//------------------------------// // Rising Through the Ranks // Story: Flying to the Future // by moguera //------------------------------// Chapter 19: Rising Through the Ranks Dawn and Scootaloo barely made it back to the cadet quarters before lights out. Scootaloo rose in the morning, feeling a bit tired after staying up later than usual, but feeling energized and happy, as though a tremendous weight had been lifted from her shoulders. With a yawn, she sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. After a quick trip to the bathroom to wash her face, she went outside to wait for Dawn and Sunflower so that they could go through their morning training session. Dawn was about a minute behind her, leading a still tired Sunflower out through the doors. To Scootaloo's surprise, Sunflower wasn't the only one. Cyclone, in a blinking, half-asleep state, was there as well. "I asked Cyclone to join us because I thought it would help," said Sunflower, giving Scootaloo a worried smile. "I hope that's okay." "Um..." Scootaloo's eyebrow began to twitch. Sunflower was one thing, but having Cyclone suddenly join their morning session threw her for a loop. "It's okay...I think." Cyclone blinked blearily and yawned, not awake enough to remember that she and Scootaloo weren't supposed to like each other. "This had better be worth it," she grumbled. "I could be getting some extra sleep right now-aaaaaaand when did you get your cutie mark?" "Last night," said Dawn after a second's pause. He'd almost forgotten that he'd gotten his cutie mark last night. Cyclone's sleepiness was forgotten as she found herself staring at the mark that now decorated Dawn's flank. She was so shocked that she didn't even notice Scootaloo's amused smirk. "Wow! Congratulations!" said Sunflower, grinning widely. "Thanks," said Dawn. "We should get started. We only have so much time to work on this before we have to go to breakfast." Cyclone looked from Dawn to Scootaloo to Sunflower. Finally, she sighed. "All right. Walk me through what it is that we're doing out here." Scootaloo and Dawn both smiled widely and began to explain. While Cyclone and Sunflower weren't going to become actual students of the Gale King, they did find the practice of learning the First Form interesting and quite challenging. It required them to move their wings in ways that they were unaccustomed to. They also watched with keen interest as Dawn and Scootaloo went through their remaining forms together, noting the impressive degree of synchronicity between the two. By the time they adjourned to join the rest of the cadets at breakfast, both Cyclone and Sunflower found their shoulders aching from exercising their wings in such unusual ways. The ache had faded by the time the morning session began, which suited them just fine. Spitfire, evidently satisfied with how the teams were coming along, stepped up the training, making each session more grueling than the last. The courses became longer, the activities became harder. The pace got faster. They were required to make quick judgments on the fly and communicate effectively with their partners. There were advanced weather manipulation drills, rapid cloudbusting exercises, and jolting lightning wrangling practices. The cadets were forced to push themselves harder than ever just to keep up. While most exercises still emphasized working in pairs, there were a few that were individually oriented, mostly fitness exercises. Now that they'd gotten into their groove, Scootaloo and Cyclone were dominating the courses, setting records the whole way. Dawn and Sunflower might not have been at their level yet, but their times and scores were improving with each session. Dawn was cautious and meticulous, which matched well with Sunflower's modest demeanor, the two of them quietly encouraging each other, using their growing mutual trust as a platform to boost their performance. In contrast, Scootaloo and Cyclone were incredibly competitive with each other, exchanging taunts more often than encouragement. But their competitiveness lacked the bitter, angry edge it had when they'd first been partnered together. Dawn and Sunflower continued to attend extra sessions with Spitfire to improve their teamwork. After another day, Scootaloo and Cyclone joined them. With the extra training, their performance in later sessions improved even further. Spitfire hadn't failed to notice Dawn's cutie mark. However, she decided not to remark on it, seeing as the young stallion had not made a big deal of it. But she couldn't quite conceal a self-satisfied smirk when she recognized the symbol on his flank, silently patting herself on the back for seeing where Dawn's real passions lay. I wonder if he actually knows what that mark means yet, she mused. With regards to his new cutie mark, Dawn and Scootaloo had quietly agreed to keep the information out of their letters home. It wasn't as though Dawn was ashamed or embarrassed. Far from it. However, they knew that if they shared the fact that he'd gotten his cutie mark with their families, it would only be a matter of time until a certain mare learned about it. Pinkie Pie had once rallied her friends to fly to the Wonderbolt Academy in a balloon because she'd gotten too antsy to wait for Rainbow Dash's letters, which had resulted in the five of them blundering right into the middle of a weather training exercise and nearly getting killed by an out-of-control tornado. If Pinkie Pie learned that Dawn had gotten his cutie mark, she would probably rush out to the Academy and try to throw him a cutecenera on the spot. Not that Scootaloo would mind all that much, but she was fairly certain Spitfire would object. Their session progressed and the days passed by in a blur of exertion. Before they knew it, two weeks had come and gone. Scootaloo and Cyclone were sitting comfortably at the head of the cadets, with Dawn and Sunflower just behind them. It was around that time that some trouble started, courtesy of a familiar stallion. Lunch was a tricky meal in some respects. After a morning of heavy exercise, the cadets were often quite hungry. Of course, with an afternoon of heavy exercise ahead of them, eating too much would be a bad idea. Depending on the type of exercise, the conditions could be disorienting, if they were doing crosswind training or the Dizzitron again for example. It was difficult managing to eat enough food to keep them going until dinner without overindulging and ending up puking in the middle of practice. It was also a time for the cadets to rest and regather themselves after the hellish morning training. Thus, they relished the time to simply sit and rest for a while, which was why Scootaloo and Cyclone were especially irritated when they saw a familiar stallion stalking towards their table, a few of the cronies he'd gathered over the course of the Academy session in tow. They didn't bother to get in line for their own food, deciding that their business was too important to waste time on eating right now. Scootaloo took a moment to chew the mouthful of couscous she had before swallowing it down. "Okay," she said, "I'll bite. What do you girls want?" The stallion snorted and reared up, slamming his hooves down on the table. The dishes jumped in place. For a moment, he stayed there, his muscles tensing, veins bulging. Both Dawn and Scootaloo noticed his posture and moved quickly. The stallion hooked his hooves under the edge of the table and thrust upward, using a pump of his wings to add to the motion. The table flipped end-over-end, crashing down on its neighbor, which was fortunately unoccupied. In quick movements, using skills that they'd honed in Arkenstone's teashop and reflexes developed over years of training, Dawn and Scootaloo slid the feathers of their wings underneath their dishes and the dishes of their partners, quickly lifting the plates out of the way as the table went flying and saving their meals. "Cute," said Scootaloo, cutting off Sunflower's gasp of shock and Cyclone's sputtering indignation, "your point?" The large stallion (they'd never bothered to learn his name) snorted and strutted between the benches, now walking through the space the table had occupied. "The point is that the free ride is over, you brats. We're through with having babies like you bring us all down." "Uh huh," said Cyclone, who'd recovered her composure once she'd realized that Scootaloo had saved her food. "That's rich coming from the guy who can't keep up." The stallion's eyes bulged and the veins on his neck stood out even more sharply. "You wouldn't be able to do squat if Spitfire wasn't holding your wings through this session. Don't think we haven't noticed." "Noticed what?" asked Scootaloo. "We've seen you four out with her every evening," said the stallion. "You're getting special treatment. But now that's going to stop. We've had enough of it." "Well that's too bad," said Cyclone, "'cause that's not something you get to decide." "Like hay we don't!" snapped the stallion in rage. "Spitfire's made it clear you little brats are her favorites. She's been bending over backwards to help you, on top of giving you runts a free pass to come here in the first place. We worked hard for the right to come to this Academy and we're not gonna let these insults pass." "May I make a suggestion?" said Dawn quietly. "Huh?" The stallion balked and stared at Dawn. This was the first time that Dawn had actually spoken to him, the younger stallion generally falling quiet whenever he was taunting or berating them. "Rather than end this, would you perhaps instead join us in the evenings?" asked Dawn. "Spitfire has never said that the sessions were exclusive to us and we have benefited greatly from them. Perhaps you could as well and you would have less to worry about." Scootaloo, Cyclone, and Sunflower all stared at Dawn in surprise. Scootaloo opened her mouth to protest, then cut herself off as she realized that Dawn was right. Spitfire had never said anything about the extra sessions being exclusive to them. And if it got the big stallion and his cronies to give up whining about their "special treatment" it would be worth it to extend the offer to the other cadets. Behind the stallion, his fellow cadets were murmuring and muttering. Some of them seemed genuinely interested in joining in the evening session. Others balked, feeling that they worked hard enough during the day that they shouldn't have to give up even more of the precious little free time that they had. Their chief antagonist, however, looked positively livid at the suggestion, his nostrils flaring in rage. "I'm not here to parley with you brats. I'm here to tell you what's going to happen from now on." "And what is that?" asked Dawn, frowning, mainly because he was getting tired of sitting there while balancing his and Sunflower's plates on his wings. "You're going to stand in line with the rest of us," said the stallion. "You're not going to speak to Spitfire. You're not even going to look at her unless she's giving you an order. You're gonna come back with us to quarters every night and stay there. You're gonna stop trying to show off how special you brats are and you're gonna stop stealing the glory from the ponies who worked to be here." Dawn sighed and bowed his head slightly. He glanced at Sunflower, Scootaloo, and Cyclone. Scootaloo and Cyclone were livid at the stallion's attitude, with Cyclone looking like she was just about ready to rush the brute herself. Pursing his lips, he thought the situation over. A fight, even if they weren't the ones who started it, would reflect very badly on them. Clearly, the stallion was not interested in negotiations unless they ended in his favor. Dawn realized that their antagonist had essentially backed himself into a corner. He'd set himself up as the "leader" of the "regular cadets," whom he was rallying against what he saw as clear favoritism towards the Academy Babies. Dawn supposed that Spitfire's having taken a special and personal interest in the development of the four of them could be construed as showing favoritism. However, it was favoritism of the sort that he was certain Spitfire wouldn't mind sharing with the rest of the cadets, had any of them thought to ask for it. But the large stallion had put himself into a bit of a bind. By taking such a forceful stance on the matter, he felt that walking back his words, even by the slightest bit, would lower his standing amongst his peers, even if Dawn's offered compromise was perfectly reasonable. He had set himself up for a situation where he needed to "win" his confrontation with Dawn's group. A situation where Dawn and his friends did not end up giving up anything could not be considered a victory in this sort of confrontation. If Dawn's group wasn't going to back down, then a fight was inevitable. So defusing the situation seemed to be out of the question at this point, which both saddened and annoyed Dawn. The only alternative was to remain on top of the situation and stall for time. The stallion had started this whole affair in spectacular fashion by flipping the table. While none of the instructors were currently in the mess hall, there were plenty of staff, including the cooks, their assistants, and the janitorial staff. One of them would have sent for one of the instructors or even Spitfire herself. So the best thing to do was wait until somepony with authority showed up and took the stallion to task for his antics. Which was looking less likely with each passing moment. Despite Dawn's efforts, tempers were flaring. In order to keep this whole situation from spiraling out of control, Dawn needed to check the stallion, along with his own hot-tempered fillyfriend, and her possibly even more hot-tempered teammate. "Like hay we'd agree to those terms!" snapped Scootaloo, a bit too busy being angry to notice Dawn's desire to de-escalate or prolong the situation. "You don't make the rules around here pal. Get lost. We've got a lunch to eat." The stallion looked as though his face was about to explode from the sheer force of his rage. Even his followers were stepping back. They'd expected the four Academy Babies to be easily cowed by this display of strength and ferocity. However, instead of backing down, the targets of their intimidation efforts had responded with contempt, indignation (on Scootaloo and Cyclone's part) and unconcern (on Dawn's part). Objectively, they knew that starting a fight was a bad idea just as well as Dawn did. However, their self-appointed leader looked as though he was past caring. "Be careful," cautioned Dawn, looking up at the stallion. "The Academy staff and Spitfire herself will take a very dim view of us fighting. Please do everyone, including yourself, a favor and stand down. We can discuss this matter another time." "Shut the hay up!" roared the stallion, rounding on Dawn, swinging his right foreleg around in a clumsy, hooking punch. Dawn flicked his wings, tossing the plates he was holding backwards and a scant inch upwards as he rolled backwards off the bench, the stallion's swing missing his chin by a wide margin.. He flipped in the air without gaining so much as a millimeter of altitude so that, when he landed, his wings were positioned to catch the plates again, which he did with such smooth ease that the food on them wasn't even jostled by the motion. Before the stallion could even register that his swing had missed, Dawn skipped backwards so that he backed up against the table in the row behind him. Sweeping his wings backward, he effortlessly slid the plates onto the table, finally freeing his wings up to defend himself as needed. The stallion was staring at Dawn as though he'd grown a second head. Dawn canted his head as he regarded his would-be adversary. "That was uncalled for," he said. "Stop this now or you're only going to end up in trouble." "I'm not the one who's going to be in trouble," snapped the stallion, lunging forward. His hoof went straight through Dawn's head, which vanished as the stallion realized that he'd only managed to hit Dawn's afterimage. Dawn's dodge had taken him several meters down the aisle between the two rows of tables. With an angry howl, the stallion bounded after him, spreading his wings so that he could take to the air and fly above the level of the tables. As he reached Dawn, he stooped downwards to try and put his hooves through the young stallion's head. However, Dawn merely slipped backwards again, easily escaping the stallion's clumsy attack. Strong and athletic though he might have been, he was no trained fighter and had none of the experience that Dawn did. Dawn didn't even bother trying to follow his opponent with his eyes, instead choosing to track his movements through the air. Scootaloo watched them go and sighed. Her anger faded as she watched the stallion's laughable efforts to catch and hit Dawn. "Here," she said, sliding Cyclone's plate into her hooves and transferring her own plate to her own hooves. She then guided Cyclone and Sunflower across the aisle to the table where Dawn and Sunflower's dishes were. "Shouldn't we help him?" asked Sunflower, glancing back at Dawn and his opponent before shifting her gaze to the rest of the stallion's cronies, who were watching the "fight" with amazement as Dawn continued to calmly evade the large stallion's attacks. "Nah, he's fine," said Scootaloo, resuming her meal. It annoyed her that Dawn had taken over things. But she'd realized what he was doing when she saw that he was leading their chief antagonist away from the rest of them while refusing to strike any blows in return. he was doing his utmost to keep the confrontation from escalating any further. Had Scootaloo been in his position, she would have probably been doing the same, but would have been unable to resist the temptation to trick the stallion into tripping over furniture and covering himself with other ponies' meals as she evaded him. The scene extended for several minutes. Finally, a heavily-panting stallion slumped down, glaring at Dawn, who didn't even look winded. "Are we done yet?" asked Dawn, raising an eyebrow. "Not by a long shot, you brat," snarled the stallion. "No...I think you are done," said Spitfire as she came in through the door, casting a searing gaze throughout the room. The cadets, Dawn and his opponent included, immediately dropped what they were doing (some quite literally if the sound of utensils clanging against tables was any indication) and stood at attention, none of them daring to move. "So..." said Spitfire as she began to walk down the aisle, "...we have here the finest up-and-coming fliers from all around Equestria, ponies who stand at the peak of their respective careers and sports, ponies who are supposed to embody the very best traits that pegasi have to offer...and I find that at least one of you has instigated a juvenile brawl in the middle of my Academy, as though you were still a bunch of elementary students. What's next, a food fight?" Scootaloo's ears drooped a little. She had considered that possibility. Spitfire looked at the table that had been flipped over, considering it carefully. "Who did this?" All eyes immediately went to the large stallion. However, nopony said anything. Apparently, Spitfire didn't need anypony to say anything. "I'm guessing it was you then," she said, striding up to the large stallion, who was now sweating profusely. Her eyes narrowed as she brought her face to within inches of his own. "Was it?" With a swallow, the stallion nodded. Spitfire pulled back and considered him carefully. "Well now, care to tell me why you saw fit to toss around my Academy furniture?" "I lost my temper," said the stallion curtly. "I hope you have a better explanation than that," said Spitfire. "Because that's just telling me that you have no self-control and ponies with no self-control have no place in my Academy." "We were getting tired of some ponies getting special treatment," said the stallion. Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "Special treatment? Care to elaborate, cadet?" Dawn briefly wondered in the stallion was completely cowed by Spitfire, but he was surprised when the stallion decided to continue. "You've been giving those four brats extra lessons, helping them when they should be succeeding on their own merits. It's an insult to the rest of us." "Really?" said Spitfire, smirking now. "So...in this Academy, where the most important trait I've emphasized is the willingness to push harder, reach further, to go the extra mile, in this Academy, cadets who want to put the time and effort in to work longer and harder each day, when they could easily be loafing around otherwise, is suddenly a bad thing?" The stallion took an unconscious step back, Spitfire's rebuttal clearly finding its mark as his ears laid flat against his head. Spitfire pressed forward to match his retreat. "I don't recall saying that you ponies couldn't ask for additional lessons. I never said that was a special privilege afforded only to them. Any of you were free to join in those extra sessions. Instead, you apparently decided that loafing around after dinner was more important to you. And now that they're reaping the benefits of the extra work they've done to get ahead, you want them to hold themselves back so that you can look better." "B-but you never said anything about extra sessions," protested the stallion. "So?" asked Spitfire rhetorically. "The most important part of getting better is recognizing the things you can do and the things you can't and then learning how to do the things that you couldn't. Those four, the young stallion behind you in particular, had the initiative to seek me out in order to address their limitations and improve their skills and teamwork. They never asked me to let up on them. They never asked for me to up their scores. Instead, they asked me to work them longer and harder than I already was. None of you had the wherewithal to do the same and, instead of trying to do the work necessary to pull yourselves up to their level, you'd instead rather pull them back down to yours." Her words completely took the wind out of the stallion's sails. What she said next was the final straw. "Go pack your bags," she said. Her hoof swiped out and, before the stallion could react, she'd ripped the lead pony badge off of him, tearing a chunk of his uniform out along with it. "I gave you your warning. I know what you've been saying about those four. I've let it pass because you didn't escalate it until now and because I trusted the four of them to handle themselves. How's that for special treatment, by the way? But, for all that you've been calling them the Academy Babies, here you are, throwing a temper tantrum like an oversized baby yourself." The stallion reared up, his nostrils flaring. "I won't be insulted like this!" he yelled. "I've worked too hard to be thrown out on behalf of a bunch of foals!" His world flashed white. A wave of heat washed outward from Spitfire, blowing over him. In an instant, the feathers of his wings burst into flames, followed by the hairs of his coat. Fire seared away his skin, exposing the tissues beneath it, before scorching them away as well. His eyes boiled in their sockets and his vocal cords turned to ash before he even had a chance to scream. Finally, only his bleached skeleton was left, before being charred black and crumbling into ash. The stallion jolted as his forehooves hit the the floor, his legs too stiff to properly absorb the impact, sending a shock through his body that knocked him back into awareness. His flesh was whole and untouched. The mess hall still stood around him and all the other cadets were still looking on in amazement. His legs were unable to hold him up any longer and he flopped down to the floor. A second later, he sucked in a gasp of air as he realized that, in his fear over his perceived death, he'd forgotten to breathe. Looking up, he found himself staring into Spitfire's eyes. The memory of the illusory death he'd just experience slammed back into him and the stallion began to quiver. "Now then," said Spitfire, her volume softer, but her tone no less hard, "are you going to do the smart thing and get out or am I going to have to make what you thought you saw a reality?” A strangled squeak was the only sound the stallion could make. However, he nodded his head. "Good," said Spitfire. "Now get out of my Academy." The stallion bolted through the doors as fast as his hooves could carry him, so terrified, he briefly forgot that he had wings. Spitfire turned her attention to the rest of the cadets. "Now then, does anypony else have any complaints that they want to lodge...? Anything...? This is your last chance. If you don't say anything now and I find out that you flipped another of my tables, I'll skin you and use your hide as a rug in front of my fireplace." Silence greeted her. Had the cadets not been standing at attention, they would have probably averted their gaze when Spitfire looked at them. As it was, they stared determinedly into the middle-distance, sweating as her eyes landed on one, then the other. Finally, Spitfire grinned malevolently. "Good. Now that we have that out of the way, I'll go ahead and inform you about your new workload." All around her, ponies tensed to keep from crying out in shock. Her grin widened fractionally. "Since you all seem to be so upset about the 'special treatment' certain cadets seem to be getting, rather than doing the silly thing and stopping it, I'll give you all the same 'special treatment' by making our evening sessions mandatory for everyone" She actually heard a few agonized cries that were stifled in the throats of a few of those ponies. That only made her grin wider still. "Starting tonight, you will all report to the runway at eighteen-thirty, on the dot. You'd better be ready to give it your all. How's that for special treatment?" She got no answer, which was what she'd expected. "Good," said Spitfire, turning around. "At ease. Finish your lunches and report for the afternoon session. Eat well...You're going to need it." She strode past Dawn, heading straight for the exit to the mess hall. When she left, the cadets relaxed. Some slumped down into their seats. Others went back to eating, many of them only picking at their food, anticipation of the grueling work that awaited them draining away their appetite. Dawn let out the breath he'd been holding and relaxed. He made his way to the table and settled onto the bench next to Scootaloo. "That was touch and go for a little bit," he said softly. "I get the feeling we're going to be a lot more popular now," said Scootaloo sarcastically, looking around and seeing many of their fellow cadets leveling glares at them. She didn't mind really. They'd brought it on themselves. The afternoon session was even more grueling than they'd been expecting. Dawn suspected that Spitfire might have intensified it as a sort of punishment for the brawl in the mess hall. For all that he hadn't been the instigator and had done everything in his power to prevent it, Dawn felt it wasn't right to complain. It was important to abide by Spitfire's judgment and submit to the extra work. That evening, after dinner, with many a suffering groan, the cadets filed out to the runway for the new evening sessions. There, Spitfire worked them hard for another two hours before finally turning them loose to go to bed. Granted, it wasn't any harder than she'd usually worked Dawn and his group in the evenings. But for the rest of the cadets, who had yet to acclimate to the additional workload, it was excruciating. Many of them were moaning and groaning as they made their way back into their quarters. The showers were hotly contested that evening. The large stallion wasn't the only one to leave the program. One mare was dismissed by Spitfire for her problematic attitude. Another pair of ponies fled in the middle of the night, unable to stand the strain of the workload that Spitfire had given them. Most of the rest were clearly not happy with Dawn and his group for instigating the evening sessions, even though it had been their complaining that had resulted in those sessions being made mandatory. Fortunately, they limited their expression of their unhappiness to surly glares and hissing whispers in the mess hall and in the cadet quarters. However, their complaints began to die down as they started realizing the benefits of the extra work they were doing as their times and scores improved markedly. In time, the Academy session came to a close. Scootaloo and Cyclone finished at the top by a comfortable margin. Dawn and Sunflower actually ended up as the third-ranked pair in terms of overall scores. Dawn's more modest, cautious approach to coordinating with Sunflower had allowed the two of them to remain a short ways behind their friends with the scores of individual events, but wasn't sufficient to make up for their initially poor performance after the teams had just been formed, which was compounded by the other teams closing the gap with remarkable speed once they joined in the evening sessions. On the final day, they gathered at the runway, their belongings all collected, ready for their journey home. Spitfire paced up and down the length of their line. "I'll admit, when you first got here, you were the sorriest lot I've ever had the misfortune to call cadets," she said cooly. Several ponies flinched. Their animosity towards the "Academy Babies" had disappeared eventually and they'd grown to accept the four youngsters as peers, even going so far as to join them at mealtimes, sometimes soliciting advice, other times giving it. However, they hadn't forgotten their lack of work ethic during the early days of the Academy. Spitfire's expression softened and she smiled at them. "However, after you finally adjusted, I'm glad to say that you are one of the best batches of cadets I've had the benefit of training. You've come a long way in a very short period of time. It is with pride that I officially declare you graduates of the Wonderbolt Academy. Hold onto your uniforms and badges." "Yes, Ma'am," said the cadets in unison, saluting smartly. "Now then," said Spitfire, "dismissed!" She took to the air, her assistant instructors and other staff members following behind her. The cadets' line dissolved as they spoke with one another, saying their goodbyes and preparing for the flight to their respective homes. "I guess this is it," said Scootaloo, smiling as she and Dawn turned to face Sunflower and Cyclone. "It doesn't have to be, just yet," said Sunflower. "You two don't have to leave for Ponyville right away, do you?" "Not really," said Dawn, exchanging a look with Scootaloo. "Why don't you come back to Cloudsdale with us for a little while?" inquired Sunflower. "It's almost lunchtime and we could visit a nice restaurant to celebrate." "You okay with that?" asked Scootaloo, her smile becoming a smirk as she turned her attention to Cyclone. "Yeah. I'm fine with it," replied Cyclone, returning Scootaloo's smirk. "A cool pony like me can always make the sacrifice to help less-cool ponies look more-cool." Scootaloo cackled. "Now you're actually starting to sound a little like Rainbow Dash. Maybe we can drop by and visit her while we're there." "Do you think they'd let us?" asked Sunflower, glancing at Dawn. "I don't see why not," said Dawn, "so long as we ask politely." Sunflower giggled at that, Scootaloo laughing along with her. She no longer felt so worried about Sunflower spending so much time with Dawn. She trusted in Dawn's affection for her and she had been even less worried when she saw Sunflower and Cyclone sneaking discreet kisses when they thought nopony else was looking. I thought there was a reason Sunflower stuck with that mare, despite Cyclone being such a pain in the rump. Their plans settled for the time being, the four of them took off, winging their way towards the nearby floating bulk of Cloudsdale. Flying upwards, Dawn and Scootaloo led the way, taking the group around to the front entrance of the Wonderbolt Headquarters. Getting in was surprisingly easy, much easier than Dawn had expected. The security ponies let them through with hardly any questions, leaving Dawn and Scootaloo free to escort their friends to Rainbow's quarters, which she now shared with Soarin'. Knocking on the door brought the sound of hooves. It swung open to reveal Rainbow's husband-to-be. He grinned excitedly as he looked the four of them over. "Hey there, kids. I almost forgot the Academy finished today. How'd it go?" "It went great," said Scootaloo as she and Dawn walked in. Cyclone and Sunflower hesitated behind them, both of them a little busy staring slack-jawed at Soarin', even though Sunflower had met him once before already. "Come on in," said Soarin' with a chuckle, beckoning Cyclone and Sunflower, who quickly scrambled through the door. Compared to some of their fellow Wonderbolts, the home Soarin' and Rainbow Dash had made for themselves in Headquarters was quite modest. They had no eccentric additions to match Wave Chill's aquarium or Silver Lining's cloud sculpture gallery. The entire floor and the walls were formed from solid-state clouds, primarily for the sake of Tank, who had his own little pen of grass and earth in one corner of the living room. Since the reptile routinely wore his propellor and went flitting about the room like an oversized dragonfly, Soarin' and Rainbow had gone out of their way to ensure that everything was well and truly turtle-proof to keep Tank from accidentally blundering through a wall. Aside from that, the only other major addition was a room off to one side of the living room, which housed the form of a miniature stadium, made from sculpted clouds. This was where Soarin' and the others worked through their flight plans at various venues. "I checked up on you for the first few days," explained Soarin' as he led the quartet of youngsters through the living room. "Sounds like you had it rough for a little bit there." The four of them blushed profusely, not happy to be reminded of just how far behind they had been once they'd paired up. "Y-you could say that," said Scootaloo. Soarin' chuckled, leading them into the kitchen. Even though he and Rainbow could have easily gotten something to eat at the Wonderbolts' mess at any time, Soarin' had taken on cooking as something of a hobby in his spare time...though the results of his experiments varied. Going to the icebox, he retrieved a few bottles of juice, which he distributed to his visitors. "From the sound of things, the four of you managed to iron out your issues," he said. He raised an eyebrow as he caught sight of Dawn's flank. "And you finally managed to get your cutie mark. Not bad, kiddo." "Thank you," said Dawn, looking around for the apartment's other occupant. "Rainbow's out on maneuvers with a few of the others," said Soarin'. He tossed Cyclone and Sunflower and a wink. "Don't think making the team means you have to stop working. Staying ready for anything is a continuous process." Sunflower and Cyclone nodded rapidly, the two of them still a little overawed by being in the presence of a Wonderbolt, even a retired one (Spitfire not really counting, given her position as the head of the Academy and the month-long period they'd spent under her supervision). "From the sound of things, you had a bit of an uphill struggle at the beginning," said Soarin'. "That's putting it mildly," said Scootaloo sourly. Soarin' laughed. "Spitfire was predicting the sparks would fly when she paired you up like that," he said. "But, from the look of things, you managed to come out on top, huh." "Yeah, I guess that's true," said Scootaloo, exchanging a look with Cyclone. "So...I have to know," said Soarin', looking to Dawn, "just what did you do to get your cutie mark?" "I'm...I'm not entirely sure," admitted Dawn, giving his flank a dubious look. "I'm not even sure what this means." Rubbing his chin, Soarin' scrutinized the symbol. "Hmmm....It looks familiar, but I can't place it exactly. I'm sure Twilight could tell you all about it when you get back to Ponyville." "I'll remember to ask her if I can survive Pinkie Pie," said Dawn in a deadpan tone. "Yeah," said Scootaloo with a chortle. "She's been sitting on your cutecenera for so long she'll probably explode...twice." "You've kept her waiting for a long while," added Soarin'. "I get the feeling you're gonna be in for one hay of a party when you get back." "Joy..." groused Dawn, while his friends laughed. "I've been thinking," said Sunflower, after taking another sip of her drink, "I want to see what kind of place Ponyville is. Maybe we should come with you when you go back." "Sure," said Scootaloo. "That would be fine. It's a great town. I mean...it's not big, like Cloudsdale. But it's the nicest place you could ever want to live." "It's weird though," said Cyclone. "Don't you have a Princess living down there or something?" "Yeah, that would be Twilight," said Scootaloo. "Wouldn't the town be booming because a bunch of ponies want to move in to live near her, or something like that?" asked Sunflower. She remembered meeting Twilight with the rest of Dawn and Scootaloo's friends the night after the Best Young Fliers Competition. She'd been shocked by just how...normal...Equestria's newest Princess was...in a distinctly nerdy sort of way. "I'm not exactly sure how that would work," said Scootaloo with a shrug. "I mean, it's not as though Twilight is doing anything especially princess-like. She runs a library for Celestia's sake." "She does tend to keep a low profile," added Dawn. "She's also been working with Mayor Mare to handle any issues of Ponyville experiencing a sudden boom in population." "She certainly sounds interesting," said Cyclone dubiously. "Eh, you'll like her," said Scootaloo with a laugh. "She's a really nice pony. We've all known her since before she was an alicorn, but she hasn't changed a bit." "Except she has wings now," Soarin' pointed out. "Yeah, except for that," Scootaloo conceded. They chatted some more about a variety of topics, covering everything from their respective homes to their plans for the future. Encouraged by Soarin's easygoing nature, Cyclone and Sunflower quickly forgot that they were speaking with a retired Wonderbolt. However, their awestruck status returned when Rainbow Dash made her entrance. After a brief freakout over Dawn finally gaining his cutie mark, Rainbow joined in the conversation with a gusto. In the meantime, Soarin' puttered around the kitchen, putting together a meal after the group had abandoned their idea of going to a restaurant for lunch. Fortunately, today's creation was one of his more palatable ones. It wasn't exactly restaurant-quality, but it was tasty and filling and Sunflower and Cyclone both devoured their shares without complaint. Afterwards, Rainbow took them on another tour of Headquarters, mostly for Cyclone's benefit, as this had been the first time she'd been so deep inside the place. She also took them to a few places that hadn't been shown to Sunflower the previous time they'd been through. By the time they'd finished, evening was coming and the light was fading. Dawn and Scootaloo decided to escort Cyclone and Sunflower home before heading out for Ponyville, the two Cloudsdale mares deciding that it was too late to make a trip to Ponyville now, deciding to visit Dawn and Scootaloo at a later date. It would probably be fairly late by the time they reached the town. But, by this point, both Dawn and Scootaloo were longing for their respective homes. After a month spent in the Wonderbolt Academy, they were more than ready to sleep in their own beds. Still, they didn't feel any need to rush as they strolled through Cloudsdale. Scootaloo sighed as she snuggled up against Dawn. Secretly, she wished that they could spend another night here, like they had the night after her certification exam. She would have loved to cuddle up with Dawn until morning. At the same time, she knew that Dawn was very interested in getting back to his family, probably missing his younger siblings something fierce. It amused her that he was probably one of the few ponies in Equestria with such a mindest. As they walked, Scootaloo couldn't quite keep the smirk from her face as she saw that Sunflower was snuggled up against Cyclone in a similar manner. They had been discreet about it during the Academy. But now that it was over, they apparently weren't worried about keeping their developing relationship a secret, though how far along it was was anypony's guess. It made sense to Scootaloo. It explained why, for all Cyclone's selfish interest in advancing her standing while trying to earn the Stratus Family's approval, Cyclone had been extremely reluctant to throw Sunflower under the carriage, so to speak, along with how clingy she had been when they'd first met her. She felt them come before the first shadow flitted across one of the street lamps. She knew that Dawn had sensed them too, probably before she had. However, he continued to walk along, his wing resting on her back as easily as ever, as though he hadn't noticed at all. Though Scootaloo tensed a little, she kept calm as the pegasi around them swooped in. Her smile vanished, replaced by an angry grimace as she recognized one of them, having become extremely familiar with his contours over the course of the Academy. The big stallion, their persistent antagonist throughout the Academy session (until he'd been expelled, of course) landed in front of them, his hooves impacting with a muffled thump that sent wisps of cloud exploding out from their points of impact. All around them, other pegasi were descending, landing in a loose circle. Cyclone growled and used her wing to pull Sunflower closer to her, while Sunflower cringed away from the stallion's baleful glare. Scootaloo could understand Sunflower's fear, even if she didn't share it. After all, at the Academy, they were protected by the rules and regulations that invited punishment if any sort of fight broke out. However, out here, the stallion was free to act as he pleased, so long as he wasn't caught by the Guard doing it. Spitfire wasn't here to act as their shield. "Well well," said the stallion with an angry sneer, "if it isn't the liddle Academy Babies. Do you brats think you're all grown up now that school's out?" To Scootaloo's surprise, it was Dawn who retorted. "It seems to me that we were more grownup than you, given you were the one who got tossed out." Scootaloo blinked in surprise and gaped at Dawn like he'd grown a second head. It had been a long time since she'd heard him act so openly provocative. The stallion's nostrils flared and he snorted with such force that the clouds in front of him actually stirred from the force of his angry exhalation. "You've gotten a pretty big head, brat," he snarled. Dawn tilted his head, regarding the stallion like a curiosity on a dusty shelf. "I can't help but wonder what you hope to accomplish here," he said. "Naturally, inciting a mob beating is not one of the things that would encourage Spitfire to change her decision." "I don't care what she thinks," growled the stallion. "She's clearly lost her touch if she thinks that giving brats like you special treatment is fair." "Oh come on!" exclaimed Scootaloo, her patience fraying. "You're still going on about that? You were too much of a lame wimp to do a little extra work, that's all. We gave you a chance and you ignored it 'cause you didn't actually want to push yourself." Around them the pegasi the big stallion had apparently recruited were beginning to edge in. However, Scootaloo soon realized the reason Dawn was less worried about restraint when she sensed something familiar about them. The sense of deja-vu she was getting wasn't just because the situation itself was familiar. "You can use whatever pathetic excuses you want," said the stallion, stamping a hoof down. "I don't care about the damn Academy anymore. We're gonna beat you brats into pulp and then dump what's left on the steps of the Wonderbolt Headquarters. We'll see how special you are then." "Oh really?" said Dawn, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure your friends are up to the task?" "Absolutely!" snapped the stallion. "My cousin is the toughest pony this side of Canterlot. Slab! Come give these brats a spanking!" "With pleasure," grumbled the huge stallion as he lumbered forward, only to freeze in place as his eyes met Dawn's. "Hello again," said Dawn, his tone dangerously congenial. "I understand you met a friend of mine when you came to Ponyville. It's a disappointment that I wasn't able to see you while you were there. Next time, you should visit the teashop. Right, Rusty?" An inarticulate squeak was the only response that came from the stallion that hovered at the edge of their circle. A collective wince went through several ponies present. Dawn remembered them as the ones who had decided to visit the teashop that day. More importantly, most of the ponies currently present seemed to be from that same gang that had waylaid them the night after Scootaloo's certification exam. "So..." said Dawn, giving Slab a thin-lipped smile. "Are you still planning on teaching us a lesson?" A heavy silence descended on the scene. Slab had gone completely still, his body as rigid and unmoving as a stone statue, his eyes wide. Finally, he came up with a response. "Nope!" Before anypony else could move, Slab was gone, taking off so quickly that the clouds beneath his hooves exploded upward and outward, like water splashing. His departure was like a signal to the rest of the group. Rusty was the first to follow suit, taking to the air at the same instant that Slab had. The rest of them, seeing their leaders bolting, quickly joined them. A few seconds later, their stallion antagonist stood before them...alone and utterly confused. "What the hay?" "So," said Dawn, still wearing that same smile. "What about you?" The large stallion shuddered and took an uncertain step back. What Dawn did next shocked Scootaloo to the core. His wing lifted off her back and he vanished, crossing the distance between him and the stallion in the blink of an eye. He stood in front of the large stallion, one wing raised and pointed forward. With a crackling hum, a slender blade of pure white extended from between Dawn's two leading primaries, almost like an extra feather itself. The stallion was frozen in place, completely cowed as the tip of the faintly buzzing blade leveled itself right at his throat, its mere proximity making the fur of his coat smoke slightly. "Let me be perfectly clear," said Dawn cooly. "The only reason we did not give you the thrashing you so richly deserved back at the Academy was to keep from causing a disturbance, which would have brought Spitfire down on us as surely as she came down on you for the one you did cause. Do you understand? The rules and regulations and even Spitfire herself were not protecting us. They were protecting you. We were invited to the Academy for a reason. Likewise, the fact that we are no longer bound by the Academy's rules means that you are the one bereft of any protection. "As long as you do not push the issue, that will not be a problem for you. However, as you have proven to be a rather imprudent pony, it's clear you need a more objective lesson." Dawn's eyes narrowed. "So I will be completely clear with you. My patience with your stupidity has reached its limits. You will leave us and go back to whatever life you had before you came to the Academy. You will have nothing to do with any of us. If there is any sort of trouble for us and I have any reason to believe you may have had a hoof in it...even the slightest, tiniest inkling of a suspicion...then I will find you and I will show you precisely what this..." He traced the tip of the blade beneath the stallion's jaw, bringing it up to the tip of his nose and raising it so that it now hovered right in front of the terrified pony's eyes. "...can do to a pony's flesh and blood. Am I clear?" "Y-yes," stammered the stallion, whose body had locked in place, as though the murderous intent focused along the tip of Dawn's blade of charged air had pinned him in place. "Good," said Dawn. Dawn pulled his wing and the blade back, which crackled and dissipated into a few scattered arcs of electricity and motes of light. Dawn turned around and began to walk with deliberate ease and slowness back towards the others. "I believe that it is now time for you to leave." The stallion left so fast that he didn't even bother to check his angle of ascent, clipping his wing against the edge of a nearby building, he was sent spinning off into the night, barely managing a recovery before he smashed face-first into another structure. From there, he quickly winged away into the open sky, rapidly leaving the radius of Dawn and Scootaloo's wind-sense. Dawn sighed and relaxed as he faced his friends, who regarded him with wide eyes and open mouths. "Well...now that's over."