A/N:
- Though I appreciate the 'welcome to the herd' messages, I've been a part of the herd for half a year, which isn't nearly long enough. Still, thanks! :)
- This chapter was meant to be divided into two chapters, but they both were way too short to my liking. So have two merged into one!
-Though I won't actively ask for reviews (I HATE it when people do that), I do ask that if you leave one, to nitpick as much as you can on anything that seemed out of place. Again, this story is intended as an entry in a competition which is due in 6 days, and I'd like to make it as believable as possible.
- Once again: enjoy!
Celestia's enthralling sunlight beamed down on Rainbow's face through the bedroom window of her home in Cloudsdale. A week had passed since the encounter with the Wonderbolt captain and her friend, whose name eluded her once again as she woke up.
She thought back of that moment quite often, but tried not to let it weigh her down too much, taking Twilight's advice to heart. She had consulted with the lavender unicorn on the matter during her latest visit to the library on the same day. Twilight had suggested not to dwell on the 'what if's' or 'what could have been's', for the sake of her ability of thinking straight.
Getting out of her bed made of clouds, she casually strolled through her residence towards the front door, and grabbed the mail jutting out the slot in her mouth. Bringing the envelopes into the kitchen and placing them on the kitchen table, she prepared and poured herself a nice, steaming cup of coffee, and started going over the mail while taking a sip.
Bills, bills, bills... coupons. Great.
Her eyes then fell on the last envelope of the stack, which was different than the others. The type of paper was slightly rugged and thicker than that of a normal envelope, the kind a refined pony like Rarity would use to invite a pony for a fancy banquet or an important fashion show.
Ugh, if this is what I think it is, I'm in for a lame evening. Kudos to Rarity and her profession, but this is going to be as boring as watching paint dry...
Rainbow took another sip from her coffee as she flipped the envelope around. Her eyes went wide as she did a spit-take, covering the table and everything on it in hundreds of brown droplets. Mouth agape, she stared at the seal that held the envelope shut.
It bore the image of a lightning bolt, shaped pretty much like her own cutie mark, only accompanied by a pair of wings instead of a cloud.
Letting the notion of its sender sink in, Rainbow slowly opened the letter with a trembling hoof. She had a pretty good idea of what it would say, but still handled the letter in slow-motion, as if it was extremely fragile and would crumble with the slightest touch of insensitivity.
Finally folding open the sheet of refined paper, her eyes darted across the elegantly written words, her widening eyes and the smile on her face reaching a new high with every word she passed.
At the end of the letter, she felt like a champagne bottle that had just been shaken vigorously. Every second, the excitement was building up until her body started trembling and her eyes started tearing, and could take no more.
"YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYES! YEAH! OH MY GOSH!" she exploded, letting all her happiness explode in a degree that only Pinkie Pie would be able to rival. In her euphoria, she clenched the letter in her teeth, and rocketed through the cloudy wall of her home to the outside world, not caring in the least about the new, unorthodox point of entry into her residence.
To the esteemed Rainbow Dash
Your flying skills haven't gone unnoticed. On several occasions, you have demonstrated your superb knowledge of complicated aerodynamics and aerial grace. Not in the very least, your participation and victory in the Young Flyer Competition have also continued to impress us, mostly due to your ability to trigger a Sonic Rainboom, a feat achieved multiple times only by yourself. A feat nopony has managed to accomplish in generations, and you should be rightfully proud of it. It goes without saying you are undoubtedly one, if not the best flyer of this time to grace the skies of Equestria.
Therefor, we would like to present you with the opportunity to tryout for the prestigious spot as a member of the Wonderbolts. You will have to undergo several tests, but with flying skills of your level, I have no doubt you will pass these with flying colors – if you'll pardon the pun.
Should you choose to accept our offer, please present yourself upcoming Monday at the Manechester Sports Arena in Cloudsdale.
Yours sincerely
Spitfire
Captain of the Wonderbolts
Twilight Sparkle felt much elation for Rainbow as she let the letter magically slip away from before her eyes, the latter pony flying around the library in circles, barely able to contain her excitement. The gust she created blew away several books and even some ornaments. Spike was doing his best running from left to right to grab whatever he could.
Dash felt the need to tell somepony – anypony – the good news, and the studious unicorn was the first pony she could think of. Twilight was casually reading one of her favorite spellbooks on the library's main floor as Rainbow came crashing in through an open window (as she usually does). Before Twilight could even see what was going on, Rainbow had literally shoved the letter in her face.
"Rainbow Dash, this is wonderful. I'm so happy for you!"
"Wonderful? Try awesometasticly super... extremely... Ugh, I can't come up with the words to describe this! It's... like... like... the pinnacle of coolness, awesomeness and radicalness combined!" Dash shouted as she hovered in front of Twilight. Spike had allowed himself a moment to catch his breath and set aside the trinkets he managed to save from the pegasus' aerial onslaught, while she conversed with Twilight. Yet, as soon as she was done, she resumed her indoor flight, causing Spike to yelp as more geegaws and books began to scatter about.
"Ugh! Twilight, a little help, please?"
Using her unicorn magic, Twilight grabbed a hold of Rainbow's tail, leaving her suspended in mid-air and the pegasus herself dangling about.
"Okay Rainbow, I know you're happy, but try to settle down for a while. You're creating a tornado in here!"
"Heh, sorry 'bout that." Twilight released her.
"That's alright. After all, you've got a very good reason to be happy, to say the least. You want me to gather the girls, and have me use that 'walking-on-clouds' spell again so we can cheer you on?"
"Uh... If it's all the same to you, Twilight, I'd rather not. I'm gonna be a nervous wreck, and I can't afford any distractions and maybe fudge things up – no offense."
Spike had just finished returning all of Twilight's memorabilia to their respective places, and smiled at his handiwork, releasing a content sigh. Next thing he knew, he was being knocked into the wall by a sudden mass of pink, the impact sending the collectibles towards the floor once again. He snorted a small puff of smoke in frustration, as the pink mass bounced across the room, coming to a stop before Twilight and Dash.
"Did somepony say fudge? I love fudge! There's so many kinds of fudge like chocolate fudge, and coconut fudge, and peanut butter fudge and oh – I even found a recipe for fudge cookies once in Granny Cake's secret recipe book which I just HAVE to try someday, and I'll share with everypony of course! Anyway, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, FUDGE! I love fudge! There's also butterscotch fudge and mint fudge with walnuts and..."
Rainbow Dash groaned as Pinkie Pie droned on about the different types of sweetness.
"Do you guys mind bringing her up to speed? I gotta be in tip-top shape if I want to up my chances of officially joining the Wonderbolts!" The last words came out squealing as she spoke them.
"Sure thing, Dash. Good luck!" At that, Rainbow zoomed out the library, leaving in her wake a rainbow-colored trail, a lavender unicorn and a baby dragon to deal with an ever-excited pink earth pony.
Monday, for once, couldn't arrive sooner for Rainbow Dash as she made her way to Cloudsdale's only sports stadium. The day that announces the start of a new week and the cause of many ponies' irritation, might very well become the best day of her life.
I still can't believe this is happening! Spitfire, Soarin', Fleetfoot, Rapidfire, Misty, Fire Streak... all my fillyhood heroes, and I'm about to meet them! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!
The stadium Dash was heading to came into sight. It was the same arena where the previous competition was being held, and being a native of Cloudsdale, it wasn't hard for her to recall its location.
Coming to the front of the stadium, she noticed a distinct lack of activity. There were other pegasi around, but none of them had business with this particular structure. With a hoof trembling with anticipation, she nudged the front gate, which turned out to be firmly shut. Did they forget it was Monday, or had she come on a wrong day?
Looking up in the sky, she remembered the arena had an open roof – and floor – and began to wonder what purpose a gate would serve anyway. Nevertheless, she lifted herself up and flew over the wall, onto the proverbial stadium grounds proper.
At first, due to the sheer size of the stadium, it almost looked like it was devoid of life here as well, save for Rainbow Dash. Yet, in the middle of the arena, among the dozens of different agility courses, she spotted a single pegasus, waving her over. Coming closer, she noticed it wasn't any of the Wonderbolts, but that one pale green pony she bumped into earlier.
"Hi there, Rainbow Dash!" He greeted her.
"Uh... Hi..." she responded, slightly confused by the lack of her heroes. "I'm sorry, I forgot your name."
"That's okay, it's Peppermint."
"Oh, right. What are you doing here? Where's Spitfire and the rest?"
Peppermint gave a slight chuckle. "Don't worry, they'll be here. They're still dealing with some formalities elsewhere. In the meanwhile though, Spitfire asked if I could go ahead and begin your tests, take down your results."
Dash's eyes widened a little. "You? No offense, but why would she ask that of you?"
The brows of the pale green pegasus lowered a little. "Hmpf. Don't you have any friends that ask for a favor sometimes?"
"... Yeah, I do," Rainbow caved in, and sighed. "I guess I'm just a little disappointed the Wonderbolts aren't here. So, what would you have me do?"
"Like I said, they'll be here soon enough, don't worry," Peppermint perked up. "How about we start with a few laps?"
After the colt grabbed a clipboard that was tucked under his wing in his teeth, both pegasi flew over to an oval race course, which Rainbow knew was Fleetfoot's forte. After landing, Peppermint looked at the clipboard, checking the best and worst recorded times of this particular track.
"Let's see... The worst time recorded for three laps was one minute twenty-one seconds. If you can top that, you'll have passed this test."
"Hah, no problem. Ready when you are," Rainbow said after she made her way to the startline, primed and ready to take off.
"Aaaand..." Peppermint said as he held out a timer in his wing, which he pressed as soon as he shouted "Go!"
Rainbow left Peppermint behind her in a blur. The course took up a decent size of the arena floor, yet to her, it almost seemed too small as she rounded the first curve. After doing the same thing three more times, she shot over the starting line. Because of her speed, she didn't see Peppermint looking at his timer in disbelief. After two more laps, she skidded to a halt and trotted across the clouds back to the pseudo-judge. The latter shook his head, and hid his face behind the clipboard. Using his teeth, he wrote down Dash's results, and lowered the notebook.
"So, how'd I do? Broke the record, no doubt?" she boasted.
"Sorry, Dash. Can't tell you. Spitfire's request." he answered dryly. He also somehow looked... unimpressed.
Baffled, Rainbow's eyes and mouth flew wide open upon hearing this. Before she could protest, Peppermint spoke first. "Next up, the obstacle course. Right this way," he said as he made his way to said course. Rainbow grunted, and haphazardly followed, kicking a small cloud to smithereens in frustration in the process.
For every test that followed, Dash was met with the same result: Peppermint looking up from his clipboard after noting the cyan pegasus' outcome with a look of malcontent on his face, and Dash herself groaning with his unwillingness to share the information of her performance.
The final test required her to weave between walls of clouds, suspended both left and right, and up and down periodically down the stretch of a straight line. She barely touched the third to last wall with her hoof just slightly, which didn't go unnoticed to the pale green pegasus flying alongside her next to the course.
"I'm gonna have to add two seconds of penalty for touching that one wall. Other than that, you did fine," he said, after Rainbow rejoined him.
"Penalty? Are you serious? You're gonna add two seconds for that? I barely even grazed it! You better not be horsing around with me, or you'll be getting the what for!"
Peppermint was unswayed by the outburst. "I can add some more time to that, if you'd like."
Rainbow groaned in annoyance, biting her tongue as not to mess up her chance to join the Wonderbolts. In fact, not even once did this Peppermint character seem impressed with her performance. He was going over her results... disapprovingly.
"Tsk tsk tsk... Spitfire is not going to like this."
"What? Why? I didn't do bad, right? Right?" She almost panicked.
"Like I said before, can't tell you. All I can say is what I just said: Spitfire isn't going to be happy."
"But... But I..."
"Hey, don't sweat it, kid. Spitfire's easy to forgive and forget, and it's her call to let you in or not. Tell you what. Why don't I show you where the showers are, so you can freshen up. I'll be waiting outside, and take you to see Spitfire when you're done, see what she says. Sound good?"
"I guess..." Dash said in a defeated tone. The way Peppermint was talking to her, she was all but certain she had blown her chances. She had given it her all, but it wasn't enough. So what if she did a Sonic Rainboom twice. The first one was pure luck, and the other was to save a friend – and the Wonderbolts themselves, no less.
Some repayment, she thought as Peppermint showed her to the locker room. Each Wonderbolt had his or her own locker assigned to them, Rainbow noticed as she walked by them. With each name she passed, so did her resentment for them increase. She didn't flat-out hate them, but she was highly disappointed in them for her imminent rejection.
NO! It's wrong to think of them that way, she thought as she stepped under a nice, hot stream of water. The Wonderbolts take only the best, and if I didn't make the cut, that means I have to train harder! Less napping, more flying, take double shifts for the weather team, eat right!
She started to bite her lip as she fought back a small tear that was forming in the corner of her eye. She didn't like the situation she found herself in one bit, but at least she'd gotten a taste of what it takes to be a Wonderbolt, for as long as it lasted.
Turning off the faucet after an invigorating cleaning session, she shook herself as dry as she could get, and made her way back to the arena.
And nearly fainted.
There they all were, standing just outside the door leading from the hallway into the arena grounds. Spitfire, Soarin', and Rapidfire on one side, Fire Streak, Fleetfoot and Misty on the other. And they were all smiling at her.
Furthermore, a ways past the end of the double row, stood Peppermint, with behind him an object over which a tarp was draped, obscuring the actual object from view. He stepped forward.
"Surprised?"
"But... I... Spit... Wonder... You... WHA?" Rainbow stammered. She couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on. Peppermint just chuckled.
"I think I'll let somepony else elaborate," he said as Spitfire made her way next to him.
"You see, Rainbow Dash," she began, "you know that we only take the best, and everypony knows you are right up there. So we decided to have a little fun with you, pull your tail a little. All of us here had no doubt you'd nail these tests-" she turned to look at Peppermint, who held out the test results before her "-and looking at the results, I'd say we were right."
Rainbow's head still swam a little as Spitfire's statement sank in. "But... He said you weren't going to be happy with my results..."
"We were hiding around while you did your stuff, keeping an eye on you and a mental note of each course's record time. Peppermint was right, I'm not happy about your performance. You broke every single one of our records, which means we'll have to train harder just to keep up with you." She smiled. "Think of this prank as your initiation rite."
Before Dash could recover enough and provide a proper response, baffled from the tsunami of praise her lifelong idol was showering her with, Spitfire moved to the tarp-covered object behind her, no larger than she was herself. She clenched the tarp in her teeth, and gave it a strong yank, revealing the secret it held underneath. Rainbow's eyes fell upon a pony-shaped mannequin, similar to those found in Rarity's fashion boutique. Only this one wasn't donned in some fancy Canterlot getup.
This one bore a Wonderbolt costume. Her Wonderbolt costume.
"Rainbow Dash," Spitfire continued, gesturing at the mannequin, "Welcome to the Wonderbolts."