Chapter I: Settling In
Rainbow Dash was practically bouncing with excitement when she made it to her small room. She was well aware that she was acting just as hyperactive as Pinkie Pie, but she could really care less at the moment. She had just finished her first day of Wonderbolt training, and she felt sure that she had made a good impression.
She had even gotten a better time on the dizzitron than Lightning Dust, who was without a doubt a very talented flyer. Lightning Dust was sure to be her biggest competition and she resolved to keep an eye out for her, whatever team she ended up on… a Lead Pony for sure, just like Rainbow herself.
She gave a few extra hops in place, just an attempt to get rid of her extra energy. Tomorrow was sure to be a tough day of training and she knew that she needed to be well rested. She needed to do her best, after all, in order to impress Captain Spitfire.
She was about to turn in when there was a knock on the door. She froze, staring. She couldn’t imagine who would be visiting her now. After all, she and the other Wonderbolt hopefuls still hardly knew each other. At least not well enough for casual visits.
She moved over to the door and pushed it open, and nearly fainted with shock.
One of the Wonderbolts stood there, smiling at her! He was not dressed in the iconic flight uniform of the elite flyers, but Rainbow Dash recognized him anyway, because she had seen this particular Wonderbolt in a dress uniform before, at the royal wedding weeks ago. Of course, she had seen him a few times before, and he was probably her favorite Wonderbolt after Spitfire herself. Soarin!
For a few seconds, she just stared at him until he blushed with an uneasy smile. And then she snapped out of it. “Oh Celestia! I can’t believe it!” She gasped.
“Uh… hi. I don’t suppose you remember me?” He began.
“Of course I do, Pie Guy.” Rainbow smirked, remembering their first real meeting at the Grand Galloping Gala. She had met him before at the Young Flyer’s Competition, but seeing as he was unconscious at the time, she didn’t really count it. She had saved his apple pie from hitting the ground at the Gala.
His blush deepened. “Well, personally, I prefer to remember meeting up at the royal wedding. At least no pies were dropped on that occasion. Not to mention that we were actually able to say more than a few words to each other.”
“You’re right. The wedding was much better overall.” Rainbow agreed. “So… what brings you here?”
“Well, I heard that you were accepted into the Wonderbolt Academy. I just wanted to come and see how it was going.”
“Going?” Rainbow scoffed. “I’m the best flyer here, without a doubt! I just know that becoming a Wonderbolt is in the bag!”
Soarin gave a small chuckle. “Well, I’m glad that you feel that way. Confidence is half the battle.” He glanced around the small room that was given to all the Wonderbolt hopefuls. “It seems like it’s been ages since I was in this position myself, hoping that my destiny really lay with the Wonderbolts.” He tilted his head towards his flank, where his Cutie Mark was clearly visible. His Cutie Mark was the symbol of the Wonderbolts: a lightning bolt with a pair of wings.
Rainbow nodded in understanding. How horrible would it have been to have the Wonderbolt’s crest marked on your flank and not be able to get into the Wonderbolts? “It seems like you were worried about nothing.” Rainbow said. “You’re one of the best flyers on the team!”
“I’m glad that you think so.”
“So… do you have any tips for the new mare on how to impress Spitfire?” Rainbow asked.
“Well, I was recruited under the previous Captain who had different standards than Spitfire.” Soarin said thoughtfully. “Spitfire is more impressed with drive than raw talent. Of course, raw talent is extremely helpful, but you need to show her your drive as well.”
“Ha! Then I’ve got this in the bag!” Rainbow celebrated. She had been driving herself towards her life-long goal of becoming a Wonderbolt since she was a filly. She certainly wasn’t going to trip now, on the final stretch!
Soarin smiled as he watched her. He’d never seen a mare who was so confident before. He knew that even Spitfire had been a little nervous when she was at the Academy, because that had been the year that he’d been at the Academy as well. But Spitfire, it turned out, had nothing to worry about. She was now the youngest Captain of the Wonderbolts for the last hundred years.
Soarin, himself, had been more than a little nervous during his time at the Academy. But Rainbow Dash… something about this colorful mare inspired confidence. She was somepony special… even without the apparent fact that she had a more casual relationship with the Princesses than your average citizen. Soarin had certainly never spoken one-on-one with Princess Celestia before… but Rainbow Dash had.
“I’m sure that you’ll do fine.” Soarin said confidently. “And… I’m not supposed to say something like this… do you promise to keep this just between us?” He asked.
“Sure thing.” Rainbow said with a smile.
“I look forward to having you on the team.” Soarin said with the tone of voice that left no doubt that he believed that Rainbow Dash would become one of the Wonderbolts.
Despite knowing that she would get in, a real vote of confidence from an actual Wonderbolt was something that Rainbow truly appreciated. “I look forward to being on the team.” She replied.
“Well, I suppose I should let you get settled in.” Soarin said, glancing around the room again. He began to back out of the doorway. “If I know Spitfire at all, and I do, she’s going to really work you recruits hard tomorrow and I don’t want you to have a sub-par performance because you stayed up talking to me all night.”
“If that happened, I’d totally blame you.” Rainbow said with a small laugh.
“But, if you’re not too busy, maybe I can come check on you again tomorrow night after Spitfire lets you go?” Soarin asked.
“Oh? Oh, yeah… sure thing.” Rainbow Dash gasped.
“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Soarin said, backing all the way out of the door and closing it behind him.
Rainbow stared at the closed door, a little shocked at what just happened. Was it normal for a Wonderbolt to take such an interest in a single recruit? Everything that she had read about the Academy said that the bulk of the Wonderbolts were not involved with procedures there. Usually, the recruits were only exposed to the Captain and a few reserve members of the Wonderbolts who were there for safety. But the actual team? They should have been busy with training themselves! And yet Soarin was taking his own time to come visit her.
Granted she saw him more often than the other members of the Wonderbolts and she did have fun dancing with him at the royal wedding. But still…
Rainbow Dash sighed. This was getting too complicated. He probably just knew a winner when he saw one and was getting a head start on getting friendly with the new team member. Yeah… that was definitely it.
Rainbow flopped down on the bed and fell asleep almost instantly. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, after all.