//------------------------------// // Wonderbolts Academy // Story: My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria // by Codex92 //------------------------------// After spending a relaxing time at Winsome Falls, Sora, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle hiked back to Ponyville within the same time it took to travel, though this time, when night fell, Rainbow laid off the scary stories. As soon as they made it back home, the group split up with the teen taking Sweetie Belle back to the boutique. During their time camping, Rarity had finished repairing Sora's clothing, having to take extra care not to ruin his Drive Form enchantments while working her magic, figuratively speaking. And during that time, Sora was completely cured, no longer feeling the annoying aches and pains from the work of a corrupted unicorn magician using the powers of a cursed amulet that will forever stay locked away. The next day, everyone stood outside Rainbow Dash's cloud home, or more on the ground beneath it. The pegasus was expecting a specific letter from the mail being delivered today, wanting every one of her friends to be there. Though, out of all of them, Pinkie Pie was the most nervous, bouncing around in a nervous pace around the others while waiting. The only one uninterested in all of this waiting for a letter was Riku. "So, someone want to tell me why we're waiting for the mail? A boring sweepstakes envelope that requires you to buy someone's products for a raffle that has a low chance of getting a big prize?" the white pegasus questioned. "It's important, Riku, because I'm expecting my acceptance letter from the Wonderbolts Academy," Rainbow said. "Though, I'm not really all that nervous. I know they're going to let me in." "IF they let you in!" Pinkie exclaimed, suddenly appearing in front of the pegasus. "A very big I-F! Don't jinx what could be a good thing, even if it does happen!" "Pinkie, relax." Kairi dragged the overly nervous party pony away, petting her mane. "Rainbow Dash is a professional athlete, and after pulling off a sonic rainboom in front of a crowd of pegasi in the Young Fliers Competition, who wouldn't want her to join?" "A sonic what?" Riku asked. "Mail call!" Flying down to them was Ponyville's ditzy mailmare, Derpy. The gray pegasus fluttered down, wearing her uniform, landing on the ground gently, only to stumble over her front hooves and fall on her face. "I'm ok!" "Perfect landing, but a bad finish," Sora said. "I give that an 8.5 out of 10." "More like a zero," Riku muttered to himself. Derpy stood back up, shaking off the rough fall, but as she opened her eyes, Riku balked when he saw her cocked eyes. "Holy cow! What happened to your eyes!?" "Huh? What about my eyes?" Derpy asked. "Your eyes are all-" Sora quickly slammed Riku's head down to the ground, stunning him and silencing him from insulting the special pegasus. "Hey, Derpy! How's Dinky doing?" Sora asked, hearing his friend growling under his hoof. "Oh, she's doing fine, Sora," she said. "My little muffin always talks about how amazing you are, and thanks for helping her with a bullying problem she had a few months ago. Anyway, can't stop and talk too long. I got letters to deliver!" Derpy buried her head in her mail bag, pulling out a couple envelopes, squinting her eyes as she read the recipients they belong to. "Ok. One for Rainbow Dash." "Oh, yeah! Wonderbolts Academy, here I come!" Rainbow zipped past Derpy and took her letter, the mailmare undeterred as she looked at the other two letters. "Here's one for Sora." Sora, surprised, takes the letter addressed to him, wondering what it was. Before he could open it, Riku slammed his hoof down hard on his head, making the tan pegasus see stars, getting back at him for smacking his face into the earth. "And one for a Mr....Raikou? Riakuu?" "It's 'Riku', and that would be me." Riku took his letter, even though he too had no clue who would send him mail when he wasn't a citizen of Equestria. "'Riku'? Kinda sounds like a mare's name." The silver-haired teen grumbled, some of the other mares behind them giggling at his reaction. "Oh well. Off to deliver more letters in Ponyville!" Derpy flapped her wings and flew off, though in the opposite direction from the town. Rainbow silently counted down from three, the ditzy mail mare coming back, now heading in the right direction. "Had to turn around!" She soon flew out of sight, everyone watching as Sora snapped out of his daze, rubbing his sore head. "That hurt." "You slammed my face into the ground," Riku argued." "You were about to make fun of Derpy!" Sora countered. "If I didn't stop you, you could have hurt her feelings!" "Are her eyes...always like that?" Riku received glares from everyone, warning him to drop the subject before they all jumped him. "...Ok, ok! I'm sorry! They just...caught me off guard. Though, maybe instead of shoving my face into the dirt, you could have just pulled me aside and told me before I said something." "I thought it was more fun to do that." Sora grinned, receiving another smack upside the head from his friend. "Ok, enough beating each other up!" Rainbow announced, opening her letter and read it to herself. As soon as she was done, she lowered it, but she looked upset. "...I didn't get in..." "NO!" Pinkie shrieked. "I knew it was jinxed! WHY MUST THE WORLD BE SO CRUEL!" Rainbow began to snicker, unable to hold back her facade any longer. "Of course I got in! I can't believe I got you guys." "More Pinkie than us," Sora said, opening up his letter. "'Sora, you are invited to access the Wonderbolts Academy as a guest, taking part with the training and teaching alongside the Wonderbolts and recruits. By Princess Celestia's recommendation, you show what a true Wonderbolt should be, hoping to inspire new recruits to work hard and strive to accomplish the tasks assigned to them. We expect to see you soon. Captain Spitfire.'" Everyone stared, confused as Sora flipped the letter around to see if there was anything else on the Wonderbolts approved paper. "A guest teacher/student for the Wonderbolts? That's kind of strange." Riku opened up his letter, and ironically enough, it was the same exact one like Sora's. "Mine's the same thing. Why?" "All three of you are going to the Wonderbolts Academy?" Twilight asked. "Seems like it. This might be fun," Sora said. "I kinda need to get back in shape, too. Laying in bed for nearly a week was so boring!" Neither Keyblade wielding pegasi noticed Pinkie's hoof stretching out behind them, the mare quickly pulling Sora, Riku, and another hoof behind Rainbow closer to her, trapping them in a bone crushing hug. "I'M GONNA MISS YOU GUYS!" "Agh! Pinkie! It's only going to be for a week!" The trio tried to break free, but Pinkie's grip was stronger, Riku swearing he could feel his spine bending more than it should. She finally let go, giving an apologetic look as Rainbow flew up to her home to get her saddlebags. She flew back down as Sora and Riku recovered from the earth pony's impossible strength. "Come on, guys! The sooner we get there, the sooner we can show everypony how awesome we are! Just don't be too awesome since I'm the one who will be trying to get into the Wonderbolts." "Right. Wouldn't want you to get a big ego and slip up during basic training," Sora said sarcastically. "Look who's talking," Riku retorted, nudging his friend in the side. With Rainbow Dash fully prepared, they set flew off into the skies in Cloudsdale's direction, where the Wonderbolts Academy was close to. Before they were out of sight, Pinkie tried to chase after them on foot, pulling out a large megaphone from out of nowhere. "DON'T FORGET TO WRITE!!!!!!!" she shouted into the megaphone, causing the mountains to wilt from the extremely loud speaker. The other mares behind her felt themselves go deaf for a few moments before their hearing came back, actually feeling the ground shake from the reverbed sound waves. "Do you think they heard me?" "Pinkie, I think Master Yen Sid could hear that from the thousand light-years away from Equestria," Kairi said, rubbing her ears as she still heard ringing from the deafening shout. Back in the Mysterious Tower, Yen Sid sat at his desk, going through a few old spellbooks he had kept from his youth as a young wizard. He flipped through some of the pages, recalling some older spells he had forgetten he learned after so many years. "DON'T FORGET TO WRITE!!!!!!!" The wizard looked up from his book and stared out the window, feeling his tower shake slightly from the odd shout. "What in the worlds was that?" he asked with curiosity. He didn't see any disturbances in any of the stars in the sky, and Celestia was busy with her royal duties at this time, so there wasn't any dangerous threats nearby. "That was...odd...Who are they saying not to forget to write?" Rainbow, Sora, and Riku flew through the skies of Equestria, the Keyblade wielders following the cyan mare to where the Wonderbolts Academy was located. After passing Cloudsdale, they reached their destination: a large piece of land as tall as a mountain, the training academy and base for the Wonderbolts surprisingly not made of clouds, the buildings made to look like a military bootcamp on the sides of a large runway for incoming pegasi speeding off or on at incredible speed. Flying around or on the ground doing warm ups were some recruits, wearing similarly colored training suits like the Wonderbolts' official flight uniforms, only lighter and designed differently. "This is so awesome!" Rainbow squealed with glee. "I'm one step closer to becoming a Wonderbolt!" "What exactly are the Wonderbolts?" Riku asked, never being told about them since his arrival in Equestria. "The Wonderbolts are a team of stunt fliers that entertain ponies," Sora explained as Rainbow Dash was too entranced by the training grounds beneath them. "I think they're also Equestria's air force, but after what happened to Spike when he got greedy and grew to gargantuan size, they didn't really do much to stop him." "That explains why this world is always in trouble," Riku said. "The only ones capable of stopping threats are either the princesses or a group of mares with magical artifacts." "Or us," Sora added, quickly pulling out his letter from Spitfire. "Rainbow, we gotta meet up with Spitfire. We'll meet you with the rest of the other recruits after we finish speaking with her." "Ok. Lucky..." Rainbow flew over to the other new recruits while Sora and Riku flew off to where the Spitfire's office was located. They had to ask some of the trainers to figure out where the captain was, heading through the halls of the office building and stood outside Spitfire's office door. Sora knocked on the door, waiting for a response. "Come in!" Spitfire said, allowing the two teens entrance into her office. They walked inside, finding the Wonderbolts captain going through some documents. The yellow pegasus athlete wore a blue military jacket, sporting a few medals that showed her rank as the team's leader, wearing a pair of sunglasses over her eyes. As she looked up, her ears perked up as her two special guests had arrived. "You two arrived just in time. Sora and Riku, I presume?" "Yes, ma'am," Sora said. "Not sure if you remember me at the Young Fliers Competition." "I've heard of what happened at that time when Soarin', Fleetfoot, and I tried to save that unicorn that fell after her enchanted wings burned up. You stopped some unknown dark creatures that came out of nowhere with a unicorn mare, saving the audience and the princess." Spitfire stood up from her seat and walked around her desk. "Not only that, but you've saved Equestria several times from the likes of Nightmare Moon, Discord, the Changelings. Not to mention saving the Crystal Empire from that monster of a stallion, Sombra." Sora internally winced, always being reminded of the empire that had returned from its thousand year banishment and Sombra's demise. "Yeah...It's not all that impressive." "You kidding!? You're just as popular as us Wonderbolts! Though, not as much, but a close second." Riku had to keep himself from groaning out loud, hearing Spitfire boasting almost as badly as Rainbow Dash does. "Princess Celestia thought it would be a good idea to spark a drive in our newest recruits to work harder and potentially be a new member of the Wonderbolts when a position is available. Here at this academy, we put all our recruits through tough and rigorous training regiments, no sugarcoating anything as we get a glance at their potential. And since you two are considered heroes of Equestria, and with your endeavors taking on those black monsters, you two are going to help assist me. Both in putting the newbies in their place and providing examples for the obstacles we're going to put them in if they become candidates for being a part of the reserves or full fledged Wonderbolts." "Well, we're happy to help, Captain Spitfire!" Sora said with a salute. "We'll be the best assistants you'll ever have!" "Doesn't seem like I have a choice, do I?" Riku questioned. "Oh well. I got something to do instead of waiting for something disastrous to happen in Ponyville. Or anywhere outside of Equestria." "Perfect! Now, let's get out there and see the fresh meat I'm gonna break in." Grabbing a pair of whistles, Spitfire tossed them over Sora and Riku's necks, exiting the building with her two guest assistants in tow. They headed out onto the runway, where all the new pegasus recruits stood in a line at attention for the captain. They nearly broke out of their stance when they saw Sora walking alongside Spitfire, surprised to see a heroic stallion such as him here at the Wonderbolts Academy to teach them. "Well, well, well. Look what we have here. Bet you all think you're Wonderbolt material, huh?" "Yes, ma'am!" the recruits responded to their drill sergeant. As Spitfire continued to size up the recruits, Sora recognized some of the pegasi here that were from Ponyville, aside from Rainbow Dash. One of them was Thunderlane, the black stallion shaking slightly as he felt intimidated when the captain walked up to him. Another was a stallion he was surprised to see that made it here at all, an incredibly buff white pegasus stallion with a short light amber mohawk and a dumbbell cutie mark named Bulk Biceps. He looked like a scary, tough stallion with his bulging muscles, but his wings were smaller than a newborn foals and he wasn't as strong as he appeared. As soon as Spitfire questioned him, Bulk wilted and collapsed to the ground, more terrified of a smaller, experienced veteran than the reverse. Spitfire rolled her eyes and moved on to Rainbow Dash, holding her resolve unlike the other pegasi. "I bet you're one of the worst fliers in this whole academy! You'll end up quitting on the first day!" "No ma'am!" Rainbow said. "I'd never quit, ma'am!" The captain scoffed, moving on to the next pegasus after her. This mare had a light turquoise coat, her hair amber and gold-striped, her cutie mark a lightning bolt striking three stars. She was like Rainbow Dash when it came to being talked down to by Spitfire, fearless and standing tall. "And how about you?" she asked the recruit. "Bet you can't even make it past the first flag pole without cramping up." "Try me, ma'am," the mare responded, the others gasping in shock while Spitfire glared at the disrespectful pegasus. "Excuse me?" Spirtfire questioned. "Just let me show you what I've got, ma'am." Sora and Riku looked at each other, then back at the mare, finding her even more cocky than Rainbow Dash, only a lot more rude as she dared her superior to run her through the wringers. "...What's your name, recruit?" the captain asked. "Lightning Dust, ma'am," she said. "...Well, congratulations, Lightning Dust. Because of that smart aleck remark, you just earned you and your group five hundred laps around the compound!" Before the rest of the pegasi could groan in irritation, Spitfire grabbed her whistle and blew on it hard. "MOVE IT!" The recruits all took off as they began to fly the assigned number of laps. While waiting, Spitfire, Sora, and Riku tallied the laps the recruits have done and kept track of their times. Though the two teens knew that Lightning Dust was going to be a really big problem if she was going to behave like she did earlier. Sora did have some experience being in a part of the military in The Land of Dragons, and if there was anything a new recruit should do is NOT talk back to a superior officer, otherwise they would end up causing their entire platoon to suffer the same punishment the disrespectful new guy would. After they completed their laps, Rainbow and Lightning being the first to finish several laps ahead of the pack, and taking a break from their first day's training/punishment, the recruits got themselves in their training uniforms and reported back out on the runway. "Now, all of you recruits know that the Wonderbolts are the fastest and best precision flyers in the world, but that doesn't mean spin-outs can't happen. When they do, you have to be sure to recover as quickly as possible to avoid crashing." Behind Spitfire, Sora and Riku pulled down a tarp that hid a device that would train them into the first lesson of Wonderbolts training: a large circular machine that looked like a hypnosis wheel, a gear place on it that had a bar in the center to keep a pony inside it until released by a lever. "This is the Dizzitron, and just as it's called, it will make you very, VERY dizzy. "You will be strapped in and spun around multiple times, and once you're good and dizzy, you'll be launched into the air," Spitfire continued explaining. "Once in the air, you'll have to recover from the simulated spin-out, fly straight, and make a smooth landing on the runway. Riku will demonstrate how it's done." "Aww man..." Sora sulked over to the levers, forced to work the Dizzitron while Riku had all the fun. The silver-haired teen flew up and strapped himself into place, looking uninterested as he raised a hoof up, prepared to have his vision disoriented, if the Dizzitron was able to. "Go!" Spitfire commanded, Sora pulling the lever, making the machine whir to life. The large hypnotic circle began to move counter-clockwise and pick up speed, while the gear he was in spun even faster. "Release!" Sora launched his friend up high into the air, the others watching as the stallion spun out of control. Not even phased by the delirious spinning, Riku recovered and dove down, landing softly on the ground without so much as a sign of dizziness. "Just like that. Follow the same method Riku had, and you won't have to worry about slamming into the ground." "Could have shown some enthusiasm to get them excited...lucky," Sora muttered as he complained to himself. "I wanted on the Dizzitron first..." "Rainbow Dash! You're up first!" Spitfire commanded, the cyan pegasus saluting and getting herself strapped in. "Go!" Sora pulled the lever, irritated and bored, sending Rainbow spiraling wildly in the machine. "Release!" She was launched up high in the air, quickly breaking free of her spin-out and landing faster than Riku had. "Huh. Six seconds. That's an academy record." "Wow, you make it look so easy," one of the recruits said to Rainbow Dash. "I make everything look easy," the mare simply said, only boosting her inflated ego. "Lightning Dust, you're up next!" The disrespectful mare grinned and strapped herself in. "Hey, hero, mind cranking this baby up to max speed?" Lightning asked. "Uhh, why? That sounds dangerous, even for me and Riku," Sora said. "I wanna push myself to the limit." The teen looked over at Spitfire for confirmation, the captain nodding to allow him to do so. "Alright. Don't blame me if you lose your lunch." He set the Dizzitron to its maximum setting and pulled the lever, the machine spinning faster than it's usual setting, almost threatening to break apart. "Release!" Once the release lever was pulled, Lightning Dust was sent shooting off into the sky as she spun dangerously out of control. Surprisingly, she managed to right herself and fly back down to the ground with a perfect landing. "Six point five seconds! Not bad, rookie!" Sora and Riku were stunned at the shockingly calm landing after being flung at a near bone-shattering speed. Even though the two Keyblade wielders had experienced their fair share of crazy stunts while fighting the Heartless, they weren't that crazy enough to nearly kill themselves. Soon, the rest of the recruits had their turn with the Dizzitron, though at the recommended, and safer, speed. Once their results were written down, Spitfire told them that tomorrow, for their next few tests, they'll be grouped in pairs by their times on the Dizzitron and will be posted in the mess hall. The next morning, Sora and Riku stood in Spitfire's office, the Wonderbolt captain placing two different medals down on her desk in front of them. "The next exercises I want to put the recruits in are all on double teams. One lead pony, those who are capable of leading a team and coming up with the perfect plans and formations during flight, and a wingpony, able to follow orders and their lead partner with no questions asked. Since you two are elitists when it comes to your trade, I think you two should decide on who gets to be what when you participate with the other teams." The two stallions looked at each other, both completely unsure who should be the leader and who should be the follower. Riku was technically a Keyblade Master, which meant he was Sora's superior, and he was more level-headed to be a leader. However, Sora had saved many worlds from the Heartless and Nobodies, is quick to adapt in any situation, and shows the promise of being a good leader, even though he may act like a kid at times. They both looked back at the gold and silver medals, both teens unable to make their decision. They were momentarily disrupted by Rainbow Dash, walking inside the office, looking a little upset about something. "Captain Spitfire, permission to enter, ma'am?" "What is it, Rainbow Dash?" Spitfire asked. "I had the best time on the Dizzitron, but you made me Lightning Dust's wingpony," Rainbow complained, making a good point. "I think that you and Lightning Dust would make an unstoppable team," Spitfire explained. "And the reason I made her lead pony is because she pushes herself harder than you and any of the other recruits. Is there a problem with my decision?" "...N-No, ma'am. We'll be an unstoppable team, ma'am." Rainbow sadly saluted, leaving the office in disappointment. "You know, Spitfire, I don't think Lightning should have been a lead pony," Riku said. "Just from using the Dizzitron and her behavior before the day began, she doesn't hold the qualities of being a responsible leader." "My decision is final," the mare said. "If anypony wants to be a Wonderbolt, they have to put their all into being one. We don't accept many pegasi if they think they have what it takes, only to back down when this team is more than just performing tricks." Sora and Riku sort of understood Spitfire's reasoning, the Wonderbolts being a top class stunt team that take a lot of risks when performing their stunts high in the air. It makes sense to have to tough out any accidents that may occur and recover from any kind of collision or wipe-out, though if they behaved like Lightning Dust, then the Wonderbolts shouldn't hire anyone who intends to cause seriously bodily harm while showing off. Riku looked down at the desk again, making his decision for him and Sora as he picked up the gold medal. "Sora, how about you be the lead pony?" He held the medal to his friend, surprising the tan pegasus. "Really?" Sora asked, taking the medal with uncertainty. "I honestly don't think I'm all that qualified to be a leader...Am I?" "Are you serious, Sora? After all you've done? You deserve something like this more than me." Riku took the silver medal and pinned it to his vest. "You're more of a leader than you think you are. I've made more bad decisions in the past than you have, and I think you deserved that other 'title' more than me." Sora looked down at the lead pony medal, deep in thought. He knew what other title his best friend was talking about, even though he had failed the Mark of Mastery exam by Master Yen Sid's evaluation. Their heartfelt talk back when they were trapped in The Realm of Darkness after defeating Xemnas played back in his mind, the two friends jealous of each other for who they were, wishing they could be like the other. They had their own accomplishments, their own failures, and no matter how much they doubted themselves, Sora and Riku always had each other's backs, praising each other for something they never realized they had. "...Alright." Sora placed the gold pin on his jacket. "I'll do my best." The two bumped each other's hooves, replaced as a handshake where they will promise each other to give their roles their all. "Ok, you two. Get yourselves a room when the day's over." The moment between the stallions was ruined by Spitfire as she got up from her desk to leave. "Gotta keep the newbies on their hooves so they don't get too soft." As soon as the mare left, Riku scowled as she rounded the corner. "I was actually enjoying the little moment, and she goes and ruins it by saying that." "But Riku, I thought you liked me," Sora whined playfully, taking the joke lightly as he grinned at Riku. "And you're about to shred it and make me reconsider being lead pony." Sora kept his mouth shut, not wanting to lose his lead pony status as they hurried after Spitfire before she punishes them for being late. They quickly caught up the the pegasus mare as they headed back onto the runway where the other recruits stood attention, and wearing their medals as they stood next to their assigned partners. "Alright, everypony! Today, you're all going to be participating in a flag hunt. You rookies will be hunting for blue flags, going against Sora and Riku as they hunt for red flags." Spitfire held out the two flags that they will be searching for, though most of the pegasi were a little confused at the unfair advantage they had against two pegasi. "There are more blue flags to find out around the acadamy than red, and the first pair to gather more flags will win." "Uhh, Captain Spitfire? How is that fair for them?" one of the recruits asked. "This isn't considered a competition, rookie. This is about training. The whole point of this exercise is to promote teamwork and cooperation, which is why you all are paired up." Spitfire paced before them, keeping a stern gaze as she explained. "Just because one side's outnumbered doesn't mean strategy and understanding of your partner shouldn't be left out. Lead ponies lead their wingpony, make decisions on what to do and hear out their partner if they can't think of any, while wingponies follow their lead partner, seeking out anything their leader had missed as a second pair of eyes and following their orders. And since all of you are working together as a team, split into groups of two, that cooperation and communicating with your partner is important as a Wonderbolt. Make sure to stick with your partners. If you split apart, then you're disqualified." Lightning Dust rolled her eyes, finding Spitfire's explanation on their next exercise boring and uninteresting. "Now, do you rookies understand!?" "Yes, ma'am!" they responded. "Then get to flag hunting!" Spitfire blew on her whistle, both teams taking off and splitting up as they flew around the academy with their partners in tow. With the blue flag hunting team taking their time to finding any flags, Rainbow and Lightning flew fast as they scanned the tall mountain for any flags. Sora and Riku flew together at a moderate pace, not too fast to pass by any flags from their blind spots, but not too slow to make it seem to easy for the other recruits to think they could beat them. "I see a lot of blue flags hidden around out here," Sora said. "Spitfire must really be testing us if she hid ours really well." "I'm a little curious to know how long it took to make this entire mountain a giant obstacle course." While scoping out the ground, Riku finally spotted one of their flags through a tight crevice beneath them. "Found one! Right through there!" "Good eye. Think we can squeeze through there?" Sora asked. "Afraid of getting stuck?" Riku taunted. "...We're dive bombing through. Just follow my lead, and don't fall behind." Riku followed after his "leader", chuckling with amusement as he was able to easily goad Sora into a challenge. Aiming straight for the tight cavern in the mountainside, Sora folded his wings to his sides, Riku following his actions as they fell for their target. They both made it through, the crevice just big enough for them to fall through without bumping any part of their bodies against the walls. As soon as they slipped out of the hole on the bottom of the cliff, Sora grabbed the red flag and flew back up to where Spitfire waited for them all. So far, they managed to find their flag first before the others. "Well, no surprise you two would have gotten the first flag," Spitfire commented. "Riku and I are all about teamwork," Sora said, lazily draping a foreleg around Riku's neck. "We've been best friends since we were little, and nothing can tear us apart!" "Don't exaggerate, Sora." Riku nudged his friend off him, but before they took off to find their remaining flags, Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash arrived, finding the blue team's first flag. "One flag for Lightning and Rainbow!" While Spitfire marked a point for the pegasus mares, Sora and Riku were the only ones who noticed Rainbow was in slight pain. She rubbed at one of her wings, apparently injured from an accident while flying. "Come on, Dash, let's find some more flags before the two heroes finally decide to move their flanks!" "J-Just give me a second. I clipped my wing when you decided it was a good idea to fly through that ravine that fast." Rainbow tried to stretch out her wing, only to wince, having struck it pretty hard. "Oh, you're fine," Lightning said. "It's just a scratch. Now let's get going!" Rainbow sighed, flapping her wings and ignoring the pain from her injury as best as she could, flying after Lightning as they hurried off to find more flags. It seemed like Lightning Dust only cared about trying to win more than the well-being of her partner, and Spitfire didn't even say anything concerning one of her recruit's injury, or even send her to a medical wing to help make her feel better. Sora and Riku continued hunting for their flags, though greatly concerned over the Wonderbolts Academy and its principles on ponies who are considered to be future Wonderbolts if being careless is more required than safety and respect. Back in Ponyville, Twilight and Kairi walked into town, spending some time together while Sora and Riku were away. Kairi finally had a chance to wind down and spend some time with other girls, though she didn't admit hanging out with a couple of competitive teenage boys was really so bad. The two unicorns had just gotten out of the spa, feeling fully refreshed and pampered by the professional staff owned by the twin earth ponies, Aloe and Lotus. "That was great," Kairi said. "I've never really been to a spa all my life. I feel so much better after that incredible massage." "You can ask Rarity if you want to join her and Fluttershy on their weekly spa days," Twilight said. "You technically are a princess and deserve some kind of pampering." "I'd rather not be a princess all the time. As much as that's every little girl's dream, I prefer living life as me instead of royalty. Besides, being a Princess of Light means I don't just sit around on a throne all day. I have a duty to uphold, keeping Kingdom Hearts sealed, and now that I have a Keyblade, I can fight back along with Sora and Riku instead of being the damsel in distress." They soon reached Sugarcube Corner to get themselves something to sate their sweet tooth, but as they approached the fake gingerbread house bakery, they spotted Pinkie Pie. "Oh no. She's still waiting?" "Afraid so." Pinkie was slumped over the mailbox, looking exhausted with her mane more messy than poofy. She was passed out, only to slip off and startled awake, quickly checking the mailbox to find nothing inside. "She's been at this for the past three days." "Three days, two hours, sixteen minutes, and fifty-five seconds!" Both unicorns yelped in surprise as Pinkie somehow appeared behind them while they were still looking at her. "I haven't gotten anything from Rainbow Dash, Sora, or Riku at all! They probably forgot all about me! Or us!" Pinkie gasped loudly and grabbed Kairi. "What if Sora found another marefriend and replaced you with her to stave off the loneliness!? Somepony who's actually a princess that doesn't fight and always needs rescuing!?" Kairi calmly lowered Pinkie's hooves off of her, knowing she was just saying all that out of paranoia, insomnia, and overreacting over nothing. "Pinkie, no one is ever going to forget you. It's impossible to, anyway. And Rainbow had said that they would be gone for just a week, so that means they'll be back in another few days." "But that'll take forever," Pinkie whimpered. "Well, if you're that worried, why don't you write a letter to them instead?" the pink unicorn suggested. "...That's a great idea! It's brilliant!" Pinkie ran off inside Sugarcube Corner, Kairi and Twilight sighing in relief as they finally managed to calm her down. She suddenly appeared back in front of them again, surprising them yet again. "Wait! I got an even brillianter idea! I'll send a care package to them! Maybe if I give them something that can jog their memory, they'll remember us again!" Kairi and Twilight facehooved, not even close to quell Pinkie's fears of being forgotten by Rainbow, Sora, and Riku. "A care package?" "Yes! And I'm gonna deliver it to them personally! If I send it in the mail, then there's a chance it could get lost and somepony else could get it, and that pony could remember us instead of them!" Pinkie began to bound off into town to get her items she would send in her care package. "Get the others and ready the balloon! I'll be done shortly!" "...If it'll help keep Pinkie from losing her mind, might as well go on a balloon trip. I'm actually a little curious to see what the Wonderbolts Academy looks like," Twilight said, the unicorns heeding Pinkie's wishes to get the rest of the mares. At the academy, this morning's drill started out ok, but ended up with a horrible wipe-out for all but Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust. Today, they were set to go through an aerial obstacle course, where they had to fly through harsh weather simulations that works on the recruits precision flying in their paired groups. Sora and Riku were the first to start off to show the others what they should do to avoid flying objects, harsh winds, rain, and snow. Unfortunately, with the impatience of Lightning Dust behind a slower pair in front of them, she thought it was a good idea to just skip ahead and throw everyone else off when the point of the course was to be careful and precise while flying, not a race to win first place. After everyone that had wiped out recovered, Sora and Riku stood outside of the mess hall to wait for the next exercise to begin this afternoon. Though the next one won't require them to give an example or lead the others on what to do, what's been happening throughout this week has been troublesome with each day. "Man. Lightning Dust is starting to get on my nerves," Riku said. "Since day one, she's been arrogant and cocky, got Rainbow Dash hurt, and after that little stunt she pulled earlier, she nearly got the other recruits killed!" "I know. And Spitfire's brushing it all off as if nothing happened." Sora looked up at the skies, where the many instructors in the academy were setting up hundreds of clouds for the next task. "If I were her, I would order Lightning to clean the bathroom tiles with a toothbrush just from talking back like that the first day training began." "I'd rather kick her out for acting like she's better than everyone and almost causing a major accident that could have hurt everyone." A while later, the recruits gathered out of the mess hall, along with the cocky turquoise pegasus mare oblivious to the trouble she caused. "Next time she does something stupid, she's going to be dealing with me." "Ditto." The teens followed the recruits back out to the runway as they began their next assignment. At the sound of Spitfire's whistle, the pegasi flew off and began to bust the clouds away, other instructors keeping score of which pair destroyed the most clouds. While they were at work, Sora decided to question the Wonderbolts captain on why she didn't reprimand Lightning Dust. "Spitfire, we need to talk." "What about?" she asked. "I think you know, but you're not doing anything about Lightning Dust," he said. "She's the best recruit around. She pushes herself harder than the rest of them, and shows better results than the others." Spitfire checked her stopwatch, then looked up at the sky, watching Lightning and Rainbow fly to the other side of the academy, busting more clouds than the other teams. "At this rate, both her and Rainbow Dash will be busting new academy records." "Are records really all that important than the lives of your recruits when they were all blown aside during that obstacle course!?" Sora exclaimed. "You even said yourself that it's not a race, yet you contradicted yourself!" While Sora argued with Spitfire, Riku kept looking at the skies, unable to help but feel like something was about to go wrong. His ears perked up, hearing what sounded like Heartless appearing. Behind some of the untouched clouds, his eyes widened as he saw some airborne Heartless sneaking around to hunt their next victims: Air Pirates and Battleships. "Oh shoot. Sora! We got trouble!" Riku quickly flew up, alerting Sora as he looked up and saw the Heartless about to charge into the other recruits. "Worst timing ever!" Sora flew up after his friend, both teens summoning their Keyblades. Some of the Battleships noticed the Keyblade wielders approaching, the Heartless now focused on their biggest threat than their easy to catch prey. The Heartless airships began firing at them with their cannons, the explosions evaded as the stallions closed in. The Air Pirates flew in first, their speed far faster than the airships as they tried to ram into them. They were slashed through as soon as they made contact with their weapons, but as they were the distraction, the Battleships began to charge up, the rotors whirring loudly as they rammed into Sora and Riku. From the sound of the battle, the other recruits noticed the Heartless and panicked, forgetting about their cloud busting for the sake of their lives. Spitfire spotted the black creatures, now doing her part as a Wonderbolts leader to guide her recruits and the rest of the staff to a safer place, cutting off the exercise until the coast was clear. On the other end of the sky, Rainbow and Lightning were oblivious to the evacuation and the dangerous creatures of darkness as they bucked their hundredth cloud total. "We're gonna beat the others by a landslide," Lightning said. As they took a small break, she noticed that all the recruits were nowhere to be seen in the sky. "Speaking of, where did they go? Probably gave up and knew who the real future Wonderbolts are." "I don't think that's it, Lightning," Rainbow said, knowing there was something definitely wrong. An Air Pirate suddenly appeared before her, startling the pegasi as Rainbow quickly flew back. "Heartless!" "Heartless? Are those things really called that? Lame." Rainbow Dash growled in frustration, getting sick of her new "friend's" attitude. More appeared around them, trapping them, though while Rainbow was more cautious getting too close to them after a couple encounters with them in the past, Lightning was too cocky to even care about her own life. "Hey, how about we create a big tornado and make them dizzy? We can also get rid of all these clouds and beat the rest of the pegasi." "You're seriously thinking about winning when we're about to be killed by these things!?" The turquoise mare just leered at her, the Air Pirates getting closer and closer. Spitfire's words to her the other day about why Lightning Dust was chosen as lead pony over her repeated in her head. Rainbow Dash wanted to be noticed and be the best, and knew that creating a large tornado could hurt someone, but since there was no one else aside from Sora and Riku dealing with the Battleships, it was the only chance they had to save themselves from the Heartless surroundingthem. "...Alright, fine. Let's do it!" "Finally! Just follow my lead!" The two pegasi began to fly around quickly in a tight circle, shifting the air around them and began to form a tornado. They flew out more and expanded it, the Air Pirates too slow to fly back as they were sucked into the vortex, along with the several puffy clouds around them. Lightning's plan did work, disorienting the Heartless as they were smacked in the face by the clouds, but the two mares were moving too fast and began to wobble in their flight. "I can't control it! Too much speed!" Lightning was the first to get swept up in the twister, smacking into Rainbow Dash as the tornado ran out of control, veering off in a random direction. Thankfully, the pegasi were tossed out while the Heartless stayed inside. Back with Sora and Riku, they managed to destroy the Heartless that targeted them, both teens panting heavily after dealing with the Battleships. "I hate those stupid airship Heartless!" Sora complained. "The worst kind of enemy are always the ones that fly around too much!" "No kidding." Taking this moment to breathe, Riku noticed a sudden change in wind currents, looking over to the source and spotted a tornado in the distance. "Uhh, does Equestria have naturally made tornadoes or do they come and go like in other worlds?" "Huh?" Sora looked over in the direction of the dangerous tornado, and floating up in the distance was a familiar looking balloon. Inside the basket, he gasped when he saw their friends and Kairi in the hot air balloon, and the tornado was heading straight for them. "Oh no! The girls are gonna get swept up in the tornado!" Thinking quickly, Sora pulled out one of his summon charms, one that had a golden lamp on it. "Genie, I need your help!" The pendant flashed brightly, and appearing in a puff of blue smoke, the magical blue genie appeared before them, wearing an outfit similar to Sora's, though it was blue like his skin. "Finally! I thought you would have never called me to help, Sora. I mean, don't get me wrong, Agrabah's an ok kind of place with Al and all, but still-" "Genie, less talky! More helpy!" The teen pointed at the twister, the balloon caught inside and tearing it to shreds. Genie gasped, leaping out of his clothes as he saw the ponies screaming and flailing as they fell from the very deadly height. "Cute little animals falling to their doom!? Not on my watch!" While Sora and Riku flew after them, Genie teleported down far beneath where the mares were falling. He created a few clones of himself and changed a nearby cloud into a large trampoline, the several Genies scrambling in the air to get underneath them. "Ok, move it this way!" "No, they're falling over here!" one clone said. "You're too far over! Back up a little!" another said. "Wait, who's back? Is it Jafar?" another asked. "I meant move back!" the previous clone corrected. Genie finally got himselves into position, the mares landing and stretching the cloudy surface as they landed to a stop. No longer falling, the mares looked around them, surprised to see a few blue bipedal creatures holding the trampoline that ceased their descent. "Hello! I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie greeted, but before the Genie could introduce himself, the mares bounced back up high into the air. "Whoops. Too much bounce," Genie said. He looked at his other clones, all of them just standing around and staring at them. "Well, don't just stand there! Grab them!?" "Oh! Right!" The Genies flew up to save the ponies. As they flew after them, Sora and Riku made it to them thanks to Genie's assistance, Sora catching Kairi, Riku catching Twilight, and the Genies' saving the other mares. "You girls pick the wrong time to be caught in the middle of an unnecessary weather drill." The tornado above them finally stopped, the Air Pirates snapping out of their dazes as they looked down at the ponies and Genie clones. Before they could think about flying down at the unsuspecting ponies, one Genie appeared in front of them. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid Heartless aren't on the list." He snapped his fingers, sharp blades of air stabbing through the Heartless and slaying them into hearts, floating up and disappearing into the heavens. With the Heartless gone, they flew back up to the academy to safely place the non-pegasi on the stretch of flat land on the top of the mountain, Fluttershy having completely forgotten she had wings as she sheepishly grinned. The Genie clones disappeared, leaving the real one standing next to Sora. Now that the academy was safe, Spitfire, the instructors, and recruits left the safety of the buildings and approached them, along with Rainbow Dash after noticing her friends were in danger. "Guys! I'm so glad you're ok!" She looked up at the tall savior, the rest of the ponies also staring at him with curiosity. "Thanks for helping...uhh...What are you?" "Name's Genie, formerly of the magic lamp!" he introduced. "If Sora didn't call me in time, I don't know what I would do if I let cute little ponies like you get hurt. Or worse!" Genie teleported behind Pinkie Pie, picking her up and hugging her tightly. "Who would want to throw colorful little equines out of a hot air balloon!?" "They were caught in a tornado," Sora corrected. "...Oh. Right." He let Pinkie down, patting her poofy mane. "What are you guys even doing here?" Rainbow asked. "We were going to give you, Sora, and Riku a care package, but we didn't think y'all would be in the middle of a tornado drill," Applejack responded. "More like a Heartless attack," Riku said. "That was awesome!" Lightning exclaimed, everyone looking at the pegasus, apparently too excited to realize someone could have been killed, whether by falling from several thousand feet in the air or by the Heartless. "Are you kidding me!?" Rainbow questioned, finally having enough. "My friends nearly fell to their deaths, and you think that was awesome!?" "...Well, they didn't, so no harm, no foul." Many of the recruits' jaws dropped in shock, while Rainbow Dash, Sora, and Riku glared at Lightning Dust. "And we cleared the clouds too! The others are going to spend weeks just to get as many clouds as we did." "Ok, that's it! I've had enough of this!" Riku said, getting in the cocky mare's face. "I'm sick and tired of your attitude! You sassed your superior the first day, got your partner injured without caring about her safety, wiped out the rest of your squad because of your impatience to pass a simple obstacle course, and you have total disregard for the safety of others over that tornado you recklessly unleashed!" "...So, what's your point?" Lightning asked, still oblivious to the negative actions she had done. "Riku's point is that what you've done in the past should have given you more punishment than reward." Spitfire walked past her recruits and stood before Lightning Dust, taking off her shades. "I was too focused on picking the right pegasi who had the attitude and skills we need for a future Wonderbolt, but after seeing those black creatures attack and almost harm the ponies I'm responsible for, I regret letting you off the hook after seeing what you had to show. You disregarded your own teammate's well-being, almost got the others injured in the aerial obstacle course, and that tornado could have caused some serious damage to anypony unfortunate in its way, especially when those monsters showed up and could have done a lot worse!" "Hey, Rainbow Dash helped me make that tornado, too!" Lightning argued. "Because she was following her objective as a wingpony, that tornado was your plan from the get-go. I made a mistake making you lead pony, Lightning Dust." Spitfire grabbed the gold medal on Lightning's outfit and tore it off, along with part of her training outfit. "You are hereby expelled from the Wonderbolts Academy for the reckless behavior that I should have dealt with the moment you talked back to me. Now, get out of here, and don't come back until you decide to be a team player and prove you're the best in the right way, if I consider allowing you back!" With the stern glares from everyone, Lightning couldn't utter a response as she dejectedly walked away, being escorted off the premises by a couple of the instructors. As she left, Spitfire pulled out the small piece of fabric off the pin, replacing Rainbow Dash's silver medal and giving her the status of lead pony. "Huh?" Rainbow stared at her idol, completely speechless. She looked over at Sora and Riku, giving them an apologetic look. "The Wonderbolts are all about your team, where everypony matters. If one pony messes that up, then the entire group would end up suffering for it, just like day one. Though, next time I find a severe punishment for somepony like her, I'll make sure it's something everypony will suffer with. And Rainbow Dash, you deserve to be lead pony. Can I count on you to be a justifiable leader, not just for your partner, but for your whole team?" Unable to find her voice, Rainbow's wings fluttered with excitement as she grinned widely, only able to salute as her answer to the Wonderbolts captain. "Good. Now get up there and give me twenty!" "Yes, ma'am!" The cyan mare flew up, along with the rest of the recruits as they saluted to their squad leader, flying off to do their laps. "Wait! Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie shouted, pulling out a hastily made box out of her mane. "You, Riku, and Sora didn't open your care package yet! How will you remember us again if you don't open it!" "A care package? Was that the reason why you girls tried to get here?" Riku asked, the mares all nodding their heads. The silver-haired teen sighed, rubbing his temples. "It's only been three days, and she misses us that desperately?" "Hey. Free gifts aren't a bad thing," Sora said. "And it's Pinkie Pie. You know her." "Sadly, I still don't." Riku shook his head, watching Sora try to take the care package from Pinkie, only for the mare to flee from him until he, Riku, and Rainbow Dash were down on the ground with her to open it up. With Rainbow Dash continuing her training, Sora and Riku decided to head back to Ponyville with the others, no longer needed to help assist with training the recruits. The training wasn't as hard as they expected it to be, but if they weren't there, the Heartless could have gotten all of the ponies in the academy. With Genie's assistance, the magical deity created a large magic carpet for them, dressed as a stewardess as he instructed the passengers to keep all hooves, tails, and muzzles inside the carpet at all times, taking control and driving them all back home. The other mares thought of Genie like a nicer version of Discord, and unlike the draconequus, he doesn't cause chaos everywhere he goes and is as random as Pinkie Pie, which he seemed to take a liking to. As they arrived in Ponyville, Genie spoke into a microphone, his voice reverbing around everyone as the carpet slowly landed. "Thank you all for flying Air Genie. Please remain seated until the carpet makes a complete stop, and we hope you enjoyed our lovely service." "I'll say!" Pinkie said as she scarfed down a bag of popcorn Genie had created with his magical power as in flight meals for them. "How come you didn't invite Genie over soon, Sora!? He's amazing!" "Oh, stop, Pinkie Pie. You're going to make me turn red in embarrassment." The carpet landed in front of the Golden Oak Library, disappearing as it settled onto the ground. "Unfortunately, it seems as though my summon time is about up, and I hate to leave such a bright and colorful land." Appearing in his hand in a puff of smoke was a slip of paper, and in the other, a pen. "I better write down the address of this world and plan my vacation days here." "Equestria has an address?" Twilight asked out of curiosity. "Of course!" After writing down the "address" of the world, the paper turned into a book, filled with the locations of other worlds he's visited after he was freed from his lamp. "And there are so many out there. Some exciting! Some creepy. Some...questionable..." Genie turned the book around, showing a page that had a somewhat similar look to Equestria, but the inhabitants in the pictures were realistic looking cartoon equines, almost like the same face one of the clone Pinkie's made when they tried to find the real one. "This world...I'd recommend staying away from. Far out in the cosmos, and for good reason." "...We'll take your word for it, Genie." Eventually, the summoning had run out as Genie waved goodbye before disappearing. "When he comes to visit, I'm gonna throw him an amazing welcome party when he comes by on his vacation!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Now, what type of Saddle Arabian style should I decorate it for his party?" "He's better company than Discord, that's for sure," Rarity said. "I just hope he doesn't go too crazy with his magic." "Genie's as wild as Pinkie Pie, but he's a great friend," Sora said. "He used to grant wishes for anyone who finds his magic lamp, but since he's been freed, he's able to do whatever he wants after being kept prisoner for many years. Unlike Discord, where he was trapped in stone, unable to do anything, Genie stays trapped in his little cage until the owner of the lamp summons him, grants their three wishes, then gets forced back inside." "Wow. If anyone selfish used him, that's kind of sad," Fluttershy said. "I'm glad he's good and free from that awful life." Soon, everyone split up and headed back to their homes to relax after the mares nearly fell to their death. It was quite an odd few days for Sora and Riku to take part in helping the Wonderbolts recruits with their training, but they at least managed to keep a pony who had too much of an ego to care about safety among her peers before Spitfire thought it was a good idea to eventually hire a reckless liability. Halfway reaching Sweet Apple Acres, Sora froze, realizing he forgot something. "Oh, shoot! I didn't get a chance to go on the Dizzitron at the academy!" Sora whined as he sulked. "No fair!"