Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S4

by Banshee531

Testing Testing 1, 2, 3

Today's story begins on the balcony of the Golden Oak Library, where Flash was enjoying the sun while strumming on his guitar. Several days of hard training had severely worn him out, mainly due to a five day marathon of 'Iron's armored dodge-a-thon'. Thanks to this, he and the rest of the Defenders had chosen to take the day off to rest...and Iron was planning for a date with Fluttershy tonight.

As for Springer, after the morning patrol, the jakhowl had left to join Scootaloo and the rest of the Crusaders over something about 'cupcakes with sprinkles'. Flash had let him go, but told him and Scootaloo that they could have only one, and for him to lay off the sugary ones. Thankfully, Flash met Pinkie before all of this, having her Pinkie Promise that she wouldn't serve it to him, along with the Cakes.

Due to all of this, Flash was now doing his other hobby, music writing. It was his third work now, one he had been making ever since he had first moved into Ponyville. And as he did this, his ears picked up Twilight reading aloud outside the front door. "The magical properties of this spell will only have lasting effects if you focus on-"

"YEAH!" A streak of rainbow light shot past her, creating a gust of wind that knocked the pages in Twilight's book out.

"No!" She cried as she watched the pages flee, making her glare up at the pegasi. "Rainbow Dash!" She started to flap her wings as she tried to hover, her horn shining as the pages began to be covered in her magic aura. "How in Equestria does that pony expect to pass her history of the Wonderbolts exam tomorrow if she's wasting time flying?! I'm just gonna fly right up to her and tell her what I think about her lackadaisical approach to studying! Won't she be surprised?!"

"Surprise!" Rainbow exclaimed as she suddenly appeared in front of Twilight.

"Ahh!" The alicorn yelped, making Flash chuckle as he watched her drop her pages again. He put his guitar down and flew up to them as Twilight continued. "How did you-"

"Puh-lease Twilight," Rainbow replied before landing on a cloud. "That was the worst sneak attack ever."

"Wha?!" Twilight landed unsteadily onto another cloud, "But-"

"I saw you giving me the stink-eye from the ground and heard you flying up to me and muttering from a mile away."

Flash chuckled again, "She's got you there Twi. Oh and uh, impressive eyes and ears by the way."

"You're welcome," Rainbow smugly giggled. "I am the best."

Twilight rolled her eyes at the two. "Well, if you heard me 'muttering', then you must know what I was 'muttering' about!"

"Yeah, yeah, the Wonderbolts history test." She then rolled over to the side of the cloud, "Its no big deal." With that, she flipped off the cloud, hovering down without a care in the world.

Twilight glared down at the pegasus, opening her wings to follow after her. "No big deal?! Its a really big deal!"

Flash chuckled at the sight, leaning over the cloud he was on, "Ohh...I wish Pinkie was here to make me some popcorn. This is gonna be good."

"It's a test Rainbow! A test that will determine if you can join the newly-formed Wonderbolts Reserves, and being part of the Wonderbolts Reserves means you'll have the opportunity to live your dream as a Wonderbolt! This is the most important test OF YOUR LIFE!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Twilight, not everypony gets all freaked out about tests like you."

"I do not get 'all freaked out' about tests!" Twilight almost screamed.

Rainbow raised a single eyebrow at this, "Uh, seriously? Your freak-outs are so epic, you sing whole freak-out arias about freaking out!"

Flash took this moment to start humming said aria, causing Twilight to shoot a glare at him, the pegasi then doing a generic whistle instead. Letting out a huff next, Twilight turned back to Rainbow. "Fine, I may tend to take my tests a little seriously, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be studying for yours!"

It was in that moment that her eyes began to go wide, making Flash roll his eyes, "Here we go. Rainbow is officially doomed."

"Oooh! I know just the pony who can help you!" Rainbow facehoofed, but then gave Twilight a 'go on' gesture. "ME!" Twilight grabbed her hoof as her horn started to glow. "This is gonna be so much fun!" With that, the two mares disappeared in a bright flash.

"Ahh! Not again!" Flash covered his eyes, flinching in pain before wobbling off the cloud. There, he spread his wings as he started blinking, only to crash into the library window.

Bang!

"Ow!" Flash yelped as his face collided with the glass, his dazed brain managing to process the image of Twilight in front of a blackboard with Rainbow was sitting at a school desk. That was all he could see before sliding down, his chin now hitting the sill before slipping off. "Augh!" He then shook his head, "Oh great, I get the feeling this is gonna get out of hoof really quickly. I better go in there..."

The defender picked himself up next, walking through the front door just in time to hear Rainbow's outcry as something was dropped onto her desk. Flash's brain finally recovered enough for him to see Rainbow staring at a large blue book as Twilight did a small 'ahem' and began to explain, "This is the most complete-"

"And ginormous!" Rainbow interrupted.

"-book on the history of the Wonderbolts," Twilight finished as she tapped the board behind her. "It is a tome of true Wonderbolt knowledge."

"Ooookay..." Rainbow stared down at the giant novel. If Flash didn't know any better, he'd say she looked intimidated by it. "But how am I supposed to get what's in there, into here?" She pointed from the book to her brain, making Twilight smile.

"With my handy-dandy study checklist, of course!"

"Of course..." Rainbow shrank into her desk before slowly opening the book.

Flash leaned against one of the book cases, placing his hooves behind his head. "This is gonna be fun."

Twilight turned to him with a glare. "Don't you have something better to do?!"

Flash chuckled back, "Better than watching you try to reach Rainbow history? Yeah...no."

Twilight rolled her eyes before magicking a yellow marker over to Rainbow, who took it in her mouth. "First up, reading and highlighting." She began to pace as Rainbow started to highlight the book. "Reading and highlighting is the foundation of any good study method. It allows the student to hone in and boil down on what's really important, separating the good from the bad, the wheat from the chaff, and getting to the crux of things." She turned back to her, "let's see what you've got so far!"

Flash moved over as she took the book, opening it up as his eyes went wide. He now found himself being nearly blinded by the amount of gold covering the page. "MY EYES! Seriously, twice in one day?!"

On the other hoof, Twilight flipped through the book with a frown on her face. "Huh? Hm...by highlighting everything, you don't really separate the wheat from the chaff...or the good from the bad." One page then showed a doodle of Rainbow doing...something. Then she flipped over to another page, which was a fold out of a crude image of the alicorn. "Hey! I am not that tall!" she yelled as Flash stared at the picture, only to fall over laughing. "And stop laughing Flash! This is not funny!"

The alicorn then highlighted a part of the list, Flash now walking up to her and slinging his hoof around her shoulders, "Twilight...this isn't gonna work for Rainbow. She's a pegasus, and we don't come with long attention spans."

Rainbow nodded in agreement as Twilight turned to him, condescension burning in her eyes. "I happen to remember these study tactics worked wonders for you whenever Grand gave you a test! Your history score average was eighty nine percent!"

Flash just nervously laughed in response, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah...so, confession time Twi. Your study techniques didn't actually help me...at all."

Twilight's jaw dropped to the floor in horror. "WHAT?!"

"They helped with the reading and the writing, though mainly with the stuff with Shining's comics. As for stuff like history...I did horribly. Like, really really bad. So bad that Princess Celestia said I shouldn't show you."

"They were...you did...but-but-but...but how?!" Twilight screeched, her jaw finally leaving the floor. "How did you do well on those tests?!"

"I had to come up with my own studying method." Flash replied as he slightly looked away.

Twilight's horn started to glow, gripping the defender's ear as she made him look back at her, "And what, pray tell, was this method?!"

Flash rubbed his ear. "I made up songs I'd sing in my head. I did the highlighting thing you'd show me, and then make a song with it. I'd sing it over and over, and then bam! The info just stuck."

"Songs?! How did you come with that method?"

Flash just shrugged. "Grand. He suggested I use it for math, history and whatever else I had trouble remembering. You do remember he was the one who gave me my guitar, right? He was the one who realised how good I was with music." Flash then rubbed his chin in thought, "Though now that I think about it....so did that human Grand as well in that mirror world."

"But...but...I taught you all of those subjects." Twilight slumped over, her lips quivering, "I remember making a log about it and everything. I thought for sure you were my student and...and...I failed as a teacher?! I had no idea!"

Flash cringed at the sight, "Sorry. Princess Celestia said I shouldn't tell you back then due to your....confidence issues."

Twilight glared back up at him. "You meanie! I can't believe you lied to me all that time!"

Flash shook his head at this, "Twilight, I didn't lie to you. I did what I was ordered to do." He then gave her his hoof, "Now come on, let's get Rainbow studied up. You can complain to Grand about stealing me as your student later."

Twilight sighed but nodded, taking his hoof, "Grr....fine! I'll make Grand pay later..." She then grabbed her checklist and looked it over. "Let's see if we can't find a study method she can use....ah! Here's a classic! " She used her magic on a piece of chalk, quickly drawing the Wonderbolt emblem with it, "History lecture." It was here that she turned back to the pegasi, only to notice Rainbow's hoof was up. "Yes Rainbow?"

Rainbow miraculously pulled a lunchbox out of thin air, "Is it snack time?"

"No," Twilight replied with a shake of her head. The next thing she knew, the mare was outside holding a soccer ball.

"Recess?"

"No," Twilight replied with a little more irritation.

Rainbow sighed as she just dragged herself back into the library. "Can't we just watch the history of the Wonderbolts movie?!"

"There's a movie?" Flash added, "I wanna see it...and get some popcorn. I need popcorn stat!" He then tapped one of the bookshelves, "Pinkie has got have some popcorn stashed for 'popcorn emergencies' around her somewhere...probably."

"Flash, if you're not going to help, go away." Twilight growled, causing him to slump over and slowly nod. "Good. Just sit there while I start this." She then turned back to the blackboard, "Now, just get comfortable Rainbow, and get ready to experience the magic of learning." She cleared her throat before beginning. "Prior to the great Celestia/Luna rift, there was no need for the Earth, Unicorn, Pegasi, or E.U.P., or the Guard."

"Mainly due to the Royal Knights killing it," Flash said with a smug smile, putting both hooves behind his head.

Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile. "Yes, yes, partly because of that, mister apprentice knight. Anyways, as such..." She continued as her lecture started to fade away, completely unaware of Rainbow now ignoring her while rocking back and forth on her squeaky chair. Flash frowned at the sight, only to notice Owlowiscious fly into the room and start hooting with the squeaks. This made a rhythm Flash had to admit was pretty catchy, which was helped when Spike suddenly showed up with a drum.

Still completely unaware that she had lost the pegasi's attention, Twilight continued her lecture. "Headed by General Firefly, a member of the Royal Knights at the time, an elite team of aerial performers were chosen to help celebrate this auspicious occasion. The first performance was so full of energy, so highly charged, that magical lightning showered down on the crowd. Everypony was so filled with amazement and wonder that General Firefly dubbed them 'The Wonderbolts!'" She spun around and projected said teams insignia with her magic, only to cut it and drop her ears when she saw Flash dancing to the trio's music.

Flash, Spike and Owlowiscious then noticed the alicorn now staring at them, making them nervously smile as they started to backpedal away. Unfortunately, there was the still goofing off Rainbow Dash, who was still bouncing around on her stool, unaware she had been caught.

"Rainbow Dash..." Twilight growled, her left twitching, "Can you repeat any of my lesson?!" Rainbow ignored her, still trying to make the chair squeak more. That is, till Twilight's horn started to glow, teleporting the stool away.

"Augh!" Rainbow yelped as her flank hit the floor, "What was that for?!"

"Because you're not listening!" Twilight yelled back as she walked over to her desk. There, she sat down, only for-

HONK!

"Eep!" Twilight shrieked as Rainbow burst out laughing, the alicorn turning to see a horn now in her chair. Rainbow then lifted her hoof up for a hoof bump to Flash, only for him and the others to start backpedaling again.

"Hey, what gives-"

"Rainbow..." Twilight hissed, making the athlete turn to see pure anger about to consume the alicorn's face. "Come on, we're going outside." She then grabbed her checklist, grumbling as she crossed out another entry, "History lecture...nope." She sighed before turning back, "Okay Rainbow-" She came to halt, now seeing that Rainbow was gone. "Rainbow? Rainbow Dash!"

The next thing the two knew, Rainbow landed on the library sign. "Over here!"

"What are you-nevermind." Twilight put her clipboard down, "Let's move on to my favorite style of learning." From out of nowhere, a pile of paper appeared in front of her. "Flashcards!"

Flash suddenly let out a snort, trying to contain his laughter. Rainbow then floated above him, asking, "What?"

"Oh nothing," Flash replied while fighting back a laugh. "Just remembering the first prank Spike and I ever pulled on Twilight."

Twilight rolled her eyes at this. "You mean the one where you replaced my flashcards with...well...Flash cards."

Rainbow blinked at Flash in confusion, causing him to chuckle as he replied, "We took a bunch of pictures of me in different poses and swapped them out."

This caused Rainbow to burst out laughing, making Twilight roll her eyes again. "That's awesome! I wish I could have seen that!" Flash glanced back at Twilight, now remembering her panicking face back then. Within seconds, he fell over, laughing at the memory.

"Can we focus please!" Twilight called out, making the two stop their extreme chuckles. She pointed at Flash. "You, up on the library balcony, now!"

"What?!" Flash yelped, only to get a scowl from his best friend. "Fine....geez, I was just trying to-"

"Now!"

"Okay, okay!" He grumbled as he flew up to the balcony, grabbing his guitar with slight discontent. "I was just having a little fun..."

Twilight took a breath before holding the first card up in front of her face. "Colonel Purple Dart, the leader of the Wonderbolts in the Fourth Celestial Era, was known for his-" She didn't get to finish, as something suddenly struck the card, knocking it from her magical grasp. "Wha?!" her eyes darted around to see where the attack came from, "Rainbow! Did you see what happened?!"

"What?!" Rainbow yelped before waving her hoof, "No! I was...riveted by your captivating cards!

"Hmm..." Twilight turned around, looking up as she heard the strums of Flash's guitar. She glanced back at Rainbow, giving her one last suspicious glare before lifting up another card. "After becoming the official flying squadron for Princess Celestia, she honored them with-" Once again, somethin knocked the card away, making Twilight spin around to glare at Rainbow, "Gotcha!"

Rainbow just blinked at her, her form laying across the sign while looking completely innocent. "Got what?"

Twilight continued to glare at her, only to raise another card, "The original Wonderbolts lightning bolt insignia was-" She lowered the card, just in time to see a spit wad coming straight for her. She yelped as her magic flared, catching the projectile that was sent from one straw mouthed pegasus. "Rainbow Dash...you could've hurt me!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes as Twilight yanked the straw out of her mouth. "With a spit wad? Really?"

"A spit wad to the eye would have been no laughing matter!" The alicorn broke the straw in her magic. "You need to take this seriously, or-"

"Twilight...I don't think that's gonna work either." announced Flash as he flew down to her. "Flashcards might be your favorite study method, but it's also the easiest method to ruin."

Twilight glared at him before turning to the pegasus currently hiding behind the sign. "Well, if you can horse around like this, then you clearly must be ready for the test."

"Clearly," Rainbow replied with a smug grin.

It was here that Twilight got that look in her eyes, the look that told Flash she was going to enjoy knocking Rainbow off her high horse. "Well then, I guess you're also ready for a-" She suddenly teleported right next to Rainbow, placing her inches away from the mare. "Pop quiz!"

Rainbow put her hoof to her chest. "Bring it!" Twilight's horn sparking before the two teleporting away in a flash, the light once again burning Flash's eyes.

"Augh! Oh, come on Twilight!" He rubbed his eyes again, trying to get the blurriness to go away. "If I end up needing glasses Twilight, you'll be in trouble! Princess or not!" He then started aimlessly trotting around, trying to find the door to the library, "Marco...polo...somewhere?!"

"Flash?"

The pegasus turned to the source of voice, his eyes squinting. "Fluttershy? Is that you?"

"Over here num-nuts," Iron's voice called out.

"Where?" His question was answered when he felt a hoof grab hold of him, "Shy?"

"I'm here. What happened?"

"Let me guess," Iron's voice asked. "Sparkle's teleport spell to the eye?"

"It's like she's doing it on purpose." His eyes blinked rapidly next, his vision slowly returning to normal as he could now see his friends, "So...about to go on your date?"

Fluttershy blushed while Iron rolled his eyes. "Actually, we were hoping to ask Twilight for a favor. We got invited to my parents house for lunch, but Iron won't be able to walk on the clouds in Cloudsdale."

"So you were hoping Twilight would cast that spell she used during the Best Young Flyers competition?" Fluttershy nodded. "I'm sure she will, but you'll have to wait. She's currently helping another pegasus with a problem, though it isn't going too well."

"Rainbow?" Fluttershy guessed, Flash nodding in agreement. "But why is Rainbow-"

BLAM!

That was the sound of the library door slamming open, Rainbow running out with a look of horror on his face. "I'm gonna fail, I'm gonna fail, I'm gonna fail!" Her horror then turned to a glare as she stared at Twilight. "And it's all your fault!"

"My fault?! I'm the one helping you!"

"Maybe your famous study methods aren't all they're cracked up to be," the irritated pegasus accused while tapping Twilight's chest, "Eh, teacher?!"

Flash flinched at those words, a gulp now going down his throat. "Oh, I don't see this ending well."

"Should we stop them?" Fluttershy asked. "I mean, Twilight looks like-"

"Or, we watch it play out," Iron interrupted as he nudged his marefriend, only to get a glare back.

"Excuse me," Twilight told Rainbow as she pulled the athlete back. "I've used them to study for many a test and passed!"

"Yeah right," Rainbow looked away.

Twilight then flew up behind her. "Do you know the name of the premiere Wonderbolts choreographer?"

"Uh...well-"

"Commander Easyglider," the alicorn barked as she flew in front of her. "Do you know how many Pegasi flew in the original squad?!"

"Um-"

"Seven!" Twilight almost screamed, "Do you know Princess Celestia's favorite flight pattern?!" She didn't let Rainbow reply, now flaring her wings as she tapped her own chest, "The Icaranian Sun Salutation! See?! I could pass the test!"

"Fine!" Rainbow yelled back as she floated to the ground, "Rub it in, why don't ya? Besides, I don't see why I have to take this lousy test anyways." She started flying around Twilight, "I've proven I'm one of the best flyers around."

And so began the true argument, Twilight defending the merits of knowing the history while Rainbow scoffed them off as something eggheads used to keep the 'real' flyers down. This was followed with both Flash and Iron wanting popcorn while Fluttershy rolled her eyes at them. Twilight then made a joke about possibly becoming a Wonderbolt herself, causing Fluttershy to finally intervene.

"Girls," Fluttershy spoke out a she walked up to them, only to be drowned out as Rainbow made fun about Twilight's lack of flying skills. "Girls..." Twilight let out a gasp, her horn sparking as she glared at Rainbow. And as her mouth opened, "GIRLS!" Fluttershy finally screamed, "STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!"

The two hopped in place, both slowly turning to her as Fluttershy crossed her hooves, "Now is that any way to talk to a friend? Well?!"

The two looked down, Twilight glumly replying, "Yeah...sorry Rainbow."

"Right..." Rainbow agreed with a slight gulp, "Sorry about that Twilight."

As the three flew back to the ground, Fluttershy continued. "Don't you have more important things to do? Like preparing Rainbow for her big test?"

Twilight let out a long groan, "I've been doing that! I've tried everything Fluttershy, but none of my study methods work for her!"

"I told you, we pegasi don't have your kind of attention spans," Flash declared as he and Iron trotted up to them. "You should try my method, music." As those words came out of his mouth, a new thought hopped into his mind, "You know, if we're doing music, we really need Pinkie."

"You called?" Everypony except Flash jumped when they heard the earth pony's voice, turning to see her head poking out of the bushes beside Flash.

The defender shined a huge grin at her, turned to her, "I need a musical history lecture, asap."

Pinkie pulled out a notepad and pencil from her mane, "Subject?"

"History of the Wonderbolts."

"Genre?"

"Umm....Surprise me? Though it probably might be best to use one Rainbow would actually listen to."

"No problem," Pinkie pushed the writing items back into her mane before retracting into the bush.

Flash smirked at the sight before glancing back at the others, only to see confusion on her faces, "What? Do you really wanna question Pinkie?" Several shakes of the head followed. "Welp, since we have some time on our hooves, anypony else wanna see if they can help Rainbow learn history?" Fluttershy raised a hoof, "Go for it."

"Alright. Meet me at the park in thirty minutes. Can I borrow Spike?" Twilight nodded, the drake following her as she trotted away.

"Okay...guess we gotta wait on that too." Flash commented as he looked back at Twilight, "Any other ideas?"

"Simple. Lesson drills." Twilight replied, making Rainbow gulp. This was followed with Twilight dragging the athlete back into the library, Flash already knowing success was far away for the alicorn. As for Iron, he let out a long sigh, knowing his date might be delayed today, causing Flash to pat his back. Flash then tried to teach him a game his mirror world's counterpart had taught him called Rock-Paper-Scissors. Unfortunately, their hooves made it impossible to do anything other than rock.

---

Thirty or so minutes later...

The time had come for them to head to the park. There, they found Fluttershy, Spike and the mane six's pets on the stage they had used for Rainbow's birthday party, now tricked out as a production stage. She motioned them to sit on the benches, as Angel and Opal stepped on stage wearing wings and crowns.

"Okay..." Rainbow spoke up as she pointed at the two, "Who's that, and who's that?"

Fluttershy nodded at this, "Celestia and Luna back when they were happy."

They watched as Opal and Angel reenacted the battle between Celestia and Luna, ending in Opal falling back before Owlowiscious flew onto stage to grab the cat. They watched as Opal was deposited on the cardboard moon, followed by Tank and Winona coming onto stage while Spike pushed Gummy into position. The three stood in front of Angel, two of them bowing.

Rainbow just blinked at the sight, confusion clearly on his face, "Now what?"

"Gummy's an Earth pony, Winona's a unicorn, and Tank is a Pegasus."

Twilight leaned over to her. "They're the E.U.P., helping to protect the Princess."

Rainbow looked back at the stage, still completely clueless. "Uh, how are you getting all this?"

"Common sense mostly," Flash remarked as they watched Owlowiscious fly Angel up onto a wooden sun, Spike giving the rabbit stage directions. But as Tank tried to act out the pegasus airshow, he accidently knocked the sun out of place and sent Angel flying.

"Oh, no!" Fluttershy gasped before Owlowiscious caught the demon bunny, only to fly into the moon. The collision sent it and Opal flying, the cat falling onto Spike as ran away from a rolling moon.

"Stop, stop, stop! That was aw-"

"Awesome!" Pinkie interrupted as she suddenly appeared in front of them. "I give it three woohoo's! Woohoo, woohoo, woohoo! And an extra "woo" for good measure! Woo!"

Flash smiled back at the sight, "So I'm guessing you finished up the musical lecture?"

"You know it!" Pinkie replied before turning to Rainbow. "Listen up Dashie. Some ponies learn through theatrical presentation, but other ponies learn through musical intervention!"

"Hit it Pinks!"

And with that, Pinkie started beat boxing...and rapping, "Well, back in ancient times, there were the Wonderbolts of old. A general named Firefly, amazing and so bold. She brought them all together, spreading unity in flight. Performing at their very best with wonder and with might. There's Admiral Fairweather and the Colonel Purple Dart, gave Wonderbolts a bit of steel along with lots of heart. An admiral named Fairy Flight and a general called Flash, helped the 'bolts fly super high with style and panache! Commander Easyglider was the real cream of the crop! For with her wicked moves, the Wonderbolts soared to the top! Wonderbolts, yeah! Wonderbolts, huh! Wonderbolts, yeah! Wonderbolts ,unf! That is my rappin' history of the Wonderbolts!"

With that, Pinkie struck a pose as she stopped, Flash clapping while Pinkie turned to Rainbow. "So, d'you get it?"

Rainbow nodded back. "Yes, Pinkie Pie!" She then started imitating Pinkie's beat-boxing, poorly, "General This and Colonel That, they're the Wonderbolts, something that rhymes with that!" She struck her own pose, looking to the others with expectant eyes.

Everypony just stared at her, barely willing to blink until Pinkie spoke up. "That...was pretty terrible."

"What?! But I've gotta learn this stuff now!"

"Well, its still bad." Flash added while putting his hooves behind his head, "This is starting to become...not fun anymore."

Hearing this, Rainbow started to fly away, only to see Rarity walking up to them. "Rarity? What are doing here?"

Rarity was dressed in a weird marching band like uniform, making the ponies all stare at her as the fashionista announced, "I am the pony to help you Rainbow! I hope you're ready for a history lesson!"

Rainbow just raised a single eyebrow, "Rarity...you look ridiculous."

Rarity glared back at her, pointing at the athlete. "I'm going to ignore that comment out of my desire to help you."

Rainbow turned back to the others, Flash just shrugging. "Good luck."

Rarity spun around, gripping Rainbow by the hoof, "Come along dear."

And as the two walked off, Flash put his hoof into Pinkie's mane, pulling out a thing of popcorn. He then popped a kernel in his mouth as he asked, "She's gonna show Rainbow a bunch of old Wonderbolt outfits, isn't she?"

Twilight replied with a shrug. "Probably."

"That's gonna take a while too." Iron grumbled as he took a piece of the popcorn, "Though I would love to see Rainbow's horrified face over all of this."

"True. Wanna get there before them and try on the outfits?" The others all nodded in agreement, even Iron as he didn't mind modeling for military outfits. Twilight's horn then started to glow, Flash finally managing to shield his eyes as she teleported them away.

---

When they arrived inside the boutique, the ponies all blinked at a barrage of costumed manikins, Twilight pointing at one, "Hey! That's Commander Easyglider's uniform."

"Dibs," Flash replied as he tried to grab the costume...only for it to magically disappear. He spun around to glare at Twilight, who was now wearing said ensemble.

She smirked as she pushed her shades down to her nose, "Nice try. Why don't you try the one belonging to a pony whose name you share instead?"

Flash growled at her, then glanced at the outfit as he saw the bell bottoms on it. "No thanks."

"I'll do it!" Pinkie chimed in as she put the costume on.

"Hey y'all," they spun around to see Applejack step into the boutique. "What's going on?" They quickly explained the situation to the farm pony, Applejack thinking it was a silly idea. Despite this, she decided to try it out, all of them soon dressed in replica costumes.

And as soon as they were finished, Pinkie looked outside to see Rarity and Rainbow. "Places everypony!" She switched off the light as everypony got into position.

"Get ready Rainbow Dash," Rarity exclaimed as they began to walk into the shop. "For I am going to take you on an historical adventure in fashion!" As soon as she said that, a spotlight shot onto her. "I am now currently modelling the rather unattractive, and frankly-" She resisted the urge to scratch, "itchy, original Wonderbolts flying costume. Fortunately, thanks to the vision of Flair d'Mare, the Wonderbolts ensemble became more streamlined in a wonderfully breathable fabric. Of course, there were fashion hits... and misses." It was at this moment they arrived infront of Pinkie, a spotlight illuminating her as Rarity pointed out the costume's flaws. "Just look at those dreadful bell-bottoms. What were ponies thinking?"

"I dunno," the earth pony said. "I bet General Flash rocked these things!"

The baker's outburst caused Rainbow to yelp in surprise. "Pinkie, you're real!"

"Of course I'm real!" Pinkie announced with a giggle, "I mean, I'm not the real General Flash, the tenth leader of the Wonderbolts, but I, Pinkie, am really real."

Fluttershy and Iron then came out of the shadows, "And I'm Admiral Fairy Flight, from the seventh squadron."

Iron flexed his hooves next, showing off an uniform that was similar to what the bolts wore today, but had thick dark blue armor around the chest and hooves. "What do you think of the Wonderbolt's first warfare suit? It's a little unbalanced, as they obviously realized the defensive flaws later...and it has wing holes that I can't use."

Rainbow turned away from the two, only to hop in place as Twilight appeared, "And of course you recognize Commander Easyglider."

Flash took this chance to drop down from the ceiling, wearing an all black version of Iron's costume. "Don't forget about General Silent Night, who attempted to form a Wonderbolt off shoot designed for infiltration and sabotage. It didn't last long."

Finally, Applejack stepped out of the shadows as well, "And I'm sportin' some sort of getup worn by Colonel Purple Dart."

Rainbow's eyes hopped from one pony to the next, her eyes twitching at the sight as Rarity commented, "My my, just look at us."

"Look at us," Flash and Twilight chanted.

"LOOK AT ME!" Pinkie screamed, "LOOK AT ME!"

"AUGH! NOOO!!! It's too much for my eyes!" Rainbow screeched as she hopped out of the pony circle before curling up into a corner, hiding her face in her hooves as Applejack walked up to her.

"Now, don't you fret, Rainbow." She pulled her hat off her head, "This fashion show nonsense wouldn't help me learn nothin', either." She tossed the hat away, right past a pouting Rarity.

"Really?" The pegasus came out from behind her hooves. "Well, what special study trick do you have, AJ?"

"Who, me?" Applejack asked as she and Rainbow began to walk to the door. "Oh, I got nothing." This statement caused Rainbow to sigh, only for the farm pony to continue, "Why, I could tell you every little thing there is to know about the history of apples, but I picked all that up over years in the field as a labor of love." She turned back to the pegasus, "Say, how much time you got?"

Rainbow flinched, "Twelve hours."

"Oh," Applejack showed a glum frown, "Then you're up a creek."

Rainbow sighed again, falling onto her flank as Flash walked out while pulling off his costume. "You know, that's a good point."

"What is?" Twilight asked.

"What AJ said about learning this stuff over time. I mean, think about Daring Do. Rainbow can recite those word for word without issue."

"So? What's that got to do with my test?!" Rainbow barked back, "I'm gonna fail!"

Flash just shook his head, "Rainbow...you've told us that you've been a Wonderbolts fan years longer than you've been a fan of the Daring Do books. Isn't this stuff you should have already learned?"

This got Twilight humming, "That is a good point. Maybe it's not the actual team she cares about."

"What are you talking about?!" Rainbow hissed as she got up into Flash's face, "I love the Wonderbolts!"

"One more than others," Rarity said below her breath.

"Really?" Twilight asked back while pushing Rainbow away from Flash, "So what if the Wonderbolts weren't a flight team? What if they were the exact same ponies with the exact same history, but instead of being flyers, they were all...pretzel benders?" Rainbow was about to retort, but her mouth let out zero sound. "Exactly. Rainbow, you want to be a Wonderbolt purely because they're the best flight team in Equestria. You want to join to because it's the best way to be seen as the best flyer. They're a means to an end for you."

Rainbow wanted to object, but her mind told her to stop. Memories flooded her brain as she remembered back when they first all met and went after the Elements of Harmony. Nightmare Moon had disguised herself as a bunch of dark Wonderbolts named the Shadowbolts, which tried to convince her to join them just because they were the fastest. A sigh followed this as she slumped over, "I...I guess you've got a point."

The others all frowned at the sight, Twilight then patting her side as she showed the athlete some more flashcards, "Come on Rainbow, cheer up. We can still help you pass your test. I think we should just go back to old-fashioned studying."

Rainbow ducked out of the circle of cards, walking backwards right into Fluttershy and the animals. "What about our play?" Fluttershy asked Angel and Opel continued dancing, making Rainbow backpedal into Rarity.

"Just look at these costumes! Surely something resonates with your inner Wonderbolt!"

Applejack pushed in front of Rarity. "And Granny Smith discovered the first granny smith in Fillydelphia when she was just a filly!"

Pinkie and Flash then jumped in front of them, Pinkie now wearing a hat and chain while Flash started beat boxing. "Commander Easyglider was the real cream of the crop-"

Twilight's magic pulled Flash's ear, making him stop, "Pinkie, Flash, stop rapping! That isn't gonna help Rainbow!"

"Well, I suggest you put down your silly cards of flash, for I know that they cannot help our good friend Rainbow Dash!"

And so, a full on argument broke out between all of Rainbow's friends, the only ones not involved being Iron and Flash. As for Flash's case, this was because Twilight's magic was still pulling his ear. Rainbow continued looking from pony to pony, her breath getting more ragged by the second until- "ENOUGH!" The ponies all grew quiet as they all looked at Rainbow, seeing pure panic on her face. "No rapping, no cards, no costumes, no play, and no apples! I am never gonna pass this test! Never ever!"

Flash then raised his hoof, "Rainbow-"

"Just forget it!" With that last outcry, the pegasus shot into the air.

And as the group watched her fly away, they all sighed as Iron asked, "Great...that went perfectly."

"Not now Iron." Fluttershy glared at him, smacking his side with her wing, "You didn't even try to help!"

"That's because I don't have anything to help with this!" Iron replied as he crossed his hooves, "Sometimes you gotta just make your own study method."

"Hmmm...Iron's got a point." Twilight admitted as she looked at each of her friends, "What do we do now? She needs to figure this out on her own...but she's out of time. We need to make a method for her, and fast."

Flash rubbed his chin at this, "Yeah...but we need Rainbow here first. Anypony wanna go talk to her?"

"I'll go," Twilight flexed her wings before flying into the sky, Flash following her. It wasn't long till they found Rainbow, who was slowly flying over the town. Twilight hovered next to her, a series of pants following as Flash watched her pace. "Rainbow, I'm sorry about all that! We didn't mean to overwhelm you!"

"Yeah," Flash added, "We're really sorry."

"It's okay," Rainbow moaned as she looked down at the ground, "You were just trying to help. It's just too bad that I'm too dumb to learn anything."

"You are not dumb!" Twilight said firmly. "You just...learn differently!

"If by 'differently', you mean 'not at all', then you're totally right."

Twilight shook her head, "No, that's totally wrong."

"See? Wrong again." She then started to fly away, making Twilight sigh.

"This isn't working," Flash said as he patted Twilight's back, "We need a way to cheer her up."

Twilight nodded and increased her speed to catch up. There, she started to fly next to Rainbow, "Rainbow, listen to me...please." The athlete slightly slowed down, her ears perking up as Twilight continued, "Remember what Flash said about you being able to recite the Daring Do books? You think somepony who's dumb could do that? If you're really passionate about something, you can learn it no problem."

Rainbow sighed again. "And it seems being a Wonderbolt isn't something I'm passionate about. You were right Twilight, all I care about is being seen as the best flyer. If they weren't known for that, I wouldn't care at all."

"But that would mean you would have never met Soarin," Flash countered. "See? Some good came from it."

"Maybe..."

"And your knowledge of jokes and pranks is only rivalled by Pinkie," Twilight added.

"Great...just great..." Rainbow moaned. "My years of being a class clown prevented me from actually learning how to learn!"

"That's not what I meant," Twilight replied as she began listing off a bunch of different positives about Rainbow. And as she did, she didn't notice a helicopter flying towards her. Flash was about to call out, but Rainbow reacted first, and shoved the alicorn out of danger. Twilight cried out as she flew back, managing to pull herself as Flash helped catch her, "Rainbow! I know you're upset, but you don't need to-" She stopped when the helicopter flew by, "Whoa," she stopped flapping and floated down onto a cloud, "I almost slammed into that!"

"I know," Rainbow laughed as she flew a circle around her. "You were jabbering on so much, you didn't even notice."

"But how did you notice? You were listening and talking to me the whole time!"

This statement caused Rainbow to roll her eyes. "You're such a rookie. An experienced flyer like me knows how to multitask."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "While you fly?"

Flash took this moment to chime in. "It's one of the first things they teach you, or at least one of the first things Cadance and Soarin taught me." He looked to Rainbow for confirmation, getting a nod from the Pegasus. "See? Its one the skills we all learn as flying pegasi."

"Yeah! I mean, I was paying attention to you, but I was also scanning the sky and the ground for any problems."

"Really?" Twilight asked while tilting her head. "But...how did..."

"Flying is not just flying Twilight!"

Flash nodded in agreement, "Yeah. There's a ton of other things you need to master when you start flying." the defender nudged her side, "Don't worry, once you get the hang of it, you'll do it on instinct."

Rainbow took his moment to flip over while still flapping her wings. "In order to stay safe in the sky, I've got to hear and see everything down to the littlest details. For instance, I just saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Springer come out of Sugarcube Corner, and from the looks of it, they had carrot cupcakes with sprinkles."

"Yeah, and I'm betting that's not their first round," Flash cut in, "Remind me to not get them anything for dessert tonight. They'll have a stomach ache, and I'll have to deal with it."

"And I'm thinking Big Mac sold a huge order of apples to Filthy Rich, 'cause I heard him give a very hearty eeyup. I always make note of everything when I fly. No biggie."

Twilight's eyes shrunk as her mind started to go a mile a minute. The sight alone made Flash smile, as he knew she was getting an idea. "Okay Twilight, what have you-"

"Oh my gosh, I got it!" Twilight exclaimed as she suddenly spread her wings, "I gotta go!"

With that, she zinged off the cloud, making both Flash and Rainbow blink at the sight. Rainbow then let out a sigh, her hooves starting to gather the busted bits of cloud. "Yeah, I get it." She sat down on the cloud, which suddenly changed into a rain cloud. "I wouldn't want to hang out with a loser like me either."

She let out a sad groan as she curled herself up, causing Flash to sigh. "Guess I better find out what that was about." Flash whispered as he floated down, soon flying over to the alicorn, "Mind letting me into the loop?"

Twilight turned to him. "Gather the others and bring them to the library. I'll explain there."

Flash wanted to press, but he knew better when Twilight was in this mode. One trip around the town later, he brought their friends to the library, only to spot Twilight on the balcony. There, she gestured them to her telescope as she said, "Thanks for meeting me, everypony."

"What is it Twilight?"

Twilight tapped her telescope, "We have to help Rainbow Dash." She looked through it, spotting the pegasus they were talking about sitting on a rain cloud.

"I agree Twilight...but how?" Fluttershy asked next.

"We've tried every kind of studying," Rarity continued. "My way, your way-"

"But we haven't tried Rainbow Dash's way," Twilight turned back to them. "We need to try that method next."

"Hmm...I'm intrigued." Pinkie pulled out her rapper hat and placed it on her head. "Go on..."

"Okay. Listen up ponies, here's the plan." And so, she started her plan, the group nodding as they saw her logic. That is, except Flash, who smacked his face for being so stupid as to have not thought up the method. "You girls up for it?" They all nodded, "Then let's get to work."

---

An hour later...

"So...explain what we're doing again?" Springer asked as Flash stared through a pair of binoculars.

"We're teaching Rainbow history buddy."

"How?"

"Rainbow, like most skilled flyers, automatically uploads anything she sees and hears while flying into memory. That's how we're gonna teach her. Twilight will keep her focused on her so Rainbow doesn't consciously notice us. That way, her subconscious will catalogue everything she sees."

Springer blinked at this, his mind trying to keep up. That is, till he rubbed the sides of his head, "I still don't get it."

"Just trust me buddy, and-there!" He spotted Rainbow and Twilight flying through the sky, Twilight talking the pegasi's ear off so she wouldn't notice what was about to happen. "Here goes nothing." He and Springer flew ahead of them, into a spot in the park where Fluttershy and Rarity were dressed as Celestia and Luna. "And we're live in five, four, three..." he mouthed the words two and one before pointing at them to go.

Fluttershy began to enact their play. "I, Princess Celestia, banish you, Princess Luna, to the moon."

"Noooooo!" Rarity cried, her hoof on her forehead.

Flash then went to where Big Mac and the Crusaders were standing. "Go."

"Earth!" Applebloom cheered.

"Unicorn!" Sweetie Belle added.

"Pegasus!" Scootaloo hopped in place.

"E!"

"U!"

"P!"

Applebloom and Sweetie stood side by side as Scootaloo jumped onto their backs, the three then lifted up by Mac. "Eeyup!"

As they came to the edge of the park, Fluttershy flew past while Flash signaled the ponies in town. "Let us celebrate our first Celestial year of peace!"

"Yeah, let's party!" Pinkie cheered in one of Rarity's outfits, Wild next to her while aiming an old fashioned cannon. "I'm General Firefly! Gee, my costume is itchy and unattractive, but I'm gonna assemble an awesome flying team!" Wild fired the cannon, the weapon shooting out a bunch of lightning bolt shaped confetti. "I'll call them...The Wonderbolts!"

Rarity, now dressed back in the costume, stepped out into view. "Streamlined style by Flair d'Mare!"

In that moment, a pegasus Flash didn't recognize flew out dressed in the same costume Fluttershy had worn earlier. "Admiral Fairweather!"

Another pegasus, who Flash actually knew as Downdraft, came out in another costume. "Colonel Purple Dart!"

"Admiral Fairy Flight!" The pegasus, Sassaflash, then flew out.

"General Flash!"

"Commander Easyglider!" High Note cheered.

As Twilight and Rainbow continued to fly overhead, unicorns and earth ponies held up banners and drawings featuring images from Wonderbolt history. Applejack had even cut a hedge into several Wonderbolt insignias, ending as they flew over Rarity's boutique while a flag showing the current emblem was positioned there.

Fluttershy then delivered the last line of their lecture. "The history of the Wonderbolts!"

Flash smiled at the sight as he flew up to Rainbow and Twilight, just in time for the two to arrive there. "Flash?" The prism maned pegasus asked, "what are you doing here?"

"No reason."

"So...." Twilight said as she landed behind her, "What do you remember about that flight?"

Rainbow let out a long sigh, "Nothing important. Except after Luna was banished to the moon, Celestia needed protective forces, so Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasi formed the E.U.P. Guard of the Protective Pony Platoons." As soon as those words finished leaving her mouth, her eyes went wide. "Wha…"

Flash and Twilight smiled at one another, then looked back at her. "Go on..."

"And then, at the celebration of the first Celestial year of peace, an elite flying squadron performed headed by General Firefly, who later named the group the Wonderbolts!" All through that statement, Rainbow's voice grew happier and happier.

"Keep going."

"And Commander Easyglider established the flight choreography that is still used by the Wonderbolts today!"

"Yes!" Flash and Twilight cheered.

Rainbow looked shell-shocked by this revelation, " I...I know the history! I know it all! But how in Equestria did that happen?"

Twilight giggled and put her hoof around Rainbow's shoulders, "You learned it!"

"Like a boss," Flash finished.

"Yeah, I got that!" Rainbow rolled her eyes, "But how?"

Flash turned to Twilight as she began to explain how she'd done it. "Well, on our first flight, I discovered that you catalogue everything that happens all around you when you're flying without even thinking about it!" Rainbow just blinked at this, confusion obvious on her face. "Rainbow...don't you see? I made use of your special skills by enlisting everypony to help you learn the history of the Wonderbolts!"

And so, she went over everything they had done to help teach Rainbow the Wonderbolts History. Rainbow was so focused on the story that she didn't even notice the three of them arriving back in the town square, where the rest of their friends were waiting. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Rainbow exclaimed as they landed, turning to everypony. "Thank you! Thank you all so much!"

"You're welcome," Twilight told her as she gave the athlete a hug. "But it all came from you. You learned without knowing you're learning. Your main focus is flying, but then your brain is also absorbing lots of other information! It's actually really brilliant!"

Rainbow laughed at this, "I always knew I was brilliant!" This statement caused the others to break out laughing as well.

"Alright Rainbow," Flash added. "Just make sure not to forget any of it. I doubt we could pull this little caper off again...at least at this scale."

Rainbow smirked as she crossed her hooves. "Well, it's not like I need to know everything. I only need to get a sixty eight percent to pass."

Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile. "You should aim for one hundred percent, but I guess foal steps are what's needed. After all, we just discovered your study method." This made the others laugh once again.

---

The next day...

Flash and Springer walked into the library after the midday patrol, only to find Twilight putting their friendship journal away. "So...Rainbow's test should be getting graded about now."

"I know," Twilight replied as she let out a small sigh. "I just hope she didn't actually forget anything."

"I'm sure she didn't," Flash assured her.

"Yeah! She's not that much of a block head." Springer added before the door behind them started to knock. The jakhowl turned around, only to see the rest of their friends walk inside. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Waiting for Rainbow," Pinkie replied. "Duh!"

"We figured this is where she'd show up first," Applejack added.

Rarity looked around next. "We didn't miss her, did we?"

Twilight shook her head, "No, she's not here yet. Even with her speed, it'll take a while for her to get from Cloudsdale to here."

It was in that moment a loud booming noise shook the ground, making them all grip the floor with their hooves. "Unless she goes Sonic Rainboom," Flash commented as he looked to the door, "Five, four..."

"I PASSED!" exclaimed one Rainbow Dash as she zoomed through the door, the others all gasping before clapping their hooves, "Check it out!" she held up her test, the paper showing a gold star. "One hundred percent!"

Twilight took the sheet before frowning. "Rainbow, this says you got seventy five."

"What!?" Rainbow took the sheet, glaring at the sheet. "But...I could have sworn it was a hundred."

"You probably let your eyes deceive you," Rarity told her.

"But a seventy five is still a wonderful score," Fluttershy added.

"Yeah!" Pinkie cheered, "Besides, you passed! That's what counts!"

Rainbow sighed with a small smile, "You're right! I'm now an official Wonderbolts reserve, which is awesome!"

"And that calls for a celebration," Flash replied as he went to the door. "Come on everypony, the cupcakes are on me."

Everypony cheered at this while Twilight raised an eyebrow. "You honestly think you have the bits to pay for all of us?"

Flash did the math in his head, singing while he did this. His face quickly faulted as he realised the eventually price outcome. "And by me, I mean the cupcakes are on Twilight." This got a wave of laughter, the princess shaking her head as everypony headed out to Sugarcube Corner.

Author's Note:

Another chapter done and dusted. For those wondering about Rainbow's score, there's no way she was able to get a one hundred after a single days studying. That's why I wrote it like that.

Comments

[Godslittleprincess]

Well, that was fun.

[Bumblebee16]

Awesome!

[SuperSonicHeroes]

Good chapter again. I liked the moment where Flash said Twilight's teaching methods didn't work for him either and he needed to use a different method. Shows everyone learns differently. Also, Flash and Twilight did kinda have a good point about why Rainbow didn't already know this stuff, since it seemed early on she just wanted to be known as a great flyer and that was why she wanted to join the Wonderbolts. Though that seemed to change as time went on, especially after this episode where she remembered the motto and history of the Wonderbolts.

That ending scene was funny, and I guess it makes sense since Rainbow only studied for a few hours and covered limited material.

"What are you talking about?!" Rainbow hissed as she got up into Flash's face, "I love the Wonderbolts!"

"One more than others," Rarity said below her breath.

Well... she's not wrong you know.