As I said, I left Ponyville to join the Wonderbolts soon after the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well incident. With Rainbow Dash's reputation and ego bruised, she wasn't her usual self the next couple weeks after. Though her friends tried to lift her spirits, it didn't change the fact that she may have felt betrayed by her friends and their actions.
Now, I wanted to see her, say something to make her feel better, but she's still my idol and I got nervous. Like, really nervous. Now, I don't remember for sure, but I think I may have left an anonymous note for her. Or maybe it was another time, I don't know.
Anyway, off I went to the Wonderbolt Academy. It was a bittersweet time there; after all, I did get kicked out.
So there I went, back up to Cloudsdale to meet the Wonderbolts, Equestria's elite paramilitary force that sometimes performs stunt shows to entertain audiences at events such as the Equestria Games. They also organize the collection of water for Cloudsdale to make weather patterns.
Anyway, I got to the Academy with no issue, despite traveling above the Everfree Forest, where the weather tends to do what it wants. I've never actually been close enough (just over, as i mentioned just now), but Fluffy Clouds has some pretty wacky stories that'll ruffle your feathers.
Man, it was great to see the Academy. It was pretty much the only place in Cloudsdale that I've never been. Until now, that is. Two Wonderbolt security ponies lined us up along the runway and left to get Spitfire, and we chatted with each other while we waited for them to come back. I was standing next to a light green mare named Flyleaf. She loves reading, and had read as much as she could on the Wonderbolts before coming to the Academy.
It was only a minute before Spitfire's gruff voice interrupted our conversations and we snapped to attention. "Well, lookie what we got here," she said. "Betcha you all think your Wonderbolt material, don'tcha?"
To which we enthusiastically responded like good little cadets, "Yes, Ma'am!"
"Think ya got what it takes to be an elite flier?" She was very articulate when she said the word "elite."
"Yes, Ma'am!"
She smiled. Spitfire actually smiled at us? That was odd. "Well then, let me be the first to tell you, YOU DON'T!" She shouted, looking directly at a bright blue stallion. "If you had what it took to be an elite flier, you'd already be a Wonderbolt." Ah, that's why she was smiling; to give us a false sense of hope. That's when I knew this was gonna be harder than I thought. Maybe the other cadets were thinking that as well.
She stopped in front of a purple mare. I could see beads of sweat forming on her brow. "Still think you're hot stuff?" Spitfire asked before continuing down the line of cadets, cutting us down the whole way. I couldn't have been the only pony who was getting riled up. Finally, at the the end of the line, Spitfire asked us if we wanted a chance to prove ourselves.
"Yes, ma'am!" we all shouted. Nope, not the only pony getting riled up after all.
"Well then, now's your chance," she replied with a smile. "Gimme 200 laps! NOW!!" It's a good thing no pony was arrogant enough to sass back at her, otherwise we might have had to do 500 laps or something.
While doing the laps, I met up with the purple mare from earlier. Her mane was brown, and her Cutie Mark was a white orchid with a ... halo? She said her name was Angel Cattleya, but her parents, who held high positions inside Cloudsdale's weather center, always called her "Little Angel." I learned she was always expected to do well in everything, which is why she was nervous in front of Spitfire, she said.
Once we all finished the laps, we headed on over to the mess hall to get something to eat and change into the provided Wonderbolt outfits.
Next up was the Dizzytron: a wheel that spun you at two different speeds simultaneously. It achieved this by having a second wheel along the rim that held the pegasus and spun faster than the large wheel when activated.
Spitfire stood in front of the machine as she introduced it to us. "The Wonderbolts are the fastest, best precision fliers in the world, but spin-outs can still happen. And when they do, a Wonderbolt must be able to recover quickly." She turned to the machine and pointed her hoof at it. "This is the Dizzytron. It's gonna make you very - I repeat! VERY dizzy," she spoke, turning back to us, approaching us. "Your task is to try to recover and fly straight again as soon as possible. Once you have recovered, you must come in for a smooth landing." She stopped in front of me. "Now, who's first?"
I was the last pony to go.
Finally it was my turn. I flew up to the harness and took a deep breath in and out. "Ready!" I exclaimed.
"Go!" Spitfire directed toward the mustachioed Whiplash, who pulled the lever. The Dizzytron spun faster and faster, so fast that it somehow made my eyes water underneath the goggles we'd been given. Suddenly, it jolted to a stop, sending me spinning into the air. I countered the rotation and started free falling back toward the runway. I used that speed to bring me close to the ground, just like when I got my Cutie Mark.
"8.5 seconds!" Spitfire announced my time. "Not bad, cadet. You almost beat my own time." My elation must've gotten the best of me, because she quickly added with a proud smirk, "Almost."
She then turned to address everypony. "Listen up! For the rest of the camp you'll be working in pairs. Tomorrow morning I'll post the teams, including who'll be lead pony, and who'll be wing pony. Good luck." And with that, she and Whiplash turned and left.
Little Angel and I faced each other. "Good luck," she told me. "You too," I replied as we hoof-bumped.
The list was posted in the mess hall for breakfast the next morning, just as Spitfire said it would be. We all gathered around it to find out which pony we'd be partnered up with.
Little Angel was at the front of the line. She approached me, smiling. I figured that could only mean one thing. We'd been paired together! And she had been appointed as my wing pony.
The first team exercise was a Flag Hunt. We were separated into two teams, red and blue. Little Angel and I were on the Red Team. The goal was to get as many of the opposing team's flags as possible. Lead ponies and wing ponies must fly together at all times; if any pair gets separated, they get disqualified.
"Do you understand?" We agreed in unison once more. "Then let's go!" And with that, she blew her whistle, and off we went!
I remember flying over a ravine and thinking, "That'd be a good place to hide a flag."
Next up was an air obstacle course. We had to fly through all sorts of weather conditions (simulated, of course) with speed and precision.
After that, a test to see how many clouds each pair could clear. This one was a competition, unlike the obstacle course, which was just to test our skills.
At the end of the week the end of all the trials, Spitfire asked to see me in her office.
"You wanted to see me, ma'am?"
"Yes, Eclipse. It has come to my attention that while you're a great flier, you're pretty lacking on the teamwork side of things."
"Ma'am?"
"The Wonderbolts are a team, cadet," she told me, taking off her shades. "We work together in everything we do. Teamwork is one of our most valued traits, and it's what we look for in our recruits. Understand?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"At first I thought your friendship with Angel on the first day indicated that you'd work well with a team. You certainly have the skill and ambition to do so, but we've noticed things that you do, little things, really, that indicate you don't really work well with other ponies. In the Flag Hunt, you constantly veered away from your partner without telling her what you were doing. During the obstacle course, you seemed to be focused on something other than the course, and nearly knocked the other teams off course more than once. And while your team cleared the most clouds, personally, you cleared almost twice as many as your partner."
My spirit drained as I realized she was right, and the only pony who would have known everything was my partner, Little Angel.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" she asked me.
"I ... didn't even realize I was doing those things, but you're right. I just kinda fell into a flow during the exercises." I took the gold leader pin off my chest and stared at it. "You're both right," I whispered.
Spitfire escorted me out of her office to the end of the runway. Little Angel there to meet me. She walked up to me.
"I'm sorry, Eclipse, I didn't know what else to do."
"It's okay, Little Angel; you did the right thing."
Spitfire took a few steps forward and addressed all the cadets. "The truth is, not everypony is cut out to be a Wonderbolt. You may not have the flight skills needed, or you may not be very good at working within a team. But there's another truth I don't usually tell cadets; I had a tough time deciding which of you to make lead pony. You've all shown great potential to be Wonderbolts, including you, Angel."
Spitfire pulled out my former gold pin and gave it to me. I looked at it one last time before walking up to Little Angel, who had just taken her own pin. I stuck the gold pin on her chest. Everyone was smiling, but none bigger than me and Little Angel.