"GAAAAAAH!"

Rainbow Dash and Spring Song sat upright in their beds, screaming with surprise as the sound of a bugle blared. Dash tumbled out of her bed, startled at the sudden cacophony and her bed sheets landed on top of her. When the sound of the bugle finally ceased, Rainbow Dash pulled the covers off her and groaned, rubbing her head where she'd bumped it on the ground.

"I hope wake up calls aren't like that all the time," The cyan mare grumbled, grudgingly getting to her hooves and stretching. Spring Song groaned as she looked in the mirror, seeing that she had an extreme case of bedhead. She grabbed her hairbrush and began trying to comb her blond mane into its usual straight, shoulder length style.

"What time is it?" Spring Song asked Rainbow Dash, smiling at her now perfect mane. Rainbow Dash blinked the last of the sleep from her eyes and looked up at the clock.

6:AM.

There's a 6:AM?

Rainbow couldn't remember ever getting up that early. While Spring Song was busy applying some blush to her cheeks, Rainbow Dash grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste and decided to go to the shower rooms to freshen up. After a morning shower she felt ready and rearing to go.

She returned to her room to put on her cadet uniform and found that Spring Song had already put her one on and was posing in front of the mirror. She flushed red with embarrassment as Rainbow Dash came in and Dash couldn't hold in her laughter.

"Um…'sup?" Was all Spring Song said, making Rainbow Dash laugh harder. Lullaby and Sugar Swoop suddenly appeared at Rainbow's side.

"What's going on?" Sugar Swoop asked. Rainbow Dash snickered a final time before replying.

"Spring Song's just practising modelling," She teased her roommate, who turned an even brighter shade of red.

"No I'm not," She whimpered. She then decided to change the subject. "I'll meet you three outside, I'm gonna go find Ray and Paradise," The pink pegasus left the room and headed down the hallways to find her friends.

"She's right, we should go outside," Lullaby agreed as Spring Song vanished round the corner. The three pegasi made their way to the training grounds, where several of the other cadets were already in a straight line. They joined the end and Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to look over the other pegasi.

At the other end of the line stood a short orange stallion with a green mane that tumbled into his eyes and a shaggy looking green tail. His cutie mark was three thunderclouds. He was arguing with the two mares beside him.

One of the mares was light blue with a white mane and tail which had a dark blue streak through the middle of them. Her cutie mark was three bees. She seemed to be winning the argument since the stallion and the other mare looked irritated with her, while she wore a smug expression.

The other mare was dark pink with a white dandelion cutie mark. Her lemon yellow mane was worn in a ponytail and her tail twisted a little like Rarity's.

Spring Song, now joined by Paradise and Ray joined Rainbow Dash, Lullaby and Sugar Swoop at the end of the line. Rainbow nudged Spring Song as she stood beside her. "Do ya know who those three ponies are?" She pointed a hoof at the ponies she had been examining.

"Yeah, they told me their names yesterday," Spring Song replied. The stallion's name is Tempest. He says that he's done a Sonic Rainboom before, but nopony believes him. Those two mares with him told me he was a huge liar. The blue one's Bumble and she comes from a family of beekeepers. It's no wonder she wants to become a Wonderbolt with all the stings her family have probably had. The pink one's Beau and both her parents are Earth Pony's. It's only thanks to a past generation that she was born with wings."

"Wow, you sure know a lot about these ponies," Rainbow Dash commented.

"Yeah, after I found my name on the room map, I stopped to get to know some of the pegasi I'd be flying with. Bet you never thought of that," Spring Song replied, prodding Rainbow in the shoulder.

"I hadn't," Rainbow Dash admitted, feeling a little ashamed that she hadn't stopped to get to know any of the other cadets. She'd just been too excited and distracted. She had, however, counted the pegasi in the room. There were fourteen cadets, including herself. So she now knew Spring Song, Lullaby, Sugar Swoop, Ray Paradise, Bumble, Tempest and Beau, which left six for her to find out about.

Rainbow Dash pointed towards a pair of ponies, one a mare, one a stallion, who seemed to be laughing over some kind of joke. The stallion had a gleaming beige coat and a short black mane and tail that seemed symmetrical no matter which way you looked at it. His cutie mark was a pile of bits. Rainbow Dash wondered what his special talent could possibly be. The mare he was with was black with a constellation as her cutie mark. She had a white mane with a yellow streak that tumbled past her shoulders in waves. Her tail was wavy, too, with an identical yellow streak. "What about those two?" Dash asked Spring Song, who groaned.

"The stallion's Smart Set, he's the youngest cadet. He's a real snob if you ask me. There's a rumour going around that his parents just bribed the Wonderbolts into letting him into the boot camp."

"Yeesh," Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head. He sure did look like an upper class pony. "What about her?" She pointed over to the black mare.

"That's Stargazer. She comes from a family of astronomers, hence the name. She may not look it, but she's a real egghead," Spring Song spat out the word 'egghead' like it was a rude word.

The four remaining cadets suddenly arrived and joined the end of the line looking a little panicky, as if they were scared that they were late. Spring Song immediately told Rainbow Dash who they were. She pointed at a blue mare with a purple and black mane that she wore in pigtails.

"That's Cinder. She's pretty shy, so I don't know all that much about her," Spring Song explained before nodding at the cream stallion with a yellow buzz cut and a brown oak leaf cutie mark next to Cinder. "That there's Free Fall. I don't actually know anything about him because, like you, he left right after he found his name on the map."

"How do ya know his name, then?" Dash asked curiously. Spring Song pointed to the mare beside Free Fall.

"She told me. That's his cousin, Butternut," She replied. Butternut was the same colour as peanut butter and had a light blond, almost white mane. Her cutie mark was a leaf floating on a breeze. "She never shuts up. She came up to me, introduced herself and started babbling on and on about…something I can't remember. I couldn't get a word in. That's why I was so late to our room. She refused to stop talking."

"Well, what about the last one?" Rainbow Dash nodded towards the mare at the end of the line. She had a greenish-blue coat, a brown mop of a mane and a stubby brown tail. Her cutie mark appeared to be a splatter of paint.

"That's Stains. I wouldn't be surprised if she was raised on a pig farm," Spring Song drawled. Rainbow Dash had never seen this side of the pink pegasus before. Stains did look a little…messy, but why was that such a big deal for Spring Song? Well, on the bright side, she knew all the cadets names, now. All she had to worry about now was remembering them all.

"My legs are getting stiff," Lullaby complained from further along the line. "When is Spitfire gonna show up?"

"Say somethin', rookie?"

"GAH!" Lullaby almost jumped out of her skin as Spitfire suddenly appeared beside her, wearing her captain's uniform. Rainbow let out a giggle at Lullaby's reaction. The purple pegasus clutched her chest, hyperventilating from the shock. "Don't do that!"

Spitfire gave Lullaby a stern glare. "And who gave you the right to give me orders? Last time I checked, I was meant to give you orders. Is there some kind of rule change that nopony told me about?"

"Um…no," Lullaby replied, shaking a little. Spitfire stood straighter, so she could tower a little over Lullaby.

"No, what?" She questioned. Lullaby gulped.

"No, ma'am," She corrected herself. Spitfire began pacing along the line of cadets.

"I'm gonna skip the whole 'Welcome to the boot camp' mumbo-jumbo and cut right to the chase. While you're here you will forget about your daily routines back home. So, no staying in bed until noon, no goofing around, no huge parties. As Fleetfoot said when you arrived: You must eat, sleep and breathe Wonderbolts."

"Yes, ma'am!" The cadets all said in unison. Spitfire took a moment to readjust her shades before continuing.

"I'm sure that all of you want to get to the drills, right?"

"Yes, ma'am!" The cadets replied once again.

"So, for your first day, you'll be performing your best trick for me," Spitfire told them. Rainbow Dash glowed when she heard this. Her Sonic Rainboom would be the best trick by far.

"This'll be great," Spring Song whispered to Paradise, quiet enough that Spitfire couldn't hear her. The flame maned-pegasus strolled down the line, looking over the cadets. She walked right past Rainbow Dash and halted in front of Cinder.

"You, you're up. Show everypony your best trick," Spitfire ordered the blue mare. Cinder hesitantly took off into the sky. Rainbow Dash remembered Spring Song telling her about how timid Cinder was. Cinder took a deep breath before zooming forward and completing seven barrel rolls in a roll. Even Rainbow Dash was a little impressed. Doing even five barrel rolls in a row was quite difficult for most pegasi. The most Rainbow Dash had ever done in a row was fifteen, and she had gotten super dizzy after that and ended up crashing into a tree. Cinder joined the other cadets on the ground, looking pleased with herself.

"That was great," Free Fall complimented her.

"Not bad," Spitfire commented. "But, don't go 'round bragging about it." The yellow pegasus picked Paradise to perform a trick next. She managed to do eight loop-the-loops in a row complete with a nose dive, which she pulled up out of just before making contact with the ground.

Beau messed up her spinning dive by forgetting to pull up and bursting right through the cloudy floor.

Ray did an awesome routine by making clouds spin and then busting through them, making them explode into smaller clouds.

Bumble made an idiot out of herself by attempting to do several barrel rolls and losing control of herself. She ended up plummeting to the ground and colliding into Beau. After the two of them were confirmed to be okay, Smart Set flew upside down for most of his routine before turning right side up and speeding round and round in a loop, ending with a dive downwards, leaving a black, smoky trail behind him.

Free Fall and Butternut were given permission to do their trick together. They just flew in a straight line while looping around eachother. Rainbow Dash personally thought that that trick looked pretty difficult. She preferred to fly alone, so she had never tried that trick before.

Spring Song spun round and round until she created a giant tornado, which she burst out the top of, leaving a pink and yellow trail in her wake. Rainbow Dash was a little awestruck. Spring Song's performance had been the best so far.

Sugar Swoop did one of the Wonderbolts signature moves, flying in several arcs and twists before zooming straight up into the air and making a firework like explosion.

Lullaby crashed through one cloud after another and each one she crashed through made the cloudy trail she left behind thicker and longer. She ended her trick by flicking herself upside down and sending the clouds slicing through the air until they just poofed from existence.

Stargazer seemed to flow through the whole of her routine, enjoying every single moment of it. She did a series of elegant swoops and twirls before landing gracefully back in the line.

Stains was a little nervous and she made a huge mistake in her routine. She was probably aiming to do a Spit-Blitz, Spitfire's special trick, so she could impress her. She spun round and round and round some more, building up friction, but eventually, she had just spun out of control and flung herself across the sky, landing with a loud thud on the cloudy ground.

Rainbow Dash was last, and she wondered why, but she had no time to ponder that. It was time to perform the Sonic Rainboom. Everyone gazed in awe at her and she increased in speed, the pressure building up on her sides until her wings screamed with agony. She kept going faster…

…and faster…

…and faster…

…until….

BOOM!

There was the rainbow explosion as Rainbow Dash broke the sound barrier and whizzed across the sky. She could hear the oohs and aahs of the other cadets and she made an arc across the sky. When she landed every cadet applauded her. She couldn't wait for Spitfire to congratulate her.

"Nice work, Rainbow Dash," Was all the Wonderbolt captain said.

WHAT!?

That was it?

Just 'nice work'?

Spitfire looked up to see the position of the sun. It was right in the centre of the sky. "Listen up! It's 1200 hours, so you can go to the mess hall for lunch. I want you back out here in exactly half an hour," She told the cadets, flicking her hoof as a signal for them all to go. Paradise paused to speak to Spitfire.

"Actually, ma'am, there's no such thing as 1200 hours. I think it's about noon by now," She said, sounding proud that she was 'correcting' Spitfire, who just put her head in a hoof and mumbled something under her breath.

Rainbow Dash walked away, hanging her head, disappointed by Spitfire's reaction to her trick. She suddenly felt a hoof tap her shoulder and she turned to see the drill sergeant there.

"Hey, Dash, can you just hang back for a second?" She asked, smiling at her. Rainbow Dash shrugged and stayed behind.

"What is it, ma'am?" The cyan pegasus asked. Spitfire took her shades off, a sign that showed that she was about to say something serious.

"I just wanted to apologise for not giving you a proper congratulations. Your Sonic Rainboom is the greatest trick I've ever seen," She confessed, earning a ginormous smile from Rainbow.

"REALLY?!" The rainbow-maned mare beamed, her eyes growing wide with pride.

"Of course. I didn't show it earlier because…" She looked around to make sure nopony was there. "…as your instructor I'm not allowed to show favouritism," She whispered. Rainbow Dash began repeating 'ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh' in her head.

She was Spitfire's favourite cadet!

Then again, it wasn't that big of a surprise.

"So, that's why you chose me last? Because you wanted to save the best until the end?" Rainbow Dash bragged, puffing out her chest.

"I guess you could say that," Spitfire chuckled. The golden pegasus looked over in the direction of the mess hall. "Now, you'd better go and grab a bite to eat. When you come back outside you're gonna be flying through those rings," She pointed up at some hoops mounted on long poles. They looked like fun. Rainbow Dash gave Spitfire a salute before flapping off to the mess hall. The cyan mare halted suddenly and looked over her shoulder at Spitfire.

"Hey, aren't you gonna eat something in the mess hall, too?" She asked. Surely, Spitfire needed some lunch, too. The drill sergeant shook her head.

"Nah, I'm gonna eat lunch in my office," She replied. Rainbow Dash's curiosity was getting the better of her.

"Why do you eat alone?" She asked with a concerned look in her eyes. Surely, she'd be the kind of pony who loved to be surrounded by others. Spitfire just shrugged.

"I just…I like being alone."

"Why?" Rainbow Dash asked again. Spitfire looked like she was getting a little irritated and Rainbow briefly wondered if she should just leave now to avoid getting scolded.

"Sometimes it's good to be alone. It gives you time to think. Ya know, think about new tricks or new drills. Understand, Dash?" Spitfire explained. Rainbow Dash did understand. She was the captain, so it seemed right that she would be thinking over new moves and stuff like that. But nopony deserved to be alone all the time. Granted, Spitfire probably wasn't alone all the time, but she could probably use a few more friends. Dash decided that she might ask Spitfire to hang out with her and Soarin when he showed her his awesome tricks later.

"Hey, Dash," Spitfire snapped Rainbow Dash from her thoughts. "Why are ya still here? You're friends are probably waitin' on you," She scolded Dash playfully, beginning to walk away.

"Oh yeah. See ya later, ma'am!" Rainbow Dash gave a final salute before whizzing off to the mess hall to grab some grub.

…...

"Soarin, there's no way you'll be able to eat all that!" Braeburn scolded Soarin as the pale blue pegasus put a fifth slice of apple pie on his plate. Soarin looked at Braeburn as if he'd just told him he'd got cancer.

"Brae, have you forgotten who I am," Soarin cleared his throat. "I am Soarin, co-captain of the Wonderbolts, all around awesome pony and the only stallion in Equestria to have a bottomless pit in his stomach made specifically for pies," He ranted, standing up tall.

The two of them were in the kitchen. Braeburn assisted the cadets as they chose their lunch and Soarin just sat at the counter behind him about to pig out on five MASSIVE slices of pie. Braeburn turned to Soarin after wiping some backed beans from the counter.

"But, if ya eat all that, you'll get a stomach ache," He told the pegasus, obviously worried for his friend. Soarin made a noise that sounded like a mix between a chuckle and a neigh.

"Everypony knows that's just a bunch of crab-apples," He waved the whole idea away and took a bite out of the first slice of pie. Braeburn sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, go ahead and eat 'em. But don't come runnin' to me when you're too stuffed to move," the earth pony turned back to the counter where one of the cadets was scooping up some mashed potato. Soarin completed the first slice of pie in no time at all and quickly moved on to his second slice. He was halfway done when Rainbow Dash came through the door.

"'Sup, guys," She asked Soarin and Braeburn, who turned to give her a glare.

"Didn't you see the 'staff only' sign?" He asked her, pointing at the door. Rainbow Dash stepped over to the counter.

"What if I helped you out here? Wouldn't that make me 'staff'?" She asked, grabbing a weird spoony thing. She began 'helping' Braeburn at the counter.

"Please just let me do it," The earth pony stallion gave an exasperated sigh.

"Why, because you're jealous of my awesome spoon skills?" Rainbow Dash bragged.

"No, because you're scooping ice cream with a ladle," He took the spoony thing from Rainbow Dash and went to the sink to wash the ice cream off it. Rainbow turned to Soarin and sat at the opposite side of the counter.

"Hey, Soarin," She greeted cheerfully. "Why are you eating on a stove?"

"I'm actually more next to the stove than on the stove," Soarin corrected her, finishing off his second slice of pie. Rainbow Dash eyed his plate of pie, looking a little concerned.

"Um…are you gonna eat all of that?" She asked, nodding at the plate. Soarin swallowed his mouthful of pie before replying.

"Yes. I have to so I can prove Braeburn wrong," He said before taking another large bite. Rainbow shrugged it off. "So, how's drills going?" He asked. Rainbow gave a little squee before replying.

"AWESOME! I performed a Sonic Rainboom in front of everypony and they all loved it!" She rambled, her eyes glowing with excitement.

"Well, I'm honoured to be the first at the boot camp to see one," He smiled, now beginning his fourth slice of pie, trying his best to ignore the churning in his stomach. Maybe he should have cut smaller slices.

"We're gonna be flying through hoops next," Rainbow told Soarin, fidgeting with excitement in her seat.

"A little advice," Soarin began, swallowing his mouthful of pie. "Try flying through each hoop more than once if you really want to show off."

"I was gonna do that, anyway, but thanks," Rainbow replied, grabbing an apple from Braeburn's huge supply of them and taking a bite. Soarin chuckled. She thought ahead when it came to performances, like he did, and it was important for Wonderbolts to stay one step ahead.

"You're gonna want to eat more than that," Soarin nodded at the apple in Rainbow Dash's hoof as he finished his fourth slice of pie and eyed the fifth and final slice warily, unsure whether he could handle another slice. NO! He had to eat it so he could prove to Braeburn that his stomach could handle any amount of pie that was shoved at him.

"I'm too excited to eat anything more," Rainbow Dash told Soarin, wiping the apple juice from around her mouth.

"Well, at least try. You need to keep your strength up," He advised her, now halfway through his fifth slice of pie.

"Fine," Rainbow sighed, grabbing another apple and throwing the core of the other one in the trash. Soarin stuffed the last of his pie in his mouth; though his stomach practically screamed for him to just stop eating. As he swallowed, he let out a cheer.

"In your face!" He yelled at Braeburn, though the earth pony didn't seem to hear. He was busy wiping up some jelly from the counter and muttering something under his breath. Soarin couldn't understand how Braeburn could take this job. Cooking so much seemed pretty difficult and he had to clean up after the cadets every once in a while. Soarin couldn't imagine not being a Wonderbolt. It was the greatest job ever in his eyes.

"Wow, I can't believe you ate all of that," Rainbow Dash gaped at the now bare plate. "Each slice was like the size of your head!"

"I know. But when it comes to pie, my stomach can contain any number of slices," Soarin bragged, patting his visibly stuffed tummy. Rainbow Dash finished her apple and tossed it over her shoulder into the trash. She looked up at the clock.

"I guess I should get going. I need to be back outside in two minutes," She told Soarin, the excited glow returning to her eyes.

"Okay. Catch ya later Dash. I promise that I'll show you that trick after you're done," He waved as she left the kitchen. Braeburn finally finished cleaning the counter and let out a sigh, tossing the food covered rag he was using into the trash can. He turned and sat in the chair that Rainbow Dash was sitting in moments ago.

"Man, when ya told me ah had to be a cook, ah didn't think that meant wipin' up spilt food every five seconds," He groaned. Soarin's tummy suddenly gave a lurch and he clutched it.

"Ugh…" The pale blue pegasus gurgled. "I think I need to lie down. My tummy doesn't feel right."

Braeburn gave Soarin a look that said 'I told you so'.

"Crab-apples," He chuckled.

…..

Endnote: So, this is going to be a two part chapter because this was getting a little long. I'd like to keep Dashing and Soaring at 4000-5000 words per chapter so you guys don't have to wait too long for chapters to be uploaded. Tune in next time to see the second half of Rainbow Dash's first day at the boot camp.