MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 59:
“He did what now?!” Little Star remarked to Dash at the shower beside her, the water got in her eyes as they widened, forcing her to squint and rub them with her hooves. Dash whipped her wet mane around to get it out of her eyes and over her opposite shoulder as the water dripped down her body.
“Roped me to a bed and sat on top of me while holding a knife I thought was real until after he tried to stab me with it, and the whole time told me another vague story about his past,” Dash said monotonously as she rubbed shampoo into her prismatic mane.
“Excuse me, WHAT?!?!” exclaimed Star in disbelief as she tried to hover up to eye level with Dash, but with her wings all wet, her typical flutter failed and she plopped back down onto the floor.
“Think I know?” Dash said sarcastically as she rinsed her mane. Star pushed her mane up over her body. It was so long that it touched the floor already, but when it was wet, it was like tugging a mop along with her.
“That’s just… wrong. Isn’t this the second time he’s done something?” she asked as she hopped up and down, trying to reach the knob for her shower. Dash shut her shower off, then reached over and shut Star’s off for her.
“Yeah… the first one wasn’t so bad… just strange…” Dash began as the two shook themselves out vigorously. They left the shower area and grabbed their towels, drying off as she continued. “This time though… I should’ve seen it coming, but I was convinced that was a real knife.” She rubbed her face and mane dry before grabbing a brush. “It’s become clear that things are never what they seem with Twister… and I mean that 110%. He never gives straight answers to questions, and he masks everything with a joke or trick,” she said unenthusiastically as she ran the brush through her hair only twice to make it look how it usually did before unfolding her wings and shaking any access water out of them so she could preen them once back at her bunk.
“Do you think…?” Star spoke up again as she wrung her mane out before stepping up on her personal stool and brushing much more than Dash had. “We should tell Silver about it?” she asked.
Dash blinked as she thought it over. She hadn’t thought about that… but, WHY hadn’t she thought about it? Two troubling cases… but what kept her from thinking she should? After thinking some more a clear answer came to mind.
“I don’t think we need to,” Dash replied. Star stopped mid brush and turned to face Dash.
“You’ve been roped to a bed and straddled while given a monologue and you’re OKAY with it?” Star asked in disbelief. Dash’s eyes widened for a moment and she quickly shook her head.
“I didn’t say I liked it Star…” Dash quickly clarified. “But…” she shook her head as she looked back and whipped her tail a few times to help it dry. “He hasn’t done anything wrong yet.”
“Define wrong…” Star asked sarcastically as she tried to keep brushing, but the brush had gotten stuck. “Ow!” she remarked quietly as Dash gathered her thoughts.
“He’s been an extreme creep, but he hasn’t done anything to cause actual harm… not to me, not to anypony else, nor during the training,” Dash turned and looked towards Star as she finally managed to yank the brush free with a painful yelp. “Everything he’s done so far has been a ruse, or a prank. I’m not saying it wasn’t disturbing… it was disturbing as HELL, but otherwise it’s been innocent,” she finished as Star hopped off and started pushing her stool along the floor. “Here, just let me get that…” Dash offered as she scooped up the stool with her wing.
“Thanks…” Star nodded. “Well… if you say so. I don’t know how you put up with it.”
“I have experience with crazy individuals,” Dash chuckled as they walked out of the bathroom and into the barracks. “Although I much prefer my friend back home… not this twisted, creepy son-of-a…”
“HEARD YOU TALKIN’ SHIT LIKE I WOULDN’T FIND OUT!” Twister suddenly popped up directly in front of Dash while pressing his face into hers. Little Star yelped as she tripped over Twister’s tail and Dash instantly pushed her hooves to the floor to back off. She was seconds away from giving him a piece of her mind like she wanted to last night, but—
“Hey… Freaky,” Silver stepped up behind and brought a heavy hoof down over the top of Twister’s head. He pushed Twister all the way down to the floor, before putting him in a headlock and turning him away from Dash to face his bunk. “How about you make your bed again… right side up?” Silver said sternly while pointing at Twister’s top bunk above Squall. The bed was made, but the mattress and everything had been flipped upside down, even the pillow.
“But I prefer my world upside down!” Twister snickered while looking directly up at Silver, tilting his head so far back that he was literally looking upside down. Twister reached his other hoof around and forced his head to look back at the bed.
“If I wanted to hear from an asshole, I’d fart! Now go make your god damn bed the RIGHT way!” Silver yelled as he picked up and threw Twister with the exact power and trajectory necessary for him to land on his top bunk a few yards away.
Without another word, Silver kept moving past and into his room. Dash and Star glanced at each other, and then up towards Twister. Twister somehow already had the mattress back upright, but had himself wrapped in the sheet like a burrito and was continuously spinning in place on the bed while snickering. Squall was sitting on the bunk below, completely ignoring him. Star and Dash both shrugged before making their way back to their bunks.
They had an hour to get breakfast before the first events of the day… but she decided to preen her wings beforehoof. She knew she would completely forget after breakfast, and she wasn’t in the biggest hurry to get the day going anyway. They had a lecture on flight formations… again after breakfast. It was the fourth day in the cycle, she knew it was coming, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.
She sat down on the edge of her bed and reached her right wing around, shuffling through some of the loose feathers with her nose before coming to a few twisted clumps. She lightly bit down on the first bunch of tangled feathers, gently working her teeth around the feather shafts to pull them apart and straighten them out.
“Bleh… soapy…” Dash said quietly to herself as she stuck her tongue in minor disgust. The taste the scentless soap from the shower room dispensers still clung to the feather barbs. As she reached for the second bunch, her eyes shifted up. Across the room, Squall was looking at her as he sat in the shadow of Twister’s bed above him. He had the usual scowl and glare on his face, but as soon as Dash’s eyes caught his he simply flipped his mane out of his eyes and looked away without changing his expression.
Dash lifted an eyebrow as she carefully preened the second bunch of feathers. She ran her nose through her wing again, finding two more smaller clumps further out near the tip of her wing. She worked her teeth gingerly into the first, parting it quickly and smoothing it out with her lips. As she moved to the other close by, she instinctively looked up again.
Again… Squall was looking at her again. This time he looked the other direction with his grumpy expression unwavering. What was he looking at her for? Well… aside from the fact that she showed him respect and gave showed him the light of day. Dash got the feeling there weren’t many ponies like that in his life. He was lucky she had a high tolerance for idiocy… because she was surprised he hadn’t been discharged yet for insubordination. In general, Squall was troubled and the troubles often got him into trouble.
The way he was looking, she imagined he was doing so out of curiosity. Who was she and why was she being friendly to him? Dash bet that was the kind of thing going through his head. She had made progress on making him open up and be friendly… but he still had a very long way to go.
As Dash refolded her right wing and moved for her left, she spotted something on her footlocker as she started poking her nose through her other wing. Her binder, now stuffed full of Wonderbolt information and drawn up formation patterns, was sitting atop it. This was completely normal, but last time she tossed it down must’ve ripped some of the already frayed binding holding the schedule in it. The schedule was jutting out the top.
She found only two bunches in her left wing… lucky. Her left wing was usually worse than the right. She kept eyeing the schedule as she worked the feathers into clean positions, actually curious because she hadn’t given the schedule a look at all after the first time. This was the fifth cycle coming up after this day… it had been a little more than two weeks since she arrived for training. It felt like it had gone by so fast so far.
Dash pressed her last clump of feathers into a smooth, organized fashion before she instantly reached for the binder and opened it up to the very front. As soon as she opened it, the schedule slide out and floated gently to the floor. The binding had definitely come loose. She closed her binder and set it beside her, reached towards the floor and picked up the schedule, reading it over again carefully.
This was the final day of the fourth cycle… making it the sixteenth day of her recruit training… There were thirty-two days total on the schedule. So ironically, the second time she decided to take a look at this thing was exactly halfway through. Sixteen days down… sixteen more to go. She had a feeling that meant it was only going to get harder.
She was feeling good though. It was too early to gauge significant improvements in her physical ability… but she felt like there was so much she had learned already. Silver was slowly turning them into Wonderbolt material… and knowing that she may soon be on a level to be considered among their ranks was literally a dream come true.
She still had to get past the recruit training stage… but unlike the tryouts her certainty of her success was not driven by her ego this time. She could really, truly feel it.
“Breakfast?”
“GAH!” Dash flinched and tipped over onto her mattress in surprise. She flipped back up to see Matteo standing directly in front of her. She didn’t even hear him approach… again. “I know you have talons and paws but seriously, it’s nuts that you can move all that bulk around so quietly!” Dash remarked as she pouted and glared.
“So… breakfast?” Matteo repeated.
“Heard ya the first time, let’s go get some grub,” Dash nodded to him as she stuffed her schedule back into her binder and hopped to the floor.
“Hold up! I’m coming too!” Star cheerfully added herself as she landed softly on Matteo’s back. Dash glanced back by their area.
“Thunderlane! Breakfast?” Dash called to him. Thunderlane blinked and looked up.
“Uh… yeah!” he didn’t have to think long, trotting up behind them. Dash looked back forwards and stopped dead in her tracks. Twister was standing in front of her with his head wrapped up in his bed sheet to the point where there was a globe of cloth around his head.
“Somepony say breakfast?” he asked as the bed sheet slowly unraveled and dropped to the floor at his hooves. Dash furrowed her brow.
“No, what gave you that idea?” she snorted at him. Before she could blink, Twister was up on Matteo’s back, reared back on his legs and holding Little Star underneath his armpit like a hoofball.
“TOGETHER WE RIDE!” he yelled as he pointed for the exit.
“HEY!” Star yelled as she struggled in his grip. Dash let it go, knowing there was no way to get rid of Twister, but again, until he actually did something harmful, she had no reason to truly be pissed at him.
Art by: Noble Savage (Deviant art: thatdamntenpin)
They were about to all start up again, but Dash stopped after one step. Matteo did the same and eyed her curiously.
Silver emerged from his room, cracking his neck as he angled for the bathroom. However, he stopped when he looked through the recruits moving about and saw the group standing near the doorway. He watched carefully as Dash looked towards Squall.
“Squall,” Dash suddenly spoke up. The others, except for Twister who was still holding Little Star and pointing, looked at Dash then turned to Squall. Squall’s scowl suddenly turned into a look of surprise mixed with nervousness, as if he wasn’t expecting anypony to talk to him. Dash made a beckoning motion. “We’re getting breakfast, come with us!” she offered. Squall looked between them all multiple times before suddenly looking away and turning his whole body to face the opposite direction.
Matteo and Dash made brief eye contact before shrugging.
“Oh well, let’s go guys,” Dash nodded as they all made for the exit.
Silver locked his eyes on Squall as soon as his apprentice and her little group left. Squall’s expression made multiple changes from angry, to sad, to confused, and to slamming his eyes shut and grinding his teeth together…
Squall held that face with his eyes closed for five seconds… then quickly rolled over, got up, and cantered to the door to follow Dash.
“Heh…” Silver chuckled to himself in satisfaction as he watched Squall leave. He couldn’t figure out or get anything through Squall’s thick skull… but Dash had him following her around as if they were friends… It seemed that in some cases the student already trumped the master.
“Hey, Soarin!”
Soarin jumped slightly in surprise, dropping a helping of eggs back on his plate. He looked up to see Storm Front plop down in the seat beside him with his own breakfast.
“Morning, how are you doing?” Soarin asked as he looked Storm over carefully. Storm looked incredibly happy. That… and Soarin was already sitting with Wave Chill and Fire Streak. Storm just sat down across from Fire Streak… despite the little incident the two had. Wave had already dismissed Storm’s entrance, clearly miffed at himself for losing his chance to speak with Spitfire the day before. Fire just stared at Storm though. It wasn’t in a threatening way, but Soarin could tell as soon as he ran into Fire earlier that morning, that Fire was not happy with himself.
“Haha!” Storm smiled wide at Soarin. “I couldn’t be better!” he exclaimed. Something had Storm bouncing like a little colt. Soarin’s curiosity got the better of him.
“Alright kid, what’s got your head in the clouds?” Soarin asked with a chuckle. Without missing a beat, Storm reached back, unfolded his left wing and let to envelopes drop into it.
“I got a letter from my marefriend… AND from my dad!” Storm exclaimed happily as he waved the two envelopes back and forth. One of the envelopes had hearts and bubbles drawn on it. Soarin looked towards Fire and Wave briefly. Both of them visibly flattened their expressions… not towards Storm specifically, but hearing about a marefriend wasn’t the first thing they wanted to listen to. Storm was in his own little world, he clearly didn’t realize what he was doing. So Soarin quickly addressed the other letter.
“Your dad, huh?” Soarin spoke up while giving quick glances at Fire and Wave. “Still getting forwarded from home?”
“Yep!” Storm nodded as he opened up the letter from his father and read it over again.
“How’s he doing?” Soarin kept the conversation going in hopes of keeping the subject of marefriends down.
“Sounds like things are getting better for him… said he’s getting lots of work and hopes he can make a visit at some point in a month or so…” Storm’s smile suddenly lessened. Soarin caught on.
“But you’re here… right? Not at home. Still no way to contact him either?” he asked as Storm’s smile returned.
“Yeah, still don’t know where he is, but maybe I’ll let somepony back in Cloudsdale know to keep an eye out for him or listen for yelling coming from my house… the moment he steps in, my mother is going to scream at him…” Storm sighed. “I’m sure as soon as he finds out, he’ll be here in an instant. Every time he’s said he plans to visit, he’s made it happen, so I know he won’t disappoint,” Storm smiled again as he folded up the letters and placed them beside his tray.
“Storm Front…” Fire Streak suddenly spoke from across the table. Soarin glanced between them as Storm looked towards Fire with curiosity.
“Yes sir?” Storm politely replied. Fire took a deep breath, looked down, and shook his head.
“I apologize for my unprofessional behavior last night…” Fire began. Soarin realized that Fire was apologizing and backed off to let it happen. “I forgot my composure on a sensitive subject and lashed out… it was not right of me,” Fire’s eyes remained away from Storm as if too ashamed to even look Storm in the eyes.
Now as much as Soarin didn’t want to get involved, he was curious how Storm would reply. He was happy that Fire turned around and fixed things so quickly, unlike a certain dark blue pegasus sitting across from him, but Soarin also wanted to hear Storm’s response.
“Third Captain… it’s alright. You were only acting in protection of Commander Misty Fly,” Storm explained. “Your care for her is nothing to be ashamed of… no harm was done, so nothing to worry about. I accept your apology, no strings attached,” Storm ended. Fire looked up at Storm and smiled weakly.
“Not a very good first impression I gave you…” Fire openly berated himself. Storm shook his head.
“Actually, stepping up to defend somepony important is one of the best first impressions… at least in my opinion,” Storm tried to make Fire feel better. Fire chuckled.
“I wish I could see it like that… but thank you, it was not the best way… but I’m pleased to finally make formal acquaintance,” Fire extended a hoof over the table. Storm accepted it and they shook.
Soarin was already expecting something good… but Storm continued to wow him with how he kept his manners but also managed to stay relaxed. Storm was brought up very well… only by his father based on what Soarin had put together. Storm seemed to get nervous under pressure and have an intense fear of failure, but the fear had a good side and a bad side. The good side was that it made Storm try extra hard to bring everything he did to near perfection… the bad side was that should it go wrong anyway, it hit him like a ton of bricks and drove him down to anger and frustration in a heartbeat. Soarin could only imagine the amount of mental pressure that put on Storm at times, but it caused him to work twice as hard as most Wonderbolts Soarin knew, so he had no doubt Storm would be a great addition… not to mention that was mostly the reason he was selected for the new elite spot.
With Storm and Fire now engaged in casual conversation, Soarin decided to turn his attention to the grumpy stallion sitting across from him. Wave was looking straight down and eating his food in a slightly quickened manner that suggested he was miffed about something.
“So Chiller…” Soarin spoke up. Wave froze in the middle of taking a bite out of his toast and looked up. “You almost had her yesterday, please tell me you went to her after,” Soarin already knew the answer was no… but he wanted to hear it from Wave Chill… and hopefully how he intended to try again.
As expected, Wave sighed and shook his head.
“No… I didn’t go after her,” he dropped his toast on his plate and rubbed his forehead in frustration. “I was too pissed, it wouldn’t have worked,” he grumbled.
Soarin was at least happy to see Wave finally trying to fix it… all Spitfire did was ignore it. She had fun heated mare times currently going on, but if anything Wave could be HELPING her with that… in a certain way. She was just being stubborn as usual.
“So when are you going to try again?” Soarin asked, expecting a quick answer that he wanted to hear.
“I don’t know…” Wave answered while letting his hoof fall from his head and lightly bang against the table. Soarin flattened his ears.
“I hope that’s how you say ‘next chance I get,’ in some different language… because seriously Wave, you—”
“I KNOW what I have to do, Soarin!” Wave suddenly snapped at Soarin. He flinched immediately after and put his head down to the table. “Er… commander… I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be!” Soarin exclaimed with a chuckle. “Wave! That’s what I want to hear!” Soarin clapped his hooves together once. “I can’t get Spitfire to talk to you at all… it’s good to know you’re at least trying. Just give it another go at some point… focus on your training and workouts until you get another chance… just be ready for when you do, Spitfire is more elusive than needle in a haystack when things bother her,” Soarin rolled his eyes as he finished.
“I… yes sir… I will…” Wave took a deep breath as he sat up straight.
As they finished conversing, Silver Lining walked up with a tray and sat down on Soarin’s other side. Before Soarin could greet him though—
“Hey! Stallion table? I’m game!” Lightning Streak slapped his tray down across from Silver. Silver sighed and immediately ignored Lightning. Air Mach was following close behind.
“The mighty Animak will also accompany his fellow stallions!” Air Mach exclaimed… even though every seat at the table was taken. He pulled a seat from the table beside them and put himself at the end between Silver and Lightning.
Soarin snickered as the two instantly ruined Silver’s clear attempt to sit with Wonderbolts that didn’t annoy him. After a quick glance to his left past Storm… Soarin could tell this was going to be a comical breakfast… Blaze was approaching the table, a sly smirk on her face. Initiate countdown sequence to cocky smarmy comments in three… two… one…
“Sure are a lot of dicks hanging out at this table!” Blaze remarked as she reached the table. Lightning must’ve seen her coming because he was already looking up.
“Play your card right and by the end of the night I’ll turn you bi!” He winked at her while pointing.
“OH, YOU WISH!” Blaze yelled back while laughing so hard she almost reared back. Her eyes suddenly locked onto the table where Storm was sitting. She lifted an eyebrow as she spotted the letters sitting beside him, specifically the one with all the hearts and bubbles on it. “What have we here?” Blaze reached down and swiped up Derpy’s letter.
“Hey!” Storm instantly stood up while blushing and reached for it. Blaze shifted away.
“Ohhhhh, is this a love letter?” she cooed at him as his face turned completely red. Soarin turned and folded his ears back while looking sternly at Blaze.
“Blaze, c’mon don’t tease the rookie…” he said. But of course she didn’t listen.
“Aww… it’s covered in hearts… this is so cute I could puke!” she started hovering past the table while using her front hooves to open it.
“No! Give that back!” Storm yelled desperately as he tried to follow. Right before Blaze could open the letter though, Silver thrust his wings back. Blaze ran right into them, grunting while dropping the letter. Silver reached back and caught the letter, folding it back up and sliding it back across the table towards Storm.
“What the hell, you old bastard?!” Blaze growled as Silver casually turned around in his seat to look at her.
“I know privacy ain’t your thing, but sometimes you’re just being a bitch,” Silver said without hesitation. Blaze growled.
“Well how about I squat over your food and take a massive sh—”
“Also it’s dangerous to run while scissoring,” Silver cut her off casually while looking over Blaze’s shoulder. She stopped and let one ear flop as she tried to comprehend what he meant.
“Run while scissoring…?” Blaze mumbled.
“What was that about… scissors?” High Winds’ voice suddenly came from behind Blaze accompanied by the usual yawn. Blaze’s face suddenly turned completely red and all the stallions at the table, except for Fire Streak, burst out laughing.
“Oh, that’s just wrong…” Fire cringed, trying to keep up the proper demeanor. Blaze glared at Silver while grinding her teeth together.
“I hate your guts, you sly old asshole…” Blaze hissed at him. Silver gave her a flat, unamused look as he fully turned to face her.
“Blaze… I don’t hate you, but if you happened to set yourself on fire again… and I had a glass of water, I’d probably drink it,” he said in a mundane tone. Blaze scrunched her face as the stallions erupted in laughter again. Even Fire found himself snickering.
Soarin quickly turned to Storm as the laughing died down. This was the first time Storm had been present for Silver’s incomparable wit. He was in for a show.
“You feel like you’re missing out with Silver? Here he is!” Soarin whispered with a snicker.
“Oh yeah?!” Blaze growled. Winds put a hoof on her shoulder.
“Blazey… you know how this is gonna end…” she nonchalantly tried to convince Blaze to back off, but she never would.
“What’s it like flying with a walker?” Blaze sneered into Silver’s face. Again, Silver’s expression remained flat and unamused as he responded.
“I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and shit out a better comeback than that,” he said. Silver’s tray bounced slightly as Air Mac’s hoof pounded against the table beside it before his head hit the table as well amongst all the laughing. Blaze refused to be defeated.
“Count your grey hairs lately?!” she got in his face.
“Last time I checked, they’re all grey. If you’re gonna be a smartass, first you have to be smart… otherwise you’re just an ass,” Silver replied. Lightning leaned way back in his chair as he lost it, Fire and Wave both guffawing as well. Storm was laughing so hard that he fell out of his seat.
“Dammit…” Blaze cursed she turned and left while grumbling with Winds in tow. Soarin reached down and helped Storm off the floor.
“It’s… how does he come up with this stuff?” Storm asked as she sat back down. Soarin shrugged.
“Believe me, if I knew, I’d do it too…”
Silver turned back around and continued to casually eat his breakfast as Lightning’s chair fell back down on all fours with a loud THUMP. Silver glanced up and saw Lightning nodding at him in satisfaction.
“You’re a real piece of work Silver… sometimes you scare me, sometimes I can’t get enough of it!”
“Mmhmm…” Silver replied without interest as he ate his oatmeal.
“Damn, if I had your quick presence of mind, I’d be gettin’ mares every night!” Lightning chuckled as he looked straight up. All ears turned towards Silver as he lifted an eyebrow at Lightning.
“Wouldn’t make a difference son… With your current record, the only way you'll ever get laid is if you crawl up a chicken’s ass and wait.”
Silver went right back to eating, but not a single stallion remained sitting. Even Fire nearly flung himself out of his chair laughing as Lightning quickly looked back down with wide eyes.
“Damn, I walked right into that one…” Lightning said as he shook his head.
Fleetfoot and Surprise walked by as half the stallions continued to roll on the floor, clutching their sides while Silver casually ate his breakfast and Lightning looked completely defeated. Surprise looked at Fleetfoot, Fleetfoot looked at Surprise. They both shrugged and kept moving.
Air Mach was the last to get up and back into his seat. He pushed his sunglasses back up onto his nose and cocked a huge grin.
“You can’t challenge Silver Lining!” he exclaimed while putting an arm over Silver’s shoulders. Silver’s eyes instantly narrowed as Air Mach continued. “If you come anywhere near this raging fire, you’re sure to get burned!” he said overzealously while pointing at Lightning. Silver cleared his throat as he reach up his right hoof to grab Air Mach’s arm.
“Touch me again… and I’ll shove that hoof someplace you WON’T find it,” Silver said sternly. Air Mach instantly pulled away and saluted.
“YES SIR!” he yelled before sitting back down.
“Somehow I don’t think I ever get through to you…” Silver mumbled as Air Mach seemed unfazed by the threat.
The stallions were all focused on eating once more. It took a while, but Soarin finally got Storm to relax. Storm was having a hard time controlling his laughter. It was understandable though, it was his first Silver Lining experience. Soarin couldn’t stop laughing the first time Silver tore Rapidfire a new one either back when they were just recruits.
Speaking of recruits…
“So, Silver…” Soarin addressed the veteran beside him. “I’ve been curious. We’re at the halfway mark of the recruit training cycles, right? Which ones have been showing promise?” he asked. Silver glanced at Soarin and lifted an eyebrow.
“Which ones? I know which one you want to know about,” Silver pointed out. Soarin chuckled and shook his head.
“Well, obviously… but I am legitimately curious about the others. This is the best recruit class we’ve had in ages, or so I’m told. Storm was good enough to make an elite spot. I want to hear about some of the others. Give me a quick rundown,” Soarin requested. Silver finished his oatmeal and pushed the bowl away before exhaling.
“Okay… let’s see…” he took a moment to think before turning to Soarin. "There are six recruits that are standing out,” Silver began. Soarin instantly caught a little detail.
Six.
Silver had his eyes on six recruits… the recruit squads, once chosen after the training… were comprised of FIVE members. When Silver found talent… he stuck by it. Meaning he had a hard choice ahead of him.
“First we have Little Star. She’s incredibly small, and not the sturdiest pony around. But her hovering ability and her spirit are impressive. She’s a brave little shit too, getting in the face of ponies five times her size if they make her angry. She’s thirty… so her career might not be lengthy, but I can see her contributing positively.”
“She’s thirty?!” Soarin blinked, remembering seeing what he thought was a filly among the recruits. “Wow… that’s unexpected,” he pondered as Silver nodded.
“Matteo, the griffon… I’m not just singling him out because of that. The big bird is far stronger than any griffon I’ve ever encountered… making him strong among a race that are already naturally stronger than ponies. He’s a bit slow to get moving, but he had techniques to compensate… and he’s also quite skilled in combat scenarios,” Silver explained.
Of course there was no way Soarin wouldn’t know about Matteo. For starters, he was a griffon… and he was also the size of a train. It was good to know his size and intimidating air weren’t the only things he had to offer.
“Twister…” Silver sighed and shook his head. “That pony has more than a few dozen screws loose… but he’s not a slacker. He’s weird, he’s strange, and he’s more unstable than Surprise… but he hasn’t disrupted any of our training with it yet. He’s clearly in enough control of himself to be ambitious, so as long as that continues, he has a solid chance.”
Soarin had been curious about Twister. Every time he say the green pony, the look on his face made Soarin believe Twister should be wearing a straightjacket… but if he was keeping his antics away from the training itself, he clearly had enough of a mind to know what he needed to do to succeed in the recruit training.
“Thunderlane, whom I’ve been told you met… is—”
“A try-hard?” Soarin cut off Silver with a smirk. Silver glanced at Soarin and nodded.
“So he’s like that no matter where he is?” Silver chuckled.
"Yeah, you haven’t seen half of it,” Soarin nodded with a smile, recalling his time watching Thunderlane help repair the damage he caused to Sweet Apple Acres and refuse to lay down even when told to.
“Yeah, the kid is the least impressive of the six physically… but he has a spirit of steel. He’s been knocked down and beaten up more than any other recruit, but he always refuses to stop until he’s completed whatever I’ve thrown at him. He’s definitely one to keep looking at for now.”
Soarin was glad to hear that. Thunderlane did not have it easy making it as far as he did. He at least rightfully earned Wonderbolt status. Even if he ended up just being a reserve, Soarin could already tell it was much more than Thunderlane expected to achieve.
“Then there’s Squall…” Silver growled. Soarin blinked and looked at him quizzically.
“You don’t sound too enthused,” Soarin pointed out, curious to hear what Silver had to say.
“Yeah, I hate the kid,” Silver put bluntly while grinding his teeth. “He’s good… he’s really good. The kid is already heavily trained in advanced martial arts, he’s strong, and he’s stubborn… but his attitude… I just don’t get it,” Silver exhaled through his nose.
“I’ve seen a few incidents caused by him…” Soarin recalled as he thought about the recruit in question.
“I’ve dealt with idiots in the past that like to challenge authority… a certain deserter named Rapidfire comes to mind… but Squall… I don’t KNOW why he challenges me. Every time I yell at him, he starts smiling. Not a cocky smile… he looks happy. Seriously, what the hell?” Silver shrugged, visibly frustrated. It was an odd sight for Soarin. Silver was generally always on top of things and always knew how to handle situations, seeing him at a loss about something was… different.
“Think it’s something personal? I’ve never heard of anypony enjoying being yelled at like that. Twister might be crazy… but Squall sounds like… there may be something legitimately psychologically wrong with him,” Soarin tried putting the facts together.
“Too early to make that call,” Silver shook his head. “He’s definitely one of the best recruits we have even among the six. I’m not taking any action until it’s clear… but I don’t think I’ll have to,” he smirked. “The last recruit that’s caught my eye… is working on him for me,” he winked at Soarin.
“Dash?” Soarin cocked his head to the side. Silver nodded in satisfaction.
“My yelling ain’t doing shit to him. Rainbow Dash on the other hoof… seems to have befriended him to a certain extent… don’t ask me how the hell she managed that, but she has. If he shapes up and becomes the Wonderbolt he has the potential to be, we can thank your mare for it.”
“That’s my Dashie,” Soarin pounded his chest.
“Oh, I haven’t even gotten started…” Silver smiled. “Dash is far and away the most impressive recruit we’ve ever had. She may not have any signature moves of her own… but she can copy any movement she sees in seconds. In general, the ability to copy techniques is an incredibly unique ability… I only know two other ponies who can do that… as do you.”
“Mmhmm…” Soarin nodded. He was really excited to see Silver talk so highly of Dash. Soarin hadn’t had much of a chance to observe many of the training sessions due to his own schedule, but knowing Dash was more or less secured in becoming a fulltime recruit was one of the best things he had ever heard.
“She’s incredible, Soarin. Minus a few things here and there that are mainly due to inexperience, she’s definitely Wonderbolt material.”
“And you’re personally helping her fix those things right?” Soarin smirked and lifted an eyebrow. Silver flinched and quickly looked towards Soarin. He flattened his brow and didn’t even try to hide it.
“Okay, did she tell you I was giving her personal training?” he said with a tone of disapproval. Soarin chuckled and shook his head.
“You aren’t the only squad that uses the private gyms you know… I was walking by and I saw a rainbow through one of the windows… she doesn’t have the most subtle appearance with that mane, I can pick her out in any crowd,” Soarin explained with a hint of pride.
“Heh…” Silver smiled and rolled his eyes. “Listen, Soarin… I chose to train Rainbow Dash for more than one reason. Her abilities are great… but it’s what she has inside,” Silver tapped a hoof over his heart. “She’s got ambition and drive… she’s got an incredible willingness and desire to learn and improve herself. She’s never fast enough, never strong enough, never good enough… she has no limits. She’s also set on succeeding… and quick to take control of situations that are out of hoof… that’s captain material right there, the most condensed into one pony I have ever seen,” Silver looked away from Soarin.
“I ain’t gonna sugarcoat it for myself Soarin… I’ve lasted this long, but I don’t know how much longer until my body finally gives out and I have to retire. Every morning my body is so stiff that I can barely get out of bed. I keep up with the training, but it gets harder every day and the strain is taking its toll,” he looked back at Soarin. “I’ve been a Wonderbolt for a very long time. I’ve seen, learned, and experienced more than anypony in this compound… and I want to pass it on.”
Soarin’s ears perked up when he heard that. He had never really considered Silver’s retirement… Silver had always been there since even before Soarin was a Wonderbolt. It seemed that Soarin and many others in the compound liked to not think about Silver leaving… because the day he did would be sad. He’d probably find a way to keep working for the Wonderbolts, but no longer flying beside him would be a blow to morale for a long time. But this was interesting… he wanted to leave his wisdom behind… through Dash?
“I mean no offense to any of the current Wonderbolts… but Rainbow Dash is the best candidate for this… Everything about her makes her perfect. The way she strives to better herself, the way she absorbs information physically and visually. I was overjoyed when I saw her pass the tryouts, because I could see this the very first day of the tryouts… she’s unique Soarin… she may be a bit brash, and a loose cannon at times… but god damn she’s unique.”
“Why do you think I love that mare?” Soarin added with a smile. Silver snorted.
“Because ‘simple’ isn’t in your dictionary…” Silver fired back while eyeing Soarin’s fake horn. Soarin glanced up at his horn as well and tipped his head back and forth.
“Fair enough…” Soarin shrugged. “So six, huh?” Soarin brought up the issue he recognized earlier. Silver sighed and nodded.
“Yeah… six… I know, I can only choose five…”
Soarin watched with curiosity as Silver kept his eyes down, but slowly smiled.
“I don’t like when you smile like that, it makes me nervous…” Soarin joked. “I take it you’ve come up with a way to figure this out?” Soarin asked. Silver nodded as he looked up, but still away from Soarin.
“The rest of the recruits aren’t going to do very well… but I really need to see how these six handle it. It may be the deciding factor in which one ultimately has to go, assuming they keep up the fine work they’ve done so well…”
“You are a master of suspense,” Soarin joked. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Silver finally turned and looked at Soarin with an amused look plastered to his face.
“I’ve already gotten authorization from Spitfire… I’m bringing back ‘The Test.’”
Soarin blinked.
“The… Test?” Soarin pondered to himself. Then his eyes widened. “OH!”
---To Be Continued---