Boundaries

by Carapace

Chapter 2: Training

“You sure you don’t wanna take a break, Dash?” Twilight called from the finish line. “You’ve been at this for a while now!”

Though she gasped for breath, Rainbow shook her head. “Not… Not a chance!” she replied, her voice hoarse and throat stinging. “I can make this! What was my time on the last run?”

She watched Twilight heave a sigh and mumble something under her breath as she checked the stopwatch. “One minute, thirty-two seconds again, Dash! You were at thirty-one last time!”

A groan escaped her lips. “Oh, hit me with lightning! I’m going backwards!” She flopped onto the cloud and punched a hoof deep into the fluffy surface.

Spitfire’s stern frown came unbidden to the forefront of her mind. Sighing heavily, she reached into her uniform and pulled out her glasses, shaking her head as she slipped them over the bridge of her snout.

“Sorry, Dash. Looks like you’re still not ready. What a shame. Maybe next time, kid.”

Rainbow grit her teeth, grinding a hoof into the cloud base. “I’m going again!” she spat. “Reset the dang watch!”

The soft thudding of hooves made her ears flick. A hoof touched her back, right between her aching wings. “Rainbow, maybe we need to stop for a bit and let you take a breather,” Twilight said. “You’re doing well! Your control on your turns is getting much better!”

“Yeah. I know.” Rainbow sighed and pushed herself into a seated position. “Thanks, Twi. I just need to do it again. One more time, then I’ll take a break. I promise,” she added at the end, holding up a hoof to forestall an argument.

“Do you Pinkie Promise?” Pinkie’s voice asked from over her shoulder.

“Mother of Celestia!” Rainbow leapt into the air, her chest heaving. “Dang it, Pinkie Pie! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

Pinkie giggled and fell back into the balloon basket, kicking her hooves in the air. “But I was right here the whole time, Dashie!”

By her side, Applejack and Rarity rolled their eyes and moved to avoid her hooves.

“You were a million miles away again, dear,” Rarity said. “Really, you’re doing well! But I fear you’re going to run yourself more ragged than Applejack during Applebuck Season. Er…” she trailed off, a sheepish grin crossed her muzzle. “No offense, Applejack.”

To her credit, Applejack just shrugged. “Can’t argue it. Look, Sugarcube, we’re all pullin’ for ya.” She stole a glance over the side of the basket to the marketplace below, where the townsponies watched Rainbow practice as they went about their day—a result of Mayor Mare’s special permission. “But ya can’t do your best if ya don’t stop to refill and breathe a little.”

“I said I would… after one more run.” Rainbow forced herself to stand, wincing at the ache in her legs. Really need to watch how I land, what’s up with me? “Okay, time me, Twi. I’m getting it back down to one thirty-one this time.”

Sighing, Twilight nodded and took the stopwatch in her magic. “Alright, I’ve got it reset. This time, try to watch your turn leading to that last ring. I think that’s slowing you down a little.”

Rainbow nodded and took a deep breath as she made her way to the line. “Yeah, I need to make it a little tighter. I’m still trying to blaze through the thing.”

She glanced over the course set before her, eyes flitting to each ring as she waited for Fluttershy and the Weather Team to finish reshaping and moving them back into place. Groaning, she brought a hoof to her forehead when she saw her friend’s work. “Fluttershy! I’m supposed to be flying through a ring! Not a cloud Angel Bunny!”

A sheepish grin crossed Fluttershy’s muzzle. She folded her hooves behind her back and, with a weak giggle, set about correcting her mistake. “Sorry, Rainbow Dash! I just thought you might like something cute to look at while you flew…”

“Just—” Rainbow bit her lip and took a deep breath. She waved her hoof. “Just leave it, Flutters. Thanks for helping.”

“O-Oh. Um, are you sure? I can change it back if you—”

“It’s cool. Gives me something to hit.” Before Fluttershy could question her, Rainbow crouched low. “Ready, Twi?”

Twilight nodded, trotting up to the line. “I’ve got it reset. On your mark…”

Her knees tensed up, ready to push off.

“Get set…”

Don’t start off blazing so fast I have to slow it down in the middle, she reminded herself. Try to use my momentum to carry me through the first few, then I can just zip through the middle portion.

“Go!”

With practiced ease, Rainbow Dash sprinted forward and kicked off the cloud base then pitched forward, diving low. She flared out her wings and pulled back, using gravity to give her the momentum needed to shoot off toward the first ring.

Her mane flowed with the wind, the friction ran down her sides as she banked right and upward to glide toward the second ring. The moment she was through, Rainbow hit a hard left, throwing all her weight into it so she could turn and loop through the third ring.

Keep it up! She looked out of the corner of her eye, sweeping wide after she passed through. She ignored every bit of her instinct telling her to flap to go faster. Don’t break form or you’ll lose all your speed! Keep to the game plan!

She had to make it to turn four, then get a few quick flaps in to pick up speed to carry through the more perilous turns five, six, and seven—each would come almost one after the other, even tighter than the first four.

Rainbow shot through the ring, giving a mental cheer as she punched right through Cloud Angel’s stupid face, and began a spiraling turn upward. Her ears pinning back against her head under the force, she came out of her climb and flapped her wings as fast and as hard as she could. Come on, come on, come on! she chanted, drawing closer to the ring with each flap.

Her eyes flitted ahead to the next three rings—the first of which was almost parallel to the fourth in line. Hard bank left after this one, then down-right, then down-left. Taking a deep breath, she passed through the ring and pitched her body to the left, arching her back to help make it sharper. Not yet, don’t come out of it yet!

---

Her lungs burned, screaming for breath.

“Just a little further,” Rainbow ground out through gritted teeth, pushing as hard as she could against the heavy raincloud—filled extra at her request. Though her wings ached, she kept each of her wingbeats steady, carefully maintaining her practiced discipline. “Just a few more, then we get a break,” she whispered to them, as if she could coax just a bit more energy out. “We’ve got this.”

“You sure it’s a good idea to fill these up so much, Dash?” Thunderlane asked as he flew backwards alongside her, his brows knitted together in concern. “I know Carrot’s field needs a good rain because we had that order fall through last week, but you’re looking awful red in the face right about now.”

Without turning to face him, she replied, “No, I’ve got it. I need to do this by myself, Lane.”

He folded his hooves over his chest. “You’ve been doing this ‘by yourself’ for the past few days, Dash. Not one to complain that you’re doing a little extra, gives me more time to spend with Rumble. But this—” he waved a hoof at Rainbow and her oversaturated cloud “—isn’t gonna fly for much longer.”

“Oh, come on, Thunderlane!” she whined, wincing as she struggled to keep her wingbeats steady.

Thunderlane simply raised a sky blue brow in reply, his jaw set into a stern scowl as if to say “I’m not playing”.

Of course, now he wants to be serious. Couldn’t get him to suck it up when he had the feather flu on tornado day a couple years back, can’t get him to stop flirting with Flitter during work hours, but he’ll hover nearby and baby me.

Though, in fairness, he wasn’t alone. And a quick glance over her left shoulder confirmed it.

The twins, Cloudchaser and Flitter, were nearby, feigning as though they weren’t quite finished putting the cloud into place they’d been working on for the past five minutes. Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth were done with their loads, but hadn’t gone to punch their timecards just yet. Instead, they were loitering just overhead, talking about, of all things, the weather they’d just put together while staring down at her with concern plainly written across their faces.

Rainbow sighed and stopped pushing her cloud. “You guys know why I’m doing this.”

“Yeah, we do. And we’re all pulling for you, here. Especially the Weather Team.” Thunderlane’s glare softened. He flew close, laying a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Everypony in town is pulling for you, Dash. But you can’t overdo this or you’ll just end up hurting yourself.”

Her ears swiveled back to lay against her scalp. She looked down and away. “You sound like the girls,” she mumbled.

“They might’ve mentioned that you’ve been pushing yourself harder than ever. I don’t even think we’ve had to come looking for you during one of your naps!”

“Because I haven’t been napping, you dork! I’ve been training any time I’m not working!”

His scowl returned, his brows knit together. “You’ve turned work into training, Dash. That cloud’s heavy enough that two of us should be pushing it—you’re damn lucky we’re not under inspection.” Snorting, he flicked his tail in irritation. “You’re gonna pull a muscle in your wings or shoulders, both if you’re really unlucky.”

With a frustrated huff, Rainbow let go of the cloud and put her hooves on her hips. “I’m not stupid, Thunderlane! I know how hard I can push my body, and how far I can go before I have to stop! We both went through the Academy together, I know the same rules about training as you!”

“Oh yeah? Which of us crashes and burns more often because of some crazy stunt?” Rainbow winced, rubbing a hoof against her leg. A moment of weakness Thunderlane capitalized on; he drew in close, jabbing her chest. “You’re only a couple weeks out from tryouts, I’m not gonna let you waste all the effort you’ve put in, or all the extra training with Spitfire you keep bragging about—”

“Wasn’t bragging,” she mumbled in weak protest. “Just sayin’.”

“You were bragging, Dash. It’s what you do. That aside, I’m not letting you throw that away. Of all of us—” he swept a hoof out toward the team “—you got the invite to a tryout. Don’t waste a chance because you hurt yourself pushing too hard like a rookie! I just want you to be smart about it!”

Rainbow opened her mouth to reply. A retort, a boast that a mare as awesome as her couldn’t possibly get hurt because of some basic training routine—something like that fresh on the tip of her tongue. But she stopped short, her ears perked up at the last bit he’d said; words that rang oddly familiar…

“It’s designed to make you be smart in how you use your speed—remember what we talked about? Using a little strategy in that?”

It clicked.

Spitfire wanted her head in the game just as much as she wanted Rainbow in peak condition. No stupid, improvised stunts, no blazing through a track without any rhyme or reason.

She took in a deep breath through her mouth and exhaled slowly. “Okay,” she said, placing her hooves on the side of the cloud once again. “I’ll be smart. This is my last cloud.”

Thunderlane raised an eyebrow. “Promise?”

“Promise. Just do me a favor, would ya?” Rainbow tossed her head toward her wings. “Make sure I keep an even pace going?”

His lips curved up into a small smile. “You got it, Dash. Now get your rear in gear! You’ve still got another fifty lengths to go, and I’ve gotta pick Rumble up from school in ten minutes!”

Laughing, Rainbow pushed against the cloud, her determination renewed. Be fast, be agile, be in shape, and be smart.

She’d call it something cool—the Four Be’s, maybe. Whatever she chose, it was her new mantra. Look out, Wonderbolts, a new rookie was on the rise.

---

Three… two… one… hard left!

Rainbow pitched left the instant she passed through the ring, arching her back to help tighten her move. She grit her teeth, the force of the wind seemed like it was trying to tear her coat from her body.

Today was supposed to be a joint practice with Spitfire, but an unexpected meeting scuttled those plans. Fortunately, the Wonderbolts’ Captain went ahead and kept her spot booked on the track for an hour and left her a stopwatch to use.

Solo practice was no substitute for working with a Wonderbolt, but any time on the track was good for her chances.

As soon as she saw the next ring come into view, she leveled out and shot off like a rocket, straight through the hardest turn and into a series of tight maneuvers to make it through the course.

Down right! Down left! She shifted her weight to make her turns, her wings stayed level and her heart pounded in her ears like a beating drum. Wide sweeping turn left, then sharp right, then pull up and corkscrew left, then loop up, and then into the last dive!

Her breathing was more stable. The ache in her muscles was nothing more than a dull burn, the sensation that came with pushing herself to the very limit spurred her on to new heights.

I can do it!

She banked wide, her eyes locked on the ring ahead of her. Rainbow waited patiently for the opportune moment, she’d only have a split second to make her move—if it came too early, she’d have to readjust and risk losing valuable energy and speed in the process. Too late, and she’d have to fight to come back against the grain of the winds rushing past her face, and lose all her momentum.

Fly smart, Dash. Don’t go late, but don’t be too eager to peel off, Spitfire’s voice echoed in her head, speaking above the adrenaline-fueled flight pattern. Use your momentum to your advantage, go when you’re angled and ready.

“Just a little bit more,” she told herself, eyes narrowing to peer through her flight goggles. “Almost…”

Go!

She shot forward like a bolt from a crossbow. The corners of her mouth tugged into a grin, her ears pinned back at the whistling of the wind. Her angle was a little tight, all she’d have to do would be time a quick roll and turn, and she’d be on her way.

Three… two… one… roll!

Tucking her wings in, Rainbow twisted her body to the right and rolled as she sped through the ring, using the added momentum to help her lean into a right turn and zip through the next ring.

Up-left corkscrew, now!

A difficult maneuver, even for her. The speed Rainbow was flying at made the task of pulling back and pitching her body to the left in time to climb and angle herself off toward the ring feel like Applejack or Twilight had taken hold of her tail and were pulling back as hard as they could.

Her smile grew into a cocky smirk. “Sorry, girls! Not holding this mare down today!” With an extra heave, she pulled back and began to climb. Gravity and friction began to work against her, bringing her speed down to little more than a brisk glide—the very part that Spitfire warned her about.

Don’t panic, just turn into it.

All it took was a little pitch to the left to get herself lined up, and then several quick flaps of her wings to get her speed back. Only a little bit of distance, she thought, her breath quickening. Make each wingbeat count!

Pushing those clouds had prepared her for this; steady beats of her powerful wings sent her zipping through the deep blue sky, straight through the second-to-last ring with plenty of speed.

And all the momentum she needed for her loop-de-loop and dive.

Rainbow leveled her wings, then arched her back, climbing once more into a wide arc. On a whim, she stole a glance to the landing cloud below, watching in mute fascination as it seemed to get smaller and smaller the higher she went.

Focus, Dash, Spitfire’s voice scolded, just in time for Rainbow to adjust and see the ring before her. You’ve got a circuit to finish.

“Got it, Cap,” she muttered, letting herself soar upside down through the ring and then entered an inverted dive.

A quick roll and tuck of her wings righted her posture. Rainbow leaned forward, streamlining her body for the falcon dive on the final leg. Wind streamed off her sides, a contrail began to form just inches before her nose.

This was it! The thrill of the flight! A race against time and her own limits! Just her and the track!

Whistling, a shrill ringing in her ears, the friction rubbing against her coat, and her mane flowing behind her like a trail of liquid rainbow! She almost longed for this dive to take longer! If they moved her landing cloud down a bit more on the trial, she could take a moment to enjoy the adrenaline rush.

Focus!

She blinked. The cloud base was just ahead, she’d nearly overshot it.

With a snort, she flared her wings and pulled back to slingshot herself toward the line. Rainbow shot passed it, landing into a gallop and running out her remaining speed until she could turn and make a brisk trot over to a fluffed up patch where she’d stashed her water bottle and stopwatch.

“Heh, too bad Cap didn’t see that one!” Rainbow said to herself as she took the bottle in hoof and popped the stopper.

Grinning, she pictured the awestruck look that would’ve flashed across Spitfire’s face—just for an instant, but more than enough to set Rainbow’s wings aflutter and bring a squeal to the back of her throat.

Blazing orange eyes would be wide open, as if trying to take in every bit of the circuit she’d run. Her ears would stand straight up and her wings would twitch, ready to unfurl and take flight herself.

Rainbow snickered to herself. “She’d be picking her jaw up off the clouds for sure!”

“No fooling’!” Soarin’s voice called from somewhere to her right.

Rainbow turned, grinning at the sight of the easygoing Lieutenant trotting toward her. “Afternoon, Lieutenant!” she greeted breathily, raising her bottle. “Out for a practice run?”

He snorted and shook his head, patting his officer’s uniform. “We don’t do practice runs in these unless we’re doing sudden combat drills, Dash, you know that. Or, you would—” he narrowed his eyes in a show of mock sternness “—if I could ever get you to memorize your darn handbook!”

Rather than fire off a retort his way, Rainbow simply gave a cheeky grin and began guzzling her water. She had to fight back a giggle at how he sighed and brought a hoof to his forehead.

“Speed demons,” he groused, shaking his head. “You, Fleet, and Spits, I swear.” With a quick skyward glance to the sun, as if to ask Princess Celestia why he’d been saddled with the trio of mares, Soarin fixed her with an expectant look. “So, don’t be coy, what’s your time?”

She blinked. “Huh?”

“Your time, Dash. Y’know, for the trial run you just did.” He pointed to the stopwatch she’d left laying in the patch of clouds.

The very stopwatch she’d forgotten to stop.

“Gah!” Rainbow dropped her bottle and snatched up the watch in her hooves, hitting the red button as fast as she could. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Dang it!”

The face read two minutes and twenty-seven seconds; a time she’d have to toss out because she’d neglected to hit stop before she’d sat herself down.

Groaning and bringing her hooves up to massage her temples. “Ugh! I had it! I know I did! Stupid, stupid, stupid!”

Soarin chuckled, patting her on the back. “It’s alright, Dash. You had a heck of a run. I’d go as far as saying you pull one like that at tryouts, and you’re in.”

Her ears flicked, Rainbow’s head shot up. “You mean it?”

“What? You think I’d blow smoke up your rump after all the stuff you’ve done for me?” He nudged her shoulder, grinning as he lifted a hoof and held it under his wing. “But, if you must have a definitive number…” With a little rustle, a black stopwatch dropped into his hoof.

Rainbow gaped, the corners of her mouth tugged into a full-blown grin. “You were timing me?”

“My part in the meeting turned out to be me walking in and telling the higher ups the Academy hadn’t been wrecked by the latest batch.” Soarin rolled his eyes. “Waste of my flippin’ time, but orders are orders. Anyway, Cap caught me before I left and asked me to time a couple of your runs for her. She didn’t say to tell you, but she also didn’t say not to.”

“Lieutenant Soarin,” Rainbow said, giving him her biggest and brightest filly eyes, “have I ever mentioned that you’re my favorite Wonderbolt ever?”

“You could stand to mention it more. Now, Cadet—” he playfully emphasized the word, glancing at his watch “—your time on that last run…” he trailed off, leaning in and turning an ear toward her for effect.

She sighed. “Really? Dramatic buildup on this?”

“We’re showponies, Dash. Get used to it. Oh, that run you just made? A minute and twenty-nine. Make it a constant.” Soarin stowed his stopwatch away in his uniform, a fond smile played upon his lips. “If you show Fleet, Misty, and I that in a week, I’ll be sending you to get fitted for a uniform and flight suit.”

The urge to squeal, to leap up, flare her wings, and bounce on the cloud nearly overtook her. Her personal awesome scale was very nearly cast aside in favor of the nigh unstoppable urge to do backflips through the air in front of one of her heroes-turned-friend-slash-mentor.

Instead, Rainbow restrained herself to a grin and nod. “Thanks, Lieutenant Soarin,” she said, unable to keep the sheer excitement out of her voice. “I’ll make sure not to disappoint you guys.”

Soarin nodded. “I’m sure the others’ll be glad to hear it. Good luck, Rainbow Dash.” He turned and made to walk away, but stopped after a couple steps, turning to glance over his shoulder. Looking her up and down as if surveying her, he tilted his head to the side. “Y’know, other than the qualifiers, I never got to see you all-out train before today. The Academy was Cap’s little project back when you were going through it, I just ran the reserves through their paces once they came up.”

She stayed silent, blinking in muted confusion. Where exactly was he going with this? More appraisal for her hard work?

“Sorry, rambling. I do that a bit.” Chuckling, Soarin reached into one of his pockets and pulled out his standard issue shades. With a flick of his hoof, he opened them up and slipped them on. “Just thinking that I’ve never seen a prospect garner this much attention from her. You two spend a ton of time on the track together, these days.”

Rainbow shifted in place, rubbing a hoof against her shoulder. “She’s just pushing me, y’know? Just training.”

“I know. I don’t mean anything by it, Dash. Just noticed that when you’re here, you two are working out together. It’s cool.” He adjusted his shades, turning to walk away again. “Get yourself a good shower and head home, I’ll let Cap know how you did. She’ll be over the moon—well, in her own quiet way.”

“Yeah. Thanks again, Lieutenant.” She snapped a smart salute, earning a nod as he trotted.

Rainbow moved to pick up her water bottle, but stopped short. Soarin’s words still echoed within the depths of her mind.

“I’ve never seen a prospect garner this much attention from her.”

They had been training together quite a bit. Each day, Rainbow would rise to whatever challenge put in front of her, and Spitfire would critique and offer a few helpful hints to how she could shave off a few seconds, or fine tune a roll in that one part of the routine her form always slipped on.

And each day, little by little, Spitfire had started to smile a bit more, showing more of the friendly mare Rainbow met at the Best Young Flyers Competition and Grand Galloping Gala a couple years back, rather than the stoney-faced, gruff Captain of the Wonderbolts.

Spitfire did seem to Rainbow in higher esteem than a lot of the reserve candidates… Especially after that debacle with Wind Rider.

Maybe she—

Rainbow shook her head. With a little rustle of her wings, she snatched up her bottle and stopwatch. Don’t read too much into it, she scolded, trotting away and tossing her sweaty mane. Make the team first, then figure that out. It goes hoof-in-hoof, anyway.

---

Deep breaths. You’ve got this. Don’t hurl. Don’t hurl! Don’t you freaking dare—

Her stomach lurched. Rainbow Dash leaned over the bowl of her toilet and opened her mouth to empty the contents of her stomach.

—hurl. You’re such a pansy.

She groaned, wiping the back of her hoof across her lips and casting a baleful glare into the puddle of sick. “Ugh, that was horrible. Wait, carrots?” she asked, blinking in confusion. “Why carrots? Why is it always carrots? I didn’t even eat freaking carrots!”

Another wave of nausea hit her, she toppled sideways, only just managing to catch herself before she collapsed to the floor of her cloud house.

After weeks of rigorous training, the day had come. First, it had seemed like it was an entire lifetime away. The days crawled by, like a snail across the dusty trail leading into Ponyville.

Then, without warning, it was the week of tryouts. Time had sped forward, as if Discord snapped his fingers and made the hourglass of the world appear before him so he could shake it up and empty all the sand to the very bottom.

Of course, Fluttershy would swear up and down that he did no such thing. Discord was “reformed”, she’d say. He pranked and teased, but he would never do something so terrible as mess with somepony’s time.

Rainbow snorted, pushing herself to her hooves. Her legs trembled, her wings clamped firm against her side.

“Today’s the day,” she muttered, anticipation and trepidation mixing in her voice. The very day she’d been waiting for since she saw her first Wonderbolts show as a filly had come at last. It was her big day.

So why, then, did a part of her wish she could push it back just one more day? Maybe even two?

“Are you okay in there, Rainbow?” Twilight called through the bathroom door.

Sighing, she called back in a weak voice, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just ate something weird, I think.”

There was a moment’s pause, then the tinkling of magic. The latch clicked, the door pushed open to reveal Twilight Sparkle. Her lips curved into a tiny frown and eyebrows knit together in concern. “You look terrible,” she said.

Rainbow gave a mirthless laugh. “Gee, thanks. You really know how to make a mare feel good, Twi.”

“I try.” Twilight trotted forward and laid a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulders. She offered a kind smile. “Are you worried?”

“M-Me? Worried?” Scoffing, Rainbow waved a hoof at her. “Ha! Worrying is for losers! Worrying is for ponies who don’t have Captain freaking Spitfire’s eye! I mean, it’s just a lifelong dream, easily comparable to Rarity wanting to break into the fashion industry and stuff.” The hoof began to shake, searching for her shoulder and rubbing. “A-And it’s not like this could be my one and only shot at this, y’know! It’s just a silly tryout, right? Even if one wrong move could—”

A purple hoof pressed against her lips. “You’ll do great, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said. There was no uncertainty in her voice, no sense of doubt.

Rainbow couldn’t help but ask. “B-But what if—”

“You’re going to do great, Rainbow. I know it. For all the reasons you just said, and because I’ve come to know you well enough that I know you deliver when it matters most.” Her deep purple eyes shone, her smile broadened into a wide grin. “And I know you’re going to go to that tryout and knock their socks off!”

“Socks aren’t a part of the uniform, they haven’t been since—”

The hoof pressed against her lips again. Twilight sighed. “Of course you become a history buff at the most inopportune time.”

She gave a weak smile. “Sorry. Just nerves, y’know?”

“Yeah.” Twilight returned the smile, giving a fond shake of her head. She pulled Rainbow into a tight hug, nosing against her cheek. “You’re going to do great, though. Just remember to breathe, pace yourself, and don’t lose focus.” She drew back and dropped down the floor, then turned to walk out. “Come on, everypony’s waiting on ground level to see you off.”

“Everypony, huh?” Rainbow ran a hoof through her mane and struck a pose, flaring her wings like she’d seen Spitfire do on a poster once. “Excited to see the Dash get her shot, eh?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. Mayor Mare and I spent half the morning arguing with Pinkie Pie. She wanted to throw you a pre-tryout party—whatever those are supposed to be.”

Snorting, she folded her wings and trotted over to meet Twilight. “Aw, you should’ve let her! I’d have loved to see it!”

“Sorry, but I thought it would be best if I didn’t let Pinkie fill you up with cake before your big tryout. I doubt it would go too well if you were feeling sick. Er. More sick than you just were.”

Rainbow gave a shaky laugh, her cheeks coloring a rosy pink. “Yeah. Right.”

The pair made their way outside, the warmth of the summer sun washed over Rainbow’s body like flowing water. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly through her mouth. Today’s the day.

Unfurling her wings, she leapt off the cloudy porch and glided down to meet the gathered ponies, with Twilight following close behind. She touched down on the lush green grass, which tickled the bottom of her hooves for the briefest of moments before a pink and fuschia blur bowled her over, babbling at a mile a minute.

“Pinkie!” she wheezed, kicking her hind legs in a vain attempt to escape her friend’s clutches. “Can’t breathe!”

“Oopsie-daisy!” Pinkie released her hold and hopped to her hooves. “Sorry, Dashie! I’m just so excited! And nervous! I’m nervo-cited!” She pranced in place, giving a high-pitched squeal. “It’s here, it’s here, it’s heeeeeeeeeere! Are you excited? I’m excited! I can’t wait! You’re finally gonna do it!”

Rainbow chuckled and pushed herself up into a seated position. “Whoa, there, girl! I’ve still gotta go to tryouts! Then I have to make the dang team. We’ll party if I get in, okay?”

Pinkie jumped back, gasping and bringing a hoof to her chest. “‘If’? ‘If’? ‘If’ is not definitive! ‘If’ implies a chance of failure! That is not winner-type talk, Dashie!” She covered her ears, singing as loud and obnoxiously as she could, “Lalalalala! I do not hear this non-winning-type-Dashie-talk!”

Laughter rippled through the crowd. Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy stepped forward, each grinning as they approached.

“Ready, Dash?” Applejack asked, frank as ever.

She gave a stiff nod and crooked smile in turn. “Yeah. Just gonna go out and give it my all. And, y’know, hope I don’t make a fool of myself like I did for half the Best Young Flyers show.”

Rarity clicked her tongue. “You mean the same show in which you saved my life? Dear, this is your big moment! Your grand stage! You must take to the skies with all the fervor and passion with which you’ve pursued your goals, and—”

“Um, Rarity?” Fluttershy cut her off and pointed to Rainbow, whose smile grew rather strained. “I, um, don’t think that’s helping.”

“Oh. Well. Quite right.” Tossing her mane, she gave a sheepish grin. “You’ll do wonderfully, Rainbow. I believe in you.”

Twilight placed a hoof on her back. “And so do I.”

“Ooh! Me three!”

“I make four, Dash.”

“And—And me, too! So, um, five.” Fluttershy ducked her head, smiling shyly she whispered, “I’ve always known you could, even since we were fillies.”

With her friends surrounding her, each smiling and reaching to tussle her mane, nudge shoulders, or catch her in a firm hug, Rainbow ducked her head and bit her lip to hide a watery smile. “Dang it, you guys! I’ve got a rep, and you’re ruining it, and I just don’t even care!” She threw her hooves out wide, catching them all in a tight embrace.

Five mares giggled and returned the hug, holding her tight for a moment before they let go and stepped back.

“Go get ‘em, Dash,” Applejack said, tipping her hat. “Chase down that dream of yours as best you can, sugarcube. We’ll be waitin’.”

“Eager to hear how it went,” Rarity added.

“And ready to party!” Pinkie threw a hoof-full of confetti over the group.

Rainbow brushed bits of paper and streamer out of her mane, trying her best to hold back a broad grin. “Next time you see me, you’ll all be friends with a Wonderbolt—fully fledged, no more reserves! And there’d better be cider at that party!”

Applejack nodded. “You make it, I’ll make sure there’s a full barrel with your name on it.”

With an excited swish of her tail, Rainbow laughed “Best start filling it, then, farmer-girl! Once I make the squad, I’m gonna guzzle that cider before Pinkie tries to snag it!” She stopped, casting a quick glance at the mare in question. “Uh, Pinks? You don’t mind if I have you hold off on that party until tomorrow, right? If I make it in—”

“When!” Pinkie corrected, jabbing a hoof at her and fixing her with a wild-eyed stare.

“Right.” Rainbow gave a sheepish chuckle and considered what to tell them. Best keep the dinner thing to myself or Rares is gonna want to pick an outfit. Yeah-no. “Y’see, when I make it in, the Bolts have some tradition where they take the newbies out for drinks. And Cap says there’s no way I’m getting out of it.”

Pinkie beamed. “No problem-o, Dasheroo!” She winked, her grin growing wide enough to nearly split her muzzle. “That just means I get to make the party even bigger than before!”

Bingo. “Sounds like a plan!” Giving Pinkie a quick hoofbump, Rainbow took to the sky and gave a the crowd jaunty salute. “See you all later!”

Like a bolt fired from a crossbow, she took off, the wind rushed by her ears, drowning out the cheers and shouts of good luck. She closed her eyes as she climbed, her mind focused on her goal.

I’ve got this. Rainbow allowed herself a small, but confident smile. Her wings pumped faster and faster, excitement overriding any sense of worry or hesitation in her being.

She angled herself off to the northwest, flying over fields of green and rolling hills. Off her right side, she watched as Mount Canterhorn’s visage seemed to rise from the ground to greet her, as if the city she’d visited, and saved, with her friends were giving a silent salute as it shone in the bright sunlight.

Turning her attention forward, Rainbow arched back to climb above the first of a sea of clouds. If she looked close enough, she could already see some of them bearing the works of pegasus cloud-sculpting; shaping and moulding them into lavish houses for the pegasi, yellow light glowing from within. She could see mothers walking out with little foals carried on their backs, ready for school.

Her destination was a place those little ones could only dream of.

Rainbow soared above the tops of the cloud buildings, weaving to her right to allow the Cloudsdale Weather Team’s morning shift to fly out to send their shipments across the nation. She spared a nod to her fellow workers, though, mentally, told herself that they wouldn’t be her colleagues for much longer.

Up ahead in the distance, there was one patch of cloud sitting higher than the rest. One she knew all too well from weeks of training, and years spent falling asleep at night with the dream of calling it her home.

The Wonderbolts’ Skybase. Almost sacred ground for any pegasus who dared to dream big enough.

She almost didn’t feel her hooves touching down on the clouds, her feathers twitched with anticipation as she trotted into the locker rooms.

To her surprise, Spitfire was waiting for her. She stood, leaned up against Rainbow’s locker, her shades hung from the collar of her well-pressed officer’s uniform. Those brilliant orange eyes locked with Rainbow’s.

“Ready?” she asked, her voice low and gravelly as ever.

Licking her lips, Rainbow gave a single, resolute nod, not even daring to try to speak.

Spitfire nodded in kind, then pushed herself off the locker and trotted by. She stopped, glancing out of the corner of her eye. A small smile played upon her lips. “You’ve got Soarin’, Fleetfoot, and Misty Fly judging. Knock ‘em dead, Rainbow Dash.” Facing forward, she trotted passed Rainbow and through the open doorway.

With the locker room to herself, Rainbow let her eyes fall on the flight suit hanging up in her locker; the traditional blue and gold of the Wonderbolts greeted her, the form-fitting half-suit of the Academy Cadets and Reserves, and a pair of flight goggles were waiting.

She took a deep breath and placed a hoof on the suit, taking it off the hanger with a little rustle of her wings. “Showtime,” she muttered, slipping her right hoof into one of the leg holes. The uniform stretched and moulded around her leg, hugging tight against her form. Her left followed, then she pulled it over her head and, with a little tug, slipped it over her midsection.

Rainbow gave pause to fix her mane as best she could, grimacing at how the suit always made the ends stick up. “Rarity would have a fit if she saw,” she muttered. With great reverence, she lifted the flight goggles off their place on the hook and slipped them over her head, letting the lenses rest on top—the same way all the greats liked to leave them when they weren’t in flight.

Bouncing on her hooves, she took a deep breath and began to go through her stretches.

Deep breaths, she reminded herself as she slowly unfurled her wings to their fullest extent, then went through a few wingbeats. Don’t panic, don’t overthink it. Just pretend it’s any other flight, and leave it all on the track.

So many years spent dreaming of this day, countless hours spent training, all of it for this day.

Nerves? Nerves were for ponies who weren’t ready. Nerves were for ponies who didn’t eat, sleep, train, and repeat in the name of making themselves ready for the big time.

A grin spread across her muzzle. Rainbow folded her wings and crouched low, springing up, then landing nimbly on her hooves. She was more than ready, she was Rainbow freaking Dash—the most naturally gifted flyer in all the land, with drive and passion that made even her heroes stop and take notice. Not to mention a pretty dang awesome mare with some equally awesome friends backing her, all waiting for her to come home and tell them all about how she’d finally done it.

“I’ve never seen a prospect garner this much attention from her.” Soarin’s voice echoed, turning her thoughts to the very mare she’d made her bet with.

The cloud wall before her seemed to mould and shape itself into a perfect replica of Spitfire’s face, her lips curved into a smile, her eyes shining with pride and something else, as if she knew some great secret she was just dying to tell.

It was that same look she’d given Rainbow just two weeks ago.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins, her tail swished in excitement as she pulled the door open and stepped out into the warm sunlight again. She had to look down and smile at the way Wonderbolt blue and gold seemed to gleam in the light, like a shining star burning brighter, even in the day.

Ahead she saw them—Fleetfoot, Misty Fly, and Soarin, all seated at a table, which was adorned with a cloth bearing the familiar golden bolt and white wing crest. Curiously enough, Soarin was dressed in his Class A officer uniform, while Fleetfoot and Misty were in their flight suits, with their goggles at rest on their foreheads.

When she came into view, Fleetfoot offered a small, polite smile and nod, while Soarin favored a grin and a jaunty wave in her direction.

Her eyes darted left and right, scanning the cloud line for any sign of yellow coat and fiery orange mane. She found it a short distance away; Spitfire rested with her head in her hooves and shades covering her eyes, reclined on a patch of cloud she’d likely torn off or commandeered from the auto-cloud machine. Though her posture was relaxed, the telltale swishing of her tail and twitching of her feathers brought a grin to Rainbow’s face.

She’s looking forward to this.

“This is my time,” she whispered, trotting up to stand before them, awaiting their command.

As the highest ranking officer at the table, Soarin stood first, with a sheet of paper in hoof, followed by Fleetfoot and Misty. “Cadet Rainbow Dash,” he began, reading from the script, “welcome to the Official Wonderbolts’ Selection Test. This is a comprehensive examination that focuses on testing four main aspects of stunt flying: speed, agility, teamwork, and endurance. The test, likewise, will be in four parts. You will be allowed a brief water break between the first and second, and third and fourth tests, along with a fifteen minute rest once you’ve finished the second test. First up is a straight hundred yard dash, which you’ll go through three times, taking your best score as your final.

“For your second test, First Lieutenant Fleetfoot will select one of the basic Academy stunt routines for you to run through. You’ll have one ‘practice’ run, which we’ll score you on. If you’re satisfied with that score, you can opt to keep it and move on, but most choose to take a second run at it. Downside is, you’ll be stuck with your second score in that event, so choose wisely. For the third test, we have two of our seniors, Staff Sergeant Rapidfire and Master Sergeant Firestorm on standby to run through a team routine from the Academy book with you; same rules as test two for scoring.”

He paused, his eyes flitted to meet hers. His lips curved into a knowing smile, his eyes danced with an almost challenging light.

Rainbow smirked right back at him, daring him to read it out.

Soarin happily obliged. “The fourth, and final, part is the timed obstacle course. You’ll only get one attempt at this one, Cadet, so your time is final. Rules for the times—”

A whistle made his ear—and Rainbow’s as well—flick. Four heads turned, in perfect unison, to face Spitfire. The Wonderbolts’ Captain lowered her shades to the bridge of her nose and raised an eyebrow at him, her brilliant orange eyes bored into his deep forest green, giving silent command.

“Er, right,” he said, rubbing at the back of his neck as he turned back to his script. “Sorry, normally Captain Spitfire reads this off. Your minimum time to make the team is one minute and thirty seconds. To make it as an alternate, the minimum is one minute and forty-five seconds.” Soarin placed the script down on the table and looked up to meet Rainbow’s gaze. “Do you understand the rules as I’ve read them out to you, Cadet?”

“Yes, sir!” she replied.

“Any questions before we begin?”

“No, sir!”

“Very good.” Soarin’s smile returned. He nodded, then sat down. “Let the test begin.”

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