Author's Notes:

BOOK 1: PART 3: HONOR

“Welcome to week 15,” Lieutenant Marble Falls greeted them in her typical command voice. “Just two more weeks left. Speaking with your comrades the other day I mentioned coasting to the finish. This will be hard work. These Practicums will test you to the best of our abilities. But you also have trained well, you have at least a good grip on all the skills we have taught you and work together phenomenally. Put those to use and you won't feel too stressed out and just coast in. You already did the work to fly so high, now its just about coming in for the landing. Just remember, a flight is not successful until you land safely.”

Everypony clapped and cheered.

“The practicums are going to be tough. This time, it will really require your skills in the air and ground. And you will be facing fellow recruits and then Barracks. Your vests will buzz you while flying and zap you when you are on the ground. You know the drill. Get hit and you shut up and stay down unless moved by an instructor. While flying, break away and land safely before staying still.”

“This is an easy match up thankfully. Last time I had 7 squads and the time before that 9. Eight is nice and easy. We will be scoring you through a point system you do not need to worry about. Do your objectives as fast and thoroughly as possible. However, bring field rations. You do not want to be the squad that gets stuck out there without food or water. You pick your leaders and your weapon case.”

“Squads facing off, Red is Filly Foolers against Dreamers. Blue is Rover against Ditwitz. Green is Lilly Blossom, taking on Gale. And Purple Hay Bail and Hurricane. You will head to your flag to begin the practicum. This is pure aerial combat. Any questions?”

“Yes Ma'am,” Olive Pit spoke up. “What do you mean by buzz?”

“Fly,” The Lieutenant ordered.

Olive pit popped up several feet and the Lieutenant shot him with her pistol. They all heard his yelp, but he didn't drop more than two feet before recovering.

“Does than answer your question?” The Lieutenant asked.

“Yes Ma'am. Safe enough Ma'am.”

The Lieutenant blew her whistle and the squads took off towards their flags in the clouds below. The Lieutenant smiled. She loved when somepegasus asked what buzz meant. It was fun to shoot the recruits and she never had to deal with recruits for their practicums before. She had assisted plenty of practicums and exercises over the years.

“If this is going to be aerial, then we need you Cardinal Spitfire,” Silver Bar said.

“I was hoping that would be suggested,” Cardinal Spitfire laughed. “I didn't want to assume or just take command. For guns, we will only take semi automatics. I don't want to rely on a shotgun of lead to take targets down. We are better than that and all the other squads know it. Dreamers will take us on with machine guns. They fear us and their first target is going to be me. Shadow Flare, be ready to take command.”

They finished organizing and were waiting for the order to start. They had no idea where the Dreamers were. They were pointed to their flag by several instructors because they were that far out.

When the time came, Cardinal Spitfire led them in a slow, steady take off and ascent. There was no point in wasting energy. They pitched and rolled while they flew. The last thing you wanted to do in aerial combat was stay steady. It made for an easy target, even at long distances.

Battles were erupting elsewhere and often were visible. But the Dreamers were nowhere to be seen. Cardinal Spitfire called for a nearby cloud to be shot. They put plenty of rounds on it, but the Dreamers were not there.

“Fucking Dreamers,” Cardinal Spitfire said over their coms. “Suggestions? Other than splitting up. That is what they want us to do.”

“Battles are off to our right,” Moonless Night replied. “I can not see any free squads. They are ripping each other apart so counting is difficult.”

“Off to our left laying low!” Shooting Star called.

They rolled into a dive without needing a command and began the pursuit. It was only three meaning the other three were waiting to ambush. Cardinal Spitfire didn't have to order them to watch their rear.

“Pick them off and lets break away before they draw us in further,” Cardinal Spitfire ordered.

They took them down easily since they were in the superior position. That left the other half.

“Cloud off to our left,” Shadow called. “Looks like it is moving and going to intercept us.”

“Their loss,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “Break into teams and lets hit them from three angles.”

They rolled into the turn and glided apart. They glided so they kept their guns focused on their target as log as possible before they became vulnerable. As soon as they did their full break shots were fired. Each team rolled and dodged, quickly reacquiring their target. They fired a dozen shots and pulled away to meet up.

“Good move Filly Foolers,” Lieutenant Marble Falls said over their coms. “Your flag has been moved to grid CD103. Wait for orders there.”

Shadow used the map to quickly ascertain their position and they headed off. It was his job, being next to the leader, to navigate. He had done a good job at being aware of their location. Only a grid off.

Shooting Star spoke up. “I do not think we should switch while running aerial practicums. Use our strengths. You lead, Shadow Flare navigates and we do the bulk of the shooting.”

“Good plan,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “Now that we have one under our wing, I do not feel bad about taking charge full time.”

“Use our strengths to the best we can,” Shadow replied.

“Filly Foolers,” The Lieutenant called. “Launch”

“Who is our target?” Cardinal Spitfire asked as they took off.

“Unspecified.”

“This is where the real fun begins. Stay tight. I want other squads to think we are at half strength at a quick glance.”

They pulled in really close. Each of their heads was directly behind a set of wings, including Shadow. He slid back all the way. The proximity did not slow them down. Cardinal Spitfire would not let it. It was well within their abilities.

It was another long search before Cardinal Spitfire gave up hunting and called them to line up.

“This is getting us nowhere. It has been an hour with no obvious boogies. We are going to cross through the battle straight ahead. Be ready to face anypegasus and in any numbers. It is time to try and spring a trap. Stay loose to avoid an easy strafe but lets stay together. We are the prey. No matter how much we try and hunt, we are the prey. I bet ahead is just mock combat.”

They shifted back into the formation, banked into a lazy barrel roll and then screamed towards the squads ahead. Just like Cardinal Spitfire thought, it was mock combat. They all stayed loosely in formation, turning and rolling to avoid fire in their individual positions.

They took out three on the first pass, banked around hard and came back around. They lost Silver Bar and Shooting Star in the tight curve, unable to keep up. It turned out well enough since their enemies had to now face two well skilled groups and panicked.

“Damn it Cardinal Spitfire!” The Lieutenant swore. “How did you avoid that?”

“Skill Ma'am.”

“Head back to the flight deck. I will have to figure out something new.”

They touched down and walked quietly off to the side. They were on an adrenalin high after being recalled with no immediate plan to send them on another mission. They kept their composure. It was better that way. Confidence is key, and when they came down off that high, they didn't want it to be noticeable.

“Sorry we missed that turn,” Shooting Star apologized.

“Please,” Cardinal Spitfire scoffed. “I almost didn't make that. It was a bad call on my end.”

“So, the Lieutenant is gone,” Rays said. “What do you think we will face?”

Cardinal Spitfire shook her head. “This is my first time doing a practicum like this. Nothing even close. I have no idea. That is why it is called training. But I do know this. The Lieutenant is going to do all she can to make sure I go down first. She wants all of Filly Foolers to be hit. We are all extremely dangerous, but…”

“If you want to be a Wonderbolt, she needs to knock you down a few pegs,” Moonless Night stated. “To see how you stand after.”

“Exactly!” Cardinal Spitfire exclaimed.

“So lets switch it up!” Shadow suggested. “Lets play our own trick. Shuffle up the cards. In a squad of six, we have two at point where lead is on the left, navigator is to their right.”

“That will be an adjustment, but flipping is a good idea,” Cardinal Spitfire said smiling. “That will be really difficult for you Shadow. You will have to look like the lead.”

“I think he can do it,” Shooting Star agreed.

“I think I can to,” Shadow smiled back. “Think of more. Every advantage is an advantage. We need to come up with new ideas to keep them guessing.”

“Cardinal Spitfire, do you think you can lead from the rear?” Silver Bar asked.

Cardinal Spitfire thought for a minute. “Yes. It will be a difficult transition to start for all of us, but yes. And worse care scenario, point takes lead. We all are good. Not me, but more than sufficient to handle ourselves.”

They all chuckled.

“Team coming in,” Shadow said for basic safety.

They all froze and then dove for cover. The strafing run missed and they were airborne immediately and on the offensive.

“Drop back,” Cardinal Spitfire called.

“They are almost in our sights,” Moonless Night protested.

“And they know that,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “Watch out for incoming teams. All we need to do is keep them in our range for now. Eventually they will cross and we can nail them.”

“They were packing machine guns,” Shadow said.

“Not surprised,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “And now they will bank left and then cross roll into a drive. We dive to intercept in 3… 2… 1… Now!”

Everything happened as Cardinal Spitfire predicted and the squad found themselves facing down Filly Foolers. They never had a chance to fire. It was not any of the Black Barrack Squads.

“I know I should not be surprised,” Rays said. “But that always gets me every time Cardinal Spitfire. I just do not get how you read them so well.”

“Think fast! One on my far right!” Silver Bar called.

“Another on the left. They have us flanked.” Rays said.

“Then lets see if they can keep up,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “Bob up into a long curved dive, then we will cut right. That will put one in our cross hairs and then we will have to roll up and over to the left.”

The two squads adjusted and almost blasted them out of the sky. They fragmented and scrambled to get together.

“Coms off!” Cardinal Spitfire ordered. “They are listening in.”

They turned the coms off and were forced to follow blindly after Cardinal Spitfire. It would slow down her movements as well.

It was one hell of a chase. Cardinal Spitfire got Filly Foolers to intersect one squad and pick off three. They knocked out two Filly Foolers and they tightened up. Cardinal Spitfire was not out of tricks yet. They got two more, but she was shot.

That left Shadow in charge and he had never commanded the squad without coms. He didn't know exactly who was left and couldn't see without losing track of their opponents. He only knew it was two others.

They got around and were able to flip at 270 degree angle at the cost of a huge amount of speed and one more Filly Fooler. Shadow called for wings in tight and they slipped through a confused squad. On the way out they picked off two more. Before they could turned back to fly they were picked off.

Shadow felt the buzz. It was strong, but not a zap. He opened his wings and let himself go into a free fall before he tightened up and circled back around to land on their flight deck. The others were the only ponies on the flight deck.

Lieutenant Marble Falls dropped out of nowhere in front of them. “DAMN IT CARDINAL SPITFIRE! You switched places and it took way to long to figure that out. Those are formation changes we leave to Aerial Combat School.”

“Shadow Flare's idea Ma'am. And the team obviously handled the switch without a problem. And its even more embarrassing that you missed it while listening in. And on top of that, you let us know way too early. You played that card wrong.”

“Then fuck you too Shadow Flare! All of you!”

Lieutenant Marble Falls took a few deep breaths.

“Understand that I say all of this with love and admiration. You all are really solid fliers. But nothing compared to Cardinal Spitfire. I have no idea how you improve so drastically when she is leading. And even after she went down. A 270 degree angle can not be performed like that unless somepegasus like Cardinal Spitfire was leading and with pegasi with the same skill. And I can't believe there was no spin out on that move. And it was Shadow Flare leading since Cardinal Spitfire was taken care of. That slice was gutsy but it paid off since you were finished from the turn.”

“I hate all of you right now!” The Lieutenant said storming off. “Recruits in basic training should not be this good!”

Shadow broke down first with laughter.

“Who they hell did we face?” Rays asked.

“I don't know,” Cardinal Spitfire grinned. “But we did an amazing job.”

“Do you think she will rally some Wonderbolts to come at us?” Shooting Star gulped.

“No,” Cardinal Spitfire relied. “A very good chance they are watching, but no. Still, lets be ready to switch up where I am in the formation. Confidence is key, but I also do not get how your skill can make huge leaps with me in charge. Skill is skill.”

“We are one hell of a team,” Shadow explained. “I bet its like the second day on the flight deck. When I found out about flight school. We thought I was a weak flier because I had never tried. With you in the lead, we try. We can't push ourselves like you can push us. Teams are supposed to help and make each other stronger as one, but we don't think when you make a call, we just do. The skill is there, we just need you to draw it out and shape it.”

“You are probably right Shadow,” Cardinal Spitfire admitted. “It seems like you are always right. Fucking honesty.”

“At least they took us out this time,” Moonless Night pointed out. “But it didn't drop us down a few pegs.”

“It isn't even lunch yet,” Cardinal Spitfire commented. “We have almost two weeks of Practicums. Filly Fooler Squad has to be ready anywhere, anytime.”

“Guard duty?” Shadow asked.

“Guard duty,” Cardinal Spitfire nodded. “Shadow Flare and I have first watch. Move your tents to ours. It is a great honor to have to be put on edge like this.”

“So much for the coasting comment,” Rays groaned.

“I would rather be tired, sore and dirty than coast in,” Cardinal Spitfire said encouraging them. “Because at this point, they are all out to get us and they want us out to get the other recruits. We are perfect for these practicums. They do not have to use instructors to do the work. They can rely on us.”

“If we can think of it, so can they,” Shadow stated. “One way to knock us down would be to up the zap in our vests. Another is to pit us against the recruits, and then put the instructors on us. Blindside us.”

“No longer a blindside now that its pointed out,” Silver bar said.

“Exactly,” Shadow smiled.

They moved the tents and set themselves up in the best defensive position they could. Lunchtime came and went. They were not hungry. It was lonely with nopony else on the flight deck. Very quiet. There was no sign of even an instructor watching them.

“We should nap, but I am not tired,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “And I doubt any of you are.”

They all shook their heads.

Just before the usual dinner time the others came back. They were led by Master Wind with Lieutenant Autumn Leaf in tow. Lieutenant Marble Falls was no where to be seen. Master Wind didn't blink or question anything. He just ordered everypony out of their armor and head to dinner. Filly Fooler Squad didn't disarm. They got dinner like ordered, but didn't run guard duty while in the mess hall.

None of the other squads asked any questions. It was clear they knew something had happened because they were separated, but not what happened.

“Watch? Again?” Deke asked as the others came over after dinner.

Shadow just nodded his head. He was the first sentry of the night.

“What put that back on? Lieutenant Autumn Leaf was with us.” Golden Dawn asked.

“Things got… heated,” Shadow said as if it wasn’t news. “We only know that it took them a longer time than they wanted to knock any of us out. And even with Cardinal… we don't want any surprises. They threw us enough of them.”

Deke walked away shaking his head. “I guess we will have all the fun over here. So much for you coasting.”

Shadow chuckled. “We had a blast. Totally worth it.”

With his shift over, Shadow went to sleep. Morning came quickly. Filly Foolers Squad was all geared up and it spurred the others to put on their armor, vests and saddles.

When Lieutenant Marble Falls finally arrived she was wearing a black flight suit. She looked at everypony, took a sip from her mug and said. “Get them!”

Filly Foolers Squad shot off the flight deck right away.

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME! YOU PUT THEM AWAY! I WANTED YOU TO SHOOT THEM BEFORE THEY HAD TIME TO ORGANIZE!”

They chuckled as they worked their way to a good distance. They would not hide. They wanted outright aerial combat.

“It didn't matter that they put their training cases away,” Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “We were too quick. They won't try that tactic again. Even if they do tomorrow morning and it works, it wont have the same feeling. We win that round.”

“Here they come.”

Cardinal Spitfire began to lay out the game plan. She had the whole thing planned out including how each squad would react. It didn't even take them half an hour before their comrades were all down. They were ordered back to the flight deck where they lined up with the other squads.

“That was completely unproductive,” Lieutenant Marble Falls growled. “I wanted the normal squads to continue showing me they know how to conduct air to air combat effectively. I guess that segment is done. They did a lot yesterday. More than enough for my personal hoof stamp of approval.”

“Time for teams. You all know how to fly with another pegasus and you know how to be in a Squad. Now it is time for you to show me you can adapt to lead and wing squad pairings.”

All morning long they switched up pairings. No matter what the pairs were, if you were with Filly Foolers, you won. And quickly. Filly Foolers were placed as the lead squad the first match. After that it was all wing squad positions. Their skill in playing wing squad took care of any problems in the lead squad.

“Lieutenant?” Deke asked at lunch. “What if Cardinal Spitfire didn't lead?”

“It doesn't matter,” Lieutenant Marble Falls stated. “As long as she is with them, they fly like that. They had her leading from other positions yesterday, and even when she finally was shot down, they still kept up the performance.”

“Although,” The Lieutenant thought. “I had not thought to remove her entirely.”

Cardinal Spitfire was out of her armor in seconds. “Bring it. Filly Foolers are ready. With or without me. And no machine guns.”

The afternoon was spent proving they didn't need Cardinal Spitfire. The Lieutenant just shook her head. In the four on one match, Filly Foolers lost four of it's members and wrapped the round up by finishing off the last two squads solo.

“Five on one?” Deke begged. He was pissed they cleaned his squad up solo.

“That just puts the advantage to them,” The Lieutenant responded. “They are using the chaos to their advantage. These practicums are useful. We are scoring you. But the big one is the one that really matters. True war games on all fronts. Air and ground combat at the same time.”

“All of the Black Squads are almost ready. I need to introduce you to four squad maneuvers tomorrow, and then all eight working together. Then you will have been run through everything you need to know before the final practicum.”

“Nighttime?” Shadow asked.

“Right. I knew I was forgetting one,” The Lieutenant said. “Tomorrow night though. And Filly Foolers. You can drop your guard. I toyed with trying to jump you at night, but even if we got a clean kill on the first pass, you still proved you were ready and vigilant. And something tells me I would not get a clean kill.”

“I was pissed and proud of your response right off the bat this morning. Pissed that I should have subtly made sure the others were armed. I knew you hadn't disarmed. I am sorry they have become the focal point everypegasus. Not intended.”

“We get it,” Golden Dawn assured her. “As long as we are ready it is cool. It is fun to see them fly.”

“It is fun,” The Lieutenant smiled. “I am glad we got the jump on Blue. It was the best thing to happen to Cardinal Spitfire. She really got to let loose.”

The larger the formations, the easier they got. They were slow to react and change direction. They looked impressive, but when it came down to combat, squads had to break off. Still, they worked most of the day in flight patterns and proper ways to break away.

They landed mid afternoon for a quick break and General Red River was waiting for them along with another pegasus.

“General,” The Lieutenant said as her hooves touched down. “You should have called. I hope you were not waiting long.”

“No, it is fine,” The General replied. “I enjoyed watching Black Barracks work with those formations. Wonderful work. My formation flying was always sub par. But I came here to let you know that I have allowed the acceptance of several challenging squads.”

“Can you elaborate sir?” Lieutenant Marble Falls asked.

“I mean that several squads have formed that want to take on Filly Fooler Squad in a head on dogfight.”

“Filly Foolers. You know what to do,” The Lieutenant smiled as they launched.

“They jumped the gun a bit,” General Red River said watching them.

“You have no idea how much they have been wanting this,” The Lieutenant replied.

The Filly Foolers glided over their flight deck.

“Plan,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “We are going to flip flop all of our roles. Still staying in our battle buddy teams if forced to separate, but lets make sure they can not guess who we are by our position with each other. At least to start.”

“Team coming in off the right.”

They rolled into their newly designated positions. Shadow was at point, but Cardinal Spitfire was on his left. The team did some quick maneuvers before they had to face the incoming squad.

They bobbed to fake a dive, which was anticipated so they actually dove. And all the way to the base clouds before they curved around and banked up. Their opponent had come around and was getting behind them.

“Its a squad of eight,” Cardinal Spitfire announced.

They rolled twice, into a sharp opposite curve and did a roll down. Their opponent shifted accordingly and was still on their tail.

“Let's get crazy,” Cardinal Spitfire said.

She called them into a very tight turn. They almost skipped across the air it was so tight. It got them in an offensive position, albeit with the lose of speed. They played chase. The other squad kept out of their grasps for a long while until they did a faked split and recovered into a sharp turn, flipping the tables.

“Alright. I think we have had enough play time,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “Shadow, lead is yours. Push and lets pull a 180 so we are sliding backwards. We can fire as we drop into free fall. Regroup on me.”

Shadow took control. The play was called, but it was his to order. He moved them through some quick zig zags and then had them hit the brakes to flip. They laid out as one and open fire. They took three out but by the time they reformed they got picked off in one go. All of their opponents used semiautomatic rifles.

They touched down on the flight deck for a quick drink of water.

“Alright. Game plan,” Cardinal said before they took off. “We do not know them. But I do know that they probably are not the best that wants to face us. Great timing Shadow Flare. All of your shots missed badly, but great timing. We won't get as much time to feel each other out anymore. The others have to have been watching. We are at the disadvantage, so shoot better Shadow Flare.”

They chuckled and took off.

“Now that we are free of their ears,” Cardinal Spitfire said pulling her com out. “Shadow your shots were not misses. We just all shot at the same targets. Bad play, but now we know to call our targets when we are outnumbered and in a head on attack.”

“I hear and now see our next opponents. Seven are skimming the cloud base,” Rays called.

“Drop!” Cardinal Spitfire ordered.

They tucked their wings and began to fall. The area they had just been at was shot with lasers. They reformed on Spitfire and were off. They were facing not only a squad with high accuracy, but with adjustable rifles.

They split and each side rolled up and around, passing through each other as they continued at the same heading. Cardinal Spitfire dropped out but they left the spot open. She made several shots at the distance but was not able to get her rifle to be steady enough. She lost track of the laser it was so far out.

She rejoined the team and they aggressively pushed towards their opponent who had gone in a steep climb. Cardinal Spitfire made several separation calls at the right times so incoming fire missed them. Still, in a matter of minutes they were on Filly Foolers' tale.

Cardinal Spitfire put up a good chase. They stayed tight, calm and rolled as one. Cardinal Spitfire was forced to call for the split. Shadow went down with her while their teammates got clear. The rest were taken out a few seconds later.

“Good thing you figured out when they were going to shoot, and that they could accurately shoot at that distance.”

“Lucky. I did not see movable firearms coming though,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “Need a break?”

They all shook their head no.

“Shadow and I will take the tips. Lets start without them knowing where I am if we can.”

They adjusted and soon were in hot pursuit of their next opponent. It was clear they wanted to prove they could shake Filly Foolers. It was obviously getting to them the longer they could not shake free. Shadow took several bad shots, but it forced them to split.

They stayed with a half through a crazy cat and mouse game. The other half was unable to get them in their cross hairs. When they did, Shadow and Cardinal Spitfire silently split off and flipped back. Their opponents screamed past and they were stacked up in four.

Unlike the time with the other Barracks, they were actually fighting to lose the bulk of Filly Foolers, and their other half was trying to keep up, but out the line of fire as well.

The other half tried to break away with a roll. Their guns flipped around as they were on their back. Cardinal Spitfire and Shadow had guessed the move and opened fire. It was a draw, two for two, with the third opponent surviving. The other Filly Foolers were able to pick off another one before they were shot down.

They met up at the flight deck. They all needed water. Nopony spoke. General Red River just gave them a nod that there was another.

This time it was a fast and loose team. Their eight fliers broke into teams of two, which forced them to break apart. They further split with just Cardinal Spitfire and Shadow together. Shadow was leading. They picked off one team before they were all taken out. The chaotic swarm had won.

When they landed Shadow stumbled a bit, catching himself before he totally went down.

“I am fine he said. A little shaky on the legs, but fine.”

“One more,” General Red River announced.

They formed up, but never saw their opponent before they sliced through their formation in a head on strike. Filly Foolers dove and picked up speed. They came out of the dive and put up a good defense as they tried to shake their opponent. It didn't last long and they were cleanly picked off one by one. One shot per pegasus, along their formation and before they could break apart.

They reformed and turned their coms off.

“Nice job!” Cardinal Spitfire said happily. “Now that was some aerial combat. I doubt we will ever know who they were, but it was a treat.”

“Hell yeah!” Shadow shouted. “All of it was awesome!”

“They all out thought us,” Rays complained.

“No, they didn't,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “A lot of that was luck of the draw. Guessing what we would do and what they would do. High speeds and all these turns, you know how you lead. There is very little time to plan. Hesitation kills. Ignoring whoever the last squad was. They were just plain interesting.”

They all congratulated each other and glided back to the flight deck. Shadow slowly landed. His legs were still weak. It was a lot of strain on all parts of their bodies.

“Very impressive Filly Foolers,” General Red River nodded. “I deeply enjoyed what we could see. I am happy to say that all six of you have invitations for Aerial Combat School. Assuming you don't totally fuck up the rest of the practicums. And those invitations come from Aerial Combat Trainers, not me. We actually have a school being done right after this Basic Training finishes.”

They cheered, everypony in Black cheered and Lieutenant Marble Falls shook each of their hooves.

“We won't get to know who we stacked up against?” Silver Bar asked.

“Not a chance recruit,” The General said. “But good try.”

They watched in silence and the General and the other pegasus flew away. Once they were gone, Lieutenant Marble Falls spoke.

“I doubt General Red River knows who wanted to test you out. They may have formed their own squads for this gig. You are really lucky to have peaked the interest of trainers and soldiers stationed here so much that they asked to be pitted against you. As it is, this was technically wasted training time and should have been turned down.”

“We are just as happy to have the opportunity given to us,” Cardinal Spitfire said exhausted.

“So am I,” Lieutenant Marble Falls replied.

“All of us! Black is on the attack!” Deke said causing cheers.

“Alright, quiet down,” Lieutenant Marble Falls ordered. “Dinner and then I suggest an early bed. You will need the rest. It is going to be four on four in an all out battle practicum. Just like you will be facing for the big test.”

Lieutenant Marble Falls watched them head off to dinner. The six Filly Foolers would make a phenomenal team to take into Aerial Combat School and then as a Unit. Shadow Flare would have to not take a recon spot and Cardinal Spitfire would have to not be a Wonderbolt. The six were good, but not capable of making it as a Wonderbolt Squad together.

The others would probably not take the offers up. Silver Bar wanted to be a mechanic and Hay bail an engineer. They had gone to school for those roles and were exceptional at them. Moonless night and Shooting Star were heading for combat school. They had fun flying at such an amazing level, but not enough to change their goals.