Broken Wings

by Colonel Walther

Chapter 2 - "The Whitest Flower"

A couple of hours later, Skybird was sitting by the hospital stairs, her face resting on her arms. She was crying in desperation, her heart was in agonizing pain. A stream of clean, shining tears rolled down her cheek like small shining diamonds. She hugged herself with her wings like a young bird scared of the outside world. Anna Belle was sitting next to Skybird trying to calm her down. She laid her hoof on Skybird's shoulder to comfort her friend. Both of them didn't say a word. Anna Belle wasn't quite sure what to say in such a situation. She might unwillingly hurt Skybird's feelings if she chose the wrong words, so she decided to remain silent. Although, even if she were to say anything, it would be hard to make herself heard with all the background noise from the medical staff walking up and down the stairs.

A few minutes later, Anna Belle managed to take Skybird to the locker room. Skybird's was almost out of tears to cry, but her sad gaze still met the floor. Skybird felt she had lost everything. Nothing that night could help her overcome the pain of her mother's death. She was very close to her mother since the day she was born... And now, realizing her mother was gone forever, another pain crushed her heart: she felt it was all her fault. "If only I hadn't look at the stars, my mother would still be alive," she kept thinking.

The next day, after that dreadful night, Anna Belle got the day shift once again. She went to the hospital alone, with Skybird always in her mind. Still, she dully did her daily routine like if nothing had happened: after checking in, she had a cup of hot milk and some biscuits for breakfast at the canteen and went to the locker room to get dressed for work. When she opened the door she saw Skybird with her mane loose, picking up something from her locker.

"Hey, Skybird! How are you today? So, what are you doing in your locker?" Anna Belle asked with a worried tone.

"Hi, Anna Belle," replied Skybird with a soft voice, "I'm packing up my things. I'm leaving." Anna Belle was caught by surprise. "W-What... You're leaving?"

"Yes," she replied quickly. "I'm sorry, Anna Belle, but I don't want to stay here anymore. I just can’t. The only reason I had to stay was my mother. Just the thought of working at the hospital were she passed away..." Skybird paused and took a deep breath, letting out a small tear. "This place reminds me too much of her, and I need to detach myself from it. I can't keep working here thinking about her all the time."

"I understand... You don't have to apologise, Skybird, there's no reason for it." Anna Belle's fears were starting to become true and it showed in her voice. "Will I ever see you again?"

"I... I don't know, Anna Belle," Skybird said as she closed her locker. "I need to find another job first."

"I'll always be here at the hospital if you need me."

"With all due respect, the last place I want to visit is this hospital. Maybe some other place?"

"Yeah, sure. But I still need to finish my studies. When I'm not working I'm studying at home or at the university. I have very little free time."

"Right, right... I guess this is where we go our separate ways, then..." said Skybird with sadness.

"Is this a... farewell?"

"I’m afraid so..." replied Skybird with a bitter feeling.

"I really hope I'll see you again one day. Take care of yourself, my friend." Now it was Anna Belle’s turn to cry, small tears rolling down her cheek. "My dear, dear friend..."

"You too. I will never forget what you did for me, Anna Belle. Thank you."

The two mares hugged each other one last time, both with tears on their eyes, before waving each other goodbye. Skybird's life would never be the same again. Anna Belle watched her friend walk away from the hospital’s main entrance. In that particular moment, indeed in that particular moment of her life, she felt completely useless: the pony who used to help others, who used to put a smile on the faces of those who had lost all hope, couldn’t help her own friend. She knew this was the end of their friendship and there was nothing she could have done. Nopony knows who suffered the most between Skybird and Anna Belle, whose tears were the most bitter, the most painful. When Skybird disappeared into the horizon, Anna Belle began her day shift without her characteristic smile on her face.

During her journey back home, Skybird felt every step heavier than usual, walking slowly and always keeping her head down. Inside her house everything was kept like the day when her mother had left it. Skybird just couldn’t even look at her home's objects; everything reminded her of her mother. She threw away her bag and sat on the couch while starring on the floor, trying to avoid any kind of thoughts. She felt lost, depressed, and she had lost all appetite.

She had a lot of trouble trying to sleep. She was uncomfortably warm under the bed sheets, so warm she started to sweat and kept constantly rolling in her bed. Some more rolls later she gave up and went downstairs in her pajamas. She went into the kitchen and prepared a cup of tea. While the water was boiling, she noticed an old photo of herself and her mother. In the photo Sunflower was hugging Skybird from behind while smiling at the camera; the young Skybird looked happy and was looking at her mother, with her face facing her mother's cheeks. The photo's background was one of the fields where they used to spend time together, filled with daisies. Skybird began to smile, remembering all the happy times she spent with her mother. She touched Sunflower's mane on the photo like if she was really there.

Suddenly somepony popped out of nowhere and gave Skybird the fright of her life. "You're still awake? Don't you know that the night is the time when ponies sleep and the day is the time to be awake, and not the other way around?" Skybird's heart nearly stopped beating, but then she realized it was Merry Berry. She still felt shaken, laying the photo on the table without realizing it.

"Where did you come from?! And how could you tell from your home that I was awake?"

Merry Berry suffered from insomnia for a long time. She used to spend her insomnia time with Sunflower during Sunflower's free time from work.

"I've seen the lights from my window, so either you were awake or a burglar had broken into your house," replied Merry Berry sarcastically with a smile. Then she changed her tone with a friendly voice. "How are you?"

Skybird averted her eyes from Merry Berry's and focused on the boiler. "I'm fine..."

"No, you're not," interrupted Merry Berry in a serious tone, "I can see it in your eyes. It's about your mother, it has to be. Would you like to talk about it?"

"She's... dead, Auntie," replied Skybird feeling very sad.

"I already know that, her doctor told me. Tell you what, why don't we sit down first?"

Both sat at the kitchen table while Skybird filled a couple of teacups. She gently offered one to Merry Berry.

"Now then," Merry Berry started, "What are you feeling about your mother's death?"

"What am I feeling? I feel... destroyed. I'm filled with sorrow and guilt!"

"Guilt??" Merry Berry was surprised at that answer. "Why are you saying such a thing? It wasn't your fault, she had that disease for years!"

"My negligence killed her." Skybird voice got sadder and sadder. "I keep wondering if I hadn't looked at the stars that night like she asked me to she'd still be alive. I could have saved her..."

Merry Berry was confused. "She asked you to look at the stars?" She paused. "You do know that if you had saved your mother that night she would probably have lived for only a few more days..."

"Mommy said she felt happy by just looking at the stars, and she wanted me to look at the stars together," Skybird insisted.

"Did she ask you anything else before she asked you to look at the stars?"

Skybird was confused at the question, she didn't understand what Merry Berry was going for. "Well, she also wanted to see me smile... But I don't understand, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Did you smile when you looked at the stars?"

"Yes, I did... but why you are you asking this?"

Merry Berry sprawled on her chair with a grin on her face, she had solved the mystery. "Why that cunning mare..." She looked back at Skybird. "You see, she wanted to see you smiling during her final moments. That way, when she finally passed out, she'd have a happy memory of you."

Skybird was shocked for a second. She never thought about it like that. It felt like some of her sorrow was instantly removed. After that, the two mares finished their tea and kept talking about Merry Berry's memories of Sunflower when they were younger. After half an hour, Skybird thanked Merry Berry for comforting her and went back to sleep, but this time she had a smile on her face...

The next morning, Merry Berry saw Skybird watering the flowers in the garden. She found it odd and approached Skybird.

"Good morning, Skybird. Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Oh... 'Morning, Auntie Berry. I haven't told you yet... I quit my job."

Merry Berry couldn't believe her ears. "You did WHAT?!"

"I didn't want to work in the place where my mother died, plus I never really wanted to become a nurse in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy being a nurse. I guess Medicine is just a pet peeve of mine."

Merry Berry was both surprised and worried about her rather nonchalant attitude. "But what are you going to do now?"

"I'll find another job eventually... Although... I'm not sure about what I really want to do in life. I guess I'll start by aiming low and pay my remaining bills."

"Skybird, don't take this personally, but how can you not know what you want to do with your life at this point of your life? Don't you have any idea at all?" Before Skybird could answer, Merry Berry continued. "How about taking care of birds? From what I've seen you're quite good at dealing with any kind of birds. Maybe you should apply to a job like that."

"I appreciate it, Auntie, but that's really not what I want." Skybird began to daydream a little. "I was thinking more on the lines of something greater, something where I could leave a personal mark for posterity, you know, after I'm gone. I want to do something amazing that would be remembered for ages."

"Oh.. I see, you want to be a princess!", Merry Berry chuckled.

"No, nothing like that." Skybird was getting excited. So excited she was that she failed to notice her wings were flapping really fast and she was starting to take off. "I just want to help ponies, like I did at the hospital, only this time by doing something remarkable instead of 'just' treating ponies!".

Merry Berry looked at her awkwardly. "Skybird.. Are you going to be a firefighter??"

"No... the fact is I don't know what I want to do..." Her wings started to flap much slower almost involuntarily and she gently landed on the ground, sitting with a less positive demeanor than just before. "I guess I'll find out when an opportunity smacks me in the face..."

Merry Berry took a deep breath and looked at Skybird in the eye in a serious tone. "Skybird, if you really are serious about it, you must to know the tough truth: your journey won't be as easy as you expect. Ponies around you will do everything to smash your dreams or take advantage of you. You must be strong, both physically and mentally. Whenever they say you stink, or can't do anything right or even if they try to convince you you're not good enough for your dream, don't ever listen to them, do you understand?" Skybird wasn't expecting such rough words from her Auntie, but she was paying attention to every single one, her eyes wide open. "You must keep pursuing your goal, don't let anypony distract you from it. The world is a cruel place, but don't ever forget WHY you're doing it. Always expect the unexpected and show everypony what you're made of."

"Thank you, Auntie," Skybird grinned, "I will."

"Your mother would be so proud of you right now... And I'm proud of you too. Oh, one last thing: don't ever look back, live without regrets," Merry Berry winked at Skybird, who winked back at her. "Don't worry, Auntie. I won't let you down," Skybird replied with a newfound determination.

Later on, after Merry Berry had gone home, Skybird grabbed the newspaper and started to look for a job. She had read nearly the entirety of the newspaper but found nothing of interest. Then all of a sudden something caught her attention: an advertisement of a Ponyville bakery hiring new personnel for the position of baker. Skybird knew the place very well: the building looked like a giant cake, and it was the place where Skybird and her mother used to buy some goodies for parties. She did not hesitate; with fierce determination, she ripped the add from the newspaper and flew like a mad Wonderbolt to the bakery.

When she arrived, she saw a huge crowd in front the bakery. She landed in front of the funny looking house and took her place in the queue like a regular customer. Skybird didn't realize it was "rush hour" at the bakery. She did, however, notice the customers leaving the bakery didn’t look very happy, they looked upset for some reason.

Almost half an hour later her turn finally arrived. She approached the cashier, a tall and thin stallion with a protruding lower jaw, yellow coat and ginger mane. After all those years, he still wore the same suit with a bow tie and a baker hat.

"Good morning, Miss," the baker greeted Skybird in a monochordal tone. Mr Cake had a sullen expression, like if he was upset, something rather unusual as far as she remembered back from her time there with her mother. "Do you want to buy some of the pastry we have on display or would you like to take an order?”

"I'm here for your job advertisement. I found it in today's newspaper," she replied shyly while giving him the job advertisement piece from the newspaper. "Here it is."

The thin stallion expression change to slightly surprised as he grabbed and looked at it, but still seemed annoyed. "Wow, I didn't believe anypony would answer the add on the very same day it was published… Finally something good happened...!” His gaze met Skybird’s. “Hold on a moment, please." He quickly turned his head to the kitchen and shouted rather rudely. "Hey, honey! We got somepony for the job! Could you deal with her, if you don’t mind? I've got other customers to attend to!" He looked back at Skybird. "My wife will be here shortly, please step out of the queue.” Skybird didn’t understand why he was being rude to everypony, but dismissed it.

A few minutes later, a big, blue mare with a pink mane came from the kitchen. She glanced at her husband for a moment with eyes that could kill. “I’m not liking these odds,” Skybird thought. "Please come this way, Miss," Mrs Cake told Skybird slightly less rudely than her husband. They climbed the bakery stairs. "So, what's your name?"

"I'm Skybird. Nice to meet you," Skybird answered sheeply with a smile.

"I’ll be blunt and straight to the point. We're thinking about expanding our business elsewhere - even though I still think it’s a bad idea - and therefore we need more staff.” They entered a room that looked like an improvised and rather disorganized office. Mrs Cake sat and sighed in annoyance. “Well, Miss…” She noticed Skybird was still standing. “Are you just going to stand there?! Have a seat!”

Skybird was so nervous she completely forgot to sit down. Then again, Mrs Cake didn’t bother to be polite enough to tell her to sit in the first place… “I’m sorry, I… forgot!” Skybird’s voice trembled. The only thing that seemed to be working in Skybird’s favour was her innocence and good nature that seemed to help her deal with such rudeness.

“Do you have any sort of experience at baking, Miss… I’m sorry, what’s your name?"

"It’s Skybird, Mrs. Cake.” Skybird paused, gulping at what she was going to say next. “I'm afraid I don't, at least not professionally... But I learned a thing or two about baking with my mother, so..."

"So, if you don't have any REAL experience, why are you even here?" The mare asked with an ironic tone. "Why did you even bother to answer to the add?"

“I-I'm..." Skybird started to stutter due to her anxiety. Things weren't looking good for her. She started clutching at straws. "I'm... uhm... looking for a job... I may not know much about baking, but I'd be glad to have the opportunity to learn how to do it."

"We need ponies that already know how to bake. Unfortunately we don't have the time to give formation on baking". She pointed her hoof to the door. "There's the door. We'll call you."

Skybird knew that the bakery would never call her back for the job, so she headed home and took another look at the newspaper, checking for any kind of jobs available in Ponyville and noting them down on a notebook.

The first one was at the Spa. When she arrived, Skybird felt embarrassed; she had never went to a spa before. The mere thought of being there made her blush. She took a deep breath and entered. She was immediately welcomed by two twin mares, one with a pink coat and the other one blue.

"Welcome to Ponyville Day Spa!," the two mares greeted in perfect sync with large smiles. "What can we do for you today?"

"I... I'm here for the job application you published on today's newspaper," Skybird replied with shyness.

They took a closer look at Skybird. "Oh dear, you look terrible! When was the last time you took proper care of yourself?!," asked the blue mare in shock.

Skybird wasn't expecting that reaction, especially not before the job interview. It only made her even more worried. "I-Is there something wrong with me?"

"Where should I even begin, darling! If you want to work with us you must look prettier than that!", replied the pink mare.

"That mane! How long have you had your mane cut?" Said the blue mare, analyzing every inch of Skybird. "And those hooves!! I bet you never filed your hooves!"

"And what about professional experience?" the pink mare continued. "Have you worked at a spa before? Have you any knowledge of beauty or massages?"

"No," replied Skybird with a shy smile, "but would it help if I told you I know what a chiropractor massage is?"

The twins looked at Skybird with a perplexed expression. Then both raised their hooves at the door. "There's the door, " they said in perfect sync. "We'll consider your job application and we'll contact you in the future if we ever need your assistance."

Skybird kept going to job interviews for job applications like teacher, waiter, lawyer, designer, scientist... She even applied for a model, but every single interviewer raised their hooves at the front door and said the dreadful phrase: "There's the door. We'll consider your job application and we'll contact you in the future if we ever need your assistance."

She was about to give up when she happened to notice jobs available outside Ponyville, one in particularly: she was going to apply for Canterlot's Royal gardener, following her mother's steps.

While flying to Canterlot, she saw on the ground ponies building a railroad. That reminded her of news about the construction of a railway connecting Canterlot to Ponyville. It was a much needed transport connection between those cities, both complained for ages about its delay, but only now the construction had started, testing the inhabitants' patience of both cities, especially Ponyville.

She entered the Royal Palace for the interview. There she was greeted by the same old stallion that she saw with her mother at the hospital. He told her to wait at the interview room. She sat down, nervous as usual. It didn’t help the fact that the room looked like a police interrogation room to her.

The old stallion finally entered the room. He didn’t say a word as he sat down and began to read Skybird's curriculum.

"Greetings, Miss Skybird. I'm the royal supervisor..." He stopped talking when he raised his eyes from the paper and glanced at her. "Wait a minute. I remember now... You’re... You're Sunflower's daughter, aren't you? You’re so alike... How's your mother?"

"She's dead," Skybird replied in a deadpan tone, trying her best to contain her anger, even though some of it slipped by.

The old pony sat in front, leaving Skybird's curriculum on the table. "Well... That's most unfortunate," he insensitively replied. "She was a hard worker. I know you might be angry at us about firing her, but we had our orders. But enough about that, let's talk about you. Why do you want this job?"

"I want to follow my mother's steps," she quickly replied.

He gave Skybird a suspicious look. "Your curriculum says you've worked at Ponyville's hospital as a nurse, isn't that right?"

"Yes, it is," she replied with conviction.

"Have you ever attended medical school? I'm asking this because there's no mention of medical education in your curriculum."

"No, I haven't."

The old stallion raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Then how did you become a nurse?"

"It's a long story..." Skybird's tone changed to sarcastic. "Ever since you let my mother to die I received a proposal to become a nurse in exchange for the hospital letting my mother stay at the hospital without additional fees."

"You don't just become a nurse overnight, you must have at least SOME knowledge about Medicine... Quite frankly I'm wondering if your work as a nurse was completely legal. Could it be that it was, let's just say, something done unofficially, without the proper requirements?

Skybird's anger turned into deep anxiety. "I... I cannot say. I've just took the job without asking questions.”

The old stallion continued the interview. "Anyway, you do know that this is a very exclusive job, right? Not many ponies can claim they worked as royal gardeners. We require ponies with lots of experience at gardening, we only have the best. I hope you understand my position. So... how much experience do you have?"

Skybird was getting angry again. There was no way she'd ever let the same old stallion that made her mother's life miserable get away with it again. "No, I have none. The only guarantee of me being up for the job that I can give you is directly from my mother's experience."

"I see. But unfortunately I can't hire you just because of your mother former job. We do not hire by recommendations."

"Oh, really? What about your son? You hired him without barely interviewing him!" she exclaimed in anger, interrupting the old stallion.

The old stallion was caught by surprise. "How do you know that??"

"I heard a conversation between my mother and a friend of the family," she replied with a smirk, feeling victorious.

The old stallion quickly regained his composure. "Ahem... That's completely different." He returned her the smirk. "You see, my dear, my family has been in the Royal Gardening for generations. We trust our relatives because it's in our genes to be royal gardeners." He looked at his wristwatch. "I believe our time is up. There's the-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know what you're going to say,” Skybird rudely interrupted, “so let me spare you the trouble: 'there's the door, we'll consider your job application and we'll contact you in the future if we ever need your assistance.’" She got up and left the office without saying another word. The old stallion felt victorious…

Skybird was back home, fuming over her recent and awful experience. "I hate everypony!" she shouted as she threw all her papers on the table. "They only think about themselves and let anypony else to die!"

Merry Berry was also at Skybird's house. After so many bad job interviews from Skybird, she was getting used to Skybird getting home frustrated with her life, looking almost too comfortable on the sofa she usually sat on. "Let me guess, you just came back from yet another streak of bad job interviews, haven’t you?"

"They all rejected me! Everypony just kept asking whether I had previous education or previous experience." She sat down in sorrow.

Merry Berry was a bit confused. "Did they ALL ask you for the same things, even for the job as a waiter?"

"Yes!"

"Unbelievable... I guess now is not the right time to be looking for a job. Have you tried to send your job application to jobs that involve birds?"

"There are no current jobs available for that kind of work. Besides, they also require ornithology studies..." Skybird sighed. "I don't think I can find work at all... I'm about to give up..."

Merry Berry jumped from the couch after hearing those words. "Skybird! Are you crazy? Just because some job interviews turned out bad and nopony replied immediately to the job applications you sent doesn't mean none of them will ever call you. Eventually they might contact you, maybe not right now, but perhaps tomorrow or after tomorrow or the day after tomorrow! Who knows? And what would you get if you just quit? Bits don't grow on trees. But most importantly: you know that's not what your mother would expect from you."

Skybird felt a bit ashamed after getting scolded by Merry Berry's, looking down with a sad expression. "You're right, Auntie... She did tell me just before passing away to never give up... and I'd be a complete fool if I were to give up right at the start."

Merry Berry's expression changed to a sad one. "About your mother... Tomorrow is her funeral. I don't want to be disrespectful, but I must ask you… Are you coming?"

"Of course I will," Skybird replied in a serious tone.

There weren't many ponies at Sunflower's funeral to pay their respects; in fact, only Merry Berry and Skybird attended the funeral. Merry Berry wore a black dress for the occasion, while Skybird instead didn't bring anything. She believed her mother wouldn't want her daughter to go to her funeral in black. Sunflower gave everything to Skybird, she was like a beacon of light to her; wearing black would just cover that light... After the ceremony, Skybird left on her mother's grave a single white rose.

That day Skybird didn't talk at all. She preferred to mourn her mother in silence. Merry Berry noticed it but decided to let her be. She had hugged Skybird strongly as if she was her own daughter at the funeral. It was time for Skybird to turn over a new leaf, but she couldn't completely get over her mother's death, something that would bring her problems in the future…

The next day, Merry Berry was reading the newspaper when a particular article caught her eye. She immediately brought it to Skybird's attention.

"I might have found something that might interest you," Merry Berry told Skybird with an excited voice, showing her the newspaper.

Skybird looked at her with a confused expression. "Uh?"

She took a look at the newspaper and saw a huge advertisement from the Cloudsdale post office requiring more Pegasi for the postal service: "The Cloudsdale Postal Service requires more wingpower to deliver your mails; no previous experience is required."

"Ugh..." Skybird snorted. "Work for those racist Pegasi of Cloudsdale? No, thanks!" Her disgust was palpable.

"Didn't you read the part that says ‘no previous experience required’? This might be your big opportunity! You're a Pegasus just like them, it should be a piece of cake for you," Merry Berry insisted.

"Just wait till they find out I'm from Ponyville..." Skybird mumbled.

"Nopony is asking you to accept their ideas. It's just a job like any other. You have to start somewhere..."

"I guess I could give it a try, but I'm not making any promises," Skybird said annoyed.

"Oh, come on, Skybird, why the grumpy face? You really don't like the idea of working with them, do you?"

"But, Auntie, it's THEM we're talking about!"

Merry Berry was getting fed up at Skybird's stubbornness. "Aren't you being just a bit too harsh on them? Do you really think they're all alike? I don't think every Pegasus from Cloudsdale shares that deep hatred towards the other races."

Skybird felt she was being lectured as Merry Berry continued. "They're Pegasus like you, so you're on equal grounds, they can't hurt you that easily. If some of them do want to isolate themselves from the other ponies up in the clouds, let them be, that's their problem. But from the moment you hold on to those assumptions and prejudices of yours towards every single Pegasus from Cloudsdale, then YOU also become a bigot. Think about it."

Skybird gulped with guilt. "You're right, Auntie... But still, I won't let my guard down in Cloudsdale."

Merry Berry felt very proud of Skybird. She moved close to Skybird and softly hold her hoof for a few seconds with a big smile. "Now go. We'll talk when you're back from the job interview. Just make sure you don't waste this opportunity because of your animosity towards them."

"I won't let you down, Auntie, I promise," Skybird reassured Merry Berry with a wink.

Merry Berry smiled back at Skybird as she took off for Cloudsdale, leaving a small trail of dust behind.

While airborne, Skybird noticed the air traffic around Cloudsdale, with several Pegasi going in and out of the clouds. Once she crossed a thick cloud, the city of Cloudsdale appeared in front of her eyes. It was her first time at Cloudsdale, so she stopped and hovered for a short while, awed at the gorgeous view of those buildings in the ancient style of the Pegasi tribe before Equestria was founded. She then headed towards Cloudsdale's post office.

However, unlike what Skybird believed, the Cloudsdale Postal Service was actually very reliable. The deliveries were always on time. It was known as the fastest postal service in all Equestria, the pride of all the Pegasi from Cloudsdale. Yet Skybird couldn't help thinking such an effort to be the best of the best was nothing more than an attempt to affirm their superiority over the other pony races.

Skybird arrived at the Cloudsdale Postal Service Headquarters. She was worried as usual, her shyness rearing its ugly head once more as she approached the recruiting center for her application. She was handed an aptitude test from the recruiting staff for her to do in a room along with many other Pegasi applying for the same job. That only made Skybird even more nervous.

The test, however, turned out to be very easy, much to her surprise. She managed to get a very good score. The managers of the company noticed her good score and chose her as the first one to be interviewed. Skybird was greeted by a purple pegasus with orange eyes at the interview room, whom was busy doing desk work.

Skybird sat on a chair in front of the purple mare. Without moving her eyes from her desk papers she said: "Congratulations, Miss Skybird. Your test score was impressive. Now, and without further ado, we may start the interview. Tell me, Miss Skybird, how would you handle customer service? For example, how would you deal with a customer?"

"Well, I would listen very carefully to what he or she had to say, what they need, and try to steer the conversation in the right direction. For example, if somepony comes to me very angry because his or her package hasn't arrived yet or if somepony was informed that there'll be an unexpected delay, I would explain why such situations happen and suggest to contact the local post office to inquire about the details of their shipment or to contact the Cloudsdale Postal Service offices to deal with any questions he or she might have."

The purple mare turned the page and kept writing. "Did you work at any past job that relates to this one?"

"I used to be a nurse. I've assisted sick ponies by making them as comfortable as possible, as well as comforting their families and their friends. I believe my past experience is of great advantage to me at a workplace like this: always be friendly towards everypony."

"And what was your flight exam's score?"

Skybird was perplexed. "Uhm... Flight exam?..."

"Yes, the flight exam. You know, the one you took at school? It's a mandatory exam at every schools in Cloudsdale."

The dreadful issue had finally come. "Erm... Well, you see..." Skybird's voice got weaker and weaker as she finished her sentence. "I've never done it... My mother was an Earth pony, so I've studied in... Ponyville..."

"So you're from Ponyville?" the mare asked, finally getting her head off the papers and looking at Skybird for the first time.

Skybird sighed, already expecting the worst. "Yes... I am," she replied, almost whispering.

The purple mare raised her hoof towards the door. "There's the door. We'll consider your job application and we'll contact you in the future if we ever need your assistance."

Skybird had a bitter taste in her mouth. She waited about three seconds before leaving the room and head home.

She returned home with her head down, her face showing huge frustration. Merry Berry saw her from her home and decided to go talk to her.

"So, how did it go?" asked Merry Berry eagerly.

Skybird barely contained her bottled anger. "How do you think it went?! They just gave the same exact answer, word by word! Why does everypony use the same phrase every time I go to a job interview??"

Merry Berry shared her frustration, shocked at what she just heard. "What went wrong this time? Previous experience wasn't required for this job, so how could they just reject you like that?!"

"The interviewer asked me about a flight test that I've never done before because I never went to a Cloudsdale school. As soon as she heard the word "Ponyville" I was instantly rejected. And I had gotten a great score in the aptitude test, but apparently it was of no use at all! I don't want to say this, but I told you so, Auntie..."

"Well, don't worry about it," Merry Berry said, trying to comfort Skybird, "at least you went there and gave your best shot. I was afraid you‘d change your mind and wouldn’t ever bother to meet them. But we can't give up. Right now we have to keep looking for another job... Even though no one seems to accept you..."

Merry Berry paused, trying to come up with a solution. Skybird sat down feeling very sad, almost desperate. Then Merry Berry finally spoke. "You know... Maybe you should wait for new opportunities; or better yet, maybe you should go and live in Manehattan for a while. I understand there are a lot of job offers over there."

"Ugh! Manehattan?! It's overcrowded with ponies! I don't think they'd ever need my assistance, not to mention it's very far from Ponyville."

"Oh, come on, dear, I'm sure somepony there will give you an opportunity, you'll see!" But Merry Berry's attempt at cheering up Skybird seemed no have no effect. "Or maybe now is really not the best time to be looking for jobs at all... Why don't you have some rest and later on you can resume the job hunt?"

"Yeah... like I always do, Auntie..." Skybird replied with an annoyed voice.

A week had passed. Skybird was sleeping cozily in her bed, when she was awaken by a metallic sound. She quickly stood up in shock and checked her alarm clock.

"Oh sweet Celestia! It's almost noon!" She rushed off her bed. "I guess one of the bad things about being unemployed is getting the bad habit of waking up really late," Skybird said to herself.

She took her robe and went downstairs to find out what caused that sound, but she couldn't find out its cause. Since she was already wide awake, she decided to have a small, late breakfast with some pancakes and a glass of milk.

She looked at the kitchen window while eating. She then noticed her mailbox had the flag raised. She quickly jumped outside and checked her mail. But it was mostly advertisements; not a single reply from her job interviews. She checked all the letters twice but couldn't find anything interesting.

Suddenly she noticed a letter that got stuck inside another letter, making it look like it was just a single letter. The letter sender was Cloudsdale Postal Service, confirming that Skybird was selected for the job. Skybird was so happy that she started to jump around the house and went to Merry Berry's house to tell her the great news. Finally something good had happened! Or at least that's what she thought…

Skybird was looking forward to her new job, but things didn't quite start the way she had hoped. She had to show up at Cloudsdale Postal Service Headquarters for training for two weeks, 16 hours a day including the 30 minutes lunch break. Skybird tried her best to keep up with the training, always with maximum effort, to the point of getting home completely exhausted. After those two weeks of training, Skybird was ready to be a mail carrier. She received her uniform, a purple coat and shirt, a black tie, a mail saddle bag and a purple hat with the insignia of Cloudsdale Postal Service, a winged golden badge.

And Skybird's first problem at her new job happened right at the start, with her uniform nonetheless! She was not used to wearing clothes; this would be her very first time. Furthermore, she didn't know how to make a tie knot. She stared at the tie like it was an alien object, not knowing what to do with it. She thought of asking Merry Berry for help, but it was still very early in the morning and she didn't want to wake her up. With a bit of patience and some improvising, Skybird made a very ruffle knot, but she was getting late so she decided to not waste any more time and fly immediately to the post office for her very first delivery.

The sun wasn't up yet, everything was still dark and there were no sign of ponies. Skybird kept flying to Cloudsdale, and the only thing that was illuminated in the darkness were the lights of the already operational post office building. Many ponies stared at Skybird when she entered the building, some were laughing out loud, others even rolling over laughing. Skybird felt both extremely embarrassed but also very angry at their mockery, memories of her being laughed at school due to her origins flashed through her mind; seeing this happening back again just because she wasn't from Cloudsdale made her blood boil, she wanted to set them straight! But she remembered that starting an argument on her very first day at work would be her doom and an invitation to get fired. Instead she tried to calm herself by taking a big breath and sitting on a desk.

However, Skybird was so busy trying not to explode in anger that she didn't notice that at the other side of the desk was already another mare. She was the same age as Skybird, had a pink coat, had a fancy light purple mane and had sweet, incredibly innocent eyes. The mare was smiling all by herself and only noticed Skybird when she sat down in front of her.

"It's you first day, isn't it?" asked the pink pegasus with a gentle voice.

"Indeed it is," replied Skybird frustrated. "Is it that obvious or did you ask that just because you've never seen me here before?"

The mare was surprised at the sudden misunderstanding. "Uh? Oh! No no no, nothing like that! It's just that there are so many ponies working here at the Cloudsdale Postal Service that it's difficult to get to know everyone single one of them. Not to mention those who change their minds right from the start and decide to leave, those who find other jobs or those that get fired. In your case, I made my deduction based solely on your tie!"

Skybird was surprised at that remark. "My tie? What about it?"

"Well... Tell me, do you really know how to tie a tie?

"Uhm... No, not really. This is my very first time at wearing a tie AND clothes at work."

"I can see that... Anyhoof, it's very important to dress up well here. You're representing the company. If a supervisor notices your tie isn't tied correctly you may suffer a disciplinary action. I once heard that a pony even got fired because of it! I could teach you on how to tie a tie if you'd like."

"Uhm... Alright, thanks," Skybird replied with some doubts about it, fearing she could be up to something.

But fortunately Skybird's fears were unfounded. The mare stood up, got behind Skybird, untied Skybird's tie and proceeded to make a new tie knot. She even explained Skybird how to tie a tie properly, showing her every single step. After the short lesson the mare sat back down in front of Skybird.

"And that's that! I hope you found my lesson useful. By the way, my name's Fleur. What's yours?"

"I'm Skybird," she replied with a small trace of shyness. "Uhm... You wouldn't happen to know those ponies that were laughing at me a moment ago, would you?"

"Who? Oh! Now I remember. They weren't attacking you, they just reacted to your tie knot. Like I said, and I can't stress this enough, if our superiors catch any of us with a crooked tie knot you get a lecture or worse. Basically they're just idiots who have nothing better to do than mess around with their co-workers for their own amusement," she said looking at one of the supervisors.

Skybird was shocked, but this time it was a different kind of shock; they weren't laughing at her because of her origins, only because something so objective as a poorly made tie knot! That proved she was wrong about her beliefs on Cloudsdale Pegasi being racists.

"So they weren't laughing at me just because I'm from Ponyville?"

"What?" Fleur chuckled. "No, this company deals with hundreds of different ponies, we can't afford to belittle other pony races or other species. Our customers aren't always Pegasus. Besides, if it is your first day, how could they even know you were from Ponyville in the first place?"

“Oh yeah… You got a point there.” Skybird was finding Fleur a very interesting mare. "You seem to know a lot about this job. How long have you been working here?"

"I started working here right after my graduation last year. My family has worked at the postal service for generations. So I joined to maintain our tradition... Even though my parents don't care about it the slightest. They want me to be a botanist or something like that. But I happen to really like this job. I want to become the best mail carrier, just like my grandfather was," Fleur said with excitement in her eyes.

"I bet he was very good at his job. Please, tell me more about your grandfather."

"He was one of the best and fastest mail carriers of the whole of Equestria. Well, more like the quickest mail carrier, especially with deliveries. You see, he wasn't a purely fast flyer as many believe. What he was an expert at was to trace the shortest and most time efficient routes possible at every single delivery route. He was employee of the month for three straight years and also was awarded for his service from Princess Celestia herself!"

"Wow, you're very proud of him, aren't you?"

"Indeed I am," a huge smile forming in Fleur's face. "He's retired now, but he taught me many useful tricks." Her eyes started to drift away. "I love him so much! He was always there for me and he's the only one in my family who supported my dreams and goals." Her eyes turned back to Skybird. "So, what are your goals? Why are you here?," asked Fleur with a friendly smile

"I... I don't know." Skybird's reply sounded confused to Fleur. "I need a job and this was the only one that I managed to get. I used to be a nurse not long ago. My only goal in life is to help ponies, but I don't want to deal with medicine ever again."

"How so? Why did you leave your former job?"

"Something terrible happened on my last day there. The next day I couldn't just work there like if nothing had ever happened, so I quit."

Now Fleur was the one getting curious. "But whatever happened that made you quit? Were you to blame?"

"Sort of..." she quickly replied.

A loud bell ringing interrupted the conversation between the two mares. It was the signal to all mail carriers to begin their shifts and pack their respective bags of letters and packages. Skybird and Fleur went their separate delivery routes. Skybird was nervous to start her very first delivery, but she took yet another deep breath to calm herself. She took one of the bags given to her and left the building to start her official first day as a mail carrier.

Skybird's first assignment was at Cloudsdale, where the postal service usually assigns the beginners in order for them to get used to the deliveries’ work environment and to delivering in other cities. It was also required for post workers, as specified in the post manuals, to smile and be cheerful towards everypony. And yet there was this feeling deep inside Skybird that killed any will of smiling at Cloudsdale's citizens. She was having a hard time getting off her mind all the bad things she believed about them, their rude behavior towards any other pony races.

But, much to her surprise, Skybird saw no rude behavior towards her. Instead, they all smiled and were friendly towards the other ponies! It felt to her just like visiting any other Equestrian city. Perhaps being a Pegasus herself kept her from being noticed by others. But all of that friendly atmosphere wasn't going to fool her; she still couldn't believe it was always like this. Instead, she kept her head down and focused on her job, trying not to think about Cloudsdale. Everytime her shift ended she'd just throw her bag at the postal office and headed straight home.

On the way home, Skybird stopped by a cloud to enjoy the sunset. It was an amazing view for her. Just looking at the sun not only made her coat warm but made her warm on the inside. That vision was incredibly familiar for her. She laid down on the cloud, watching the sunset for several minutes before resuming her flight back home.

The next day, at the postal office, Skybird was nervous about her assignment. She saw Fleur on the other side of the mail dispatch room and flew towards her.

"Hi, Fleur. Could I talk to you for a minute?"

Fleur was a bit perplexed at her rushed question. "Uh? Oh, of course, Skybird. What is it?"

"You mentioned the other day about having learnt many tricks and quirks about this job, right? I could use some of them right now, if it's alright with you."

"Sure. Do you have anything specific in mind?"

"Well... For the life of me I can't manage to put a smile on my face during work here at Cloudsdale. I know the rules but... When it comes to Cloudsdale I just can't feel happy when I know most of these Pegasi are racists towards every other species. I just feel so mad about it! Can you help me deal with this? I don't think you've ever delivered a letter to somepony who you don't really like, how can you keep up with it?"

Fleur took a nearby chair and sat down. Her posture became very serious. "I know what you're talking about. Do you want a straight answer? Yes, you CAN be friends with everypony. Don't you see, Skybird? Even though you claim to hate discrimination you don't seem to realize you yourself are acting like a bigot. That's something I usually call "The Hero Paradox". I can't do much about the hatred you feel, but I can tell you this: give them a chance. Only because you've heard bad things about Cloudsdale doesn't mean the whole city is as bad and mean as you believe. Oh, and maybe you should actually smile instead of showing an ugly frown exactly like the one you're showing right now."

"Uh?" Skybird was confused. "But I don't feel angry..."

"That's what you keep telling yourself, but your face can’t hide your true feelings." She paused. "Wait, I had an idea." Fleur turned to a pony passing by. "Hey, Mills, do we have a mirror in here?"

"Uhm... Not that I know of, Fleur, sorry," Mills replied as he passed by.

"Darn... Well, never mind, I'll use my camera." Fleur took the camera she always carried out of her postal bag and took a photo of Skybird. The camera instantly developed the photograph.

"There! Now do you see how you look like? You look angry, and if you can't realize that then you need to do something about it or you'll end up making things worse."

Skybird took a good look at the photo. She was almost petrified. It was like looking at a different self, her expression was the complete opposite of when she headed back home, always smiling and cheerful. She realized she had needed to change, she HAD to be more friendly. "But how?..." she thought to herself.

And so, the following days saw Skybird doing her best to eliminate her issues with Cloudsdale. She had realized how warped her former perception was, how wrong it might actually have been. But it wasn't entirely her fault: everything she knew about Cloudsdale originated from conversations she had listened made by jealous pony who were unable to fly to the "city of clouds". It was very hard for her to see things differently. But at least now it would be much easier to smile more and be more friendly towards Cloudsdale’s citizens.

The following week, Skybird was assigned to Canterlot and Ponyville in order to undertake more complicated tasks. Fortunately for her, Fleur was assigned to the same sector for a few days and helped Skybird deliver some of her mail as well as providing her with useful and insightful information.

One day they met together while flying above Ponyville.

"So... Why exactly are we here so high from the ground?," asked Skybird, wondering why they were meeting at such a high altitude from the city.

"I want to give you another one of my ‘precious’ tips," Fleur said jokingly, emphasizing the word 'precious'. She was getting excited at was she was about to say. "You see the city down below? Well, consider it as your tactical map. Instead of looking up to the buildings in search of the street name, you can look at them from below and adjust your mail route on the spot!"

Skybird was not impressed, though. "What do you mean? I already know my mail route. All I need is a simple map."

Fleur was unfazed by Skybird's reaction. "True, but you can't see what's the real situation in the city and other important details with the map alone. Here's a good example: notice how there's a construction site at the intersection of Horseshoes Street and Trot Street, right between your delivery at Horseshoes Street 5 and Horseshoes Street 11. That means you'll have to fly around it and waste precious time, since construction sites are no-fly zones, meaning you can't fly over them."

Skybird was getting impressed as Fleur continued her explanation. "But look: near Horseshoes Street 11 there's an intersection with Withers Street and you happen to have a delivery at Withers Street 29. With that in mind, you can start from Withers Street and at the intersection with Horseshoes Street you can deliver at Horseshoes Street 11, then go straight to Withers Street until you arrive at Ponyville's center. There you make the deliver to the Mayor's office and then you take another street that goes around the Mayor's office, make other deliveries on Hoof Street and finally you make the delivery at Horseshoes Street 5. This way you can plan your trajectory beforehand and deliver the mails much quicker and much more efficiently. Plus, from this altitude you can dive and have enough momentum to reach high velocities, so you must be very dexterous in order to insert the mail inside the mailboxes with extreme precision at the first attempt, otherwise they may fall off and you'd have to stop and pick it up, wasting even more time."

"That's really impressive, Fleur! I have one question, though: if I can't fly across the building site, can't I fly above the houses next to them?"

"Well, you could, but I'd advise you against it if I were you. The last time I tried that I got hit with a tomato right in the face. Apparently, as somepony claimed, the flapping noise of my wings was too loud..."

"Really? That's insane! Why would anypony do such a thing?"

"Well..." Fleur gave Skybird a bit of an angry glare. "Probably ponies like yourself who believe everypony that works at Cloudsdale Postal Service is a racist. The real challenge is trying to explain to those ponies that things aren't exactly like that, that not all of us are racists... But do you think they ever listen to a Pegasus from Cloudsdale? They're blinded by their own hate. If everypony believed we're all the same these kind of problems wouldn't exist and there would be perfect harmony."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for what happened to you, Fleur, I truly am..." feeling guilty about the situation Fleur described.

Fleur returned to her normal sweet self. "You don't have to apologize, it's not your fault. It's this society of ours that made us Pegasi the villains of Equestria..."

She paused and sighed. "Anyhoof, you have mail to deliver. I'll be sitting on that cloud keeping track of your time doing your mail route. Let's see if you can get close to my record time." Fleur took out her stopwatch. "Ready?" Skybird landed on the cloud next to Fleur, preparing herself by stretching her wings. “Get set.” She left her wings fully spread and assumed a sprint race position. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Go!” Skybird jumped and dived into the city at high speed with her wings closed and her forelegs around herself.

As she opened her eyes she was about to reach her first destination. It all happened in what seemed to be a split second. With a minor adjustment she pointed her trajectory towards the first mail box. When she got close to the ground she unfolded her wings to slow down and took the letters to deliver from her mailbag. She accelerated very quickly towards the mailbox and managed to aim the letters into the mailbox's tiny slot with extreme precision; with a gentle touch of the wing she raised the flag of the mailbox.

Flying so close to the ground was dangerous, something to be avoided whenever possible, but Skybird successfully dodged the ponies walking down the streets, performing left and right barrel-rolls. "I'd better increase my altitude or I risk hitting somepony," she thought, but then she immediately noticed a market tent right in front of her! There wasn't much she could do to avoid it, a collision seemed imminent. However, with only one second to act, she managed to avoid the crash by flying through the open space of the stand, passing so close to the vendor it scared the hay out of him for the rest of the day!

Skybird climbed out of the streets and pedestrians, only to find another unpredictable danger: a grey, blond Pegasus was flying towards her! It was another mailmare like Skybird but with a different uniform. Skybird was going too fast and noticed the other mare too late, another imminent collision looked unavoidable. Skybird hit the other mare's flank, fortunately only sending her into a spin. Skybird felt sorry for the mare but she couldn't afford to stop and check on her, so she continued her mail route.

After finishing her mail route, Skybird met Fleur on the same cloud as before; she was exhausted, sweating like she never did before, barely catching her breath. "So... How did I go?"

Fleur stared at Skybird with her jaw dropped in shock for a few moments. "You actually beat my time... How did you do that?! Not only you beat my personal record but you also beat my time from when I won last year’s ‘Fastest Delivery Of The Year Competition'!"

"I'm just surprised I didn't hurt anypony! I only did what you told me to," Skybird shrugged.

Fleur regained her composure. "Anyhoof, from what I could tell, you're very agile and your flight skills are... remarkable, if I may say so. As for the ponies down there, well, I guess they all noticed you..." She looked down in amusement. "Or should I say 'the trail of traumatized ponies you left behind' noticed you," she chuckled. "You really have talent for this kind of job, Skybird. But next time take it easy, ok? Maybe you should avoid the diving start for a while." Fleur picked her mailbag. "As for me, I still have more mail to deliver. I'll meet you back at the post office." She flew off the cloud and resumed her mail route, dashing away into the sky.

Skybird, on the other hoof, flew towards Canterlot for her last deliveries.

Later that night, Skybird returned to the post office. Fleur was sitting at her usual desk with a hoof on her cheek, waiting for Skybird. She smiled when she finally saw her.

"Hey there!" Skybird greeted happily. She looked around her. "It is my impression or is this place overcrowded for an end of the shift? Shouldn't they be at home with their families by now?"

"Yeah, about that... Our superiors issued an order not to leave the building because they have an important announcement to make, so they wanted everypony gathered here."

Skybirds eyes filled with hope. "Are they going to give salary raises?"

"Ah! Nice one," Fleur replied, Skybird not completely getting it. "I don't think so. It might be good news, it might be bad news. It's fifty-fifty, if you ask me."

Skybird remained excited. "So what's taking them so long?".

"They're waiting for everypony to arrive," said Fleur by keep sitting on the chair and crossing her hooves. "I think those two that arrived after you were the last ones, so the announcement must be about to be made."

A pony speaker finally arrived, signaling the gathered crowd to be silent and to pay attention to what the manager had to say. When she appeared, Skybird recognized her: it was the mare from her interview! The purple mare looked very upset and began her announcement with a loud voice:

"Which one of you had a mail route to Ponyville, causing lots of damage and becoming a public danger for ponies?! Who had the brilliant idea to fly at high speed next to pedestrians?! I want an answer, and I want it now!!"

Skybird felt guilty, her ears immediately folding down, her eyes looking downwards. She felt so small and scared at that moment, but before she could declare herself guilty, somepony else stepped forward. "I did it," the pony said with conviction. It was Fleur's voice. But instead of gratitude, Skybird felt troubled, distressed even. "Why? Why did you do this!?" she thought to herself almost in panic.

The purple mare went over to Fleur with an even more angry look and began yelling at her. "Fleur! Do you realize the physical and psychological damage you inflicted on those ponies at Ponyville today?! Why did you do such a thing?"

"I was preparing myself for the next 'Fastest Delivery Of The Year Competition', Miss Crow."

She smirked at Fleur. "Is that so...?" She then turned to everypony in the room and announced: "After the recent incident caused by Miss Fleur, and since this FRIENDLY competition held by the company is usually a source of great concern to you all, I hereby declare that this year’s 'Fastest Delivery Of The Year Competition' is cancelled with immediate effect! Focus on your actual deliveries instead of reckless stunts and time trials!! Is that clear?! The meeting is adjourned. You may go."

A huge crowd stood between Skybird and Fleur. Skybird tried to approach Fleur; she just stood there with a very serious expression, her eyes stuck to the floor. Skybird pushed over the crowd to talk to her. "Why?" she asked. "Why did you do that? It was my fault, not yours! You didn't have to take the blame!"

Fleur, still looking at the floor, grunted: "It was my fault. You were under MY responsibility. Instead of teaching you the right stuff, I challenged you to be reckless. That makes it my fault."

"No, Fleur, it doesn't! And I..."

"Skybird!" Fleur interrupted abruptly, glaring at Skybird. "You do realize that if you had told Miss Crow that you were the one responsible she would have fired you on the spot? I, however, would never be fired because I'm one of the best mail carriers here and this company can’t afford to lose me."

"Oh..." said Skybird. She remained in silence.

Fleur turned to Skybird and patted her on the head with a faint smile. "Let's go. We're done for today.”

Another week passed. Skybird managed to be somewhat successful at her job, or at least she thought that way. One day, she knocked on this particular door to deliver mail. When the homeowner opened the door, Skybird did her usual thing: she took her hat off and said with her eyes closed: "Good morning, this is the Cloudsdale Postal Service and I have mail for..." She stopped when she realized the pony in front of her was none other than Merry Berry, trying her hardest to contain her laughter with her hoof on her mouth.

"Auntie?!"

Merry Berry finally burst out laughing. "Don't tell me you actually forgot where I live?!"

Skybird felt a bit embarrassed, even if it was her Auntie. "I… I guess I wasn't paying attention to the address itself." She coughed to disguise her attempt to regain her composure. "Anyway, here's your letter, Auntie. Well, gotta go!"

"Wait!" Merry Berry grabbed Skybird's hoof. "Wouldn't you like to come inside for some tea? And maybe have a little chat?"

"I'm sorry, Auntie, I really don't have time for it. I'm on a tight and strict schedule, I can't afford to be tardy. We'll talk later, ok?"

Merry Berry pouted a little. "And when is that going to be? You wake up so early in the morning and you get back so late at night and so tired, we barely see each other anymore! Come on, a few minutes won't hurt anypony!"

Skybird reluctantly accepted with a sigh, even if she did miss chatting with her Auntie. "Alright, Auntie..."

Merry Berry took Skybird to the kitchen, she had already started making the tea. Skybird sat at the table in silence.

"So, Skybird, how's everything going?" asked Merry Berry while filling the teacups.

"Oh, fine, fine..." she said avoiding meeting Merry Berry's gaze.

"And how about your new job?"

"It's fine," she said a bit bluntly.

Merry Berry paused for a moment. "Oh, come on, Skybird! Since when have you become so reserved? I remember the times when you'd come to my house and kept talking all the time." She was getting worried at Skybird. "Is something the matter? You can tell me, you don't have to bottle it up."

"It's just that... When Mom died I couldn't stop thinking about her, and the fact that you and her were close friend since ever... Makes me wonder if I shouldn't stop having these conversations with you, because almost everything about you reminds me of Mom."

Merry Berry sat close to Skybird and put her hoof on her shoulder. "You still think a lot about her, don't you?"

"Yes... Every single night," said Skybird with her voice trembling. Her eyes were getting watery.

"Oh, sweetie... I know how you must be feeling. But eventually you'll have to let her go, just like your mother did for you. You don't have to forget her, but you must focus more on yourself now. You need to think of something else or your pain will destroy you... I know! Why you don't you go hang out with your friends, or try meeting somepony new? You need quality time for yourself, trust me."

"Thanks, Auntie..." A beeping sound interrupted the conversation. "Oh! It's my watch reminding me to meet the mail delivery schedule. I really must go now, Auntie. We'll talk some more later, I promise." She smiled at Merry Berry and off she went.

Two days later, Skybird got back home late at night as usual. She was exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep as she opened the front door. As she went inside she noticed her home was in complete darkness, more than usual. She decided to turn on the lights.

"SURPRIIISE!! Happy Birthday!" Skybird stepped back, scared at the sudden shouting.

"Fleur? Auntie Berry? What are you doing here??"

Fleur started to mess around with Skybird. "Can't you guess? We just shouted 'happy birthday' and you're asking why we're here?" Then she added some sarcasm. "Oh, no, we were just playing cards waiting for the sun to come up... Of course we're here to celebrate your birthday, silly!".

Skybird was really glad to see Fleur; it was the very first time she saw Fleur without her postal uniform. "Well, that explains why you left your shift so early..." she chuckled.

But Skybird was still surprised at Merry Berry’s presence. "Auntie... you came as well?"

"Of course, sweetie! I wouldn't miss your birthday for the world!"

Fleur gave her gift to Skybird, facing two tickets at her. "Here you go, I bought you two tickets for the next Wonderbolts show and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me."

Skybird hesitated. "For the Wonderbolts, hey? That's something you probably like more than me, but sure, why not? It could be fun."

Fleur was radiant. "Awesome! Trust me, you won't be disappointed!"

The three mares spent the rest of the evening together playing board games and, of course, having some delicious birthday cake. The party eventually finished when Fleur had to go home to get some sleep. After saying goodnight to her, Merry Berry approached Skybird holding a small letter.

"Hey, Skybird, don't forget about my present," she say with a smile.

"Oh, Auntie, you shouldn't have!"

"Here. It's a letter from your mother. She wanted to give it to you on your birthday."

Skybird's happy expression suddenly changed. She didn't what to think or what to say, or even how to feel. Filled with curiosity she open the letter in a rush and began reading it sitting next to Merry Berry.

"To my dear daughter Skybird:

Happy birthday!

If you're reading this, it means that I didn't make it. I really wanted to be with on such an important day. I can still remember everything that's happened since you were born. I know I've told you this many times, but I can't forget all the times the nurses made you leave my room and you'd start crying your eyes out.’

And, to be honest, this is what worries me the most. All your life you've always been so attached to me. Whenever I tried to talk about your father you didn't seem to care, only I mattered to you. I'm afraid you've become too attached to me and you might not be able to let go even after I'm dead. I know I played an important role in your life, but remember darling: parents are the starting line for their children, not the finish line. I love you just the way you are: your simplicity, your caring towards others. If you ever need help don't hesitate to ask Auntie Merry Berry. I'm sure she'd help you just like she helped me all these years.

Today I've seen you smiling and chatting with other ponies here at the hospital. It has been quite a while since I've seen you like this, so confident. Remember, though, you must be strong while facing the hardships that life will present you. Don't let the negative things in life get the best of you. Do it not just for me, but for yourself. It's up to you to choose how you'll lead your life.

I love you so much, my little birdie, and I always will…

Farewell, my dear,
Your mother Sunflower that will forever live in your heart."

By the end of the letter Skybird couldn't hold her dropping tears any longer. She put down the letter and bursted into tears, crying loudly. Merry Berry hugged her also in tears, trying her best to comfort Skybird.

And so, a week later, Skybird went with Fleur to watch the Wonderbolts air show. Fleur was by far the most excited of the pair: she was wearing a cap and a scarf of the Wonderbolts, carrying a Wonderbolts flag and holding two big packs of popcorns. They went to take their seats, Skybird to the right and Fleur to the left, with Fleur lounging on her seat like she was at home. With one wing she held the flag and with the other she ate the popcorns.

Skybird looked at her and said jokingly: "Is that seat cozy enough for you?"

"Uhm... Yeah, I guess. If only they were more soft," replied Fleur. "So, are you excited about the Wonderbolts, too?"

"No, not really," Skybird replied with indifference. "Like I said before, the Wonderbolts were never my thing. But, as far as I know, everypony in Cloudsdale loves them."

"You bet we do!" Fleur exclaimed lively. "It's thanks to the Wonderbolts that Cloudsdale isn't considered an unknown, tiny city in the middle of the clouds. Thanks to them we, the citizens of Cloudsdale, gained our current reputation." Fleur's excitement kept increasing. "Come on, Skybird, who wouldn't like them? It's the dream of every young Pegasus to become a Wonderbolt: fearless, unbeatable, faster than a lightning bolt, capable of doing everything! And most importantly..." Fleur made a dramatic pause. "... they look so cool!" Fleur had her hoofs on her cheeks with her eyes mesmerized at the Wonderbolts coolness.

Skybird rolled her eyes at Fleur's 'fangirlism'. "The way you talk about them makes me wonder if you wanted to become a Wonderbolt yourself."

"I would be lying if I said otherwise! It all started when I was still a filly. My school had a sports team and we were used to compete with other school's and I was always the team captain. Just thinking about the Wonderbolts always gave me that extra drive and energy to win!" Her eyes drifted away. "I always daydreamed of being a Wonderbolt... One day when we were playing volleyball a ball hit me in the face and I fainted. I became unconscious and my body fell down from the cloud we were playing. When I woke up I realized I was rescued by none other than a Wonderbolt who was off duty and luckily happened to be flying in the area! However, as I got older and got my Cutie Mark. I realized my dream was working at a postal service, and I'm happy with that."

Fleur paused, realising she had been dominating the conversation for quite a while and didn't want to be rude to Skybird. "But what about you, Skybird? You did something quite extraordinary that time you beat my record! You also mentioned that you're not planning to work at Cloudsdale Postal Service forever and that you wanted to help other ponies. Well, why don't you join the Wonderbolts? You have tremendous potential!"

Skybird blushed a little at Fleur's compliment. "I'm flattered, Fleur, but I don't know a thing about them. Besides, I don't think I'd be welcomed there, being from Ponyville and all.. I just don't feel I'm ready for their admission tests and I'd never be able to produce a good qualifying time at the tryouts."

"Don't be so pessimistic," exclaimed Fleur in a very serious tone. "Sure, there is always room for improvement even for you. But when you face a challenge you should never convince yourself you can't surpass it. If challenges were easy anypony could surpass them, and that goes to becoming a Wonderbolt! And let me tell you this: you're not just 'anypony'. I could never fly like you did the other day but if I were trying to become a Wonderbolt I wouldn't throw in the towel right at the very start. Because I'm not all wing power, I use tactics to my advantage just like my grandfather did: I strategize in my mind before I take action." Fleur placed her left hoof in Skybird's right shoulder. "I believe you could do it, and if you're still not convinced you should at least give it a try."

Skybird was pensative. "I don't know, Fleur... I think I'll need some time to think about it."

"I'm telling you, you could do it! But everything that I said would be useless if you don't believe it yourself-" She stopped mid-sentence when she heard an incoming, loud noise from behind the grandstands. "Wait... Do you hear that?"

All of the sudden the Wonderbolts came storming from behind the back of the audience, taking everypony by surprise, and made a low-pass fly-by over the audience. The spectators got really excited, even Skybird was impressed but contained any high emotions. Fleur, on the other hand, was screaming at the top of her lungs in sheer excitement, almost scaring Skybird, who had never seen Fleur so excited before, contrasting with her general serious tone during work. Skybird smiled, thinking how nice it was to have her as a friend. She then turned her attention back to the air show.

Two days later, Skybird returned home all wet from the storm that kept pouring rain. As she was about to lay her bag on the couch she heard a whimpering chirp from a tree in her garden. Skybird decided not to bother herself with it and finally laid the heavy bag after an appalling day' work with terrible weather. But the chirping kept getting louder and louder. Skybird stopped for a second and decided to see what was going on.

When she opened the back door she saw a dead sparrow on the ground with a worm in her mouth, shocking Skybird, but the chirping continued. Skybird gathered some courage and, without looking at the dead sparrow, flew up to the tree and saw a newborn sparrow all alone inside the nest. The poor creature was desperately crying for her mother. Skybird knew she had to do something; she took off her mail hat and gently grabbed him and took him inside. Skybird got some warm towels quickly and used her hat to keep the baby sparrow warm. The baby didn't cry or move at all, though, he looked petrified. Skybird gave him a bowl of water and the worm from the baby's mother. A few minutes later the little bird started moving again and he ate the worm. Skybird also gave him some seeds with the help of tweezers.

"You must be very hungry, little one," said Skybird looking a the young sparrow with a gentle smile on her face.

The weeks passed, Skybird having adopted the little sparrow, taking good care of him. His feathers started to grow. Skybird had been feeding the little sparrow special food for with the help of tweezers and a syringe. Taking care of the bird took its toll on Skybird since the little sparrow kept chirping every half hour for food, and he would only stop when he was full. Sometimes the little sparrow would ask for food in the middle of the night, waking up Skybird. She couldn't do it alone, but fortunately Merry Berry was there for her, always ready and glad to help her.

Skybird went to work with sleepy, baggy eyes. As soon as she reached a desk she just sat and immediately dozed off. Fleur noticed her sleeping, grabbed a bucket with cold water and dumped it on her head.

"Bwahhh!!!," Skybird screamed, waking up instantly.

"Wakey wakey, Skybird! You do know your shift start in ten minutes, right?"

Skybird could barely speak and was really cranky. "Yes, Fleur, I do, darn it...," she grumbled as she yawned while trying to dry her uniform. "I was trying to recover some lost sleep, you know?"

"Have you been up all night? Is it because of that sparrow of yours that you told me about?"

"Yes, it's because of him," Skybird replied yawning some more.

"What's his name?"

"Uhm... I never really gave him a name, now that you mention it... I never thought about it and I'm also without ideas of what to name him."

"How about Dante?"

"Dante? What a weird name for a bird... but I actually like it. Maybe it's the sleep deprivation..."

Fleur's tone changed suddenly. "There's something else I wanted to talk to you."

Skybird felt more awake and was curious at what it was about. "What is it?"

"Do you remember that talk we had during the Wonderbolts air show? Have you made a decision?"

"Oh, Fleur!..." Skybird found Fleur's timing to be rather off and felt too tired to even think about it, let alone make a decision on the spot. "I don't know... I guess I wouldn't mind joining the Wonderbolts reserves... But I don't think I'm as good as you think I am. Also, I've heard that applications requests for the reserves are closed."

"Well..." A huge smile grew on Fleur’s face. "You don't have to worry about that because the application letters will be shipped to the Wonderbolts today, and guess who's in charge of delivering them? Me! And who knows, maybe one letter of application might slip into my bag by an accidental distraction... if you catch my drift," Fleur adding a suggestive look paired with a twitching eyebrow.

"But that doesn't sound fair."

"Well, it's your only chance. Are you going to take it or not? Unless, of course, you prefer to wait for the next time applications are open." Fleur insisted. "Last call!," she even gestured with her hoof imitating a barpony.

Skybird was worried. "But... I'm not sure...," she said, looking at the floor, her right leg crossed behind the left one in uneasiness.

Fleur was starting to lose her patience, even though she understood Skybird's hesitation. "Look, Skybird, do you want to spend the rest of your life delivering mail or do you want to become that somepony you always wanted to be? I can see it in your eyes, this is not where you truly belong, where you really want to be, and I'm offering you a way to do something you'll always wanted to do." Skybird's eyes met Fleur's gaze. "You're worried about things becoming really hard? Most likely they will, yes, but the reward far compensates the effort, trust me. And no matter how things turn out, at least you'd have no regrets. And why? Because you TRIED! I know you can do it, but ultimately you have to believe in yourself, and that no one else can do for you. If you don't believe in yourself, you'll never achieve anything in life." She paused. "So... What do you have to say now? Are you in?"

Skybird hesitated. "Well... Alright, I'm in!" she said with conviction. Fleur had finally succeeded in convincing her friend.

"Now you're talkin'!," Fleur said happily as she gave Skybird a big hug.

So, after work, Skybird began studying really hard for the Wonderbolt admission exam, studying the history of the Wonderbolts and other technical stuff. She had to wake up even earlier than before, not only to feed Dante but also to do some physical exercise like stretching out her wings. She did it everyday before and after work, occasionally resting on a small cloud with a big smile on her face. She finally felt good, even happy, about what she was doing. As the days went by, she tried other exercises, like working on her balance. She tried to hold still with a single hoof on a wooden fence of some farm underneath her way home. She kept doing this exercise until the owner of the farm finally discovered who was doing acrobatics on the fencing.

The orange pony with a cowboy hat began throwing apples at Skybird trying to scare her off. "Why in tarnation does every Pegasus have to train their balances on mah freakin' fences?!," the owner shouted in frustration. Apparently Skybird wasn't the only one. She decided to fly away and avoid the rage of that short-tempered orange pony.

Meanwhile, Dante grew up nicely. He could already eat by himself and he was making some progress, jumping around the house, always going after Skybird and checking on what she was doing with interest. Skybird taught him how to fly by showing how to move the wings; eventually she took Dante up to the sky with him sitting on her back to show him how it felt to be airborne.

A few days before Skybird's Wonderbolt exam, Dante started to fly. Skybird was so proud of him. At first Skybird and Dante flew short distances so he'd get used to flying, increasing the distance a bit every day. She'd cuddle and pet him every time he made progress.

Then, just the day before the exam, at sunset, came the time she dreaded: the time to set Dante free to live as nature intended. It had to be done, and Skybird knew it... So, with a heavy heart she took Dante with her hooves trembling and held him tight to her body, sighing with every breath wishing it was all a bad dream. She never lost his sight, looking down at Dante, for Dante wasn't just an ordinary bird. He was like her own child to her. She raised him, took good care of him, and now losing him would be just as sad as when she lost her mother, like that day Dante also had lost his own. But then Skybird remembered what her mother had explained and whispered to Dante:

"It doesn't matter how much you love somepony, eventually comes the time when you have to show how much you love her... by letting her go... That's the greatest demonstration of love... Don't cry for me, don't be sad, it's time for you to follow your own path on this world... Be safe, my little bird... I love you, and you'll always be in my heart..." Skybird whispered while crying: "Goodbye, Dante..."

Before releasing him, she held him tight on her chest, and only then Skybird started to shed thin strips of tears like the morning dew that falls from the whitest flower in the field, with a sad face that only a mother can understand. She released him and he flew away into the light of the sunset. Skybird watched him leaving till he was out of her sight. Now every memory of him was pure pain, she was suffering for not being able to see him around her anymore. Every step got heavier and heavier, every movement felt like a burning fire inside her bones.

Skybird was opening the door to get back inside but stopped when she heard a chirp right behind her. She turned her head and saw Dante on the ground looking at her with a confused expression.

"Dante?! What are you doing here?" Skybird was shocked to see him. "You have to go! It's time for you to have your own life. Now go!," she ordered, pointing at the sunset. Dante replied with a disconsolate chirp. Skybird was in a turmoil of emotions. "What do you mean you don't want to leave? It's doesn't matter if you want to go or not, you MUST go!"

Dante chirped with a serious tone. Skybird was getting desperate. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not your mother!?"

Dante chirped once more making it clear he wasn't going to leave. With that final stance Skybird suddenly realized almost in horror she might have done something she should never have done, something she read on books on how to grow a sparrow.

"What was the thing to avoid in order to set a bird free?! She remembered in shock. "Oh! Imprinting... Damn... I think I have imprinted him... He does not want to live in the wild and doesn't seem interested in living with his own kind..." Skybird had mixed feelings about that turn of events, but she accepted it. "Well, I guess what is done is done. There's no turning back now. The book said if a bird shows signs of imprinting then it should not be set free." Skybird was nervous about her mistake... or was she?

"Alright, little one," she said mildly cheerfully, "let's get back inside. I'll give you something to eat."

Dante chirped in cheers and flying to Skybird's shoulder as both went inside.

Skybird was having her Wonderbolt exam while Fleur was waiting for her outside the Wonderbolts building. Fleur was so nervous for her friend she couldn't stop pacing back and forth. The first candidates finally started leaving the building. Fleur couldn't see Skybird amongst them, only adding up to her stress. Ten minutes later there was still no sign of Skybird; Fleur was getting extremely frustrated at the long wait as well as very worried, all sorts of terrible thoughts crossing her mind. Some more candidates passed and yet still no sign of Skybird. Fleur finally had enough, she decided to get inside and see what was going on, only to bump into Skybird at the front entrance.

"Ouch! Fleur! Is that how you greet your friends?" said Skybird sarcastically.

"Uff... Sorry about that. I was just worried why you were taking so long," said Fleur as she got up from the floor.

"It's just that since I ended the exam with spare time, I decided to be cautious and used every second available in order to spot undetected mistakes."

"Sure... Egghead," joked Fleur. "So, how did it go? Do you have your results?"

"I've passed the exam and I'm officially a Wonderbolt reserve. I have to report for duty next week at the Wonderbolts Academy," Skybird said too calmly, probably from the mental exhaustion of the exam.

Fleur jumped and screamed in joy. "I knew you could do it!" she said as she hugged her friend. Skybird felt both embarrassed and happy at the same time.

"I'm starting to think it was all your idea to get rid of your biggest competitor for that delivery race," said Skybird half-joking.

"Haha!... Maybe..." replied Fleur looking away.

Another week passed. Skybird was packing her bags with the help of Merry Berry for her stay at the Academy. Never had that house seen so much happiness in recent times. Merry Berry could almost not believe the once tiny, shy filly was on her way to become a Wonderbolt.

"Your mother would be so proud! If she could see you right now!... I still remember those days when you were just a little filly that couldn't let go of her mommy for a single second. And now look at you, going all the way to become a Wonderbolt," said Merry Berry with a lump forming in her throat.

"Thank you, Auntie," Skybird replied a bit embarrassed, not getting her eyes off her belongings, still busy packing up, "but I'm not a fully-fledged Wonderbolt yet, you know. I'm not even a Wonderbolt reserve, just a cadet."

"Oh, bales of hay to that! Don't ruin this moment for me as usual!" Both bursted out laughing.

Skybird picked up her suitcase and opened the front door. "Take care of Dante for me while I'm gone. I've left food for him on the kitchen table. Oh, and don't to forget to check up on him."

"Don't worry, sweetie, Dante is in good hooves," she said with a wink of an eye. "Take care of yourself. Don't forget to write if you need anything, ok?"

"I will. 'Bye, Auntie!" Skybird took off, soaring to the skies.

As she approached the Academy, Skybird felt goosebumps all over her body as she saw it for the first time. It was a lot more monumental than she ever imagined. Several dozens of cadets were doing training exercises on the cloud ground. She was awestruck at the whole thing that she unintentionally stopped and hovered in mid-air. A flying formation at full speed brought Skybird back to reality as it nearly brushed her, scaring her flank off.

As she regained her composure she headed for the tarmac runway down below and joined the line of other cadets waiting for their turn. The line was fully formed just a few minutes later. Then finally came Ms. Spitfire, the captain of the Wonderbolts, escorted by two instructor. It was Skybird's first time she saw her at such close distance. She was impressed at Spitfire's charisma. "What an honour... No, snap out of it, Skybird, this isn't the time for fancy fantasy introductions!" Skybird thought to herself.

And indeed that wasn't a welcoming committee. Spitfire had her sunglasses on and wore her service uniform with a whistle tied to a red stripe around her neck. She looked anything but pleased as she glanced over her new cadets, giving them all a disgust look. No pony dared to move a muscle or say a word, they were all too nervous, some of them almost in a panic. Except for a blond mare with a blue coat.

"So... what have we here?" said Spitfire as she walked in front of the line. "So you really think you have what it takes to be a Wonderbolt, don't ya?"

"Yes, ma'am!" everyone replied.

"Think you got what it takes to be an elite flyer?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Well, guess what: NO, YOU DON'T! If you had it you'd be a Wonderbolt already!"

She stopped in front of one the cadets and turned to him. "You think you're special?"

"Uhm... no, ma'am."

"And you!" She pointed at another cadet. "What kind of floppy wings are those? How can you ever think of becoming a Wonderbolt if you don't take proper care of your own damn wings?!"

Then she stopped in front of Skybird. "And what are you doing here, ‘Missy’? This is not the place for lazy ponies like you. Just look at yourself! I bet you'll quit by the end of the day!"

"No, ma'am," she replied softly but firmly having gathered all of her courage, doing her best not to show just how frightened she was. Skybird’s hardships through life had given her a good defense against verbal attacks.

Spitfire was impressed at the apparently shy Pegasus reply. “Oh, really? We shall see…”

Spitfire moved on to the next one, the blond mare, who, unlike the others, had not shown any signs of weakness, she looked as cool as a cucumber.

"You look like you're the worst flyer in the whole academy! I bet you couldn't fly through the first fly pole without hitting it and getting the wind knocked out of you!"

"No, ma'am, I am not the worst flyer," the blond mare replied with extreme coolness. The other cadets glanced at her, impressed with her demeanor. Captain Spitfire raised an eyebrow at her answer. “Oh, aren’t we confident... Then you’d better put your bits where your mouth is, or your time here at the Academy here will be miserable.”

Captain Spitfire turned to the cadets. "Now, all of you! Give me five hundred laps! NOW!" ordered Spitfire loudly as she blew her whistle.

The cadets immediately dropped their bags on the runway and began the flying laps around the field. Not everypony were able to complete the five hundred laps, though. Some began slowing down by lap 100, others by lap 200 or 300. Skybird was one of many that failed to complete the exercise. She just wasn't ready for something as hard as this. On lap 237 she was so exhausted she landed on the runway, joining the other cadets. She sat and left herself drop on her back, barely catching her breath.

The only cadet that managed to fly all five hundred laps was the blond mare. As she finished the final lap Spitfire ordered her to stop. Everypony else was exhausted. Even the blond mare was very tired, breathing fast like the sound of galloping hooves and heavy like the breath of a rhino, but still looked less tired than the rest. Many lay down on the runway completely worn out for several minutes. Skybird was still breathing hard, slumped on the side of a table.

Captain Spitfire gave them a few more minutes so they could recover their energies. She then ordered them to got to the tailor to get their reserves uniforms and then unpack their belongings in the barracks. After that they'd have lunch at the mess hall.

After picking up her tray and get her meal she sat with the rest of the cadets. She kept quiet and prevented from speaking if possible. A particular group was rather extrovert.

"I think we did pretty well! I sure did!" said a yellow stallion chatting with the rest of the cadets at Skybird's table as Skybird was sitting down.

"Give me a break! You got exhausted after only ten laps," an orange mare replied sarcastically.

"I slowed down, that's different. I simply miscalculated how much energy I'd need to keep flying the other 490 laps, that's all," he shot back with fake conviction.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, 'Captain Banana!'" Everypony laughed.

Another mare of the group interrupted the group's playful banter. "I think we should all give our compliments to the one pony who actually flew all five hundred laps," she said looking at the blond, blue mare, who happened to be next to the group.

"There's no need." the blue mare replied without taking her eyes of her food. "You all need to improve your fitness if you wanna get through. If you're hoping for me to not give my best at all times, you have another thing coming."

"By the way, what's your name?", asked the yellow stallion.

"My name is Raptor, and don't you forget it." Her aggressive stance made everypony back off a bit, staring at each other in both surprise and annoyance.

"So, uhm... why did you join the Academy, Raptor?" asked a turquoise mare, trying to break the ice.

"To become the best flyer in all Equestria."

A stallion whistled. "Quite ambitious, ain't ya?"

"Maybe," Raptor said, "but I want to show the Wonderbolts what I'm capable of. And what you saw today is only the beginning."

The orange mare turned to Skybird, who had been silent the whole time, trying to avoid the gaze of anypony of the group by facing her head on the tray. "And what about you? Why did YOU join?"

Skybird raised her head from the tray and gestured if the orange mare was talking to her by pointing her hoof at herself.

"Yes, you! What's your name?"

Skybird gulped as she swallowed the food in her mouth, she smiled at them but looked very nervous. She had never spoken before such a large group of ponies before, so many ears turned in her direction ready to hear what she was going to say. She gazed every single of the group, faking a smile as she started sweating with fear. Everypony was waiting for an answer when, fortunately to Skybird's fortune, Spitfire entered the mess hall and ordered all cadets to meet at the runway immediately.

On the runway there was a huge device covered with a purple sheet. Skybird did not like the secrecy around that device one bit, it frightened her just by looking at it. Captain Spitfire commenced the briefing.

"The Wonderbolts are the fastest and the best precision flyers in Equestria. But even the best flyer can suffer a spin-out whatever the circumstances. And when it happens, a Wonderbolt must be able to recover from it as quickly as possible." One of the instructors removed the sheet, revealing the device.

"This is the Dizzitron," Spitfire continued. "As you can imagine, it simulates spin-outs. It's gonna make you very, VERY dizzy. Your task is to recover from the spin-out as quickly as possible and land smoothly on the runway as fast as you can and as quickly as you can. I will time you with my chronometer. Who's first?"

Many of the cadets gulped. Spitfire approached a pink mare with a red mane. She looked a year younger than Skybird and she was really scared.

"You! You're up," said Spitfire pointing at her.

"M-Me?" the mare asked in a panic.

"Yes, you! Are you deaf?! Get going!", Spitfire ordered.

The pink mare wanted to move but her body didn't respond to her commands, every single fibre of her being telling her not to go through with it. Spitfire lost her patience at the pink mare’s hesitation. "MOVE IT, YOU SCAREDY-CAT!”

The pink mare gulped and flew into the device’s catapult filled with fear. She adjusted her flight goggles with her trembling arms.

"Ready?" asked Spitfire.

"Y-Yes, ma'am," replied the pink mare.

"Go!" Spitfire told the instructor in charge of operating the device. He pulled one of the levers and activated the device which began to rotate at a very fast preset speed with enough kinetic energy to throw the pony spinning around on his own axis.

"RELEASE!" shouted Spitfire. She started timing the pink mare as soon as the instructor pushed the lever and the device stopped rotating. The mare was thrown up in the air like a bullet, she started to make some unorthodox maneuvers, managed to recover from the spin-out and landed on the runway bouncing on her stomach. As soon as she touched down, Spitfire pressed her chronometer.

"Eighteen seconds," said Spitfire looking at her chronometer. "I've seen a LOT better than that... Let's see now, who's going to be next..." Spitfire glanced over the cadets. "YOU!" pointing at Skybird. "You're next."

Skybird was never good at recovering from that kind of situation. In fact, she never had to deal with spin-outs. Most of the time she was on the ground, meaning no flying at all; not even when she worked at postal service had she had to deal with a spin-out.

But she had to do this. To prove herself. "There's no other way. Here you go, Skybird!" she thought to herself, gathering all her courage once more. She headed to the device and put her flight goggles on. Once she was thrown up in the air her vision got very blurry, her wing seemed heavier than usual and she couldn't focus on what she was doing. A few seconds later she somehow managed to recover and tried to land as fast as possible. She landed almost smoothly, her head spinning like a roundabout.

"Fourteen seconds point five. Hm, decent. But I wouldn't go writin' home about it." Skybird could barely understand what Spitfire had just said to feel bad about it, or feel anything other than dizziness for that matter.

"Raptor, you're up."

"Yes, ma'am," Raptor replied without any hint of hesitation. She headed to the device showing no fear. Once thrown into the air she seemed to have total control of the situation and landed smoothly than the rest so far. "Seven point three seconds?? That's an academy record!" Everypony cheered and applauded Raptor for her incredible performance.

Once every cadet went through the exercise, Spitfire made her usual overall appreciation of the cadets raw talent. "Before I go, I have something to tell you: you're by far the worst, and I repeat, the WORST and the SLOPPIEST cadets I've ever had the misfortune to deal with! Only a few of you actually deserve to be here! I guess I'll have to ask the Commander to lower the maximum number of candidates to be selected so that such a sad spectacle like the one I've witnessed today doesn't happen again. Tomorrow morning I'll post the teams discriminating the lead pony and the wing pony. Let's see if this will make you more responsible. Here's a hint: TRAIN HARDER! Good luck."

Later in the evening at the barracks, Skybird was arranging her things when the pink mare with the red mane approached her. "Hi. So... I wanted to ask your name but... You kinda didn't get to say it that time during lunch. Or maybe I misheard it?..."

"I'm Skybird. Nice to meet you," she replied without looking at her.

"So you DO talk," the orange mare barged in the conversation.

"Yes, I do..." Skybird said still focused on arranging her things. "I'm sorry about earlier, it's just that I'm not comfortable with talking to large groups of ponies."

"Oh, filly!... How did you go through school like that?" the orange mare insisted.

"It was easy: everypony hated me at school..." Skybird replied with a sad tone, facing downwards.

"Oh, that's so sad! I'm so sorry," said the pink mare. "By the way, I'm Lifty Leaf, and the grumpy one over here is Wind Tea," she said with a friendly smile.

"Oh, I'll show you how grumpy I can REALLY get if you keep calling me that... But anyway, let's go meet the others!" she said cheerfully.

"Are you insane?" Lifty Leaf said glaring at Wind Tea. "Can't you see she's not comfortable with talking with too many pony at once?"

"Well, she'll have to deal with her issues sooner or later. Tell you what, Skybird, why don't you introduce yourself individually to each member of the gang. For instance, that's Glassy Hooves over there. Try to talk to him by yourself while the two of us stand here and look from a distance," said Wind Tea teasing Skybird. But Lifty Leaf gave her friend a glare, and Wind Tea knew what that meant. "Uh, seriously, though, you don't have to worry, we won't hear a thing, I promise."

"But I... I just can't!" exclaimed Skybird holding back.

"What it is now?" Wind Tea put a hoof on her face.

"Well... This is a bit awkward to me... You see, I've never spoken to a stallion before...". Skybird's face turned red as a tomato out of embarrassment.

"No way..." Wind Tea couldn't tell if she was joking or not. "You're kidding... aren't you?"

"I can't believe you've never talked to a stallion before. How is that possible?" Lifty Leaf said a bit baffled.

"Well..." Skybird continued, "I always had mare friends and... not that I have never talked to stallions, well, I did talk with those I had to at work, but I never spoke to an unknown stallion in my... uhm... spare time."

"Well, here's your chance, filly!" interrupted Wind Tea pushing Skybird towards Glassy Hooves. "Now get out there and talk to him!" Skybird reluctantly headed towards him.

"This should be interesting," whispered Wind Tea to Lifty Leaf's left ear.

Skybird approached the stallion with uncertainty while looking back at the two mares. She felt like when her mother took her to her first day of school. She was incredibly nervous, even for her. She bit her lip. Each step got slower and slower. Her heartbeat was so fast she could almost hear as if it was in her throat.

Glassy Hooves was sitting on the bench cleaning his flight goggles. He only noticed Skybird when she got close to him, startling him. She was looking to him with her eyes shimmering and her mouth open.

"Hi," greeted the stallion.

"...H-hi," she replied softly.

"So, uhm... what was your name again?" he kindly asked Skybird.

"I... I'm.... I am... Ugh... amm... Well... ish.... ow... em... igh..." Skybird kept trying to speak but it was useless, she only managed to get really embarrassed.

"Look, it's ok. If you don't want to tell me your name, you don't have to," he kindly told her. “I'm Glassy Hooves. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Skybird!!" she blurted all at once with her eyes closed and without breathing, her voice pitching too high.

"What a lovely name you have," he said softy. "It truly fits a cute mare like you."

Skybird felt so stressed she involuntarily started to cry, even herself couldn't understand why she was crying. She tried to wipe her tears with her wings, but the more she tried to cover them she started to cry even harder, so much that she just ran away. The stallion was almost stunned at what had just happened.

"Wait, where the hay is she going?" asked a surprised Wind Tea. She was going after her when Lifty Leaf grabbed her tail.

"She's probably just going outside. Just let her be... I think she needs to be alone right now." Wind Tea looked to the outside with a troubled expression, feeling guilty at what just happened to Skybird.

As soon as she stepped outside, Skybird took some deep breaths and tried to calm herself down. She kept crying until she was all out of tears a few minutes later. She decided to stay outside for a while to get some fresh air.

As she looked around she noticed an old, green stallion standing all alone. He had a brown mane and a mustache. His clothes were different from any of the other ponies at the Academy. She quietly took a closer look and noticed his expression was a mix of anger and sadness. She tried to approach him and ask about him. Fortunately, instead of making a fool out of herself, this time she managed to speak normally, probably because he was an elder pony instead of a stallion of her age.

"Hello... um.... I've never seen you around here before. May I ask who you are?" she asked a bit shyly, but less than in other occasions.

"What?!" The old stallion seemed offended at her question. "How could you have not heard about me? I'm the bloody Commander of the Wonderbolts, damn it! I'm Commander Eye Storm!"

Skybird gulped in fear. "I-I'm sorry, Commander! I did not realise it was you, sir!"

"You're one of the new cadets that arrived this morning, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir, I am!" Skybird tried her best to look as military as possible after her second debacle of the evening.

"Ah... that explains it. Yes, I'm the Commander." He paused, looking away from Skybird. "Well, to be honest I'm not the Commander anymore: that filthy Wind Rider... he used me! He made me his scapegoat to kick me off the Wonderbolts! Now thanks to him I'm accused of something I didn’t do. I bet one of these days his tricks will turn against him." He paused again, this time looking at Skybird with a much nicer expression. "I'm most sorry for being so rude to you. My deepest apologies."

"You don't have to apologise... But, if I may say so, sir, if you're innocent why don't you prove it to everypony?"

"It's not that simple... I have no alibi or clear evidence that could exonerate me, and no pony here believes me, at least not anymore."

"I believe in you, sir!" she said imposing herself.

"Thank you, young one, but I'm afraid it's too late. The rest of the Wonderbolts has already agreed to expel me, there's no turning back now. Anyway, what is your name, young one?"

"My name's Skybird, sir!"

"Well, cadet Skybird, let me give you some advice. I've been part of this institution for decades, and I can tell you that if you really wish to become a Wonderbolt you'll have to have your hooves dirty, and not in a good way. Don't fall for the common misconception that the Wonderbolts are what you have probably heard about them, that everything is nice and incorruptible. Regular ponies don't get to see what happens behind the curtains, you must beware of this. I should have done something about what happens here a long time ago, long before I became Wonderbolt, probably when I was your age... But I was blinded by the glory of the Wonderbolts that I forgot what justice truly is..." He put his right hoof on Skybird's shoulder. "Do not make the same mistake, cadet Skybird. Every time we witness an injustice and do not act we redefine our own character into being passive on its presence, and thereby eventually lose all ability to defend ourselves and those we love."

"What do you mean, sir? There’s nothing I can do about it?" asked Skybird confused.

"Oh, young one... Yes, you there is, but that's only up to you. Do not blindly follow others when making your own decisions. Only you can make the right decision for your future." He started to walk. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go. I hope to see you some other time. Perhaps when you become a Wonderbolt..." He paused and turned his head to Skybird with a firm look in his eyes "A better Wonderbolt than myself, I hope... Farewell, young one."

Skybird couldn’t be more confused: she was left with more questions than answers!

The next day, every cadet was checking the flying teams list placed at the mess hall. Everypony was excited except Skybird, whose mind was still dwelling with her encounter with the Commander the night before. She was one of the last to check the list. After a short while of searching she finally found her name at the bottom of the list. She was paired as a wing pony with none other than Raptor. Skybird, unlike the rest of the cadets, didn't care not being a lead pony.

Raptor approached her with a disgusted expression as she took her sunglasses off. "Ugh... Apparently you're going to be my wing pony... Just don't slow me down, follow my orders and everything will be fine. Now let's go, I don't want to be late for the next training exercise."

"But I haven't had breakfast yet!" Skybird protested.

"You had plenty of time to eat. That'll teach you to get out of bed sooner. Now let's head to the runway," said Raptor as she left the mess hall.

The designated teams were gathered on the runway when Captain Spitfire joined them.

"Today you'll be participating in the flag hunt competition," Spitfire loudly announced. "You'll be divided into two teams, red and blue. The team that captures the most flags of the opposing team wins. Lead ponies and wing ponies must fly together. Any pair that breaks formation will be immediately disqualified. This time, due to the excessive number of cadets in relation to the number of flags, the red and blue teams will each be split into smaller groups that will do the exercise in each respective turn. This will give everypony a fair chance during the flag hunt. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" the cadets replied.

Spitfire looked at her clipboard. "For the first round, the first group from the Red team will be composed by squads Alpha, Delta and Echo. From the Blue team, I want squads Charlie, Echo and..." She paused for a moment to think. Skybird was in the Bravo squad of the Blue team and hoped not be one of the firsts to be called, she had no clue on what to do. By the time Skybird finished her train of thought, Spitfire had made her decision "... Alpha! Ok, then, the squads that have been called: get ready. And... GO!", she said before blowing her whistle.

Skybird watched the teams go from the ground. Lifty Leaf's squad was the first to spot a flag, it was deep inside a narrow gorge. Lifty Leaf and her lead pony dove at high speed towards the tight passage; so tight that only two ponies could barely fit side-by-side, but they flew anyways. Unfortunately Lifty Leaf's left wing violently hit the side of the gorge. It hurt a lot, she winced noticeably. Her wing feathers also hurt, like if they were violently plucked. The lead pony caught the flag and carried on, unaware of what had just happened behind her. Lifty Leaf couldn't fly as fast as before but still, Lifty Leaf made an extra effort and returned to the runway behind her lead pony.

Lifty Leaf's lead pony landed quickly and gave the flag to Spitfire, while Lifty Leaf landed shortly afterwards, careening on the runway, everypony noticing something was not right with her.

"Score for the Red team!" Spitfire said loudly as she received the flag. "Now get back there and find some more flags."

But Lifty Leaf kept holding her wounded wing with her right arm. "Captain, I... I don't think I can do it. My wing is hurting..." For Skybird it was clear what happened. Thanks to her short medical experience, she could tell that Lifty Leaf had more that just a few bruises, she suspected a broken wing. Lifty Leaf should go to the nursery as soon as possible.

But Spitfire dismissed it completely. "Nonsense! Get back up there!"

"But, ma'am, my wing really hurts! I can barely move it!" said Lifty Leaf with an expression of deep pain.

"Don't waste my time, cadet, and stop whining! Up in the sky, NOW!"

Lifty Leaf gulped in fear as she looked to the sky. She started to feel a bit dizzy and began to sweat profusely. "May I be excused and see the doctor first, ma'am?" Her lead pony kept quiet, looking scared at Spitfire.

Spitfire's patience was wearing thin. "Look, 'cadet' Lifty Leaf, I'm getting sick and tired of you. I don't care about you or your wing. You're here to become a Wonderbolt, and if you want to join us you'll have to be ready for everything that comes at you, including enduring physical pain. Now get out of my damn runway!"

Lifty Leaf looked to the rest of her fellow cadets, she was ver worried and feared something terrible was going to happen. She felt like those were the last moments of her life. Skybird looked around to see if anypony was going to step forward and support her, but she was surprised as everypony stood still in silence, only expressing some concern. Somepony had to do something about it, and Skybird felt she was the one. But as soon as she start walking, a hoof blocked her way.

"Don't even think about it," whispered Raptor arrogantly.

Spitfire was fuming. "You haven't took off yet?!", she growled at Lifty Leaf. "Now LISTEN UP, you whiner! You're the most useless and most stupid cadet I ever had!" She grabbed Lifty Leaf by her collar, hurting her wing even more. "You have two choices: either you take off to the skies or you take off this Academy FOREVER!!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!!" shouted Skybird. Every cadet turned their heads in her direction, flabbergasted at her reaction. Even Raptor looked shocked.

Spitfire dropped Liftly's collar with an astonished expression and slowly turned to Skybird. "What did you just say, cadet?..." she said in a mix of shock and fury.

"Stop it, Skybird!" Raptor insisted.

"No, I'm not keeping my mouth shut!", she said as she jumped and flew over Raptor.

Skybird looked at Spitfire in the eye. "I've worked as a nurse in the past I can recognize medical injuries! And I'm not going to remain silent about that! That mare has a broken wing and needs urgent medical attention!"

"Do you also wish to leave the Wonderbolts Academy?..." Spitfire threatened.

"If being a Wonderbolt means that I have to let my teammates die before my very eyes because nopony was willing to help... Then... Then I don't want to ever be identified as one!!"

Spitfire had enough of that insubordination and headed towards Skybird, seeing red.

"You've just made the biggest mistake of your life, cadet! There's nothing like being a Wonderbolt! Are you trying to be a hero? Well you're NOT a hero! You're nothing more than a Pegasus that can barely fly! You think you have what it takes to be a hero of Equestria, somepony to be renowned for the ages?"

Spitfire stopped in front of Skybird. "Well, here's some news for you: you DON'T!" she said touching Skybird in her chest with her hoof. "From what I've seen so far since you joined the Academy, I can say without a doubt you will never be good enough to become a Wonderbolt, let alone become somepony renowned in Equestria!"

Skybird was furious at Spitfire. She had never felt so angry at anypony in her life. "You... you disgust me!! How can somepony like you be the Captain of the Wonderbolts?! Mark my words, Captain," Skybird returned her wing pony badge to the captain, "I'll show you just how wrong you are!"

Skybird headed towards Lifty Leaf to help her. Spitfire following her with her eyes without saying a word, for she knew that every cadet had just realized what was Skybird's future at the Wonderbolts… Raptor shook her head in contempt.

Skybird took Lifty Leaf to the nearest empty room. She sat Lifty Leaf on a chair, made a splint with a few branches she found outside and used some duct tape to strap it to the wing. She then wrapped the whole wing with a towel. The red mare was crying, but not solely due to the pain in her wing.

"I'm... I'm sorry I put you in this situation," sobbed the red mare.

"Don't worry, Lifty Leaf, it’s fine," comforted Skybird with a smile. "Does your wing still hurt?"

"Yes, a lot- Ouch!" she winced at the slightest movement.

"Then take these painkillers, they should ease your pain for a bit."

"But why did you do it? Why did you choose to help me when you knew perfectly well you'd be kicked out of the Wonderbolts Academy?!"

"Look, Lifty Leaf, I would have done the same for any other pony. Sometimes following your gut and use common sense is much more important than pride or rewards. I don't regret what I did just now." Skybird paused. "You need to go to a hospital as soon as possible, these painkillers are only a temporary treatment."

"Ok, Skybird" She paused. "And thank you... for everything," said Lifty Leaf with a sincere smile.

Skybird smiled back at her. "You're welcome. Can you get back on your hooves on your own?"

"Sure, don't worry. I'll take the next airship to the nearest hospital. I hope they are more understanding than Captain Spitfire was..." she chuckled.

"Now you must take good care of yourself." Skybird was leaving the room. "Oh, if you happen to go to Ponyville's hospital, look for a nurse named Anna Belle and tell her I sent you there. She'll take good care of you, trust me, she's the best nurse they have."

"I will!"

"Also, tell her that I miss her," Skybird with a sad face.

Skybird left the room and went to the barracks. She removed her cadet uniform and her goggles and laid them on her bunk bed. She packed her belongings and left the Wonderbolts Academy never to return again.