The Academy

The Academy is a fanfiction novel written by Australian writer Philip Graham, known by his moniker RazorEye, published under Sarasota Dreams. The novel is written in the perspecive of Airheart, the story remarks Rainbow Dash, Thunderlane and Airheart's time at the Wonderbolts Academy, where Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane fall into depression.

Style
The novel is written in the past and present tense, first-person perspective of Airheart. The novel itself acts as an auto-biography written in-story by Airheart herself. It follows Airheart's thoughts and feelings as she remembers the events at the Academy and as she is writing them down.

Airheart
Airheart, whose point of view is the focus of The Academy, is a pegasus pony who attends the Wonderbolts Academy. She boasts a light-pink coat and a brown mane. Although her appearance in the show is very minor, she is depicted in The Academy as a optimistic and understanding pony who is very cautious and aware of the world around her, hence the first-person perspective of the novel.

Rainbow Dash
See Rainbow Dash Rainbow Dash, one of two main characters in The Academy, is a sky-blue pegasus pony with magenta eyes, and a rainbow-colored mane and tail. Her cutie mark is a cloud with a red, yellow, and blue lightning bolt. Her depiction in Friendship is Magic is a very brave and bold character. She is also very boyish and dislikes "girly" stuff. In The Academy, Rainbow Dash attends the Wonderbolts Academy, but after many failures in both physical and practical tests at the Academy, she slowly slips into a Major depressive disorder.

Thunderlane
Thunderlane, the other main character, is a black pegasus stallion with a Mohawk light blue and white mane. He appears in only two episodes of Friendship is Magic, with only a minor role in one, although his character is used as a lead in The Academy. Graham's depiction of Thunderlane is that of a split personality, driven by desire for other ponies in the Academy. He is gentle, kind and trustworthy when he is at ease, but when in lust for another mare, Thunderlane usually becomes eccentric and presents himself as a charming character.

Summary
The novel opens on an introduction by Airheart and he background. She tells of how she wanted to become a Wonderbolt since she was a filly, and how her love for flying and the sky had helped her realise her dream of being a Wonderbolt. She would always fly as high as she could until she found a place in the sky to stay and relax. She recalls, however, the first time she flew up, she was thrown out of the sky by a sonic rainboom that dealt damage to her wing. However, she was rescued by the Wonderbolts led by a stallion pegasus with brown comed-back hair, and discovered her confused fear and love of falling through this experience. Through her recovery, she also studied English in her prospects of becoming a Writer as well.

She starts telling the story of her time at the Wonderbolts Academy, where, after she is accepted into the Academy, she makes her fligth towards the Academy and immediately meets a gentle but bashful Rainbow Dash. She moves into her dorm room, and meets Thunderlane just as he pops out to collect an unusually large amount of letters left at his door.