The days started to blend together at the Wonderbolt Academy. Scootaloo and her fellow cadets would get up early in the morning, eat breakfast, do various exercises, eat lunch and go out for more training. The only thing that really distinguished the days was the type of special training they would get in the afternoon, along with what they made of the day.
The exercises that morning ran a little long, so lunch was already under way and the mess hall was stuffed with other ponies. All anypony wanted to do was just to sit down and eat. Scootaloo and Blue Yonder managed to find a spot that was big enough for the two of them and a few other ponies. They were soon joined by Silverwings.
“Does anypony else get the feeling that every day is pretty much the same here?” Silverwings asked.
Both Scootaloo and Blue Yonder mumbled their responses. They were too tired from their workout that morning to form coherent sentences. While Major Soarin didn’t have the fire or intimidation factor that Spitfire was famous for, he still worked the cadets unrelentingly hard. He would never purposely allow them to injure themselves because of it, but a training session with him left the cadets very exhausted.
They all silently ate their food as ponies both left and joined the table they were sitting at. They were even joined by Lavender. She sat a few feet away, but could otherwise find no other place to sit. Her eyes were a little glazed over, like everypony else. She started eating and suddenly stopped when she noticed something. She picked at a spot on her plate and gave a disgusted look.
“They can’t even clean the plates right!” Lavender exclaimed. “There’s something from last night encrusted on here!”
Scootaloo felt ready to explode once again. That irritating voice and the incessant complaints caused Scootaloo’s blood to boil. There were so many things she would have said without a second thought, but she restrained herself…barely.
“Listen…we get it!” Scootaloo said through gritted teeth. “You don’t like dirty things! Whoopdi-doo! I’m sorry that you got the one dirty plate out of dozens, if not hundreds, that have to be cleaned every day. Just give it a rest for once! I mean…is there something else you like besides cleaning!?”
Scootaloo was surprised to find herself standing, with her fore hooves resting on the table. She was also breathing heavily and her face felt extremely hot. Scootaloo glared at Lavender, who was very surprised by this scolding. Lavender was speechless.
“W-well,” Lavender stammered. “I do like reading.”
“Really!?” Blue Yonder exclaimed as she zipped over to Lavender’s side. “Tell me, what do you think of A. K. Yearling retiring? I know that she’s said she felt like she was running out of ideas for her novels after so many years, but it seems like there’s more to it than that.”
Scootaloo sat back down and resumed eating her lunch. She wasn’t interested in the conversation next to her at the moment, just in her pile of slightly overcooked carrots.
“May I join you?” Somepony asked from behind her.
Scootaloo and Silverwings looked up to find Major Soarin was standing next to them. Silverwings struggled to stand up and salute their drill instructor.
“Now there’s no need for that cadet,” Soarin said. “We’re in the mess hall.”
“Sorry Sir,” Silverwings said as he awkwardly sat back down.
“Sure,” Scootaloo finally said. “But why would you sit with us Sir?”
“Well, to be perfectly honest, today is going to be a boring day for me,” Soarin explained as he sat down next too her. “Plus, I like to get to know my cadets a little more personally. Is your partner going to join us?”
Scootaloo looked over at Blue Yonder, who was still deep in conversation with Lavender about books.
“I like the Daring Do series okay since she does go to strange new places, but it’s always for the sake of an object,” Blue Yonder rambled. “Personally, I prefer stories that explore new lands and focus on the beings that live there, whether if they’re real or fictional.”
“No,” Scootaloo said, turning back to Soarin. “She’s a little preoccupied at the moment.”
“Very well,” Soarin said before taking a bite out of his apple pie. “So tell me, how do you like the academy so far?”
“I think it’s great,” Scootaloo answered.
“Yeah, except my partner keeps driving me up the wall,” Silverwings said in a melancholy tone.
“Yeah, I noticed that,” Soarin chuckled. “Where’s Hot Shot now?”
“I don’t know,” Silverwings replied looking around. “He usually comes around this time and drags me off to one of the training fields.”
“You know, you don’t always have to agree with everything he does,” Soarin commented.
“I know, but it’s hard to get that through his thick skull,” Silverwings said.
“Well, I don’t know what else to tell you,” Soarin said. Then he narrowed his eyes as he looked at Silverwings. “Say, aren’t you Fleetfoot’s brother?”
Silverwings frowned even more before answering. “Yes.”
“Really?” Scootaloo stated. “You’ve never mentioned that Captain Fleetfoot was your sister.”
“That’s because she’s so annoying!” Silverwings explained. “Sure, she’s a great flyer, but you’ve never had to live with her. She’s overbearing, drags you to do what she wants and loves to show off. She’s not that different from Hot Shot, now that I think about it.”
“She usually speaks highly of you,” Soarin mentioned.
“Yeah, but she has a funny way of showing it,” Silverwings said. “I love her because she’s my sister and all, but I can hardly stand to be in the same room with her for very long.”
“I see,” Soarin said. “How about you, Scootaloo, where are you from?”
“Ponyville,” Scootaloo answered.
“Ponyville?” Soarin said to himself while tapping his chin. “Wait I remember! Rainbow Dash lives in Ponyville.”
“The one and only,” Scootaloo beamed.
“Rainbow Dash is always talking about you too,” Soarin continued. “She always talks about how awesome you are.”
“Really?” Scootaloo said, rather surprised. “Why would she talk about me? I’m not as awesome as she is.”
“Well she does,” Soarin stated. “And you have been doing fairly well here. Sure, you’ve made some mistakes and had some difficulties, but so have the rest of us. Just keep working hard.”
Scootaloo fell silent; not knowing whether to feel proud or ashamed of the apparent praise from Rainbow Dash. She hadn’t really done anything to be considered "awesome" by her foalhood hero. Sure, she told Scootaloo that she was “all kinds of awesome”, but she never felt like she deserved it. Scootaloo had to be helped with everything when learning to fly. Rainbow Dash never needed any help.
Scootaloo continued to pick at her pile of carrots while everypony else ate—or in the case of Blue Yonder and Lavender; talk about books. Suddenly, Silverwings looked back up to Soarin.
“Say, didn’t Rainbow Dash almost replace you in the Cloudsdale team for the Equestria Games one year?” He asked.
There was a clatter of silverware as Scootaloo dropped her fork and nervously looked over at Soarin. He too had stopped eating and had a slight frown on his face.
Scootaloo knew this story well; about how Spitfire and Fleetfoot had nearly convinced Rainbow Dash to join the Cloudsdale team for the relay race tryouts since Soarin had injured himself. She happily trained with the Wonderbolts, but was conflicted about abandoning her own team. It made matters worse when Rainbow Dash found out that Soarin had healed up long before the trials and was ready to fly, but Spitfire and Fleetfoot neglected to visit him or let him back on the team until the last moment.
Rainbow Dash wasn’t very happy with this, but Scootaloo never knew Soarin’s feelings on the matter. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to. Soarin took a deep breath while Scootaloo held hers.
“Yes, she nearly did,” Soarin finally said; surprisingly very calm. “It wasn’t Rainbow Dash’s fault though, and I had sprained my wing at the time. So I didn’t blame Spitfire or Fleetfoot for trying to find a replacement. They needed a third pony and Rainbow Dash is originally from Cloudsdale.
“I didn’t appreciate being shoved by the wayside and nearly forgotten until the end. Spitfire knew I was feeling better, but she didn’t tell me anything—not even if I had been replaced or not.”
Soarin paused as he took another deep breath. Both Scootaloo and Silverwings were practically sitting on the edge of their seats.
“I admit that I was pissed,” Soarin continued. “I nearly dropped out of the games right then and there. I even considered resigning from the Wonderbolts too.”
“Why didn’t you?” Silverwings asked.
“I’m not entirely sure,” Soarin admitted. “I guess I figured that it was a silly thing to give up my career over, let alone my friendship. I’m glad I didn’t.”
“And what about Spitfire or Fleetfoot?” Scootaloo asked.
“Officially, nothing really happened,” Soarin explained. “Like I said, they needed a third flyer and had every reason to go get one. Spitfire did loose a lot of respect, though; both in the Wonderbolts and from fans. It took years before many of those ponies came back around, but some of it remains.
“Spitfire was about to hand in her own resignation, as I recall. Why she didn’t, I’ll never know. One thing’s for sure, though; she never took me, or anypony else, for granted again. That’s why she’s as adamant as she is about respect here, for everypony. Without it, we are nothing and we can’t work as a team.
“That’s part of the reason why Spitfire had later retired from active service as the lead pony in the First Wonderbolt Squadron—too many ponies still didn’t trust her to be a leader anymore. However, she was still respected here at the academy and was convinced to take the commanding officer position full-time. Honestly, I don’t think there is any pony more qualified for that position. She is the epitome of everything that the Wonderbolts stand for.”
Soarin looked at his watch and got up.
“I better get going,” he said before balancing his food tray on his back. “Remember to report to the Section H of the Southern Field at 1400 hours. You still have a lot of training ahead of you.”
With that he left, leaving the cadets to ponder his words. Scootaloo couldn’t help but get a feeling of déjà vu. Soarin’s story was almost exactly like hers from the Equestria Games that very same year. Both of them almost hadn’t participated in the games—albeit for different reasons and circumstances—they were nearly abandoned by their friends/teammates and Rainbow Dash played a part in bringing them back together. Soarin even held no ill-feelings towards his teammates just like how Scootaloo quickly made up with her friends.
The truth behind Spitfire’s “semi-retirement” was also a lot to take in.
‘Can one mistake truly affect a pony’s entire life like that?’ Scootaloo wondered.
Scootaloo ate the rest of her meal in silence. When she was done, she got up, disposed of her waste and put her dirty dishes away to be cleaned. She hadn’t even realized that Blue Yonder had done the same thing and was walking with her on the way out of the mess hall.
“She likes romance novels!” Blue Yonder suddenly exclaimed. “And not even the interesting ones, but the cheesy ones with nearly the same exact plot by the same authors!”