Authors note: This story takes place after season 4 and most likely 5.

When I watched the season 3 episode, Wonderbolts Academy, I couldn't help thinking 'Where the heck is Soarin?' he's a Wonderbolt and this was the Wonderbolts Academy, so why isn't he there. So, recently, I finally became inspired to write a story about Soarin's role in the Wonderbolts Academy.

This is kinda like a sequel to Wonderbolts Academy, only it takes place after season 4. Rainbow Dash signs up for a four month boot camp at the academy and Soarin decides to be her mentor. So, there most likely will be some SoarinDash because I love that pairing.

Of course, Spitfire's in the story, too. How could I not put her in the story, she's my favourite pony…oh, and she works there.

I also wanted to add Braeburn into the story since he's my favourite boy pony, so I decided to make him Soarin's friend from High School. I know what you're thinking: This story must take place in Cloudsdale, so how is an earth pony walking on clouds? Well, if you paid attention to the episode Sonic Rainboom, you would know that there is a spell that allows non-pegasus ponies to walk on clouds. Only instead of the shorter spell that is shown in the series, this spell lasts longer. Simple. I think that covers everything.

Holy cow, this has got to be one of the longest author's notes ever. Anyway, without further ado, the story:

…..

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!"

Rainbow Dash repeated over and over again in her head. She was so excited she felt like she could do a dozen Sonic Rainboom's in a row. She'd been waiting for this for a whole month and now she was finally going.

Why was Rainbow Dash so excited, you ask?

One month before, Rainbow Dash had signed up for a four month long Wonderbolts Academy boot camp. It took forever for her to get her reply in the mail and she was so overjoyed when she read that she had been accepted.

Then again, as if she wasn't gonna be accepted. After an agonising long wait and a series of rib-crushing hugs from Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash was finally on her way to Cloudsdale.

Pinkie Pie had refused to let Rainbow Dash leave unless she promised to write a whole bunch of letters to her and the others. Rainbow Dash had pinkie-promised that she would write a letter every day and that finally got Pinkie Pie to let her leave.

Rainbow thought back to the last time she was at the academy. She knew that Lightning Dust would never be allowed back for a boot camp, not after the way she had acted. She'd enjoyed every single moment of the academy after Lightning Dust had been kicked out. She couldn't wait to experience the thrill of training for the Wonderbolts again. Heck, they should just make her a Wonderbolt right now.

There it was: Cloudsdale, her old home. Even now, Rainbow was mesmerized by the rainbows tumbling from the cloudy city. Everywhere she looked, pegasi were flying around on their daily business. As Rainbow Dash touched down she sighed softly at the feel of the fluffy clouds beneath her hooves. The academy wasn't that far away, so Rainbow Dash decided to walk for a change and keep all of her energy bottled up so she could wow the others. There was no doubt her mind that she could wow them without all her energy, anyway, but she wanted to fly even faster and awesomer than ever before, if that was even possible.

Before Rainbow Dash knew it she was inside the academy. The actual academy was a huge building made of clouds, but for the whole of her previous time in the academy, she had only done outside activities with the other cadets.

She was meant to report to the main hall, most likely to get lectured on this and that. As she made her way through the hallways, she met two other pegasi that looked a little lost. One was a light purple mare with a blue and orange striped mane and tail, the other a tall stallion with peach coloured fur and an orange and red mane and tail that reminded Rainbow Dash of candy canes. The purple mare noticed her.

"Are you looking for the main hall, too?" She asked. Rainbow Dash didn't want to admit that she was lost, but at least she wouldn't be the odd one out with these two.

"Yeah…would it kill them to put up some signs telling us where it is?" Rainbow Dash replied. The purple mare giggled and held out her hoof.

"Name's Lullaby," She greeted as Rainbow Dash shook her hoof eagerly. Rainbow noticed that the mares cutie mark was a nightcap surrounded by musical notes. The peach furred stallion shook Rainbow Dash's hoof, too, after Lullaby had let go of it.

"I'm Sugar Swoop," He told Rainbow, who saw that his cutie mark was, ironically, a candy cane.

"And I'm Rainbow Dash," The cyan pegasus puffed out her chest. She was expecting these two pegasi to at least ask her for an autograph but all they said was that it was nice to meet her. Oh well, after she wowed the Wonderbolt's during the boot camp, the whole of Equestria would know her name. Somepony suddenly cleared their throat at the end of the hall. Rainbow Dash turned to see a familiar face. It was none other than High Winds, the Wonderbolt.

"Are you guys looking for the main hall?" High Winds asked. Rainbow Dash had expected the Wonderbolt to chew them out for being late, but instead her red eyes were gentle and kind. "It's this way," She pointed a hoof towards the hallway on the right. Rainbow Dash felt a little embarrassed that she needed help to get somewhere but thanked High Winds anyway. There was no way she wasn't going to thank one of her life long heroes.

The main hall was HUGE! It probably took up most of the academy. There was no need at all for the hall to be so massive since there were hardly any pegasi there. The Wonderbolts were lined up against one of the end walls, all of them out of their regular uniforms and instead in their academy uniform. Rainbow Dash noticed the Elite Three Wonderbolts: Spitfire, Soarin and Fleetfoot wave at her and she eagerly waved back.

Her favourite Wonderbolt was Spitfire closely followed by Soarin. Fleetfoot was her third favourite, but Rainbow Dash hadn't really had enough interaction with her to know her that well. Rainbow Dash looked around the hall. She wasn't looking for a Wonderbolt; she was looking for a friend of hers.

One week ago, Rainbow Dash was helping Applejack with some apple-bucking since she'd lost a bet. They had tried to see who could eat the most pies in ten minutes and Applejack had beaten her by one pie. Just one! So, because she lost she had to help harvest the apples. If Dash had won, Applejack would have had to help time how fast she could fly around Ponyville. So, they had been working for about twenty minutes when Big Macintosh showed up with Applejack's cousin Braeburn from Appaloosa.

Braeburn told them that he was completely broke after he'd messed up his career selling apples. Rainbow Dash had asked him how he could possibly mess up selling apples, since Applejack and her family did it so easily without any mishaps at all. Braeburn explained that apparently his apples had been invaded by caterpillars. So, after a few ponies ended up in the ER because of his apples, the sheriff had insisted that he end his apple selling business.

Rainbow Dash couldn't believe what he said next. Apparently, Braeburn had been offered work in Cloudsdale in the Wonderbolts Academy thanks to a pegasus friend of his. Rainbow Dash almost had a happy heart attack when he told them that his friend was none other than SOARIN!

According to Braeburn, he and Soarin had gone to high school together and were best friends and Soarin was offering Braeburn a job at the boot camp so he could earn enough money to get back on his hooves.

So, Braeburn had come to Ponyville because he knew that Twilight could cast a spell that allowed earth ponies to walk on clouds. So, before they knew it, they were at Twilight's castle explaining the situation to their purple alicorn friend. Twilight had graciously accepted to cast the spell on Braeburn.

It was a little harder for her to do but she managed to cast a spell that would allow him to walk on clouds for the length of boot camp and he'd left for Cloudsdale immediately.

But Rainbow Dash couldn't see him in the hall. There were only pegasi. Rainbow Dash decided that she would find him later because Sugar Swoop began prodding her shoulder.

"Are you okay? You seemed miles away," He asked, a little concerned. Rainbow Dahs shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah, I was just looking for somepony," She replied honestly. Thankfully, Sugar Swoop didn't ask her anymore questions. Lullaby suddenly gasped with excitement and bounced up and down.

"It looks like the Wonderbolts are about to say something. This is so exciting I could barf stars, rainbows and candy!" The purple pegasus reminded Rainbow Dash of Pinkie Pie. Rainbow and her two new friends joined the crowd of pegasi who were standing by, waiting for the Wonderbolts to address them. One of them, Wave Chill, raised a hoof for silence. In a flash, the hall began quiet, with the exception of the fading echoes of the conversations that the group of excited pegasi had been having mere moments ago. Fleetfoot stepped forward and began talking in that lisp of hers.

"Welcome to the Wonderbolt'th Academy," She greeted. Rainbow Dash tried not to laugh at her lisp. It was just so darn hilarious, although she did hear a couple of the other pegasi chortling, although Fleetfoot ignored them. She must have been used to it by now.

"During the four month'th that you will be here, you will be expected to act like real Wonderbolt'th. You will wake up at the thame time, you will do the thame drills, you will eat, thleep and breathe Wonderbolt'th," She explained. Rainbow Dash smirked.

She already did.

Soarin took up the lecture.

"Today and tomorrow, there will be no drills. Today, you will prepare your dorms. The sleeping arrangements are on the board over there. Soaring pointed a hoof at the far side off the hall, where a long list of names and a map of the dorms had been posted on the wall. "Tomorrow, you will be fitted for your cadet uniforms. After that, you will train like real Wonderbolts every day."

Rainbow Dash looked calm on the outside, but on the inside she was doing a happy dance. Real Wonderbolts training!

AWESOME!

Spitfire ended the lecture.

"Now, we'll leave you to get ready. Go to your dorms and unpack. In exactly one hour, you will go to the mess hall for dinner. Good luck," The yellow Wonderbolt dismissed them all with a flick of her hoof. Rainbow Dash was about to go over to the dorm map when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned and saw Soarin standing behind her, smiling brightly at her.

"Hey there, Rainbow Dash, I'm not surprised that you're here," He complimented her. Rainbow Dash blushed a little.

"It's great to see you, Soarin," She greeted. Soarin was wearing his blue officer uniform and black tie and his flying goggles were balanced on his head, making Rainbow Dash wonder if he ever took them off. "Is there something you wanted?" She asked, curious as to why the Wonderbolt co-captain had come over to see her. Soarin shook his head.

"I just wanted to say hi," He admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "I'd bet all the pies in the world that you're the best cadet here," He stated. Rainbow Dash almost did a double-take. Soarin was very passionate about pies, and he would bet all of them on her being the best!?

Heck, so would she.

"Thanks," Rainbow Dash beamed with pride. Soarin nodded over to the dorm map.

"You should go and find your dorm, but I'll see you in the mess hall!" Soarin told her as he began trotting back to the other Wonderbolts.

"Yeah, see ya!" Rainbow Dash went over to the map and tried to find her name. Maybe she would room with Lullaby? No, Lullaby was rooming with somepony named Paradise. She finally found her name. She was sharing a room with a mare called Spring Song in room 7.

Rainbow Dash suddenly heard Soarin and he sounded hysterical. When she looked over at him, he was smiling, though.

"Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-" He was repeating to Spitfire, who looked like she was going to blow her top. She stomped a hoof down in frustration.

"If I say yes, will you shut your pie-hole?" She snapped, smiling slightly. Soarin jumped for joy.

"Thanks, Spitfire! This is awesome!" Soarin looked over at Rainbow Dash for a split second before looking away. Rainbow Dash wondered what they were arguing about. She just shrugged it off, it was probably something stupid. She made her way through the maze of hallways until she found room 7, which was identical to all of the other doors, except for the fact that it of course had the number seven on it.

She wondered what this Spring Song was like. Rainbow Dash opened the door to see that there was nopony there. Oh well, Spring Song must still be on her way. Rainbow Dash made her way over to one of the two beds and set down her saddle bags. She stacked her Daring-Do books on the side table and put her secret stash of candy under the bed. She put some paper and a quill on her bedside table, too, so she wouldn't forget to write to her friends back in Ponyville. Now that she thought about it, she should write to them, now. She picked up the quill in her mouth and spread a piece of paper out on the bedside table and began writing.

Hi, everypony,

I'm writing this from my dorm at the academy, Room 7. It's an okay room, though it's pretty small. I haven't met my roommate, Spring Song yet, but I'll tell you all about her when I do meet her.

I've already made two new friends here, Lullaby and Sugar Swoop and they seem pretty nice. Maybe Spring Song could be friends with us, too.

I'll send you another letter tomorrow, Pinkie Promise.

Yours awesomely,

Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash rolled up the scroll and tucked it into her saddlebags, deciding that she would post it when she went to the mess hall. Then, the door swung open and a pink pegasus mare with a blond tail and mane and bright green eyes strutted in. She was followed by another mare, who was green with a blue mane and tail and a tall stallion who was yellow with a brown Mohawk.

"Um…hi," Rainbow Dash greeted them, unsure as to why there were three pegasi there instead of just one mare. The blond pegasus looked her up and down before smiling at her.

"You must be Rainbow Dash?" She asked, to which Rainbow Dash nodded. The pink pegasus shook Rainbow's hoof eagerly. "I'm your roommate, Spring Song," She greeted.

"And…who are you two?" Rainbow Dash looked at the two pegasi she had entered with. Spring Song placed a hoof on the shoulder of the green mare.

"This is Paradise, my BFF," Spring Song introduced the mare, who smiled brightly. Rainbow Dash remembered reading the name Paradise on the dorm map in the same room as Lullaby.

"Hi!" Paradise chirped. Then Spring Song moved over to the stallion.

"And this is Ray," She patted the stallion on the back.

"'Sup?" He asked casually. At least these three seemed friendly.

"Wanna come to the mess hall with us?" Spring Song offered. Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" She looked up at the clock on the wall and was surprised to find that it was almost time for dinner. How had time gone so quickly? She must have gotten more lost than she'd first thought, trying to find her dorm.

"I'll just unpack my stuff when we get back," Spring Song tossed her yellow saddle bags on her bed and turned to walk out the door, giving Rainbow Dash a clear view of her cutie mark, a flaming sunflower. She looked at the other two pegasus ponies' cutie marks, too. Paradise's was a sun setting behind a hill and Ray's was winged meteor.

Rainbow Dash followed them out the door. She was surprised to have made so many friends in the short amount of time she'd been at the academy. Then again, who wouldn't want to be her friend?

They made their way to the mess hall, which was already packed with pegasi. They had to go to the back of the line to get their food since they were the last ponies there, but that gave them a lot of time to get to know eachother. Rainbow Dash learned that Spring Song was from Las Pegasus, Ray was a descendant of Commander Easyglider and Paradise liked baking. Rainbow was a little surprised to find that whatever Spring Song chose to eat, Paradise and Ray chose to eat, too. Rainbow decided to just get her own choice of food since had no interest in becoming a copycat.

As she scooped up some beans she heard a familiar voice from behind the counter.

"Hey, there Rainbow Dash, ah've been lookin' for ya!"

Rainbow looked up at the voice to see the speaker.

"Braeburn, I've been looking for you, too," The cyan pegasus gleefully greeted her earth pony friend. "So, you're working as a cook, here?" Rainbow was surprised as it was usually mares who worked as cooks.

"Yeah, Soarin knew how well I baked, so he gave me the job faster than you could say 'apple seed," Braeburn explained. Rainbow Dash warily eyed the apple fritter she had picked up.

"These things haven't got caterpillars in, right?" She asked. Braeburn chuckled.

"Nah, I made sure of it," He assured her, not realising that she was joking. "Ah'll catch up with ya later, Rainbow Dash. Ah have ta make some more apple pie."

Okay, catch ya later, Brae!" Rainbow Dash went to the table where Spring Song, Paradise and Ray were. Spring Song turned to Ray.

"Ray, would you mind sitting somewhere else?" She asked. Ray tilted his head.

"Why?" He asked. Rainbow Dash was confused, too. Weren't friends supposed to be together?

"We need some girl-time with Rainbow Dash," Paradise told him. Rainbow didn't like the sound of that. Ray shrugged and went to join a group of stallions on one of the other tables. Rainbow Dash cautiously sat down beside Spring Song and began nibbling on her horseshoe fries.

"So, what do you think of the academy?" The pink pegasus asked Rainbow, who smiled widely.

"It's awesome. I can't wait to start drills!" She replied determinedly.

"Me neither, me and Paradise are amazing fliers," She bragged, placing a hoof on Paradise's shoulder. The sentence that Paradise said next almost made Rainbow Dash spit out her drink.

"So who do you think is the cutest Wonderbolt?"

"Um…what was that?" Rainbow Dash wondered if she'd heard right, hoping she'd misheard. She hated talking about these kinds of things.

"Isn't Fire Streak so hot?" Paradise drooled. Rainbow almost puked up her dinner. She didn't reply.

"None of the Wonderbolts seem my type," Spring Song told Rainbow. "The only ponies who know this are me and Paradise, but…" Spring Song whispered in Rainbow's ear. "…I like Ray."

Rainbow wanted to turn their volumes to mute.

"Can we talk about something else?" She asked, spooning some beans into her mouth. Spring Song shrugged.

"Sure."

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, over here!" The three pegasus mares turned to the speaker. It was Soarin. "Can you come over here a sec?" He was sitting at a table with the other Wonderbolts. Rainbow obediently got up and trotted over to the Wonderbolt co-captain.

"What's up, Soarin?" Rainbow asked.

"I've got some good news. I was talking to Spitfire earlier and she said that I could be your trainer!" He told her gleefully. Rainbow Dash almost fainted.

A Wonderbolt!

Training her!

This…was…AWESOME!

"Really?" Rainbow Dash flapped into the air in excitement.

"You bet. Starting the day after tomorrow, I'll be teaching you some Wonderbolt level tricks," He told her. So this must have been what Soarin and Spitfire were arguing about back in the main hall.

"This is so cool. I've gotta thank Spitfire," Rainbow Dash looked around the room, but the Wonderbolt captain was nowhere to be seen. "Where is Spitfire?" She asked.

"She always eats alone in her office," He replied. Rainbow looked confused.

"Why?"

Soarin shrugged. "She's not much of a 'social butterfly' I suppose," He replied. He then changed the subject. "Hey, Braeburn told me he knew you. Is that true?"

"Yeah, we met in Appaloosa a few years back," She answered.

"Apparently, you helped settle something between the Appaloosan's and a herd of buffalo?"

"That's right," Rainbow nodded, recalling the time where she and Pinkie Pie had tried to argue for the buffalo's side. She was so pleased when they finally settled their differences and became friends, though she would never get that song that Pinkie Pie sang out of her head.

"It's kinda odd that he works here," Soarin stated, beginning to eat a large slice of apple pie.

"Because he's an earth pony?" Rainbow Dash suggested since it was the obvious answer.

"Nah, because he knows absolutely nothing about the Wonderbolts," Soarin replied with a mouthful of pie. "The other day I quizzed him on who all the Wonderbolts were and the only one he could name was me," He chuckled.

"You would've thought he'd know this stuff since he's your friend," Rainbow Dash glanced over to the food counter where Braeburn was slicing up some apple cake.

"I know right!" Soarin agreed, throwing his hooves into the air and accidentally slapping Blaze.

"Watch it, Soarin," The orange maned Wonderbolt rubbed her sore cheek.

"Um…oops," Soarin laughed weakly and scooted away from Blaze. Soarin then glanced up at the clock and his eyes bulged.

"Whoa! Dinner's almost over. Better hurry up," He began eating his pie faster. It was then that Rainbow realised that she was still hungry, too.

"I'd better go finish my dinner, too," She nodded back at her table where Spring Song and Paradise were laughing about something.

"Okay, then. See you tomorrow," Soarin bidded the cyan pegasus farewell. As Rainbow Dash sat back down at the table beside Spring Song, the two mares immediately began bugging her with questions.

"What was that all about?"

"What did he say?"

"Are you in trouble?"

"It was nothing…" Rainbow trailed off. "If you count him training me as nothing!" She finished with what bordered on a squee. Spring Song and Paradise did an actual squee and began chattering away.

"Do you think we'll all have Wonderbolt mentors?" Paradise asked. Rainbow Dash decided not to say that she didn't think they would. If they were all going to have Wonderbolt's teaching them, Spitfire wouldn't have been arguing with Soarin over it. Rainbow felt like she was the luckiest pony in Equestria. When she had finished eating, she, Spring Song and Paradise walked back to the dorms. Spring Song finally unpacked her things and Rainbow Dash decided to celebrate her first day at the academy by eating some of her candy stash. Just when she was on her sixth piece of candy corn she remembered.

She hadn't posted the latter she had wanted to send to her friends.

But, she didn't care, because that old letter was useless, now. She reached into her saddlebags and took out the old scroll. She crumpled it up and tossed in in the trash. She grabbed another piece of paper and her quill and began writing another letter.

"Hi, everypony!

I'm having an epic day here. You'll never guess what happened!

Soarin is going to train me!

That's right. While the other cadets are lounging around in their free time I'm going to be zooming through the sky with the Wonderbolts co-captain learning Wonderbolt level tricks!

In other news, I've met my roommate, Spring Song and her friends and they seem pretty nice. I just hope they don't get jealous.

I can't wait to tell you more.

Yours awesomely,

Rainbow Dash"

"Watcha doin', Dash?" Spring Song asked, placing her alarm clock on her bedside table.

"Just writing a letter to my friends," She replied, rolling up her letter and tucking it into her saddlebags, deciding that she would post it in the morning. Spring Song's gaze flickered from Rainbow Dash to the rainbow maned mare's stack of books and she gasped.

"Are those Daring Do books?" She asked. Rainbow Dash nodded and Spring Song whizzed over to them in a flash. She began examining each of the covers until she finally picked one up. "This is the only one I haven't read," She told Rainbow, holding up her copy of 'Daring Do and the Forbidden City of Clouds'. That was one of Rainbow Dash's favourites. Spring Song looked at Dash with the biggest, saddest pair of eyes she had ever seen. "Would you mind?" She asked, sticking out her bottom lip. Rainbow shrugged.

"Sure, you can read it," She replied. She'd already read that one four times. Spring Song flung herself onto her bed and opened the book to the first page.

"Thanks, Dash. You're awesome," The pink pegasus complimented Rainbow Dash, who nodded.

"I know," She smiled. She decided that she would read a Daring Do book, too. There was nothing else to do, anyway. She decided that she would read her favourite one, which was 'Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone'. She still felt like an idiot for trying to break into the hospital to get the book.

Rainbow Dash sat on her bed and began to read, though it was hard to focus with everything going on.

She couldn't believe that Soarin was going to be her mentor. It seemed too good to be true. She decided that she'd bottle up all of her excitement for the next morning.

She'd known that the boot camp would be awesome but she'd never thought it would be THIS awesome.

She couldn't wait for tomorrow!