad, so you follow my lead,” she said under her breath. “Cross me, and you'll feel the thunder.” I narrowed my eyes at her.
“That so?” I said. “Well, we'll see about that.” Dust snorted.
“Try me, newbie,” she said before turning her attention back to Rainbow Dash, who was watching with rapt attention as Snowflake soared back down to the landing strip with a respectable fifteen seconds. The massive pegasus made his way over to the line next to me, and I smiled, trying to take my mind off the fact that Lightning Dust had just threatened me.
“Good job,” I whispered. The stallion nodded silently. I sighed. This was going to be a long week. After the last few of the cadets had taken their turn, Spitfire called out to the group.
“Listen up!” She shouted. “For the rest of the camp, you'll be working in pairs.” She pointed at each and everypony in the squad. “'Morrow morning, I'll post the teams, including who'll be lead pony and who'll be wingpony. Good luck.” She strode off, leaving us to make our way to the mess hall for lunch. As I trotted alongside Thunderlane and Snowflake, I noticed Lightning Dust grinning at me. I suddenly had a very bad feeling about all of this.
************************************
The storm raged on all around me once more. I flew hard, trying to outrun stray bolts of lightning that kept nipping at my back hooves. My wings were burning from the stress, and several times a bolt nearly caught my tail. The thunder rumbled loudly, and I saw the glimmer in the void again. What was it? What did it mean?
Again, before I could get a glimpse of whatever was off in the distance, the storm rumbled and surrounded me completely. The torrential waters poured out of the clouds, sending me soaring to the murky depths below...
I awoke again, breaking out in a cold sweat. I looked around the dark barracks, sighing. It was the second time this week I'd had the nightmare. I didn't know what to make of it. I laid my head back on my bed, groaning and trying not to wake anypony else up. I don't know how long I sat there awake, but soon enough the instructor showed up to perform morning wake-up. I got up, trying not to think about the dreams as I showered.
Throwing on my flight suit, I trotted along with Raindrops towards the main hall where the postings were going up for the squad pairings.
“Who do you think you're gonna get paired up with?” Raindrops said as we walked.
“I dunno, as long as its not Lightning Dust,” I said. Raindrops chuckled.
“Yeah... I don't think I could handle that either. Besides, you know they'll probably just end up sticking her and Dash together,” she said. “Maybe you and Thunderlane will get paired up.” I snorted.
“I doubt that. Spitfire's pretty keen on us not being paired together. You know that. No romance junk threatening the overall squad, after all,” I said. Drops shrugged.
“Guess we'll just have to see,” she said. I smiled as we found ourselves at the clipboard, surrounded by the others on our squad. Thunderlane waved at us from the side.
“Looks like it's you and me, Dropsy,” he said. Raindrops grinned.
“Right on,” she said. “So which of us is which?”
“Umm... I'm lead pony, and you're the wing pony,” Thunderlane said. Raindrops nodded, glancing at me. “Umm... Chase? You alright there.”
I had stopped in front of the clipboard, scanning until I found my name in the listing. It looked like I had been made a lead pony, and my partner was...
“Snowflake?!”