The Wonderbolt Academy's New Volunteers

by Jay Watson

Ch.3 On Most Hallowed Grounds

“Hot dang, I’ve never met a griffon before!” The pegasus pony seemed quite thrilled for this chance to meet Gallus, having only ever heard of his kind and never expecting to meet one here in her home city. Gallus was incredulous. Were these Pegasus ponies kept locked away from the rest of Equestria’s society?

“Is that right? Well, I guess you’re about ready then, aren’t you?” His answer only seemed to confound her more.
“Huh?” She was oblivious to his sarcasm. Gallus rolled his eyes.

“Never mind. What are you looking at?” he snapped.

“Your wings,” she confessed sheepishly. “I’ve always wondered what griffon wings looked like up close.”

Gallus thought it kind of weird to admire another flyer’s wings but, what could he have expected? He was sure not a single pony in this city had ever seen one of his kind here in Cloudsdale. Silverstream jumped into the conversation.

“Hi, my name’s Silverstream! What’s yours?” The hippogriff was eager to meet everypony here during the tryouts, trying to say hello to as many as she could and take pictures as well.

“I’m Firebolt.” The mare with a brownish-gold color and fiery red mane and tail happily introduced herself. She quickly looked over Silverstream, her mind trying to put a name to a combination of eagle and pony. “You have got to be a hippogriff, am I right?”

“That’s right!” Silverstream beamed, still clicking away on the camera. Firebolt turned to one side to make another introduction. “This is my friend Brightstar. We were recruited by Commander Spitfire for the tryouts.”

Brightstar was glad to see some new faces. “Nice to meet you. By the way, who recruited you two?”

“Our teacher, Professor Dash from the School of Friendship is our host for this.” Silverstream said proudly. That got a few other ponies’ attention.

“You attend Princess Twilight’s school?” One pony overhearing from nearby turned and stepped closer to ask Silverstream and Gallus, curious.

“Wait, Professor Dash? You mean Rainbow Dash; the Rainbow Dash who made the first Sonic Rain-boom? That Rainbow Dash?” Another pony stepped closer at the mention of a great Wonderbolt he admired.

“The one and only!” Gallus knew how to play to a crowd, seeing how their status of being students at the School of Friendship suddenly gave them some cachet amongst these strangers.

“My name’s Nightflight. I heard there are dragons who attend the School of Friendship. Do you know any of them?” The navy-blue stallion with the silvery-white mane had squirreled himself closer in, wanting to see the two visitors.
“Well, actually we-” Gallus was cut off by another question.

“Is it true all of Princess Twilight’s friends are teachers there too?”

“Are there more griffons or hippogriffs at the school?” Another question came from some other pony in the crowd around them. He did his best to answer all they posed while Silverstream got to talk more with Firebolt and Brightstar.

“Mount Aris sounds like a beautiful place to live, at least, that’s what I’ve read in the papers about it since the Storm King’s defeat. I’d sure like to see it someday.” Brightstar admitted, wanting to travel their country and see this marvel of hippogriff engineering.

“You should! Especially in the summertime, when Harmony Heights is in full bloom and the trees are all leafed out. Oh, it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before. So peaceful and relaxing. When the wind passes through the meadows in high summer, you can hear the musical notes made from the pitch-stones placed all around the gardens there. It’s like the wind singing to you!” Silverstream loved talking about her homeland, making it sound ever more like the most enchanting place in all the world. She was passionate about where she was from and it showed.

“Whoa. That sounds… amazing.” Firebolt was rather astonished by the description Silverstream gave. She had always been proud of her homeland of Cloudsdale, but the way Silverstream described Mount Aris, it was something way beyond anything she could’ve imagined.

“We’ve pretty much lived our whole lives here in Cloudsdale. The only place I’ve had the chance to visit was Canterlot and that was only for my brother’s graduation from the military school there.” Brightstar was not sure what to make of Silverstream. She’d never met one of her kind before and Silverstream certainly seemed super friendly, that was for sure. Brightstar was just not used to another flyer having such a high level of enthusiasm.

“A hippogriff and a griffon here at tryouts for the Wonderbolt Academy?” A husky stallion’s voice spoke up, making his way through the small clutch of ponies huddled around the two strangers. Coming in close to see if he was right, he was visably more shocked than anything else at the sight of them here.

“I know, right? How cool is this? This is going to be the best tryouts in Wonderbolt history for sure.” Firebolt was all in for the two guest flyers participating in this.

“You’re kidding, right? The Wonderbolt Academy is going to accept recruits from countries that won’t even stand up and protect their own homelands? There’s got to be some mistake.”

“What are you talking about, Wind Raider? What’s wrong with hippogriffs and griffons being here?” Nightflight didn’t get what his fellow recruit was going on about. He thought it was cool to have them here.

Wind Raider turned towards Silverstream, eyeing her derisively. “Doesn’t anypony here remember anything we read in history class back in school? All the hippogriffs ran away from the Storm King when he attacked them at Mount Aris. Instead of standing up to fight back when the Storm King wasn’t nearly so powerful, before he attacked Canterlot, they all fled Mount Aris and hid themselves away in Seaquestria, running away like a bunch of cowards. Why should the academy even accept hippogriffs? They wouldn’t stand up for their own homeland so what’s to say she or others like her would act any differently than before? Anypony here want to tell me I’m wrong or that I’m lying?” There was a moment of unpleasant silence and tension that hung like a knife over all of them.

Instantly, Gallus went to his friend’s defense. “Look, fella.” He got right in Wind Raider’s face. “You’d better not make that comment again about my friend. She’s not a coward; Queen Novo and the other hippogriffs did come to help Princess Twilight and her friends defeat the Storm King in the end.” Gallus gently poked a talon at the pegasus pony’s chest. “I think you ought to apologize.”

“No, Gallus, he’s right about that part. Our queen saw the danger coming but chose a path that made it worse for others. It’s obvious to us now, but instead we endlessly debated what to do and in the end did nothing.” Silverstream suddenly felt the eyes of everypony nearby on her now as she tried to explain why her leader had done what she did.
“She did what she thought was right for us at the time and I am truly sorry for what happened.” It was all Silverstream could come up with off-the-cuff. She saw some of pegasus ponies nearby looking back at her, empathizing looks on their faces. Firebolt put a foreleg around Silverstream’s neck, wanting her to feel that she wasn’t alone.

“Hey, that was a long time ago. That’s got nothing to do with the here and now, does it? It’s in the past.”

Gallus was relieved to see that so many of these ponies didn’t hold any ill-feeling towards his friend or towards him either. He hadn’t suspected this would be an issue with other ponies, but he’d not taken into account how many must have been affected by the Storm King’s attack.

“That might be okay for you, Firebolt, but I’ll bet you probably didn’t have to look at the casualty lists in the aftermath, checking for names to see whether they lived or died in the fight. I did.” Wind Raider emphasized. That got Gallus’ attention.

“Oh, wait, you mean you had-” The griffon began to mentally reason out Wind Raider’s hostility towards Silverstream.

“Yeah, that’s right.” The contempt in Wind Raider’s voice was clear as a bell. “My big brother was one of the palace guards who were casualties from that siege on Canterlot. He died protecting our homeland from invaders.”
That fact alone got many sympathetic looks from those nearby. The death of a loved one in combat was a subject many of these recruits were familiar with. A good number of them had come from families who had military service in their backgrounds. Firebolt had to break this tension, no pony needed any bad vibes around when they were supposed to be getting ready for this important day.

“You need to chillax, Wind Raider. This isn’t the time or place for pol-” Firebolt was cut off by a loud squeal of feedback that came over the public address system as it came on. Everypony gathered emitted an audible ‘oh-h-h!’ wincing at the ear-piercing tone that seemed to go right through the brain.

“Attention! Attention, all personnel! Attention! Tryouts for acceptance to the Wonderbolt Academy will commence at twelve-hundred hours. All guests and family relations must exit the grounds by eleven-fifty hours at the latest. That is all!”

Silverstream and Gallus watched a small swarm of moms, dads and well-wishers collect around the half-dozen ponies nearby.

“Good luck today, son!” Nightflight’s mom and dad hugged him before leaving with the rest of his family.
“I’ll do my best!” Nightflight promised, wanting to make his family proud. His little sister gave his foreleg a quick hug before running after her mom and dad to catch up.

“Go get’em, tiger! I’ll be cheering for you.” Brightstar’s mom gave her daughter a quick squeeze as she was about to leave. Brightstar hugged her mom back.

“Thanks, mom. Keep your hooves crossed for me today.” She let go, watching her mom depart with the phalanx of ponies that made their way off the training grounds and out one of the gates. In less than ten minutes’ time, the crowd was gone and the two-dozen recruits stood with Commander Spitfire and her team of instructors.

A loud, ear-piercing whistle shattered the air and got these raw recruits’ attention. The ones who were aware of what was about to happen quickly scampered into position, standing shoulder to shoulder to the recruit next to them. The rest followed suit.

“Alright newbies, atten-tion!” Spitfire barked and the entire group snapped to attention, standing tall before her. Spitfire slowly walked down the line of new recruits, looking over each one as she passed by. “I am Commander Spitfire, your senior drill instructor. From now on you will address myself and your drill instructors as Sir or Ma’am, do you newbies understand that?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The recruits answered her back in unison but she wasn’t satisfied with their lackluster response.

“Meadow muffins! I can’t hear you! Sound off like you’ve got a pair of wings!” She demanded.

“Yes, Ma’am!” They shouted out this time.

“To gain acceptance into this academy, to enter these hallowed halls of legendary flyers, you’re going to have to work harder, fly faster, and push yourselves like you never have before, newbies!”

Walking just behind Commander Spitfire were Rainbow Dash and several other Wonderbolt members that nether Gallus nor Silverstream recognized. Acting as recruiters for this trial run, they got to tag along for the inspection process, nodding to their selected flyers as they passed by.

“I’ll bet plenty of you think you’ve got what it takes to be part of The Best; convinced you’re some crazy-awesome, spectacular flyer who’s totally untouchable by any other pony in the world, right? Well let me tell you something, newbie,” Spitfire turned to face Wind Raider, getting up close and in his face, “you’re not!” Wind Raider didn’t move a muscle. He kept looking straight ahead. Seeing she didn’t get a response, she moved further down the line.

Both Gallus and Silverstream held themselves rigid as Commander Spitfire continued her rant and paused right in front of them, her eyes looking over the two non-pony volunteers. She saw Gallus swallow the nervous lump in his throat, clearly shook-up from a C.O. that was not afraid of taking him down a peg or two if so desired. Satisfied that they’d fallen into line like the other recruits, she walked on. Rainbow Dash shot them a small smile and nod, congratulating them on surviving their first inspection. Dash watched as they momentarily relaxed. Spitfire stopped at another recruit down the line.

“What’s your name, newbie?” Spitfire demanded.

“Firebolt, Ma’am!” Nether Gallus nor Silverstream dared to turn their head to see what was going on. They could only listen to the exchange.

“Firebolt, huh? With a name like that, I’ll bet my last gold bit piece you think you’re the hottest stuff on two wings, right? Bet you got some fancypants, hotshot moves that’s going to get you into this storied place, don’t ya?” Spitfire got up close to Firebolt’s face, leaning in hard and trying to break her.

“No, Ma’am!” Firebolt held fast, not letting the glare from the drill instructor bore into her. This was her moment, she had been waiting for this day for too long to be intimidated out of it.

“That’s right, newbie! You don’t! This isn’t some fly-by-night two-bit stunt flyer school we’re holding here!” Spitfire stepped back, speaking now to all the recruits as she walked down the line further. “You flyers, if selected, are to act as the first line of defense for Cloudsdale and for the rest of Equestria when called on by our leaders!” She and the other recruiters walked along, eyeing each of the potential cadets as they stood at attention.

“It is my duty to weed out recruits who do not pack the wings to attend and serve at my beloved Wonderbolt Academy! Not everypony becomes a cadet for the academy and fewer still go on to become a full Wonderbolt. But if you listen to your instructors and apply what you are taught, you too can achieve this goal of ultimate expression of flight and become more then just another pegasus.” Spitfire and her recruiters reached the end of the line and turned about with drilled precision, the team snapping to attention behind their commander. “You can become Wonderbolts!”

In spite of his initial meeting with Commander Spitfire and maybe getting off on the wrong hoof with her, Gallus clearly heard passion and conviction in the words she spoke. It was rather stirring, calling up a deep sense of patriotism for those ponies who listened. He could understand a bit more now why some served.

“In the meantime, though,” she continued, “you newbies are going to give us five hundred laps right above us here on the training field. Do it now!” Spitfire again blew her whistle, sending a mighty blast of sound right at them. Dash and the other recruiters jumped in.

“Move it! Get going! Hustle it up!” one Wonderbolt shouted at them, moving in to break them up.

“Get going! Fly! Fly! Get in the air now!” another team member barked, ordering them into action.

“What are you three waiting for?! Get going! Move! Move!” Even Rainbow Dash had to step up in her duty today. It was tough for Dash to act this way to her students; this was not her way of teaching at all. But the two volunteers caught on quickly as to how their former teacher-now-drill-instructor had to act with them. This wasn’t the School of Friendship; this was Wonderbolt Academy tryouts and that meant things worked differently here. Rainbow Dash couldn’t treat them any different than any other newbie. There were no exceptions for any recruit or volunteer.

Silverstream and Gallus got moving along with the other flyers, launching themselves up into the air to join in with the large and circular parade of flying ponies, maintaining an easy dozen meter or so height off the ground. The leader of the Wonderbolts and her recruiters watched from below, examining the flight skill and technique of this year’s recruits. She was not impressed with the selection her team members had made for recruits.

“By the great Faustacorn herself!” Spitfire swore aloud. “How in Tartarus do those princesses expect me to make Wonderbolt Academy cadets when my recruiters can’t even find me two-dozen half-decent flyers to begin with?!” Her displeasure now focused on her team members, glaring at them for bringing such sub-par recruits. “Look at that bunch up there!” She pointed up to the airborne individuals.

“Sloppy techniques with terrible body balance, no steadiness to their flapping motions and they’re all over one another! None of them can fly steadily or evenly!”

Firebolt was at the head of the circle with both Silverstream and Gallus right behind her, trying to get them to fly in unison and as stably as possible.

“Follow my lead! Do as I do with my wings!” Firebolt yelled back to them, hoping they’d heard her over the rushing wind. Silverstream heard her and caught on, mimicking Firebolt’s body motions and timing her wing flaps with hers. Gallus wasn’t paying as much attention to Firebolt as he was just trying to keep in line and not overtake Silverstream in front of him nor have Solar Flare behind overtake him. Flying in control and at fixed pace was harder to do then he’d imagined.

“These newbies are going to need the whole nine yards; Wonderbolts Thunderlane, Misty Fly and Blaze; I’m assigning you three to Flight Education Class detail to go over flight basics. Wonderbolt Dash; you’re be instructing both of the Resistance Training courses. Wonderbolts Sky Stinger and Vapor Tail, you two will handle the Trick Flying Basics and Precision Flight Essentials. Wonderbolts Silver Zoom and Fleetfoot; you two are in charge of P.T. and the Close Order Drill regiments between the training sessions. I’m going to be running the Dizzatron with Soarin and High Winds to check on their progress after each of your sessions. You understand your assignments, Wonderbolts?”

“Yes, Ma’am!” Her Wonderbolt team hollered back.

“Wonderbolts Soarin & Dash,” Both team members stepped forward smartly.

“Yes, Ma’am!”

“I want you two flyers to collect up the newbies’ baggage and personal effects and get the lot of them through receiving barracks. And be sure you two don’t drop any of it along the way; I don’t any of their civilian slime touching the ground of this academy anymore!”

“Yes, Ma’am!” Soarin and Dash moved as ordered, getting the bags and luggage onto a handy cart and into the nearby building where the receiving department clerks took responsibility for identification of owner and security.

Spitfire blew her whistle once more, summoning the pack of newbies out of the air to land on the runway in front of her. Even after this brief flight around the field, many of the recruits were winded and less than a third could remain on their hooves when they landed.

“Get to it, Wonderbolts!” Spitfire turned and marched away, preparing her notes for the first day’s activities. Finally, Dash could tend to her students and her lone recruit after this first encounter with their commanding officer, sure they were shook up by the intense nature of the academy’s lead drill instructor.

“Hey, how are you doing? You two holding up okay?” Dash looked guiltily at the hippogriff and griffon, feeling like she was taking terrible advantage of them. “You don’t have to do this, you know. If you want to get out, just say so.”
Silverstream and Gallus could see how this was making their teacher uncomfortable, even after they had agreed to participate. They knew this was not what Headmare Twilight had in mind when they were supposed to be on a cultural exchange visit.

“Actually, Professor Dash,” Gallus spoke up, “I really want to see what this is going to be like.”

“Me too! I mean, I’ve only read about the tryouts and now I’m getting the chance to participate in them! How awesome is this?!” Silverstream seemed even more thrilled than before. Firebolt, Brightstar and Solar Flare walked up next to them, wanting to join their new friends in conversation.

“Hey, you aren’t bailing on us, are you?” Firebolt had seen them talking with Rainbow Dash and guessed that they might be backing out.

“I know Commander Spitfire can seem pretty tough, but she’s just making sure we’re serious about being a part of this.” Solar Flare suspected Gallus and Silverstream had never been face-to-face with a teacher like that at the School of Friendship.

“She’s just doing her job and is like that to all newbies. Don’t let it get to you.” Brightstar seemed the most relaxed about facing such an intense drill instructor. Gallus was a bit stunned by her ease.

“Are you kidding me? Didn’t you hear the way she yelled at Firebolt? You’d have thought she was going to tear her head off.” Dash chuckled a little.

“That’s normal for Spitfire. You get used to the shouting of orders and stuff.” The sound of a bugle calling blared over the public address system horns, announcing the midday break.

“Lunchtime!” Firebolt recognized the call. Her new friends seemed relieved for the chance to sit and relax for an hour or so.

“You five go on, I’ve got other things to do with the team for the first round of trials, so I’ll see you later on.” Dash hated to leave them on their own, but seeing how fast they’d made new friends here, she figured they would be okay without her for at least a little while.

“Let’s go while there’s still something to eat!” Brightstar pulled playfully at Silverstream’s foreleg, wanting to get on the chow line before the crowd queuing up would eat all of it.

For the two volunteers, this seemed almost surreal. A few hours ago they were eating breakfast with their friends at the School of Friendship, planning on taking it easy over spring break. Now they were about to sit down to lunch with twenty-plus pegasus ponies who were all about to undergo the tryouts to join the Wonderbolt Academy and they were participating along with them. Neither could have imagined their day nor their spring break turning out like this.

Author's Note:

This was also a lot of fun to write; getting Spitfire to be a drill instructor and trying to intimidate a few recruits. I also didn't realize just how many O.C.'s I was going to need to tell this story. That aspect alone added to the time it took to write this chapter along with creating the main antagonist for the story and coming up with their backgrounds.

Comments

[KittyrinnAiko]

“Lunchtime!” Firebolt recognized the call. Her new friends seemed relieved for the chance to sit and relax for an hour or so.

Sit and relax for how long?

🕐

Move move move! Fifteen minutes!!

[SamSwordsman123]

Hmm. Spitfire giving orders is great at least. Good job following the character.