Ch. 4 Wonderbolt Trials pt.1
The five recruits sat and ate their lunch together, happily swapping stories about where they were from and what their plans were once they were in the academy, none of them even considering the idea of not being accepted. Gallus got to tell Solar Flare more about what Griffonstone was like while Silverstream chatted up a storm with Firebolt and Brightstar, telling them about Seaquestria and life as a seapony. Nightflight spotted the group from across the mess hall and trotted over to join them, wanting to ask Silverstream more about the hippogriff kingdom.
The time seemed to go by incredibly fast. It felt like they’d hardly sat down and begun to talk when once more a voice came over the address system.
Attention! All personnel, Attention! All recruits are to report to the Quartermaster’s office no later than thirteen-thirty hours for receiving of their uniforms and protection equipment! That is all!
“Oh-h-h-h, we’re going to get uniforms next!” Silverstream was thrilled at the prospect of getting to dress the part of a Wonderbolt recruit. “I wonder if they’ll look like real Wonderbolt uniforms.”
“They’re similar but in time anypony can identify the difference between the uniforms of a trainee, a reservist and that of a full Wonderbolt member. I brought my own uniform for the tryouts. I’ll show you when we get to the locker room next to the quartermaster’s office.” Firebolt couldn’t wait to show off her hoof-me-down uniform, it had been in her family for years and was something of a family good-luck charm. Both family members who had worn it had passed the trials and wanted to bestow onto her the same good fortune by offering it to her to wear this time.
Another bugle call over the address system announced the end of the chowtime and the collection of newbies went filing out of the mess hall and down a hallway to the quartermaster’s office. The excited chatter amongst the recruits grew for this next phase of their experience. One of the Wonderbolt team members appeared in the office doorway and addressed the small throng.
“Listen up, recruits! I want everypony to get in single file behind this red tape line on the floor to the right of the window. You will step up to the window, stand on the scale for weight measuring and await instructions. There will be three goggle samples to try on. Tell the quartermaster which one is the best fit and you will receive a pair along you uniform. Once you have received your uniform and goggles, proceed to the changing rooms and get into your uniforms as quickly as possible.”
It was tough for Silverstream to stay calm during the wait to receive her uniform. Even as the other recruits chatted softly among themselves in anticipation, the hippogriff felt like pinching herself, to remind her that this was actually happening and she wasn’t dreaming. Finally, Silverstream and her friends made it to the front of the line, listening for the quartermaster’s instructions.
“Next recruit!” Misty Fly called out, getting through the line as fast as she could as she was acting quartermaster this year. Silverstream stepped up to stand on the scale for weighing in.
“Name?” Misty Fly had her clipboard and pencil ready to write the information down.
“Silverstream,” the hippogriff answered proudly. Misty Fly read the meter on the scale and wrote down Silverstream’s weight.
“Size six uniform!” she called out to her assistant. The reservist went digging through another box of new uniforms to find the right size. “Check your goggle size, please,” she instructed as the uniform was unceremoniously plopped down on the counter in front of Silverstream. The hippogriff tried on the first two goggle samples.
“This one, please.” Silverstream held up the middle pair of the three to the quartermaster, the small orange tag hanging off one end indicating the size.
“Goggle size two!” Misty Fly called out again and a new pair of plastic-wrapped goggles were placed on the counter next to the uniform. “Pick up your uniform and head down the hallway to the changing rooms, mares’ room is on the right side of the hall, stallions’ room on the left. “Next!”
Silverstream waited off to the side for Gallus and her friends, wanting them to go together as a group. Silverstream noticed that Firebolt’s uniform had a somewhat worn look to it; it was even slightly threadbare in places.
“I had mine in my overnight bag; it was with the rest of our stuff in the quartermaster’s holding locker,” she explained. “This was worn by every member of my family who tried out for the Wonderbolts.” Firebolt was so proud to be wearing this for her tryouts. It had brought its previous two owners good luck; they both got in. Now she hoped some of its magic would work for her. Off in a flash to the changing rooms they went, giddy with the excitement of stepping into the roles of Wonderbolt recruits. Gallus and Solar Flare were first out of the locker room, giving each other a celebratory wing slap and a big grin. Nightflight emerged from the locker room soon after, catching up with his fellow flyers and complimenting them on their new looks.
Silverstream looked at her reflection in the mirror again, adjusting the fit of her new outfit, elated with this new look but also incredibly nervous. Firebolt and Brightstar stood beside her, helping her out.
“You look so awesome in that!” Brightstar made sure Silverstream’s mane wasn’t caught under the uniform’s collar, making sure she was comfortable with the fit. The hippogriff gave a nervous laugh.
“You think so?” Silverstream was very grateful for their support.
“You look like you were born for this. Trust us.” Firebolt made sure her friend’s wings were free to move in the stretchy material. The garment had not really been designed for a hippogriff’s proportions but Silverstream didn’t really mind. “How’s that?” Firebolt stepped back a bit, watching Silverstream model the uniform.
She turned to one side and then the other, admiring her appearance more and more, feeling the excitement building up. “I just love it!” she squealed in delight. The three of them waltzed out from the locker room together, showing off their looks to the friends who were waiting in the hallway.
“Wow! You look so cool in that getup!” Gallus was really taken by how much Silverstream looked the part now. She was aglow in the delight of looking and feeling more part of this experience than ever.
“You too, Gallus! Oh, if only Headmare Twilight could see us now!” She practically sang.
“We’d better get on out to the training field. I’m sure Commander Spitfire and her team will be waiting.” Firebolt was already heading down the hall to the exit, following after the other recruits. Her friends hurried to join her.
Out into the midday sun they emerged, now meeting up with the other recruits who stood in small clumps, scattered about the area close to the building. A voice called out to them from close by.
“Hey you guys!” The six of them turned to see Rainbow Dash trotting over, now dressed in her Wonderbolt uniform. She was with them in seconds, grinning with pride. For Silverstream and Gallus, this was a something of a personal moment for them to have with Rainbow Dash; a sense of closeness with their teacher that hadn’t existed between them in a classroom setting. Rather than a coach or teacher from school, it was more like being on the same team together.
For Rainbow Dash, seeing her students and lone recruit now dressed in trainee uniforms and sporting flight goggles on top of their heads made her both smile and get a little choked up. If only Twilight could see them now.
“This has got to be the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time! You all look great in those uniforms. I wish I had a camera to take some pictures with but I left mine back at my place.” Dash had been in such a rush this morning that she’d forgotten a number of personal things to bring. How she would love to keep this moment as a memento. From within a small hidden pocket in her uniform, Firebolt produced a miniature camera.
“I slipped it out of my bag along with my uniform,” she giggled, pleased to have been able to sneak it past the security guard pony.
“Quick, before the C.O. sees us!” Dash hissed softly at them with a mischievous grin. Nightflight took the camera from Firebolt and the foursome got together close. He snapped a few off, making sure to get a few up close shots as well.
“All done.” He passed back the camera to Firebolt and she returned it the hidden pocket on her uniform.
“I’ll make sure we’ll all get copies when they’re developed.”
Dash spotted some of her fellow Wonderbolt instructors heading this way. It was time again for her to become Wonderbolt Dash; Drill Instructor. “I’ll see you four later.” She gave them a quick wink and ran off to join her team members, taking a clipboard from one of them with her assigned duties. Again, the sound of a piercing whistle blow split the air wide open, making the entire group of newbies jump back.
“Alright newbies, atten-tion!” Commander Spitfire appeared from behind them and ordered the entire group to get into line. Moving quickly, the two dozen recruits got lined up, standing at attention and shoulder to shoulder once again. Spitfire was pleased by how quickly they responded. There might be some hope for them after all.
“Listen up, newbies! Since the lot of you appear to be the sloppiest bunch of lackluster flyers that’s ever set hoof on my beloved Wonderbolt Academy grounds, you are all going to be attending Basic Flight Fundamentals classes before even one of you flaps a single wing for these trials.” There was a small collective moan of disappointment from the group. Spitfire’s head snapped up angrily from her clipboard.
“What was that little outburst?! Do I hear a bunch of mealy-mouthed bed-wetting babies complaining about their orders? ‘Cause if there is, I have a remedial squat-thrust class that can substitute for flight training instead!” her voice seemed to thunder all around them, glowering at them as she stalked up and down the line, trying to see if some smart mouth was going to speak up. None did.
“That’s right, newbies! I didn’t hear you complaining!” The silence was so intense, a pony could hear a pin hit the tarmac at twenty paces. The seconds hung out long until Commander Spitfire spoke again.
“Wonderbolt Misty Fly! Wonderbolt Silver Zoom! Wonderbolt Thunderlane!” The three team members quickly stepped forward, ready for instructions.
“Yes, ma’am!” They responded in unison.
“You three are going to instruct the classroom portion of today’s lesson. I want you to make sure each and every one of these newbies has their heads screwed on straight and focused on the right way to fly.” Spitfire didn’t bother looking up from her clipboard as she rattled off the adjusted assignment duties.
“Yes, Ma’am!”
“Wonderbolt Blaze!” Spitfire flipped over to the next page of her report, rechecking her changes to the program. A winged mare stepped forward.
“Yes, Ma’am!”
“You and the rest of the team get the gear set up for the first trials along with the special surprise for the newbies!” The way Commander Spitfire said ‘special surprise’ made all the recruits uneasy. Worse still, was the rather devious grin on Blaze’s face when receiving the order.
“Yes, Ma’am!” Blaze caught the looks of dread on their faces and decided to have a little fun with them. “Hey Soarin, maybe you’d better use the fifteen-ton boom crane to move the ‘surprise’ out from the storage shed this time! We don’t want the newbies to be denied the chance to see it!” Dash and the other team members chuckled as the recruits muttered uneasily amongst themselves.
“Alright, Wonderbolts, you all have your assignments! Let’s get it done!” Spitfire ordered and the three instructors came over to count off them by groups of eight. Silverstream and her friends had stayed close to one another and all became part of the same class.
“You eight come with me,” the large stallion ordered, indicating Silverstream and her friends. They went with their instructor to one of the small classroom outbuildings, watching other groups enter one of the other buildings. The recruits quickly got in their seats, not sure just what they were going to learn today but eager to hear all the same. Thunderlane took a quick headcount and watched from the doorway of his classroom to see Silver Zoom and Misty Fly each close the door to their classrooms.
This is it! Here we go! Thunderlane thought as he turned around to face the very first class of students he had to instruct. A twang of nerves hit him again, but he kept it together.
“Good afternoon, recruits!”
“Good afternoon, sir!” The students answered back, his friendly smile putting them at a little more at ease.
“My name’s Thunderlane, and I’m here to go over the basic understanding of flight mechanics and essential flight techniques with all of you. Now, I want everypo-” Thunderlane caught himself, seeing Silverstream and Gallus sitting right down front with two other pony recruits in the first four seats. He remembered what Rainbow Dash had told him about the school where she taught; how to address students that weren’t ponies. They looked at him with such bright eyes and alert smiles, waiting for him to impart his critical flight knowledge onto them.
“I want everycreature here to be at ease and not worry about books or tests or anything like that. We’re just going to make sure all the recruits have the same basic knowledge before going further and answer any questions you might have had about flying.” Thunderlane continued. “Now let’s get started on covering some basic wing positions for climbing, diving, and turning. I’ll show with a diagram on the blackboard here…” He dug through the supplies stored in the drawer of the desk, trying to find a piece of chalk to write on the board with. Something else in the drawer took his attention away from his quest for chalk.
“What the-?” Thunderlane pulled the object out to examine it. “An air horn? What in Equestria is an air horn doing here?” Shrugging, he put the odd item aside and dug some more, finally coming up with a box of chalk to use. “Here we go! Let’s get started.”
Quickly, Thunderlane drew up some basic sketches on the board, listing the various parts of a wing and what the various feathers on each wing was for. It was, for the most part, a general recovering of material they’d learned at early flight school when they were fillies or colts. Both Firebolt and Silverstream repeatedly raised their hoof or talons to be the first to answer any and every question Thunderlane asked. The class was lively with questions and answers, all of them picking up some bit of information they’d forgotten or had remembered incorrectly.
But after an hour or so, Gallus felt himself becoming bored with what was being discussed. He doesn’t get all this teaching about flight. This was something that came naturally to griffons like him and he didn’t understand why ponies needed to be schooled like this. His look of disinterest was not lost on Thunderlane.
“Gallus? Don’t you have a question about flying? You’ve been pretty quiet so far during the lesson.” He was eager to keep them engaged and interested. He didn’t want one of Rainbow Dash’s volunteers to underperform because he didn’t take sufficient interest in teaching him.
“I guess I’m just a bit confused by all this teaching about flying. I mean, why so much emphasis on relearning something that’s natural to all of us here? According to some of the other recruits, we’re all ‘amazingly awesome, crazy good flyers’ already, right?”
“Well, it’s true that only the best get selected for tryouts but that doesn’t mean we can’t pick up a thing or two we might have missed back during our first flying school days. All young pegasus ponies had to attend some elementary flight school when they were six or seven years old.” Thunderlane explained to their guest flyers.
“Wait, so,” Gallus began figuring out one aspect of Pegasus pony youth, “all you ponies had to go to a school to learn how to fly? It didn’t just come natural to you?” He looked about the room, seeing them nodding.
One of the students spoke up. “Some of us learned on our own when we were little but for the most part, flying school was required for us.”
Nightflight followed on the heels of the answer given. “So how do young griffons learn to fly? Do your parents show you how?”
“Meh,” Gallus started with casual wave of his foreleg talons, “when I was finally old enough, my mom and dad shoved me and my siblings out of the nest and we had to either fly or fall.”
The entire class of ponies gasped in shock. “That’s horrible!” one mare cried, distraught at the idea of being dropped from a dangerous height by her parents and expected to fly without knowing what to do.
“That sounds completely crazy! Didn’t your parents care if you got hurt?” asked another stallion, totally bewildered by what Gallus had said.
“What?” Gallus looked around at his classmates, puzzled by their extreme reactions. “That’s just the way we learned. Seems like a perfectly normal way to me.”
Firebolt spoke up, seeing how her classmates were confused and upset by what they’d just learned about Gallus. “Hey, hey,” she got their attention, “griffons just learned to fly differently than the way we did. It’s not right or wrong, just different. It doesn’t matter how Gallus or other griffons learned to fly, only that they can and fly really well. Right?” Faced with her classmates’ looks of doubt and skepticism, she turned to Silverstream sitting to her right. “How about you, Silverstream? How did you learn how to fly?”
“Oh, it’s a little different for us. Being creatures from two different environments, we really didn’t have to learn to fly. It’s sort of ‘born into’ us. Flying through the air as hippogriffs is as natural to us as swimming in the ocean as seaponies,” Silverstream shyly admitted, feeling a bit on the spot about having to explain this aspect of her kind. These abilities were inherent to her, not taught. Firebolt had made her point.
“See? It’s all about the flying, not about where it came from in any flyer present. We’re all great flyers here.”
Thunderlane was impressed by the maturity level of his first class of students. The mare seated down front, Firebolt, was already showing some leadership qualities by getting others in the class to think critically about what they believed and accept that which was different. The class was about three hours long and the group was glad that class time was done with when the bell rang. The eight of them exited the classroom to rejoin the others back on the field, all of them stopping and staring at the enormous object that was concealed by a huge drop cloth.
“Hope you’re feeling rested, newbies, because we’ve got a surprise to show you.” Commander Spitfire reappeared from one of the buildings off to one area, approaching the two-dozen recruits looking up at the strange object on the field. She blew her whistle, giving the command for Rainbow Dash and Soarin to fly up and remove the cover, revealing what was in store for them. Every recruit’s mouth fell open when seeing the large mechanical contraption for the first time.
“Welcome to flavor country, newbies. Here’s the test you will have to take and retake all during these tryouts. The Dizzatron; it’s designed to make you very, and I repeat, very dizzy. Your goal is to recover and return back here to the start/finish line in the shortest amount of time possible. Today, you will be starting at the ‘rookie’ setting. Before the end of these trials, those who make it will be able to make a successful run at the ‘normal’ level that all Wonderbolt Academy cadets train at.” Spitfire enjoyed this part, seeing the recruits look upon the machine with dread, wondering what it was going to do to them once they were strapped in.
“Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash!” Spitfire shouted, ordering her team member front and center. The pegasus mare didn’t keep her leader waiting, stepping up to receive her orders.
“Yes, Ma’am!”
“I want you to get in the Dizzatron and demonstrate to the recruits what to do.” Spitfire ordered. Dash instantly complied.
“Yes Ma’am!” She zipped right up to the machine and hopped into the carriage, lowering her goggles over her eyes. The pony responsible for the machine’s function started up the electric motor, beginning to turn the apparatus slowly at first and then speeding up.
The recruits watched nervously, seeing Rainbow Dash get spun around and around, some wondering if the machine was designed to torture its lone occupant. After a good ten seconds, Spitfire barked out the command.
“Release!”
Dash was sent flipping and tumbling through the air, only to right herself with the snap of her wings suddenly opening, then come diving straight down. At top speed she made a seemingly impossible right-angle turn at the last second before hitting the ground, heading right towards the start/finish line. The seasoned Wonderbolt came to a near instantaneous stop in front of her commanding officer, astounding the cadets who stood there wide eyed and gasping in astonishment.
“That,” Spitfire turned to face her recruits and volunteers, “is an outstanding example of recovery from the Dizzatron! Each of you will take turns on the Dizzatron and establish a baseline measurement of time. Hence forward, you will maintain and improve that recovery time to such a point where you are able to keep it under specified academy standards. Wonderbolt Reservists Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger are on duty with the catch net for all you so-so flyers who can’t sort themselves out for the Dizzatron. Fall in, newbies!”
The whistle blew and the two dozen flyers hustled right over to stand in closer to the machine, even more imposing now as they looked up at it. No pony was looking forward to this aspect of the trials. Rainbow Dash and the other Wonderbolts watched from nearby, finally getting the last bit of gear set up on the practice field. It was a bit unnerving for Rainbow Dash to watch, fearful of how Gallus and Silverstream would react to getting put in the Dizzatron for the first time.
“First pony up!” Spitfire pointed at Nightflight, who didn’t look particularly thrilled by the honor. He gulped down the lump in his throat, shoring up the courage to make a good show for himself. Flying up into position and getting into the carriage, he flipped down his goggles to cover his eyes, psyching himself up. Spitfire gave the nod and her assistant and he set the machine in motion again. This was unlike anything Nightflight had experienced before. No rollercoaster ride or extreme sport could’ve gotten him ready for this. The ten seconds he was spun around for seemed to last for ages as the pressure built up in his skull.
“Release!” Spitfire commanded and the machine came to a sickeningly sudden stop, catapulting its occupant into the air.
Nightflight was sent hurtling and flipping through the air like a ragdoll. He thrust out his wings to catch the wind, breaking his speed. Down he flew towards the start/finish line as fast as he could. But he couldn’t focus his eyes on his target, his whole world was seemingly twisting clockwise in his head and instead of flying straight, he pitched and rolled off-center, desperate to get his body in line with his wings. He just made it back, touching down with all his hooves but tripping and stumbling forward and almost crashing into his C.O. He fell to his knees, unable to stay upright and desperate to lay down to recover from having his brains scrambled.
“Sixteen seconds; I’m sure I’ll see worse but I wouldn’t brag about it to anypony either.” Spitfire wrote down his time on her report list. Nightflight managed to get up and stagger back to the line of recruits, only to collapse in a heap on the ground, moaning in agony.
“Feh. This overblown carnival ride doesn’t look so bad. Any decent flyer worth their wings could take it.” Firebolt groaned and turned her head away slightly, overhearing Gallus foolishly mouth off. Their C.O. heard the snarky remark and got right in Gallus’ face, screaming at him.
“Oh, is that so, Cat-Bird newbie! Then why don’t you get your scrawny feline butt up there and put your wings where that flapping beak of yours is as our next volunteer!”
Gallus looked up at the mechanical monstrosity, wondering what kind of job it was going to do on him once he was locked in the carriage and set spinning. Spitfire saw him hesitating and used the proper motivation.
“Move it!” she shouted at Gallus. The griffon sprang into action, flying up to the Dizzatron’s carriage and getting into position.
“Crank it up!” Spitfire gave the order and the machine began to spin, steadily getting up to the correct speed.
“Ey-a-a-a-a-a-h-h-h-h-h!” Gallus started freaking out as he was spun faster and faster, convinced that the sustained g-forces his body was experiencing were going to force all of his guts up into his skull.
“Release!” Spitfire ordered, and the machine launched Gallus into the air. Despite the spinning he took, Gallus was still cognizant and quickly snapped out his wings to stop his flipping. With a quick body roll and hard flap of his wings, Gallus dove straight down towards the start/finish line with a short cork-screw twist to quickly break his speed at the end, coming to a rough stop just across the painted stripe on the asphalt. Unconventional, but just as effective in coming to a stop.
“Whoa; twelve seconds? That’s not half bad for a first timer.” Spitfire was duly impressed. Gallus, on his way back to his place in the line, passed by Wind Raider in the line-up.
“Keh! Try to top that!” he dared Wind Raider under his breath, smirking. Several more ponies experienced the Dizzatron’s wrath, wrecking all of them as none so far could get close to Gallus’ time. For a good twenty minutes, he had the best recovery time. Then it was Wind Raider’s turn.
He didn’t need to be told to get in, he was already flying up to the carriage once the last pony had been ejected. He would show all these recruits how a real Wonderbolt cadet would perform on the Dizzatron. Around and around he was spun, feeling the g-forces against his body as the pressure grew. The C.O. finally gave the word.
“Release!” Spitfire ordered as she hit the timer on her stopwatch for the next flyer’s time. Wind Raider was good with his recovery, getting himself righted and wings spread out to stop his motion. He flew as fast as he could back to the start/finish line, wanting to beat Gallus’ time. Like Gallus before him, he came to a rough stop in front of Commander Spitfire, his head spinning all the while.
“Not bad; thirteen seconds; a respectable time.” Spitfire commented as she recorded another time in her log book. Good, but not better then Gallus. The griffon couldn’t help but feel some smug satisfaction, seeing Wind Raider staggering back to his place in the line, almost falling down from the dizziness. Six more trainees went through the Dizzatron experience, all of them taking more than fifteen seconds to recover and none able to stand up once they were finished. The pile of dizzy pony bodies grew as each one ran the gauntlet.
“Firebolt, you’re up!” Spitfire ordered.
‘Yes, Ma’am!” Firebolt proudly answered back. Was it Silverstream’s imagination or did she actually see a small smile appear on both Spitfire and Firebolt’s mouths when the C.O. ordered Firebolt into the Dizzatron? Firebolt threw a salute to Spitfire, the only recruit to do so. Something else Silverstream thought was unusual.
“Ma’am, I want the Dizzatron to be set to ‘normal’ speed for me. I’m ready for it.” Firebolt shocked her fellow recruits. After witnessing a half-dozen ponies put to the test and only Gallus making a great baseline time, asking to be spun even faster and harder seemed like suicide to them.
“You sure about that?” Spitfire warned.
“Absolutely, Ma’am!” Firebolt slid her goggles over her eyes fearlessly.
Spitfire gave her assistant a nod. “Do it.” The go ahead was given and the machine was upped to its regular speed.
The recruits looked on with grim expressions, wondering what it must feel like to be spun around as hard as Firebolt was right then. Firebolt held her breath, a tip she’d picked up from a Wonderbolt veteran, so as to keep the blood in her head and stay alert even as the pressure built.
Seven… eight… nine… ten! She counted off in her mind, already feeling the carriages’ safety-bar unlatch and begin to launch her out and away. End over end she flipped through the air, keeping her body relaxed and allowing the wind resistance to do its job, dragging her speed down.
Four… five... six… She counted again, snapping out her wings on the eight count. She clenched her jaw as she felt her wings being jerked back, her wing muscles instantly made taut by the air resistance. She made a quick roll of her body to the left and dove straight down, using some of the momentum left from the Dizzatron’s launch as a push into her descent. Downward she flew, waiting until the last moment before she pulled up, suddenly flying parallel to the ground and heading straight for her C.O. standing at the start/finish line. Firebolt made a perfect textbook stop, better than the other cadets who’d tried so far.
She felt sick to her stomach but still forced herself to stay upright, even though her whole body swayed on her still-rubbery legs. Firebolt wanted to hear her time before walking back to her spot.
“Eleven seconds flat. Acceptable.” Spitfire scribbled down the time in her ledger, not bothering to look up at Firebolt.
Each step Firebolt took in getting back in line exacted a toll on her. Her head was spinning, her stomach was doing flip-flops and her eyes kept seeing a world that insisted on turning itself end over end. She shut her eyes tight, trying to breathe deeply and regain her bearings once more. Solar Flare and the rest of her friends all went to her side, helping her take the last few steps and getting her stable enough on her hooves to stand next to them. A number of the other recruits still lay on the ground, moaning from the torture they’d subjected themselves to. But Firebolt had her support group, they had her back and for that she was grateful to them.
“Next flyer!” The C.O. shouted and that meant it was Silverstream’s turn. Without hesitation, she flew up to the Dizzatron’s carriage and got in. Spitfire had the machine’s speed reset to level one and then had it start once more. For only a second or two was Silverstream unsure of herself. But the machine did not make her nearly as dizzy as she had thought it would.
“Wahoo-o-o-o-o!” She let out a loud whoop, actually finding herself enjoying the sensation of being whipped around in a circle. It was no worse a sensation then what she was already used to being spun around in a whirlpool or soaring up a waterspout as a seapony.
“Release!”
Into the air shot Silverstream, her body tumbling and flipping. There was an audible snap that cracked through the air as she thrust her wings out, coming to a near stop in mid-air. With another thrust of her wings, Silverstream was flying right for the start/finish line at top speed. She didn’t make the most graceful landing but did stay upright, seeming unaffected by the Dizzatron’s effects. When Spitfire looked her stopwatch, her mouth fell open. Several other Wonderbolts who were watching from the activities field had seen Silverstream’s performance and hurried over to look closer.
Rainbow Dash had watched with fear gnawing at her gut, dreading Silverstream and Gallus getting hurt. But first seeing Gallus do as well as he had and now seeing Silverstream do what seemed absolutely impossible, Dash had to see for herself just what her student’s time was.
Silverstream didn’t understand why Commander Spitfire was looking the way she was at the stopwatch on her clipboard. She seemed shocked or upset by something.
“Did… did I do something wrong, Commander?” she fretted, covering her petite beak with her talons, fearing she’d violated some rule. Dash and the others crowded in closer behind Spitfire, each looking over their commander’s shoulder to see the display on the stopwatch.
All of the recruits stood in silence, overwhelmed by the unbelievable performance they’d just witnessed and by a hippogriff, no less! They were not sure if they’d seen what they’d actually seen.
“How fast was she?!” Misty Fly was stunned. Clearly the hippogriff was fast, but the stopwatch’s time couldn’t be correct. Rainbow Dash stepped in still closer to look, her eyes wide.
“Five point six seconds,” she stated rather flatly.
“Is... is that good?” Silverstream shyly asked, thinking that perhaps she could have done better.
“Are you kidding? You just beat the academy record by almost half a second!” Thunderlane cheered, thrilled to see such flying skill in a recruit. Misty Fly and the other team members were equally impressed by Silverstream’s run.
“Hold on, hold on,” Spitfire interjected, halting any jubilations. “I must have slipped my hoof on the timer too quickly because this can’t be right. I need you to take a rerun.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Silverstream did as ordered and got back in the Dizzatron’s carriage. Spitfire gave the nod to the machine’s operator and once more, the clanking mechanism started up and spun Silverstream again. Everyone was silent as Silverstream retook her run.
“Release!” Spitfire ordered and the Dizzatron once more launched the hippogriff into the air. Thwack! They heard it again, the snap of air as Silverstream threw out her wings, catching the wind and coming to a stop, and then taking off for the start/finish line right below her. In a flash, she was swooping down and heading for Commander Spitfire, as if on a collision course.
Silverstream came in too hot and miscalculated the distance, forcing her to lean much harder on her pony hooves to slow down in time. She stumbled a bit more at the end, almost running into the Wonderbolt team as she tried to stop. Silverstream turned to face her C.O. to hear the result, as did everypony else. The silence was intense.
“Five point seven seconds! A new record!” Spitfire announced. A cheer rose up from Gallus and her new pony friends, hearing that one of their group had done so well. Firebolt and the others were the loudest, running right over to Silverstream to congratulate her. Silverstream was positively euphoric. She had set a new record on her first try. It felt unreal. They practically carried her back to their spot in the line. Spitfire blew her whistle constantly, getting them back in line and restoring order to the ruckus.
Gallus and Firebolt hugged Silverstream tightly, so thrilled for her at doing amazingly well with her first attempts. It was one of the few times in her life that Silverstream didn’t know what to say and just relished in the glow of lofty accomplishment. Gallus couldn’t help looking over at Wind Raider standing several ponies away from them, glaring with a burning resentment in his eyes for Gallus and his hippogriff friend. Just to make it burn harder on him, Gallus blew a raspberry at him, snickering at Wind Raider’s impotent fury.
All the team members were duly impressed with Silverstream’s performance, finding it a most unexpected and delightful discovery. They wondered if all hippogriffs were this good at flying. Soarin walked over to speak with the previous record holder, seeing the wounded look on Rainbow Dash’s face.
“Hey, how are you doing over here?” Wearing an easy smile, he understood the sting she was probably feeling right then. She tried to smile back, but it was hard to put on a front right then. “Boy, that’s some flyer at that school you teach at back in Ponyville. Both of them, for that fact.”
“Uh, yeah, they’re both really something.” Dash’s weak response did a pretty poor job of hiding her true feelings. Soarin tried another angle with her.
“Well, it’s not like they’re real recruits, right? I mean, they’re just volunteers trying this out for a cultural exchange from the school you work at. So, I guess it really doesn’t count against your record, right?”
Maybe that was true, maybe not. This was something she hadn’t even thought of, nor could have anticipated, happening. If Dash really meant this trip to mean something, it wouldn’t really be fair to deny Silverstream her achievement. If she wanted to hold true to the Wonderbolt mantra of having ‘the best of the best’ flying with them, then she knew that had to include griffons and hippogriffs too.
“It’ll probably stand for the records. I’m not going to protest; wouldn’t make any sense to. She beat my time fair and square. That’s all there is to it. Besides, records are made to be broken.” Rainbow Dash would be the bigger pony. It was important to her that Gallus and Silverstream get to immerse themselves in the full experience of the tryouts. If they had to endure the rigors and came out on top, then they deserved the accolades they earned.
Soarin moved up alongside her, giving a playful little nudge with his shoulder. “That’s got to be the most impressive thing I’ve ever heard you say.” He knew of her super competitive nature and how she liked to brag sometimes about her achievements. But Soarin knew Dash felt like she’d been knocked down a peg by the loss of the record of fastest recovery time on the Dizzatron.
A half-dozen or so more recruits tried their luck on the terrible mechanical catapult, desperate to make a good time against the first group of flyers who simply outdid even the instructor’s expatiations. Save for Solar Flare’s lone finish time of seventeen seconds, the rest all took more than twenty seconds or they ended up in the safety net. Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger had a good workout with having to catch so many poor flyers. It was a bad showing for the recruits and a poor reflection upon the recruiters for selecting some subpar flyers. Spitfire had sneaky suspicion that about one fourth of them must have been from ‘favors’ done for friends or family to get a shot at the academy tryouts. The first go-round was done and only four recruits had made an acceptable pass, and two of those were Dash’s students. Spitfire leaned in on the raw recruits.
“Fifteen seconds! It should take no more than fifteen seconds to recover from the Dizzatron set to this level of torque. You ponies are going to stay here until each and every pony here gets a recovery time of fifteen second or less. That or until Mess Call is sounded.”
The looks of misery were clear on the faces of the twenty-plus count of flyers, all dreading getting back in that torturous machine. Spitfire moved on to the next part of the day’s duty. “Wonderbolt Fleetfoot! Wonderbolt High Winds!”
The mare and stallion pegasi stepped up to their commander.
“Yes, Ma’am!”
“I want you two to supervise these recruits rerunning on the Dizzatron. Make sure they get at least two more rounds before drill time ends.” Spitfire passed off her clipboard and pencil to them.
“The four of you,” Spitfire addressed Gallus, Silverstream, Firebolt and Wind Raider who stood off to one side, “you beat the required time for a first run and are excused for the remainder of training session. You can go hit the mess hall early.” She then turned to the Wonderbolt team members standing behind her. “As for the rest of you, to my office, now!” she commanded. They knew their C.O. was not pleased with the first day’s results and all dreaded what she was going to say.
“This is great! We did so well we don’t have to take another turn. We were awesome!” Silverstream cheered softly for her and her friend’s achievement.
“You were just lucky, all of you. This was only the first day.” Wind Raider wasn’t pleased to see the two freak flyers getting singled out for exceptional performance. The three good friends glared back at him, annoyed he was even bothering to talk to them. “This was just the beginning. You two half-breed freaks,” he sneered at Gallus and Silverstream, “won’t go the distance. You’ll get wiped out by the end of tomorrow’s training.” He looked at them with loathing, his voice dripping with contempt.
“What’s your problem, anyway? They haven’t done anything to bother you. It’s like you’re going out of your way to give them a hard time.” Firebolt went right over to him, not letting him get away with talking to her friends like that. She tried staring him down but he wasn’t so easily cowed.
“I can’t believe you’re actually standing up for them.” He flippantly dismissed her with a wave of a wing. That only made Firebolt mad.
“I’m not standing up for them, I’m standing with them, you pathetic moron! You’d better get your head out of the sand and grow up! Griffons, hippogriffs and pegasus ponies all have to share the skies and learn to accept one another.” She could tell he wasn’t really paying attention, just patronizing her and only half-listening at best. She went for a different approach.
“But I guess it’s really because you’re just jealous that all three of us had a better reaction time on the Dizzatron then you. You just can’t stand the idea that a hippogriff, a griffon, and a female pegasus actually outperformed you and that’s just eating you up inside, isn’t it?” She returned his smug look, knowing she’d hit a nerve by the scowl growing on his face.
“Yeah, Silverstream’s recovery time was half the length of yours! She set a new record and you just can’t stand that.” Gallus piled in. He got the result he wanted, seeing Wind Raider’s face clench up more.
“C’mon you two. Let’s go get cleaned up and grab an early supper together. The air around her is getting too stuffy for me.” Firebolt spun around on her hooves, her nose in the air. She would not let Wind Raider’s ill will spoil their good fortune on this first day of tryouts. The pegasus stallion watched with simmering anger at the two outsiders leaving for the barracks and an early meal as reward. He especially hated the fact that the filthy hippogriff had set a new record on the first day.
They won’t last! They got lucky today. These trials will eat them alive! They’ll quit when it gets hard. He was convinced this was so. Neither one of those half-breeds would make it to the end of the tryouts.
The team members all crowded into Spitfire’s office space, jockeying for room by the door so as to be as far away from Spitfire as possible when she sat behind her desk and would begin her tirade.
Spitfire didn’t wait even for that, banging open her office door forcefully, causing it to swing wildly on its hinges to smack Thunderlane right on his muzzle as she came barreling in like a storm. “Do any of you want to tell me why eighty percent of these recruits can’t even handle one turn on the Dizzatron without falling down all over themselves?! What kind of pathetic buckets of stall muck did you bring to my beloved Wonderbolt Academy?! This was the best you could find? You ponies,” she now was standing behind her desk and glaring at them, “are supposed to be making the tryouts easier for me! For sweet Celestia’s sake! I could have made better selections blindfolded and picking out random resumes from the past three years’ worth of submissions that are stuffed in my filing cabinet!”
“Commander, with all due respect, I think that’s a little unfair to-” Soarin began quickly, not appreciating the dismissal of his recruits. He’d been careful and thoughtful with his selection of Nightflight for the tryouts. Before things got too heated between them all, Thunderlane jumped in.
“I think all of us agree we’d picked the best ones for tryouts, you have the files from all of them to prove that much. It’s not like they weren’t qualified.” Spitfire just rolled her eyes.
“I’m sure it’s just tryout jitters with them. They’ll step up when they settle into the routine by tomorrow.” Silver Zoom tried to spin it positively, as Spitfire took her seat behind the desk.
Spitfire could tell by the looks on their faces how her team must be thinking they’d let their C.O. down for this first attempt acting as recruiters. Maybe she’d pushed them a little too hard. This was the first time she wasn’t in control of the selection process. Delegating the trust and duty to her team was not easy. This was bureaucracy stuff and not precision team flying. That she trusted them with. Dealing with Central Command’s higher-up brass and the red tape involved, that was her job.
“Step up, eh? The elimination process starts by the time second assembly is called and these recruits don’t look like they’re going to make it that far! I suggest each of you offer your recruits some sage words of advice so that the whole lot of them doesn’t get eliminated by tomorrow’s mess call for supper.”
“They’ll prove themselves, Commander. Trust us.” Misty Fly was almost imploring Spitfire. The Wonderbolts’ leader took off her sunglasses, casually tossing them onto her desk and giving a huge sigh, running a free forehoof through her mane. Just dealing with all these wheels in motion was getting tougher each year.
“Fine… fine. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.” Her tone softened just a little more. She knew they wanted to prove themselves, she just need to have a little faith in them. “Please don’t let me down, you guys. I got a lot on my plate to handle this year. Dismissed.”
Her team filed out of the office quietly, more aware of the responsibility than before. This was a big change in routine and no pony wanted to do poorly. “Not you, Dash.” She singled out her best lead-pony to stay put.
Soarin turned around to see Dash staying behind in the office. She winked away his look of disappointment, telling him “I’ll catch up with you.”
Rainbow Dash shut the door and closed the blinds, giving them some privacy.
“Have a seat.” Spitfire waited for Dash to get comfortable before the inquiry. There was something of growing interest to her that need to be discussed with Dash. Rainbow Dash pulled up one of the comfortable chairs closer to the desk and sat down.
“Okay, what’s up?” Dash seemed oblivious. Spitfire thought it obvious.
“I have to spell it out?”
“Spell what out?” Dash wasn’t sure what her C.O. was getting at.
“Dash, your volunteer beat your record time by almost a half-second. Doesn’t that strike you as more than just exceptional?” Spitfire thought it unbelievable that one of her best flyers seemed so clueless or just blasé about her records.
“She did better then me. What can I say?” Spitfire thought something was up. Why was Rainbow Dash seemingly so easygoing about this most impressive feat by an unknown flyer? After all, she had brought Silverstream here to begin with, and not even as a recruit.
“Silverstream really has something that might be considered real Wonderbolt material in her. That was the best time set in who knows how many moons. Not to mention Gallus’ very respectable time on his first go-round as well.”
Dash nodded with her commander’s statement but still felt the sting of losing her record of fastest recovery time on the Dizzatron. But she wouldn’t let that bother her.
“They’re really getting into the spirit of the experience of it all, I guess. Who knows how well they might do tomorrow.”
“Crash, level with me, flyer to flyer. Where did these two come from? That school you teach at isn’t some flight academy or something like that. How in all Equestria did you find them?” Spitfire finally came right out and asked.
“Well, some of it’s easy to explain and some of it, well…” Dash made a rolling hoof gesture in the air, “some of it’s a bit… complicated to explain.”
“Okay,” Spitfire leaned back in her chair, “explain away. Start with the easy stuff.”
“Well,” Dash braced herself for a lengthy tale, “Gallus is an exchange student from Griffonstone; Twilight made some arrangements with a whole bunch of the neighboring countries to invite students from there to attend the School of Friendship and he was invited. It’s really important to Twilight that Gallus and Silverstream learn and understand about the Elements of Harmony and share with others of their kind what Equestria was about.”
“And about Silverstream; what’s her story? She and her kind were missing for the last several hundred years, then they just return out of nowhere and now this incredibly talented flyer just happens to end up in Equestria at Princess Twilight’s school? This seems too much of a coincidence.”
“Well, it sorta happened this way,” Dash, as best she could, told Spitfire the entire story of the confrontation with the Storm King; about the siege of Canterlot, how she, Twilight and their friends all traveled to a place called Klugetown, meeting Capper Dapperpaws and his pudgy cohort Needy, barely escaping with their lives on pirate Captain Celaeno’s airship and finally discovering Mount Aris and Seaquestria far to the south. They found the lost civilization of Seaponies and convinced them to help Princess Twilight defeat the Storm King by returning as hippogriffs and fighting alongside them and the regrouped Canterlot forces.
“And that’s the way it happened. Honest.” Dash concluded the retelling in about an hour’s time, leaving Spitfire sitting there with a most astounded expression. She had been oblivious of what had really happened in the incredibly short amount of time between the day of the attack on Canterlot to the moment the Storm King was defeated. She finally spoke up, intending to get at least one of her facts straight.
“You mean, that whole escapade you and Princess Twilight and the others all took was during those three days when the Storm King held Canterlot?”
Dash shrugged a little. “More or less. I’m not really sure of just how many days it was for us, it felt like so much longer when I think back on it. We got to know Queen Novo pretty well afterwards so Twilight made a personal invitation to any member of the seapony or hippogriff kingdoms to attend. That’s how Silverstream came to stay at Twilight’s school.”
“Anything else you’re not telling me I should know?” That was an enormous amount of information to digest in one take. But for Spitfire, it was about to get even more complicated with the next thing Dash had to say.
“Actually, Silverstream the niece of Queen Novo. She was selected to go as a representative. Her mom is the queen’s sister.” Spitfire was in shock; Dash had brought a member of a royal family that ruled a neighboring kingdom without telling her commanding officer or anypony else at Central Command of her intentions? This hippogriff was a visiting dignitary and Rainbow Dash didn’t think it important to tell anyone?
“You have got to be kidding me, Dash! You brought a family member from the ruling monarchy of a kingdom to Wonderbolt tryouts as a volunteer? Are you mad or were you just being ignorant on purpose?” Spitfire banged a hoof on her desk as she tore into Dash, pissed off that she’d done such a risky thing, even with Princess Twilight’s say so. It was incredibly irresponsible of Rainbow Dash to put her C.O. in such a predicament by bringing an important individual like Silverstream to the base unannounced.
“I…I really didn’t think it was going to be a big deal. It wasn’t like I was asking them to try out for the academy. The both of them just got caught up in the excitement of being here.” Rainbow Dash didn’t mean to mess up like this. She thought she was doing something to help all her friends.
“I’ll let you in on a little news, Dash.” Spitfire rubbed her temples, trying to relieve the tension building in her forehead. “I got word through my back channels at Central Command that we’re due for a surprise visit at some point during the trials. Your proposal went up the chain of command and caught the eye of some high-level brass member. Somepony from Central Command is on their way to take a look around. I don’t know who it is or when they’ll be here, but I’m sure it’s going to happen in the next few days.”
“Oh, geez! You can’t be serious? During tryouts?” Dash groaned, seeing just how much she’d made things worse for Spitfire and the rest of the team. She was staring to regret ever opening her mouth about this idea and should’ve just let Spitfire do the trials her way.
“If either one of those two students gets hurt during the tryouts, especially that hippogriff, it could cause an international incident and create immense political headaches for us the likes of which you would not believe!” Spitfire shook her head a little, unable to cope right now with how much more stressful the tryouts had become. “I ought to pull both of them from tryouts right now, even if Silverstream did have a record-breaking time.”
It was the logical, rational thing to do. This unknown visitor from Central Command could be here at any moment and she had no idea what their reaction would be to seeing a griffon and a hippogriff participating in the tryouts. It could cost Spitfire her commission. But Rainbow Dash stood up for her students, aware of just how much this meant to each of them to be a part of this.
“Wait, Commander, don’t pull them out just yet. I mean, if we get in trouble for making some kind of rule infraction by Central Command, then we’ll pull them out and I’ll take full responsibility for it. I know Twilight would totally vouch for taking part in a cultural exchange between the School of Friendship and the academy. She’s got a lot of say with the princesses and is good with solving touchy problems like that.”
Spitfire felt like she was at her wits end. At least it couldn’t possibly get any more stressful or complicated than it already was. She was already in fairly deep for green-lighting a trial attempt of Dash’s proposal of the team acting as recruiters. Thunderlane and the other team members backed Dash’s new idea and urged her to keep faith with them. All she could do is sigh and go along with it. What else could she do?
“Does anypony else here, besides you and I, know that Silverstream is related to the ruling family of Seaquestria?”
“Just Gallus, he knows who her family is but I’m sure he wouldn’t go yapping about it to just anypony. He’s pretty trustworthy when it comes to things like that,” Dash assured her. Spitfire sat with her eyes closed and holding her head with one hoof, trying to keep her thoughts together and not let the stress overwhelm her mind. There was a longish pause before Spitfire spoke again.
“Alright Dash,” Spitfire finally sat up, “since we can’t stop the tryouts and no pony else knows about Silverstream, let’s keep all this tightly under wraps. Even if we get busted for having those two here, there’s no need to say more than we absolutely have to, right?” Spitfire wanted to make sure Rainbow Dash heard her loud and clear.
“Yes, ma’am. Mum’s the word.” Dash understood. From outside the window came the sound the entire collection of recruits was undoubtedly waiting for. The melody of recall being announced over the address system carried all the way across the academy grounds, alerting all to the end of drill time.
“We’ll meet back here before morning drill time begins and figure out what to do when our visitor gets here.” Spitfire didn’t want to think about it anymore for today. She had enough with just running the tryouts to keep her mind busy. Dash saluted her and opened the office door, about to leave when she looked back to see her C.O. sitting exhausted in the chair.
“Commander,” she got Spitfire to look up at her, “I won’t let you or the team down.”
Dash would make sure of it. She had her teammates backing her up and would prove their faith in her justified.
“I hope not, Dash.” Spitfire was taking a terrible risk with her reputation and career to help Dash out like this. There were no second chances or do overs if it went bad with whoever was showing up to snoop around.
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Alright. So far this isn't bad, but you need to break up your paragraphs by starting a new line whenever someone else speaks. And you need to implement page breaks when the setting changes.
Quite an interesting tale here, looking forward to the next chapter!
9715658 Yeah, he's revealed to be an orphan in "Hearth Breakers". Though it's not clear if his parents are dead or they just dumped him with Grandpa Gruff and took off.
9715539
I was assuming it was some weird formatting issue. There's obviously a carriage return each time a new character is speaking. The 'space' should be automatic.