The Wonderbolt Academy's New Volunteers

by Jay Watson

Ch.12 Wonderbolt Trials pt.8

Cloudy Sky trotted happily over to rejoin his friends, beaming.

“Did you see-?” He started to ask, but was cut off by a hug.

“We saw! We saw!” Firebolt embraced him tightly, as did the other girls, congratulating Cloudy Sky for getting through his first real test as a flyer. The guys all gave him congratulatory wing-slaps, glad he’d made it through.

“I knew you could do it!” Silverstream saw how happy Cloudy Sky was for getting past that test. She’d only had the chance to watch part of his routine but it was the important part; she’d watched him get through Razzle Dazzle’s tricky loop move and manage to stick a landing at the end.

“Clou-dee! Clou-dee! Clou-dee!” Razzle began to chant, interrupting the instructor and annoying the other recruits who were trying to listen.

“Quiet in the ranks!” Misty Fly shouted. Gallus reached out with his talons to clamp Razzle Dazzle’s lips shut, not wanting them to get in more trouble.

“Sh-h-h-h!” The griffon held up a talon to his beak. Her friends were all staring at her. She got the message; shut up.

“If I may continue,” Misty Fly got the recruits’ attention back on her. “There is the remainder of the afternoon for you to practice your first formation trial with your partners, and we would encourage any pair of flyers who feel ready for the challenge to try for their level one trial, pending approval of your routines.”

High Winds doublechecked the roster of recruits, scanning to see what boxes were checked off. “I see by your records that none of you have any experience with organized flight or formal training; just a lot of solo flyers, correct?” He looked the collection of recruits over. Most of them nodded; they were all hot doggers and not team flyers. High Winds turned to his partner. “I guess no level two flyers happening today.” Vapor Trail waved her forehoof at him, getting High Winds’ attention.

“That’s what we’re here for.” She and Sky Stinger came to stand in front of the recruits once more. “Commander Spitfire had Soarin and Rainbow Dash take care of some special assignment for the academy.” Vapor Trail turned to look out over the group of familiar faces. “Hello again, everypony! Looks like you’re not done with us quite yet.”

“She has us subbing in for Soarin while Silver Zoom is running the Dizzatron in place of Rainbow Dash.” Sky Stinger filled in the rest for his partner.

“My suggestion is to have any flyers who get done with this part of the trials take turns on the Dizzatron for the rest of today’s training time.” Misty Fly watched the recruits sag visibly at her suggestion.

“Let’s get them started with formations before we subject them to any more punishment.” Sky Stinger guessed by their expressions that they really weren’t looking forward to the Dizzatron again.

“Agreed.” Misty Fly looked out over the body of recruits. “To get every flyer accustomed to formation flying, I want each Lead pony to choose a Wing pony partner to practice with.”

High Winds added to his partner’s instruction. “For practice time, you don’t have to pick the flyer you want to do your trial with but we do recommend working with at least two different flyers. You might find a flyer closer to you skill level the more you try practicing with others. Who knows,” High Winds smiled, “you might just make a new friend, too.”

“It might prove to be quicker to catch onto the principles of formation flying if each Wing pony learns the routine of a Lead pony. That way, only one flyer has to learn a new set of moves.” Sky Stinger wanted to get them flying sooner, eager to demonstrate to his fellow instructors that he and Vapor Trail were up to this duty.

The recruits all murmured happily among themselves, liking the idea of working together on material they already knew. If it made getting through this part of the trials easier, they were all for it. They broke up into clumps of twos and fours, finding agreeable partners to team up with. Silverstream and her friends broke away into their clique once more, excited to be working together again.

“This is going to be awesome!” Silverstream practically sang out loud.

“I know, we are so going to blow them all away!” Firebolt was excited to finally get the chance to fly with Silverstream as her partner. They’d talked so much about it during mealtimes and now the moment had come.

“Time, to quote the vernacular, to rock and roll!” Solar Flare was ready, still planning in his mind what he and Gallus could do as a flight duo. The griffon was ready too.

“There’s no way they’re going to stop us, Solar! We’re definitely going to take the top spot!” The griffon and pony shook hoof and talons.

“Uh, excuse you, Gallus. Who’s going to have the top score? It’s going to be moi and my partner who’re going to take the top honors this time.” Nightflight wasn’t going to give any ground. Friends or no, they were still vying to get in to the academy and that meant finding the best partner and putting on an impressive routine.

“I beg your pardon, Nightflight,” Brightstar spoke up next, “but don’t count your griffon chicks before they’re hatched. I think I and my partner are going to be the ones to take the top honors for this trial.”

Gallus shot the mare with the aqua-blue mane a flat smile at the jab, coaxing a smirk from Brightstar in return.

“Uh, no,” Firebolt chimed in, “I think Silverstream and myself are going to be the top pair in this trial.”

“Hey, c’mon, you guys. We should work together so we all can pass, right? Best Friend Flyers help each other.” Cloudy Sky was the first to pull for a team effort, recalling what Rainbow Dash had told him previously, not wanting the trials to force them to compete against one another as opponents. To him, the friendship bonds they’d forged were more important, drawing strength from the unit rather than each going the lone flyer route.

For a few seconds, there was a little tension between the friends, each wanting to succeed and get top honors for this trial and look the most impressive to Commander Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts. But they knew in their hearts that what Cloudy Sky was saying was true. If they worked together, they had a better chance of passing the trial and moving on.

“Spoken like a true student of the School of Friendship.” Silverstream put her talons on Cloudy Sky’s withers, smiling warmly at him. “Professor Dash would be impressed.” He blushed a little, causing the others to chuckle.

“Best Friend Flyers?” Razzle Dazzle looked around at her acquaintances, confused.

“Oh,” Cloudy Sky realized, “we forgot.” He took a few steps over to Razzle Dazzle, taking up one of her forehooves in his. “We’re the BFF’s; Best Friend Flyers. We’re committed to getting into the academy by working together as a team. I think you’d make a great member of our team too, right guys?” He looked to his friends for affirmation.

Razzle Dazzle gasped a little and smiled, thrilled to be asked to join a clique of friends. “Really? Can I?” She, too, turned to look at the group members, eager to join. “What do I have to do? Is there some kind of initiation ritual?”

Cloudy Sky took the lead to initiate her. “You already have; you taught me how to do that fancy looping trick. I’m sure it’s what got me a passing score for my first flight challenge. I wouldn’t have thought of doing a trick like that. I owe you for the help.”

Firebolt thought she should say something. “I guess we could always use another ‘crazy awesome incredible flyer’ to hang with us, right?” She walked over to stand next to Cloudy Sky.

The others all seemed to agree with the notion, stepping closer together. Razzle Dazzle was cool to have around. She was kind, funny, and kooky, and nopony could help but be infected with happiness from the smile that was always on her face, eagerly shared with one and all.

“The more the merrier!” Silverstream giggled a little, loving the idea of Razzle Dazzle as part of their friendship circle.

“I think I could learn a thing or two from you.” Brightstar joined in.

“You’re a winner in my book; real top-shelf flight material. You belong with us.” Solar Flare saw what the others did too; a great talent for flying that only needed to be focused. He thought it smart to have her in their company.

“I want to find out what else you got tucked away in that brain of yours. If you had that wacky loop trick to show Cloudy, what else are you holding back?” Gallus had initially been wary of Razzle Dazzle, never having met a pony who took such intense interest in griffons before, but he still found her to be likeable and passionate about flying, one topic she and Gallus enjoyed conversing about at mealtimes with his friends.

Nightflight really couldn’t think of anything else to add that would make it any more obvious that she was welcome with them. “Meh,” he shrugged, “why not? Eight’s a nice even number.”

Razzle Dazzle watched as they made an inward facing circle and each placed a forehoof or talons together at the center. Cloudy Sky moved over to let her in next to him.

“Join in.” He waved her over with a wing and a smile. Razzle Dazzle followed his lead, standing next to him and placing her left forehoof in with the rest of them at the center. “What do you say, fellow BFF’s? All in favor?” He took a head count. Everyone was nodding yes to the question with a grin.

“You mean, I’m in now?” Razzle Dazzle glanced around uncertainly at her new clique.

Gallus couldn’t help himself. “No, first you have to swing a sack of moldy potatoes around your head for three hours while standing under a full moon for three nights in a row on three legs. Then you’re part of the BFF’s.” That only confused Razzle Dazzle more.

“Really? Where did you guys get the old potatoes to use? From the mess hall?” she asked innocently.

There was a small groan of astonishment shared among the friends.

“No, Razzle,” Firebolt got the new member to look at her, “he’s being his smart-alecky griffon self; he’s joking. There’s no sack of potatoes or anything like that.” She shook her head, astounded Razzle Dazzle could be gullible enough to believe Gallus’ cockamamie remark. The others could not help but choke back a laugh or two. Razzle Dazzle blushed.

“Let’s get started. We have a few hours to practice before going up and showing the instructors our routines.” Firebolt was excitedly pulling at Silverstream’s foreleg already, wanting to get as much practice time in as possible.

The friends paired off. Solar Flare and Gallus wasted no time in getting their creative ideas flowing and working the routine Solar Flare had in mind. Silverstream and Firebolt were much the same, the two of them quickly finding common ground on which moves they wanted to perform together.

Nightflight teamed up with Razzle Dazzle, figuring he could glean a new aerial trick like Cloudy Sky had. He, like Gallus, was curious as to what other high-flyer moves she knew.

“I’m so glad you got through the first flight trial, Cloudy. How’d you do it?” Brightstar would be Cloudy Sky’s partner, eager to help him with what she could. He was still grinning from his success.

“I was really nervous, but Silverstream was such a big help.” Cloudy Sky gushed a little.

“Really?”

He continued eagerly. “Gallus too. They flew alongside me a whole bunch during my practice times and they helped me get over some of my fear.”

“I’m glad to hear they were so helpful. Makes me wish I’d stayed behind to see for myself. Do you think I could be your partner for practice?” Her question sort of surprised him. She was a much more skilled and experienced flyer; easily of Firebolt or Silverstream’s skill level. For only a moment was he uncertain, thinking he could not fly with such talent as hers. But a realization hit him. Flying with her meant he could learn from her too, as he had with Silverstream and Gallus. He had to remind himself of what Rainbow Dash had told him; your friends are here to help. Call on them when you need to.

“Sure! Let’s get flying!” He couldn’t believe his luck; getting to work with a great lead pony like her. Cloudy Sky felt sure that with Brightstar’s help and as her wing pony, he couldn’t fail this next trial. He leaped up and intended to take off, only to have Brightstar catch his curly blue tail in her teeth and stop him. He flapped his wings against her for a few seconds, not sure what had snagged his tail. Cloudy Sky looked back, saw it was her holding him back, and landed quickly. Brightstar let go.

“I think we should plan something out first. Plus, we have to wait our turn.” She pointed out the area left for the recruits to use.

As the newer batch of recruits had need of most of the field for their trials, those who were doing a First Formation trial had to take turns with their allotted airspace. Grumblings grew from the gathered flyers, anxious about getting flight time in order to pass this part of the trial.

“Ma’am, are any of us going to get the chance to fly today? How are we supposed to practice?” One of the lead pony stallions had stepped over and complained to Misty Fly, who was in charge of this trial for the Wonderbolt team. She never took her eyes off the pair of airborne ponies above her as she answered him.

“You’ll have to be patient. There’s only enough space for two flyers at a time up there. You’d best make good use of the wait and plan out the routine you and your partner will fly.” She and High Winds had to keep watch on the four flyers up in the air, making sure they kept clear of one another and didn’t encroach on the airspace of the second group of recruits doing their endurance flying trials. The recruit retreated back to his group, telling the others they would still have to wait longer.

It did little to settle the general unease of some of the recruits who wished to fly and get their routines started. Forced to wait their turns, the anxiety clicked up a few notches. The waiting was tense. Small clusters of recruits made use of the limited practice space as best they could.

Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail moved about the various pairs of lead and wing ponies, seeing how they were getting on with their routines and trying to keep the antsy recruits from getting too riled up from the delay.

“How are you folks doing over here? Do you have any of your routines ready for us to look at?” Sky Stinger noticed that this particular group had stayed to themselves all during the previous trial, working together.

“Were there any questions? I know some of you flyers might have missed the first part of Misty Fly’s introduction.” Vapor Trail was eager to engage them, feeling more confident in this new role.

“Ma’am,” Cloudy Sky was the first to pipe up, “do wing ponies have to do the routine of their lead pony or do we have to create a whole new routine?”

“Good question. It could be anything you like; a new routine, a repeat flight of a lead pony’s routine, a repeat flight of a wing pony’s or a combination of both. It’s really up to the pair.” Vapor Trail encouraged them to be creative and to try new ideas.

“As we’re pressed for time, I’d discount creating a whole new routine. Easiest trick of passing this part; do the easier of a duo’s routines. Usually, that’s a wing pony’s flight plan. It’s an old trick to pass this particular trial; that’s how Vapor and I got through it.” Sky Stinger winked at them, a sly smile on his lips. They all laughed a little, getting some sneaky inside help with this part of the trial.

“Sky!” Vapor Trail objected softly in that particular two-tone way she spoke his name, reprimanding him. The recruits suspected there was more between the two instructors then they let on.

“Oh, c’mon, Vapor. It’s good for instructors to bond with young flyers like this. It builds a rapport.”

“Were you two partners for the whole trials? What was it like? What are the next trials going to be?” Cloudy Sky peppered him with questions.

“We can do a Q & A session later. Right now, let’s just focus on the task at hoof, okay?” Vapor Trail wanted to keep them focused and ready. Their C.O. was standing only a hundred feet away, observing the new group of recruits at the moment doing their endurance training. Being a good instructor with Sky Stinger was important to her; showing Commander Spitfire she and her beau were up to the duty.

“Like Misty Fly was explaining, this first test of formation flying is all about precision; how a duo can fly in mirror image of one another or as a synchronized pair; it’s a test of whether you understand the basic principles of timing and coordination.”

“This exercise is also to build up teamwork between a lead pony and their wing pony and test their agility in flight as well as their flying technique.” Sky Stinger filled in more about the purpose of the morning’s exercise.

From the stack of forms submitted by the recruits, Vapor Trail retrieved those belonging to this group of flyers, watching as four of the eight sheets were selected for the pairs to base their formation plans on.

Solar Flare and Gallus needed no help; they already knew what they wanted to do for a routine. It would consist of the first three moves from Solar Flare’s routine and the last three from Gallus’; they had planned for this. By each of them taking part of the combined routine they wished to showcase as part of each solo flight, they could score extra points for doing an original routine while every other pair opted for an established one. Gallus was intrigued by Solar Flare’s insight into how to get ahead of the others. He thought it a most admirable and worthy trait in a pony friend to possess such griffon-like cunning.

Silverstream and Firebolt got to work quickly, selecting Firebolt’s routine as the best one they could perform successfully with the least amount of preparation. While some of the group queried the instructors, they moved off and walked together through the routine, like a slow moving dance, on what available ground around them there was to use. The other recruits were doing much the same. She and Silverstream had decided to fly as a duet; in synchronized flight.

“I’m so lucky to have you as my partner.” Silverstream banked her body to the right, rotating and twisting it slowly in a somewhat circular pattern as if to mimic performing a series of barrel rolls in the air. Firebolt was right off her extended right wing tip, rolling along in time with her, softly counting to herself the seconds to perform the move, trying desperately not to smile and lose count of where she was.

“…eighteen… nineteen… twenty.” She glanced up at Silverstream. “Twenty-one. Now do the wing over move; bank left and I’m on the outside.” She led the way through the last of her part of the routine. Together they mimicked the movements of performing a wing over with Silverstream crouching down low to imitate flying under Firebolt as they moved into position.

“Me too. I get to fly with a record setting recruit as my partner. We are so going to totally crush them because we’re the best!” Firebolt bristled with eagerness to get started, intent on staking her claim as a top flyer here. It pleased her to see that Silverstream, too, was feeling the drive to succeed. There was fire in her eyes and Firebolt knew she’d helped put it there.

Silverstream felt on top of her game and ready to prove herself today. With Firebolt as her wing pony, she felt unstoppable. Their routine was not overly hard. If done cleanly they would make a solid presentation of precision flight and set a good mark to beat.

The two friends continued to practice while they waited for their turn, discussing the idea of going to the academy’s recreation room together. It would be a welcome break from the intense workouts and a chance to introduce Silverstream to a few of her friends here at the academy.

Nightflight had his hooves full in keeping Razzle Dazzle on point. His torment grew as he tried to get Razzle Dazzle to concentrate on the subject without getting distracted by a butterfly flittering past or the unusual shape of a cloud overhead. By the time Firebolt and Silverstream had completed several ‘practices’ of their flight plan, there were three or four pairs of flyers already lined up for a chance to at least get one practice in before having to make a flight for a score. But Razzle Dazzle and Nightflight had yet to complete a single run-through.

“Get a spot on line for us. I’ve got to make a rescue attempt.” Firebolt headed over to the spot where Razzle Dazzle and Nightflight were sitting. She sat next to them and listened in on the flight plan Nightflight was trying to get Razzle Dazzle to agree to. She had to step in as her stallion friend was starting to lose his patience.

“C’mon, Razzle, remember what we talked about? Fo-o-o-o-cu-u-u-u-s! This is important. Nightflight’s counting on you.”

“Oh, right! Sorry. I just love butterflies, don’t you? They’re so gentle and delicate with-”

“Argh!” Nightflight planted a forehoof to his head, finally understanding Firebolt’s frustration in dealing with Razzle Dazzle. Firebolt did what she could to get Razzle Dazzle to agree to what Nightflight had in mind.

“But Nightflight, you’d said yourself that you messed up on your first flight. And you want us to fly the same routine?” Razzle Dazzle wasn’t so keen on that idea. Why do the same bad thing twice?

“There’s no way in Equestria I’m going to be able to follow along with what you flew for your first solo flight so maybe it’s best to try mine. We don’t have a whole lot of time to come up with a new plan anyway.” He passed Firebolt his original solo flight he’d planned out. Nightflight had thoughtfully both drawn out small diagrams and a brief description of each move of his routine; it was straightforward enough and clearly explained.

“What do you think, Razzle? Think you can help out some?” Firebolt tried to be encouraging, trying to instill a sense of teamwork as she then passed his paper over to the colorful maned mare seated next to her. She seemed confused by what she was looking at, turning the paper over a few times.

“Well…” Razzle Dazzle scrunched her eyebrows at the page. Nightflight leaned over to see what detail she was so intensely scrutinizing, then snorted in frustration and rolled his eyes.

“Uh, Razzle,” The words stumble hesitantly from Nightflight’s mouth.

“Yeah?” She looked up.
“You’re looking at it upside down, in case you didn’t notice.” He smiled flatly back at her.

Razzle Dazzle looked down again at the paper, seeing that indeed, he was right, she’d been looking at it all wrong.

“Oh, silly me!” She waved off the mistake with a giggle.

“She’s not even trying to help me out!” Nightflight’s frustration grew. The lack of available preparation time and the wait to practice was putting every flyer on edge. Every second counted.

“C’mon, Razzle.” Firebolt tried not to sound pleading, wanting to get back to Silverstream who was waiting on line for her. “Try to focus, please. I know you can work with Nightflight.”

“Well,” Razzle Dazzle sighed a little and looked at his routine again, “I guess I can try to help fix it so it’s easier for him to do. It’s okay, sort of.” Razzle Dazzle seemed to not realize that she had insulted Nightflight. Nightflight winced hard from the rather rude remark.

“Uh, excuse you?” He had invested his class time wisely in study and now he was thoroughly offended. Firebolt gave a nervous laugh and quickly moved to take the edge off Razzle Dazzle’s clueless comment.

“What she means is that, maybe she can tweak the routine some? Alter a part so as to make it smoother, I’m guessing?” She tried to lessen the sting of the remark, hoping he wouldn’t get too pissed off.

“Ri-i-i-i-ght, okay.” Nightflight took a deep breath and let go of the moment. This was no time to squabble. “So, what do you suggest to make my routine better?”

Before Razzle Dazzle could speak, a voice called out.

“Firebolt, c’mon! We’re next up!” Silverstream waved for her pony partner to join her.

Misty Fly and High Winds kept the line of recruits moving along as best they could, not letting the flying time go to waste.

“Next pair up! Let’s go!” she ordered as the next pair of recruits took off and went right into a first attempt of their routine. Silverstream moved up the line again, now second in line and running out of time.

“Gotta fly, guys. You two have to try and work it out for now. I’m taking a test flight.” She gave each a quick pat on their backs and scurried back to the hippogriff who stood anxiously on line.

“Nervous?” Firebolt quietly asked her friend as she flexed her wings a few times. She wanted to make sure she didn’t cramp up during this trial.

“I think I’m okay, but I’m feeling a lot better with you next to me. I was just thinking, isn’t it funny how we got to be partners? I mean, I was surprised when you weren’t selected for lead pony class like me.” Silverstream took two steps forward in the line as the pair of flyers in front of them stepped up to the starting line and were readying for their first flight.

“Me too. I so wished we were in the same class together.” Firebolt knew they’d be great study partners, working together to be the best lead ponies in the class. Firebolt kept flexing her wings, getting the blood flowing and priming the muscles for the workout she was about to subject them to.

“Then I thought, if we were in the same class together then we wouldn’t be able to fly together like we are now. We’d be competing against each other. Isn’t it funny how it worked out for us so we don’t have to? We get to be teammates rather than competitors. See?” Silverstream wondered how fate had smiled on her so much.

The sudden change in perspective actually stopped Firebolt in her tracks. “Yeah, uh… funny.” She looked across the field to where Spitfire stood observing the second group of recruits doing the endurance flight trial. A thought crossed her mind.

Did she assign me to wing pony class for that reason? She hadn’t even considered that. She had been so focused on her performance and not thinking much beyond her goal of passing the trials. Was there more to her being in wing pony class then she had assumed?

Nah. A coincidence, that’s all. She put it out of her mind, believing it was Spitfire’s job to push her hard and make her prove she deserved to be part of the academy and not just let her skate in on just her credentials.

“Next pair of flyers up!” Misty Fly waved them forward and the girls stepped up to the line, getting into launch position.

“Go!” the Wonderbolt ordered and they took off, jetting up into the sky. Firebolt quickly got in position right off Silverstream’s right wing, ready for their run. The hippogriff made the sign for starting the run with her talons and Firebolt read her loud and clear.

Three... two… one… Silverstream counted in her head and then led her friend into a sweeping right turn and into their first flight as a duo. They moved well together, keeping time with each other and only showing the usual first-timer mistakes of rolling too much to one side or doing one maneuver slightly faster or slower than their partner. But as the two went through the two final loops and landed only a little off timed from one another, they showed real promise.

“Well done, recruits.” High Winds shot the duo a quick nod of approval, impressed by the duo of pony and hippogriff.

“Thank you!” Silverstream squeaked but was too busy embracing her pony friend to say much else. Firebolt was just as pleased with the first flight. She held onto Silverstream and the two of them hopped up and down a little, squealing with glee.

“E-e-e-e-e-e-e! That was totally awesome! We are so going to crush everypony here!” Firebolt had been a little nervous at first about how good Silverstream might be in this trial but was thrilled at how well her friend had done as lead pony. With a few more practice flights, they’d be flawless.

“I want to do that again! Let’s get back on line right now!” Silverstream, too, was filled with the drive to succeed, wanting to be the best and show she could perform at the highest level of skill.

“Yes!” Firebolt pumped a forehoof in the air, psyched to have a partner who was just as driven to win as she was. “Let’s go!” They ran to get behind the last pair of ponies in the line.

Fw-e-e-e-p! The sound of a whistle stopped them in their tracks.

“Hold on there, hot wings!” Misty Fly called to them. “You two have to wait until all the others have had at least one practice flight before you or any other duo gets to fly again. This is the time when you’re supposed to discuss your flight in a debriefing, lead pony,” she emphasized to Silverstream, “with your wing pony and tell them what was done well and how they can improve.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Silverstream had forgotten about that part from class. There was so much to recall; she felt lucky to have remembered to make the signals with her talons to communicate with Firebolt in the air.

“Next pair up!” Misty Fly called out and another duet of fliers stepped forward.

“But-” Firebolt tried to object, watching the instructor return to focus on the clipboard’s contents and ignore her.

“Forget it. Let’s just get back with the others and I’ll… debrief you, I guess.” Silverstream looked back over her shoulder, watching Firebolt stomp her hooves in frustration at being denied more flight time.

“Oh this is so lame! How is Commander Spitfire expecting any of us to do this trial if we can’t get any serious flight time in!” Firebolt huffed. She understood the delay, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

They rejoined their group, explaining to them what was going on. When Cloudy Sky and Brightstar finished their ‘flight practice’ of walking through their routine together on the ground and rejoined the others, Firebolt told them too.

“This is going to present quite the problem. I don’t know how all the pairs of flyers are going to get enough time to practice before trying to fly for a score.” Brightstar tapped her chin thoughtfully with a forehoof.

“My point exactly. We’ve got, what, maybe two hours left to today’s session before we’re out of usable daylight?” Firebolt wanted to fly again, sure if she and Silverstream could get another try they would be set for a good score.

“So, what else can we do while we wait?” Gallus looked around at the others for an answer.

“Well, for one, you and I are getting on line now so we can have at least one flight together. After that, we’ll see what the instructors have to say.” Solar Flare didn’t want to wait any longer than they had to. After two rehearsals of doing their routine here on the ground they felt ready to try for real.

“Let’s go. I don’t want to be the last pair to fly.” Gallus was already heading for the line with the other recruits with Solar Flare right behind him.

Ahead of them on line and separated by one pair of recruits in front of them, were Wind Raider and Stormbringer, next up to do their first flight. Gallus gave Solar Flare a little nudge to get his attention.

“What-?” Solar Flare watched the griffon silently incline his head to indicate where he should look. Solar Flare recognized the duo ahead of them even from behind. He looked back at Gallus, wondering what his partner must be thinking. The griffon spoke in low tones.

“Let’s see just how good they are. They talk big but let’s see if they actually got the goods.” After taking the guff from those two about who was a great flyer and who didn’t belong here, Gallus wanted to see for himself if they were all they claimed to be.

“Next flyers up!” the instructor called out. Wind Raider and Stormbringer stepped up to the line and got into launch position. Misty Fly looked up and watched for the recruit from the endurance training trial to clear the airspace above them.

“Go!” Misty Fly sent them on their way as soon as there was room.

The duo of pony and griffon watched as the two agitators performed a well-executed display of six flight maneuvers with only hints of roughness to their showing; minor mistakes that would not take away from the overall performance.

The feeling of apprehension grew inside Gallus as he watched the performance; perhaps he had underestimated the skill these two had due his dislike of them. It was as if Wind Raider and Stormbringer had flown together as a team all along. Stormbringer made following Wind Raider’s lead look so easy.

High Winds kept watch on both flyers up in the air doing their routines and when the next recruit from the neighboring trial was getting into place to take off. It was a challenge to keep things moving along on schedule. Once Wind Raider and Stormbringer were finished, he waved to Fleetfoot to let her know she should send another recruit airborne to keep the endurance trials moving.

“Well done, you two.” Misty Fly wrote down her observations, noting the performance of this particular pair of skilled flyers.

“Thank you, ma’am.” The duo sounded off in unison, throwing the Wonderbolt instructor a salute. They passed by Gallus and Solar Flare who still waited on line.

“Let’s see you top that, losers!” Wind Raider sneered.

“Not a snowflake’s chance in Celestia’s sun to beat us.” Stormbringer wore a look of smug contentment as he passed by Gallus, getting under the griffon’s feathers with that condescending expression.

“Miserable little-” Gallus growled a little, balling up his talons into fists, but Solar Flare steadied his hot-blooded partner, putting an assuring hoof on Gallus’ shoulder. Gallus reined in his anger again.

“Let’s let our flying do the talking for us, Gallus. Don’t waste your brainpower thinking about them.” Solar Flare got Gallus to settle himself down, trying to keep his griffon friend focused on the routine they were about to do. The griffon knew he had to be on his game if he wanted to score well for this trial. They waited only a few minutes longer as the next pair of flyers in front of them stepped forward to the starting line for their first flight. Misty Fly held them up for a moment, watching for the airspace to be clear again.

“Go!” Misty Fly watched carefully as the lead stallion and wing mare went into their routine. But they were not yet ready for this test. After only a few seconds of flight, the duo were completely out of sync with one another as the lead pony got too far ahead of his partner. It looked bad to all who were watching, the two so out of time and then stopping in midair, realizing just how bad their flying was going. Both returned to the ground in front of the instructors, red faced.

“Seriously?! That was awful, you two! Weren’t you listening to the instructions? What were the two of you doing for the past hour? Playing tiddlywinks or something?” The Wonderbolt mare admonished them sharply, causing them to hang their heads in shame.

“You two had better shape up if you’re thinking of passing this part of the trials.” High Winds piled on, watching Misty Fly scribble down more notes about their lacking performance. The two flyers plodded back to where the rest of the flyers were practicing their routines, looking rather downcast after their first showcase.

“Next flyers up!” Misty Fly looked over at Solar Flare and Gallus.

“This is it; here we go!” Gallus said it more to himself then his lead pony, getting focused. He followed Solar Flare up to the starting line. Solar Flare had a look of unshakable confidence as he got into launch position. Gallus got into launch position as well, right off his partner’s right wing.

“Oh,” Misty Fly’s interest perked up some. “It’s one of Rainbow Dash’s students from her school. This should be interesting to watch.”

Gallus felt the pressure tick up a little more, hearing one of his teacher’s co-workers taking a personal interest in his flying abilities. He stole a quick look at Solar Flare, his partner glancing back at him to shoot a quick wink, assuring Gallus they were up to the challenge. Those few seconds of waiting seemed like an eternity to the griffon, waiting for the signal to begin. And then…

“Go!” Misty Fly ordered and off the two of them launched into the sky, getting quickly into their flight positions with Solar Flare taking the lead. Up and back down together through the Wing-Over move, setting up the first of three sequential outward loops, keeping a measured distance between them.

Keep steady… keep steady… Gallus told himself over and over, counting the seconds as they cycled through the moves. Down into a power dive to build up some speed, pulling up at the last second as they hurtled towards the ground. Up into the sky they soared, the sun in their faces now as the momentum took them higher. They stopped at the very apex of their flight, gently falling over backwards in a Stall Turn move and heading down once more in a slow descending spiral corkscrew with each of them flying in opposite directions alongside each other; Gallus spinning clockwise and Solar Flare spinning counter-clockwise. Each time they passed one another in the descending, Solar Flare saw Gallus’ expression grow more relaxed and he actually smiled, relieved as they approached the end of their flight.

But what was supposed to be a clean finish for them by doing a Figure-Eight move with each of them at opposite starting points, ended up with them crashing right into one another in mid-air as both flyers went in the same starting direction rather than opposite ones.

“Gallus, look-!”

WHAM!

Seas of bright white stars exploded in front of their eyes as their heads smacked into each other hard enough to cause them both to stop flapping and fall from the sky.

“Oh no!” Vapor Trail cried out as the recruits in line all loudly gasped.

“Let’s go!” Sky Stinger took off, speeding towards the faltering flyers who clearly couldn’t recover. Vapor Trail was only a split second behind him.

Solar Flare tried to recover, catching some air under his wings some to try to slow his descent. The griffon coughed and wheezed, flapping his wings and trying to stay airborne.

“Gotcha!” Sky Stinger caught Solar Flare in his forelegs, steadying the younger flyer.

“I have you!” Vapor Trail caught the winded griffon in her forelegs, gingerly bringing him back to the ground next to Sky Stinger. It was a close call that could have ended very badly for Gallus and Solar Flare. Back on the ground once more, the two reservists let go of the recruits. Both Gallus and Solar Flare managed to stay upright on their hooves, paws and talons, but very unsteadily.

“Do either of you want to go to the infirmary? That was a pretty hard hit to your heads you took.” Misty Fly was ready to dismiss them for the day if need be. Safety was a top priority for the trials.

From out of the corner of one eye Gallus could see both Wind Raider and Stormbringer each covering their mouths with a forehoof, restraining their laughter. Gallus decided he would show he was tough enough to take it.

“No, ma’am.” He shook his head some, trying to clear the cobwebs, but doing that only made it hurt more. His pony partner was rubbing his own head, but that didn’t seem to be helping either.

“I’m okay, ma’am. I can go on.” Solar Flare would soldier on too, unwilling to give those two smug ponies the satisfaction of seeing him leave the field injured.

“That was a close one, you guys. Let’s try to keep the damage to a minimum.” Sky Stinger wondered what might have happened had he and Vapor Trail not been there to help.

“You sure you’re okay?” Vapor Trail doublechecked. “Maybe a cold compress for your heads?” As enticing as it sounded to Gallus, even knowing he was going to probably have a lump on his head in the morning, he still refused the offer, unwilling to look weak in front of Wind Raider and Stormbringer.

“No thank you, ma’am. We’ll make it.” He nodded back and managed a smile, assuring the instructor all was well.

Misty Fly wrote more in her notes on the performance of these two. “Other than that last part, you two were doing alright. A little more practice together with your timing and spacing and you two will do fine.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Solar Flare tried saluting her but his head was still spinning from the impact. Gallus took a few wobbly steps away, only to have Solar Flare steady him before he fell over.

“Here,” the pony put one of Gallus’ forelegs around his neck, taking on the extra weight of Gallus’ body, “let me help.”

“Oh-h-h, my head!” The griffon groaned wearily as he rubbed the top of his skull, the sound of his pulse throbbing in his ears. The bruised duo made their way back to the area where their friends were still waiting and practicing. Solar Flare was carefully helping Gallus along when they were confronted.

“Nice showing, losers! Maybe they call you two the Dysfunctional Duo ‘cause you both fly like you’re molting!” Stormbringer stung them, getting some other recruits standing around to snicker at the comment. Through the haze of pain, Gallus felt the flush of anger return to his face. He glared back at the clique of flyers Wind Raider was hanging out with as they passed by. Again, Solar Flare reined in the griffon.

“Ignore them, Gallus. They’re not worth the-”

“What does anypony expect to see when you team up a good-for-nothing griffon with a loser flyer that’s probably never won a single flight competition?” a mare’s voice announced for all in the vicinity to hear. Gallus saw who it was; that mare named Sunglow, the one who’d been bothering Cloudy Sky earlier.

Gallus wanted to say something back, to get her to shut up. Even after Brightstar had gotten in her face, she still kept at it. Now she was aiming for Solar Flare. That grating, taunting tone of her voice; oh, how he hated it so!

“Oh, why don’t you just shut up, Sung Low?” Gallus made a play on her name, by moving the ‘g’ of her name to the first syllable of her name. “No one wants to hear you!” He dropped his voice by an octave or two, mocking her name and almost singing the sentence to her. It made her red-faced and a few of the recruits snickered at the curious and clever way Gallus insulted her.

“It’s Sunglow!” She hissed, baring her teeth at him. Gallus kept at her.

“Right, Sung Low!” Gallus did it again, singing her name in a false baritone voice, making Sunglow all the madder still.

“Sunglo-o-o-o-w!” She yelled at him, stomping her hooves angrily at his turn of phrase. The other recruits moved away some from the upset mare who was not used to being on the receiving end of antagonism and behaving quite immaturely from something she brought on herself.

“C’mon, let’s go!” Solar Flare shuffled on with his griffon friend staggering next to him, heading back to where their friends were waiting, leaving the mare nonplussed and fuming at them both.

“Thanks for that.” Solar Flare spoke quietly to his partner, still reeling from his dizzy head.

“That was for what you did this morning. I owed you one.” Gallus felt the bond of friendship grow stronger with Solar Flare, seeing the grateful smile he had despite the pain they both were in. Razzle Dazzle saw that wounded look in Solar Flare’s eyes when he and Gallus rejoined them.

“What’s wrong? You two did really well up there for a first flight. You just bobbled the ending, that all.” The colorful mare didn’t understand Solar Flare’s upset look, thinking he must be worried about his flight with Gallus. Solar Flare eased Gallus down to the ground, where he could sit and recover some. Solar Flare kept on his hooves, glaring down at the ground.

“We were okay up there for the most part. It’s just Sunglow and her big mouth; she’s super annoying.” Gallus had had his fill of that mare and hoped she would back off at last.

“Solar? Are you okay?” Firebolt saw how her friend’s expression had a mixture of anger and sadness in it, as if wrestling with some inner turmoil. She could see his eyes had that ‘far away’ appearance to them, like he was revisiting something in his past.

“It’s… it’s nothing. Just forget it.” He dismissed her concern away with a wave of a wing, not comfortable talking about it right then. Firebolt let it go for now, reminding herself to talk with him later when they had a chance.

“Well, we don’t have a lot of time, so Cloudy and I are getting on line for our flight. We’ll be back in a few minutes.” Brightstar, too, saw the look in Solar Flare’s eyes, seeing something more in them then just being riled up by some nasty comments.

“You coming, Brightstar?” Cloudy Sky turned around, seeing her looking back at Solar Flare, concerned.

“Let’s go get on line.” She would like to ask Solar Flare what it was that was bothering him but had to get through this trial first. She and Cloudy Sky got on line, waiting patiently, as three more duos in front of them still had to fly.

“You all set, Cloudy?” Brightstar checked one last time as they moved up closer and closer to the starting line.

“Ready, willing, and able!” Cloudy Sky’s confidence was higher than it had ever been. He had a great lead pony as a partner and a simplified routine for them to do. Instead of Razzle Dazzle’s ‘flipty loop’ move, Brightstar made a change to just a pair of outward loops done sequentially at the end and then the landing. Finesse over flash; that was Brightstar’s mantra, and Cloudy Sky knew to trust his lead pony’s decisions. Then, the moment had come.

“Next pair of flyers!” Misty Fly called out and he and Brightstar stepped up to the starting line and got into their launch positions. The Wonderbolt instructor waited for the signal that the airspace was free. Fleetfoot waved to High Winds and Misty Fly, letting them know they could send another duo up.

“Go!”

Brightstar led Cloudy Sky up high, waiting for him to get into position off her left wingtip. Having done this routine only an hour or so ago made Cloudy Sky feel sure he could do this. She gave him the hoof signal to begin the routine and Cloudy Sky nodded. Up and into the Wing-Over move and then into the inverted flying position, flying steady and level for a good ten or fifteen seconds before they rolled their bodies upright.

“They’re doing great! Look at Brightstar and Cloudy go!” Firebolt was watching right along with her friends.

“I don’t think they’re going to have too much trouble passing this trial if they keep this up.” Silverstream could tell that both of them were enjoying the flight, seeing them smiling even from down on the ground.

Down through the Flat Spin maneuver, they faced each other as they spun in a slow descending spiral around a common center. Cloudy Sky could not help but smile at Brightstar, so happy to be doing this correctly and having a great friend like her to help him out. Seeing him so relaxed and confident made Brightstar feel good, and she grinned back at him.

They leveled off, flying straight for a few seconds before descending into the two sequential outward loops smoothly and finally coming to a solid landing in front of their instructor. Not the fanciest routine but one of the cleanest performed. The two of them stood proud and tall, with wings extended and heads held high.

“Very nicely done.” Misty Fly scribbled down her findings on the report, making note of this duo’s performance.

“Thank you, ma’am!” Cloudy Sky was feeling nothing short of ecstatic after his first completely-successful trial flight. Rejoining their friends again, they received hi-low wing slaps and hugs of congratulations.

“You two looked so good flying up there, just like real Wonderbolts.” Cloudy Sky blushed a little as Silverstream hugged him, proud he had done so well.

“I couldn’t have done it without Brightstar as my lead pony; she’s the best!” Cloudy Sky gushed, holding the hippogriff in return, so happy to have a partner who could help him.

“I caught some of it; you two looked really steady and in synch up there.” Gallus, still holding his head, praised their efforts, privately wishing he had done better with Solar Flare. His partner only smiled and nodded along with his assessment, glad for them but his mind elsewhere.

“Well,” Firebolt turned to Nightflight and Razzle Dazzle, “looks like you two are the last ones to try. Got that routine figured out yet?”

“No,” Nightflight’s frustration was clear his tone when answering. “She keeps wanting to change my routine all around. There’s not enough time to redo the whole thing. I don’t know why Razzle won’t do it the way I wrote it.” The friends coalesced around the two of them, examining the sheet of paper with Nightflight’s routine.

“I’m lead pony and she’s supposed to follow my plan.” Nightflight pointed out.

“It looks alright to me.” Firebolt gave it the once-over at least three times, the sequence of maneuvers making perfect sense to her.

“How can anyone tell when a routine is wrong or right?” This was all still new to Silverstream. She had struggled in class, even with Brightstar’s help, to come up with her own routine and felt she didn’t have the eye to spot the problems.

“Why do you keep changing Nightflight’s routine, Razzle?” Brightstar did not see what the issue was with what Nightflight had come up with. Neither Gallus nor Cloudy Sky spoke up, wanting to listen and learn from the more knowledgeable flyers.

“It’s got no life to it. Like, in this part here,” she pointed to his change between his third and fourth move, “these… these two moves don’t really go together; they just don’t flow right. Your body is all twisted and out of position for the next trick. It’s like they’re just stuck together without thought. I mean, isn’t it obvious?” That just made Nightflight more upset; hearing a mere wing pony knocking his routine as a selected lead pony.

“Hold on now, Razzle,” Firebolt could hear Nightflight growl under his breath, the tension among them growing as some of her friends didn’t appreciate Razzle Dazzle’s bluntness.

“Well… no, it isn’t. Can you fault us for that?”

Everyone looked at Cloudy Sky as he spoke up. He was looking right at Razzle Dazzle and she was looking right back at him.

“I didn’t understand any of these moves or how they went together at first. Then Firebolt and everypony else helped explain it to me and it started to make sense. It’s not fair to us; we’re not as good as you, Razzle, so it’s hard for us to see what you do.”

His words stunned them, his delivery plain so as to help Razzle Dazzle understand Nightflight’s point. He wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings or make her angry, she just didn’t or couldn’t see it from anypony else’s point of view.

“Oh! I did it again, didn’t I?” Razzle Dazzle was stung by the soft-hoofed rebuke, truly never having thought nor realized that what she was saying was insulting or worse. Her ears drooped and she turned to face her partner, looking as though she was going to burst into tears. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Nightflight! I didn’t mean to sound mean, if you know what I mean!”

She covered her eyes with her forehooves, upset with herself. “See? This is why I keep messing things up and can’t make any friends!”

“No, no,” Brightstar momentarily put a forehoof on her withers, getting Razzle Dazzle to look up at her, “not messing up, just…um-m-m-m…” Brightstar tapped her chin as she tried to come up with the right words, “…let’s call it not being aware of what your friend might need from you at that moment, okay? Like Firebolt mentioned focusing on your routine, you have to communicate what you’re thinking to your partner when you work together. I know you can do that, can’t you?”

Razzle Dazzle looked about at the disapproving expressions from her fellow fliers, save for Cloudy Sky, upset at having crossed them so soon after gaining their friendship. “I can. I… I’ve just never had anypony want to work with me. They always pushed me away for some reason. Everypony always ends up hating to work with me, like I had mare cooties or something!”

“You don’t have mare cooties, trust me.” Cloudy Sky assured her. “But I think Brightstar is right. Tell us what you see and we’ll help amend Nightflight’s routine to make it right. We’ll help out together.”

“Yes, please… if you could… help me?” Razzle Dazzle looked around at their faces, showing vulnerability and her willingness to work together. The disapproving looks softened. They really couldn’t hold it against her, she was new to the group, after all.

“Sure.” Brightstar was first to extend her hoof, quickly followed by the others, sitting together in a semi-circle near Nightflight and Razzle Dazzle. They had to hurry. The remaining duo of flyers who’d yet to fly were already on line.

“Alright Razzle,” Firebolt plopped down next to Nightflight, ready to help. “Let’s take it from the top.” Slowly and with great effort, Firebolt, Brightstar and Solar Flare got Razzle Dazzle to explain, in her own way, just what she wanted to do to improve Nightflight’s routine. When any of them used technical terms or phrases about flight, the words seemed to mean nothing of relevance to her. She got flustered trying to use the fancy words or terms, lost in the correct linguistics.

“See? Like this?” She did the only thing she could do, got up and physically demonstrated the body movements of the routine to explain herself.

“I see it now; rolling your body in a counterclockwise direction sets up the flyer to go into the inward Barrel Roll.” Brightstar picked up quickly on the correction for the error in the routine. It was small mistake; even the instructor had overlooked it when proofreading the routine.

“Ye-e-e-e-s! Exactly!” Razzle Dazzle did a little backflip of joy in the air at finally being understood by her friends.

“Oh, wait,” Nightflight reexamined the part Razzle Dazzle was pointing to. He understood now what she was doing. She would change the routine completely either before or after his incorrectly written transition point, trying to keep one half or the other of his routine whole. “Now I see it.” He felt embarrassed for having gotten so upset with her. The others of the group collectively homed in on the error.

“Oh-h-h-h,” Cloudy Sky mused, learning yet another tidbit about flight routines. The tiny detail had caused such a headache for both Nightflight and Razzle Dazzle. He wondered if he would have been insightful enough to pick up on the mistake as easily as Razzle Dazzle had.

“I wouldn’t have seen that.” Gallus could follow along the diagrams and explanations of the moves Nightflight chose, but never thought that just the direction of rotation a flyer would pick could cause such problems. This precision flying stuff was much more detailed and nuanced then the griffon had ever suspected.

“Why didn’t you just tell Nightflight what was wrong in the beginning?” Brightstar believed this all could have been avoided.

“Oh,” Razzle Dazzle scrunched up her muzzle in repulsion, “I can’t remember all those funny terms and things. We’re flyers; you just have to fly and feel the wind whipping through your mane to understand sometimes!” She got swept up in the drama of the explanation, fluttering into the air and doing a small back flip above them, giggling.

It seemed Firebolt’s instincts were right; Razzle Dazzle was a brilliant but undisciplined flyer. Flying was such a natural part of who she was that Razzle Dazzle never gave thought to any of the finer points of flight. It was all innate feeling and instinct she flew on.

“Alright then, let’s get this thing fixed and you guys ready.” Brightstar produced a small pencil from a chest pocket in her jersey and proceed to help mark up the draft, carefully changing what was necessary to make it work. Nightflight was pleased to see most of his ideas had remained and had liked Razzle Dazzle’s variation to his loop; having each of them flying one hundred eighty degrees out of sync, crossing the midpoints of the loop at the same moment but at opposite ends of the loop. It was a small detail that could none the less get them noticed.

“Finished!” Brightstar passed the corrected paper back to Nightflight and Razzle Dazzle. “You two had best do a quick run through together here on the ground before you get on line.”

“Oh, let’s just go for it, Nightflight! Who cares if it’s good or bad or what? It’s just practice, and the first time for us.” Razzle Dazzle felt aglow with the excitement of getting to perform once more.

“Um-m-m-m, you really want to do that?” Silverstream didn’t want to rain on their parade, but it seemed kind of reckless. Flying in pairs was a lot harder than it looked.

“I wouldn’t.” Cloudy Sky shook his head, clearly disapproving of such haste. Besides, they could get hurt. Didn’t they see what happened with Gallus and Solar Flare? And they’d practiced a whole bunch before trying for real.

“Kinda crazy to try, if you ask me.” Gallus was in line with Cloudy Sky’s thinking.

“It’s up to you two.” Firebolt wouldn’t get involved with the decision making.

“That’s a pretty big gamble to take, but it’d be pretty amazing if you could pull it off.” Solar Flare was, as usual, last to speak and generally neutral on the subject.

“We’ve got a solid routine to do so I’m pretty sure we can do it; we’re both capable.” Nightflight decided to throw caution to the wind, willing to give Razzle Dazzle a try. After seeing what she was able to do flying solo, then surely she must be just as good when flying as a pair. They hustled over to the line, now down to just them as the final pair of flyers left to go.

“Last pair up!” Misty Fly had been eyeing the group as they worked, wondering about the delay and if the last pair was going to get any flight time in today. She watched the two of them get into launch position. “You two set?”

They nodded.

“Go!” She sent them on their way as they all watched this final pair try for a first flight together.

Razzle Dazzle looked over at Nightflight for the signal. He looked back, making a rolling gesture with his hoof to indicate the start of the run. Razzle Dazzle gave him a big cheesy grin in return and followed his lead.

“C’mon you two, get it done.” Firebolt was hoping for them to make a good showing; everypony was watching and she knew that could make the pressure to perform well ratchet up.

“I think they’ll do great. I believe in them.” Silverstream was sure Razzle Dazzle would not let Nightflight down, not after all the hard work they’d put into helping them. The friends drew closer together, watching intently.

Gallus held the sheet of paper up for all of them to follow along, watching how well they kept to the program. Brightstar was more concerned for them than she had been for her flight with Cloudy Sky.

Nightflight led his wing pony on through the Wing Over and set up for Cloudsdale Eight move, both of them hitting the half-roll points of the move with their bodies in the correct positions and staying in relatively good timing with one another.

“They’re doing pretty good so far,” Solar Flare commented, watching along with his friends as the duo performed steadily together.

Nightflight took a quick glance to his right, catching sight of his wing pony’s colorful mane blowing in the wind. Again she smiled at him, letting Nightflight know she was okay. From the Cloudsdale Eight move they slipped into an easy Griffish Bunt maneuver, now flying inverted steadily above the crowd. Razzle Dazzle giggled from the fun sensation of flying upside down like this, her long curly mane drooping down from her head.

“Nice; look how stable they both are.” Firebolt knew from her own experimenting that flying inverted like that with a partner and staying in formation was difficult.

Her friends all nodded, watching along as the duo rolled their bodies erect and level, only to turn left and descend suddenly into two sequential outside loops, the second loop lower in altitude then the first.

“O-h-h-h-h, look how cool that is!” Silverstream was in awe of the skill they were showing, seeing them keeping in position as they looped around.

“I think they’re going to nail it!” Gallus pumped a taloned fist in the air, sure his friends were going to get it on the first try.

“They still got to get the last move and hit the landing.” Brightstar didn’t take her eyes off them, wondering if Razzle Dazzle was going to keep up with Nightflight.

“They’re awesome!” Cloudy Sky couldn’t help but get swept up in the moment, seeing how well his friend flew and longing to fly with such skill too.

“C’mon.., c’mon… c’mon…” Solar Flare quietly urged them, fixed on the sight before him.

Nightflight felt his heart racing, the excitement building up. Razzle Dazzle could see him smiling from off his wingtip, relaxed and enjoying his flying with her. That was what she wanted to see most of all; another flyer actually liking to spend time flying with her. Words weren’t necessary to convey the feelings of happiness, of a freedom that no earth pony or unicorn could ever possibly understand.

She felt the excitement too, edging up closer to his side instead of staying off his wingtip. Nightflight started to speed up, trying to stay ahead as lead pony, but Razzle Dazzle sped up as well, wanting to keep up. They began the long climb into the sky for the last move. Nightflight pushed harder, trying to stay ahead of his partner who seemed intent on ‘racing’ him to the apex of the move.

“What’s Razzle doing, Firebolt? Why isn’t she staying in position?” Silverstream asked. Razzle Dazzle was now almost next to Nightflight.

“She’s going to pass him if she’s not careful.” Brightstar warned, seeing the colorful mare not paying attention to what she was doing. They were so close to the end, she didn’t want to see them foul it up, even if it was just a first flight.

“Razzle, slow down! Don’t pass me!” Nightflight tried to get her attention but she was lost in the bliss of flight, zooming past him and reaching the apex of their climb before he did.

“Wait! Wait!” He called to her but she was already falling backwards, hind legs first and into the flipping portion of the Tailslide move; her head and torso rapidly dropping downward into a vertical dive. By the time Nightflight had started falling backwards and flipping himself forward from the momentum, he could see Razzle Dazzle rapidly falling away and ahead of him.

“Oh, why is she doing that?” Firebolt couldn’t help but groan in frustration for Nightflight. The duo had started off so well but now it was falling apart right at the end.

“She’s not paying attention to what she’s doing.” Solar Flare tsk-tsked Razzle Dazzle’s lapse into her habit of losing focus.

“Oh-h-h-h!” Cloudy Sky moaned watching the two flyers getting further apart as they headed straight down towards the ground.

“Wh-e-e-e-e-e-e!”

They all could hear Razzle Dazzle’s gleeful voice as she started to spin about in a corkscrew, unscripted, as she dove downward. Gallus slapped his talons over his eyes.

“She’s not doing that, is she?” He didn’t want to believe it, but he could hear some other recruits muttering about how badly she was goofing up.

“She sure is.” Brightstar’s heart fell, having been the one who had mediated the rift between Nightflight and Razzle Dazzle about the routine, and now here was Razzle Dazzle forgetting all about it.

“What the-?” Nightflight watched from behind Razzle Dazzle doing a corkscrew move as part of the routine. That wasn’t scripted! This was turning into a disaster. All he could do was finish as best he could, then confront his wing pony about her ‘technique’ in private.

Razzle Dazzle had spun herself around a half-dozen times and stopped herself in a perfect position to make a sharp quarter-loop, flying only a few feet above the ground and dead level, zooming right past the other recruits. Nightflight did the same, only a few seconds after her.

She hit the mark, landing smoothly on the starting line near Misty Fly, wings spread out and head high. Nightflight landed after her, standing likewise but glaring at her unhappily.

“Wing pony,” Misty Fly looked right at Razzle Dazzle.

“Yes ma’am?”

“You want to tell me just what in the great Fausticorn’s mane you were doing up there? You’re supposed to stay behind your lead pony in flight!” Misty Fly got in close to lean in on Razzle Dazzle, watching the recruit wither somewhat under her glare.

Razzle Dazzle felt her heart sink, a cool tingling sensation skittering across her skin with the knowledge of her error. She could already see out of the corner of one eye the unhappy look on Nightflight’s face.

“You two need a lot more work on that timing of yours. And what’s up with missing the corkscrew at the end?” Misty Fly continued scribbling down more notes on her paperwork.

“You’re lead pony and you forgot one of your routine’s parts?” High Winds looked on with an eyebrow cocked, questioning if this recruit was lead pony material.

What could Nightflight say? He had only one defense. “It was my first flight as lead pony, sir. I’ll try harder next time.”

“Keh, yes you will.” High Winds affirmed, giving him a warning look.

His friends were wowed by the cover he gave to Razzle Dazzle. After all the headache and ruined effort he had put into the routine on such short notice, he still held his cool. The two flyers headed back to the spot where their friends had watched from. Cloudy Sky stepped closer to give her a supportive hug.

“I thought you were fine up there. But…” he pulled back from the embrace, looking at her with some trepidation. Razzle Dazzle didn’t need to be told. She’d messed up yet again with her scatterbrainedness.

“I’m finding a different partner for this trial; one that actually listens to instructions!” Nightflight ground his teeth, annoyed by Razzle Dazzle’s seemingly careless attitude. Even at a first practice flight, they were supposed to show capability of flying in formation. Instead, they looked foolish.

“But… I can do better! Really! With a little more practice I can-” Razzle Dazzle implored, not wishing to lose a partner already after only one flight.

“Oh Razzle, what were you thinking up there? We worked so hard together to make it right for you both. And why did you add that corkscrew move at the end? We didn’t put that as part of Nightflight’s routine.” Firebolt didn’t mean to be so harsh on her, but she found herself slipping into the role of group leader. The others didn’t speak up. What Firebolt was saying was true. Why did Razzle Dazzle not stick to what they had planned?

“I… I just got caught up in the excitement of flying with a friend. I guess I wasn’t thinking.” Her ears drooped, unhappy with herself right then. She had not only made herself look bad in front of the instructors and other recruits, but Nightflight, too.

Comments

[SpikeSmolder fan]

Glad to see another chapter to start off 2021 on the right hoof (or talons in Gallus/Silverstream's case ) I actually felt that crash between Gallus/Solar Flare when they botched the last part, not to mention Razzle's going off the rails again during her turn with Nightflight!

Really hope things take a turn for the better for our cast next chapter, Happy New Year Jay!

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Sure hope Gallus and Solar Flare can recover from that mid air collision.

And hopefully Razzle Dazzle can find someone who can help her overcome that scatterbrained nature of hers. If she can't stay focused on a formation, she's not going to last long.

[KittyrinnAiko]

“Do either of you want to go to the infirmary? That was a pretty hard hit to your heads you took.” Misty Fly was ready to dismiss them for the day if need be. Safety was a top priority for the trials.

Normally after two athletes go head to head it's kind of a requirement that they get checked out. Having someone right there is ideal.

All that harassing going on... are there no NCOs or senior cadets in a leadership position who can jump in and start yelling at people? Every time someone starts mouthing off there should be someone who can jump in and make them do wing-ups.

(on line) Saw that one more than once. We go online to get onto the Internet but stand in line.

Looking really good, can't wait for the next installment.