The Wonderbolt Academy's New Volunteers

by Jay Watson

Ch.16 Wonderbolt Trials Pt.12 (raw&unedited)

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” Spitfire angrily slammed a forehoof against her desk repeatedly, just missing her sunglasses when hearing of Misty Fly’s intervening in a fight between two recruits in the barracks. “Why in Tartarus didn’t you bring them to me at once?! This is a disaster!”

All three of them; Soarin, Rainbow Dash and Misty Fly reared back slightly from their C.O.’s outburst, aware of her short temper and low tolerance for bad news. Misty Fly added more.

“None of them spoke up to protest, ma’am! Every last one of them was tight lipped and wouldn’t say what the fight between the two recruits in question was about. One of the mare recruits spoke up to say it was nothing and no pony else countered her statement.”

Spitfire planted a hoof to her forehead, clenching her teeth with frustration. “The spy they’ve sent to watch Dash’s students here at the trials witnessed this altercation and is going to report back! Do you three have any idea of how much hot water we’re going to be in if Central Command finds out we can’t handle a few problematic recruits?!”

“Commander,” Soarin stepped forward to address his C.O., “we aren’t even sure if the pony we suspect to be the spy actually is a spy. I’m still of the opinion that this isn’t so; that Central Command hasn’t sent any pony to observe the trials. It’s just not possible they could have known Dash,” Soarin gave a sideways nod to the pony standing to his right, “was bringing a griffon and a hippogriff to the trials. This might have been just as Misty Fly was told; just a couple of hothead flyers burning off some tension brought on by the trials. It’s not like we haven’t had difficult recruits before or had some of them that didn’t get along.”

Spitfire looked up, glaring at Soarin. “Do you really want to take that chance, Captain?! My command is probably hanging in the balance with what this spy reports back with their observations! The last thing I need is some investigation into the workings of Wonderbolt Academy!”

Rainbow Dash thought her C.O. was getting ahead of herself in imagining the worst possible outcome. There had to be a logical explanation to why a fight broke out and she was leaning towards Misty Fly’s reasoning. But still, no sense in taking a chance if it would help keep Commander Spitfire calm and not catastrophize the situation.

“Commander, I’ll go and talk with Silverstream and Gallus. They’re my students; they’ll tell me exactly what it was all about. I know there’s more to what’s been going on. ” Rainbow Dash felt the weight of responsibility weigh heavily on her right then. She read from the reporting of her fellow ‘Bolt team instructors that during the trials there was friction among some of the recruits that had flared up at moments. But to what extent, she didn’t know. She truly hoped it wasn’t stemming from the fact her students were here participating.

Misty Fly next spoke up, showing her C.O. the clipboard with her roster ready for the recruits.

“Ma’am, I’m handling the first recruit group’s duo flight formations this morning right after our meet & greet along with captain Soarin. I’m keeping an extra-close eye on them to make sure there aren’t any more problems to deal with. Any flyer causing problems will be properly dealt with.”

Soarin hoped this would be enough. “We’ve got the bases covered, Commander. Other than just overseeing what happens and maintaining order in the ranks, there’s not much else we can do. We just have to be the best we can and hope it’s enough.”

Spitfire took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she pushed herself back in her high back leather chair, rubbing her temples, frustrated with the situation and trying not to get too worked up so early in the morning. There was still a meet & greet to deal with this morning and she knew she had to be in the right mindset for the fans. The stress was getting to her and once more, believing that having this year’s trials run by her team was the wrong idea; feeling she should have been in change from the start like she always had.

But she had to remind herself to let go; allow herself to delegate the running of the trials to those who insisted they could and resist falling back on old habits of acting like a control freak. She may be the head of the Wonderbolts but she didn’t have to take all the responsibility on herself; she had to trust he team members to do their jobs.She sat there for a minute or two in silence, still rubbing her temples, trying to think up the best way forward with the trials.

“Alright,” Spitfire stopped rubbing her temples to now look up at the three ponies standing in front of her desk. “You three are going to handle this situation with the recruits. Dash,” Spitfire focused on her team co-captain, “I trust you’ll get to the bottom of what happened in the barracks and report back if it’s something that needs to be addressed. You’ve got Hyacinth Dawn and Fleetfoot working the second recruit group with you.”

“Roger that.” Rainbow Dash saluted her C.O., taking her duty very seriously and determined not to have her students removed from the trials.

“Soarin,” Spitfire then addressed her team captain, “keep a close eye on the second recruit group while doing their solo flight routines today with Dash. Make sure they don’t start acting out. The last thing we need is more recruits who cause problems. We’ve got to maintain proper discipline for the remaining three days of the trials.”

Soarin saluted his C.O. as well. “Count on it, ma’am. I’ll keep these youngsters in line.”

“Make it so, you three. Dismissed.” Spitfire returned the salute and sent them on their way, still worrying about just what transpired in the barracks and dreading the idea of this coming back to haunt her and the team. The only thing she could do was just plow ahead with the meet & greet and hope there would be no more problems with either recruit group.

=====*****=====

Sunglow slunk quietly out the locker-room door and headed back down the hallway, stopping to peer around the corner to see if Snowblossom or any other pony was there. Fortunately for her, Snowblossom was nowhere to be seen, undoubtedly already in the dining hall by now.

She continued to rub the back of her head with a forehoof as she moved down the hallway towards the open doors that led in to mess hall, the impact spot still stinging in pain that cause a ringing in her ears.

The busyness and noise of the mess hall offered cover for her to slip unnoticed by the table where the griffon and hippogriff were gathering with their friends, heading right for the table where Wind Raider, Stormbringer and Crimson Sky were sitting with some cadet acquaintances.

“What happened to you?” Crimson Sky noticed the large red welt on the side of her head as she sat down next to him, seeing her tenderly nurse the back of her head with a gentle hoof as well. Her normally impeccably quaffed blonde mane appeared somewhat messy and unkempt.

“I fell down on the way over from the barracks.” She lied, wincing from the painful bump forming on her head and wishing she had some ice on it to keep the swelling down.

“Really? How many times?” Crimson Sky wasn’t buying it, easily telling Sunglow was lying. For what reason, he didn’t know or care. All he cared about was she being capable of being his wing pony for the trial today and not make him look bad.

“How’s the wing this morning Stormbringer? Better?” Crimson Sky took another bite from his apple, watching his bunkmate slowly unfurl and refold his right wing, testing the muscles.

“A little bit stiff and bruised, but when Wind and I go out to warm up, I’m sure it’ll loosen up more.” Stormbringer wasn’t taking any chances this morning, taking great care at flexing his wing, making sure not to overdo it. Wind Raider finished the last bite of his waffles, getting ready for the big show he and Stormbringer had planned for this morning.

“He’s tough, he’ll make it through. I just want to be the first pair up for scoring when it’s time. That way we can show those freak-beaks and their puny little gaggle of friends just who are the top flyers here.”

The legacy pony was confident and unconcerned. He and his wing pony had been planning this day for over a year. The routine they’d created covered both the required maneuvers the Wonderbolt instructors expected them to do as well as some combat flight moves and techniques, he and Stormbringer used when fighting off attacks from the Storm King’s Stormguards during the siege of Cantorlot. He was sure their routine would put them on the top of the scoresheet for this trial.

=====*****=====

Cloudy Sky’s sharp eyes spotted a table that was big enough for all of them to sit at and he swiftly moved in to claim it, his friends and family were following after him. Firebolt snatched up an extra chair or two from a neighboring table for squeezing everyone in.

“Should we all get on line? It’ll probably go quickly but do we want to risk losing the table?” Nightflight was hungry and knew he and the others needed to fill up if they were going to make it to lunch without a break today.

“I’m thinking it might be best if only half of us go at a time. That way we can hold everyone’s seat for them and then have our seats held for us so we can go.” Brightstar, too, wanted to eat a good meal this morning as she was well aware of how much energy intense flying burned up.

“Hurry, mommy! Wanna sit next to Silverstream to eat!” Breezy Sky whined some, annoyed at the delay of getting her flapjacks and whip cream as she desired. She wanted to get as much time in possible to sit next to a real seapony princess.

“I think I’d better take your sister to get her breakfast now. I want to make sure she eats enough to get her to lunchtime.” Sunny Sky was already being pulled in the direction of the chow line by her insistent daughter.

“Hope they’ve got some fresh coffee brewed, ‘cause I need a boost after getting up at five am this morning!” Sunstorm Blaze rubbed his eyes again, not used to getting up at the crack of dawn. Seeing his fellow parent in need of coffee, the seven of them headed for the chow-line to get their morning meals while the rest of them sat at the table to talk.

“I’ll join you both.” Swiftwind joined in the first dibs on a hot beverage, needing a little ‘pick up’ to keep going this morning. He chatted with Sunstorm Blaze and Sunny Sky as the mother of two was being incessantly pulled onward by her hungry daughter. Nightflight and Razzle Dazzle were right behind him, not wanting to risk missing out on the hot food and having to wait for more.

For the parents, it was a warm reunion with their offspring and a chance for some of them to talk with Silverstream and Gallus for the first time.

“How are the trials going for you and your friend, Silverstream?” Sterling Morning queried the hippogriff sitting across the table from her, wondering if after three days she had a change of mind or opinion about the academy.

“The trials are definitely a challenge but I’m able to keep pace with the rest of my friends. I never imagined there was such a depth of study on the subject of flight. Hippogriffs never really give it much thought; it’s just something natural to us.” Silverstream was honest in her assessment of her experience so far, glad to share with them what it was like.

“How about your friend Gallus? What does he think about taking part in the trials?” Sterling Morning was curious to know, believing more of what her daughter had told her about her circle of friends.

“Well, I can’t speak for Gallus. But I know he and Solar Flare are really clicking together as a team and made a good impression on the Wonderbolt instructors.”

“And what does the lead pony have to say about having a griffon as his wing?” Sterling Morning saw the confident and calm expression Solar Flare wore when she turned to face him. The quietest member of the BFFs kept it succinct.

“I couldn’t have asked for a more capable partner. He’s as quick and nimble as any pony flyer here.”

“He’s that good?” Stormy Sky looked down at his son seated next to him, curious for a second opinion. Cloudy nodded vigorously.

“Absolutely, dad; he’s no joke.”

“I can attest to that, Mr. Sky. I’ve watched Solar Flare and Gallus working together. They’ve got a good rapport with each other. Solar is a natural leader and Gallus took right to his position as Solar’s wing, as if he was born for being a wing pony, so to speak.” Brightstar didn’t want to misrepresent her griffon friend but did want to emphasize his success at adapting to a more structured and disciplined format.

“He and Silverstream have been a big help for me getting though the trials too. There were all these hard maneuvers to perform for my solo flight and they both flew along me to practice them over and over again.” Cloudy Sky eagerly added to the praise of his new friends.

“Did they help you study in class too?” Stormy Sky was a bit perplexed at discovering just how much these fellow ‘competitors’ aided his son. These ponies acted more like schoolmates to his son rather than recruits vying for an entry spot at the academy.

“That was mostly me; the egghead of the wing pony troupe.” Firebolt raised a forehoof, wearing a silly grin when pointing to herself as the ‘nerd girl’ of the group.

“Oh, you are so not an egghead!” Silverstream gave a dismissive wave of her right talons and laughed a little.

“But Firebolt did help Gallus, Razzle Dazzle and me get familiar with the words and terms used for the first flight trial during our class time together.”

“Was it a lot to take on?” Stormy Sky knew his son wasn’t a fast learner and the unrelenting pace these trials put Cloudy at a real disadvantage. His son looked up at him, a sure look in his eyes.

“She made it feel less overwhelming; breaking the subjects down into small parts for us to understand. The textbook we have to read from is filled with a bazillion important things about flying but Firebolt was, like, ‘Here, just read and focus on this, this and these topics and you’ll do fine’. And she was right. I probably would’ve gotten bogged down with reading everything and not knowing what was or wasn’t necessary to read.”

Firebolt puffed out her chest a little, feeling self-satisfaction from Cloudy Sky’s praise of her assistance during study time. She enjoyed sharing with inexperienced flyers what she knew and how to apply it.

“Brightstar was my partner during lecture time for lead pony class and she helped me become familiar with the complex topics involved with being a lead flyer. In fact…”

Silverstream found herself slipping into a familiar role, able to talk and interact with the practiced poise her upbringing had taught her to do in important moments of social mixing like this. She was light-hearted and relaxed as she spoke with her friend’s parents, retelling of her experiences with her pony teammates as well as answering their curious questions about her homeland and making a good impression overall.

Intentionally or not but at that moment, she was the face of her nation and of hippogriff kind. Though she did want to be seen as just another youngster trying out for the academy, she’s still a princess. And it was a princess’ duty to be the face of her people and nation when called on. She was making inroads where none of her kind had before and that made this sojourn to a pony academy even more important. She would make her mom and aunt proud of her efforts here.

“That’s admirable of you to assist Silverstream. I know how hard you’ve prepared for this and were so focused.” Sterling Morning was beaming with parental pride of her daughter’s actions, so willing to help out like she did. Brightstar didn’t want to take all the credit.

“Silverstream’s totally downplaying how fast she picked up the subject and only needed my help to get started. I’m fairly certain even if I wasn’t there to assist, she would’ve successfully figured it out on her own.” She looked at the hippogriff seated next to her, grinning. “She a lot sharper than she gives herself credit for.”

===== *******=====

“He picked up the instructor’s lesson points quick enough. Cloudy just needed some help with the flying aspects. It’s good that Gallus and Silverstream helped him so much; it was a real boost to his confidence.” Nightflight explained to Sunny Sky, watching amusedly as Breezy Sky continued to insistently pull at her mother’s foreleg to keep up on the chow line.

Cloudy Sky’s mom tried not to seem overly worried or desperate to know how her son was doing, asking for an ‘honest’ opinion of her son’s chances of passing the trials from his friends who were older and more experienced. The bright yellow middle-aged mare seemed to be relieved by his confiding.

“He’s doing alright? He’s not a distraction or a bother to any of you? I know he’s trying very hard and has prepared the best he could-” Sunny Sky was about to apologize for her son lacking the flying proficiency as compared to his friends or the other recruits trying out, but Razzle Dazzle jumped in.

“Absolutely not, Mrs. Sky! It’s wonderful he’s with us and we’re so glad to help him all we can! In fact, he even learned how to do one of my ‘flipty loop’ moves all on his own after we worked with him.”

Sunny Sky had no idea what she was talking about and turned to the dark blue stallion to her left. “A… ‘flipty loop’ move?”

Nightflight filled in the missing relevant information. “It’s a very tough loop-de-loop kind of move that was pretty demanding of his abilities. He struggled at first but did manage to get it down and perform it in his solo routine.”

Sunny now turned to face Gallus, a very appreciative smile beaming from her. “And you were so willing to work with Cloudy and make it easier for him to do?”

Gallus looked a tiny bit embarrassed, seeing the glowing look of admiration from Sunny Sky. “I mean… all I did was fly alongside him and coach a few times; he did the hard work. It took a couple of tries for him, but he got it.” Gallus half looked away, feeling as little warm in his uniform all of a sudden from being the center of this middle-aged mare’s admiration.

“It makes me happy to know he’s made such good friends while here.” Sunny Sky had wanted, more than anything, for her son to meet new ponies away from their little hamlet of a hometown. Even better to make friends with creatures he’d never met before and become part of a new group with them. She understood that, as part of a group effort, Cloudy had a better chance of completing the trials and be selected for admission to the academy.

“It’s good to hear that you are all working together as a team; it builds trust and loyalty.” Swiftwind wholeheartedly agreed with the way her daughter’s friends were working as a group effort. “I’m sure each of you youngsters must be learning a good deal from each other this way.”

“Solar was always one to lend a hoof to a pony in need. I’m confident that-” Sunstorm Blaze was interrupted unexpectedly.

“Oh-h-h, it’s soft and fluffy, like my pet kitty-cat at home.” A curious small blue colt had walked over and began petting Gallus’ fur, momentarily starling the griffon from the unseen hoof that touched his body.

Gallus jerked his head around to spot the culprit, frowning at the unwelcome pawing. “Hey, kid, do ya’ mind?!” He swung his hindquarters away from the intruding hoof, startling the small colt whose mother was walking up behind her son just then. She took offence to his brusque tone when speaking to her son.

“Good gracious, learn to take a compliment!” She then turned to the three other parents standing close to Gallus and addressed them. “These griffons are such a rude species!” She took her son by the foreleg hoof and led him back to their table, away from Gallus and his party.

The griffon wore a suitably gruff expression, irked by the confrontation. When he looked at Swiftwind, Sunstorm Blaze and Sunny Sky again, each of the three parents wore suitably embarrassed expressions, unable to look at him just then. Having to witness another pony act with such crassness and disrespect towards Gallus created an awkward silence among them that hung in the air before Razzle Dazzle quietly spoke up.

“I’m…I’m sorry about that, Gallus.” She looked more embarrassed than the trio of parents did right then, appearing quite pained at that moment.

“Don’t even waste the brainpower on them, Gallus. It’s not worth it!” Nightflight sneered at the departing mother and son, annoyed they would treat Gallus like some pet.

The griffon took a deep breath and let the moment go, aware that getting his feathers ruffled was just as Nightflight said, not worth the brain energy. He had more important things to concentrate on today, and one of them wasn’t thinking about some pony’s small-minded attitude towards his kind.

“Let’s just get something to eat.” Gallus turned back towards the chow line, wanting to forget. Sunny Sky and Sunstorm Blaze still tried to make small talk with the three recruits, trying to make Gallus feel comfortable about being around them again. It was awkward at first, but Sunny Sky managed to get Gallus to smile a little, telling him a quick joke or two about ponies, doing a small bit of self-deprecation humor.

They follow after the other recruits and guests on the chow line, each of them served a plateful of hot cakes, fresh fruit and some hot oatmeal. Satisfied with their portions, the seven of them head back to the table but not before another pony guest of the academy made a comment as he and his filly offspring cross paths with Gallus while making their way across the crowded mess hall.

“Careful, sweetheart, don’t get too close to one of those creatures now. You don’t want to catch any of their fleas. Who knows where they’ve might have been.” The father of the small filly warned as he steered his child around Gallus, making sure to keep at least a meter away from him. Instinctively, Gallus responded to the off-putting remark in kind.

“I’ll make sure to keep my distance; Celestia knows I don’t want to catch Hoof-and-Mouth disease from a bunch of unwashed ponies!”

The smart-mouthed comment caused the parent to move his child away more quickly from Gallus and the other ponies he was with, insulted. “Well, I never!”

“No, and I don’t think you ever will, not with an attitude like that!” Nightflight stepped forward to stand with Gallus, growing more annoyed with the insults his friend had to endure from these guests.

“That wasn’t a very nice thing to say to my friend. You should apologize.” Razzle Dazzle followed on the hooves of Nightflight, standing right next to Gallus as well.

The parent just scoffed at the three youngsters as he led his daughter away, unconcerned about his choice of words. This was not the positive vibe the three recruits were hoping for this morning, already having dealt with the altercation in the barracks and now having to deal with some disrespectful parents.

“Let’s just sit and eat!” Gallus growled, grinding his beak together and trying to forget another unpleasant moment. The seven of them returned to the table, trying to put on more pleasant expressions but Gallus’ frown was not missed by Brightstar.

“Hey, is everything okay?” She watched how Gallus gruffly plopped his tray down and flopped into his seat, still wearing his annoyance on his face. Nightflight was first to speak up.

“Oh, we had a run in with some parents who made rude comments about Gallus while we were on the chow line getting food; the nerve of some ponies!” He sat down next to Firebolt, reaching for the pitcher of milk. The others seated at the table were disheartened by the news; hearing some of the attending parents deriding Gallus’ presence here.

“They weren’t very nice.” Razzle Dazzle took her spot next to Cloudy Sky, disappointed by the way they spoke to her griffon friend. She’d not suspected other ponies felt much the same as Wind Raider and his friends did; not liking griffons being here.

“I’m stunned that some pony’s parents would act so horribly to another recruit, regardless of whether they were from Equestria or not.” Sunny Sky sat next to her husband, feeling a bit dispirited by the unpleasant comments made towards her son’s new friend.

“This isn’t what I expected to hear from families who have their sons or daughters attending the academy. I would have believed there would be a much more welcoming environment.” Swiftwind was not pleased to witness what he had, wondering about the makeup of student body that might be harboring such feelings about non-pony attendants.

“Yeah, well, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it, I can tell you.” Gallus would shove those off-putting comments into the back of his mind for the rest of today. He was more determined than ever to prove he and Solar Flare were going to outdo every pair of flyers this morning.

“Let’s go get something from the cafeteria. You can tell us all about what happened when we get back.” Sterling Morning was about to get up from her chair when her daughter stopped her.

“No, mom, you stay here with dad and hang out with my friends, I’ll get us our breakfasts.” She wanted her parents to get to know the rest of the BFFs.

“Please excuse us, we’ll be right back.” Silverstream politely excused herself as she got up from her chair to follow after Cloudy Sky and his dad, along with Solar Flare, Firebolt and Brightstar. They got on the chow line behind some other recruits from the second group and some of their guest family members as well. Brightstar made sure to have Silverstream standing safely in between all of them, keeping anyone not familiar to her friend from getting too close.

It kept Silverstream away from any immediate contact with anyone else on line but did not keep her from being eyed warily by some cadets who were seated at a nearby table. Having her friends around her did make it easier for Silverstream to feel more comfortable while they waited. But Silverstream noticed a young mare ahead of them on the line that, after spotting her standing just behind, kept looking back and smiling at the hippogriff.

“I didn’t suspect your new friend would get such a hard time being here, Cloudy. I believed the academy’s student body to be more open-minded.”

Granted, Stormy Sky hadn’t done all the reading about the history and impressiveness of the academy when his son first brought the brochures home for him to read.

“Me neither. I was really surprised by the way some recruits reacted to having Gallus and Silverstream here as volunteers. Most every pony in our group of recruits thinks it’s neat to have them here.” Cloudy Sky couldn’t understand the distain for Gallus and Silverstream shone by Wind Raider and his group. They all could fly; what was the big deal then?

“Most every pony?” Stormy Sky wondered out loud.

Firebolt filled in her BFF’s dad. “There are a couple of recruits in our group that have made themselves clear that they don’t really shine onto the idea of having a griffon or a hippogriff here at the trials. We just ignore them; a bunch of lunk-heads if you ask me.”

“I’m sure after today’s performance, you two,” Solar Flare nodded at Firebolt and Silverstream, “will basically shut down any pony complaining about having Silverstream here participating.”

“Even better than the routine you and Gallus are gonna do?” Cloudy Sky played a bit of draconequus’ advocate, smirking a tiny bit at having a play at Solar Flare’s confidence. The soft-spoken stallion played along, smirking back at Cloudy Sky.

“Feh! Not a chance! They couldn’t touch the routine he and I have planned.” Solar Flare turned up his nose, playing up to the joke of elevating himself above his friends. They chuckle at his acting.

“Oh, yeah?! Says you! Best watch your flanks today, buddy!” Firebolt playfully poked him in his chest with a forehoof, grinning and getting them all to smile and relax.

Stormy Sky laughed along with the recruits, watching how they interact with the playful banter between them. Like his wife, Stormy Sky was concerned his son wouldn’t be able to make friends whom he could work with. But after spending only an hour or so with these new friends his son had dubbed the Best Friend Flyers, his hope and desire for his son’s success grew. Surrounded by a good support group of fellow ponies and now a griffon and hippogriff as well, the ‘longshot’ of his son completing the trials and maybe getting accepted into the academy wasn’t feeling like such a longshot anymore.

One by one, each cadet, recruit and parent took up a tray and then helped themselves to the heaping portions of flapjacks, fresh fruit and egg omelets available of every variety. Huge tureens of hot coffee and freshly squeezed juices of every kind awaited further down the line as each of them took what they wanted. At the end of the line, arranged in a towering pile, wasevery kind of breakfast pastry a pony could want just waiting to be taken. In all, a feast fit for the royal princesses.

Both Firebolt and Solar Flare stepped in to recommend what Cloudy Sky should and should not eat this morning, helping him make smart food selections so he would have the stamina to make it to lunchtime. Stormy Sky did all he could not to smirk at the sight of his son’s friends suddenly taking on the rolls of ‘dietitians’ for Cloudy’s mealtime.

“Less with the sugary pastries and more with the rolled oats and fruits.” Solar Flare pointed to the trays the cadets were carrying to Cloudy Sky, taking note of the lack of sweets the cadets dined on.

“Oh-h-h-h!” Cloudy Sky groaned with disappointment, watching as Solar Flare slide the big bowl of rough oatmeal onto his tray and Firebolt remove of two of the three chocolate cannoli treats from off his tray and back onto the pastry pile. She left one behind, taking pity on him.

“One can’t hurt.” She conceded with a wink and a small smile, making it not a total loss for Cloudy Sky.

“They’re just looking out for your success, son.” Stormy Sky gave his a son a small pat on his back with a forehoof, aware of his son’s affinity for chocolate. Cloudy Sky sighed a little and just nodded. Solar Flare and Firebolt were the experts of their group and knew what was best for him to eat if he wanted to go the distance.

“I guess.” He conceded.

As they passed through the exit of the cafeteria and into the dining hall, a young gold-yellow colored mare shyly approached them; her focus seemed to be on Silverstream.

“Oh, um, excuse me,” she softly spoke up, getting the groups attention away from each other and focused on her.

“Yes?” Firebolt wondered what this young girl wanted with them. She seemed a bit intimidated to speak up. The rest of the group stood clustered behind Firebolt and Silverstream who stood at the front.

“I… I was just wondering,” she turned to look at Silverstream, “You’re from Mount Aris; from the kingdom of hippogriffs?”

Silverstream watched how her nervous eyes kept looking up at her and then away, as if embarrassed to be so close to ask. It reminded the hippogriff something of how Cloudy Sky reacted to learning she was actually a princess a little while ago.

“Yes, I am. My name is Silverstream. What’s yours?” Once again, Silverstream slipped into the role of ‘princess’, acting with practiced poise with the new introduction. The young girl still seemed quite nervous when answering but as still smiling.

“Sus….Sunshine.”

“That’s a pretty name you have. Did you want to ask me something?” Clearly there was something on this girl’s mind she wanted to know from what Silverstream could tell.

“I… I was wondering…. about your mane. I wanted to know how you manage to keep your mane up like that. Do you have to use a lot of mane styling spray or gel? Do you have it cut and styled like that?”

“Oh,” Silverstream was momentarily caught off-guard by the rather odd question but came back quick, “well, I don’t really have a mane like all ponies. Hippogriffs have a mane-like crest.” She indicated with a free foreleg talon, pointing to the plumage atop her head with an easy smile. “It only looks like a mane because each quill is made up of a very long thin shaft with many, many long vanes coming out from them, so it looks very much like hair growing out of my scalp. With it all flowing together like it does, it appears like I have a thick pony mane like you.”

The young mare was listening attentively, learning. Stormy Sky watched how his son’s friend handled the encounter with such care and understanding, aware of her environment and applying her ‘princess skills’ to work her way through the slightly awkward but innocuous encounter with a youngster.

“That’s why when I shake it out,” Silverstream vigorously shook her head, making her blue-hued crest flutter some but still maintain its upright curvature, “it always stays in place. See?”

The young mare gave a small gasp in discovery. “Oh-h-h-h.” The light of understanding went off over Sunshine’s head, enlightened a little on hippogriff crest anatomy.

“In fact, my younger brother, Teramor, he tries to-” Silverstream was about to capitalize on the beachhead she’d made with Sunshine when a middle-aged tan colored pegasus mare hurried over to where they stood and interrupted.

“What do you think you are doing, bothering her like that?! Do you want to cause her mane trauma?!” She yanked Sunshine away from Silverstream, a look of horrible embarrassment on her the mare’s face.

“But… but, mom, I didn’t ask-” Sunshine tried to speak up but was drowned out by her mother’s loud and overwrought apology.

“I’m sorry! I am so, so sorry! My daughter is completely clueless and has no understanding of the hurt and pain she must have inflicted on you with her ignorant and bigoted questions! I don’t know where she gets her disgusting speciesism attitude from!”

She clamped down hard Sunshine’s right ear with her teeth, causing the young mare to yelp with pain as she was practically dragged away by her mother. “I can’t believe you’d embarrass me like that!” She snarled, yanking hard on the ear.

“Ow-w-w! Mo-o-om! I didn’t mean anything bad…” Sunshine tried to speak up but her mother’s response to the backtalk was a hard disciplining smack on Sunshine’s backside.

“Be quiet before I give you something really to complain about!”

“Wait, no! I wasn’t bothered at all! I was happy to…” Silverstream called back to them, but it was too late. The mother and daughter disappeared into the crowded cafeteria of pony bodies, lost among the many guests seated here today.

“…to tell her about… myself.” Silverstream finished her sentence, more to herself in reaction to the sudden cutting off in mid conversation. She thought she was doing so well just then, only to have the young mare’s mother come in and make all the wrong assumptions about what they were speaking about.

The friends stood there for a few seconds, processing the rather odd encounter. Finally, Stormy Sky spoke up.

“Well, that was a rather…. strange moment. Any pony here want to tell me what was that all about?”

“I’m thinking that lady has had a bit too much coffee this morning.” Firebolt was left nonplussed by the mare’s sudden outpouring of emotion, finding it all a bit much to take in and understand.

“That, or she’s one really high-strung pony.” Solar Flare had never seen a pony act like that before, almost to the point of tears for an apology that seemed so unnecessary.

Nonetheless, the group returned to their table where the others sat and had started their morning meal. Rejoining them in mid conversation, Razzle Dazzle was regaling the time they were helping Cloudy Sky do her ‘flipty loop’ trick for his solo trial.

The parents listened to how she, Gallus, Silverstream and the others all pitched in to assist Cloudy Sky when he needed the help. Breezy Sky was enthralled by Razzle Dazzle’s storytelling; how Silverstream and Gallus came to her brother’s aid at his moment of need and saving him from almost certain elimination.

The griffon seemed a little embarrassed with Razzle Dazzle’s retelling, making Breezy Sky look at Gallus with great admiration. It wasn’t just Breezy Sky looking on with admiration. Sterling Morning, too, after listening to the tale was admiring the griffon’s willingness to help a fellow wing pony in need.

“…and then, Cloudy came soaring in after his big finishing move and managed to hit his landing, finishing his first routine really strong. It was Gallus and Silverstream who stayed the longest with him, the rest of us were already called up to do our routines and couldn’t stay any longer to help.”

“Aw, c’mon, Razzle. Don’t blow it all out of proportion now.” He tried to wave away the praise she was giving, as if to diminish his importance to assisting Cloudy Sky. “Cloudy was doing fine; Silver and me just helped a little in the end.”

“It sounds like you and Silverstream have done more than just ‘helping out a little’, eh? Seems to me you and she have learned a good deal about teamwork from participating here at the trials.” Swiftwind wanted to know about how the two volunteers were getting along, listening attentively, admiring the looks of Gallus and Silverstream similarly dressed in their Wonderbolt jerseys like all the other recruits.

“It just felt like the right thing friends do for each other, that’s all.” Silverstream knew just what to say to impress the parents seated with them, using the lessons she and Gallus had taken to heart from Princess Twilight’s school and applying them here.

“Well, my first instinct about this place was that the instructors here were, you know, too strict and end up getting under my feathers with all their rules and discipline.” Leave it to Gallus to assume the mantle of ‘outsider’ no matter what the scenario.

“Pbth! Meadow muffins, dude!” Firebolt wasn’t fooled by his posturing and deflated his balloon a little. “When I had to spend more of the class time with Razzle Dazzle at getting her up to speed, you stayed with Cloudy the rest of the class time, helping him study and reading together.”

Gallus actually felt himself blushing from Firebolt’s comment and the approving looks from the other parents were giving him, especially Cloudy Sky’s mom and dad.

“Hey, don’t get like Razzle Dazzle and start over exaggerating, Firebolt. You helped out a lot too. It wasn’t all me.”

Sterling Morning gave him a small nod of approval. “I’ll be your friends Smolder, Sandbar and the others back at Princess Twilight’s school will be most impressed to hear about your willingness to help out your fellow flyers while here.”

Through a doorway at the other end of the mess hall in strode Rainbow Dash, dressed in her Wonderbolt uniform and heading for the table where the BFFs and their families sat for the morning’s meal. She was beset by a small throng of young pony fans, clamoring for an autograph from her.

“Easy there, kids. I’ll see all of you out at the meet & greet in a little while.” She demurred from signing anything just yet, in spite of having several Wonderbolt coloring books and autograph albums thrust towards her with the incessant begging from the youngsters for ‘just one signature’ from the famous co-captain.

“Professor Dash!” Silverstream called out and waved to her, eager to have their teacher from the School of Friendship join them.

Rainbow Dash tried to put on a more relaxed smile, trying to think of the best way to broach this subject with the family members seated with them. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“Hey Gang! How are you doing this morning? You ready for your big show this morning for Commander Spitfire?” She looked about at the young pony recruits, glad to see them sitting with her students and getting along well. Even better that she would see some family members were joining them, apparently not averse to having Gallus and Silverstream here.

“No doubt! We are ready for it, right guys?! Who’s gonna rock those Wonderbolt instructors today?!” Firebolt was always good at cheerleading, getting her partner and teammates pumped up and ready for action.

“We are!” Almost on cue Cloudy Sky, Gallus and Razzle Dazzle shouted out their replies, feeling the positive energy Firebolt was generating.

Rainbow Dash liked to hear her Gallus was feeling part of the group, reading up in the reports about how he and Silverstream had taken to the trials so quickly and excelled at it.

“That’s awesome to hear and I’m sure all of you will do just fine. I came by to check in to see if everything was going okay between you and the other recruits; any… any difficulty you… might have experienced you’d want to mention?”

She didn’t want to push yet, not wanting to alarm the family members of some problems unbeknownst to them. But Rainbow Dash could already tell just by the looks on the recruit’s faces that she’d hit a nerve; something had happened but none of them were speaking up.

“It got awfully quiet all of a sudden around here.” She again scanned the faces of the recruits, looking for an opening but seeing none of them budging.

“What kind of problems would they be having with the other recruits? Every pony here seems just fine.” Sterling Morning looked down at her daughter seated next to her, watching how Brightstar bit her lower lip and held her jaw tight, as if to prevent herself from speaking up. She got Brightstar’s attention with a small shake on her daughter’s withers. “Sweetheart, do you want to tell me something?”

Brightstar’s eye went a little wider when she looked up at her mom, aware of being put on the spot to answer.

“Um-m-m-m…” Brightstar took a lightning-quick look around the table at her friends, not wanting to say anything that might get them in trouble. The seconds ticked by, then some pony else broke the silence and spoke up.
“Solar Flare got into a fight with one of the recruits this morning in the barracks.”

“Cloudy!” Firebolt yelped his name out, frowning as she looked right at him. “Don’t be a snitch!” There was supposed to be a bond of trust between the BFFs and that meant keeping quiet on such things. This was something between them; between recruits and did not need to have the instructors involved.

“I’m not snitching!” He stood his ground with Firebolt, a look of annoyance on his face for being called that. “We’re supposed to trust our Wonderbolt instructors and be honest with them; like one of the teachers at the School of Friendship Silverstream and Gallus talked about.”

“What were they fighting about, son?” Stormy Sky knew his son was an honest pony and would tell them. He put a foreleg around his son’s withers, getting Cloudy to look up at him. “Tell us what happened.”

This was hard for Cloudy Sky to tell. He really liked Silverstream and Gallus; he’d never had friends like them before. They didn’t look down their beaks at him because he wasn’t nearly as good a flyer as they were and both of them had stood up for him. He didn’t want to see them leave because a few recruit ponies were acting like jerks.

Finally, Cloudy Sky told the truth of what had been happening between the BFFs and the foursome of pony recruits who’d been harassing Silverstream and Gallus. Cloudy Sky only revealed as much as he had to, still not giving the names of which ones it was that were giving Silverstream and Gallus a hard time. The parents were troubled by what they heard, all of them having seen for themselves some rather distasteful behavior displayed towards the two volunteers this morning by some of the guests here.

“….and that’s how the fight broke out. I know Solar was just standing up for Gallus like he did but,” Cloudy Sky paused, his expression suddenly growing angry before turning to look up at the Wonderbolt instructor again, “I’m sorry Professor Dash, that jerk deserved the thumping he got! Why can’t he just leave my friends alone?”

“You stood up to that bully, Solar?” Sunstorm Blaze got his son to look at him instead of looking glumly down at his food. Solar Flare was clearly feeling ashamed for having acted very un-recruit like he had and now thinking he was going to get ejected.

“I didn’t want to, but I felt I had to, dad. Gallus is my wing, and I couldn’t stand to have some pony insult him or attack him for being here at the trials. If you ask me,” Solar Flare now looked up at the Wonderbolt co-captain, “I think they’re just scared of the competition and just want to drive Silverstream and Gallus away.”

“Well, they’re not going to do that. Not if we have anything to say about it, right?” Firebolt gently elbow jabbed her lead pony who was seated next to her, winking.

“Right!” Silverstream caught on, winking back, sure and confident for today’s trial. She and Firebolt were going to be electrifying today.

“Professor Dash,” Nightflight asked the obvious question, “you’re… not going to pull Silverstream and Gallus out of the trials, are you?”

“Oh no!” Razzle Dazzle gasped sharply, throwing both forehooves over her mouth, believing it was going to happen. This was terrible, she wanted to try mind-reading them again, sure if she just concentrated harder next time it would happen.

That idea had crossed Rainbow Dash’s mind on the way over to the mess hall after her meeting with Spitfire. Aware, too, that one of these pony friends of her students might actually be a spy sent here to watch the trials so she would try to be as tactful as possible.

“I have to keep my students safe from trouble; that was part of the agreement I made with Headmare Twilight in order to have them accompany me and-”

“No, please, Professor Dash,” Silverstream interrupted, “I don’t want to go.” She looked about her friends seated at the table with her. “We’re half-way through the trials as of today and Firebolt and myself have ideas for this awesome routine we’re planning out and want to fly.” The hippogriff turned to the mare seated next to her. “I can’t leave my partner now; not because some jerk-headed pony tries to push us around. What would Headmare Twilight say if I abandoned my friends?”

“Me too, Professor Dash. I don’t want to leave either. I want to fly with Solar Flare and show all the Wonderbolt instructors how well we can work together; if only to shut the mouths of those obnoxious ponies once and for all!”

Gallus wasn’t going to bail on Solar Flare, not now. After witnessing his friend and flight partner stand up for him and take on Wind Raider like he had, Gallus knew he had a pony who would watch his back.

“You of both are sure of this? You don’t want to step away? Trust me when I say that Commander Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts won’t be upset if you decided to. You’ve demonstrated you’re both more than capable of competing in the trials and have made an impression on the student body here at the academy.” Rainbow Dash wanted to be sure of their intentions, hearing how determined they were not to abandon their friends, even dealing with the harassment at the same time.

In the back of her mind, she knew one of these recruits was potentially the spy sent from Central Command and thought giving her students the option to step away, might mitigate any bad image of the situation between the recruits. Instead, they chose the tougher path.

“We’re sure, ma’am. We’ll stay to the end.” Silverstream assured all of them, unafraid of some pony’s bad attitude.

“You’ll have to tie us up and drag us away kicking and screeching to stop us from continuing. I’m not letting anyone prevent me from flying.” Gallus made his intentions clear. He wasn’t going anywhere.

“These are quite the students you’ve brought from Princess Twilight’s school, I must say. I don’t suppose there are other great flyers at her school just waiting to be discovered, are there?” Swiftwind was impressed by the two young flyers for their determination to see the trials through.

Rainbow Dash could not have been prouder of Silverstream and Gallus. In spite of the aggravation, they got from a few recruits and some rather unpleasant encounters with a few guests here today, they would stick it out. Fortunately, she had a small surprise for them that arrived unexpectedly this morning, care take of Headmare Twilight. Maybe it might make up for some of the difficulty they’ve had to deal with.

“Well, I know this has been tough for you two being away from the school and here at the trials during your spring break, so Headmare Twilight thought it might help out by sending you a care package to make up for it.”

From the doorway Rainbow Dash spotted High Winds waving at her, telling her that the rest of the team was waiting for her outside and they had to get moving if they to get the meet & greet started on time. She turned back to the table of friends and family.

“I gotta go now, you guys. Good luck with the trials this morning.” The co-captain of the Wonderbolts headed off, rejoining her team member to get ready for the meet & greet.

After only a few minutes sitting, eating and talking together, a peculiar smell filled the air of the mess hall, causing many of the cadets, recruits and their family members turn away from the offending odor and cover their noses in repulsion. The parents sitting at the BFFs table, too, inhaled the first traces of the nauseating smell that seemed to grow stronger.

“What in Princess Celestia’s name is that awful smell? It smells like some pony is burning alive!” Whirlwind, seated just a little further down the table from the BFFs with his parents and some other recruits, covered his nostrils with a napkin, trying to block the odor as his gut began to clench up in revulsion to the smell. Both Silverstream and Gallus instantly knew what it was.

“Wait, I know that smell! It’s…” Gallus excitedly looked around, seeing one of the kitchen staff ponies heading their way and carrying a tray. The cook tried to cover his nose with a wet dishrag to keep from gagging from the offending odor.

“Oh, geez! What freakin’ died in here?! Will some pony open the windows?!” A stallion from somewhere among the throng of recruits and visitors cried out in revulsion. Still more recruits voiced complaints about the foul smell and moved away from where they believed the smell was coming from.

A mare from somewhere close by cried out loudly in distress, “Sweet Celestia’s cutie mark, it’s grossing me out! Some pony get me a bucket because I’m going to be sick!”

The pony staff cook couldn’t get rid of his burden fast enough, scanning the room and finding the two non-pony flyers for which this ‘offering’ was meant for from among the crowd of pony bodies. Hurriedly, he came to stand right behind Silverstream and Gallus, practically dropping the tray right in front them both.

“Here! This came from the School of Friendship with instructions on how to cook it and then serve it to you!” He couldn’t get away fast enough, practically retching from the smell as he galloped back to the cafeteria. The ponies sitting around the table looked at the metal serving tray placed on the table, all of them suitably but privately repulsed by what was in front of them. It was a stark reminder that the two volunteers were not ponies.

“Uh… Gallus? Is… is that…?” Cloudy Sky almost didn’t want to ask, pretty sure what it was already without them confirming it. He took a hard swallow of the lump in his throat, staring at what was sitting on the table. Both of Cloudy Sky’s parents looked on in shock and a bit of discomfort at the sight of animal flesh lying on the table like a severed body part, cooked over a fire and ready for consumption.

Breezy Sky watched with wide-eyed curious fascination, never before in her life being so close to a real carnivore about to eat. “Are… are you going to… eat that?” Both Silverstream and Gallus nodded happily.

“I-i-i-i-it’s bacon!” Gallus crowed so loud that other griffons all the way in Griffonstone probably heard him. With his head hovering over the piping hot strips of sizzling fried pork, he inhaled deeply the savory aroma that made his beak water. He liked his rolled oats and fruit for breakfast like his pony pals, but this was something special, a delicacy only for creatures like himself and Silverstream.

“Not just any bacon; hickory-smoked bacon! Oh, Princess Twilight knew just what we would want to eat!” Silverstream was delighted by the surprise breakfast addition.

While she and Gallus were omnivorous and tried to keep in step with their pony friends when it came to mealtimes while at the School of Friendship, they did miss some traditional foods of their home countries after being away for as long as they have. The cooks at the School of Friendship understood their dietary needs and would accommodate them on occasion with some kind of meat product. But they never suspected they would get the same kind of treatment here at the trials; having them be accommodated to this level.

They didn’t see the cringing looks or restrained disgust for what was sitting on the table. Wanting to be polite, Gallus offered up the plate to his friend’s parents seated across the table from Silverstream and himself first.

“Mr. and Mrs. Sky, would you like to try some? It’s really quite good.” The griffon was earnest in his desire to be polite and make a good impression on these ponies, momentarily forgetting their dietary preferences. Sunny Sky tried valiantly to be polite when turning down the offer and not look at the seared flesh strips less than a foot away from her muzzle. The smell was almost overpowering her.

“Oh, no, thank you Gallus… that’s…very polite of you to offer.” She held her breath, not wanting to inhale the stomach-turning smell of cooked animal flesh. Gallus looked around to the others seated at the table, making sure. “Anyone else?” There were no takers.

Firebolt did all she could to try and discreetly block her view of her friends about to do the unspeakable act of eating the flesh of another animal with her left forehoof. She had a great deal of admiration for the non-pony flyers being here and felt a sort of kinship with Silverstream especially. But this was something she’d happily forgotten about them during the business of the trials; Silverstream and Gallus were raptors and they needed to eat meat to survive. It was natural to them. Silverstream was a hippogriff, not a pegasus pony.

Breezy Sky continued to watch as Silverstream and Gallus divvied up the strips of meat between them, savoring the opportunity to devour the tasty cuts. Silverstream fell back on her etiquette, making sure to help her fellow diners feel more comfortable while eating together. The looks of shock and politely restrained repulsion did not escape her as they did her griffon friend.

She had her mess kit; utensils she brought with her on outings like this, where she knew it would be impolite to eat her meats with her talons. She was a stark contrast that couldn’t be more different then to Gallus, who hungrily chomped away on the bacon, dangling the strips above his beak to feed himself, all the while making happy, chomping yummy sounds.

“You know,” the griffon thought out loud, showing everyone seated close by just how disgusting the inside of his mouth was when full of shredded bacon as he talked, “the whole world would be such a better place if every creature could just enjoy bacon!” Large bits of bacon flew from the edge of his beak to land in the food of the ponies seated near him. One particularly large, fatty piece landed right in the oatmeal Nightflight was eating, its burnt red color and fatty juice contrasting against the bland colored hot cereal. The dark blue pony pushed the bowl away from him.

“I’m done with this.” He reached instead for a corn muffin, trying to block out the sound of Gallus munching away across from him.

“Well, there’s something you don’t see every day.” Brightstar stated rather matter-of-factually, believing Princess Twilight must know what she is doing if she sent these two a care package. Brightstar, like the rest of the BFFs, had only known Silverstream and Gallus since the beginning of the trials and had not seen them acting on their more avian persona, forgetting their diet included meat.

Sterling Morning watched how Silverstream made sure to keep eye contact with the others around her while talking so as to keep them from looking down at her plate, trying to make them comfortable. She was succeeding to a certain point. The griffon seated next to her was making it difficult with his talons gripping fistfuls of the meat strips and chomping away at his breakfast with his mouth open.

Gallus looked about the table to find the syrup server sitting close to Brightstar and Firebolt.

“Hey, Firebolt,” Gallus pointed to the glass bottle near her, “can you pass me the maple syrup?”

Firebolt had only once looked up from her bowl of rolled oats to see Gallus eating, finding the view of a griffon dining on animal flesh too disturbing. She could only guess at what he was going to do with the syrup.

“Are you done with syrup? He wants it next.” Brightstar pointed to the jug on the table with her right forehoof, making sure.

“He’s going to dunk those strips of flesh into it, isn’t he?” Firebolt still couldn’t look up at the meal Gallus was eating, giving her the willies thinking about it.

Brightstar turned back to face Gallus, seeing the mélange on his plate he had already concocted for his meal. She didn’t have to ask.

“Oh, absolutely! What griffon doesn’t enjoy eating sweet meats?” He was glad to see they understood what he was about to do and didn’t seem repulsed by it. Firebolt reluctantly passed him the syrup and the griffon proceeded to coat his meal with the warm syrup before devouring it with great relish.

Silverstream carried on the conversation as best she could with Cloudy Sky’s family and the other parents, trying not to appear upset by Gallus’ rather crude behavior.

It tightened Firebolt’s gut more, hearing him nosily chomping away like that. Finally, she couldn’t take the sound anymore.

“Dude, you’re totally grossing me out right now! Can you please eat with some kind of restraint?!” She didn’t mean to snap at him, but she desperately wanted him to show some kind of decorum right then.

Silverstream had to finally give her griffon friend a not-so-subdue hard elbow jab in his ribcage to get his attention from the bacon and pancake bits he was devouring. A chunk of pork was stuck to the side of his beak as he addressed Silverstream, annoyed at the interruption to his meal.

“Ow! What the-?” He twisted his head to the right, the same direction he felt the offending blow originate from, seeing Silverstream’s rather annoyed glare at him, as if he was doing something wrong. Just by the intense look in her eyes and the slight furrow of her brow, she silently conveyed her message.

You’re insulting out hosts and embarrassing me! Show some respect and manners!

It took a few seconds for it to dawn on him but from the corners of his eyes he could see Cloudy Sky and his family as well as most of their friends were looking right at him.

“Oh, geez…” Gallus actually turned a bright shade of embarrassed red. Missing a staple food like this just brought out his more ‘primitive’ side and he forgot where he was. Silverstream reached over with her napkin to wipe the piece of stuck food from off the side of his beak, like a parent tending their child’s messy mealtime.

After that, Gallus did all he could do to be invisible, having acted so coarsely in front of them all. He made sure to use his mess kit and napkin like Silverstream instead using the back of the sleeve of his jersey to wipe his beak. Fearing he’d made a bad impression on the families of his flying partners; he thought it best to just keep quiet and let Silverstream make a better representation of the School of Friendship’s student body.

The consummate child of royal upbringing kept the conversation light and bright, conversing with all the parents and sidestepping the moment of awkward misspeaking she and Gallus had tripped up on the previous night in the student lounge. The moms and dads seated at the table were given recounts of hard studying, trial and error flights and a demonstration of unwavering and simple faith in success by her and the other BFFs.

The BFFs, now fed and focusing on the task this morning, slowly filed out of the mess hall and out of the building and into the morning’s light, chatting softly with their families who joined them.

“C’mon, c’mon… let’s get everyone together for some nice group pictures.” Sunny Sky happily pulled the eight of them together just outside the doors to the mess hall, wanting to take some photographs of the youngsters.

“Aw-w-w, mom!” Cloudy Sky groaned a little, embarrassed as he watched his mom began organizing him and his friends into two rows for them to be photographed.

“Photo time is fun time!” Razzle Dazzle cheered. “It’s just like the Wonderbolts are having, except this one is ours!” She loved the idea of immortalizing their time here together. “Memories, like the smiles we left behind…” She began to sing out loud.

“Razzle, we’re here to try out for a flight school, not for some off-Broadway musical production in Manehatten.” Nightflight interrupted her song, getting a few laughs from their friends.

Click! Click! Click! All the family members got to have their picture taken with the young flyers, Breezy Sky getting a double thrill by getting some solo pictures with Silverstream, embarrassing her brother somewhat with her overstimulated chatter. They hammed it up for the pictures, making silly expressions or poses that had the moms and dads laughing. It was good light-hearted fun for them.

“Good morning, Cloudy.” Harmony Blues brightly called to him as she trotted by on her way to the activities field.

Cloudy Sky knew this was it; he had to make his move and ask her. “Harmony, wait!” He called to her, hurrying over to speak with the silvery-maned mare. She turned around to face him.

“Yes?” Her sweet, melodic voice and deep blue eyes made his knees go weak, momentarily incapacitated when gazing up at her. He quickly cleared his throat, making sure everyone close by heard him speak.

“Are you ready for working together on our routine today?” Cloudy Sky did just as Nightflight told him to, come right out and ask her. He made sure all his friends, and his family too, saw him step up to ask her.

Harmony Blues took a quick look around at the gathered ponies that he had been spending the morning mealtime with. She recognized his friends standing a little way behind him as well as, what she could only assume was, Cloudy Sky’s family. She had to be tactful with her answer.

“Come find me out on the activities filed when you’re ready.” She gave him a quick wink and smile before heading off to join Snowblossom, who was waiting for her already down at the field.

“Okay, great!” Cloudy Sky was thrilled, secure in the knowledge that he had an awesome lead pony for the trial and was sure to pass with flying colors. He watched her head off towards the field, seeing her meet up with that same, white-coated mare with gray dapples she’d spent most of last night at the air hockey tournament with and eating breakfast with this morning as well.

“Who was that, son?” Stormy Sky was grinning from ear to ear, seeing his son confidently approach a much older girl like he just had.

“That’s Harmony Blues; she’s going to be my partner for this morning’s duo flight trial.” Cloudy Sky felt a small flush of red come to his face, seeing how his dad seemed so proud of him.

Look at my boy! Gonna be ‘stud of the year’ for snagging a lovely girl like that! He gave a small chuckle while giving his son a sure pat on the back with his wing, as if to infer how his son was destined to be her beau. Cloudy Sky blushed a little more.

“I got to meet a real seapony princess!” Breezy Sky was breathless with enthusiasm about her new pictures. She was so sure that with a princess among her brother’s friends that it practically assured Cloudy of getting in the academy just by sheer association.

“Now remember what we talked about, sweetheart,” Sunny Sky got her daughter’s attention away from the group of young flyers, “about not mentioning Silverstream’s ‘big secret’ while we’re here, remember?”

Silverstream watched how the young filly’s expression grew tense, biting her lower lip and shuffling her hooves; having to keep such a big secret about getting to meet and befriend seapony princess on her trip to the trials. Breezy knew she would be the envy of every other kid in school to say ‘I’m best friends with a sesapony princess’ and then have the pictures to back up such a bold claim. But she couldn’t do that; she had to keep this ‘under wraps’ for her brother.

“Oh-h-h-h-h!” Breezy Sky looked up at the hippogriff again, seeing Silverstream smiling back down at her and giving a wink.

“I know my new best friend wouldn’t mention the ‘big secret’ I’m entrusting her with to anyone else, right?”

“I promise not to tell any pony. I can keep a secret.” Breezy Sky crossed her forelegs and deeply bowed her head before Silverstream to do as she was commanded by her chosen princess.

“Even with a ‘Pinkie Promise’?” Silverstream figured a little filly like Breezy Sky was most likely a fan of Princess Twilight and the teachers of the School of Friendship, so she probably knew what that meant.

Sure enough, Breezy Sky went through the motions of said promise making. “Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye!”

The little filly made a crossing motion across her upper chest and then covered her right eye with her right forehoof, sealing the promise. Silverstream reached out to give her a small hug of thanks.

“I’m very happy to have you as a friend too. Thank you.”

Breezy Sky was practically trembling with the thrill she of actually embracing a real seapony princess. It was beyond her wildest dreams possible. Silverstream let go of her and stepped back.

“Good luck to all of you.” Sunny Sky was so hopeful for her son, now that he had such a wonderful group of supportive and helpful friends with him. She’d been initially concerned that he wouldn’t make a new friend that could help him out. Much to her relief and genuine delight, he had seven new friends who were helping him get through the trials. Sunny Sky let some of the doubt go with the realization that with so many friends helping her son, his dream of getting in to the Wonderbolt Academy might actually come true.

“Go get’em, you two! Show these instructors what you’ve got!” Sunstorm Blaze threw a foreleg around both his son’s neck and around Gallus’ neck in a rough but caring ‘bromance’ hug of support. Gallus liked the fact how Solar Flare’s dad was behind them all and didn’t think it strange or odd to find a griffon here at the trials, partnered with his son.

“You’ve got this, Twinkles!” Swiftwind gave his blushing daughter a last tight hug before letting her go.

“Da-a-a-d!” Brightstar moaned while rolling her eyes, frustrated he kept using that pet name he made up. From out of the corner of one eye she could see her BFF girlfriends had heard and were grinning with Firebolt trying to stifle her snickering with a forehoof over her mouth.

Breezy Sky and her parents joined the other recruit families who headed off to the waiting line for a photo with the Wonderbolt team that included Rainbow Dash. The little filly kept looking back towards her brother and his friends, waving at them.

“You know,” Cloudy Sky got Silverstream’s attention away from waving at his sister, “my folks aren’t going to be able to settle her down after being overstimulated like that. She’s going to be wound up all day long. There’s no way those Wonderbolts are going to be able to top you after that ‘Pinkie Promise’ bit.”

Silverstream pulled a wry smile. “Sorry, just comes with the power of being a princess.” Cloudy Sky only laughed some at her comment, very happy she’d spent some extra time with Breezy and indulged her.

The recruits all head for the bulletin board on the edge of the main activities field. One of the Wonderbolt team members was already waiting.

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Cudos to Gallus and Silverstream for not backing down. You can't let others intimidate you, that's how they win.

[KittyrinnAiko]

Bacon!!!! LOL

I served one of my characters a live Koi fish at a fancy state diner once. LOL

[Jay Watson]

11366665

11366665

I wanted them to both be resilient but also to have friends to fall back on as well. The friendships will be tested harder in the next few chapters as things get tougher for them all.
I'm glad the 'bacon bit' got a smile, one of my few attempts of trying to be funny (it doesn't come easy to me) in this story. With the bacon, I was aiming for that 'odd couple' as contrast in eating styles.

[KittyrinnAiko]

11366868
I have a headcanon that pegasi do eat fish. My own Number one OC is a fox-type pegasus with a unicorn horn. The live fish incident was someone trying to sabotage her, and I couldn't help but wonder if the bacon may have been the same sort of thing. Even if it wasn't it still seems Gallus has stepped into the trap with his total lack of manners.